"Junior Sister Wen! I knew you were not dead!"
"Junior Sister Wen, you are still alive!"
The two white-robed swordsmen had just seen Wen Yun and shouted out in surprise before they even got close to him. The iconic rough voices belonged to Zhu Erchong and Bao Pilong.
By the time they reached Wen Yun, the two burly men's eyes were already red. Bao Pilong even pulled Zhu Erchong's sleeve to blow his nose before he could speak.
"That day you were ambushed and stabbed by that bastard Xie Xun and you disappeared. They all said that you were abducted by the Xie family, but we didn't believe it and have been looking for you."
That day, Wen Yun suddenly disappeared under everyone's eyes. Qian Zhenzi and others all claimed that Wen Yun was abducted by someone from the Xie family.
Because the two brothers of the Xie family also disappeared at the same time, no one had any suspicions. They just thought that someone had used the same hiding technique as Xie Shiyi to take them away together.
But the people of Qingliu Sword Sect didn't believe it. They wanted to rescue Wen Yun at that time, but were stopped by Qian Zhenzi!
Afterwards, the old man even sent Qian Lishen to apologize, saying that he wanted to capture the Xie family members as quickly as possible and was not targeting Wen Yun. It was just a misunderstanding, and he hoped that the fellow Taoists of Qingliu Sword Sect could understand, etc.
However, although the sword cultivators are straightforward, they are not stupid.
They keenly noticed that the seniors like Qian Zhenzi seemed to be fighting for something. Thinking of the great power when Wen Yun's golden elixir was revealed, and remembering that Xie Mi'an had also stolen Wen Yun's golden elixir, they just thought that they were fighting for Wen Yun's golden elixir for their younger generations.
After all, no one knows whether they have given birth to a useless grandson like Xie Mi'an.
More importantly, they couldn't think of any other reason.
This speculation made the senior brothers and sisters feel even more distressed and pitiful for Wen Yun. Senior Sister Meng Ran even ran outside the yard that night and cried and scolded the old dog all night long.
Both of them had greasy hair, their white shirts were almost turning gray, and their faces looked haggard. They did not have the same energetic spirit as usual, but they still forced out a sincere smile towards Wen Yun.
"We later asked Qian Lishen... By the way, although he looks weird, he is a very loyal person. And Jiang Si is also helping us to find you near Fubuki Island."
Zhu Erchong immediately took over the conversation: "Later, we couldn't find it, so we split up. Senior Sister Meng Ran took the others back to the sect to report what happened at the sword discussion meeting, and we came together to Xuantian Secret Realm to find medicine for you."
What was originally thought to be just a sword-fighting competition turned out to be full of twists and turns. As soon as the two saw Wen Yun, they had countless things to say, and for a moment the forest became extremely lively.
Ye Shubai watched quietly from a distance and did not move forward.
Ever since the fusion of the two jade infant fragments, his body has become much more solid, and he can even freely control whether to reveal his figure.
These days, there were only him and her in the Xuantian Secret Realm, so Ye Shubai had never hidden his existence, but now he deliberately restrained his aura and presence.
He had long known that Wen Yun was very popular with those young disciples. After all, the young people of this generation in Qingliu Sword Sect were quite open-minded, and Wen Yun, who was equally open-minded, was the same type of person as them.
Unlike him, he is old-fashioned and cold-hearted. He has always been alone. From being unknown to becoming famous in the world of cultivation, he has always been a loner.
I guess Wen Yun must be feeling suffocated having to spend these days with such a boring old man like him.
Moreover, if he went out rashly, Wen Yun might feel embarrassed, and it would be difficult to explain his identity. After all, his identity had become extremely sensitive in the Qingliu Sword Sect.
Ye Shubai took a step back quietly.
However, before he could completely remove his clothes, Wen Yun, who had just been held by his two senior brothers and questioned non-stop, had turned around and walked towards him. He grabbed his hand and pulled him out from behind the bushes.
"Why don't you go and see your disciples?"
Ye Shubai hesitated for a rare moment: "If I were here, you might not feel comfortable."
Wen Yun answered smoothly: "I feel uncomfortable when you are not around."
Then he was led outside and appeared in front of Zhu Erchong and Bao Pilong in a dignified manner, so that the two of them could see what a sword cultivator's image spokesperson was.
