“Eh? What’s wrong, Fellow Daoist Qiao?” Meng Qi had just spoken when Li Che, who had heard her, also came over. He stared into Qiao Ran’s eyes for a moment before turning to look at Meng Qi. “Meng Qiqi, Fellow Daoist Qiao’s eyes…” Li Che muttered to himself, “This isn’t the Thousand Emperor Bell, it shouldn’t be the Thousand Emperor Bell…”
“What are you talking about?” At this moment, Chen Yu, who had been cooperating with them the longest and was the first to be rescued, also came over. “…Qiao Ran!” He looked at Qiao Ran’s face and suddenly exclaimed.
At this time, the bloodshot in Qiao Ran’s eyes was already a bit more intense than before, but still less compared to other cultivators. A thin layer of blood-red color filled his eyes, but the black and white of his pupils were still distinguishable. He blinked slowly, looking blankly at Li Che and Chen Yu, and finally turned to Meng Qi, not understanding why the three were looking at him with such fervor.
“Watch out!” Before he could answer Meng Qi’s question, Qiao Ran suddenly stepped forward, raising his hand slightly—his natal sword, which had been hovering in mid-air, suddenly soared into the sky, clashing with another long sword in the air. Qiao Ran was considered one of the strongest sword cultivators among the younger generation in the Western Realm, but the attacking sword seemed no weaker than his. Moreover, that sword was very fast!
“Hmph!” Qiao Ran snorted coldly, his expression becoming more serious. He pointed his sword forward, standing with a fierce gaze. Competing in speed? His Duankong Sect would not be inferior to other sword cultivation sects!
The two long and sharp swords clashed in the air, causing violent pressure. The sound of their collision formed a continuous stream, looking extremely intense. Qiao Ran controlled his sword with his right hand, pulling Meng Qi behind him with his left, instructing, “Junior Sister, stay behind me, be careful!”
As he shouted, he quickly glanced at Pei Mufeng standing not far away. The white-robed sword cultivator stood unmoving against the wind, his long sword hovering by his side, his expression serious.
Clearly, Pei Mufeng had realized that he was slower to make a move, so he simply didn’t act—Qiao Ran silently told himself. Full of spirit, his natal sword becoming more stable and faster, his attacks more fierce. However, no matter how he attacked, the opponent could still handle it.
A master!
But who is this master swordsman… and why do they suddenly appear?
Qiao Ran watched the fierce battle between the two swords in the air. Disciples from major sects like them knew most of the top experts of their generation, if not personally, at least by name. For instance, he and Pei Mufeng, although never actually met in combat, were not strangers to each other. A sword cultivator in particular was very adept at identifying each other through their swords. Even if they couldn’t see the person, just seeing the sword was enough to roughly tell who it was.
Seeing the opponent’s sword, Qiao Ran’s mind quickly listed several names of master swordsmen of his generation but dismissed each one of them.
Such speed and sharpness, if he had seen it once, he would never forget it!
What Qiao Ran didn’t know was that Meng Qi, whom he had pulled behind him protectively, was now looking at the sky with a complicated expression. After a moment, she exchanged glances with Li Che and Chen Yu standing by.
In fact, it wasn’t just her. As of now, the injured who had been brought here had received medical treatment. The spell cultivators and sword cultivators who had regained consciousness were currently recovering behind the city wall, while medical cultivators had a temporary break from treating patients. Every single one of them had a perplexed expression as they gazed up at the sky, watching Qiao Ran’s sword slashing against empty space with incredible speed.
The talented young swordsman from the Western Realm, the strongest of the younger generation in the Duankong Sect, the most valued disciple of legendary Ling Ji… Qiao Ran’s identity flashed through many people’s minds, invoking a surge of admiration—his sword was truly powerful!
Qiao Ran’s natal sword sliced through the air with a bizarre and sharp trajectory, each strike swift and fierce. Even Pei Mufeng was looking up at the sky quietly, his expression more serious than before.
