Chapter 175: The Grand Magic—Sang Chu Returns

The rabbit spirit had transformed into human form and was supporting Sang Chu as she sat beside the magic array. “How are you still alive after all that?”

“I won’t die, don’t worry. Where’s the fox spirit?”

“She’s in the same state as you—half dead. One of her tails has already fallen into a coma. This time was really dangerous. If the fox spirit hadn’t managed to break the dark witch’s secret spell, we’d all be finished.”

Sitting on a pile of rough jade stones, Sang Chu finally felt herself breathe a sigh of relief, as if she couldn’t wait to shove a handful of spirit pills into her mouth. “We’re not all finished—at most, it just means that witch could control us for a bit longer. I’ve been dealing with this kind of mental manipulation for ages. She wants to devour my soul, but it’s not that easy. You don’t need to keep watching me—go keep an eye on him. Don’t let him run off.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll trust you, big brother. He’s not some naive fool—it’s just you who treats him like one. I’ll stay here and keep watch over you, so stop overthinking.”

Exhaustion overwhelmed her, and Sang Chu’s consciousness began to blur. Hearing the rabbit spirit’s gentle words, she no longer resisted, adjusting her posture and slowly settling into meditation.

……

“Sang Sang will be okay, right?”

Mu Xue looked at the blood-soaked spot where Sang Chu had been sitting, her heart full of fear. Lu Min, blade in hand, was equally tense, but forced himself to comfort her coldly: “A-Chu will be fine. What we need to do now is not let her down.”

After speaking, he turned to Xi Rui and Granny Xiang. “Is there a way to clean up all this blood? It’s hard to tidy up with so much stuff lying around.”

Xi Rui nodded, placing her hand on the bloodstained ground and directly absorbing the blood. “The master’s injuries are severe, and there’s a curse mixed in with the blood. Meng Wei’an, how’s your progress?”

“No progress yet.”

As soon as Mu Xue heard the word “curse,” she was stunned. “A curse? What curse? Didn’t Sang Sang just get poisoned?”

Xi Rui, sitting to the side, explained, “It’s both a curse and a poison.”

“Then… are you alright?”

Faced with her concern, Xi Rui paused, then realized Mu Xue was worried she’d been poisoned by absorbing Sang Chu’s blood. She patiently explained, “This curse is linked to the master. Unless she wants to transfer it to me, I won’t be affected. Don’t worry.”

“Okay, okay. Wei’an, then you…”

Mu Xue wanted Meng Wei’an to go study the curse, but remembering how exhausted he was, she wasn’t sure he’d be up for it.

Sang Jingwen spoke up: “Everyone’s worked hard. Here are some demon cores—share them and recover as much as you can. Next, we’ll need to deal with Mu Fan, so stay alert.”

Granny Xiang hadn’t contributed much, so she hadn’t expected a share, but Sang Jingwen still handed her a core. “Granny, we’ll be entering closed cultivation soon. If anything happens, just call for me.”

“I understand. Go on.”

Sang Jingwen nodded, and with Yi Ping supporting each other, they entered the first room. Mu Xue watched his retreating figure, feeling a bit lost. Lu Min came over. “I’ll find a place to cultivate too. Next time, I want to be able to help.”

“Mm.”

Soon, the rooms upstairs filled with people. Only Xi Rui and Granny Xiang remained in the hall, keeping watch.

Watching Xi Rui silently polishing her bow, Granny Xiang asked, “What do you think of Sang Chu?”

“She’s someone worth following.”

Granny Xiang smiled. “Then will you stay?”

Without looking up, Xi Rui kept polishing her bow. “What about you? Do you dare to suggest staying?”

“She saved my life. As long as I have a place to stay, I can go anywhere. But you’re different—you’re the spirit queen. If you stay, there will be no more spirit clan in this world.”

Xi Rui’s hands paused, then she leaned back against the wall with a bitter smile. “It’s not like I have a choice. The spirit clan was wiped out long ago. If this world can’t tolerate me, then I’ll just defy it.”

Granny Xiang didn’t reply, just looked down at the demon core in her hand. After a long while, a faint smile appeared on her aged face. “Our master isn’t just skilled—she’s got quite a collection of treasures, too.”

“Indeed. After I was captured by the witch Qige Tongtian, I lost all my power. I only managed to recover by drinking her blood. Now, after absorbing a demon core, I’ve almost fully recovered. That’s not easy to achieve.”

“Let’s hope she’ll be alright.”

“Mm.”

For those upstairs, the days of cultivation were quite pleasant.

But for Sai He, things were tough.

Even though she was a second-rank witch, she was a dark witch—her power rivaled that of an ordinary fourth-rank witch. Yet she couldn’t even get a spot upstairs!

She wasn’t even qualified to do chores!

If it weren’t for the pack of hellhounds eyeing her hungrily, she’d have dragged that second-rank witch down from her position long ago!

Why did she have to walk on her own legs like this?

“Hey? Isn’t this the famous beauty Sai He? Why are you walking around instead of sitting upstairs?”

The hellhound pack leader spoke up. The four giant dogs were the magical beasts of the Sai He tribe.

Sai He glanced at him coldly, waving her hand dismissively. “These people aren’t ones you can mess with. Move along.”

“Haha, Sai He, have you found a new master? Where is he? Does he know you’ve switched sides?”

“Move along, I’m warning you. Otherwise, don’t blame me for not reminding you.”

The pack leader was a third-rank dark witch, and even together with Ka, they weren’t a match for the hellhounds, so he backed off.

“Well, I’ll thank you then. But you know, I just love—”

He hadn’t finished speaking when the hellhound, having eaten and drunk its fill, grew even more powerful. In a flash, it pounced on him. Just as it was about to bite down, Sai He heard Sang Chu’s voice and quickly shouted at the hellhound, “Wait! The master said to keep him alive!”

Drool dripped from the hellhound’s mouth onto the man, its eyes flashing with a strange light.

Sai He said, “The master wants to form a contract with him. When someone brings out a magic card, don’t eat him. And if you encounter a third-rank magician, don’t eat them either—just hold them down.”

The hellhound hesitated, torn between eating and not eating, but in the end, reason won out, and it lazily lay down on the man without biting.

The third-rank dark witch was stunned by this turn of events, but he already guessed what was happening and didn’t dare resist.

Rabbit Spirit, in rabbit form, hopped over and pressed a magic card onto the man’s body. “If you don’t want to die, draw your own blood and drip it on here.”

He didn’t hesitate—before the hellhound could bite, he bit his own hand and pressed his bloody hand onto the magic card, looking pleadingly at Rabbit Spirit.

After he took back the card, Rabbit Spirit tossed him a dagger. “Here, as long as you behave, these are yours.”"