It must be said that the orchid Qin Luo had mentioned had some magical effects. Although Ming Qi was feigning unconsciousness, he was still feeling somewhat groggy. Fortunately, the Supreme Mountain and Sea Map was already silently operating, its mysterious power beginning to protect Ming Qi's vital meridians, allowing him to remain lucid.
Qin Luo had already bent down and helped Ming Qi to his feet.
Where were they going?
Out of the corner of his eye, Ming Qi saw Qin Luo lead him to a room in the back.
Since he was feigning unconsciousness, Ming Qi didn't take a close look at the room's furnishings, but upon entering, he was struck by a faint fragrance.
It was a floral scent.
The room smelled of flowers?
Could it be?
Ming Qi's heart skipped a beat, not a sense of alarm, but rather a hint of self-satisfaction.
Could it be that this girl, impressed by his handsomeness, was planning to marry him?
Uh, I've strayed off topic.
Ming Qi immediately calmed down.
However, leaning on Qin Luo's shoulder, he found the soft, gentle feeling quite enjoyable.
Ming Qi couldn't help but marvel at the seemingly petite girl, yet she could carry a grown man like Ming Qi so effortlessly, unperturbed.
Squeak—
Ming Qi heard the door close.
After a few more steps, Qin Luo set him down.
Not sitting, but lying.
A very soft bed—truly a lifesaver for Ming Qi, who had been on the go for so long.
Hmm?
Wait.
What's going on?
Ming Qi was momentarily stunned when he felt something was wrong. What was going on?
Stunned and placed on the bed—this was something only a man would do to a woman. How could it happen to a woman with a man?
Was he going to be raped?
...
Ming Qi was a little uneasy. Although he desperately wanted to, he couldn't.
With Meng Ling in the ring, he couldn't do such a thing.
After all, he was a cultivator about to enter the Xiantian realm. He couldn't do such a thing with a mortal woman.
After a moment's thought, Ming Qi opened his eyes and sat up.
Before him, Qin Luo's fur shirt had opened, revealing skin brimming with youth and vitality. His alluring figure was exquisitely curvaceous and charming.
"Ah!"
Seeing Ming Qi suddenly sit up, Qin Luo's somewhat shy hands suddenly stopped, pressing them against his chest and his undergarment.
A blush spread across her face, her eyes filled with endless surprise, and she began to step back involuntarily.
How did he wake up?
At this moment, the girl's mind was filled with only this one question!
He's awake!
Qin Luo's heart was in turmoil. She wondered what this man would do when he woke up. Would he call her a slut or kill her outright? Or would he simply forcefully possess her?
She retreated in fear until there was no way back. She lowered her head shyly, her back pressed against the cool stone wall, not daring to glance at the man before her. Her cheeks flushed like freshly painted silk.
"What has happened to compel you to make such a choice?"
But the result was completely unexpected. The man before her neither cursed nor tried to kill her, nor did he make any move.
If there was one move, it was to stand up.
Ming Qi was silently observing the girl before him. He certainly wouldn't kill or curse for this; he just wanted a reasonable explanation.
The atmosphere in the room grew eerie and silent. After Ming Qi asked this question, Qin Luo remained silent for a long time.
Ming Qi wasn't anxious either; she simply waited quietly for her answer.
After all, this was an incredibly difficult decision for her.
Finally, after a long silence, Qin Luo said, "Go away. Don't come here again."
Ming Qi didn't leave, nor did she speak. Instead, she raised her right hand and flicked her index finger, sending a flame rising from its tip.
He did this because he saw a despair and fear for the future in Qin Luo's eyes—a genuine feeling that couldn't be deceived.
While some people could completely control such emotional outbursts, Ming Qi knew the girl before him was far from capable of such a feat.
As expected, a flick of light flashed across Qin Luo's eyes upon seeing this, but then it faded.
"Go away."
She tucked her fur shirt closer, somewhat dazed, and reached out to open the door.
Ming Qi remained motionless, flicking her finger, and the flame at her fingertip transformed into a streak of light, flying directly toward the stone wall beside her.
Chi!
The powerful crimson skyfire instantly blasted a finger-sized hole through the stone wall, passing directly through it.
"Why don't you tell me? Maybe I can help you."
Ming Qi simply sat back down on the bed.
Qin Luo was also stunned by Ming Qi's move. He stared at the small hole in the thick stone wall, revealing the light from outside, stunned for a long moment.
"Are you a cultivator?"
After a long silence, Qin Luo hesitantly uttered the words.
Cultivators, whether acquired or innate, can be called cultivators, and most cultivators welcome the term.
"Yes."
Qin Luo finally calmed down and told Ming Qi a little-known story about this remote mountain village.