As expected, the two of them couldn't help but pause slightly when Ye Shubai appeared.
Bao Pilong said angrily: "Fuck, this guy is even better looking than Jiang Si..."
Zhu Erchong stroked his beard and whispered, "More than that, I feel like he's almost catching up with me..."
It's not like they haven't seen good-looking male cultivators before. If they were to be elegant and gentle, then Yu Qinghong from the Yu family was one of them; if they were to be unrestrained and handsome, then Jiang Si had made many people jealous. Even they themselves could still make their junior sisters cheer when they drew their swords.
However, now that Ye Shubai was standing in front of them, they felt as if they were facing a towering, beautiful, and lonely snow-capped mountain. It was high and cold, making people inexplicably fearful and looking up at him, and they did not dare to compete with him at all.
"It was he who saved me that day. He is from our Tenth Peak..."
Hearing this, Zhu Erchong's previous vigilance was swept away. He laughed and took over the conversation without waiting for Wen Yun to speak: "So he is a fellow disciple from the Tenth Peak! The Tenth Peak is really full of hidden talents, and it even has such an outstanding junior brother!"
This is a straightforward sword cultivator, who especially cherishes the friendship among fellow disciples when they are outside, but when they return to the sect, they start to look down on each other and always clamor for sword-drawing competitions.
Bao Pilong also put his arm around Ye Shubai's shoulder in a familiar manner and asked with a smile, "What's your last name, Junior Brother?"
Ye Shubai: "Ye."
"Junior Brother Ye! Since we are from the same sect, there is no need to be so reserved. The senior brothers will definitely take care of you like they did Junior Sister Wen!"
Zhu Erchong generously put his arm around the other shoulder of the new junior fellow apprentice and said with a smile, "His name is Bao Pilong, and mine is Zhu Erchong. We are both disciples of the eleventh generation, so we have some seniority within the sect. If anyone dares to bully you when you return to the sect, just tell us our names!"
Wen Yun secretly glanced at Ye Shubai, who looked calm as usual, and quietly asked through his mental power: "Which generation of disciple are you from?"
Ye Shubai said coldly: "Seventh generation."
Oh no.
Two senior brothers, do you know that the person you are hugging is the ancestor with the highest seniority
Wen Yun decided not to scare them. She told Ye Shubai, "Why don't you just pretend to be a junior brother? You see, calling me junior brother sounds younger than calling me master, right? Do you feel uncomfortable being called master by a disciple like Senior Brother Zhu?"
Ye Shubai glanced at Zhu Erchong, who had a beard and looked anxious, and said nothing.
So, Master Ye became Junior Brother Ye.
After knowing that Wen Yun was rescued by Junior Brother Ye and then accidentally entered the Xuantian Secret Realm, Zhu Erchong was amazed and told him many things that happened to them outside.
"Junior Sister Wen, we didn't know that you were thanked by your master..."
His voice stagnated for a moment, as if he didn't know how to address Xie Mi'an.
Finally, he just sighed and continued, "Everyone originally thought that he was just a sword genius, and because of his extraordinary family background, he didn't look down on us, so we seldom interacted with each other. But I didn't expect that you suffered such injustice from Xie Mi'an."
"We sword cultivators are always happy to avenge our enemies. We all enjoyed watching you draw your sword to avenge your hatred. However, Senior Sister Liu had a deep friendship with him after all, and she seemed very sad. As a result, she was eliminated in the first round of the sword competition. The day before she returned to the sect, we saw her crying in front of the Xie family's courtyard. We didn't know how to comfort her."
Bao Pilong saw this and quickly changed the subject: "Why are you talking about this? Junior Sister Wen escaped death, we should celebrate. Senior Brother Zhu, do you have any wine?"
"Why drink wine? Junior Sister Wen is still a little girl, she can't drink."
"No, this is the fruit wine that Senior Sister Meng Ran left for me. It's not intoxicating."
The two men were born cheerful people, and they immediately started to tease Wen Yun with a smile. As it was already late and it was not convenient to move, they simply took out a lot of food from the mustard seed bag, lit a fire, warmed the wine and started drinking.
Ye Shubai sat quietly aside and watched the excitement over there, then lowered his eyes silently, not knowing what he was thinking.
There seemed to be an invisible barrier between him and others, and he always found it difficult to fit in.
