Deep within the Otherworldly Demon Domain, the atmosphere here was much more oppressive than on the periphery. Even the sky was a darker color, and the roars of violent Demon Beasts echoed from time to time across the vast wilderness.
"Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Suddenly, two beams of light, one azure and one white, flashed past, bringing a touch of vitality to this world. As the two beams of light streaked by, the roars of beasts that had been sounding from time to time suddenly quieted down, as if in the presence of some unknown, great terror.
These two were Ling Qingzhu, who stood upon the Ancient Azure Sky Lotus, and Lin Xuan, who had been pulled along.
That day, after paying the price of serious injuries to completely obliterate and refine that Otherworldly Demon General, Lin Xuan had originally planned to separate from the Dao Sect team, find a place to heal, and then leave the Otherworldly Demon Domain on his own.
However, while Lin Xuan was healing alone, Ling Qingzhu did not leave. Instead, she had Ying Xiaoxiao help take the Taiqing Palace disciples away and stayed behind, saying that she would protect Lin Xuan. In the end, Lin Xuan was dragged along to this place.
"The place we are going to this time is called Taiqing Immortal Pool. That place is quite hidden. With your strength and deterrence as a Sword Saint, you don't have to worry about the covetousness of other adventurers."
Ling Qingzhu said softly, her ethereal voice carrying less of its usual coldness, but rather a hint of teasing. Her clear, cold eyes even held a hint of a smile as she stared at Lin Xuan.
Sword Saint, this title was truly earned with a Sword. Not to mention external enemies, Lin Xuan's own strength had an absolute deterrent effect on the experts of the entire Eastern Xuan Region.
This was the true value of the Eastern Xuan Region's Number One Expert.
"However, although we don't have to worry about other adventurers, there is one problem. The Taiqing Immortal Pool only appears once a month. I have calculated the time, and we will arrive there just in time, but we cannot delay."
The Taiqing Immortal Pool was originally prepared by Taiqing Palace for Ling Qingzhu. In her early years, when Ling Qingzhu was cultivating, she suffered some hidden injuries. Before, when she fought with Lin Xuan several times, she repeatedly suffered losses because of these hidden injuries.
However, later, with the deepening of her cultivation of the Supreme Induction Sutra, coupled with the power of the Ice Ancestor Symbol, the hidden injuries in Ling Qingzhu's body had now healed, so she naturally no longer needed it.
Now, Lin Xuan happened to be seriously injured from fighting the Otherworldly Demon General, so Ling Qingzhu brought Lin Xuan here.
In the end, Lin Xuan's existence was extremely important to their entire Eastern Xuan Region. As long as Lin Xuan was there, he could deter the Otherworldly Demons and provide great cohesion. This was something that no one else possessed, unless Huan Huan revealed her identity, but that was obviously impossible and not the best solution.
Therefore, healing the injuries in Lin Xuan's body as soon as possible, and even healing the hidden injuries left over from the previous battles, was an extremely important matter, a contribution to the Tianxuan Continent.
Of course, as for whether this idea was Ling Qingzhu's truest thought, or just to comfort herself, only Ling Qingzhu herself probably knew.
Because of Lin Xuan's deterrence, the two arrived at their destination in just half a day.
"We're almost there."
Ling Qingzhu pointed to a mountain range in front of them and said softly. Lin Xuan nodded when he heard this. This place was not only remote, but also had many Demon Beasts with considerable auras. In this Otherworldly Demon Domain, it was considered a dangerous place, and few people came here.
Of course, this kind of dangerous place was often easier to attract people, and those who came were generally adventurers with considerable strength, but these were nothing to Lin Xuan.
Although Lin Xuan and Ling Qingzhu were not afraid of these Demon Beasts that had been demonized, there was no need to cause trouble for themselves. Therefore, the two carefully advanced in the mountains. Before long, the dimness in front of them suddenly brightened.
The next moment, a valley appeared in front of the two. In that valley, Lin Xuan could clearly feel an extremely majestic and pure energy fluctuation.
Standing on the cliff wall of the valley, Lin Xuan looked into the depths of the valley, and saw a small pool of water shimmering with colorful light, which looked beautiful in this dim area.
"That is the Taiqing Immortal Pool."
