88: Chapter 88 General Chirp

He lowered his head to glance at that pool of blood, then looked at the devastated courtyard—the floor tiles were shattered, plants scorched, traces of lightning strikes were everywhere, and the Spirit Medicine garden that had just been cleared not long ago had also been affected, with several Spirit Medicines lying askew.

He dared not linger.

He quickly cleaned up the battlefield, disposed of the pool of blood, and simply covered up the remaining traces of the lightning strikes—though it might not be useful, delaying for a moment was better than nothing.

After finishing all this, he flashed back into the house and shut the door tightly behind him.

He activated the Fuli Heaven-Concealing Record with all his might, concealing his own aura completely without leaving a trace.

"Jiu—" A thin cry came from the corner.

Yun Ming turned his head and saw Jiu Jiu poking its little head out from behind the cabinet, looking around. After confirming it was safe, it fluttered its little wings, flew over, landed on his shoulder, and rubbed its fluffy little head against his cheek.

"It's okay." Yun Ming gently rubbed it, "Fortunately, I let you hide first."

Jiu Jiu rubbed even harder, as if comforting him.

Yun Ming reached out again, shrouding Jiu Jiu with the aura of the Fuli Heaven-Concealing Record to ensure it was also completely concealed. Then, he sat cross-legged, adjusting his breath to recover while staying vigilant against potential follow-up enemies.

This sitting lasted the entire night.

Moonlight seeped in through the window cracks and then faded. The horizon turned fish-belly white, followed by the rising sun, and then the day began.

Nothing happened.

Yun Ming waited for the whole night, but did not wait for a second wave of attacks, nor did he wait for any questioning from the Sect. That man in black had just disappeared, as if he had never existed.

Only after confirming it was safe did he finally heave a sigh of relief.

With this relaxation, exhaustion surged over him like a tide.

It was not just the depletion of Spiritual Qi—those one thousand Purple Heaven Divine Thunder strikes had almost drained his Dantian; of the more than three thousand drops of spiritual liquid, less than one hundred remained now. What was even more terrifying was the consumption of Divine Sense. What was needed to activate the blood-melting eerie glow was not spiritual power, but Divine Sense. With his Foundation Establishment Late Stage Divine Sense, forcibly controlling a Grade 6 Low Grade poison needle was almost like overdrawing his life.

At this moment, his head was splitting with pain, and his eyelids felt as heavy as a thousand jun.

Yun Ming struggled to move to the side of the couch, unable to even maintain a meditative posture, and simply lay down.

"Can't stay up late, I'll sleep for a while..." he muttered.

Before he finished speaking, he had already fallen into a deep sleep.

Jiu Jiu squatted by his pillow, tilting its little head to look at his sleeping face, and let out a soft cry: "Jiu."

It was as if it were saying: Sleep without worry, I am here.

It jumped off the couch and began patrolling the room with a strutting gait.

From left to right, from right to left. It didn't let any corner go unchecked, and it pricked up its ears to listen to every slight movement. Although it was only the size of a palm, and its round little body wobbled as it walked, its little chest was puffed high, its expression serious, just like a loyal and devoted general.

When it got tired of walking, it would jump onto the couch and squat beside Yun Ming for a while. While squatting, it suddenly remembered something and began to dance again.

Left, right, front, back, its little claws lifted in turns, feathers fluttering.

When it danced, a faint green light would emerge on Yun Ming's body. The light was extremely shallow and faint, almost unnoticeable if one didn't look closely, but wherever it passed, the internal injuries within Yun Ming's body were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye. Those Meridians damaged by the palm force, those Divine Sense scorched by the backlash, were all recovering bit by bit under the nourishment of the green light.

After dancing, Jiu Jiu leaned over to check Yun Ming's face, confirmed that his complexion had improved, then gave a satisfied "Jiu" and continued its patrol.

When hungry, it would run into the courtyard and nibble on those Spiritual Plants that had been scorched by the lightning but were still growing tenaciously.

When thirsty, it would fly to the side of the spiritual spring and peck a few mouthfuls of water.

Then it would return to continue patrolling.

One day, two days, three days.

Jiu Jiu kept watch just like that, never leaving his side.