Wen Yun's gaze quietly fell on Ye Shubai's face, and then he reached out and gently tugged at his sleeve.
He turned his head slightly to look back at her, the firelight made his exceptionally thick and long eyelashes tremble, and cast a heavy shadow on his pupils.
Sure enough, she is several times more beautiful than Jiang Si.
She leaned closer to him and took out the pheasant she had killed while treasure hunting. "Here, roast it. This is what Senior Brother Ye just hunted. It looks fat."
This sentence successfully brought Ye Shubai into the topic.
The two men took the fat chicken with a smile, and were preparing to skewer and roast it as they knew best. However, when Zhu Erchong saw the color of the chicken feathers, his hands trembled and he almost dropped the chicken into the fire.
"Fuck! Junior Brother Ye, how did you catch this chicken?"
Zhu Erchong and Bao Pilong swallowed their saliva and stared at the chicken stupidly.
Looks so familiar.
Isn’t this the guardian chicken of the Second Peak
The chicken had been kept like an old man on the top of the second peak. Its coop was made of soft silk and it was fed with spiritual rice that could only be bought with top-grade spiritual jade. As for what use it had…
The current Second Peak Master once told me seriously: "This chicken is a spiritual chicken tamed by a certain master. It is said that after being taught by an immortal, it has lived for more than 500 years. It may be able to directly ascend to heaven one day."
In addition to its long life, the chicken could also fly very fast. A daring disciple once tried to secretly pluck two of its feathers, but he couldn't catch up with the chicken even with his sword.
So privately, everyone calls that chicken...
Helicopter chicken.
Who on earth are Junior Brother Ye? How dare he hurt such a magical chicken!
Half an hour later, the two men, one took cumin and the other took pepper salt, and sprinkled them on the chicken desperately, sniffing at the same time.
"How delicious! It turns out that the helicopter chicken was brought out from the Xuantian Secret Realm. Junior Brother Ye, let's go catch two more to eat tomorrow morning!"
"good."
Ye Shubai sat aside and rarely spoke up, then he held back Zhu Erchong's hand that was about to throw wild pepper on the chicken: "No, Wen Yun can't eat this."
Zhu Erchong: "You even remember the taste? Junior Brother Ye, it seems that you are really a considerate person with a cold face but a warm heart."
Ye Shubai lowered his eyes and said nothing. He knew that he was not a considerate person and he always only remembered things related to the sword. Only by being so focused could he reach this state.
As for why she suddenly appeared as an exception, he had no idea.
Wen Yun smiled and said, "Yes, Senior Brother Ye is a very good person. From now on, if you want to practice sword in the morning, just come to him."
Let Ye Shubai come and practice sword with them, she refused to get up early.
Zhu Erchong, who was standing next to him, was grinning as he gnawed on a chicken leg. Suddenly, he remembered something, put down the chicken leg, and sighed, "Oh, it would be great if the communication jade slip could be used here. This way, Junior Brother Shen would know that we found you, and he wouldn't have to worry in the secret realm."
Wen Yun was stunned. She had always thought that only two senior brothers from the Qingliu Sword Sect had obtained the qualification to enter the Xuantian Secret Realm, but she didn't expect that Shen Xinghai would also come in!
Isn't he only at the foundation-building stage? How could he be ranked in the top ten in a sword-fighting competition where so many heroes gathered? !
When Shen Xinghai was mentioned, the two of them looked surprised. "Speaking of Junior Brother Shen, it's really eye-opening. He didn't say a word for three days after you disappeared. He only said before the sword fighting meeting that you were secretly injured by Xie Xun, and asked us to enter the Xuantian Secret Realm to find life-saving medicine for you."
"But I didn't expect that Junior Brother Shen, who was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, would fight for his life at the sword competition. He even nearly cut off his arm during the competition with a sword cultivator from the Jiang family, but he didn't give up."
"Then... he broke through during the battle, condensed into a golden elixir, and broke into the top ten in one fell swoop."
"We originally advised him to recuperate outside for two days before coming back, but he refused and went straight into the Xuantian Secret Realm. As for where he is in the secret realm, we don't know."
Upon hearing this, Ye Shubai explained to Wen Yun, who was puzzled, "Everyone who enters the Xuantian Secret Realm will land somewhere randomly. It is purely a coincidence that the two of them met each other."
