Chapter 102: Teammate's Free Ride

“Thank you!” Xiao Haoran accepted the pill bottle, scanned it with his extremely tired divine sense, and found nothing amiss. He opened the cap and poured the entire bottle of Qi Replenishing Pills into his mouth.

Yun Qing watched him swallow them with deep heartache, having spent nearly a thousand taels of silver on them. She wondered whether Xiao Haoran would thank her. As a cultivator of lower rank, she felt her own capacity was somewhat limited—after being consumed by a sixty-level being and taking a mundane pill, she felt uneasy and fretful.

Ignoring how much she had lost, she checked the teammates’ status. Their blue bars rose from ten to twenty points, after which they no longer increased, then decreased by one point each cycle. Their red bars recovered five points every five points. When their life values rose to fifty, they stopped moving, with the blue bars leveling off at sixteen. It seemed the Qi Replenishing Pill had only limited effect on them.

Yun Qing did not draw out more pills but asked, “Immortal Master, do you still wish for Qi Replenishing Pills?”

Xiao Haoran waved his hand. “Miss Yun Qing, keep them for your own use. This pill has no further effect on me.”

How fortunate! Yun Qing breathed a sigh of relief, fearing he would demand more so she would be tempted to ask for money.

Xiao Haoran carefully examined the surroundings, picked up a fallen stone from the side, and hurled it toward the muddy swamp. His divine sense sensed the stone’s sinking speed and depth, realizing the area below was unsuitable for human passage.

“I wonder what occurred here during the time I was unconscious.” He had a rough idea of the events that had transpired while he slept.

Yun Qing did not reveal her activities in the alchemy shop, merely stating that the mountain had cracked open. She had fallen from the fissure and encountered the unconscious man. Mud surged upward, and she dragged him onto the slide. Originally, continuous falling stones had lain above, while the muddy swamp below kept rising. Yet for some unknown reason, everything had now ceased.

After listening to Yun Qing’s account, Xiao Haoran nodded. “It appears the only path out for now is to climb this slide.”

Yun Qing gazed at him with bright, sparkling eyes. “I wonder whether the immortal master has other suitable methods?”

Such as riding a sword to fly her away, sparing her the effort of climbing.

“In that case, let us proceed! I wonder if Miss Yun Qing can walk on her own?”

Her companion had spoken thus, suggesting her body had yet to recover fully.

Hoping to be borne away by sword flight, she nodded without hesitation. “No problem.”

Xiao Haoran led the way, Yun Qing following behind. The two climbed steadily up the slope. Despite his severe injuries, Xiao Haoran’s cultivation enabled him to ascend such a modest incline with ease. The Qi Replenishing Pill had restored Yun Qing, allowing her to climb without dragging a burden exceeding five hundred jin, which proved effortless.

Observing Xiao Haoran’s retreating back, Yun Qing couldn’t help murmuring, Why didn’t he mention eating my eleven Qi Replenishing Pills? I myself couldn’t bear to consume them, and when I was unable to drag you through the secret realm, I never thought of eating them.

They had climbed past the cave’s bottom, where the glow of the glowing stones had faded entirely. Just as Yun Qing prepared to retrieve a torch, Xiao Haoran produced two glowing stones from his storage pouch and handed one to her, sparing her the need to use the torch.

They ascended the slope without encountering red iron spirit insects or poisonous waters. After climbing for some time, Yun Qing glanced at the small map in the upper right corner and realized she was nearly back at the spot from which she had fallen from the aerial platform.

Matching the map, the slope ahead revealed a patch of light. When they reached it, they discovered the upward slope had been blocked by mud and stones, the light stemming from the mountain’s fissure allowing a view of the sky beyond. They now stood within a long crack, its sides lined with exposed ore, while below lay the mountain mass that had slid into the muddy swamp. The ground no longer offered any path for them to exit.

Yun Qing examined their attributes: hers at forty-nine health points over two hundred, blue points ten over fifteen; Xiao Haoran’s at fifty-five health points over four hundred, blue points eighteen over two hundred. Both showed slight regeneration in health and blue points. Uncertain of a means to escape, she considered that attempting to leave alone would require climbing from the slide, demanding considerable effort and risking another landslide.

Xiao Haoran did not betray Yun Qing’s hopes. With a thought, a flying sword materialized beneath his feet.

“Miss Yun Qing, jump aboard. I will take you from this place.”

At last, sword flight! Yun Qing stepped onto the enlarged flying sword, thinking, He never mentioned the pills. So I shall fly you out; these Qi Replenishing Pills count as my fare!

Xiao Haoran called out, “Stay steady!” and guided the flying sword upward. The narrow blade beneath their feet cut through the whistling wind, leaving Yun Qing somewhat unsteady on her feet.

Watching Xiao Haoran’s steadily dwindling blue points, she understood he possessed little remaining mana and had refrained from deploying a protective shield.

Able to ride this wind-assisted flying sword to safety from such peril, Yun Qing found no fault. She steadied herself, avoiding any risk of falling or the sword plummeting and crushing them. Although Liu Liu had not boarded the sword, she felt no concern; previously, Liu Liu had declined the flying boat as well. When she reached Ye Family Village, Liu Liu had returned there too.

Once Xiao Haoran’s sword flight carried them beyond the Han Family Mine’s boundaries, Yun Qing realized she could no longer perceive his status. Their group had automatically disbanded upon exiting the secret realm.

Xiao Haoran remained gravely wounded. The cultivation world held many dangers, so he needed time to recover before returning to his sect. Lacking spirit stones and pills, he would rely solely on the faint spiritual energy in the air, which might require days to mend.

Yun Qing too suffered severe injuries and required healing. He brought her to a small town outside the mine. Lacking gold or silver, Xiao Haoran had intended to find a secluded spot in the wild for treatment. Only after Yun Qing gently inquired did he reveal the true reason he had not mentioned the pills: his purse was empty.

With silver in hand, Yun Qing suggested the inn. Feeling he owed her considerably, Xiao Haoran offered little resistance. They rented two rooms within one courtyard of the inn to heal in peace.

Finally, a private chamber for rest. Yun Qing first consumed some food, restoring her life values above fifty. Once life returned to fifty, the dizzying fog in her mind cleared.

After securing the door and windows, she eagerly entered the cave dwelling. She worried little that cultivators might use divine sense to observe her room, for she had questioned Xiao Haoran en route. He had assured her that such practitioners would not casually employ divine sense on others’ quarters unless they harbored ulterior motives. In the wild, it was even less certain, which was precisely why Yun Qing had been willing to spend silver to secure his inn quarters.

She first harvested and processed level-one building reinforcements, then tested the machine in producing fertilizer. The fertilizer production proceeded swiftly, yielding abundant raw materials. Yet she had no intention of completing all at once. Instead, she crafted several batches of fertilizer before continuing with more level-one reinforcements. Although the ore she had initially picked had been devoured by Qin Feng, she had since gathered many more, sufficient to fully reinforce the enclosure and villa.

The mysterious Soul-Dispelling Tree seed she had planted in the farmland, and she had even applied manure to it. The Soul-Dispelling Tree—its name might relate to dispelling the souls of extraterrestrial demons. This tree would surely become a nightmare for the Heavenly God Alliance. Yet since it had not yet sprouted, she knew not how to employ it. What she could confirm was that when monsters besieged the cave dwelling, she must protect this tree at all costs.

“Liu Liu, what exactly is the effect of this Soul-Dispelling Tree?”

“This question Liu Liu cannot answer for the time being. Liu Liu will study it diligently, or you may ask in another manner.”