The grotto was located on a much lower hill to the right of the central Immortal Mountain.
Ji You and Yuan Chen had sneaked in from below and, according to distance calculations, were already inside the mountain, with only one space ahead.
What appeared before them at this moment was a specially excavated Pill Chamber, with a giant copper Pill Furnace sitting inside.
This Pill Furnace was comparable to the one used by the Grand Supreme Elder to refine Sun Wukong.
However, this copper Pill Furnace was not in a refining state; its lid had already been blown off, and when the lid fell, it seemed to have hit someone, as the area below was a bloody mess.
Ji You's Spiritual Qi soared from beneath his feet, and he leaped directly onto the Pill Furnace, his two feet making dull thudding sounds.
Unexpectedly, the Pill Furnace was empty, with only scorched marks inside.
Seeing this, his eyes gleamed with golden light, and then he took a deep breath.
Cultivators' five senses are acute, allowing them to observe even the slightest details. Although he knew nothing about herbs, he could distinguish that the Pill Furnace contained only the fragrance of herbs, with no trace of blood.
No infants…
Ji You's expression was solemn. He plunged his longsword downwards, steadying himself on the Pill Furnace, his gaze profound.
Since the Qiu Family incident at Xuan Yuan Immortal Mansion, he had known that cultivators had a habit of refining people into medicine.
And after learning that a large number of infants had been sent here and that a Pill Master had been abducted, it was natural for him to assume that these infants had been refined into medicine.
But now it seemed that things were not that simple.
According to Luo You's wife, infants cried in the mountains every night for three years. With such a large number, where could they have gone?
At the same time, his gaze dropped, and he saw a beautiful young woman lying motionless behind the Pill Furnace.
From Ji You's perspective, the woman's hair was disheveled, blood seeped from her mouth, her face was dark, and she was covered in Death Qi.
Yuan Chen also saw this scene and rushed to her side, his face pale.
Ji You's heart sank. Just as he was about to say that the dead cannot be revived and to accept the sorrow, Yuan Chen interrupted him directly.
“Brother-in-law, quickly take my sister, and let's get out of here.”
“?”
“She’s not dead; Sister took a Spirit Extinguishing Pill.”
Ji You was stunned, thinking, 'What good thing is this that I don't know about?'
However, seeing Yuan Chen's resolute gaze, he sheathed his sword and reached to unfasten his belt…
Yuan Chen froze, then immediately widened his eyes: “Brother-in-law, although I have already betrothed my sister to you, there's no need to be so hasty!”
“Move aside.”
“Then I’ll go outside and stand guard…”
Ji You cursed under his breath, thinking, 'Guard your sister,' then carried the woman on the ground on his back and tied her securely with his belt.
Although they hadn't encountered any danger on the way in, there was no guarantee they wouldn't on the way out.
He only had two hands, one for holding and one for wielding, both requiring his sword, so this was the only way.
After Ji You tied her securely, he bounced her twice and felt a soft, springy sensation constantly touching his back.
Heh, truly a heart full of yellow.
“Hurry up!”
Yuan Chen then snapped back to reality, realizing that his brother-in-law had no intention of starting a family here, and immediately followed.
Ji You carried the young female Pill Master and hurried along, muttering, “Money and goods settled, money and goods settled…”
From entering Hongshan Mine, to entering Qi Ridge, then to the ruins, and finally to the so-called Central Divine Mountain, this was Ji Hanfei's most primal motivation.
Now, as long as he took the person out, it would truly be money and goods settled.
At this moment, the ruins were brightly lit by heavenly light, and some Upper Five Realms powerhouses landed there, moving ten zhang in a single step as they headed up the mountain.
Ji You avoided them from a distance and saw a powerful Saber Qi fly from the mountaintop, like the splitting of heaven and earth, roaringly sweeping away everything below the mountain, followed by wild laughter from the mountain.
Mountain and Sea Pavilion, Lingjian Mountain…
Countless flying figures landed on the mountain, and within moments, their Qi changed drastically.
One of the Qi even directly doubled in intensity.
At this time, Ji You still couldn't sense the Heavenly Dao, so he frowned, unconsciously propped up the perky buttocks behind him, and walked away without looking back.
Just as the three of them were walking along the outer ridge of the mountain, Yuan Chen suddenly called out to Ji You to stop.
“Brother-in-law, I need to undo my sister’s pill effect!”
“Can’t you do it after we get out?”
Ji You's Divine Thought was now completely unleashed, his golden pupils constantly spewing Spiritual Qi, feeling that the Evil Qi from before was continuously growing stronger.