There were many small villages like Tianshui Village in this area, hundreds of miles in radius. Isolated from the outside world, they lived in poverty but also in peace. But just over two years ago, a strange phenomenon began to occur in the villages in this area.
Adult girls in the village began disappearing one after another. Initially, the villagers assumed they had been devoured by wild beasts while wandering the mountains, or fallen off cliffs and perished. However, as more and more girls vanished, their bodies finally began to be discovered.
Their bodies were dumped at the foot of a cliff called Broken Soul Cliff, about a hundred miles away.
The cliff towered into the clouds, impassable to mortals. The villagers were helpless, watching their daughters vanish and die helplessly.
After two years of nightmares, the villagers discovered a pattern: all the missing were virgins, while those who had previously had sex were found to be unharmed.
Qin Luo, fifteen years old, was the daughter of the Tianshui Village chief. Having just held her coming-of-age ceremony this year, she hadn't considered marriage yet, but this incident had become a constant nightmare for her.
There were young men of similar age in the village, but Qin Luo simply couldn't find any love for any of them.
All of this ultimately stemmed from a woman she had once accidentally encountered, a woman capable of flight and omnipotence. Thus, she imagined the man she admired must be a remarkable man like her.
That mysterious woman had once inadvertently taught Qin Luo some mantras for body cultivation, which was why he was even more formidable than even the strongest hunter in the village.
"Five years ago?"
When Ming Qi heard Qin Luo mention his encounter with the woman five years ago, a wave of emotion suddenly crossed her mind. She then pulled out a scroll from her ring.
Unfolding the scroll, it depicted the mysterious woman in white who had frequently appeared in Ming Qi's dreams.
Five years ago, precisely five years ago, Ming Qi embarked on the path of a cultivator after a seemingly profound dream.
The idea that the person in her dream actually existed was absurd to begin with, and linking these two unrelated events felt even more far-fetched.
But Ming Qi still held onto a glimmer of hope and took out the scroll. However, when Ming Qi unfolded the scroll, Qin Luo's eyes widened visibly, his gaze fixed on the figure depicted for a long, unblinking moment.
"It's her! How did you get her portrait? Do you know her?"
Qin Luo's somewhat hurried voice was like a thunderclap, momentarily stunning Ming Qi.
It's true! It's truly true!
That woman in white really existed!
"Yes, we knew each other before."
Ming Qi replied vaguely, folded the scroll, and immediately changed the subject. Although his expression remained calm, a turbulent wave of emotion was already stirring within him, a wave that would not subside for a long time.
"You said the bodies of the missing girls looked completely devoid of blood, as pale as snow?"
Qin Luo was slightly disappointed to see Ming Qi disregard the mysterious woman. However, since the matter concerning the village nightmare directly endangered her life, she knew the difference between the important and the unimportant.
"Yes, that kind of death is very tragic..."
Qin Luo's tone suddenly grew mournful, his eyes dim. "I don't want to die. I saw your extraordinary presence today, so..."
"Okay, I understand. I'll personally visit the Soul-Breaking Cliff someday to see who this deity is."
After hearing the tragic deaths of the girls, Ming Qi came to a conclusion. It was clear that the girls had died from being drained of their essence, blood, and yin energy, completely severing their life force. It seemed that a demonic cultivator skilled in the art of collecting and replenishing essence must be hiding on the Soul-Breaking Cliff. His ability to stealthily abduct virgin girls from various villages proved to be quite formidable.
The demonic path is inherently one of extremes, and the ruthless and destructive method of collecting yin to replenish yang is incredibly effective. If the demonic cultivator's body was strong enough to quickly absorb the collected pure yin energy, his cultivation would progress at an astonishing rate.
After understanding the situation, Ming Qi settled down at Qin Luo's house.
Because of Qin Luo's initial reaction, he couldn't help but show a hint of shyness whenever he saw Ming Qi. However, Ming Qi, observing his expression, never mentioned the events of that day. So, while staying at Qin Luo's house, apart from daily meals, Ming Qi devoted himself entirely to cultivation.
He absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, transforming it into Ju Yuan, but he also carefully controlled the balance, avoiding any attempt to cross that threshold. He knew his chances were slim at the moment and needed to be fully prepared.
A month passed quietly in Tianshui Village, and Ming Qi had fully recovered to his peak form, even the backlash from the Five Elements Reversal Elixir had been neutralized.
Meng Ling, having suffered severe injuries in the battle of Azure Sky City, had fallen into a deep sleep after settling down.
Ming Qi knew in his heart that without any blood supply, Meng Ling would not be able to exert her full combat effectiveness, so this time he planned to make sufficient preparations before heading to the Cliff of Broken Souls to eliminate this scourge for the nearby villages.