Three months later.
Ye Ling could already get out of bed and move around, but the severe injuries he sustained were still difficult to heal, and he needed a cane to walk.
One evening, Ye Ling was doing rehabilitation exercises in the courtyard while also clearing out the dark power left in his body after the explosion of the World-Destroying Spirit Fire.
In fact, with Ye Ling's own self-healing abilities, if it weren't for the corrosive dark power, he would have been able to heal his injuries and fully recover his strength on the first day he woke up.
However, the dark power was too insidious. A slight carelessness could lead to the erosion of his soul. Ye Ling had to use the most secure method to detoxify himself. Even so, Ye Ling's process of removing the dark power was fraught with peril.
"Little Ye Zi, I'm back!" At this moment, A Yu rode Ding Dang into the courtyard, her smile exceptionally bright.
Seeing A Yu beaming, Ye Ling couldn't help but ask with a smile, "What's making you so happy?"
A Yu dismounted from Ding Dang's back and took out a crystal-clear ganoderma, as vibrant as a ruby, from her embrace. She smiled and asked Ye Ling, "Look what I have!"
Ye Ling glanced at the ruby-like ganoderma and asked, "Is this ganoderma?"
A Yu said happily, "This is a Bloodstone Ganoderma! Even the lowest quality ones take ten thousand years to grow. This one in my hand must be at least a hundred thousand years old! It's priceless!"
"A hundred thousand years... that's quite good," Ye Ling agreed, not as excited as A Yu.
This hundred-thousand-year-old Bloodstone Ganoderma might be a treasure to ordinary cultivators, but to Ye Ling, it was just ordinary medicinal material.
However, A Yu didn't know Ye Ling's true strength. Seeing Ye Ling's lack of reaction, she assumed he didn't know how precious the Bloodstone Ganoderma was. She continued to explain to Ye Ling, "Little Ye Zi, let me tell you! Legend has it that eating Bloodstone Ganoderma can greatly increase one's cultivation. It's a treasure countless cultivators dream of!"
Ye Ling said calmly, "And then?"
To Ye Ling, the cultivation increase from consuming this Bloodstone Ganoderma was less than the spiritual energy he could obtain by simply draining a supreme being using his Devouring Domain.
"And then?" A Yu glared at Ye Ling incredulously. "Do you even understand how precious this Bloodstone Ganoderma is? With this Bloodstone Ganoderma, we'll never have to worry about food and drink for the rest of our lives!"
"Forget it, I'm too lazy to explain. I have to go to Tian Ren City tomorrow, which will probably take a few days. You just stay home and recuperate. I've prepared enough food and water for you."
"You're going to the city? Can you take me?" Hearing A Yu's words, Ye Ling's eyes lit up, and he became excited.
Compared to the Bloodstone Ganoderma, Ye Ling was more interested in Tian Ren City, which A Yu had mentioned.
He had been in the Nine Heavens Realm for three months, but during this time, he had only interacted with A Yu and had no idea what this world was like.
If he could go to the nearest city and learn about the culture of this world, he could make corresponding preparations for the future.
After all, he still had to find Ye You and Zhen Hun.
A Yu was surprised that Ye Ling wasn't excited about the Bloodstone Ganoderma but was interested in going to the city. She sighed and said, "Look at you, you country bumpkin who's never seen the world. What's so exciting about going to the city? Besides, your injuries haven't healed yet, and the mountain roads are rugged. Can you handle it?"
Ye Ling quickly replied, "I can handle it! Besides, I've never been to the city before. Take me to see the world!"
Hearing Ye Ling's words, A Yu suddenly felt Ye Ling was pitiful and felt a surge of compassion. She agreed, "Alright... I'll take you to the city tomorrow, but you have to promise me you won't cause any trouble or run off!"
Ye Ling smiled and said, "Okay! I'll listen to you!"
A Yu said, "Fine! I'm going to start the fire and cook. You play with Ding Dang for a while. We have to sleep early today; we need to get up early tomorrow, or we won't reach Tian Ren City by nightfall."
Ye Ling chuckled, "Okay, A Yu!"
After A Yu went into the kitchen, Ding Dang immediately came over to Ye Ling and rubbed its furry head against Ye Ling's hand, acting extremely obedient.
Ye Ling stroked Ding Dang's head and looked towards the forest outside the courtyard, a hint of an unreadable expression flashing in his eyes. He muttered to himself, "Ding Dang... it seems our journey to the city won't be easy."
Ding Dang: "Roar—!"
Ding Dang growled and followed Ye Ling's gaze, as if it understood what Ye Ling had said.
Ye Ling patted Ding Dang's head again, then sat down on a cushion in the courtyard and said to Ding Dang, "Guard me, will you? I need to speed up my healing, lest I can't even deal with some ants."
Ding Dang rubbed its head against Ye Ling's face again, then walked to the courtyard entrance and roared upwards: "Roar—!"
The muffled roars echoed through the mountains and forests, startling countless birds.
As the sun set and the moon rose, Ye Ling and A Yu shared dinner.
After A Yu fell asleep, Ye Ling once again sat in meditation, continuing to remove the dark power from his body.
Late at night, a cold wind howled.
Ye Ling sat cross-legged on a cushion in the courtyard, his face contorted in pain, his forehead covered in cold sweat, his body emitting black energy, and an indescribable evil aura emanating from him.