“Illusions,” Meng Qi whispered, slowly uttering the word.
“He’s fighting against an enemy of his own imagination,” Chen Yu chimed in.
“There are people everywhere here…” Li Che couldn’t help but look around, “Why would he still be fighting an imaginary enemy?”
As they spoke, the medical trio couldn’t help but turn to look at Xue Chengxuan. He was also a talented young cultivator from the Western Realm, the heir to the number one medical sect. Since earlier, the handsome youth had been staring warily into the distance, occasionally muttering to himself. His natal weapon was a set of silver needles—for a medical cultivator, these silver needles could heal and save lives, but could also be used as weapons.
At that moment, Xue Chengxuan’s silver needles hovered by his side, reflecting a cold glint under the sunlight, looking extremely sharp. Even the eldest son of the Feng Alliance’s Xue clan was not spared from this madness—his eyes, too, were tinged with bloodshot, although only faintly so. The original color of his pupils was still visible, thinly tainted with blood red.
Thus, they could clearly see the wariness and vigilance in his eyes, as if he were looking at some terrifying and powerful enemy in the distance.
But over there…
Meng Qi followed his gaze and saw the rolling green mountains beyond the city walls. At least, she couldn’t see anything that would warrant such wariness from Xue Chengxuan.
Illusions! Meng Qi silently repeated the word in her mind. Ling Ji had said that the bell stirred people’s unwillingness and resentment, filling them with bloodlust and violence, but that was not the case—rather, whatever caused this madness made them see some illusions!
“It’s illusions.” This time, Meng Qi’s tone was filled with certainty. “Luoxin can create illusions, but it’s not enough!”
“Right,” Li Che nodded, “Luoxin trees should make people see what they most want to see, what they desire the most, not stir up everyone’s bloodlust.” He paused, then quickly added, “There are many types of spiritual herbs and plants that can cause hallucinations.”
“But there aren’t many that take effect so stealthily,” Chen Yu immediately said.
“Exactly!” Meng Qi nodded too, “There are so many cultivators here—spell cultivators and sword cultivators aside, it shouldn’t be easy to fool the medical cultivators. Unless it’s colorless and odorless, there’s no way none of us wouldn’t have noticed.”
“So, colorless and odorless, and able to cause illusions…” Chen Yu immediately began to recall, “Yaoxing Vine can, Tianming Flower can, and there’s Yaoxing Grass and Chiwu Grass, which are ingredients for Nocturnal Fragrance…”
“Candles made by mixing the fat and blood of Xuanwu fish, native to the Northern Realm’s ice lake, can also cause hallucinations.”
“There is this bug from the Southern Realm, ground into powder and burned, which can also produce illusions.”
“In the Eastern Realm…”
The medical cultivators here came from the four realms of Three Thousand Worlds, and except for Meng Qi, they were all from renowned medical sects. Even in the Southern Realm, where medical cultivation was in decline, Canglang Academy where Li Che belonged was only slightly weaker than other sects. Besides, the Southern Realm was famous for its poisonous insects and plants, giving him more experience in this area.
With everyone speaking at once, the group quickly listed over ten types of colorless and odorless substances that could cause hallucinations.
But Meng Qi couldn’t shake the feeling that they had missed something here—falling into hallucinations and being driven to mutual slaughter were different matters.
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Translator’s Note:
Hello, everyone! As I explained before, The Healer Demands Payment! is going to enter hiatus. After looking around for replacement and asking for suggestion, most of you suggest I take over abandoned titles, and it just happens that one of my favorite title has been abandoned for a few years now, so I feel comfortable taking it over. Here it is: Wake Up Male Lead, You Belong With The Female Lead!. What I love from this author’s novels are always the dynamics between the main couple and the twist incorporated into the seemingly typical cultivation world settings. Hope you can enjoy it as much as I did!
For this week only, there will be daily updates (5 updates), and then it will follow THDP’s update schedule: Tuesday and Thursday.
Enjoy~
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