Ling Qingzhu looked at the pool of colorful water, and a smile could not help but appear on her face. Even her eyes were dazed for a moment, shocked by the stunning beauty.
Lin Xuan nodded slightly when he heard this. In the environment of the Otherworldly Demon Domain, it was indeed worthy of being called an Immortal Pool to have such pure energy.
However, the next moment, Lin Xuan's brows furrowed imperceptibly, because he also sensed some other things in the depths of the pool. As for the Demon Beast guarding in front of the Taiqing Immortal Pool, Lin Xuan did not take it to heart.
"It is said that this Taiqing Immortal Pool is the place where an ancient top expert passed away. His bones are integrated with this land, and the energy in the bones isolates the erosion of the Demonic Qi in the Otherworldly Demon Domain, thus forming this Taiqing Immortal Pool."
Ling Qingzhu thought that Lin Xuan was curious about how there could be such a spiritual pool like the Taiqing Immortal Pool in a place like the Otherworldly Demon Domain, so she immediately explained.
Lin Xuan nodded slightly upon hearing this, offering no explanation. In truth, he wasn't very clear about the origins of the Taiqing Immortal Pool. However, after Ling Qingzhu's explanation, Lin Xuan could roughly guess what was at the bottom of the pool.
It had been mentioned before that cultivation wasn't just about the raw power; it was a comprehensive improvement, or rather, an evolution!
The stronger the cultivator, the more than just their strength improved. Their physical body, soul, and even their spirit would undergo an elevation.
It could be said that powerful cultivators were fundamentally different from ordinary people. Their physical bodies were stronger because they contained more immense energy, and their souls were more resilient, meaning they were harder to extinguish.
Therefore, often in the place where such powerful cultivators passed away, there would be remnants of their original soul or spirit. What was at the bottom of this pool should be a wisp of the ancient expert's remnant soul, and it should have been affected by the Otherworldly Demonic Qi from the Otherworldly Demon Domain, making it more aggressive.
After all, remnant souls were incomplete and easily eroded by the baleful aura of the world. Of course, some top experts, even their remnant souls, were very powerful, and ordinary evil Qi couldn't affect them. But Otherworldly Demonic Qi was no ordinary matter unless there was a divine object guarding the remnant soul. Otherwise, over time, it would be extremely easy to be eroded.
"Leave the guy below to me."
Ling Qingzhu's gaze turned to the front of the Taiqing Immortal Pool. On the black ground, a huge black strange snake was coiled. The dark scales were almost integrated with the earth. However, the cold light refracted by the six snake eyes on the three snake heads destroyed this camouflage, allowing Ling Qingzhu to notice its existence at first glance.
Although the Three-Headed Demon Snake had an extremely violent and not weak energy fluctuation, it was just a waste of effort for Ling Qingzhu.
However, compared to the Three-Headed Demon Snake in front of her, some opponents were more tricky.
"You two, after following for so long, it's time to show yourselves, isn't it?"
Lin Xuan suddenly spoke, but it didn't startle Ling Qingzhu, who was standing beside him. In fact, with Ling Qingzhu's strength, she had already noticed it. However, the two people behind them, although their strength was not as good as theirs, and their speed was not as fast, seemed to know the terrain here quite well. They had been following far behind, tracking their traces to catch up.
After hearing Lin Xuan's words, the faces of the two people who were secretly tracking them suddenly changed. Obviously, they didn't expect to be discovered. However, after the two looked at each other, they gritted their teeth and chose to continue hiding in the dark, betting that the other party was bluffing them.
However, the next moment, the two people hiding in the dark felt a sharp Sword Intent locking onto them, and their faces changed instantly.
These two people didn't actually know the identities of the two people, but from that Azure Lotus, they could guess Ling Qingzhu's identity. After all, the name of the Ancient Azure Sky Lotus was still very big.
As for the other person, the two brothers actually didn't have any clues, because Lin Xuan's aura was very restrained. If it wasn't because he was injured, which caused his aura to be unable to be completely controlled, even the two of them would have thought that only Ling Qingzhu had come here.