Ding Dang, sleeping beside him, was awakened by the chilling aura Ye Ling emitted and shivered. However, it was accustomed to Ye Ling's state.
This had happened frequently to Ye Ling over the past three months.
"World-Destroying Spirit Fire..."
Ye Ling's eyes were tightly closed, and he mumbled the words "World-Destroying Spirit Fire," looking extremely pained.
Seeing Ye Ling in pain, Ding Dang's eyes also showed a hint of heartache. However, it didn't know what to do. It could only wrap its body around Ye Ling to shield him from the cold wind.
At this moment, rustling sounds came from outside the courtyard.
Two masked men in night clothes climbed into the courtyard. They tiptoed around Ye Ling and Ding Dang in the courtyard and crept towards the house.
Suddenly, Ye Ling's eyes snapped open, his pupils as black as ink!
The black energy emanating from his body condensed into a ghostly face in mid-air, staring at the two masked men.
Upon seeing the ghostly face hovering above Ye Ling's head, the two masked men were so terrified that they fell to the ground, screaming, "Ghost, ghost!"
Hearing the screams of the two masked men, Ding Dang immediately growled at them: "Roar!!!"
However, before Ding Dang could pounce on the two masked men, the ghostly face above Ye Ling's head lunged at them and swallowed them in one gulp!
The two men were completely devoured by the ghostly face before they could even let out a scream, leaving Ding Dang stunned.
After swallowing the two masked men, the ghostly face seemed to have a will of its own. It grinned menacingly at Ding Dang, scaring Ding Dang into taking several steps back!
After scaring Ding Dang, the ghostly face let out a sinister laugh, then turned into black energy and re-entered Ye Ling's body.
Ye Ling closed his eyes again, his entire being returning to a state of calm.
The courtyard fell silent again. A Yu inside the house was still sleeping soundly. Only Ding Dang, terrified by the ghostly face, couldn't fall asleep for a long time and dared not approach Ye Ling anymore.
The next morning.
A Yu walked out of the house, stretched, and then called out to Ye Ling and Ding Dang in the courtyard, "Little Ye Zi, Ding Dang, good morning!"
"Roar~" Ding Dang, looking exhausted, looked at A Yu with a complex expression.
A Yu patted Ding Dang's head and asked, "Ding Dang, did you sleep badly last night? You even have dark circles under your eyes... I think I heard you roaring last night."
Ding Dang glanced at Ye Ling, who was still meditating, then looked at A Yu. It wanted to explain what happened last night to A Yu, but it couldn't speak, and A Yu couldn't read its thoughts. It could only worry.
At this moment, Ye Ling also woke up from his meditation. Seeing the exhausted Ding Dang, he seemed unaware of what had happened last night and asked A Yu, "A Yu, what's wrong with Ding Dang?"
A Yu shook her head, "I don't know... it seems like it didn't sleep well. Weren't you meditating in the courtyard all night? Did you notice anything unusual?"
Ye Ling shook his head, "I was focused on healing my injuries all night and didn't pay attention to the outside world."
"That's strange..." A Yu looked puzzled. "Ding Dang usually sleeps very well. Why would it suddenly not sleep well? Did something scare it?"
Ye Ling looked at Ding Dang at this moment and found that Ding Dang, who had always been extremely affectionate towards him, was suddenly afraid of him. He frowned slightly, "Is Ding Dang afraid of me?"
Seeing Ding Dang's gaze, Ye Ling had a vague guess.
Last night, when he was clearing out the dark power, there was a slight mistake, which caused his consciousness to fall asleep for a period of time...
Perhaps something happened during that period that scared Ding Dang.
Ye Ling felt a little guilty about this and asked A Yu, "What should we do now? Ding Dang looks frightened and so exhausted. We probably can't make a long journey."
A Yu, however, said, "That's fine. I have herbs here to refresh and replenish spiritual energy. Just feed them to Ding Dang, and it'll be fine."
Saying that, A Yu ran back into the house to get the herbs.
While A Yu was in the house, Ye Ling approached Ding Dang. However, Ding Dang backed away repeatedly, as if it had seen a ghost, showing extreme fear of Ye Ling.
Seeing Ding Dang so terrified, Ye Ling asked, "Ding Dang, what did I do to scare you like this?"
Ding Dang: "Roar, roar, roar—!"
Ye Ling frowned, "You're saying I had a ghostly face appear and it ate two people?"
Ding Dang nodded repeatedly: "Roar, roar!"
"This is indeed the case..."
Hearing Ding Dang's answer, Ye Ling's mood became exceptionally heavy.
According to Ding Dang's description, he was clearly being eroded by the dark power...
This was no small matter.
Seeing that Ye Ling seemed to have returned to normal, Ding Dang's fear subsided by more than half. It cautiously approached Ye Ling: "Roar?"
Ye Ling came back to his senses and comforted Ding Dang, "Don't worry, Ding Dang. I won't hurt you or A Yu. Last night was just an accident."
Ding Dang was clearly still willing to believe Ye Ling. After hearing Ye Ling's answer, it breathed a sigh of relief and came back to Ye Ling, rubbing its head against Ye Ling repeatedly, as if to soothe its wounded soul.
Ye Ling chuckled and stroked Ding Dang's head, but his mood grew heavier.
Although he said it was an accident, the matter of being controlled by dark power...
It was truly serious!
Ye Ling looked at A Yu inside the house, his eyelids lowered, and he softly murmured, "It seems it's time for me to leave."