Just as Yu Xiaotang closed her eyes and fell into deep thought, a series of crisp, mechanical system notifications rang out one after another in her mind, the digital chimes echoing through her consciousness.
[Ding. Detected intense emotional fluctuation from core disciple Liu Shaoyu. Favorability increased by 8 points. Current favorability is 95. Reward, 30 points.]
[Ding. Detected intense emotional fluctuation from core disciple Hua Wuying. Favorability increased by 12 points. Current favorability is 98. Reward, 30 points.]
[Ding. Detected favorability increase from core disciple Yue Xiao. Favorability increased by 15 points. Current favorability is 92. Reward, 20 points.]
[Ding. Detected…]
A whole string of similar notifications followed in rapid succession. Aside from Ah Ling, who was still unconscious and unaware of her surroundings, every disciple present who could still move had their favorability break past the ninety mark in one clean sweep. All of them had reached the level of absolute, unwavering loyalty.
Although the points rewarded to each person varied depending on their individual state, the total amount came close to three hundred points in the end. The precious points she had spent to save them from the White Water Pool had practically been made up for in an instant.
Heh. So the favorability finally went up at a time like this.
The corner of her mouth twitched coldly, a faint shadow of a smirk appearing on her pale face. Still, at least some of her spent points had come back into her possession, and the value of these people was temporarily secured for her future plans. But this matter was far from over.
"Hua Wuying," she spoke again, her voice cutting through the damp air of the cavern.
"This disciple is here," the woman replied, her head still bowed low.
"For this incident, you're the primary cause. You're spared the death penalty, but you won't escape punishment," Yu Xiaotang said coldly, her eyes fixed on the kneeling figure. "From today onward, you're stripped of all rights to any gains from this secret realm trip. Your resource allocation will also be reduced for one year. At the same time, in all upcoming actions, you will serve as the vanguard. You will face danger first and you will charge the enemy first. If anything like this happens again, where your personal mistake drags down your fellow disciples…"
She paused for a moment, an icy light flashing in her eyes as she looked at the group.
"I won't wait for the enemy to finish the job. I will personally clean house. Do you understand?"
Her cold words carried not a shred of emotion, sounding like a final decree. A reduction in resources meant her cultivation speed would slow drastically, falling behind her peers. Being the vanguard meant she'd be living on a knife's edge of constant danger.
But this punishment didn't cripple her cultivation, nor did it expel her from the safety of the group. It even gave her a clear chance to redeem herself through future merit. For Hua Wuying, who was currently drowning in the depths of guilt and desperate to wash away her sins through action or even her own blood, this punishment instead made the massive weight in her heart ease a little. At least the Young Sect Master was still willing to use her and was still giving her a single chance to atone.
"This disciple… understands. Thank you, Young Sect Master… for sparing my life. This disciple will give everything, even my life, to repay and atone for this sin," she said, bowing heavily once more. Her forehead struck the damp rock with a dull, echoing thud.
"Liu Shaoyu."
"This disciple is here," she responded at once, bowing her head deeply as well, her shoulders tense.
"You accepted the task in a crisis. Although you were forced to use the teleportation talisman, you ultimately preserved the lives of most of your fellow disciples. However, as the leader of the group, you failed to restrain your companions in time, and your response during the battle wasn't decisive enough. You share the responsibility for this oversight. Your punishment is a reduction of resources for half a year, as a warning."
"Yes. This disciple accepts the punishment. Thank you, Young Sect Master," she said, finally letting out a long, shaky breath she'd been holding.
Half a year of resources was no small loss even for a Golden Core cultivator, but it was far lighter than the punishment given to Hua Wuying. She understood this was the Young Sect Master maintaining a necessary balance and also reminding her that leading others meant bearing a much greater responsibility. She accepted it wholeheartedly and even felt a faint sense of relief. At least the Young Sect Master was still willing to punish them by the rules instead of abandoning them to the dangers of the abyss.
Seeing this, the other disciples also felt slightly reassured by the display of authority. Rewards and punishments were clear. The punishment was heavy, but it showed that the Young Sect Master wasn't venting her anger blindly and was still giving them chances to redeem themselves. The fear born from Su Yue's death and their own collective helplessness eased a little, transforming into a deeper, heavier sense of obedience.
