Qing Qing's eyes glinted with a scarlet hue as he stared menacingly at Li Xian and Shen Qing. Gathering spiritual energy in his palm, he summoned the tiny green sprout.
"Qing Qing, snap out of it!" Shen Qing noticed Qing Qing's strange state and immediately shouted at the top of her lungs, hoping to bring him back to his senses.
But Qing Qing remained oblivious. He raised his hand, and the tiny green sprout danced in his palm.
"Look... this is the All - Life Herb that everyone wants me to hand over. Isn't it fascinating?"
Staring at the All - Life Herb in his hand, Qing Qing's eyes grew increasingly deranged.
Then, a scarlet color completely covered the pupils of his eyes. Qing Qing had been besieged by inner demons, and slowly, the collapse, anger, and resentment of the demons overwhelmed all his rationality.
"Damn it, he's been possessed by inner demons!"
Seeing that his friend had fallen victim to inner demons, Li Xian didn't hesitate. He quickly flew forward, raising his hand to knock Qing Qing out. But the next second, the green sprout in Qing Qing's hand rapidly grew into a thick vine.
The vine easily blocked Li Xian's attack and then, with lightning speed, tied him up.
Seeing this, Qing Qing let out a few cold laughs. Bare - footed, he walked up to Li Xian and said, "Do you think the All - Life Herb can only be used to promote the growth of plants? But do you know... it can also kill people..."
Li Xian gritted his teeth as he felt the vine binding his body tightening. The ferocious expression on his friend's face made Li Xian realize that things couldn't go on like this.
"Qing Qing, wake up! Don't let the inner demons take over your heart. Don't I know who you are?!"
Li Xian roared this out with all his might.
But at this moment, Qing Qing couldn't listen to anything. He tilted his head and stared fixedly at Li Xian, a malicious smile playing on his lips.
"Who am I?"
"Humph..."
"What do you know? You think you're my good friend, but you don't know how miserable my life has been in the Green Wood Sect. You and Shen Qing are deeply in love, and you have everything. But what do I have?"
"Li Xian, I hate you the most. Your crazy mother tortured you so much before, yet you managed to survive. But why have I lost the confidence to live?"
The more Qing Qing thought, the more his expression became distorted with pain. He dragged his hands across his cheeks, leaving streaks of blood.
"I hate you all..."
After whispering this, the All - Life Herb in his hand rapidly expanded, sending out numerous vines that filled the small thatched cottage.
Noticing that Li Xian was struggling to breathe, Shen Qing summoned Wu Wang. Taking advantage of Qing Qing's inattention, she cut off the vine that was binding Li Xian.
Li Xian fell to the ground. After staggering a few steps, he also summoned his life - bound sword.
Shen Qing and Li Xian stood side by side, looking warily at Qing Qing in front of them.
"What should we do? He's been possessed by inner demons. If he can't overcome them on his own, it'll be very difficult for us to bring him back to his senses. If others find out, things will get really troublesome!"
Li Xian's eyes were filled with coldness as he said in a low voice, "Since Ban Fenghe brought this medicine here, she must have planned to harm Qing Qing. What do you think they'll do next?"
Shen Qing was shocked. Her heart was filled with disbelief. "Could it be that they used the medicine to trigger Qing Qing's inner demons just so that he would kill us both here? Then..."
"Then, whether Qing Qing kills us or we kill Qing Qing, the ultimate beneficiaries will be Sect Master Qing Dai and Ban Fenghe.
"If we die, they'll hand Qing Qing over to appease the anger of the Five - Element Dao Sect and the Azure Cloud Sword Sect. If Qing Qing dies, they can replace the young sect master legitimately and at the same time gain the support and guilt of our two sects."
Shen Qing stared with wide eyes, her chest heaving up and down. It was obvious that she was extremely angry.
"This kind of scheming... is so disgusting!"
Li Xian said with a cold face, "So we mustn't let their scheme succeed."
"What should we do..."
As they spoke, they cut down the vines that were attacking them. Qing Qing was wrapped in the huge vines, like a giant cocoon, with only his slightly eerie face showing.
Seeing that the small space was almost too crowded to stand in, Shen Qing gritted her teeth and shouted at Wu Wang, "Wu Wang, transform into a dragon!"
Wu Wang let out a roar and transformed into a huge dragon.
It protected Li Xian and Shen Qing in the center and then quickly destroyed the surrounding vines. After a few turns, all the surrounding vines had been cut off.
Seeing an opening, Shen Qing and Li Xian quickly jumped back.
"Wu Wang, come back!"
Wu Wang instantly transformed back into a sword and returned to Shen Qing's hand.
Qing Qing slowly walked out of the mess. Several huge flower buds grew on the vines beside him, wriggling and about to bloom.
"Didn't you say that you'd always be my good friends? Why are you leaving so quickly?"
There was an echo in Qing Qing's voice. One was his own, and the other was deep and eerie.
"Qing Qing, have you forgotten that you told me your purpose in the Azure Cloud Sword Sect was to save the world and heal the sick? Since the All - Life Herb has chosen you, you must be recognized. Don't doubt yourself because of what others say!"
Shen Qing roared, trying to bring Qing Qing back to his senses.
But Qing Qing just turned his head eerily. His scarlet eyes just stared at Shen Qing, seemingly unable to understand the meaning of her words.
"I can't even refine the Elixir of Immortality. Am I not a useless person? I've worked so hard, but I still can't change my male identity. Why wasn't I born a girl? If I were a girl, I wouldn't have to suffer so much..."
The vines slowly climbed up to Qing Qing's ear, and a very red flower grew on it. The flower was put on Qing Qing's temple by the vine, emitting a strange fragrance.
This fragrance made the scarlet in Qing Qing's eyes even more intense. He stroked the flower on his temple intoxicatingly, looking like a madman, and asked, "Look, I've put on a flower. Am I a girl now?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the flower buds around Qing Qing instantly bloomed, and countless scented powders burst out from the flowers.
Shen Qing and Li Xian smelled the fragrance of these flowers. It was very strong and a bit pungent. They quickly covered their noses and mouths, but even so, they still inhaled some of it.
After the pungency, Shen Qing felt her throat dry and itchy. The scene in front of her began to sway, and even her hands and feet started to feel weak.
"The flower fragrance is poisonous..."
Shen Qing looked at Li Xian and saw that he was also poisoned by the flower just like her.
Qing Qing took a deep breath of the fragrance floating from the flower and said obsessively, "This is the Datura flower. Its fragrance and pollen can cause hallucinations, make people faint, and fall into a dreamy sleep.
"If used as medicine, it will be a very good anesthetic. But now, I don't want to use it as medicine. I can turn it into a poison and let you accompany me..."
"Indulge in the Datura dream..."