Of course, it wasn't completely without clues. In fact, Ling Qingzhu was the biggest clue. The person who could travel Together with Ling Qingzhu of Taiqing Palace was either Ying Xiaoxiao, the Eldest Senior Sister of Dao Sect, or the Sword Saint of Dao Sect. The probability of other people was not non-existent, but it was very low.
And now, at the moment of seeing the man's back, the two brothers could basically confirm that the person was the Sword Saint.
Originally, the two brothers were very scared, after all, that was the famous Sword Saint, Eastern Xuan Region's Number One Expert, and even the well-known ferocious God of Slaughter.
But, the next moment, they changed their minds. The Sword Saint and Ling Qingzhu of Taiqing Palace came to such a remote corner of the Otherworldly Demon Domain Together. Was there any secret in this? Or, was there any treasure?
Originally, these two brothers didn't dare to secretly track them, but, the next moment, they thought of another thing. They were able to track the Sword Saint all the way here, for so long. Did that mean that the Sword Saint didn't find them at all?
This idea, like a root in their minds, grew wildly. So, they decided to take a gamble. After all, the treasure that could attract the Sword Saint could never be a common thing. They were in the dark, maybe they really had a chance to get the thing.
Even if they couldn't find a suitable opportunity, and couldn't get the best treasure, it would be good to follow and get a sip of soup.
But, at this moment, the two of them realized that the Sword Saint had already noticed their existence, but they didn't know if it was because they didn't care, or for other reasons, they didn't drive them away. But at this moment, their existence might have hindered the Sword Saint.
In short, after feeling this sharp Sword Intent, the two brothers didn't dare to continue hiding their figures, and directly showed up.
Two figures landed on another cliff, staring at Lin Xuan with a bit of respect, cupping their fists and saluting.
"We two brothers have met the Sword Saint."
The two were both dressed in black robes, and their appearances were very similar. However, their passable appearance was destroyed by their narrow eyes.
However, in front of Lin Xuan, the eyes of the two people were also very honest, not daring to glance around, and when speaking, their eyes were staring at the ground under their feet, and they didn't even dare to look up at Ling Qingzhu.
Although the woman in front of them was unbelievably beautiful, she was the Young Palace Master of Taiqing Palace, and her strength was extremely strong. It was rumored that she had reached the Life Profound Realm. The two of them were just Half-Step Life Profound Realm cultivators, how dare they go to find Ling Qingzhu's trouble? The treasures in other people's hands were enough for them to drink a pot.
Moreover, it is rumored that Ling Qingzhu has an extraordinary background, and those she associates with are either great figures of the current era or top geniuses, people they simply cannot afford to offend.
What's more, rumor has it that Ling Qingzhu has an unusual relationship with the Sword Saint. Now, with the two of them meeting privately, how could they have so many lives to seek their own deaths?
Therefore, the two of them spoke cautiously, fearing that Lin Xuan would misunderstand. Actually, it wasn't entirely a misunderstanding. Initially, they had indeed come with ulterior motives, but they were instantly sobered up by Lin Xuan's Sword Intent just now.
Lin Xuan merely glanced at them indifferently, neither telling them to leave nor saying anything else. Yet, it was this silence that frightened the two brothers, causing them to tremble all over.
Ling Qingzhu, after sweeping her gaze over the two of them, waved the long Sword in her hand in the next moment. A fierce Sword Qi, carrying a hint of icy coldness, was unleashed from the Sword. Immediately afterward, the Three-Headed Demon Snake below was alarmed by the Sword Qi.
"Roar!"
The Three-Headed Demon Snake roared and spat out a mouthful of venom, attempting to corrode the Sword Qi. But in the next instant, the Sword Qi directly broke through the venom, its momentum undiminished, and landed directly on the three heads of the Three-Headed Demon Snake. Almost in an instant, the three snake heads fell off.
Such a swift and decisive method startled the two men. They carefully glanced at Lin Xuan's unchanging expression, then cupped their fists without hesitation and said,
"Sword Saint, we only noticed some movement, so we wanted to investigate. Since the Sword Saint is here, then we brothers will not disturb you and will retreat!"
After saying that, the two of them didn't wait for Lin Xuan to speak and ran away without looking back, as if afraid that Lin Xuan would regret it later and want to keep them alive. In the blink of an eye, they disappeared.