I Reloaded the Save File! [Transmigration] - Chapter 44

Finally, Xuan Min left with a belly full of fury and resentment. Alone against so many people, he was no match for them, neither in martial prowess nor in verbal debate.

Especially Yun He’s last few sentences; the more normal her tone, the more humiliated Xuan Min felt. Yet, her attitude was so sincere that Xuan Min couldn’t even find words to refute her.

Seeing Xuan Min depart with a dark expression, Zuo Wuyi couldn’t help but laugh, earning a warning glance from her Master.

“Don’t be mischievous next time. Xuan Min is a man who values his reputation; he has definitely held a grudge against you in his heart. He might come looking to settle the score with you sometime,” Xuan Shuang said. At the same time, she placed a hand on Zuo Wuyi’s shoulder, dividing two streams of spiritual energy from her own body into her disciple’s, just in case she was suddenly killed without knowing it.

“Do you understand?” Xuan Shuang asked.

“Yes, Master. If Xuan Min doesn’t actively seek trouble with me, I will definitely pretend not to see him and will not have any contact with him,” Zuo Wuyi promised.

“Pretend not to see him?” Xuan Shuang raised an eyebrow, immediately spotting the flaw in Zuo Wuyi’s words. “If he doesn’t actively look for you, you can just treat him as a normal Elder of the sect.”

“But Master, what should I do when I encounter Martial Uncle Xuan Min then? Should I greet him?” Zuo Wuyi asked, tilting her head. “If I initiate a conversation with him, he might think again that he has attracted me. After all, Martial Uncle Xuan Min really doesn’t have…”

Zuo Wuyi did not speak the latter half of the sentence, but she knew her Master understood her meaning.

Sure enough, Xuan Shuang fell silent for a moment after hearing Zuo Wuyi’s words. “Fine, suit yourself, but you must remember to maintain proper boundaries. Do not deliberately provoke Xuan Min when I am not around.”

Xuan Shuang was actually a little worried, as Xuan Min had genuinely tried to strike just now. If her second disciple hadn’t been prepared and brought Zuo Wuyi directly to her side, both of them might have been injured.

“Understood, Master. I will stick close to Senior Sister from now on. If we can’t win, we can still run away,” Zuo Wuyi promised.

Xuan Shuang shook her head with a smile and did not continue to correct Zuo Wuyi’s choice of words. Instead, she shifted her attention to the injured cultivators, continuing to help them heal.

The Beast Tide could be resolved by killing the demonic beasts, but the controlled cultivators could not be dealt with by killing them.

“Senior, I have already invited all the famous medical cultivators in the city, but none of them have a solution for these cultivators.” Chu Ting’s expression was somewhat defeated. “If a solution cannot be found for a long time, the cultivators’ sanity will be slowly eroded, and then…”

Chu Ting could not bear to say the rest. There were over six hundred cultivators whose divine senses had been invaded. Some were due to the Gold Scale Mine, but more were directly invaded en masse by internal traitors using demonic energy on their Sea of Consciousness.

“How long can they maintain their sanity at most?” Xuan Shuang asked. “I will immediately send a message back and ask the elders of the Pill Pavilion to come and take a look.”

The City Lord pursed his lips. “For cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage, at most one month. Those at the Golden Core and Nascent Soul stages can last longer, but only up to about four months. Furthermore, the later the treatment, the greater the damage to the cultivator himself.”

Xuan Shuang nodded, her expression becoming solemn. “Junior Brother Xuan Min, I recall you had some research into the Sea of Consciousness. Did you notice anything?”

Hearing his name mentioned by Xuan Shuang, Xuan Min slowly put down his teacup. “I have merely heard a little.”

“Senior, have you heard of similar symptoms? Is there any way to resolve it?” Chu Ting asked anxiously.

A faint smile curled on Xuan Min’s lips. “To put it simply, the reason they are this way is that demonic energy has entered their Sea of Consciousness. All we need to do is drive the demonic energy out.”

“Theoretically, that is correct, but those medical cultivators cannot manage to eliminate the demonic energy without damaging the cultivator’s Sea of Consciousness,” Chu Ting explained. The medical cultivators had exhausted every preliminary measure they could think of.

“That depends on the City Lord’s decision,” Xuan Min’s face was devoid of excess emotion. It was unclear if he was being adequately rational, or if he simply didn’t care about the lives of these hundreds of cultivators.

“Since these cultivators have already been invaded by demonic energy, the City Lord could very well select a batch with the lowest will to survive and use them as vessels to draw out the demonic energy from the Sea of Consciousness of the others.”

As Xuan Min said this, there were subtle changes in his facial expression. He showed no trace of pity or sympathy, but rather an air of leisurely amusement, as if watching a spectacle.

“I am afraid that would be improper…” The City Lord’s mind was completely preoccupied with contemplating Xuan Min’s words, so he did not notice the subtle change in his expression.

Seeing the City Lord hesitate, Xuan Min glanced at Xuan Shuang and then offered a small suggestion. “City Lord, if you feel distressed, you can also use some criminals to replace them. Surely there are death row inmates who have committed grave mistakes in the city?”

Use death row inmates as substitutes? Upon hearing this method, although Chu Ting felt it was not very humanitarian, compared to sacrificing cultivators, perhaps sacrificing some death row inmates who were already due to die seemed more appropriate?

