Chapter 736: Chapter 171: I Didn’t Do Anything (First Update)
Mu Qingge’s body stiffened, a trace of embarrassment flashing across her face.
Xi Qianxue’s eyes fell on her, carrying a look of both shame and anger.
Mu Qingge quickly turned around, facing away from her, and instinctively explained, "I didn’t take off the clothes."
After speaking, she felt a twitch at the corner of her mouth, thinking that this explanation was worse than no explanation.
Behind her, Xi Qianxue remained silent.
After waiting for a while, Mu Qingge asked reluctantly, "Are you dressed?"
"You can turn around now," Xi Qianxue’s voice finally emerged.
Mu Qingge breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at her. At this moment, Xi Qianxue had already stood up from the ground, and the clothes previously removed by the Charm Demoness were put back on without a trace of anything amiss.
However, her cheeks still retained a slight blush, and her eyes were slightly red.
"I didn’t do anything!" Mu Qingge quickly explained. Afraid that Xi Qianxue would misunderstand, she added, "I didn’t see anything either."
She truly hadn’t seen anything. When the Charm Demoness was removing the clothes, she was learning the Soul-devouring Technique and wasn’t paying attention at all. By the time she had dealt with the Charm Demoness and turned around, Xi Qianxue had already woken up, and she had no time to look at anything else.
Besides, they’re both women; what Xi Qianxue has, she has as well. Even if she had glimpsed something, it wasn’t as if she had lost anything.
But still—
Mu Qingge sighed inwardly, knowing that in Xi Qianxue’s heart, she was a man.
Having her body seen by a man would, of course, make her uncomfortable.
"You don’t need to explain, nor will I make you take responsibility for me because of it," Xi Qianxue said to Mu Qingge.
"..." Mu Qingge was at a loss for words.
Responsible? If she could take responsibility, why would it fall to Xi Qianxue?
Sigh—!
"Earlier..." Xi Qianxue spoke again. The blush on her cheeks gradually faded as she said to Mu Qingge, "Even though I was trapped earlier, I am aware of everything that happened. Thank you for saving me!"
Xi Qianxue was truly grateful.
If not for Mu Qingge, she might have been possessed by that demoness or suffered even greater humiliation. If that were the case, she would rather die immediately.
"No need for thanks," Mu Qingge said with a slight twitch of her lips. She looked at Xi Qianxue, seeing her dazed gaze, and added, "Since we are now a team, looking out for each other is a given."
Xi Qianxue smiled faintly and nodded slightly.
The atmosphere between the two seemed somewhat awkward.
To ease the tension, Xi Qianxue looked around and asked, "Where is the remaining spirit of the Charm Demoness?"
After the Charm Demoness separated from her body, she fainted, so she was unaware of what happened afterward. However, she remembered the events before that quite clearly, especially the beginning when Mu Qingge was contending with the Charm Demoness. Her recollection became hazy once Mu Qingge’s eyes turned golden.
"Did it disappear?" Xi Qianxue thought for a moment, finding this to be the most fitting term.
Mu Qingge nodded and said to her, "Something like that."
Xi Qianxue sighed apologetically and said to Mu Qingge, "It was my momentary negligence that gave her the chance and nearly let her possess me."
Mu Qingge shook her head and said, "Your Spiritual Power hasn’t recovered yet, so naturally, you’re not her match. Besides, these are vengeful spirits, coming and going without a trace, handled by unconventional means, and already difficult to deal with."
Xi Qianxue nodded forlornly.
Mu Qingge said to her, "If you’re feeling better, shall we go back? I reckon Ji Yaohua is getting anxious."
Thinking of the two companions, Xi Qianxue quickly asked, "How is Ying Ze?"
"When I arrived, the situation had already eased," Mu Qingge said to her.
Hearing that Ying Ze’s condition had improved, Xi Qianxue finally relaxed. "I’m fine now; let’s go back."
"Okay."
...
Mu Qingge and Xi Qianxue had just returned to the temporary resting place when they saw Ji Yaohua pacing anxiously back and forth. Ying Ze, who was sitting in the Heaven-Burning Furnace, also opened his eyes, and the blackish-blue aura of death on him had completely faded.
Seeing the two return, the worry in his eyes was relieved.
Ji Yaohua rushed over in excitement, saying to Mu Qingge, "Why did it take so long? I was about to go look for you!" Earlier, he was truly troubled, with one part being Mu Qingge’s prolonged absence, and the other being Ying Ze’s condition.
"A small accident caused some delay," Mu Qingge casually explained.
Ji Yaohua, however, asked with concern, "Are you both alright?" Then, turning his eyes to Xi Qianxue, he asked, "Goddess Xi, what exactly happened before?"
"It was some lingering spirits in the Ancient Battlefield," Mu Qingge quickly answered.
Xi Qianxue had almost been possessed; there was no need to make her recount such an experience again.
"Lingering spirits in the Ancient Battlefield!" Ji Yaohua’s expression changed upon hearing this.
At this time, Ying Ze slowly said, "I have read some simple descriptions in ancient texts. They indeed mention that in the Ancient Battlefield, many highly cultivated Gods and Demons, unwilling to perish, use lingering spirits for cultivation, wandering here in search of suitable bodies."
