Li Fan saw that something was wrong and hurriedly followed.
Sister Zhao stood some distance away, her expression grave as she inspected the state of the cultivator before her.
“Cough, cough…” This disciple of the Grand Dao Sect was stuck at the Nascent Soul stage, but at this moment, he looked no different from a dying mortal, his eyes hollow, his consciousness muddled, his breath as faint as a wisp.
He coughed violently from time to time, as if he were about to cough his lungs out.
A trace of deathly grayness was faintly visible on his face, and his body appeared weak beyond belief, completely unfit for someone at the Nascent Soul stage.
Li Fan felt a chill run down his spine.
Just a moment ago, this cultivator didn’t seem this severe. In the short time it took to find Sister Zhao, the situation had worsened dramatically.
“Could it be some kind of evil curse?” Li Fan squinted, trying to analyze the situation.
“Cough… Dao Child?” In his confusion, the cultivator recognized the two standing before him. He instinctively struggled to stand and offer a salute.
“Ugh…” This disciple of the Grand Dao Sect had never seen Sister Zhao display such warmth and gentleness in his entire life.
For a moment, his face regained a slight glow, as if he had experienced a brief resurgence of life. He stared at Sister Zhao, filled with infatuation, as if his soul had been captivated.
“After you descended the mountain, where did you go? What encounters did you have, and whom did you meet?” Sister Zhao asked again.
Despite his failing body, the cultivator, coughing and gasping for breath, struggled to recount everything to her in meticulous detail.
Gradually, his breath weakened.
But seeing Sister Zhao’s eager expression, he persevered, speaking in halting, broken sentences.
Finally, when he uttered his last word, his breath ceased abruptly.
Yet his eyes remained open, staring at Sister Zhao with an unyielding, reluctant gaze.
“Let’s go!” Sister Zhao quickly grabbed Li Fan and swiftly left the scene.
At the same time, she handed him a purple-gold pill, instructing him to swallow it.
“The Creation Purple-Gold Pill?” Li Fan was shocked.
This pill was a secret treasure of the Grand Dao Sect, usually crafted only by longevity realm experts. No matter how severe the injury, as long as one wasn’t already dead, consuming it would instantly restore the body to its peak. It was practically a second life.
It was incredibly rare, and the sect had very few in reserve.
Yet now, Sister Zhao had unhesitatingly given him one…
Li Fan immediately realized the gravity of the situation and swallowed the Creation Purple-Gold Pill.
“Don’t waste it. Wrap it in your spiritual energy and slowly absorb its medicinal power,” Sister Zhao instructed while simultaneously casting spells, constructing layers of protective barriers around them.
“Could the cause of that disciple’s death still be contagious? What kind of curse is this powerful? Is it targeting our Grand Dao Sect?” Li Fan couldn’t help but feel alarmed.
“Rather than a curse, it seems more like a disease. A deadly disease that even cultivators cannot escape or avoid,” Sister Zhao’s expression was more serious than ever.
Even during the great upheaval when the laws of heaven could no longer be practiced, she hadn’t been this worried.
“Its target is not just our Grand Dao Sect but the extermination of all cultivators in the world… This must be reported immediately!”
Li Fan was stunned. “Could this be another backlash from the heavens? Damn it, is the treacherous heavens really trying to wipe us out completely?”
“Cough… cough…” As the two flew toward the sect’s main hall, Sister Zhao’s face suddenly turned an eerie pale color.
Then, uncontrollably, she began to cough softly.
But soon, a purple-golden light appeared, suppressing the paleness. The coughing stopped, and her complexion regained its rosy hue.
“How could it manifest so quickly? Sister, you’re at the Dao Integration stage!” Li Fan’s heart filled with a terrifying disbelief.
If even a Dao Integration expert was affected, what hope was there for him, a mere Soul Transformation cultivator?
Not daring to wait for the symptoms to show, he quickly circulated a sliver of the Creation Purple-Gold Pill’s medicinal power from his dantian, spreading it throughout his body as a defense.
Sure enough, not long after he finished, a wave of exhaustion swept over him.
It felt as if he had battled Sister Zhao for seven days and nights straight, his entire body aching as though his bones were about to break.
His throat burned as if cut by a blade, but his body, like a drowning mortal, desperately yearned for air, struggling to surface and take a deep breath.
Fortunately, the Creation Purple-Gold Pill’s reputation was well-deserved.
As its power circulated, the abnormal symptoms disappeared in an instant.
“Hiss… This disease is truly ferocious!” It felt as though he had brushed against death, and Li Fan looked at Sister Zhao with lingering fear. “Thankfully, I had your pill. Otherwise, I’d have ended up just like that junior brother!”
“Don’t let your guard down. This only suppressed the symptoms temporarily. The true culprit causing all this still remains inside us,” Sister Zhao reminded him at the right moment.
As if to validate her words, she quickly coughed again, though softly.
Even though the Creation Purple-Gold Pill soon neutralized the illness, it made Li Fan’s heart sink further.
They had miraculous pills to protect them, yet they still couldn’t shake off this mysterious disease. How much worse would it be for the ordinary disciples of the Grand Dao Sect, not to mention unaffiliated cultivators?
It was unimaginable.
The two fought off the illness as they swiftly arrived at the sect’s main hall.
There, the sect leader, Ji Changxi, having received Sister Zhao’s message in advance, had already gathered all the elders.
Though Sister Zhao had done her best to explain the severity of the disease, Ji Changxi and the elders gave it proper attention.
But…
It wasn’t enough.
In their eyes, although Sister Zhao had recently broken through to the Dao Integration stage thanks to a new cultivation method, she couldn’t be compared to them, who had been at the Dao Integration stage for centuries.
They possessed countless secret techniques and methods. What could harm this young Dao child might not necessarily harm them.
Besides, they believed they were fully prepared.
The space within the main hall was surrounded by numerous restrictive spells, layers upon layers of sealing barriers.
They had even activated the [Profound Abyss Dao Breakthrough Formation], which seemed close but was actually separated by several worlds.
It was absolutely secure, and they were completely confident.
“You two, stop suppressing the disease and each release a drop of your own blood,” Ji Changxi instructed.
Li Fan and Sister Zhao obeyed.
With soft coughs, two droplets of blood, each exuding an ominous aura, floated before the crowd.
Everyone observed from a distance, and the hall fell into silence.
Suddenly, a fleeting, almost imperceptible look of surprise crossed Ji Changxi’s face.