This time, not to mention others, even Ranran herself was shocked—she did not really exert much force just now, so how could the power be so great?
But the benefit of this attack was that the disciples of the other prestigious sects who used to look down on Xi Shan as insignificant rookies wouldn't easily speak disrespectfully anymore.
In just half a day, the cultivation of Xue Ranran had far surpassed those disciples who had been cultivating for decades in the path of cultivation.
When Mu Qingge had emerged from the marrow-cleansing pool in the past, she quickly gained fame and enjoyed a long period of glory. If she hadn't later taken the wrong path and opened the gates of the Netherworld Realm privately, she might very well have become the leader of immortal cultivation world, a great figure admired by the masses.
The same was true for Su Yishui. After coming out of the marrow-cleansing pool, his power increased significantly. In fact, he could even surpass his own Master, even rebel and defeat Mu Qingge, helping the righteous path to uphold justice.
But they were originally outstanding individuals. Now, this rookie Ranran, who couldn't even be ranked among the disciples of immortal cultivation, had leaped through the ranks like this.
It won't be hard to imagine, that her future would be incredibly splendid, far beyond their reach.
The two sisters, Bingqing and Yujie, were more composed in their thoughts. They didn't show frustration like Weifang did, and with a smile that barely maintained their dignity, they congratulated Xue Ranran with a respectful bow.
However, Mu Ranwu glanced at the resentful Weifang and others, reminding in a soft voice, "Congratulations, Miss Xue, but… you must be careful. The spiritual power infused into the marrow-cleansing pool is too strong, and your blood may not absorb it immediately. As long as the floral pattern on your forehead hasn't disappeared, you must be cautious about your body, never let it bleed… There have been cases in the past where powerful individuals entered the marrow-cleansing pool and were ambushed by malicious companions, losing their blood's spiritual power…"
Her words seemed caring towards Xue Ranran, but they were filled with dangerous implications—The *present Mu Qingge, although her spiritual power had greatly increased, still couldn't fully control it. Her blood was full of abundant spiritual power, essentially a human Vermilion Bird. If someone drank her blood, it would be akin to advancing in the marrow-cleansing pool.
( novel maybe a little confusing because we as readers know that Mu Qingge is Xue Ranran but to the characters, Mu Ranwu is Mu Qingge )
Indeed, as soon as these words were spoken, including Weifang who just stood up, their expressions subtly changed, their gazes towards Ranran becoming peculiar.
They had paid a great price on their journey here, and to end up empty-handed now, how could they leave contentedly?
…If what that Mu Qingge said was true, then drinking Xue Ranran's blood might be an opportunity to turn it all around.
Thinking this way, the two sisters Bingqing and Yujie also exchanged glances that only they understood.
Ranran immediately sensed the subtle changes in these few people. Elder Mu was really formidable with her words, stirring up murderous intent and evil thoughts in the remaining ones with just a few sentences.
If they joined forces, Ranran wasn't sure if she could easily defeat them right now. But she wasn't afraid; she had never seen a ferocious beast in the forest pause to hunt when a fire was raging, so she just needed to divert their attention.
As the group slowly closed in, Ranran kindly alerted them, "Fellow Taoists, another person has also entered the marrow-cleansing pool this time, it's Gui Baqian, and also… have you noticed, Gui Baqian is actually the demon lord Wei Jiu in disguise!"
As expected, the faces of the crowd paled, but the sharp-eyed Ranran noticed that Mu Qingge had remained calm, seemingly unsurprised.
Ranran continued, "So before Wei Jiu catches up, let's hurry down the mountain!"
After speaking, Ranran grabbed her senior brother, preparing to leave first.
However, the twin sisters from Kongshan sect suddenly used earth techniques, trapping her feet. Wen Bingqing smiled, "Tianmai Mountain is so vast. If what you said is true, that Gui Baqian is Wei Jiu, if he intends to chase us, how can we escape? Only by working together can we repel the demon… How about this, Miss Xue, you share some spiritual blood with us, so we can also become your right-hand men and defeat the demon Wei Jiu together!"
In Wen Bingqing's view, Ranran giving some blood, not harming her life, and benefiting everyone, why wouldn't she do it?
