Cultivation Simulator: Starting From The Empress' Palace

”Clang clang...”

After knocking the withered old man to the ground, the Purple Star Sword also lost its divine power, losing control of True Qi, and fell onto the main hall.

Zuoqiu Yiren’s face was pale, looking at the distant withered old man, whose body was torn to shreds, blood gushing like a fountain from his pierced chest, his breath weak.

Before she could breathe a sigh of relief, the withered old man struggled to sit up cross-legged, eyes bloodshot, staring crazily at the nearby Zuoqiu Yiren. He couldn’t believe she could unleash such a formidable slash despite being gravely injured, but the pain continuously emanating from his body reminded him of the reality.

Most crucially, the residual injury at his chest continued its corrosion, making his wound slow to heal.

Moments later, the withered old man calmed down, saying, ”No wonder you’re Zuoqiu Fairy. Even in such a state, you could injure me like this. If I could obtain your physique, I would definitely advance further.”

Zuoqiu Yiren’s eyes were icy cold, filled with intense killing intent, as she said, ”You are just like me now. Do you still have the strength to fight again?”

Upon hearing this, the withered old man grinned, saying, ”Indeed, I can’t fight anymore, but guess, will your disciples return first, or will my sect’s Saint Child come back, dragging your disciple along, hahahaha...”

The withered old man thought Chen Mo had likely fallen into the hands of the two Saint Children already. Though he couldn’t fight anymore, as long as he guarded Zuoqiu Yiren, once the two Saint Children returned, he could still capture Zuoqiu Yiren.

Upon hearing this, Zuoqiu Yiren’s expression paused. Even though her heart was filled with despair, she didn’t want the withered old man to have the upper hand in words, saying, ”Do you think that only little Mo and I came here? I forgot to tell you, our Daoist Alliance has two Core Disciples here, and the Elder from the Beast Taming Sect is here too. Once they come, you will have no way to escape.”

Upon hearing these words, the withered old man’s face changed, but he pretended to be calm, saying, ”You don’t scare me; since that’s the case, let’s see who arrives first—my sect’s Saint Child or your people.”

Both of them were in such a state, heavily injured, that it was difficult for them to move even a bit.

They could only wait.

Zuoqiu Yiren’s eyes narrowed, losing hope for the ”reinforcements.”

She even believed that Chen Mo had already fallen into the hands of the Saint Sect.

After all, he and the Ice Spirit were only in the Nascent Soul Realm, how could they be a match for two Void Realm powerhouses?

Zuoqiu Yiren took out a large pile of herbs for healing injuries and True Qi from her space ornaments, frantically stuffing them into her mouth, trying to regain mobility before the Demon Sect arrives.

She began to activate her Cultivation Technique.

But given her current state, the recovery process was terribly slow.

The withered old man noticed this too; he was recovering as well, but the effect was even slower than Zuoqiu Yiren’s.

To prevent Zuoqiu Yiren from regaining mobility before the Saint Child arrives, the withered old man wickedly took out a small pink jade bottle from his space ornaments.

”Zuoqiu Yiren, do you know what this is?” The withered old man asked with a smile.

Zuoqiu Yiren looked over, her face puzzled.

Seeing Zuoqiu Yiren’s expression, the withered old man seemed very excited, saying, ”This bottle contains powder ground from the Soul-Devouring Demon Fruit. It can make one lose their mind instantly, the soul plunging into darkness. Anyone who inhales even a trace will awaken their inner beast, turning them into a mindless beast, and if not released at a critical moment, their soul will be eternally asleep.”

Zuoqiu Yiren’s face changed, as if realizing what the withered old man intended to do.

The withered old man sneered and directly shattered the pink jade bottle. Instantly, a large cloud of pink powder dispersed in the air.

The withered old man was the first to inhale it. He smiled, saying, ”Now, let’s see whose reinforcements come first.”

The only antidote to this powder was Yin Yang Balance; beyond that, there was no solution.

He did this to stop Zuoqiu Yiren’s recovery; once she inhaled the powder, she would have no chance to recover.

He only needed to wait for the Saint Child to arrive, and with their help, possess Zuoqiu Yiren, thus unpoisoning themselves.

No one could recover.

Soon, the withered old man’s eyes turned blood-red, and his skin visibly heated up.

He looked at Zuoqiu Yiren, like a frenzied beast wanting to devour her, but due to his physical state, he could only crawl slowly towards her.

Yet this action amplified the pain in his body dozens of times.

Forcing him to stop, yet the awakened beast inside drove him to crawl towards Zuoqiu Yiren.

Thus, he would stop, then crawl.

Finally, when the beast within completely erupted and there were no solutions, the withered old man could only madly scratch his own body.

Zuoqiu Yiren’s face was ashen.

She held her breath, watching the powder fill the hall.

She felt even more despair.

Now, even if her reinforcements came first, she would be the unlucky one.

Her purity couldn’t be maintained.

She could only desperately hold her breath.

Yet if she hadn’t been injured and could mobilize True Qi, she could go days without breathing.

But now, she was no better than a normal person, even worse off than an average person.

So, only ten minutes into holding her breath, she found it unbearable.

This was a bodily reaction, something beyond the capacity of willpower.

After two more minutes, Zuoqiu Yiren really couldn’t hold it anymore, and took a big breath.

And just this breath led to her inhaling a large amount of powder.

”No...” Zuoqiu Yiren felt her soul nearly leave her.

This was her first time feeling true fear.

Soon, her eyes also turned blood-red, her reason rapidly consumed by the small trace of beast within her.

Just as she was about to tear off her clothes,

a stream of light rushed in from outside the passage.

”Yiren sis, are you okay?” Chen Mo’s voice sounded.

Hearing this familiar voice, Zuoqiu Yiren glanced over, and upon seeing Chen Mo, her expression was one of both urgency and joy.

Joyful that Chen Mo was unharmed.

Anxious because she had already inhaled the powder from the Soul-Devouring Demon Fruit.

”Stay back.” While she was still conscious, she reminded.

However, it was too late.

”What is this?!”

As soon as Chen Mo rushed into the hall, he smelled the pungent powder, instinctively inhaling some, and soon felt something was wrong.

His body became inexplicably hot.

When he tried to hold his breath, it was already too late.

His eyes swept over the two in the hall, especially noticing the withered old man’s state, his face changed: ”Not again?”

He could sense that the withered old man was already a spent force, so he took out the Wan Chuan Fan while he was still conscious, resolving the withered old man’s presence.