Yu Yan displayed a deadpan expression on her new soul puppet's face, her short legs dangling in the air as she was carried like a sack of potatoes by an overly excited Mei Lin.
"Look at her! She is so small! Look at her! LOOK AT HER!"
"Mei Lin, put her down."
After agreeing to Xue Hui's plan, the two of them spent quite some time laying out everything they needed in order to wake up Yu Yan's spirit body.
Xue Hui drew an inscription array in her tiny body to speed up the process of repairing Yu Yan's spirit body with the help of his Power of Origin.
Once her spirit body woke up, he proceeded to guide her through the process of leaving behind her soul legacy.
Afterward, Xue Hui remodeled the inner workings of the soul puppet so that Yu Yan's spirit body would have a place to reside inside it while her soul controlled the puppet's body.
the soul puppet successfully hid Yu Yan's aura, allowing her to leave the cave without being detected by the two Legend-rank demon beasts.
It's safe to say that everything went really well for both of them.
In fact, if it weren't for her current appearance, things would have been perfect.
Seeing Yu Yan's brooding expression, Xue Hui scratched the back of his neck and chuckled softly.
"Big Sis Yu Yan, just endure it for now. Once we become strong enough, you can freely move around with your real body."
Yu Yan sighed in resignation, her expression softening.
"I'm fine, Xue Hui. It's just that I never imagined my life would take such a crazy turn like this."
Truth be told, after becoming a Spiritual God, Yu Yan had always been treated with the utmost reverence. People around her were extremely careful with their actions whenever they were in her presence.
Forget being carried around like a sack of potatoes. Back then, people wouldn't even dare meet her gaze out of respect.
"So, Hui-Hui, we're not going to continue exploring that cave?"
Xue Hui shook his head, causing everyone to breathe a sigh of relief. They weren't particularly enthusiastic about having a life-and-death battle against Legend-rank demon beasts this early in their cultivation journey.
"So we can't handle them by ourselves, Boss!?"
Jing Ya rolled her eyes at Mei Lin's question. Earlier, Mei Lin had been the first one whose face turned ashen when Xue Hui revealed the existence of the Legend-rank demon beasts nesting within the cave.
Seeing her act so brave now gave Jing Ya the urge to throw her into the cave herself.
"We can if we put our backs into it. The real problem isn't defeating them, but what comes afterward. Those two are members of the Demon Clan. Once they die, the Demon Clan will surely find out, and it won't take long before they retaliate."
His words stirred a sense of impending crisis within everyone. They had never imagined that there were demon beasts intelligent enough to form and join clans.
This discovery filled them with fear and uncertainty, something both Xue Hui and Yu Yan immediately noticed.
"Enough of that. The demon beasts have the Demon Clan, and Glory City has us. Once we become strong enough, we're naturally going to destroy them."
Xue Hui's words showed no sign of wavering.
This reassured the girls and dispelled the shadows in their hearts.
Yu Yan watched as the fire of determination lit up everyone's eyes. She couldn't help but feel moved seeing so many young cultivators burning with resolve.
What humanity needed most were people like Xue Hui and his friends, people who wouldn't cower before the threat posed by the Demon Clan.
"Eek!"
Yu Yan's body jerked when she felt an arm snake around her waist.
Looking behind her, she saw Xiao Julin's face peeking over her shoulder. The little girl hugged her tightly from behind, looking at her with eyes full of excitement.
"Let's play!"
"No! Even if I look like this, I'm actually very old! H-Hey, what are you doing? Are you even listening to me? Child, put me down at once!"
"Hehehe, let's play a lot and eat a lot!"
Xue Hui and the girls watched as Yu Yan was dragged away by the high-spirited Xiao Julin toward the area where she usually played.
Yu Yan displayed a horrified expression when she realized that despite her strength, she couldn't escape Xiao Julin's iron-like grip.
What Yu Yan didn't know was that ever since Xiao Julin escaped the imprisonment of that dreaded chain, her strength had been steadily increasing. At this point, Xiao Julin possessed physical strength comparable to that of a late-stage Black Gold-rank fighter.
It didn't take long before Yu Yan's pleading voice faded into the distance.
"S-So, Master, what are we going to do now? Return to Glory City?"
Everyone showed reluctant expressions.
Although their strength had achieved a major breakthrough after integrating with their demon spirits, it was still far from what they had expected.
Before venturing into the outside world, everyone's goal had been to at least step into the Gold-rank realm.
As of now, other than Xiao Ning'er and Chen Linlin, everyone was still a Silver-rank Demon Spiritualist, with Jing Ya and Ye Ziyun on the verge of breaking through to Gold rank.
And after discovering the existence of the Demon Clan, everyone had become even more eager to increase their combat prowess.
"No, we still have time. But with all the days we've spent here in the Heavenly Plateau, I'm afraid the Endless Desert no longer fits our schedule."
The girls all nodded. Even with Xue Hui's Origin Sphere, traveling to the Endless Desert would still take weeks.
If they went there now, they wouldn't be able to return before classes resumed at the Holy Orchid Institute.