The others' eyes lit up upon hearing this, finding it very reasonable.
Ranran was speechless, realizing another life lesson—although animals don't kill each other when fleeing in panic, she was facing… humans! Some people were worse than animals; in times of danger, they would do unthinkable and despicable things…
Gao Cang was infuriated by Wen Bingqing's nonsense and immediately retorted, "You're talking nonsense! Why don't you share your thick skin? My junior sister entered the marrow-cleansing pool based on her abilities. Why should she share her hard-earned spiritual power with you?"
But thick-skinned people were everywhere. Ranran noticed that the positions of these few people had changed, forming a circle around her and her senior brother. If they acted together, it would indeed be difficult to deal with.
Weifang considered himself righteous, always speaking honourably. He also smiled superficially and said, "Miss Wen is right. Miss Xue wouldn't watch others die. You just need to give some blood, which can save so many people. I believe your master will be pleased with you."
Ranran couldn't be bothered with these self-righteous people and pulled her senior brother to leave.
However, Wen's sisters jumped up to block them, and Weifang drew his sword, intending to cut Ranran's wrist. But before they could approach, Ranran deftly dodged and swept out with a mechanism stick, sending the Wen sisters flying.
Seeing them fly out like kites with broken strings, Ranran was also dumbfounded. She used to rely on tricks like running away, deceiving, and swindling when fighting with others, never directly confronting them.
She had no idea that, after coming out of the marrow-cleansing pool, her strength had such lethality.
The techniques Su Yishui had taught her before could not be used due to the lack of spiritual power, but now they surged in her mind. The subsequent battle was overwhelmingly one-sided. In just a few rounds, the Wen sisters and Weifang couldn't no longer get back up.
Gao Cang didn't expect that he hadn't even acted, yet his junior sister easily won. He couldn't help but laugh heartily, "With you bunch of amateurs, even if you were given spiritual blood, it wouldn't save you!"
At this moment, Xue Ranran looked at Mu Qingge, who had been provoking others earlier. She hadn't acted until now, just watching them fight coldly.
Only after Xue Ranran won decisively did she smile faintly, "Congratulations, Miss Xue, after entering the marrow-cleansing pool, you have indeed been transformed."
Ranran used to have some good feelings towards Elder Mu. Although her reputation wasn't good, she was someone who followed her feelings, which suited Ranran's taste.
But in their recent dealings with Mu Qingge, Ranran started to feel… dislike towards her, feeling that she was similar to those hypocrites from Jiuhua Sect.
Thinking this, Xue Ranran exuded a full-on jianghu fighter's aura and clasped her fists, "Elder Mu, there are no more people to fool now. Are you prepared to compete with me in literary or martial arts?"
Mu Ranwu had been silently estimating Xue Ranran's current strength by the side.
Ranran was originally an immature fruit lacking innate spiritual force, so Mu Ranwu, after verifying her identity, did not feel it was a pressing matter.
After all, it was her who had assumed Mu Qingge's identity, inheriting most of the past-life spiritual powers, and being favored by the Emperor.
She still had the Grudge water poison in her, so why bother annoying Su Yishui and picking on Xue Ranran, a useless person?
But what was so unexpected, was how blessed Xue Ranran's life turned out to be, right? She actually managed to break through the trial levels with her mediocre spiritual power and finally got the opportunity to enter the pool.
Mu Ranwu had planned everything meticulously, but she failed to factor in Xue Ranran's damned good luck.
Just now, she had silently estimated that Ranran's current spiritual power was not inferior to her own. If they were to fight head-on, it would be another fierce battle.
However, Xue Ranran said she had no one useful left? That wasn't necessarily true!
Thinking this, Mu Ranwu smiled faintly and said loudly, "Wei Jiu, come out! Didn't you ask me last night if I would spend the night with you? Well, your chance is here. Let's see if you can seize it?"
With her words, a somewhat familiar arrogant laughter came from the nearby tall tree, "Mu Qingge, the little girl is right. Why do you always order others around now, but not step up yourself?"
As she spoke, Wei Jiu jumped down from the tree, staring keenly at Mu Qingge.
