Chapter 77

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Chapter 77

With the grand master’s representative taking action, the task of eliminating the evil plants went very smoothly.

Aside from the palace, the strange plants in the streets and alleys were quickly dealt with, and those monsters disguised as ordinary people were reported by the nearby neighbors. The streets, once cold due to the rebels and the Magic Demon Vine’s assault, were lively again.

As the grand master, Xie Qi did not take part in court affairs, so the ones handling these governmental matters were still the ambitious sons of noble families.

Most of them were the sons and nephews of former court officials, since those officials who used to attend court perished along with that group in the palace.

Black vines grew wildly along the walls, pushed by the flames, covering the entire palace city like a thick blanket.

Yun Chuyou held the list passed from the outside world and quickly found the remaining survivors.

The cultivators with scripts were the first to be attacked by the Magic Demon Vine. These fake NPCs made from Spirit Qi did not have the energy of real-life NPCs.

However, there were always a few lucky ones who managed to survive until Yun Chuyou found them during the Demon Plant’s assault. Only fifty of these lucky ones remained.

Fortunately, they were professionals who were included from the start and were not like Xie Fuzhi, who was a temporary addition. The sect had a hidden advantage, and Yun Chuyou easily used the keywords provided from the other end to help these people regain their memories as cultivators.

She looked at the cultivators with eager anticipation, "Can you open a passage to take everyone out?"

Generally speaking, for such a large script, the staff should have special employee passageways.

Among them, one cultivator was one of the leaders of this competition. After thinking for a moment, he actually gave some good news, "Theoretically, it is possible."

Yun Chuyou was overjoyed, "Then please open the passage as soon as you can."

"But…" As soon as she heard this word indicating a change, her heart sank.

"The passage can only be opened once, and its entrance is located inside the palace."

The other cultivators turned pale when they heard this. They had just regained their memories and were faced with such a situation; there was no way they would be willing to do this, "Right now, the palace is surrounded by the Magic Demon Vine. Isn’t rushing in there asking for death?"

Not all cultivators are adventurous by nature, "How about we wait for help from the outside? They can’t possibly leave so many of us uncared for."

As ordinary people, they could only see the black plants, but as cultivators, they could clearly see the thick, sticky demonic energy on the Magic Demon Vine and the terrifying spirits with fierce faces that clawed at the vines.

Ignorance breeds courage; knowing the horrors of the Magic Demon Vine made them even more frightened than before.

If they truly were strangled by the Magic Demon Vine, it would mean their souls would perish, and they might lose the chance to be reborn. A slow death or a quick end; most would choose the latter.

"Exactly, why must we do this?"

These actors came in to take on tasks and earn rewards, not to save the future of human cultivators. Most cultivators only wanted to save their own lives, not to be the great heroes who save others.

Yun Chuyou said, "This is just an illusion from the Thousand Mile Landscape Map. The Spirit Qi inside won’t last long. If we let it go on, and the Magic Demon Vine devours everyone, the consequences will only be worse. Since it’s still early, we still have a chance to stop it."

Delaying is not a good solution. A small illness can turn into a big one, and a small crisis can become an irreversible disaster.

"Moreover, if what you say is true, and the way back is all inside the project, then the souls of those dead cultivators should also be trapped inside the palace. With nearly two hundred Nascent Soul geniuses and your fellow disciples, do you plan to slowly wait outside?"

Yun Chuyou naturally saw what these people were thinking and spoke more bluntly, "If something happens to them, when you are finally rescued, do you think you will be safe?"

Among those cultivators, many were direct disciples of major sects. Although some teacher-student relationships were quite superficial, for the most part, being a direct disciple carried a lot of weight for the teacher.

If these cultivators manage to survive, they might attract blame. Even if they are somewhat responsible themselves, in a way, they are still victims. But unfortunately, people do not care about reason; they only care about feelings.

The spiritual world is a place where the strong prey on the weak. They might not run into trouble right away, but once things settle down, they could be killed by some resentful elders.

Since death is inevitable, it is better to put in some effort. At least if you try, you won’t regret it later.

It is clear that aside from a very few cultivators with strong backgrounds, no one wants to become enemies with so many powerful sect elders. A male cultivator stepped forward and said, "Tell me what to do. I will cooperate fully. If you don’t believe me, I can swear by my internal demon."

With one person taking the lead, others seemed to feel they had a way out, and they responded in agreement, "Add me to that. I can swear too."

At times like this, they are most afraid of someone slowing them down. Everyone is just strangers with little connection, not long-time partners. It’s hard to expect others to trust you unconditionally with just words; it’s better to take an internal vow, so at least everyone can feel at ease.

