The pain of others is understandable, but it's impossible to truly empathize.

The family of three casually looked around and, seeing nothing new, said goodbye to Young Master Nan, leaving him alone in his melancholy.

As they descended the mountain and boarded the spirit beast-drawn carriage, Lan Qiaoyan whispered to her husband, "Starting such a big game, didn't you make proper estimates beforehand? There's such a big loophole."

Miao Dingyi replied, "How could we offer different payouts without estimates? We roughly understand the situation in all the continents; it was just an underestimation, only considering the positives. At the end of the day, those people are used to making easy money, and they have the ability to solve problems when they arise. Normally, they might even interfere with Su Yuan Sect winning the tournament. However, they didn't expect Su Yuan Sect to rise with such momentum—minor tricks are no longer effective, and they wouldn't dare go too far. The number-one sect of Shengshen Continent isn't easy to deal with. This time, they've definitely hit a snag and will suffer."

Lan Qiaoyan heard this and couldn't help but shake her head with a smile.

Miao Yilan didn't utter a word, silently listening, and realized her parents were starting to discuss such matters without avoiding her...

As dawn broke, Xiang Laner, setting out with the team again, kept looking back along the way they had come, but still received no response from Sun Shigang's side.

During the night, she had issued signals many times using the Sandal Gold Flame Energy.

She didn't know what was happening with Sun Shigang; logically, there shouldn't be any situations where they couldn't make contact.

She didn't know if the lack of contact was temporary or if something had actually happened, which made her feel a sense of unease. After all, Sun Shigang was the central link between her and the other twelve teams. If anything happened to him, she would likely lose contact with those twelve teams, especially since her identity was not something she would reveal to those who didn't need to know.

The journey had just begun; there seemed no need for fighting and contention yet, so nothing should have gone wrong.

She was also concerned about the disappearance of Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang, unsure if these events were isolated incidents or if they were related in some way. Could it be that Sun Shigang had taken action?

As per the agreed plan, the group from the twenty-or-so sects spread out their formation and searched for the Insect Extreme Crystals. Bai Shuchuan kept the remaining three from Wukang Mountain close at hand to facilitate easy contact...

"Is the poison still not neutralized?"

While sitting cross-legged in meditation, Shi Chun suddenly heard Sun Shigang's voice echoing through the cave for perhaps the umpteenth time. As usual, he replied, "It's not so quick; the poison needs to be slowly neutralized."

Sun Shigang said, "I've been propelling the Demonic Qi for nearly a day, and my Primordial Energy is greatly depleted; I really can't keep this up, especially with an existing injury."

It wasn't just talk; the Demonic Qi was indeed gradually diminishing.

Shi Chun had no choice but to end his Cultivation practice and stand up. Walking to the back of the cave, he threw a Pill of Sandal Gold Illumination on the ground and, seeing Sun Shigang's complexion was indeed pale, took several Pills from his waist pouch and called out, "Open your mouth, I'll give you a supplement."

Sun Shigang was indeed exhausted and, seeing it was a nourishing pill, immediately opened his mouth.

Shi Chun still didn't dare to come too close, and flicked the Pills one by one into Sun Shigang's mouth from a distance, saying, "Take it easy. You restore your energy for a while, and we'll rest before continuing."

Continue? Sun Shigang, having swallowed the Pills, said, resigned, "This is the first time I've ever heard of poison that needs to be neutralized by Demonic Qi. How much longer will it take to neutralize your poison?"

Shi Chun replied, "You think I want it this way? I have no choice. I'm not sure how long it will take, but it's quite effective and shouldn't take too much longer. Look, you restore yourself, and we'll continue later. I'm going to find your accomplices so they can keep providing some Demonic Qi."

Sun Shigang asked, surprised, "Where would they get Demonic Qi from?"

Shi Chun said, "Aren't they your Demon Path companions?"

Sun Shigang said, "While they are companions, not every person in the Demon Path cultivates the Demon Skill. If they haven't cultivated the Demon Skill, how would they have Demonic Qi? They are just some peripheral members of the Demon Path from Moon Valley."

Shi Chun believed this because he hadn't seen the demon flames on the others. Accepting this, he didn't say much more and urged the other to recover quickly, leaving the Pill of Sandal Gold Illumination where it was.

With the Demonic Qi fading, he didn't stay in the cave any longer and made the entrance a bit larger before crawling out.

It was deep into the night outside, and Wu Jinliang's dug hole was close by. The noise of Shi Chun's emergence alerted him.

The two met outside the cave and walked a bit further away to talk. Wu Jinliang asked, "Why did you come out?"

The refreshed Shi Chun indulgently replied, "He has been generating Demonic Qi all day; he's truly tired. I told him to take a break."

Wu Jinliang, curious, said, "Is Cultivation with Demonic Qi effective?"

At this, Shi Chun became somewhat excited, "The effect is significant. With the help of Pills, the progress is much faster than before my Cultivation had stalled; it feels like I'm progressing a thousand miles a day."

Wu Jinliang could feel his excitement and shook his head with a grin, "Using Demonic Qi for Cultivation is such an unusual method, I've never heard of it before. It's no wonder it's called Demon Skill."

"Has anyone come by?"

"There shouldn't have been anyone; I haven't noticed any disturbances."