These Qi were not strong when they first entered the mountain, but as time passed, they were now overflowing.
He did not want to stay here for too long, fearing some other accident, and only wanted to quickly settle the money and goods.
Yuan Chen quickly chased after him two steps and said, “The Spirit Extinguishing Pill cannot be taken for too long, otherwise my sister will truly die, and you, brother-in-law, will have no wife.”
“Don’t curse randomly, or you’ll get kicked.”
Ji You untied the woman from his back and placed her on a broken wall. After fastening his belt, he finally saw the woman's face.
Yuan Chen had indeed not lied; his sister was indeed beautiful, with exquisitely carved features that appeared delicate and handsome.
She should be a few years older than Lingjian Mountain's young Master Jian, both at the age when women are just maturing.
But comparatively, Ji You still thought Yan Shuyi was more beautiful.
Thinking of this little Fairy who loved to kick people, he couldn't help but feel a little worried.
He had been in the mountains for so long, seen many Lingjian Mountain Disciples, and even fought with them, but he had never seen her.
According to Zhuo Wanqiu, she was sent to search for missing Disciples, so where was she now?
Ji You's Divine Thought had been soaring through the sky all along, sensing heaven and earth, actually wanting to confirm whether she had entered the mountains.
Evil Qi permeated the wilderness, and the chaotic sky began to flicker between light and dark.
At this moment, Yuan Chen continuously channeled Pill Qi into his sister's body. Within moments, the dark Qi on the young female Pill Master's face gradually faded, and her skin regained its soft glow.
The Spirit Extinguishing Pill is an item that Dan Sect does not sell to outsiders, capable of inducing a state of death. This is one of Dan Sect's myriad life-preserving methods.
They do not cultivate the Heavenly Dao, nor do they wield killing power, but they consequently endured a dark age of enslavement.
Therefore, after that, Dan Sect created various life-preserving secret arts, and the jade plate previously used for searching was one of them.
After a long while, Yuan Caiwei slowly opened her eyes, her blurry vision gradually clearing.
Then she saw a familiar face, recognized it as her younger brother, and her face instantly turned pale.
“Brother, you… how are you here?”
Yuan Chen reached out and took a Qi Replenishing Pill, putting it into his sister's mouth: “Sister, the sect arranged for many people to look for you, but there were no clues. I was anxious, so I gritted my teeth and ran out. What exactly happened? Why were you captured and brought here?”
Yuan Caiwei recovered a bit after taking the Qi Replenishing Pill, then her brows furrowed tightly.
Taking the Spirit Extinguishing Pill had put a great strain on her body, leaving her mind blank.
She only remembered that Dan Sect had been invited to refine a furnace of top-grade Spirit Pills, which were to be sent to Tianshu Academy.
But because of its poor stability, she was dispatched to accompany it, using Pill Qi for escort, and then she saw a surge of Evil Seeds rushing from the mountains…
Yuan Caiwei's eyes suddenly widened: “Pill Arts, someone stole Pill Arts from me.”
“What thing?”
Ji You was stunned: “You carried all the Pill Arts scriptures with you?”
As soon as he spoke, he seemed to have thought of something, and his face instantly turned ugly.
Only a Linxian Realm in this world can forcibly search someone’s Divine Soul…
What is all this? Even a Linxian Realm has come. Can I, an ordinary Junior Third Realm Completion, really get involved in this?
Ji You immediately grabbed his sword and took off running.
Yuan Chen immediately got up: “Brother-in-law, don’t leave my sister behind!”
Yuan Caiwei was still feeling lingering fear, but when she heard her brother's address, she was stunned, and her gaze immediately sank: “Yuan Chen, what are you shouting?”
“Sister, I forgot to tell you, his name is Ji You. Thanks to him, I was able to find you.”
Yuan Caiwei looked up at the retreating figure in front, and her heart immediately sank.
The other party was merely a Junior Third Realm Completion, and her brother dared to come in with him; he was practically courting death.
This level of cultivation might be considered a Prodigy in an immortal sect's outer gate, but out here, it was simply not enough.
She couldn't even imagine what kind of near-death experiences her brother went through to find her, yet she was also angry at him for not valuing his life.
Yuan Chen didn't see his sister's expression and continued: “On the way here, I already betrothed you to him.”
“?”
(Recommending Platinum Author San Jie Great Master's latest work, “Records of Xuan and Strange in the Southern Dynasties.” Family, please go and support my fellow Shandong native.)