Wu Yan (Inner)’s words reminded Wu Yan.
The Void Beyond the Heavens. The raw material for Wu Nian, Meteor Wind Iron, was also very likely from the Void Beyond the Heavens. Wu Yan had known this ever since she obtained the Meteor Wind Iron from Tao’er at the Tianbao Pavilion.
Wu Yan turned to Wu Yan (Inner) and asked,
“Have you been there? That void?”
“Huh?” Wu Yan (Inner) expressed dissatisfaction with her question.
“You blockhead, do you think it’s some easy place to enter? That place is considered the source of demonic chi. I never found a way in until the very end!”
Speaking of this, she suddenly changed the topic.
“But in my previous life, I did find some clues on this matter. This thing is definitely from the Void Beyond the Heavens!”
Wu Yan gripped Wu Nian tightly and cautiously approached the white mass.
The translucent threads did not detect Wu Yan’s approach; they continued their irregular expansion.
With a flick of the sword tip, a thread on the edge was cut off. It was light and soft. Just as it was about to fall to the ground, the space at the bottom suddenly folded, and in the blink of an eye, that segment of thread disappeared.
“It vanished into thin air?”
Wu Yan felt she might know what was happening with the disappearance of the Pulling Threads.
After Li Qingci left, Ning Xiyan, following her instructions, handed over the entire plan to Ji Xuerou. Ning Xiyan did not directly answer Ji Xuerou but instead asked her a question.
“Do you still remember the Righteous-Demonic War twenty years ago, Her Holiness the Saint?”
“The Righteous-Demonic War twenty years ago… That war where Jiang Moxiu suffered a great defeat, but the Righteous Path also suffered heavy losses?”
Ning Xiyan put away her usual smile and nodded.
“Correct, Her Holiness the Saint. That very war. Twenty years ago, the Righteous-Demonic War ended with the demonic cultivators retreating into hiding and the Righteous Path severely weakened. Ten years after that war—for us, that is ten years ago—a meteorite tore through space and fell into the barrier of the Medicine King Valley’s Back Mountain with astonishing power.”
“That barrier is now called the Qiansi Forest.”
Ji Xuerou did not speak, only listened quietly, but her right index finger unconsciously rubbed.
“The Valley Lord and several elders sealed off the scene immediately. They isolated that meteorite and prepared to destroy it. But just one day before the destruction, an accident occurred. That meteorite produced a creature capable of infinite extension.”
Having reached this point, Ji Xuerou naturally knew what this creature was.
“That creature was very peculiar. It had no roots or need for nourishment, yet it was tough enough to extend infinitely. Moreover, according to the Second Elder’s experiments, it could even enter living organisms and seamlessly bind together bones, muscles, and meridians without side effects. This was exactly like the Pulling Thread that was at a bottleneck at that time. So—”
“So you took advantage of this, hoping to mass-produce Pulling Threads through this creature.”
“Correct.”
“But you should have other methods.” Ji Xuerou’s voice was stern, every word and action exuding tension.
“Her Holiness the Saint, the Medicine King Valley is not a one-person dictatorship.” Faced with Ji Xuerou’s tone, Ning Xiyan was not angered, only smiled.
“Then was the disappearance of the Pulling Thread also staged by you?” Ji Xuerou did not stop while chatting with Ning Xiyan; she was following the talisman left by Wu Yan.
“That is not the case.” Ning Xiyan said.
“It was only by a fortuitous opportunity that we discovered the Pulling Threads have a special ability.”
“Space Jump.” After Ning Xiyan said this, Ji Xuerou and Ning Xiyan happened to arrive at the entrance where Wu Yan had disappeared.
Upon hearing this, Ji Xuerou’s expression suddenly changed.
“Space Jump?”
“Yes.” Ning Xiyan nodded.
“All Pulling Threads are essentially cut from that thing. No matter how they are processed or blocked, no matter where they are placed, they are always attracted by the spatial fluctuations of the original body. If someone sets up void coordinates at the other end, they can forcibly summon these threads over.”
“Based on the Pulling Thread Wan’er brought back, the destination of the disappearing Pulling Threads is likely the hiding place of some demonic cultivators.”
“Since you know, why not stop the harvesting? Stop the production?” Ji Xuerou’s voice gradually turned cold, and a dazzling golden ring faintly appeared.
“Because the Valley Lord only came to this conclusion after Wan’er retrieved that segment of Pulling Thread.” Ning Xiyan explained.
“Moreover, the Medicine King Valley has not produced any Pulling Threads for three years. Yesterday was the first harvest in three years.”
As smart as Ji Xuerou, just by hearing Ning Xiyan’s words and combining them with the previous conversation, she figured out their goal.
Lure the snake out of its hole.
“They are like cockroaches.” Ning Xiyan discussed this topic with Ji Xuerou as if discussing the weather.
“Kill one batch, and another appears. If you don’t uproot them, there will be endless trouble. Over the years, this creature has been like a thorn in the heart of the Medicine King Valley. Your arrival gave the Medicine King Valley an opportunity.”
“Haven’t you thought about destroying it?”
“Her Holiness the Saint, nothing in this world is that simple. The internal conflicts of the Medicine King Valley are the first obstacle; the second obstacle is what I said—the creature has the ability to space jump. The Valley Lords once tried to destroy it, but it always jumped through space to avoid those attacks and then returned. Even someone as powerful as the Supreme Elder was helpless against it.”
“Space is two-way. Since the Medicine King Valley can lock onto the demonic cultivators, can’t the demonic cultivators use the vast Pulling Threads to tear open the Medicine King Valley’s space in reverse?”
“They can.”
Ji Xuerou suddenly drew her sword, and the sharp blade cut off a lock of Ning Xiyan’s side hair.
“Then what about her? Will Wu Yan be in danger?”
“Calm down, Her Holiness the Saint.” Even with the sword pressed against her throat by Ji Xuerou, who was considered the strongest in the Golden Core Stage, she remained calm.
“We need a variable. And Miss Wu is clearly that variable. Whether it’s her or the sword in her hand.”
The two fell into silence, and the atmosphere became deadly.
Finally, Ji Xuerou lowered her sword.
“I understand your thoughts. But using an unwitting person as bait is unacceptable to me. Not to mention she is my friend.”
Ning Xiyan breathed a sigh of relief, and the faint red mist dissipated from her fingertips.
“Don’t worry, Her Holiness the Saint. The Valley Lord and the informed elders have already made preparations in advance. Miss Wu won’t have too much trouble.”
Saying that, Ning Xiyan took out a jade key from her storage ring and threw it into a tree. A familiar rift appeared.
“Now, it’s the next part of the plan. Her Holiness the Saint, please enter and help Miss Wu.”
After watching Ji Xuerou step into the rift surrounded by a golden ring, Ning Xiyan unfolded her fan and fanned herself.
“Phew, finally got through that. Being caught between two sides is really difficult~”
Her voice sounded like a complaint and a tease, eerily soft.