Xuan Tian looked at Elder Mo. "How long until he's here?"
Elder Mo bowed. "This lowly Immortal apologizes, Shengzun, for not knowing the exact time. But usually, it takes about two to three days before he arrives."
Xuan Tian frowned. "That long? He's a Saint, isn't he? Surely he can get here faster than that."
Elder Mo hesitated. "Yes, Shengzun. Tie Yanfang is a Saint. But he is also arrogant. He believes he is among the top five strongest Saints in Wusheng Empire. He would never assume that someone could be a threat to him. He would likely think that a core has exploded, thus breaking his barrier. Since it has happened before, it wouldn't be hard for him to believe the same thing happened again."
Xuan Tian's expression remained unreadable. "Hmm, I see."
"Xuan Tian Xiong," Lei Wen called out. Xuan Tian turned to him, seeing Lei Wen standing in front of the severely injured Elder Feng. "What do you want to do with him?"
Gu Tianzhu's gaze also fell on Elder Feng, hesitation flickering in his eyes. "Is that… Feng Hailin?"
Elder Mo answered, "Yes, Xianren. You are correct."
Gu Tianzhu's expression darkened. "What happened to him?"
Elder Mo remained silent, his gaze shifting toward Xuan Tian—a silent answer in itself.
Gu Tianzhu swallowed hard. Good thing I didn't attack him. Even if I am four stages higher than Feng Hailin, I couldn't injure him like that without taking injuries myself.
"Is he going to survive?" Xuan Tian asked.
"Not without treatment," Lei Wen answered.
"Treat him last. If he is still alive by then, it's his fate," Xuan Tian said without a shred of mercy.
Lei Wen chuckled. "Okay."
Gu Tianzhu looked at Xuan Tian. "Shengzun, I apologize, but may I ask which sect you belong to?"
Xuan Tian responded flatly, "We do not belong to any sect. We are just a third party that heard the same rumor."
Gu Tianzhu didn't push further. It was clear that Xuan Tian didn't want to divulge his identity, which wasn't uncommon in Wusheng Empire. Usually, those who claimed to have no affiliation were tied to the Empire.
"You and your colleagues are very kind," Gu Tianzhu said, saluting. "Would you mind if we help the doctors?"
"Of course not, please." Xuan Tian understood that they wanted to verify the victims themselves. It was natural that they wouldn't trust Xuan Tian and his group so easily.
Xu Yun entered the chamber and hesitated upon seeing two additional people before approaching Xuan Tian.
Xuan Tian immediately became alert. "Is she okay?"
Xu Yun remained calm. "Yes, she's okay. She's sleeping. I just wanted to get some food for her. She hasn't had anything since she left the inn."
Xuan Tian relaxed slightly. "Yeah, I forgot that she needs to eat."
Xu Yun patted Xuan Tian's arm. "Don't worry. We all did. A lot has been going on. I remembered because I heard her stomach rumbling."
Eager to earn Xuan Tian's good graces—and terrified of ending up like Elder Feng—Elder Mo immediately volunteered. "Shengzun, this lowly Immortal can help gather food. This lowly Immortal will hunt meat for Miss."
Xu Yun was visibly uncomfortable at the thought of Elder Mo accompanying her. She wanted to refuse, but she also wanted Ling Yu to have some meat. Xu Yun knew she wasn't skilled at hunting.
Chen Zhaoyun, who was nearby and overheard the conversation, asked his Shizun for permission to join. Gu Tianzhu hesitated before agreeing. He was wary that Mo Chaoren might try something, but he also understood his disciple's intent. Chen Zhaoyun still didn't fully trust their new allies.
Xuan Tian hesitated for a moment before agreeing, but not without issuing a warning to Elder Mo. The result was immediate—Elder Mo fell to his knees, his forehead touching the ground so forcefully that it was starting to turn red. "Shengzun! This lowly Immortal swears on his life that this lowly Immortal will not betray Shengzun in any way!"
His fear was justified. He had seen how Xu Yun casually patted Xuan Tian's arm. If anything happened to Xu Yun, even if it wasn't directly his fault, there would be no escaping Xuan Tian's wrath. No, Elder Mo was no fool. He would never do anything that would jeopardize his chance of survival.
Xuan Tian saw this too. That was why he agreed to let Elder Mo accompany Xu Yun. And it didn't matter to him if Chen Zhaoyun followed. If Chen Zhaoyun made any move against Xu Yun, Elder Mo would die protecting her.
