"Sun Qinghe?"
Lin Zhao didn't know much about the affairs of Medicine King Valley, but he knew that Sun Tingxuan and Su Zhe were the ones who stole the pill recipes from Xu Ming'an, and this old gentleman was not involved. He had been in seclusion for many years, ignoring worldly affairs. His emergence this time must have been for a reason. Thinking of this, Lin Zhao directly cupped his fists and frowned, "Junior Lin Zhao pays his respects to Senior! The people from Shandi Bieyuan who came to Medicine King Valley this time have a reason. We are solely here to save Sun Xingchun and Sun Yunnuan. Therefore, Lin Zhao's intention was to subdue everyone in Medicine King Valley first, stabilize the situation, and then clarify things. Please forgive my earlier disrespect!"
Sun Qinghe narrowed his eyes. This young man was not only courageous but also knew how to advance and retreat. He nodded and said with a smile, "Mountain Master Lin, there is no need to blame yourself. Xingchun and Yunnuan are already fine."
"Can I see them?"
Lin Zhao frowned. It wasn't that he was being presumptuous, but rather to ensure complete safety. His mind was too cautious. If he couldn't see Sun Xingchun and Sun Yunnuan safe and sound, he wouldn't be at ease. After all, the twin sisters had given him their marriage contracts, which was a sign of trust in him. If he, Lin Zhao, did nothing, it would be a betrayal of that trust. As for whether it would bring some trouble to Shandi Bieyuan, that was secondary.
His senior brother had once said that as sword immortals, we must draw our swords quickly, our fists must be hard, and our bones must also be hard, but our hearts must be warm. If this warmth in Lin Zhao's heart were gone, he wouldn't be worthy of being his disciple brother, Ding Muchan.
"Yes."
Sun Qinghe nodded, turned, and flew away, leading the way. Lin Zhao followed with the six great generals of the Snow Region Heavenly Pool.
...
In the courtyard, Sun Tingxuan and Su Zhe stood with their hands down, their expressions solemn. Sun Qinghe escorted Lin Zhao into Sun Xingchun's boudoir. On the embroidered bed, Sun Xingchun and Sun Yunnuan lay side by side. Their complexions had regained some color, but they were still unconscious. Their life force was extremely faint. For a moment, Lin Zhao frowned, "Old Master Sun, what exactly happened?"
Sun Qinghe looked ashamed and sighed, "It's all because of that unfilial grandson of the Sun family, Sun Tingxuan... To curry favor with the Lu family of Yun Prefecture, he forced Xingchun to marry Lu Shaoyan. Xingchun, being so resolute, shattered her golden core to seek death. Moreover, Yunnuan, who had a deep bond with her sister since childhood, also followed suit. If I, this old man, hadn't come out of seclusion in time, both girls would likely have..."
As he spoke, he looked at Lin Zhao and asked, "Mountain Master Lin, it's you... How did you know that Sun Xingchun and Sun Yunnuan were in trouble?"
"Old Master, please look at this."
Lin Zhao presented the marriage contract.
Sun Qinghe only glanced at it and his eyes were already teary. This was the handwriting of his eldest son, Sun Bai gui, whom he was most proud of in his life. And it was a marriage contract, promising his daughter to the one she loved. Sun Xingchun and Sun Yunnuan giving the marriage contract to Lin Zhao before seeking death seemed to explain everything.
Lin Zhao frowned, "Old Master, I don't know what happened. I only met Miss Xingchun and Miss Yunnuan once on the stone bridge. However... the souls of Sun Bai gui and Lin Wanqiu went to the Snow Region Heavenly Pool and found me."
"Ah?!"
Sun Qinghe's heart ached. Bai gui, oh Bai gui, if your soul remained in the mortal world, why didn't you come to see your father... However, Bai gui must have his reasons for doing this. After all, he and Wanqiu were here for the marriage of their two daughters. For them, what in the world could be more important than this?
"Mountain Master Lin..."
Sun Qinghe frowned and looked at Lin Zhao. This legendary Lin Baiyi of the Snow Region Heavenly Pool was very young, which made the old man like him more and more. He asked, "Are you... about my Xingchun and Yunnuan..."
If he also liked the two girls, what was wrong with entrusting Xingchun and Yunnuan to him?
"Old Master!"
Lin Zhao's heart skipped a beat. He cupped his fists respectfully and said, "I am merely an acquaintance of Miss Xingchun and Miss Yunnuan, and..."
Just then, Sun Xingchun on the embroidered bed suddenly let out a sound. Her delicate brows furrowed. Under the effect of a Nine Revolutions Soul-Returning Pill, her life was finally saved. She pursed her red lips and opened her eyes to see the old man in the deep red robe standing by the bed, looking at her with eager eyes.
"Grandpa... Grandpa?" Sun Xingchun could hardly believe what she saw. She hadn't seen this old man who doted on her and her sister so much for a long time.
"It's me, it's me, Xingchun..."
The old man was somewhat emotional. He raised his hand and injected a wisp of vital spiritual energy into Sun Xingchun's brow, saying softly, "You should rest well first. Yunnuan will also wake up soon. It's fine, it's fine..."
Sun Xingchun nodded, then saw the person beside the old man, dressed in white, carrying an ancient sword wrapped in gray cloth. It was him. In that instant, Sun Xingchun remembered the matter of the flying fish delivering the marriage contract. Her pretty face flushed. What should she do? The flying fish message must have been delivered, otherwise he wouldn't have come.
"Ugh..."
Beside her, Sun Yunnuan knitted her brows and let out a soft hum, slowly waking up.
Sun Xingchun looked at Lin Zhao with a complicated expression.