"So perverse!" Ji Yaohua exclaimed with a look of fear.
"These lingering souls are powerful and have strange tactics. Ordinary moves are ineffective against them," Ying Ze said with a frown.
Mu Qingge looked at him, understanding in her heart that he had prepared a lot for this entrance, having consulted many ancient texts.
"So powerful! How do we fight them then?" Ji Yaohua asked in shock. He then looked at Mu Qingge and asked, "Qingge, how did you get rid of them?"
As Mu Qingge walked toward Ying Ze, she answered Ji Yaohua, "The Holy Artifact can directly harm souls, so you and I need not worry too much. But the other two need to be careful."
After saying this, she said to Ying Ze, "Give me your hand."
Ying Ze raised his hand, allowing Mu Qingge to check his pulse.
Upon hearing Mu Qingge’s words, Ji Yaohua immediately regained his spirit and boasted, "So the Holy Artifact has such benefits! Hmph, lingering souls! Come on! I’ll kill any that come one by one, and if two come, I’ll kill both!"
While he was full of fighting spirit, Mu Qingge poured a bucket of cold water after finishing checking Ying Ze’s pulse. "Your Holy Artifact was just recently forged, and the Artifact Soul within has not been well maintained. It is as fragile as a newborn child. It is fine against ordinary lingering souls, but if it encounters powerful ones, your Artifact Soul might be devoured, and your Holy Artifact would degrade to a Divine Artifact."
"No way!" Ji Yaohua’s face fell.
Mu Qingge said to Ying Ze, "The dead energy in your body has been completely expelled, but you are still exhausted. You need to take an elixir and carefully recuperate."
Ying Ze nodded and jumped out of the Heaven-Burning Furnace.
Once he was out, Mu Qingge stowed away the Heaven-Burning Furnace.
At this point, Xi Qianxue said to Ji Yaohua, "These lingering souls indeed have levels. Earlier, while I was on watch, the first lingering souls we encountered seemed unable to speak, and their eyes did not glow green. The three that appeared later could speak and easily devoured the previous souls."
Her words made Ji Yaohua and Ying Ze’s expressions turn grave.
Looking at his own fan, Ji Yaohua asked Mu Qingge, "So does that mean my fan can only deal with the lowest-level ones?"
"You’ll know when you try," Mu Qingge replied.
She said to the three, "Since lingering souls have appeared here, it’s no longer safe. We must immediately find another place. We all need ample rest and recuperation."
The other three deeply agreed with her words.
They had only been at the Ancient Battlefield for a few days, yet they had already suffered significant injuries.
Xi Qianxue was injured by Wei Molili at the entrance and recently possessed by a lingering soul. Ying Ze was almost killed by the invading dead energy at the Ancient Battlefield. Mu Qingge, too, had her Spiritual Power greatly depleted and had not fully recovered before having to keep fighting. Ji Yaohua similarly suffered some backlash while healing Ying Ze.
Thus, they all needed a quiet and safe place to properly recover at this moment.
Otherwise, the road ahead would be even harder!
After discussing, the four continued moving forward.
On the way, they encountered some low-level lingering souls, which Mu Qingge dispatched with the Linglong Spear. Occasionally, she left one or two for Ji Yaohua to practice with.
Ying Ze observed the lingering souls firsthand and became very quiet, lost in his thoughts along the way.
After walking for a while, they finally found a suitable resting spot.
It was the broken remains of a stone bridge with an arched space below it, just right to accommodate the four of them and hidden from view.
They lit a bonfire for warmth. After taking the elixir, the four began meditating and cultivating.
Mu Qingge positioned the Linglong Spear outside the archway. If any lingering souls approached, it would automatically attack, eliminating potential threats for them.
Having regained her Spiritual Energy after meditation, Mu Qingge practiced the contents of the Divine Strategy Middle Volume once more.
This time in the Ancient Battlefield had let her truly appreciate the usefulness of the Divine Strategy Middle Volume!
When she finished her cultivation and opened her eyes, she found that Ying Ze had already opened his eyes before her and was silently watching the dancing flames.
Mu Qingge frowned slightly.
However, Ying Ze suddenly turned to her and asked, "Done?"
Mu Qingge nodded.
Ying Ze looked back at the jumping flames and slowly said, "I’ve been thinking whether I came here too soon."
The experiences of these past few days made him feel like a burden.
"We are a team, and no one is a burden," Mu Qingge said.
At that moment, Xi Qianxue also opened her eyes and looked at Ying Ze, "According to what you said, with my lowest cultivation among the four of us, am I not even more of a burden?"
Ying Ze fell silent.
He seemed troubled.
Mu Qingge and Xi Qianxue didn’t say more, waiting for him to come to terms on his own.
After a while, Ji Yaohua opened his eyes. Seeing the silent Ying Ze, he paused and then smiled brightly, patting Ying Ze on the shoulder. "Brother, didn’t you come here to find the feeling of a breakthrough? Who knows, as we go on, you might break through into the Golden Realm. By then, I’ll need you to protect me, so don’t mind me holding you back!"
Ying Ze turned to look at him, feeling a bit better from his smile.
Mu Qingge looked at Ji Yaohua, recognizing that one great quality of his was his ability to lighten the mood!