The two chatted idly and climbed the gorge to watch the stars, appreciating the wilderness breeze.

As the sky grew dimly lit, Shi Chun crawled back into the cave and had Sun Shigang continue to induce Demonic Qi for her detoxification. Sun Shigang was reluctant, but resistance was no longer meaningful after having already submitted.

Day after day passed, and Sun Shigang's spirit increasingly withered, his pallor visible even amidst the purple flames.

Every day, he would ask, "When will your poison be fully detoxified?"

And Shi Chun would respond daily, "Soon, just hang in there a little longer."

Sun Shigang indeed persevered, longing to be free from the agony of the days spent helping Shi Chun detoxify.

Thus, half a month went by in the blink of an eye.

One day, seated in darkness, Shi Chun suddenly erupted in a crackling of joints, as if every joint was adjusting with flex and tension.

Inside, with his eyes closed and his Demonic Qi in motion, Sun Shigang sprang open his eyes, listened to the bone movements that persisted for a while, and then, with a dawning suspicion on his face, he angrily bellowed, "You've broken through, you've been using me for cultivation!"

He himself had been there before and recognized the sounds of one's body readjusting during a breakthrough to High Martial. No detoxification could yield a cultivation breakthrough—it was closer to deceiving ghosts.

His face was livid with the feeling of betrayal, and for good reason—who knows how he had endured these past days.

Shi Chun indeed had broken through, previously like being trapped in a small box until, with a sudden kick, she burst free and jumped into a vast world where her once-coiled limbs could now swing unfettered.

Her wholehearted Perception also reached another realm, yet she did not awaken from Sun Shigang's anger, for she sensed something strange within her body.

The heightened sensitivity after the enhancement allowed her to perceive a mist-like presence in her spine, reaching to her head. Internal viewing revealed nothing, but she faintly sensed something purplish and nebulous.

This reminded her of something, and she attempted to touch it with her Mana, but couldn't, as if it was an incorporeal thing. Upon closer examination, she discovered that it had fused with some of her meridians and blood vessels from her spine to her head.

The intangible feeling reminded her of when she first encountered the Purple Shining Nebula in the mine; back then, she couldn't touch it with her hands either, until her blood drew it in.

Blood? She immediately manipulated her blood energy to surge against it.

In that instant, the purplish mist whirled like a nebula, and Shi Chun, feeling the anomaly, abruptly opened her eyes. In her right eye, the magical scene appeared again—this time without the splitting headache or the agonizing sensation of countless insects gnawing at her spine.

She saw a figure shrouded in white approaching the cave entrance—it was Wu Jinliang, prying it open, alarmed by Sun Shigang's outburst of rage.

Shi Chun was overjoyed at discovering a painless way to activate her right eye's superpower, just as she was about to stand up after calming her Mana, the familiar intense pain made her collapse back to the ground.

What was happening? Upon closer reflection, she manipulated her blood energy once more as before, and as soon as the energy was in place, the pain vanished, like a hungry infant finally nursed.

She carefully sensed that the rotating purplish mist was absorbing her blood energy.

She tried stopping the blood supply, and predictably the pain returned, though it was much less intense this time. Upon closer inspection, she realized the still-rotating purplish mist continued to draw blood energy, forcibly through the merged meridians and vessels; this forceful process caused her unbearable pain.

As the purplish mist ceased to whirl, the strange visions in her eyes also disappeared.

At that moment, she truly understood that activating her right eye's superpower required her blood energy, no wonder her body felt so weak after using the ability.

Considering the amount of blood energy depleted, she concluded it was fortunate that the Demon Skill she practiced strengthened her physical body and her ability to recover blood energy was formidable; an average person likely couldn't bear it, and the side effects would probably be even greater.

Still seeing the purplish haze before her, she slowly opened her eyes, only to find Wu Jinliang, and she could hear Sun Shigang continuing to shout inside.

Wu Jinliang, seeing her like this, didn't dare to interrupt, and offering a Sandal Gold Illumination, he watched her worriedly. When she awakened, he immediately asked in a breath-holding whisper, "Are you okay?" for the air still carried a faint hint of Demonic Qi that he dared not breathe in again.

Shi Chun, having lost some blood energy, shook her head, "I'm fine."

Wu Jinliang asked, "What's that kid hollering about inside? He's saying you used him to achieve a breakthrough?"

Shi Chun nodded with a smile, "Indeed, I've broken through!"

"Wow, haha!" Wu Jinliang exclaimed joyfully, slapping his leg and laughing. The Master was a powerful fighter, and with higher cultivation, he felt much safer.

Shi Chun reached out her hand, and Wu Jinliang pulled her up, the two then headed inside together.

Upon seeing Shi Chun, Sun Shigang roared in anger, "You're deceiving me, you're using me for cultivation!"

Shi Chun replied calmly, "Actually, I haven't deceived you. I really was poisoned, by a rare poison. It's caused my cultivation to stagnate for two to three years, only Demonic Qi can neutralize it, you wouldn't understand even if I explained. But let's talk about something you do understand, don't think we're unaware that you've been putting on a show with Xiang Laner. So tell us, what are you planning to do to us?"

Before her breakthrough, she did not want the other party to feel antagonistic, so she hadn't interrogated him. Now, she had no more concerns.

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