During this time, it took the time to tidy up the destroyed Spirit Medicine garden in the courtyard—straightening the fallen Spiritual Plants, pecking off the scorched leaves, and even imitating Yun Ming's manner by digging the soil with its claws to replant several Spiritual Plants that had been uprooted. Although they were buried crookedly, at least they survived.

It would also jump onto the couch at regular intervals to dance and heal Yun Ming's injuries.

Three days later.

Yun Ming opened his eyes.

What met his eyes was the familiar roof, the sunlight streaming in through the window cracks, and the faint fragrance of Spiritual Plants in the air.

He blinked, feeling a bit dazed.

Then he heard a cheerful "Jiu".

Looking down, Jiu Jiu was squatting by his pillow. Seeing him wake up, it hopped about happily, rubbing its little head against his face desperately.

Yun Ming was stunned for a moment, then immediately reached out to lift it up and place it in his palm.

"How long have I slept?"

"Jiu! Jiu! Jiu!"

Three days?

Yun Ming was taken aback.

He had actually slept for three days?

He hurriedly looked inside himself—the spiritual liquid in his Dantian had mostly recovered, his Meridians were unobstructed, and those internal injuries had vanished completely. Even his Divine Sense had returned to a Peak state, and was even slightly stronger than before.

Yun Ming was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected to recover so well. He looked at Jiu Jiu and asked: "Did you do this?"

This little guy was holding its head high, with an expression that said "Praise me quickly".

Yun Ming smiled and rubbed its head: "Amazing!"

Jiu Jiu narrowed its eyes in satisfaction and rubbed against his palm.

Yun Ming got up, walked to the window, and pushed it open.

Sunlight spilled in; the mess in the courtyard had been mostly cleared up. Although those few Spiritual Plants were a bit crooked, they were all alive. Jiu Jiu flew out of the house, landed by the Spirit Medicine garden, held its head high and chest out, and began patrolling again.

Watching its serious demeanor, a smile appeared on the corner of Yun Ming's mouth.

But he knew that this matter was not over.

Who had instructed that man in black? Perfected Lu? Or was it someone else? Why kill him? Was it to avenge that dual-blade Cultivator, or because he was blocking someone's path?

Yun Ming stood before the window, gazing at the distant Heaven Pillar Peak, his gaze slightly cold.

The more he thought about it, the more he couldn't swallow the anger in his heart.

A gentleman takes revenge, even ten years is not too late.

Yun Ming sneered.

He was not a gentleman.

Since he was not a gentleman, why wait ten years?

At nightfall, he changed into black clothes and activated the Fuli Heaven-Concealing Record to the extreme, his entire person seemingly merging into the night. Jiu Jiu was left in the Immortal Cave; the little guy was unhappy, rubbing against his hand wanting to follow, but was refused as he rubbed its head.

"Stay put," Yun Ming said, "You can't help with tonight's business."

Jiu Jiu let out a wronged cry, but still obediently squatted by the Spirit Medicine garden, watching him leave.

Yun Ming left the Immortal Cave and snuck all the way.

There was a layer of Restriction between the Outer Sect and the Inner Sect, which was the boundary distinguishing their identities. If it were an ordinary Foundation Establishment Disciple, they would not be able to pass through at all. But Yun Ming had the Fuli Heaven-Concealing Record; he suppressed his aura until it was barely perceptible, stuck to the edge of the Restriction, found a gap in the patrols, and slipped in silently.

The Inner Sect was completely different from the Outer Sect.

The Spiritual Qi was more than twice as dense, the seventy-two secondary Peaks were brightly lit, and sword lights shuttled back and forth from time to time. But Yun Ming had no heart to admire it; he had long since inquired about the location of Perfected Lu's Immortal Cave—it was on an independent mountain Peak in the southeast corner of the Inner Sect, named "Mingxia Peak".

He followed the mountain path all the way up, avoiding the occasionally passing Inner Sect Disciples, and arrived at the Peak before long.

The Peak was an open area, and an extremely vast Immortal Cave was strikingly in view.

Yun Ming hid in the shadows, looked up, and his mouth couldn't help but twitch.