Chapter 71: Du Xian Sect 29 Part 3

“Did you smell that?” Xun Ji whispered to Lu Yun Ting, who nodded.

The female cultivator carried the same scent as Linglan.

“Sad Eggplant Flower scent.” Lu Yun Ting signaled with his eyes to the plants lining the hut’s windowsill. Rows of jade-white blossoms glowed softly in the sunlight, strikingly beautiful.

“Sad Eggplant Flower? What’s it for?” Xun Ji asked.

“Useless on the living…” Lu Yun Ting said. “On corpses, it delays fleshly decay.”

The female cultivator brought Li Hanzhao into the hut and directed him to lie on the room’s only bed. She removed her veil, revealing a young and beautiful face, then went to the window and casually plucked a handful of Sad Eggplant Flowers.

“She’s clearly alive—why use Sad Eggplant Flower?” Xun Ji didn’t think he’d misjudge if someone was dead or alive.

He soon learned the answer.

The female cultivator extended slender fingers to her right temple, searching for something. Soon, she found a slightly raised bit of skin where her hair met her face. With a gentle tear, half her face peeled back from the temple, and a clump of withered Sad Eggplant Flowers stuck to rotting flesh crumbled out from the hollow half-skull.

She dug out every bit of the muddled flowers embedded in the decayed meat, then stuffed in the freshly picked ones.

The white petals were roughly crushed, thick flower sap flowing down her fingers and overpowering the black, foul rot. She packed the hollow half-face full, then covered it back with the peeled skin.

She cast a Cleaning Spell Technique on herself, instantly reverting to a young, beautiful Biluo Sect female cultivator.

Xun Ji and Lu Yun Ting exchanged a glance, both seeing horror in the other’s eyes. Never mind why Biluo Sect’s female cultivator had become this neither-human-nor-ghost monstrosity—with half her face hollowed out, how was she still alive?

After repairing her face, the female cultivator walked straight to Li Hanzhao on the bed. He seemed drugged, brows furrowed and face flushed. She reached to remove his outer robe, then began undressing herself—she intended to dual cultivate with Li Hanzhao!

No need for Xun Ji to say more. Lu Yun Ting moved nimbly and fiercely, bursting through the door in an instant! The Zhenliu Sword’s icy blue glow flashed, and in a breath, it pressed against the female cultivator’s neck, subduing her.

The female cultivator paled in panic and opened her mouth to scream, but Xun Ji stopped her in time.

“Fairy, don’t panic. We don’t mean to offend—we’re guests here and don’t know why you took our friend without permission?”

Xun Ji kept a mild expression and roughly checked Li Hanzhao. He’d been hit with a Mind Control Curse and fed an Aphrodisiac Drug, but nothing else serious. Xun Ji fed him a pill, and Li Hanzhao’s flush visibly eased, though he hadn’t woken.

“It’s you.”

After seeing Xun Ji and Lu Yun Ting clearly, the female cultivator calmed instead. Her gaze lingered on Lu Yun Ting, disgust flashing in her eyes.

“This isn’t a place you should be.”

“Oh?” Xun Ji humbly asked, “Then where should we go, Fairy?”

“I know your purpose.” The female cultivator said calmly. “I planned to wait until the Miaoyin Immortal Assembly ended, but since you’re in such a hurry, I can take you.”

She pulled out a Teleportation Talisman.

“This talisman leads straight to the Sect Leader Hall. The Sect Leader isn’t in the sect, but the elders are prepared.” Her clear pupils showed no trace of rot as she stared straight at Lu Yun Ting.

“Aren’t you looking for your mother?” she said. “Come on, I’ll take you.”

“Shizun, be careful—it’s a trap!” Lu Yun Ting’s face darkened.

Xun Ji knew that too, and before he could pry more from her, a golden beam pierced her brow. She grunted and softly collapsed.

“Who?!” Lu Yun Ting barked sharply, swinging his sword toward the door—only to lower it upon seeing the newcomer.

“Wei Luoheng, why’d you knock her out?” Lu Yun Ting said displeased.

Wei Luoheng withdrew his spell-casting hand, his expression unusually grave.

“What’s wrong?” Xun Ji’s heart tightened at his look. “Did Biluo Sect make a move on you?”

Wei Luoheng shook his head. “I divined Yunting Lord’s mother’s location and came to find you right away.”

Xun Ji relaxed. “That’s good news. Where’s his mother?”

Wei Luoheng didn’t answer. He displayed the golden Falling Star Disk. “I used the Falling Star Disk to divine within Biluo Sect’s bounds. If accurate, Yunting Lord’s mother’s location will light up as a red dot, corresponding to her exact position in Biluo Sect.”

“So?” Xun Ji didn’t understand the blank disk. “Didn’t calculate it? His mother isn’t in Biluo Sect?”

Wei Luoheng seemed unsure how to explain. “I did. His mother is in Biluo Sect, and…”

Wei Luoheng sighed lightly and brushed the Falling Star Disk.

“See for yourselves.”

The Falling Star Disk lit up again, displaying Wei Luoheng’s divination results.

On the chessboard-sized golden Falling Star Disk, a red dot glimmered and suddenly brightened, strikingly obvious. Xun Ji pointed at it, about to speak—when his finger froze.

Another red dot flickered to life.

The third… fourth… densely packed, hundreds, thousands of red dots lit up one after another on the Falling Star Disk, like scattered ruby pearls bouncing and splashing until they covered the entire disk.

Xun Ji stared blankly at the scene, his mind going empty for an instant as his heart sank bit by bit.

If the Falling Star Disk corresponded to Biluo Sect, and the red dots to Lu Yun Ting’s mother, then…

“His mother is indeed in Biluo Sect, and… not just one.”