After finishing the business of rewards and punishments, Yu Xiaotang said no more and walked over to Ah Ling, who was still unconscious on the ground.
This disciple, who had lost an arm in the struggle, had a dangerously weak aura. Although the wound at the severed arm had been roughly treated with basic medicine, wisps of black qi still clung to the frozen flesh. That was the toxic yin qi of a Water Grudge Corpse. If it wasn't expelled soon, the consequences would be endless and could even damage her cultivation foundation.
She extended her index finger toward the girl. A point of pure, gentle spiritual light flared at her fingertip and lightly touched Ah Ling's brow. At the same time, her other hand hovered above the severed arm. A faint white mist seeped from her palm, carrying a cool, life-giving aura as it slowly penetrated the wound and battled the black qi wrapped around it.
[Consumed 10 points. Exchanged for a trace of original essence from a Clear Heart Evil Dispelling Talisman.]
The system notification flashed through her mind as the points were deducted. Her expression didn't change at the loss. Ten points in exchange for a Golden Core level subordinate who might still be useful to her in the future was a price well worth it.
As the white mist seeped into the girl's skin, the black qi at the wound receded at a visible pace, sizzling away into nothingness. The deathly pallor on her face regained a hint of healthy color, her tightly knit brows loosened slightly, and her breathing grew steadier and deeper. Although the severed arm couldn't regenerate, her life and her foundation were at least preserved. With proper care after she woke up, her strength could probably recover to seventy or eighty percent of what it once was.
"That's enough. She is no longer in mortal danger. The yin toxin has been removed. Take good care of her. After she wakes up, have her take this Clear Essence Yin Dispelling Pill to stabilize her vital energy."
She withdrew her hand and tossed a small, aromatic pill to Liu Shaoyu. This pill had been exchanged earlier from the system as a spare. It's quite valuable, but using it now both won the hearts of her followers and let Ah Ling recover her combat strength much faster.
"Thank you, Young Sect Master, for saving her life," the female disciple supporting the girl's head hurriedly kowtowed on the stone. Liu Shaoyu also accepted the pill solemnly, bowing her head in gratitude.
Only after finishing all of this did she walk toward the small pool at the center of the limestone cavern. The pool was dark, its total depth impossible to see from the shore. The water was clearer than the grayish-white water of the lake outside, yet it still carried an ominous dark azure hue that seemed to absorb the light. That vague sense of disharmony she'd felt earlier grew even stronger here.
This water was too still—it's unnaturally so. Moreover, while the spiritual qi was thin throughout the rest of the cavern, near this pool there seemed to be faint, hard-to-detect fluctuations of spiritual energy. It wasn't the foul yin qi from before, nor was it ordinary water-aligned qi. It felt more like residue left behind after being bound and concealed by some kind of external force.
"Liu Shaoyu. Hua Wuying."
"This disciple is here."
"Carefully investigate this pool and stay alert. See what is at the bottom," she said thoughtfully, her eyes fixed on the azure depths. "I keep feeling that there's something unusual about this water."
"Divine sense can't penetrate it," Liu Shaoyu said, her brow furrowed in frustration.
"I will try," Hua Wuying said. She took out a moonlight stone used for illumination. Wrapped in a layer of her spiritual energy, she slowly sank the glowing stone into the water.
The glow of the moonlight stone was extremely faint in the dark azure water, only lighting up a small, murky area around it. Still, they could see that the bottom was made of smooth black rock, with patches of unknown dark green aquatic plants growing there in the silt. It seemed like there's nothing special about it at first glance.
"I will go down and take a look," Hua Wuying said in a low, determined voice.
"Be careful. We don't know what is waiting underwater."
She nodded at the warning. She layered three different protective measures on herself, her spiritual light shimmering around her body. After finishing her preparations, she nodded toward the Young Sect Master and Liu Shaoyu, then leapt forward and silently dove into the dark azure pool.
Ripples spread across the surface before quickly settling back into stillness.