The cultivator who said he knew the way looked at Yun Chuyou and said, "I know the path, but I don’t have a better idea. Why don’t we let Taoist Friend Yun take the lead? After all, you are the only survivor from the proud clan and can still communicate with the outside world."

Yun Chuyou thought for a few seconds and decided to take control herself. She agreed, "Since that’s the case, I will do my best to meet everyone’s expectations."

She did not say she would definitely meet everyone’s expectations, because, compared to these people, she valued herself a little more.

After saying something nice, she added, "I will say this upfront. Since everyone trusts me, I hope you will listen. If I give a direction to move forward, you must follow the group closely and not wander off. If you leave the main group on your own or out of carelessness, I will not turn back to save anyone."

"What if everyone gets separated by outside forces? You won’t take care of that either?"

They originally thought female cultivators were soft-hearted, but after hearing Yun Chuyou speak, they found her to be quite ruthless.

Yun Chuyou replied, "We need to analyze the situation specifically. We haven’t mapped out the route yet. When we do, we can find a few landmark buildings. If we accidentally get separated, we will look for each other at those buildings. We can also set up some signs; you all can discuss these details yourselves."

She paused for a moment. "The most important thing right now is that we need to find a safe way in."

They are going to save people, not to seek death, so they naturally need to find the safest and most successful path as quickly as possible.

"When it comes to the inside of the palace, who among you is familiar with its structure?"

When she asked this question, the survivors looked at each other, their faces showing some embarrassment.

"I’m not familiar. If I were, I would have already gotten lost in the palace by now."

Perhaps there are also survivors inside the palace, but the ones these Northern Yun Chuyou found are those living outside and do not often go inside.

Pairs of eyes turned to the previous leader, who replied with a subtle expression, "I only know where the anchor point is, but I do not know the exact location inside the palace."

"It doesn’t matter that we do not know. Aren’t there some young nobles outside who know the situation inside?"

With fifty cultivators, not every one of them is clueless, and they began to discuss together.

"What can those people know? Their places to go are limited; they usually just stay in the previous dynasty. The one who should know the whole picture is the minister in charge of building the palace."

"The minister of construction is in the palace, and by now, he has probably long since turned into the nutrients for the Magic Demon Vine…"

"Then should we find the builders who were in charge of the construction?"

"This palace was not built recently; the builders in charge must have long since passed away, right?"

Even though the palace gets repairs now and then, they usually only fix one place at a time, so this suggestion seems unreliable.

The concubines, eunuchs, and maids who live in the palace are all trapped inside, and they don’t know what is really happening.

To these cultivators, if they are all transformed from the Spirit Qi of the illusion itself, then they have surely returned to dust, and their flesh and blood have turned back into Spirit Qi, drained by the Magic Demon Vine.

Yun Chuyou said thoughtfully, "I will go ask the grand master."

Xie Fuzhi is the grand master; he should have a way to enter the palace. Moreover, she cannot keep this from her grand master husband if she wants to take these people inside.

Hearing a noise outside, the young girl quickly opened the door and called out to the silver-haired beauty she had spotted nearby, "Xie Qi, I’m over here!"

The grandmaster was like a gust of wind; he had just been standing by the red-painted column at the end of the hallway, and now he appeared right in front of Yun Chuyou.

When he saw Yun Chuyou, he looked her up and down to make sure she was okay, and then he sighed with relief.

But then, he sounded a bit annoyed, "Where were you just now? I couldn’t find you."

Yun Chuyou felt a bit guilty, but she had deliberately left Xie Fuzhi behind. After all, he hadn’t shown any signs of remembering anything these past few days. She worried that pushing him too hard might lead Xie Qi to think she was tricked.

Xie Qi wouldn’t accept any talk about cultivation. If he found out she was gathering so many people together for an adventure, he might very well try to stop her.

She knew she had to say something, but she needed to gather her thoughts and get Xie Fuzhi, who was in a state of amnesia, to cooperate. However, she hadn’t figured it out yet.

"Taoist Friend Yun?"

Sure enough, the cultivator behind spoke up, and Yun Chuyou saw Xie Qi’s expression suddenly change.

"Chuyou, who are these people?"

His gaze was extremely cold as it wandered over the faces of the cultivators. When he saw someone who was average-looking or ugly, he felt relieved; but when he saw someone particularly handsome, his expression turned sour.

The silver-haired beauty spoke tearfully, "Chuyou, am I not enough for you? How could you raise so many male pets behind my back!"

"No, you misunderstood us; we are not male pets." The cultivators who heard this were shocked. They had both men and women among them—there was no way they looked like pets raised by Yun Chuyou.

Without waiting for Yun Chuyou to explain, Xie Qi pressed on with his accusation, "They are all so ugly; how could they be good enough for you!"

Yun Chuyou: …

Even with amnesia, the master still had a unique perspective on what was important.