The natal weapons and swords floating in the air disappeared one by one. The cultivators, who had been fighting fiercely just moments ago, now stood on the grassland, panting heavily and looking around in confusion. Most of them who came from the same sects maintained a harmonious and respectful relationship prior to entering the Ten Absolutes Mountain, and yet, just now, almost everyone had been consumed by a desire to kill each other.
Thinking back, that mysterious voice didn’t really say much, but those present here knew very well that upon leaving Ten Absolutes Mountain, all memories of what happened inside would be forgotten. As long as you could leave alive, no one would know if you had climbed over the bodies of your fellow disciples.
Still… it doesn’t feel right! Did they all forget their morals, sense of justice, and integrity just like that?!
Those standing on the grassland now were the most outstanding disciples from the major sects of the Three Thousand Worlds. They gazed at each other, feeling that something was amiss. Even knowing Ten Absolutes Mountain’s nature, many had never considered attacking their fellow disciples, and yet… just moments ago, it was as if they had completely lost control over themselves, feeling like their spiritual consciousness had completely detached from their bodies.
Although that the poison of Drunken Dragon Grass had been neutralized, nearly half of the cultivators were injured. Blood from someone’s arm wound slowly dripped down, falling on the grass with ticking sounds. Some had their backs soaked in blood, exuding a pungent smell, their limbs cold as if they might collapse at any second. Others bore wounds inflicted by their fellow disciples, the injuries on their body felt too familiar.
No one moved, just standing there as if the first to speak would be the loser.
Meanwhile, Meng Qi and her fellow medical cultivators were busy squatting on the ground, still moving their medicinal knives. A small brocade bag in Meng Qi’s left hand was quickly filled with Drunken Dragon Grass. This plant was not uncommon in the Three Thousand Worlds, but the quality here in Ten Absolutes Mountain was unparalleled.
Li Che was doing the same. In addition, the two had also collected a large bag of Imp Orchids, which were much rarer. Meng Qi had read about this plant in books, which explained that the best quality Imp Orchid had tiny, pearl-like, bright red fruits on its roots. When they uprooted the Imp Orchid earlier, its roots bore these vibrant, coral-like red fruits.
“I have enough,” Li Che said as he put his bag into his storage pouch. He then looked at Meng Qi: “The Imp Orchid here is different from the ones in the Three Thousand Worlds. Almost all the Imp Orchids we have are from the Southern Realm, and my sect also grows some, but none have fruits as brightly red as these.”
“Is that so?” Meng Qi dug up a whole plant of Imp Orchid, soil and all, and placed it in a delicate jade box, “I’ll take one out and try to keep it alive.”
All this time, Qin Xiumo and Chu Tianfeng stood vigilantly behind Meng Qi, keeping a wary eye on the crowd of cultivators who had returned to their senses. Having just entered Ten Absolutes Mountain not long ago, they were still in shock from the sudden turn of events. For now, everyone was just standing there in shock, too confused to pay much attention to Meng Qi and her group.
The two exchanged glances. Qin Xiumo was confident that even if something happened, they had enough strength to fight, with himself and Chu Tianfeng, Sikong Xing, the three from Xingluo Pavilion, plus Meng Qi and Li Che. Even if Xue Chengxuan chose not to help, they were well-prepared.
“Are you done?” Qin Xiumo asked Meng Qi, leaning down slightly.
“Yes,” Meng Qi put the jade box into her storage space and stood up. She looked around, noticing the cultivators’ expressions had returned to normal. At this moment, none of them continued to the next challenge. Everyone avoided eye contact with other people, and the grassland was filled with an awkward silence.
Meng Qi and Qin Xiumo exchanged glances, and he nodded subtly at her before quickly blinking. Meng Qi was startled. Before she could understand Qin Xiumo’s intentions, the taciturn young man suddenly stepped forward and announced loudly, “Fellow Daoists, please pay your medical fee over here.”
Meng Qi: “!!!”
Li Che: “???”