It had been twenty years since he last saw this woman. So when Wei Jiu got the chance last night, he couldn't wait to sit next to Mu Qingge and do some catching up.
At first, when Wen Hongshan found him and stated directly that it was at Mu Qingge's request, to retrieve that key.
Wei Jiu had thought Wen Hongshan could be a useful pawn, so he proposed that Wen Hongshan find a way to help him infiltrate the marrow-cleansing pool Meet.
This Meet had always been controlled by their righteous faction, so a demonic cultivator like Wei Jiu naturally could never enter. Moreover, Tianmai Mountain was within the territory of the righteous faction, making it difficult to assail.
In the past, Wei Jiu had no interest in this paltry amount of cultivation, but after losing most of his core, he naturally had to find a way to make up for it. That's when he remembered about the marrow-cleansing pool.
What righteous disciples, they were just a bunch of hypocrites wrapped in human skin.
That Wen Hongshan wasn't a decent woman either, so Wei Jiu appealed to her interests, suggesting that during the heavenly tribulation, he would help her get rid of her mentor, making it easier for her to take control of the sect.
Every sect had unique divine treasures, and without being the sect leader, it was hard to use these things to further one's cultivation.
If Abbess Wen still could not ascend and continue to occupy the sect leader's position for decades more, Wen Hongshan would then be unable to use those treasures for herself, and probably become anxious.
After hesitating for a long time, Wen Hongshan finally agreed.
Thus, the deal was struck. Wei Jiu used some means to make Abbess Wen pass away convincingly during the heavenly tribulation.
With Wen Hongshan's help, he took on the identity of a Kongshan sect disciple and smoothly blended into Tianmai Mountain.
However, in Wei Jiu's critical eyes, why did Mu Qingge look slightly inferior after her rebirth?….. Although her features were similar, she lacked the wildness and carefree spirit she had before.
Actually, what was most alluring about Mu Qingge in her previous life had been her unbridled free spirit. Every time Wei Jiu imagined completely subduing this woman, getting her beneath him, his blood surged, as if possessed by a demon.
But then again she was now reborn as a young girl, so naturally, there would be some changes in appearance.
Last night, he teased her with words, but she only smiled without responding, which was more pleasing than her previous indifference to him in her past life.
Now, she unexpectedly brought up his flirting from last night. Wei Jiu raised his eyebrows in surprise.
Hearing Wei Jiu's mocking words, Mu Ranwu smiled slightly, raised her chin elegantly, and did not avoid Wei Jiu's impudent gaze. She said softly, "You poisoned me with the Grudge water, didn't you anticipate that I would eventually come to you to detoxify? But now, although you have entered the marrow-cleansing pool, you have ultimately shared the spiritual power of the pool. Even if I wanted to rely on you, I'm afraid you don't have the ability to detoxify me…"
Her method of fanning the flames are just as effective. As long as there was greed in people's hearts, they would knowingly walk into traps.
Ranran thought to herself: Not good!
Sure enough, Wei Jiu turned his gaze towards Xue Ranran and said with a big smile, "Your Grandmaster is right. I don't want her to suffer too much either. If I had more spiritual power, maybe I could help her to detoxify quicker. Do you want to take the initiative? I promise to cleanly break your neck when the time comes, without letting you feel any pain."
Gao Cang yelled in anger, "My junior sister is not a nutritious soup, for you all to divide among yourselves!"
After saying that, he prepared to rush forward and fight them to the death. But before he could reach them, Ranran was a step ahead of him. She grabbed him and threw her senior brother to the other side of the broken bridge.
Wei Jiu had just entered the pool of darkness, rapidly improving his cultivation level. Gao Cang rashly attacking would be like hitting a rock with an egg.
"Senior Brother, you go down the mountain quickly and inform the Second Uncle Master and the others that Wei Jiu is here, so they need to prepare quickly!"
Gao Cang understood that with Wei Jiu here, perhaps disciples of the Crimson Gate were also present, making it very dangerous for those below the mountain. Thinking this, he knew he couldn't help here and quickly ran down the mountain to inform them.
