Chapter 821: One Leaf

The statement, combining both firm and gentle tones, clearly expressed Xumi Mountain's stance. No one else had any intention of questioning it.

Primarily, they couldn't question it because too many lives were in their hands.

It was expected that such a declaration would lead to a calm discussion, but Lu Ye merely looked at the elder with cold eyes, saying, "You can try!" His murderous intent was palpable, as if no one else was present.

Ying Wuji felt a strong surge of alarm and almost wanted to retreat to the corner of the room.

He had been spending a lot of time with Lu Ye recently and had even fought him, so he considered himself to have some understanding of Lu Ye. However, he had never seen Lu Ye look so ferocious, unwilling to give the other party an out even after they had backed down, appearing ready to slaughter everyone in the place.

He didn't doubt Lu Ye's capability, especially since most of Xumi Mountain's experts here were already poisoned. But if a fight truly broke out, he, as a ghost cultivator, might not fare well.

As thoughts raced through his mind, Ying Wuji looked at Hua Ci, who was standing beside Pang Huanyin. It was then that he understood: this medical cultivator was clearly someone extremely important to Lu Ye.

It was one thing not to know about Xumi Mountain's actions before, but having known, it was only natural for him to be enraged.

At this thought, Ying Wuji gasped, glancing at Lu Ye and silently thinking, "This guy is truly cunning!"

That Ju Jia had a close relationship with him, and keeping that a secret was one thing, but now there was also Hua Ci!

Nine people in total were sent by the Kyushu Heavenly Mechanism. These three clearly formed a small group. He secretly warned himself to be very careful in the future, lest he be sold out by Lu Yi Ye and still help count the money.

The Xumi Mountain elder's warm face met with a cold reception, immediately causing him to lose face. Under normal circumstances, he would have been furious. But remembering the previous lesson with Liu Zhenguan, he could only swallow his anger, no matter how great it was.

Pang Huanyin sighed, "Yi Ye, they are ultimately humans. Over the past thousand years, a considerable number of corpse race members have died by their hands." She was stepping in to intercede. She was most reluctant to see her fellow humans kill each other, fighting among themselves. As humans, even if they were to die, they should die in conflict with the corpse race, not exhaust their strength in internal strife. Liu Zhenguan... his death was a bit of a pity.

Hua Ci, standing beside her, simply pouted.

Only then did Lu Ye retract his murderous intent and lower his blade.

"Tell me about it!"

The elder let out a long breath, gave Pang Huanyin a grateful look, and after a moment's consideration, said, "We also ask Miss Hua Ci to remove the poison from us."

This was a reasonable request. Given the current situation, he wouldn't dare say anything excessive. It was just that Lu Ye had been in a fit of rage earlier, almost making him lose face.

Hua Ci directly tossed out a jade bottle, saying, "This is the antidote!"

The elder raised his hand to catch it, his gaze thoughtful. "I'd like to test the efficacy of the medicine. Miss Hua Ci wouldn't mind, would she?"

"Of course not!"

The elder nodded slightly, poured out a pill from the bottle, put it directly into his mouth, and sat cross-legged to refine it.

Behind him, a group of Xumi Mountain cultivators watched nervously.

The antidote took effect very quickly. In just thirty breaths, the emerald green mist enveloping the elder slowly dissipated. The elder could also feel that the stagnant spiritual power within him was gradually returning to normal.

A moment later, he had fully recovered.

After confirming the antidote's efficacy, the elder rose, nodded slightly to Hua Ci, and said, "Miss, you are true to your word. Xumi Mountain is not without integrity either. Would you like to leave now, or rest for a night before departing?"

Pang Huanyin chuckled, "If we stay here to rest, your hearts won't be at peace, and neither will ours. Let's leave now, to avoid further mutual displeasure!"

The elder gave a firm instruction, and his subordinates swiftly moved to prepare the portal.

A short while later, several streaks of light flew out from the Spirit Peak Great Hall, heading directly towards the portal.

Besides the elder, no one else accompanied Lu Ye and his group, demonstrating Xumi Mountain's sincerity in seeing them off.

The journey was silent.

Upon reaching the portal, at the elder's instruction, the guarding cultivators activated and opened it.

Taking advantage of this pause, Pang Huanyin said, "If the corpse disaster on Peerless Continent is not eliminated, humanity will have no place to stand in the future. Xumi Mountain should seriously consider this. If you make a decision, notify my Ziwei Dao Palace as soon as possible."

The elder was noncommittal, saying, "Thank you for your concern, Palace Master Pang."

Pang Huanyin sighed, knowing he hadn't taken her words to heart, and said no more. She looked at the now visible portal and tilted her head, "Yi Ye, you go first."

Lu Ye didn't waste words. He grabbed Hua Ci's arm, channeling spiritual power to protect her. As he stepped towards the portal, he instructed Lan Ziyi, "Second Junior Sister, you stay behind to cover our retreat!"

Lan Ziyi looked bewildered upon hearing this.

"What 'Second Junior Sister'? Who's 'Second Junior Sister'?"

Xumi Mountain had no intention of making things difficult for them. Not only had Lu Ye and his group already demonstrated formidable strength, but with Liu Zhenguan's death, Xumi Mountain also had a lot of mess to deal with. They were eager to send Lu Ye and his group away as soon as possible. At such a critical juncture, why would they cause further complications?

By the time the "Second Junior Sister," who was covering their retreat, walked out of the portal with a speechless expression, Xumi Mountain's portal quickly closed and disappeared.

