The Sect Leader Has Taken in a New Female Disciple

The youth’s heart pounded like a drum, his hand still gripping the black-spined snake tightly.

"Yes... just like that..."

Quickly, as the decayed-bone dog lowered its head to sniff the wound on his leg, he suddenly sat up and threw the black-spined snake at its nose!

"Hiss!" The black snake viciously bit the decayed-bone dog’s nose.

"Awoo!" The decayed-bone dog howled in pain, fiercely shaking its head, and in a fit of rage, it tore the snake to pieces in a few bites.

Ignoring the youth, it fled hastily toward the depths of the mountain.

Delighted, the youth seized the opportunity to struggle to his feet and staggeringly followed.

Because he remembered what his late father had told him as a child— "I have a trick, after spring sets in, put ten dogs in a cage, one male, nine females. After three days, release them and observe what grass the male dog eats, then seize it and eat it!"

And now, this decayed-bone dog had been bitten by a venomous snake, so it would instinctively look for detoxifying herbs to save itself!

"I’ll bet on this..." He gritted his teeth and followed, dragging his increasingly heavy body while keeping a close eye on the decayed-bone dog ahead.

After being bitten by the snake, the decayed-bone dog’s movements visibly slowed, yet it still roamed the forest, occasionally lowering its head to gnaw on some inconspicuous wild plants.

The youth dared not slack off, eating whatever the decayed-bone dog ate.

Bitter roots, sour berries, even mushrooms with an earthy smell, he swallowed them all whole.

Before long, the decayed-bone dog moved slower and slower, finally staggering to a shaded spot beside a rock and collapsing, foaming at the mouth.

The youth’s heart tightened, and he quickly lay down beside it, mimicking its posture.

"Could there be some detoxifying spirit medicine here?" He forced himself to look around.

But aside from ordinary weeds and moss, there was nothing else around.

He lowered his head to smell the soil beneath him, but it didn’t seem special either.

Time passed by, his consciousness became increasingly blurred, but survival instincts kept him staring at the decayed-bone dog.

Suddenly, he jolted to realization— something was wrong with this dog!

He struggled to get up, staggered to the decayed-bone dog’s side, reached out to check, and his face turned pale instantly.

"Damn!" He couldn’t help but curse, "Dead?!"

He stood there dazed, feeling a wave of despair.

Even after eating so much following the dog, there was no sign of the poison in his body alleviating.

Could it be... this dog wasn’t looking for an antidote at all, but as the toxicity flared up, it instinctively sought a place to die?

He gave a bitter smile, staggered back a few steps, looked up at the sky, unwillingly clenching his fists.

"Am I, Cao Aman, really going to die here?"

If those people found out, they might think I took my life because I wasn’t chosen by Jiyuan Temple.

"Heavens, earth, you— "

"Whoosh—bang!"

Before he could finish, a shadow fell from the sky, crashing onto him, knocking him heavily to the ground.

"Ouch!" He cried out in pain, struggling to get up, about to curse, when he saw a stranger lying on the ground.

The young man was about his age, his face ashen, lips purple, clearly also deeply poisoned.

He paused for a moment, then gave a bitter laugh: "Seems we really are a pair of unfortunate brothers..."

He sighed, and simply lay down beside the youth.

Looking up at the dappled sunlight filtering through the trees, he murmured: "Though I don’t know your name, to meet before dying is fate... let’s journey together then."

He slowly closed his eyes, his consciousness gradually fading.

Just as he was about to be engulfed by darkness, a frantic shout came from afar— "Aman! Aman, where are you?"

He shuddered, suddenly opened his eyes, struggled to prop himself up, tears welling up instantly: "Mother—"

...

Inside, the candlelight flickered, as Cao Aman moved his fully recovered arm, standing by the bed looking at the still unconscious Zhou Qing.

He leaned down to carefully examine the features of this unfamiliar young man, his brows furrowing.

"Squeak" sounded as the door gently opened.

A woman in a plain long skirt walked in, exuding the unique aura of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

"Mother!" Cao Aman hurried to greet her, "Why hasn’t he woken up yet?"

Mrs. Sun approached the bed, checking Zhou Qing’s pulse with a grave expression: "Strange, his aura fluctuates, seemingly like one from the Foundation Establishment Realm, yet somewhat different..."

"Foundation Establishment Realm?!" Cao Aman widened his eyes, "He looks about my age!"

Mrs. Sun flicked her son on the forehead: "You!"

She reprimanded with a tone of disappointment: "There were purple heart grass and blue spirit vine around. You could have mashed them to apply on the wound to detoxify it. Instead, you foolishly waited to die!"

"If it wasn’t for seeing this person fall from the sky, I wouldn’t have come to check, and you’d have been lost."

Cao Aman sheepishly scratched his head: "I didn’t learn those things well before..."

"So stop worrying about whether he’s in the Foundation Establishment Realm." Mrs. Sun glanced at Zhou Qing on the bed, "This young man is handsome, obviously smarter than you..."

"By the way!" Cao Aman interrupted his mother’s scolding, as if remembering something, "He also has an ugly chicken!"

"Even when fed millet, it won’t eat. It’s in the cage outside." Mrs. Sun shook her head.

"It just looks like an ordinary poultry, probably his pet. This man saved your life; don’t have ideas about his chicken."

"I’ll head into town later to find a Pill Master and see if they can identify the poison he has."

Cao Aman solemnly nodded: "Don’t worry, I won’t touch anything of my benefactor. I haven’t even touched the storage bag at his waist."

"Our Cao family knows how to be grateful." Mrs. Sun sternly glanced at her son, "If you dare take advantage, I’ll break your leg!"