Xue Chengxuan: “…”
The three of them stood side by side, both Li Che and Xue Chengxuan turning their gaze towards Meng Qi. Meng Qi herself was full of questions. Honestly, she was still preoccupied with whether the Imp Orchid could survive outside of Ten Absolutes Mountain and where to plant it in the future, and hadn’t thought about this next step yet.
Even more baffling, the person making this announcement was Qin Xiumo!
Meng Qi couldn’t help but swallow nervously. She had a feeling that Qin Xiumo knew something, or perhaps remembered something, which was why he had been following her and not paying attention to Lu Qingran. But her strongest impression of him was still from her past life – the young sect leader of the Anyun Summit who caused a bloodbath in the Southern Realm, the Little Devil Lord who only showed tenderness to Lu Qingran and trusted no one else.
At Qin Xiumo’s sudden announcement, the awkward atmosphere on the grassland instantly vanished. All the cultivators turned to look in their direction, most still appearing somewhat dazed. Chu Tianfeng stepped forward. His sect, the Fentian Palace, had a unique technique that could record events as they happened. He had once shown Meng Qi a recording of an elder from his sect who sneaked into the Demon Realm, intruded into the domain of the Demon Monarch, and subsequently had his detached spirit slayed as a result.
Chu Tianfeng wasn’t yet capable of transmitting such recordings across realms using a detached spirit like the elder, but recording recent events was still easy for him. He brought his index and middle fingers together and pointed into the air. Spiritual light flickered, creating a projection screen from spiritual aura. The screen soon displayed a complete record of recent events—though soundless, it clearly showed the crowd’s descent into chaos, then Meng Qi and her fellow medical cultivators gathering herbs, concocting medicine, and using the artifact to save everyone, all the way to they regaining clarity.
Everything was recorded clearly.
The cultivators had been under the influence of the Drunken Dragon Grass and further bewitched by the mysterious voice of Ten Absolutes Mountain, almost fighting to the point of massacring each other. Had it continued, at least half of the cultivators here would have died and those who survived would almost certainly be too weak to continue ascending Ten Absolutes Mountain. Now, they were all still standing, and although many were injured, the wounds were not severe, manageable with simple self-treatments.
Chu Tianfeng sped up the playback of the images, replaying the whole recording twice to make them clear for everyone to see. This drew all eyes to Meng Qi and her group.
“How much?” Qin Xiumo turned back and asked Meng Qi. “The payment for their treatment.”
Meng Qi stared blankly. The handsome young man before her was serious, his deep eyes reflecting her petite figure. Even she could feel the surge of spiritual aura around him, indicating that he was close to completing a major realm and ready to undergo tribulation to break through to the next stage. “One profound-grade spirit stone per person.” Meng Qi raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly.
“!!!” Chu Tianfeng gasped. From this perspective, his was still the least expensive, although he was unsure whether to feel pleased or not about it. Regardless, he quickly joined Qin Xiumo in approaching the other cultivators. “You hear that. One profound-grade spirit stone each,” he said with equal seriousness.
The disciples who could enter Ten Absolutes Mountain were the bright stars of their respective sects. Naturally, they came fully prepared, equipped by their sects with various artifacts, spirit stones, medicinal pills, and life-saving items. Everyone here was capable of producing one profound-grade spirit stone. After Chu Tianfeng had shown them the events that had just unfolded, twice over, no one could argue about the price. These medical cultivators had saved their lives, and a debt of life-saving gratitude could not be overstated. A single profound-grade spirit stone was a relatively small price to pay, and no one wanted to default on this debt in front of so many witnesses.
After making the round, Qin Xiumo and Chu Tianfeng returned to Meng Qi with two small bags of spirit stones. Chu Tianfeng didn’t even spare his fellow Fentian disciples and collected the payment from each of them. “Here,” he handed the bag to Meng Qi, “There must be about seventy or eighty stones in there.”
“Okay.” Meng Qi immediately divided the spirit stones into five parts, one share each for Li Che, Xue Chengxuan, the two disciples from the Canglang Academy, and herself.
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