"Is everything settled?" Pang Huanyin asked Lu Ye.

Lu Ye looked at Ying Wuji.

Ying Wuji was momentarily stunned, then nodded, "It's settled."

It was a simple matter. If he had messed this up, he wouldn't have the face to return and see Lu Ye.

Lan Ziyi frowned, "What in the world are you two up to?"

"What's 'settled'?"

She felt that there was some unspeakable secret between Lu Ye and Ying Wuji, but it was inconvenient to ask for details in front of outsiders.

"Elder Xiao is calculating the location of the Dao Palace portal. Please wait a moment," Pang Huanyin said, looking at Elder Xiao. As she spoke, she looked at Hua Ci and Lan Ziyi with interest, "Yi Ye, aren't you going to introduce them?"

Lu Ye casually pointed at Lan Ziyi, "This is my Second Junior Sister, Lan Ziyi."

Lan Ziyi's eyes widened. She finally realized that the "Second Junior Sister" Lu Ye had mentioned earlier was herself!

"This is my Little Junior Sister, Hua Ci!" Lu Ye then pointed to Hua Ci, before introducing Pang Huanyin to both Hua Ci and Lan Ziyi.

Lan Ziyi gave a slight nod, while Hua Ci gracefully curtsied.

Pang Huanyin returned the greeting, her gaze sweeping over the four individuals before her. She couldn't help but exclaim, "You are truly extraordinary talents!"

"What kind of wondrous world is Kyushu, to be able to nurture so many exceptional individuals? If Peerless Continent had such a foundation, why would it fear the corpse disaster?"

A strange pang of sorrow arose in her heart.

"Alright, let's go," Elder Xiao said, having already calculated the direction of the Ziwei Dao Palace portal. He then led the way.

Everyone urged their bodies or flying spiritual artifacts, closely following him.

Halfway there, Lan Ziyi watched Hua Ci, who was sitting on Lu Ye's spirit boat, almost completely nestled in his embrace. She couldn't help but let out a soft snort. "Humans," she thought, "truly forget old affections when they find new ones. Before, the two sisters supported each other and got along so well. Now that there's a man, all 'sisterhood' is pushed aside."

Her figure suddenly accelerated as she approached Ying Wuji ahead. She needed to inquire from Ying Wuji about the current situation, the whereabouts of the other few people, and most importantly, their relationship with Ziwei Dao Palace.

"Yi Ye, this doesn't seem to be Kyushu. Our battlefield marks aren't responding at all."

"I know," Lu Ye said, unable to help but frown.

"Yi Ye, have you found Ju Jia? I wanted to ask Xumi Mountain to help keep an eye on your whereabouts, but that Liu Zhenguan was no good, so I had to give up."

"There's no clue about Ju Jia. Don't worry about him." Lu Ye's frown deepened.

"Actually, even if you hadn't come this time, I would have found a way to escape. When Lan Ziyi and I saw that Flying Cloud Scarf, we knew someone from Kyushu must have arrived. Yi Ye, did you know about my situation and deliberately use the Flying Cloud Scarf to alert us?"

*Thump*. Lu Ye couldn't hold back. He raised his hand and tapped Hua Ci's head, gritting his teeth, "Just be normal!"

Calling him "Yi Ye" repeatedly was terribly awkward!

Hua Ci wasn't annoyed. She just rubbed the spot where she was tapped and teased, "What, others can call you that, but I can't?"

Her expression was playful. She looked up, meeting the gaze of Pang Huanyin, who had noticed the commotion and turned to look back.

Their eyes met, and Pang Huanyin smiled subtly before turning back to continue her journey.

"Can I really dictate what others call me? Besides, I came here as Pang Huanyin's escort. She can't very well call me 'fellow Daoist'." Lu Ye explained.

"True!" Hua Ci said, relieved. "Alright, I won't tease you anymore."

Her eyes crinkled at the corners, and she was in a cheerful mood.

"Oh, by the way, what's with 'Second Junior Sister' and 'Little Junior Sister'?" Hua Ci remembered something.

"For the people of this world: I am the Eldest Senior Brother, Ying Wuji is the Seventh Junior Brother. So, by that count, Lan Ziyi is the second, and you are the youngest."

"I see," Hua Ci understood. "Then how did you all end up with this Palace Master Pang? Can she be trusted?"

Having suffered at Xumi Mountain's hands, Lu Ye didn't have a very good impression of the people from these so-called secret realms. He felt they were a group of incompetent individuals trapped in a cage, only capable of trembling in fear when faced with external chaos.

"This woman is different from Xumi Mountain. Ziwei Dao Palace is also unlike the other two secret realms. If we need help, only Ziwei Dao Palace can provide it. The other two are unreliable."

"You have a plan?" Hua Ci caught the hidden meaning in his words.

"It's mostly complete. The rest depends on how determined Ziwei Dao Palace is. If their resolve is strong enough, then this trip won't face much resistance."

Hua Ci's eyes twinkled. "So, we're begging them!"

"It's a mutual need, a reciprocal benefit. This is their realm of survival, after all; we are just passing through."

"What do I need to do?"

"Utilize your medical cultivator abilities. You might be very busy then."

When a great battle breaks out, many people will inevitably be injured and poisoned. Hua Ci's role will then become evident, which is likely why the Kyushu Heavenly Mechanism specifically chose her as the team's medical cultivator.