Being alone like Shen Xinghai is a normal situation.
Wen Yun frowned, feeling both grateful and worried towards Shen Xinghai. Without any hesitation, he immediately expanded his mental power and began to search for his whereabouts.
Zhu Erchong and the others were puzzled when they saw Wen Yun suddenly close his eyes.
Ye Shubai covered it up for her calmly: "She is using a formation to search for Shen Xinghai's whereabouts, please don't disturb her."
This is not a lie.
The other two guys who knew nothing about battle formations and Xuantian Secret Realm had no idea how terrible this thing was. Of course, if it were Qian Lishen, they would probably be surprised for a while, but when it came to Wen Yun, they just thought it was natural.
Junior Sister Wen's attainments in formations have even amazed that old monster Qian Zhenzi, so there will be no problem finding someone in the Xuantian Secret Realm.
They had long been accustomed to her performing many miracles. There was simply nothing in this world that she could not do!
However, Wen Yun was not as relaxed as they thought.
The girl sat there quietly, her brows furrowed.
The Xuantian Secret Realm became even more difficult to explore at night. In addition, she had already consumed a lot of her mental energy during the day, and she felt a splitting headache when she used it again.
When her mental power and the magic circle combined, her face turned pale.
Even Bao Pilong and Zhuer Chong, who were unfamiliar with formations, realized something was wrong.
The two exclaimed: "Junior Sister Wen!"
Ye Shubai had an extremely cold expression on his face, and he solemnly rebuked them: "Shut up!"
The two direct disciples who were highly respected everywhere did as they were told unconsciously. The tremendous pressure they felt from these two simple words was even greater than when they faced those old monsters in the Tribulation Crossing Stage!
The two men lowered their heads and looked at each other, and saw astonishment in each other's eyes.
Ye Shubai ignored the two of them. He grabbed Wen Yun's hand without hesitation, clasped his fingers together, and used his mental power to share the pressure with Wen Yun.
Zhu Erchong's eyes were shocked: These two people are so intimate!
Bao Pilong felt envious: I have never held a female cultivator’s hand, why is he so skilled
Fortunately, the two of them only exchanged glances and did not dare to say a word under the intimidation of Ye Shubai just now, for fear of disturbing Wen Yun's search for someone.
With Ye Shubai's help, the scene in front of Wen Yun began to become clearer.
After finding Shen Xinghai, her eyes suddenly widened. Without taking a rest, she said quickly, "Go to the black forest in the south quickly. Senior Brother Shen is in big trouble now!"
Shen Xinghai was indeed in big trouble.
The wound on his hand had not yet healed. After entering the Xuantian Secret Realm, he was separated from the others and ended up alone in a dark forest where no sunlight could be seen.
These old trees, which had been growing for who knows how many years, were like coiled dragons, and were hard and dense, blocking all the light from above. It was difficult for him to fly away with his sword, and he could only move forward with difficulty relying on the sword light.
However, when Shen Xinghai walked into the depths of the dense forest, he suddenly heard a strange noise in his ears. He leaned against a very thick tree trunk, holding his breath and paying full attention to the movements around him.
The fire sword light was like a torch in the dark night, casting distorted and swaying shadows of the long trees.
Suddenly, one of the tree shadows slowly moved behind him, but Shen Xinghai was unaware of it. He was still staring ahead as if facing a powerful enemy.
When the tree shadow approached, it was too late for him to react. The black shadow suddenly jumped out and swung its long tail towards Shen Xinghai. Only then did he realize that it was a black python as thick as an adult's arm!
Shen Xinghai raised his sword and shouted angrily: "Even if the heaven wants to kill me, why should I be afraid of a mere insect?"
The sharp sword with fire attribute sword energy slashed out fiercely, and some substantial flames burst out, igniting the dead branches and leaves in the dense forest.
However, the black python was not afraid at all. It just stared at Shen Xinghai with its cold eyes and kept attacking him like a black lightning. Shen Xinghai could still cope with it at first, but later he was powerless and his hand was entangled by the black python.
The sword in his hand fell to the ground and he lost the strength to resist. As the snake's tail wrapped around him tighter and tighter, he gradually had difficulty breathing and his face turned purple.
At this moment, the picture of the magic circle that he had kept close to his body was also squeezed and shattered.
