Nonsense! How could my adopted son be a villain?

Yu Yun immediately felt guilty, her eyes reddening, and she was on the verge of tears: "It was my fault, I forgot that Master is still seriously injured and cannot abstain from grains." She bit her lip, holding back her sobs, and said, "But now the sect's money and food have all been looted, and those bandits are lingering at the foot of the mountain. My fellow disciples are also injured and unable to go down the mountain..."

She frowned and pondered for a long time, then finally seemed to have made up her mind and said with difficulty, "Fortunately, my mother left me a jade bracelet before she passed away. If I pawn it, I can get some money. I'll go find my senior brother now and ask him to find a way to sneak down the mountain. If we can get some food, Master can rest assured and recover from his injuries..."

Seeing that she was about to leave, Xu Lingguang quickly stood up and stopped her, sighing, "Since it's a keepsake left to you by your mother, how can you just pawn it away?"

He got up too quickly and was so hungry that he was dizzy and almost lost his balance. Fortunately, Yu Yun helped him up in time. Xu Lingguang smiled gratefully at her, took her arm and said, "It's not that bad yet. I see that the hills to the east are covered with vegetation. There should be plenty of food. Even if we don't have pheasants or rabbits, we can at least dig up some wild vegetables and fruits so we won't starve to death."

Knowing that he couldn't count on his three disciples, Xu Lingguang resignedly patted Yu Yun's arm and said, "Don't worry, let me change my clothes and then I'll go to the mountains to take a look."

He grew up in the mountains. As a child, he was very resilient and often went up and down the mountains and rivers. He knew how to eat wild vegetables and catch birds and rabbits. He always managed to find a way to get food.

On his way to Qingyu Sect yesterday, he had also paid attention to the surroundings. The mountains around Qingyu Sect were lush with vegetation, so even if one ate tree roots, one would not starve to death.

Xu Lingguang smiled reassuringly at Yu Yun, encouraged himself, and then took his clothes back to his bedroom. He planned to change into something more practical before finding some tools to go to the back mountain to get something to eat.

His current attire was not only dirty and tattered, but also too elaborate and heavy with its wide sleeves, making it inconvenient for him to move around.

Yu Yun watched him walk away before summoning the puppet, then took a handkerchief and wiped her hands with disgust: "Can you smell it? He smells rotten."

Song Nan slid down from the roof beam, his thick snake tail slapping the ground with a heavy thud: "He's more tolerant than I imagined."

Yu Yun paused, tilted her head and rolled her eyes, then said hesitantly, "I think... he seems a little different than before."

Actually, she wanted to say that Xu Lingguang didn't seem to be faking it, but given that Xu Lingguang was a cunning and scheming person who was good at putting on a show, and because she really disliked him, she only mentioned it vaguely.

Zhou Fuying didn't care about these trivial details. Holding her sword, she gestured to the side with her chin and said, "He went out."

Xu Lingguang changed into clean clothes, haphazardly tied her long hair into a high ponytail, and then went out with the tools she found in the kitchen.

He couldn't count on his three apprentices at all. After drinking a lot of water to temporarily soothe his rumbling stomach, he headed towards the lush, verdant hilltop he remembered with high spirits.

He had no cultivation and was unaware that as soon as he left the Qingyu Sect, several tails silently followed him.

These people came from different backgrounds, but without exception, they all came for the jade unicorn on Xu Lingguang's body.

They were initially skeptical when they received news that Xu Lingguang had been resurrected, given that they had personally confirmed that Xu Lingguang's body had been left exposed at the Qingyu Sect for a day and a night after his death. The reason they lingered outside the Qingyu Sect was that they suspected the Jade Unicorn's Toe had fallen into the hands of Xu Lingguang's three young disciples. However, although the three were young, their techniques were extremely unorthodox and not as easy to deal with as Xu Lingguang, which was why they hadn't acted rashly.