Lin Zhao dared not meet her gaze. He quickly looked out the window, glaring at Tang Guangjun's bull-like eyes. Tang Guangjun was also staring intently at him, silently praising in his heart, "Mountain Master, two pearls with one sword, amazing!"
...
"Boom—"
Just then, there was a sudden loud noise from afar in Medicine King Valley, followed by an earthquake. The entire Medicine King Valley trembled, and the sky full of protective formations hummed. Obviously, someone was attacking the protective mountain array. The next second, a ethereal voice came from afar: "Sect Master Xiao Muchan of Qingluan Sect is here to challenge Medicine King Valley. Please grant us guidance!"
"Not good!"
Sun Qinghe frowned. He gently placed his hands on the twins' shoulders and said, "Xingchun, Yunnuan, rest well. Grandpa will go and attend to our guests. You don't need to worry."
"Mm."
Sun Qinghe and Sun Yunnuan nodded. Then, the twins' gazes fell on Lin Zhao.
"Mountain Master Lin."
Sun Qinghe's expression was solemn. "Qingluan Sect challenging Medicine King Valley, it is likely that someone from our Medicine King Valley has caused trouble. This matter has nothing to do with Shandi Bieyuan. Mountain Master Lin need not concern himself with it. Please rest in the guest room. After this is settled, I will host a banquet for everyone from Shandi Bieyuan and express my deepest gratitude!"
"Mm."
Lin Zhao nodded, "Old Master, please go ahead and attend to your business."
Outside, Sun Qinghe stepped out and said sternly, "They've come to our doorstep! All members of Medicine King Valley, follow me to welcome our friends from Qingluan Sect!"
"Yes, Old Patriarch!"
Mighty spiritual energies erupted one after another. All the people of Medicine King Valley rose into the air and followed Sun Qinghe to confront Qingluan Sect. In the courtyard, Lin Zhao frowned and said, "I don't know why Qingluan Sect is challenging Medicine King Valley. We shouldn't meddle in other people's affairs, but since we're here, Chu Yu, you stay here to guard Sun Xingchun and Sun Yunnuan, and don't let anyone harm them. The rest of you, draw your swords and follow me to see what's happening!"
"Yes, Mountain Master!"
Mighty sword energy and fist intent bloomed. The aura of the people from Shandi Bieyuan completely surpassed that of Medicine King Valley. After all, they were human cultivators who had defended against demons in the Snow Region Heavenly Pool, while Medicine King Valley was merely a group of alchemists.
On the embroidered bed, Sun Xingchun pursed her red lips. Although she couldn't muster any strength, seeing the back of the female martial artist in the Heavenly Yuan realm outside the window, she felt warmth in her heart. He had truly come, and he had brought all the strong individuals from Shandi Bieyuan. Three great sword immortals of the twelfth realm, plus three in the Heavenly Yuan realm. With this group alone, the human world would tremble.
...
"Chii!"
A powerful sword light erupted in the air, directly slicing open the protective formation of Medicine King Valley from the sky. At the moment the sword light descended, Old Master Sun Qinghe ascended and, with one hand, raised a powerful palm print that forcefully blocked the incoming palm print. He clenched his five fingers and shattered the greatly weakened sword energy.
The old man's figure flickered, his hands behind his back, his deep red robe fluttering in the wind, his long white beard also swaying with the wind. He squinted and looked at the group appearing in front of him, "Sun Qinghe of Medicine King Valley is here. May I ask why our friends from Qingluan Sect are challenging us without explanation? What offense has Medicine King Valley committed?"
"What offense?"
In the wind, a middle-aged sword cultivator held his sword, his brows filled with intense killing intent. He was Sect Master Xiao Muchan of Qingluan Sect. Qingluan Sect was the foremost sect in Ning Prefecture, and Xiao Muchan, a great sword immortal of the twelfth realm, was considered the foremost person in Ning Prefecture. Now, he had come directly to Medicine King Valley without explanation. Seeing that the renowned "Medicine King" Sun Qinghe had personally appeared, Xiao Muchan's expression slightly softened, and he said calmly, "A few days ago, my Qingluan Sect spent a large sum of money to purchase six Zhenyuan Pills from Medicine King Valley, hoping to help my father break through and extend his life. Unexpectedly, after taking the pills, not only did my father fail to break through, but he suffered a severe internal heat and is now on the brink of death. The pills sold by your Medicine King Valley are not Zhenyuan Pills at all, but poison pills!"
"Yes, poison pills!"
An elder of the eleventh realm angrily said, "Has the conscience of your Medicine King Valley been eaten by dogs? The expensive price you charged us for was poison pills! Our Old Ancestor has always been in good health, and he has been in the twelfth realm for thousands of years, only one step away from the thirteenth realm. Ordinary pills cannot affect his body. Do you say that the pills sold by your Medicine King Valley are poison pills?!"
"This..."
Sun Qinghe frowned and turned to shout, "Sun Tingxuan, the matter of Zhenyuan Pills was handled by you. Tell me what happened!?"
"I..."
Sun Tingxuan trembled all over. How could he have imagined that Zhenyuan Pills could have almost killed the twelfth-realm Old Ancestor of Qingluan Sect? They now had four cultivators of the upper five realms challenging them, led by Xiao Muchan, the foremost person on Ning Prefecture's mountains. To put it bluntly, Xiao Muchan alone could crush the entire Medicine King Valley. The combat power of a twelfth-realm sword cultivator was by no means trivial.
"Sect Master Xiao..."
Sun Tingxuan frowned and said, "Could there... be some misunderstanding?"
"What misunderstanding can there be?"
Xiao Muchan waved his long sword and shouted, "Your Medicine King Valley has harmed my father's Great Dao and life, so I will destroy the thousand-year foundation of your Medicine King Valley!"