“City Lord, how many death row inmates are there in the city? How many of them have cultivation?” Xuan Shuang asked. She was not very fond of Xuan Min’s proposal.

“Ordinary people and low-level cultivators are about fifty-fifty, totaling about a hundred people,” Chu Ting said.

She suddenly recalled that most of the cultivators who had committed heinous crimes were executed by her on the spot. Under such circumstances, those imprisoned were nominally death row inmates, but strictly speaking, they were only on suspended death sentences. They could be released if they were willing to atone for their sins.

“It suddenly occurs to me that demonic energy seems to prefer parasitic life in the Sea of Consciousness of high-level cultivators,” Xuan Min said, revealing an expression of sudden realization. “If Senior Sister were to take action, you might be able to save one or two people to the best of your ability.”

“Given Senior Sister’s cultivation, even if your Sea of Consciousness were invaded by demonic energy, you could expel it with some time, couldn’t you?” Xuan Min asked, the curve of his mouth widening slightly.

“No, this matter is highly inappropriate,” Chu Ting immediately refuted Xuan Min’s words. “If those cultivators can’t hold on, I will ensure their families are properly appeased.”

How could they allow a senior to absorb demonic energy? Although her words were inhumanitarian, in Chu Ting’s view, Xuan Shuang’s existence held more value than these six hundred cultivators.

“Does the City Lord not want to save them?” Xuan Min asked, then added, after thinking for a moment, “If both Senior Sister and I act, it might not be a problem to save five or six Golden Core stage cultivators each.”

“Moreover, given our cultivation, expelling the demonic energy would only take about ten days or so. If we act quickly, we might be able to save nearly half of the people,” Xuan Min said, looking towards Xuan Shuang.

This time, he included himself. Given Xuan Shuang’s personality, she would likely take on this task.

“City Lord, the Sea of Consciousness of a Soul Transformation stage cultivator is not so easily invaded. Perhaps we can try,” Sure enough, Xuan Shuang hesitated but still spoke. Since she was willing to offer medicinal pills to save those cultivators, she was naturally willing to expend some spiritual energy to save people to the best of her ability.

“I appreciate the kindness of both Seniors, but this matter of demonic energy is too dangerous. This junior cannot allow either of you to take risks,” Although Chu Ting was reluctant to see those cultivators perish, she knew she absolutely could not set this precedent.

Regardless of whether absorbing demonic energy would affect them, once she did this, it would be equivalent to sending a signal: that high-level cultivators should sacrifice themselves to save low-level cultivators who have been corrupted by evil.

The elders of the Dao Seeking Sect might be benevolent and willing to do this, but the majority of high-level cultivators would not be. Just like herself, unless they were close relatives or friends, she would not be willing to sacrifice herself to save unrelated people.

Whether one says Chu Ting was considering the bigger picture or acting out of self-interest, she was absolutely against this matter. Otherwise, once this news spread, it would place Xuan Shuang and Xuan Min on the hot seat.

“The City Lord does not agree? Then it seems this matter must be put aside for now,” Xuan Min said, his tone carrying a slight regret. It seemed the City Lord’s mind was quite clear.

“Senior Sister, I can’t think of any other method either. I will have to ask Senior Sister to send a message back to the sect, hoping that the elders of the Pill Pavilion in the sect will have a solution,” Xuan Min said.

Having achieved his goal, Xuan Min did not linger in the City Lord’s residence and left directly.

Xuan Shuang’s movements were a little slower than Xuan Min’s. She only left with a grave expression after asking the City Lord about the details of the cultivators’ condition.

“Master seems to have been quite unhappy ever since returning from the City Lord’s residence,” Yun He propped herself on the table, speaking while looking at Yun Yu. “Senior Sister, do you know why?”

Yun Yu pursed her lips. “If I’m not mistaken, it should be related to those cultivators who have lost their sanity.”

When subduing those cultivators, Yun Yu acted with Xuan Shuang. During the process, Yun Yu had also faintly perceived some of the situation.

“Xuan Min went to the City Lord’s residence with Master, but when he left, Xuan Min was earlier and seemed to be in decent spirits,” Mo Xiao added. When there was no urgent business, she would occasionally pay attention to Xuan Min’s movements.

“Could Master’s unhappiness be related to Martial Uncle Xuan Min?” Yun He followed this line of thought. “Could Martial Uncle Xuan Min have secretly retaliated against Master?”

Upon hearing this, Yun Yu’s heart stirred. Simply in terms of cultivation, Xuan Min was definitely no match for her Master. In this situation, for Xuan Min to be able to disgust Master, it could only be through…

“I’ll go to Master’s place and ask about the situation. You two keep an eye on Xuan Min’s movements for me.” Yun Yu had a guess and could no longer sit still.

Yun Yu was very quick. After rushing to Xuan Shuang’s room, she knocked on the door without overthinking. “Master, it’s me.”

After a while, Xuan Shuang’s voice came from the room. “Come in.”

Seeing her eldest disciple looking slightly out of breath, Xuan Shuang suppressed her negative emotions and looked at her with a faint smile. “What’s wrong? Has something gone wrong somewhere?”

Yun Yu shook her head. She had prepared her thoughts before coming, but upon seeing the faint smile on Xuan Shuang’s face, she did not know what to say.

Master was always like this, bearing everything alone and never showing any hint of trouble in front of her.