The informants left behind reported that Xu Lingguang had come back to life. They immediately thought of the missing Yu Linzhi and, in their haste, came to investigate in person.

Seeing the lively and energetic Xu Lingguang in person finally put their wavering minds at ease.

—Regardless, let's capture Xu Lingguang alive first.

Once the person is captured, there are ways to slowly interrogate them to find out the whereabouts of the Jade Unicorn Toe.

Several auras clashed and surged in the shadows, with the first to make a move being the evil spirit child from the Senluoyu.

He had lived for over 1,800 years, but remained stuck at the Divine Harmony Realm without making any progress. Seeing that his lifespan was about to end, he had no choice but to personally take action to seize the Jade Unicorn's Toe.

The evil spirit's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and a pair of copper hooks exuding a bloody aura reached for Xu Lingguang's neck. The ends of the iron hooks were sharp and covered with barbs and blood-draining grooves. Once hooked, even if one managed to break free, he would be half-dead if he didn't die.

Xu Lingguang was carrying a bag and bending down to pick goat milk fruit.

He wasn't too unlucky; while digging for wild vegetables, he found a patch of goat's milk fruit. This kind of wild fruit also grows in the mountains of his hometown. The red fruit is sweet and sour, tastes good, and can fill his stomach.

He picked and ate as he went, finally filling his empty stomach. Just as he was full of energy and preparing to continue searching for pheasants and rabbits deeper into the mountains, he suddenly felt a strong pang of fear. His body instinctively rolled to the side, and before he could even react to what was happening, he saw a rusty red iron hook smash into the tree in front of him, piercing right through the old tree that was thicker than his waist.

Xu Lingguang stared blankly at the large hole in the tree trunk for a second before realizing that it must be the original owner's enemies coming after him. He jumped up like a startled rabbit and scrambled away into the depths of the dense forest.

When the evil spirit's first attack failed, the copper hook flew out again.

Seeing this, the others also unleashed their magical weapons and gave chase.

Xu Lingguang only heard the sound of air being cut behind him. He didn't dare to look back. He just gritted his teeth and ran desperately into the dense forest. He was so focused on escaping that he didn't realize that he was getting faster and faster, and his feet were almost touching the ground.

The three people who had been hiding in the shadows watching the fight saw this scene and revealed expressions of "I knew it."

Song Nan coiled his massive python body around a towering tree, its head held high as it looked at the battle in the distance. He sneered, "It was half-dead before, but now it's running fast."

Yu Yun frowned: "His internal organs are shattered and his meridians are reversed, so he shouldn't be able to mobilize spiritual power."

Zhou Fuying shrugged: "Maybe it's the effect of the Jade Unicorn Toe? Shall we follow it?"

"Go and check, don't let those old fogies beat us to it."

With a flick of its snake tail, Song Nan's massive body slid rapidly through the soft, decaying leaves, taking the lead in pursuit.

*

Xu Lingguang felt his heart pounding more and more violently, the huge heartbeat echoing in his ears, as if someone was pounding a drum in his ear. The loud noise made him dizzy and his throat tasted bloody.

But he didn't dare to stop.

Several times, sharp gusts of air swept past his face and sides; if he hadn't reacted quickly, he probably would have been riddled with holes.

Xu Lingguang thought about that appearance and felt his heart was about to jump out of his throat. He couldn't tell which way was which, so he could only run desperately towards the dense forest, praying that the dense forest behind him could help him block the pursuit.

For some reason, as I ran, the sounds of fighting behind me suddenly weakened.

Fearing it was a trap, he didn't dare stop. He ran a long way before cautiously turning back to confirm—those who were chasing him had indeed stopped. They stood strangely in an open space far away, watching him from a distance.

Xu Lingguang hesitated and stopped, panting heavily.

Seeing that those people weren't coming over, Xu Lingguang felt a little strange, but he was overwhelmed by the excitement of escaping. He gagged a few times, collapsed to the ground, and gave those people the middle finger.

