Above his head, the great sun hung high, distant from the mortal world, making it appear even more intense and vast.
Below, there were continuous mountains, lush and verdant, with the subtle dampness of early spring.
Within these vast mountains, apart from the rugged rocks, Chu Weiyang stepped on nothing but soft and muddy soil.
Shedding his hemp robe, Chu Weiyang found a deep blue dao robe from somewhere and draped it over himself.
The robe was loose, even after Chu Weiyang wrapped it a few times.
But the young man felt relieved!
By discarding that hemp robe, it was as if he had shed the outer shell of past malevolent influences.
Around Chu Weiyang's waist hung a long sword of unknown origin.
The sword was likely made of ordinary iron, but Chu Weiyang tested it and found it to be extremely sharp.
There were no gemstones or gold-threaded patterns on the sword handle or scabbard, just a simple and plain appearance.
This sword was picked up by Chu Weiyang from a pile of rubble.
Different from the steward's long whip, the Demon-Sealing Cave was originally the residence of the Sword Sect, so it was only natural for the cultivators stationed there to use swords as their weapons.
With this sharp long sword, at least Chu Weiyang had a weapon to protect himself.
Furthermore, the young man carried a bundle the size of a baby, containing items mostly scavenged from the steward's room—
A set of spare clothes.
Several pieces of gold and silver for use in the mundane world.
Several scripture texts that seemed to have been passed down from the Qianyuan Sword Sect.
Lastly, Chu Weiyang carried the steward, who had already fainted again due to his severe injuries.
His body was already mangled under the crushing weight of the boulders, so Chu Weiyang could only carry him like this.
The vast Demon-Sealing Cave was affected by a battle, leaving only broken walls and rubble everywhere.
The precious metal and iron veins were torn apart by the rolling earth dragons, dispersing all the spiritual energy, turning them into abandoned mines.
Amidst the eerie malevolent atmosphere, devoid of human aura and ghostly presence.
As for the two powerful cultivators who used Dao sounds as thunder, Chu Weiyang was unaware of how their battle had concluded.
Who won? Unknown.
Who died? Unknown.
Fearful that the two might have simply fought for the thrill of it, deviating from their original purpose, or perhaps the Qianyuan Sword Sect received information and sent someone to clean up the aftermath at the Demon-Sealing Cave.
Therefore, Chu Weiyang only briefly searched the area, gathered some useful items, and then carried the steward in the basket, heading into the lush mountains to the south.
In the morning, he had heard the resounding Dao sounds, faintly, the cold voice of a woman seemed to come from the north.
It should be safer to flee in the opposite direction.
At noon, with the sun high in the sky and the mortal world seemingly closer, even the lush green trees could not stop the gradually intensifying heat wave.
Chu Weiyang felt drowsy along the way and was unsure how long he had been walking south.
Now, he placed the basket on the ground, panting heavily, which was not a behavior expected of a cultivator.
Even though he had been trapped in the Demon-Sealing Cave, this was not the behavior of a cultivator practicing the "Five Organs Nourishing Qi Technique."
But Chu Weiyang felt as if the meridians in his limbs and hundreds of bones, where the vigorous blood and Qi should flow, seemed to be blocked as if by thick mercury.
He was not a cultivator with a complete inheritance and profound experience.
It was just his intuition telling Chu Weiyang that his current state seemed to be related to the surging malevolent energy that had caused him to faint earlier.
Looking down at the somewhat muddy ground he stood on, under the scorching sun, after just a few breaths, Chu Weiyang was covered in cold sweat all over.
This kind of weakness and emptiness made Chu Weiyang uneasy.
He dared not continue forward, fearing that he might collapse and die in the wilderness.
Raising his hand to gently pat the basket, the young man spoke in a hoarse and heavy voice, "I will go find some food. With the earth dragons rolling, the mountains trembling, and the beasts fleeing in panic, I might be able to obtain it without much effort."
Saying that, Chu Weiyang slung the bundle on his back, drew out his long sword, chose a direction, and walked diagonally into the depths of the forest.
Half an hour later, finding a flat stone ground, Chu Weiyang started a fire, skewering some wild boar meat on branches and slowly roasting them over the flames.
Whether it was the aroma of the fat or the warmth of the fire, the steward in the basket beside him slowly regained consciousness.
No one spoke.
The steward sat blankly in the basket, his face numb with hollow eyes.
For Chu Weiyang, the steward's reaction was normal.
If necessary, he could even clearly describe the various changes the steward had already experienced deep in his heart and the mindset changes he would undergo next.
After all, it was just the torment of suffering, the purgatory condensed from pain.
Everyone who had been imprisoned in the Demon-Sealing Cave had experienced the same emotional journey as the steward, and those unlucky ones had to face the great terror of life and death even earlier.
Although they were currently in the same boat, Chu Weiyang still harbored deep resentment towards the steward.
Without looking any further, Chu Weiyang took the almost roasted wild boar meat, disregarding the scalding heat, and eagerly took a bite.
Such a luxurious meal was something he hadn't seen in many years.
The fat covered Chu Weiyang's mouth in an instant, followed by the rich meat flavor that spread over his taste buds, igniting a kind of satisfaction deep within Chu Weiyang's mind.
The scalding heat flowed down his throat, straight into his elixir field.
After half a month of guidance, almost subconsciously, while consuming the food, Chu Weiyang also activated the "Five Organs Nourishing Qi Technique."
However, immediately after, the young man furrowed his brows tightly.
The smooth feeling of the technique was gone.
Just the first step of "Dragon and Tiger Meeting," the process of lifting a strand of Qi from the elixir field and ascending it to the Vermilion Palace's heart chamber, seemed unusually obscure and difficult.
Of course, this kind of obscure and incomprehensible feeling was not unfamiliar.
During the condensation of malevolent energy, when the Qi was gradually eroded by the malevolent energy, it was this kind of painful feeling.
It felt as if with each movement of Qi, there were countless sharp blades cutting through the meridians bit by bit.
The Qi that should have nourished the whole body became the source of corrupting blood and causing pain.
But this feeling should only exist within the Ren and Du meridians.
The primordial Qi refined by the "Five Organs Nourishing Qi Technique" was consciously isolated by Chu Weiyang from the previous Qi.
Although the malevolent energy still intruded slightly, the impact was much milder.
However, at some point, all the Qi in his body had completely fused together, indistinguishable from each other, and further eroded by the malevolent energy.
At the moment when he lifted that strand of Qi, Chu Weiyang didn't even know if what he lifted from the elixir field was Qi or malevolent energy!
The intense pain made Chu Weiyang's face pale.
He coughed heavily, and with a distracted mind, the lifted Qi sank heavily into his elixir field.
It seemed that he was only one step away from the blockage of malevolent energy in his meridians!
At this moment, a strange laughter, like the rubbing of gold and stone, came from the basket beside him.
"Ha-ha-ha! The malevolent energy of an entire vein soared into the sky in an instant! The malevolent energy enters the body, eroding the origin!"
"You are close to death!"
"We are all going to die! Both you and I are going to die!"
"Ha-ha-ha!"
Many books are hard to find now, so cherish what you have.