The three of them left the cavern to hunt for food. Lin Qian said she would prepare the kitchen before the hunting team returned and wanted to check on Ling Yu before that.
Zhao Zhi and Lei Wen were nearly finished checking on the victims and warriors. They were in awe at how the warriors seemed to have sustained no injuries, as if they had voluntarily fallen into a deep sleep. The only person severely injured was Elder Feng, and they agreed with Xuan Tian—if he still survived, it was his fate.
Gu Tianzhu shared their awe. He had never seen anything like it. Even his Shixiong, the head of Ziyu Sect, Mo Xuanyuan Shengzun, couldn't do it as flawlessly as Xuan Tian. A chill crept into Gu Tianzhu's bones. How strong is this Xuan Tian Shengzun? Don't tell me… he's one of the Saints of Wusheng Empire?! One of the Ancestors?!
Gu Tianzhu's gaze flickered toward Xuan Tian. He doesn't look like he's over 500 years old! Gu Tianzhu shuddered. Better stop thinking like that. But in his heart, Gu Tianzhu had already labeled Xuan Tian as one of the Saints of Wusheng Empire.
Gu Tianzhu saw no signs of harvested cores. Every victim still had their cores intact, and the doctors made no attempt to harvest them either. Gu Tianzhu slowly began to believe that Xuan Tian and the doctors were truly here to help.
He turned toward Lei Wen. "Excuse me, doctor. Do you have any method to wake the victims from their hypnotic state?"
Lei Wen lifted his head and shook it. "Unfortunately, no. We can only wake them if we force them with spirit energy. And the amount of spirit energy needed to do that… let's just say, waking up this many people would take a few days. Unless…"
Gu Tianzhu frowned. "Unless what, doctor?"
"Unless Mo Chaoren has a method," Lei Wen said flatly.
Gu Tianzhu sighed. "I doubt it. They want to harvest the cores. There's no need to wake the victims for that."
Zhao Zhi interjected, "I still wonder what the secret ingredient is that makes the reddish-brown pill. I believe it's what caused the hypnotic state."
He continued, "This hypnosis has an extremely strong grip. Nothing I know of can do this, unless…"
Gu Tianzhu, for the second time, pressed, "Unless what, doctor?"
Zhao Zhi hesitated before answering. "Unless they used demon's blood. But that's absurd."
But deep inside, Zhao Zhi came to a realization. Demon's blood. His expression twisted. "Oh my lord! That's impossible! How could they procure it?!"
Zhao Zhi's exclamation caught Xuan Tian's attention, who had been meditating on the stone bed.
Xuan Tian opened his eyes. "What's wrong, Dr. Zhao? What's impossible?"
Zhao Zhi shook his head. "No, nothing. It's just—I was thinking about the secret ingredient. The reddish-brown pills have such a strong hypnotic grip. I was wondering what could be added to cause that. I can think of nothing else but demon's blood."
Xuan Tian stood up, jumped down from the stone bed, and strode toward Zhao Zhi. "Demon's blood? Are you sure?"
Zhao Zhi hesitated. "No, I'm not sure. Not one hundred percent."
Xuan Tian narrowed his eyes. "How sure are you?"
Zhao Zhi exhaled. "About eighty percent."
Lei Wen raised an eyebrow. "That's high, Zhao Xiong. And you've never said anything if you weren't certain."
Zhao Zhi nodded grimly. "I know. But if it's true, how did these humans get their hands on demon's blood? It's not like demons are roaming around."
"De… demon's blood?" Gu Tianzhu stammered.
Three sets of eyes turned toward him, then at each other. Zhao Zhi inwardly facepalmed. I forgot he's human!
Xuan Tian lightly tapped Gu Tianzhu on the shoulder. Gu Tianzhu's eyes instantly went blank.
"Forget what you heard about demon's blood. Only unknown secret ingredient."
Gu Tianzhu blinked twice, confusion clouding his face. He looked around, finding Xuan Tian and the two doctors staring at him.
"Are you alright, Xianren?" Lei Wen asked.
"I… I think I'm okay. I was just surprised to hear about the hypnosis. How you doctors don't have a method to wake them up," Gu Tianzhu murmured, a vague sense of something missing nagging at him, but no memory of what it was.
After tapping Gu Tianzhu, Xuan Tian placed his arm behind his back. His hand trembled slightly. He clenched his fist, hoping no one noticed.