However, when he reached halfway down the mountain and looked back, he found that Wei Fang and the others had also come down the mountain. He couldn't help but shout in urgently, "Why did you all come down? Leaving only my junior sister to fight the demon alone?"
It turned out that after Ranran threw Gao Cang over just now, Wei Fang and the others also asked Ranran to find a way to send them over.
Ranran was confronting Wei Jiu and couldn't be bothered to throw them one by one, so she wrapped the fishing line from her pocket around a copper coin. With just a gentle toss, she shot the coin into the cliff on the opposite side.
So they all used light body techniques to step on the fishing line and cross the valley, catching up with Gao Cang along the way.
Upon hearing Gao Cang's question, Wei Fang's face didn't change as he said without shame, "We haven't entered the marrow-cleansing pool, so how can we be Wei Jiu's opponents? Of course, we came down to call for reinforcements!"
"Aiyah!" Gao Cang stomped his foot in frustration and turned to run back up the mountain. However, he wasn't proficient in light body techniques, so he couldn't step on the fishing line to cross the valley. He could only watch as his little junior sister fought Wei Jiu alone.
Meanwhile, Xue Ranran, after everyone left, wielded her mechanical staff and engaged in a fight with Wei Jiu.
Wei Jiu, who had been ridiculed by this girl as neither a man nor a woman just now, was truly annoyed. Remembering how she had made a fool of him so many times before, even if Mu Qingge didn't say anything to provoke him, he definitely already wanted to kill this brat!
However, seeing those righteous disciples who were clamoring to divide her spiritual blood just now, how they have all fled at lightning speed, Wei Jiu couldn't help but laugh while fighting.
"You little brat, you're the only one left. Look, those so-called righteous people don't care about you at all. Even if you die, no one will collect your corpse. You'll just become a pile of bones in the wilderness. I'm someone who values talent. If you're willing, I'll overlook the past and accept you under my wing. How about it?"
But Ranran wouldn't have it! She heard that Wei Jiu had very few female disciples, and it seemed that even the female Elder was also his woman. If she fell into the hands of this lecherous demon, her innocence would be in danger!
Now that she was evenly matched with him and could handle his attacks with ease, her confidence soared. So, while fighting, she made faces at him and said, "To be my master, you need to be as handsome as a celestial! Look at you, do you think you are as handsome as my Shifu?"
This was the second time Wei Jiu had heard someone say he wasn't as good-looking as Su Yishui. This hit another sore spot for Wei Jiu, his phoenix eyes widened with anger and his expression became savage.
"Ugly freak, how dare you mock me for being ugly? Watch how I crush you into pieces, and see if your master even recognizes you after that!"
After saying this, Wei Jiu didn't hold back and started to attack mercilessly, intending to kill this sharp-tongued girl within a few moves.
Ranran was nearly hit several times by him, and her newly gained confidence dipped. While she could handle people like Wei Fang and the others easily, facing a high-level demonic cultivator like Wei Jiu was still beyond her.
After trying to block a few moves, Ranran's hands were numb from the impact. She dared not resist head-on anymore and relied on her agile movements to dodge around Wei Jiu.
Unfortunately, she was now alone, and she didn't know how long she could hold out. If she fell into Wei Jiu's hands, it probably wouldn't be as simple as draining a few sips of blood.
Considering Wei Jiu's cruelty, what he said was likely true… Thinking of this, Ranran couldn't afford to relax and focused all her attention on dealing with Wei Jiu.
But just then, a cold light flashed past and stabbed straight towards Ranran's chest.
Ranran looked down and gasped. A short arrow, as thick as a chopstick, was lodged right in her chest, causing her to grimace in pain.
Ranran took a few steps back, swiftly pulled out the hidden arrow, and angrily shouted at Elder Mu who shot it, "What are you doing? Shooting arrows in secret?"
Luckily, Ranran was wearing the soft silver armor made by Uncle Master Zeng, so the arrow boosted by spiritual power only caused her some pain but didn't penetrate her skin.
Shifu had told Ranran before, that it was not true that Uncle Master Zeng had no cultivation skills at all. It was just that he took the path of craftsmanship, so when he concentrated on making weapons, the items themselves were imbued by the spirit power of the craftsman, becoming extraordinary artifacts. The same principle applied to other weapons crafting, making them a different kind of cultivation.
