Is It Reasonable for Me to Start a Sect at 12?

The sound of reading had continued inside the cave all night without pause, and there didn't seem to be any signs of trouble or drastic changes. With that in mind, Yuan Bi and Yuan Qing remained outside, patiently waiting.

Little did they know that inside the cave, Liao Pantou, who was in the Soul Nourishment Pendant, was both shocked and concerned as he watched Lin Xiao continue without stopping and saw that the black mist surrounding the Yuan family ancestor had already dissipated by half.

Jiang Youfu, on the other hand, was unaware that something might be wrong. He only knew that he had been reading for so long that his mouth had gone numb and dry. If not for the spiritual energy he used to keep his mouth hydrated, his lips might have started peeling.

Fortunately, it seemed that the Yuan family ancestor's condition had improved significantly, which meant that Lin Xiao's spell was working.

With this realization, Jiang Youfu, who had been feeling a bit numb from all the reading, found his focus returning.

Meanwhile, Lin Xiao remained seated near the Yuan family ancestor, completely immersed in erasing the black mist bit by bit using the Purification of the Mind technique.

Suddenly, Lin Xiao heard a voice filled with anger directly reach his consciousness:

"Who dares to ruin my plans?!"

The sheer force of the voice shook Lin Xiao to his core.

The heart demon of a Nascent Soul cultivator is truly no ordinary force, he thought. It was powerful enough to suppress its host, and it nearly shattered Lin Xiao's focus.

Just as his mind began to waver, the clear sound of Jiang Youfu's reading echoed into his ears with perfect clarity.

The reading stabilized his mind, allowing him to quickly regain control of his thoughts. Lin Xiao immediately refocused and intensified the Purification of the Mind spell.

There was nothing the heart demon could do. It was merely the heart demon of the Yuan family ancestor and had no direct power over others. The only reason it was able to shock Lin Xiao earlier was because Lin Xiao was using a spell that made contact with it, giving the heart demon a brief window of opportunity.

But it hadn't expected Lin Xiao to recover so quickly, even under its intense pressure.

Angry and helpless, the heart demon could only watch as it was slowly but surely erased. In its desperation, it turned all its remaining power toward viciously tormenting the Yuan family ancestor. If it couldn't survive, it would drag its host down with it.

However, by now, Lin Xiao had already erased one-third of the heart demon's influence. Sensing that the burden had lightened, the Yuan family ancestor, driven by a strong will to survive, began actively resisting the heart demon's attacks.

Under the combined pressure from both inside and outside, and with much of its strength already diminished, the heart demon was rapidly losing power.

Jiang Youfu, who had been observing closely, saw that the black mist surrounding the Yuan family ancestor had dissipated significantly, revealing the elder beneath it.

Now able to see clearly, Jiang Youfu was startled to find that the elder's body was covered in festering sores. Dark, thick blood seeped from the wounds, like viscous ink, creating a disturbing sight.

The sight made Jiang Youfu shudder. Would he and the others end up like this one day if they ever fell victim to a heart demon?

But as the black mist thinned, the festering sores on the elder's body seemed to stop spreading, and the flow of dark blood gradually slowed.

Jiang Youfu, inwardly impressed, couldn't help but think, My brother Lin Xiao is amazing!

Just as that thought crossed his mind, he suddenly heard a loud thud and turned to see Lin Xiao collapsing unconscious onto the ground.

"Brother Lin!" Jiang Youfu shouted in alarm.

Inside the Soul Nourishment Pendant, Liao Pantou momentarily forgot his usual caution. Seeing Lin Xiao fall, he hurriedly extended a hand from the pendant, threw two small objects onto the ground, and then quickly retreated.

He then spoke to Jiang Youfu, who had rushed over to support Lin Xiao:

"Don't worry, he's fine. He just overexerted himself and passed out from spiritual exhaustion. Fatty, use the miniature spirit boat and the invisibility talisman I just gave you when you leave."

Jiang Youfu didn't ask any questions. He picked up the palm-sized spirit boat and the invisibility talisman from the ground and tucked them into his robe. Then, half-supporting, half-carrying the unconscious Lin Xiao, he stood up.

The sound of reading had abruptly ceased, and Jiang Youfu's shout had made it clear that something had happened. Outside the cave, Yuan Bi and Yuan Qing immediately realized that something was wrong.

Without wasting a moment, Yuan Bi quickly formed a hand seal and opened the large stone door. As soon as it lifted, they saw Jiang Youfu supporting Lin Xiao as they exited the cave.

"What happened to Lin Daoyou?" Yuan Bi asked urgently.

Jiang Youfu shook his head, his voice filled with concern, "It looks like he overused his spiritual energy. Uncle Yuan, I need to take him back to rest. We can talk later."

Hearing this, Yuan Bi examined Lin Xiao closely and saw that he was indeed just suffering from spiritual exhaustion. There were no signs of any other harm.

How could he refuse? Lin Xiao had exhausted himself trying to help their ancestor. Without hesitation, Yuan Bi nodded and said, "I'll take you both back."

Before Jiang Youfu could respond, Yuan Bi had already summoned his flying artifact—a spirit boat of his own.

He added, "Don't worry, Jiang Daoyou. I'll use my spirit boat to take you out without anyone knowing."

Realizing this, Jiang Youfu silently swallowed the words, "We can go on our own."

Looks like I can save the invisibility talisman, Jiang Youfu thought.

The invisibility talismans crafted by Elder Liu were incredibly difficult to make. Liao Pantou had previously mentioned that they were running low, so when Yuan Bi offered to escort them, Jiang Youfu immediately decided to save the talisman for future use.

Yuan Bi turned to close the stone door, resisting the temptation to check on his ancestor before taking Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu back.

He only quickly scanned the cave with his spiritual sense and, confirming that the Yuan family ancestor was fine, promptly sealed the stone door. He then activated his spirit boat and began escorting Jiang Youfu and Lin Xiao back to their inn.

As the spirit boat ascended, a delayed realization struck Yuan Bi. When I opened the stone door just now, there didn't seem to be any heart demon energy escaping...

Moreover, when he had scanned the ancestor, the black mist surrounding him had noticeably thinned.

Yuan Bi was astonished. The black mist has dissipated significantly!

Could this really have been the result of Lin Xiao and Jiang Youfu's efforts?

Yuan Bi had initially thought that Lin Xiao's claim to "ease the burden" on the ancestor would result in a slight reduction of the heart demon's power. But judging by the glimpse he caught earlier, it seemed to be far more than just "a little."

If this was truly the case, then... These two are truly remarkable!