A translucent barrier glowed from his body, and actually resisted the python's entanglement. It was as if something was blocking between him and the python, making it difficult for the beast to exert any more force!
Seeing that its usual tricks had lost their effect, the giant python raised its eyes with anger, raised its inverted triangle head high, opened its huge mouth to reveal a row of sharp teeth like long needles, and actually intended to bite it down directly!
At this moment, a sound of breaking through the air was heard, and a clear and high roar was heard above the dark forest that was originally dark. A strong golden sword energy suddenly attacked and actually cut through the dense forest above Shen Xinghai's head!
Wen Yun and his companions saw the giant black python at a glance.
Zhu Erchong drew his sword without hesitation, and while running forward, he shouted to Bao Pilong: "Junior Brother Bao, come and help me clear the battle formation, this beast is probably at the Nascent Soul stage!"
Bao Pilong flew forward and responded: "I don't need to worry! Junior Sister Wen, don't be afraid of this snake. Senior Brother will deal with this beast right away-"
The petite figure behind them flew past them without saying a word.
Wen Yun directly took Ye Shubai's wooden sword. At this moment, the spiritual power in the flawless golden elixir in her dantian was like a vast ocean, making her as light as a swallow without the help of magic. The powerful spiritual power began to surge and condense on the sword body.
With a light leap, she, in her moon-white gauze dress, seemed to transform into moonlight, leaping through the dark forest, rushing to the giant python at almost the speed of light.
The girl's eyes were colder than the pair of vertical eyes. With a flick of her wrist, the sword light condensed with surging spiritual power and magical elements, transformed into another invisible sword, and slashed fiercely at the giant python's neck!
The snake head that was about to swallow Shen Xinghai suddenly fell to the ground with a foul smell. The headless python body was still entangled with him, but it could no longer exert any strength.
It all happened extremely quickly, from the time she drew her sword to the time the python suddenly died, it seemed like just a blink of an eye.
Shen Xinghai, whose face turned blue and purple, lay on the ground, gasping for breath, his eyes staring blankly at a place not far away.
The gentle moonlight has passed through the cut forest, falling into the darkness and onto the slender figure.
She held a sword and stepped on the python's head, her black hair draped over her slender waist, her eyebrows and eyes were clear, as sparse, cold and beautiful as the moon hanging above her head.
Wen Yun kicked the python's head away, walked to Shen Xinghai and cut open the python's body to save him, and asked worriedly: "Brother Shen, are you hurt anywhere?"
He was still a little absent-minded, staring blankly at Wen Yun, and answered in a low voice: "I'm not hurt."
At this time, Bao Pilong and Zhu Erchong arrived. They hugged Shen Xinghai excitedly. The rough man said with tears in his eyes: "Fortunately, Junior Sister Wen calculated your location and finally saved your life!"
"Junior Brother Shen, it's a good thing you didn't die. If you died, who would teach us how to be the most elegant swordsman?"
After saying that, he patted Shen Xinghai on the back heavily, feeling very emotional.
As expected of a powerful swordsman, this slap made Shen Xinghai cough violently and he also spat out a mouthful of black blood.
Wen Yun sighed: "Let Senior Brother Shen go first. He was entangled by the giant python just now and I'm afraid he is injured now."
Knowing that he had done something wrong, Zhu Erchong quickly stepped aside and dug out a pile of half-worn sect disciple uniforms from his mustard seed bag, ready to use as a mat for him to lie on.
"The conditions are simple, please don't despise me, Junior Brother Shen. Just make do with it."
However, Shen Xinghai was not willing to lie on the ground. He supported himself and got up, looking at Wen Yun steadily.
Finally, he bowed his head and clasped his fists deeply: "Junior Sister Wen, if it weren't for you, I would have lost my life long ago."
He accidentally entered this dark forest and found three ways to escape, all of which were given by Wen Yun.
One was the suddenly generated defensive formation, which was the soft armor that Wen Yun gave to him in return when he gave it to Wen Yun.
Second, as Zhu Erchong said just now, it was Wen Yun who calculated his location.
three…
He was afraid that he would never forget the charm of the sword under the moon.
Shen Xinghai took a deep breath, took a step forward and looked directly at Wen Yun, looking at her beautiful face, and lowered his head in embarrassment.
He said very seriously: "You gave me the order. From now on, I will obey you at the cost of my life."