So, even a small soft silver armor was enough to resist a hidden arrow imbued in spiritual power.
Mu Ranwu also didn't expect that her well-planned ambush failed. She didn't know what Ranran was wearing, but it seemed that she was impervious to weapons.
Although Wei Jiu was difficult to deal with, Mu Ranwu felt that Xue Ranran was a greater threat to her.
With no one else present, Mu Ranwu didn't need to pretend to be friendly anymore. Seeing her ambush fail, she was ready to rush up and join forces with Wei Jiu, first eliminating Ranran, this unpredictable loose end.
But little did she know that when she rushed over, she was knocked back by Wei Jiu's palm.
Mu Ranwu was somewhat astonished, while Wei Jiu sneered, "Are you mocking me for not being able to deal with even a little girl? Do you need to come help me?"
Men's pride could be strange at times, generally summed up as: they don't allow others to mock their incompetence.
This implication of "incompetence" could make a man furious, be it in bed or out of it!
Mu Ranwu obviously didn't consider Wei Jiu's pride, inadvertently highlighting his inadequacies.
Seeing that Wei Jiu wouldn't let her intervene, she could only step back and watch Wei Jiu show off in front of a little girl.
Just as Ranran was being forced back by Wei Jiu again, the dense forest nearby started to shake. Suddenly, the small white tiger leaped out of the forest, clawing straight at Wei Jiu's face.
It was too fast. Wei Jiu couldn't dodge in time and was deeply scratched by the small claws.
In an instant, the small white tiger's body suddenly grew larger, emitting a deafening roar.
The Geng jin White Tiger seemed to have regained some strength and could finally reveal its true form.
Ranran was overjoyed and quickly changed her stance, cooperating with the Geng jin white tiger to confront Wei Jiu together.
The white tiger seemed to have observed Ranran and the others practice their formation often and it could position itself accurately. Despite being the first time teaming up with Ranran, it seemed to anticipate Ranran's moves, creating openings for her each time she shifted her position.
Their coordination was seamless.
Even though they were only a duo and couldn't form a "pin" formation, their swift movements were actually even more effective than the coordination with Gao Cang and Qiu Xier!
Ranran knew the most crucial thing at that moment was to disrupt Wei Jiu's attack rhythm. She focused her mind, using long-range attacks with her staff and close-range strikes with her fist hooks, while leaping and switching positions with the White Tiger to fight Wei Jiu. They managed to inflict several new wounds on Wei Jiu many times.
The White Tiger's attacks were also ferocious, even rearing up on its hind legs a few times, with its sharp teeth and tiger claws landing their strikes without missing.
After several rounds, Wei Jiu lost his advantage, covered in wounds and gradually losing ground.
Having soaked in the Black Pool, he had pursued quick gains, which resulted in a surge of spiritual power but also came with drawbacks. Without a period of adjustment, he couldn't fully unleash this sudden increase in power.
It's worth noting that after Su Yi Shui absorbed more than half of Wei Jiu's core, he had also gone into seclusion for over a month to recuperate.
Seeing himself besieged by Ranran and the white tiger, Wei Jiu couldn't exert his full strength and started to falter.
His manly pride suddenly meant little to him. Wei Jiu couldn't help but shout at Mu Qingge, who was leisurely watching the spectacle, "Didn't you want her spiritual blood? Why aren't you helping? Should I deliver her to your mouth?"
But Mu Ranwu just sneered; she could already see that Wei Jiu was struggling.
However, she didn't comply with Wei Jiu's wishes to join forces against their enemy.
The white tiger was too ferocious, its spiritual powers seemingly even more powerful compared to when it fought alongside her sister in her past life. Mu Ranwu cherished her chance of reincarnation dearly and would not allow any scars on her flawless skin.
In such a conflict where both sides would suffer great losses, regardless of who dies, she would be glad of it!
She carefully manipulated Wen Hongshan, saw through Wei Jiu's intentions, and led him all the way here just to eliminate Wei Jiu in one fell swoop, so that she could avoid being under his control again!