Marry First, Love Later With The White Cat Princess - Chapter 106

The tree spirit’s teleportation array formed quickly, the thick scent of wood swirling around the noses of the two women.

Having received Liu Fenyun’s assurance, Lian Yi relaxed slightly. Seeing the array begin to activate, she even felt in the mood to tease the tree spirit. “Is your Valley Master easy to get along with?”

“Easy! Very easy to get along with!” Fearing another scolding from the Valley Master, the tree spirit hurried to say something nice.

However, Lian Yi could not hear its voice. She only saw the branches shaking rapidly and purposefully said, “Is that true? You aren’t being sincere enough, a distinguished guest from the Upper Realm will be unhappy if they hear that.”

The tree spirit suddenly found itself in a dilemma. Telling the truth would offend the Valley Master, telling a lie would offend the guest from the Upper Realm. Its hesitation caused even the speed of the teleportation array to slow down.

Watching the kitty’s relentless teasing, Liu Fenyun didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Alright, don’t worry. We’ll know once we meet them.”

Seeing that she had no intention of pressing further, the tree spirit quickly activated the array. The two saw a flash of green light before their eyes, and in the next instant, a wave of dizziness hit them.

Liu Fenyun instinctively pulled the cat closer, projecting her spiritual sense onto the system map and staring at their glowing dots, instructing the system to record the movement route.

Even though she possessed a detailed map of the entire Forbidden Land, she still had to be cautious. If the Valley Master was difficult to deal with and possessed high cultivation, it would be disastrous if they were imprisoned.

As if confirming Lian Yi’s guess about “not being allowed to pick herbs,” Liu Fenyun discovered they were indeed moving further away from the growth area of the Sorrowless Grass. At that moment, the system zoomed in on the map and circled an irregular area: [Host, this is the range of the Valley Master’s demonic energy control.]

“The Valley Master is actually a Demon?” Liu Fenyun wasn’t very surprised. After all, this Forbidden Land was a remnant of the ancient Demon Race; it made sense for the guardian to be a Demon.

In this mortal realm, “Demon” did not refer to one who had fallen into obsession, but rather a long-lived race born at the dawn of the world that used the world’s turbid “Demonic Qi” for cultivation. When a Demon died, their soul dissipated and did not enter reincarnation, but as long as they remained alive, they could live as long as Heaven and Earth.

One of Liu Fenyun’s friends was a Demon, so she held no prejudice against the race. However, she remained cautious, instructing the system to plan an escape route first. When the dizziness subsided, she looked down at Lian Yi, who was leaning in her arms.

Lian Yi’s eyes were tightly shut, looking quite uncomfortable. Liu Fenyun gently stroked her snowy hair, hearing the kitty let out a low whimper, and hurried to soothe her. “We’re almost there, don’t be afraid.”

“I’m not afraid.” Lian Yi rubbed against her. “It’s just the shaking… it made me dizzy. This teleportation array is far too unstable.”

They were soon delivered to the mouth of a mountain cave. The surrounding vines quickly burrowed into the ground, disappearing as if fleeing. When Lian Yi called out to the tree spirit again, there was no movement from the branches.

“It seems very afraid of the Valley Master,” Lian Yi whispered. “It seems this Valley Master has quite a lot of deterrent power.”

Hand in hand, the two entered the cave. The interior was cold, yet it didn’t feel eerie. Occasionally, they could feel water dripping from the ceiling. As they advanced, balls of fire automatically lit up on the walls to light their way.

“The Valley Master should be a Demon. If she releases Demonic Qi, release your Lightning Qi to protect yourself,” Liu Fenyun instructed via telepathy. “Demonic Qi is corrosive, you must not touch it accidentally!”

Lian Yi nodded. She held onto Liu Fenyun with one hand and placed the other in her pocket, gripping the Five Thunder Token, already making her plans.

If the Valley Master dared to do anything to Ah Yun, she would kill the Valley Master.

However, the cave was very quiet. Even though Lian Yi was on high alert, she didn’t feel much sense of crisis, the opponent showed no hostility, nor did they release Demonic Qi within their range of control to make things difficult for them.

Before reaching the depths of the cave, Liu Fenyun had tried to probe the Valley Master. Unfortunately, the Valley Master was surrounded by dense Demonic Qi, and her spiritual sense couldn’t get close.

Upon meeting the Valley Master, Liu Fenyun found that the woman had withdrawn her Demonic Qi and was sitting alone on a stone bed. Her status in the system had changed from “Unknown” to “Friendly,” allowing Liu Fenyun to breathe a sigh of relief.

The Valley Master wore a robe as red as fire. The fabric was heavy, wrapping her up tightly. Her collar was lined with a neck protecting fur, and her hands were gloved, not even a finger was exposed. Looking at her like this, she truly gave off the feeling of an invalid.

Out of habit, Liu Fenyun instructed the system to scan the stone bed. Hearing the system report that it was a “Warm Stone Bed” specifically for patients, she relaxed further.

What she feared least was facing an actual patient.

Seeing them stand still, the Valley Master spoke: “I am Mu Qingzhong. Greetings, Great Divine Healer.”

She remained seated. As soon as she finished speaking, Liu Fenyun and Lian Yi heard the sound of stones rising from the earth. Looking down, they saw two ordinary looking stone stools. Upon sitting, they could feel warmth, they were made of the same material as the Warm Stone Bed.

As soon as Lian Yi sat down, she couldn’t help but ask, “The disciples of the Qingmu Immortal Mountain all have the surname ‘Zhong,’ and your name contains the character ‘Zhong’ as well. Could it be that you have some connection with the Founding Ancestor of Qingmu?”