Wen Yun: "Actually, there's no need to be so polite. I heard that Senior Brother Shen is also planning to come to Xuantian Secret Realm to find medicine for me. We are all from the same sect..."
Before she finished her words, a cold male voice suddenly came from the other side.
"Wen Yun, come here."
The man in white stood not far away, his eyes quietly fell on Shen Xinghai, and then lightly moved to Wen Yun.
The girl he called responded and walked towards the man in white without hesitation.
Both of them were born as cold and aloof as banished immortals, and as gentle as the moonlight in the sky, yet making people look up. Although there was a short distance between them, their shadows gradually overlapped under the moonlight.
It turns out they are such a perfect match.
Zhu Erchong picked up the old clothes on the ground, supported Shen Xinghai, and introduced him with a smile: "That is Junior Brother Ye from the Tenth Peak. He and Junior Sister Wen are from the same peak. It was Junior Brother Ye who rescued her at that time."
Shen Xinghai bowed and said: "Greetings, Senior Brother Ye. Thank you for saving Junior Sister Wen!"
Ye Shubai looked at Shen Xinghai quietly and ignored him.
Then he looked down at Wen Yun and suddenly asked, "Are you hurt?"
Wen Yun didn't react, he blinked and looked at him: "Huh?"
Ye Shubai asked again in a calm tone: "Were you injured in the fight with the giant python just now?"
Wen Yun felt a little strange that Ye Shubai would actually take the initiative to ask her such a question today. With his strength, he should have seen the battle situation clearly.
With her superb swordsmanship and the ability to kill a hundred giant pythons with a cup of tea, how could she be injured
But Ye Shubai was also concerned about himself, so Wen Yun certainly couldn't argue back.
She raised her head with a smile and said to him, "You taught me swordsmanship yourself. Don't worry, I haven't hurt a hair."
Ye Shubai nodded slightly: "Well, that's good."
Shen Xinghai pursed his lips and watched the two people's intimate behavior without saying a word.
Bao Pilong and Zhu Erchong didn't find it strange at all. After all, they had just seen them holding hands and warming themselves by the fire.
They were amazed at another thing: "It turns out that Junior Sister Wen's swordsmanship was taught by Junior Brother Ye. I heard that Junior Sister Wen's master had passed away. I guess Junior Brother Ye is teaching her on his behalf."
"Junior Brother Ye, wait for me in the grove tomorrow morning, and let's have a sword fight!"
As they were talking, the two men in tattered clothes took out a valuable silk scarf and began to carefully wipe the swords in their hands, looking eager to try.
The deceased master himself: “…”
Wen Yun was very satisfied. She didn't expect that her casual words would make the two senior brothers draw their swords and change their target to Ye Shubai. It was really a great blessing!
Ye Shubai avoided talking about the sword-drawing contest. He stepped aside and said in a deep voice, "Just now I found a person hiding in the dark. He should be the one controlling the giant python."
Only then did everyone realize there was a dead body lying behind Ye Shubai.
The man held a tiny leaf whistle in his hand, his eyes still open lifelessly, but there was a small bloody hole on his chest, and blood was oozing out of it.
Wen Yun frowned, took a look at the man, kicked him over with a swift move, and then used his sword to pull open the shirt at the back of his neck.
Sure enough, this man also had a black feathered serpent tattooed on his neck!
"Sure enough, it's another demon cultivator!"
Hearing the word "demon cultivator", the other three were all stunned: "What? Demon cultivator!"
Wen Yun nodded, his tone serious: "Yes, I didn't tell you before, but we have already found traces of demon cultivators in Xuantian Secret Realm. The tattoo on the back of his neck is the symbol of demon cultivators."
Zhu Erchong's expression froze. He squatted down and looked at the man on the ground carefully. After thinking for a long time, he was surprised: "I have seen this man before! When we were outside Fubuki Island!"
Shen Xinghai also spoke up: "This seems to be a sword cultivator from the Jiang family."
Sure enough, when everyone looked closely in the light of the sword, they found that there was a nine-ring broadsword embroidered on the cuffs of the man's clothes, which was the symbol of the Jiang family.
Bao Pilong was already shocked, and even his voice became stammering: "Could it be that the Jiang... Jiang family actually colluded with the demon cultivators?"
This seems to be the only possibility.