Although Xie Lingzi and the others did not understand the meaning of this action, they could easily discern the provocation in his eyes.

Xie Lingzi stroked the copper hook in his hand and said cryptically, "You may proceed first."

The others, however, were not fooled. The Nine Swords Master of the Hidden Edge Sect sneered, "If you don't have the guts to set foot on Ailao Mountain, you might as well turn back and go home."

Xie Lingzi's expression changed slightly, but he remained calm and asked, "Nine Swords True Man is quite arrogant, but why won't you take a step ahead?"

Nine Swords Master glanced at him coldly, but didn't reply, his face showing a thoughtful expression.

The name Ailao Mountain is a taboo throughout the entire Shangyang continent, a presence even more terrifying and feared than the Land of No Return.

Legend has it that the ancient gods were incredibly powerful and constantly waged war against each other. In the past, Gonggong and Zhurong fought each other, and Gonggong knocked down Buzhou Mountain, the pillar supporting the Mountain and Sea Realm, causing the sky to collapse and the earth to sink, shattering and destroying the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Even thousands of years later, the memory of that catastrophe still sends shivers down people's spines.

It is said that the heavens were enraged and unleashed divine punishment, causing the ancient gods, who were incomparably powerful, to perish. Only a very few survived and remained trapped in the Ailao Mountains ever since.

Once, a powerful human being, curious about the ancient gods, gathered over a hundred cultivators to investigate the Ailao Mountains. However, in the blink of an eye, over a hundred corpses were thrown out by a tremendous force, raining down like corpses outside the Ailao Mountains.

The cultivators waiting outside didn't even get a glimpse of the person who made the move. In the blink of an eye, the other party slaughtered hundreds of human cultivators, leaving behind only the four words, "Those who trespass will die."

According to eyewitnesses, the aura emanating from the mountain was powerful and fierce, forcing all the cultivators present to prostrate themselves on the ground, unable to even lift their heads.

Since then, Mount Ailao has become a forbidden place that inspires fear and dread, and even cultivators passing through would have to take a detour.

Those present looked at each other, some frowning in thought, while others were considering leaving.

Their purpose in seizing the Jade Unicorn's Toe was to prolong their lives and extend their cultivation journey. However, by venturing into the Ailao Mountains for the Jade Unicorn's Toe, they would likely die even faster.

In the silent silence, some hesitated and left.

After deliberation, Xie Lingzi and Jiujian Zhenren, unable to bear abandoning the Jade Unicorn's Toe, mustered their strength and entered the Ailao Mountain area without prior arrangement, each unleashing their magical treasures to grab at Xu Lingguang—

Xu Lingguang didn't expect these people to chase after him again. He endured the soreness in his limbs, got up, and continued running forward.

Once that breath dissipated, it was difficult to gather it back. He ran a few steps before staggering and falling to the ground, rolling down the hillside.

Seeing this, Xie Lingzi and Jiujian Zhenren's momentum grew even stronger. While fighting, they each used their supernatural abilities to capture Xu Lingguang. Just as the two were locked in a fierce battle, an indescribable pressure suddenly swept down from the horizon.

By the time the two realized what was happening and tried to back away, they were already pinned to the ground, unable to move.

Xie Lingzi, being old, was so overwhelmed that he coughed up a mouthful of blood. He murmured in a hoarse voice, "The rumors... the rumors are true."

Nine Swords Master's situation was not much better. He was forced to crawl on the ground, feeling as if his internal organs were being repeatedly crushed by a tremendous force. If he hadn't gritted his teeth, he probably would have vomited blood.

Behind them, several cultivators who hesitated and did not set foot in the Ailao Mountain region looked up in horror at the sun overhead—the originally blazing sun was gradually swallowed by a huge shadow, and a giant beast they had never seen before looked down from the clouds, its golden-red vertical pupils cold and fierce, as if looking at ants.