She asked casually, but Mu Qingzhong’s expression changed instantly. She said sarcastically, “That man actually used ‘Zhong’ as the surname for his disciples? To remember me in such a way… then why did he wound me until I was beyond cure and trap me in this ancient ruin!”

“So, your injuries were caused by that Founding Ancestor?” Liu Fenyun frowned. “How many years has it been? Where are the injuries? What are the symptoms? Will you allow me to use my spiritual sense to examine your body?”

Mu Qingzhong restrained her mocking expression and said coolly, “I shall trouble the Great One to examine me directly. It has been a long time. I do not wish to recall the past.”

Liu Fenyun was about to step forward when Lian Yi suddenly pulled her back.

“A God cannot directly come into contact with the inhabitants of the Mortal Realm.” Lian Yi took a step forward, blocking the two of them. Her deep blue eyes held a touch of coldness. After speaking, she turned to Liu Fenyun. “I am the Great One’s Demon Attendant. I volunteer to act as the medium for the examination. Please, use my spiritual sense.”

Liu Fenyun felt the kitty’s jealousy flaring up again, but she felt Lian Yi’s caution was justified, so she nodded in agreement.

Lian Yi immediately broke into a smile. When she turned back to Mu Qingzhong, her expression became indifferent again as she said plainly, “Let us begin.”

Liu Fenyun placed her hand on Lian Yi’s back, closed her eyes, and projected her spiritual sense.

Lian Yi only felt a wisp of coolness slowly enter her sea of consciousness. It was very careful, staying for a brief moment before wrapping around her own spiritual sense and leaving.

In the next instant, a cloud of black mist surged before them, followed by countless red “threads” some whole, some broken in half. Before she could clearly see what the threads were, the red threads she had just passed through were replaced by large patches of dark red. This time she could see the general outline and guessed that Liu Fenyun was examining Mu Qingzhong’s internal organs.

The thump-thump of a heartbeat entered her ears, as if nervous, or perhaps suppressing something. For a moment, Lian Yi couldn’t tell if it was her own heartbeat, Liu Fenyun’s, or Mu Qingzhong’s.

“Her injuries are indeed difficult to handle.” Liu Fenyun’s voice suddenly rang in her ear. “Every wound was nearly fatal. If you say the person who did it was heartless, yet they left a glimmer of life in every injury; if you say they held back, the severity of the wounds suggests otherwise.”

“You can see all that?” Lian Yi was quite surprised. “Just now, when you were leading me, everything was just a blur.”

“This is likely my ability,” Liu Fenyun laughed. If she weren’t using her spiritual sense for the exam, she would have surely rubbed the cat’s ears. “This is my job. You just need to relax and cooperate with me. You don’t need to worry about not being able to see things clearly.”

After hearing that the Valley Master had suffered such heavy injuries, Lian Yi’s hostility faded significantly. She obediently relaxed. Seeing the scene before her change again, she asked, “Then how do we treat her? You should have a way to heal her, right?”

“It can be treated, but I need to see if the Forbidden Land has the herbs I need,” Liu Fenyun said. “If not, it will be difficult. I might have to look for substitutes in the herb garden. But as you know, the efficacy of substitutes isn’t as good.”

She was currently fully invested in the examination. Since her spiritual sense was away from her body, she couldn’t contact the system. She would have to wait until the examination ended to look for information on herb locations in the system database.

Lian Yi no longer felt her initial hostility toward Mu Qingzhong and even helped brainstorm: “I’m just afraid the Valley Master also has a heart sickness. Look at how much she cared about the random thing I mentioned. Her conflict with the Founding Ancestor must be huge. Can we go into her sea of consciousness to take a look?”

Liu Fenyun immediately refused: “I cannot, unless she herself is willing.”

“Then let’s ask her,” Lian Yi smiled. “Since we’re doing an exam, we should check both body and mind. I feel like this small place can’t hold the Valley Master back. Even if she’s injured, the spiritual energy in the outside world has waned, and the level of cultivators isn’t what it used to be. She could dominate if she went out. What if she really just refuses to leave because of a mental knot?”

Mu Qingzhong sat with her eyes closed peacefully. Naturally, she couldn’t hear the discussion between the two on the spiritual level, nor did she harbor much hope for this examination.

She knew who had caused her injuries. It had been so many years that the person had likely either ascended or died during a lightning tribulation. Even if she wanted to go out and demand an explanation, it would ultimately be meaningless.

Upon hearing Liu Fenyun’s request, Mu Qingzhong agreed without a second thought.

Being able to come into contact with a God from the Upper Realm was a goal that every cultivator longed for but could never achieve, she was no exception. Regardless of whether the Great Healer’s results were good or bad, or whether she treated her or not, it didn’t matter.

Having received her permission, Liu Fenyun brought Lian Yi’s spiritual sense into Mu Qingzhong’s sea of consciousness together with her own.

Lian Yi was stunned as soon as she entered. The sea of consciousness is the mental world of a cultivator, which can change into different scenes based on the cultivator’s state of mind. And Mu Qingzhong’s sea of consciousness… was a purgatory.

Constant slaughter, frequent scenes of splashing blood, and even the pungent smell of blood could be perceived. This made Lian Yi feel extremely uncomfortable just standing there watching.

“…Although I’ve heard that the Demon Race cultivates with turbid energy, I didn’t expect a Demon’s mental world to be this terrible.” Lian Yi looked at the purgatory with pity, then turned to Liu Fenyun and took her hand.

They were currently in the state of spiritual bodies, standing within Mu Qingzhong’s consciousness space, able to touch each other.

“Let’s look for the light orbs that record memories first.” Liu Fenyun looked around. After some effort, she finally discovered a dim orb of light floating slowly. She quickly pulled Lian Yi and ran toward it.