"So I was thinking that instead of the Endless Desert, we should go to the Toxic Forest. That place is just as mysterious."
Everyone's faces lit up.
The Toxic Forest wasn't nearly as far away as the Endless Desert. And with all the rumors surrounding it, they were certain there were opportunities waiting there.
Seeing their expectant looks, Xue Hui laughed before returning to the real world.
Riding atop his Origin Sphere, he tore through the air and left behind a streak of light as he flew toward the Toxic Forest.
Tall, towering trees covered the entire area. A dense toxic aura drifted through the forest, carrying with it the threat of death.
The roars of demon beasts occasionally shattered the ominous silence. Their howls were like drums hammering against the hearts of anyone who heard them.
This was the Toxic Forest, a graveyard for outsiders foolish enough to enter.
Xue Hui and his friends were no exception.
The moment their group arrived, they were immediately ambushed by a horde of Toxic Mantises, their ten-foot-long sickles coated in poison capable of melting even metal.
Fortunately for everyone, demon spirits with God-level growth rates and dragon bloodlines proved highly effective against ordinary demon beasts.
It didn't take long before they eliminated the threat and continued their journey.
"Chomp, ew, yucky."
"Chomp, ooh, this one is spicy."
"Chomp, wait, this is just a regular banana. What the heck?"
"Can you stop shoving everything within arm's reach into your mouth?!"
Jing Ya shouted exasperatedly, a vein bulging on her forehead.
She genuinely wanted to crack open Mei Lin's skull to see if she had walnuts instead of a brain.
"What!? The Boss gave us antidote pills. He said they can dispel most toxins in our bodies for an entire week!"
Mei Lin exclaimed defensively. She honestly didn't understand why Jing Ya was getting so stressed over her wanting to sample every fruit they came across.
"M-Master said most poisons, not every poison. Mei Lin, you're going to end up dead if you eat something Master's pill can't detoxify."
Yue Ling chided her with concern.
Behind them were Chen Linlin, Xiao Ning'er, Ye Ziyun, Yu Yan in her soul puppet form, and Xue Hui, all watching the trio with looks of fascination.
"This place is actually filled with an abnormal amount of Yin Energy. No wonder everything in this forest develops a toxic aura."
Yu Yan spoke thoughtfully.
She was extremely knowledgeable, so naturally it wasn't difficult for her to determine the reason behind the forest's toxicity.
Xue Hui nodded.
He already knew about the extreme Yin Energy permeating the Toxic Forest.
What nobody knew, not even Yu Yan, was that the Yin Energy wasn't a natural occurrence.
Something at the very center of the Toxic Forest was producing the overflowing Yin Energy.
Xue Hui's eyes flashed with anticipation.
Ever since creating the Origin of Devour, he had wanted to visit the Toxic Forest and absorb the source of that extreme Yin Energy.
Although the forest was more forgiving than the Black Spring, the group still encountered many dangers, most of them stemming from unassuming plant-type demon beasts hidden in plain sight.
Despite that, they managed to fight their way toward the heart of the forest.
At this point, Xue Hui's expression became serious.
He warned everyone not to let their guard down.
His stern warning was taken to heart by everyone. It even caused Mei Lin to behave herself and keep her grabby hands tucked safely inside her pockets.
At one point, they all stopped to see a valley teeming with colorful, arm-sized larvae, crawling undisturbed in their nest.
"Hui-Hui, are those!?"
"Yep, those are Blood-Pungent Butterfly larvae."
Chen Linlin's moist lips quivered.
Her face cycled through a myriad of emotions as her heart and soul fell into turmoil.
It had been years since she had been bedridden.
So many years that she had almost forgotten the feeling of utter helplessness that had once shrouded her life.
But now, looking at the creatures responsible for her pain and suffering, she couldn't help but feel an indescribable ache in her heart.
Sensing her chaotic aura, Xue Hui reached out and held her delicate hand.
Despite being a powerful cultivator now, Chen Linlin seemed as vulnerable as she once had been.
"None of that will ever happen again, Linlin. You're much stronger now, and you have friends willing to protect you. If anyone dares hurt you again, we'll make them suffer beyond their imagination."
He whispered reassuringly.
Hearing those words, Chen Linlin took a deep breath before silently reciting the Ancestral Mother Purification Sutra.
Using its purifying effects, she gradually dispelled the shadows within her heart.
"I'm okay now. Thank you, Hui-Hui."
Chen Linlin's expression returned to normal.
'Hui-Hui is right. I'm no longer that weak girl from the past. I now have the power to protect myself.'
The thought calmed her heart.
Everyone around her breathed a sigh of relief after sensing her chaotic aura settle down.
At that moment, Yu Yan walked beside Xue Hui and whispered in a low voice.
"Someone is watching us."
Xue Hui nodded.
He had already sensed a group of people following them.
"Their strength is only at Silver rank, with the strongest among them being Gold rank. Let's wait for them to make a move. We'll respond accordingly."
Xue Hui's words immediately put all the girls on guard.
End of Chapter 82
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