Chapter 106 Soul Technique "Why won't you even give me a shattered soul...?"

Jiang Yu raised his hand high, about to strike, when he heard Li Mengbai murmur, "So thirsty... I need water..."

"not enough……"

She had no choice but to scrub her face hard, and still felt it wasn't enough, so she washed her face again.

After washing up, he kicked the person at his feet and said, "Tell me where that bead is? I'll give you water."

Li Mengbai was parched with thirst. In the dim light, her eyes, after washing her face, looked bright and sparkling, making one want to kiss them.

"I don't know... I didn't take it... really." He raised his hand and weakly tore open a corner of his shirt. "If you don't believe me, come and search me."

He had already searched the Jiangyu Fire in his arms, so there was no point in searching any further. However, cultivators could hide things in many unseen and intangible places, such as his personal storage space.

However, she had lost all her spiritual power at this moment, so even if his storage space was placed in front of her, she could not open it.

Jiang Yuhuo was at a loss as to what to do with him, finding him to be a wicked and hateful man! After obtaining the Earth Flame Vine, she should make sure she never runs into him again.

"I'm so thirsty... Jiang Yuhuo... give me some water..." Li Mengbai's voice grew softer and softer, pleading with her in a coquettish tone, "Please give me a little... please..."

He could have used the Earth Flame Vine to blackmail her, but he didn't want Wen Yizhan to get between them anymore. What he wanted to establish was a direct connection between Jiang Yuhuo and him, not because of the Earth Flame Vine, but simply because of him, Li Mengbai.

He knew she would soften her heart.

Sure enough, a moment later, Jiang Yuhuo brought over a handful of water and coldly commanded, "Open your mouth."

Li Mengbai obediently did as she said, letting her pour water into his mouth. He stared intently at her impatient eyes, and suddenly realized something.

Even though she treated him like that, he didn't want to kill her at all.

"I want more."

Jiang Yuhuo's eyes looked like she wanted to kill him, but Li Mengbai insisted on pushing forward. He was fearless, knowing she would give him what he wanted.

When the second handful of water was poured into Li Mengbai's mouth, he was so engrossed in looking at the person that he choked violently.

He lay on the ground unable to cough, and unable to get up. For a moment, he felt like he was suffocating.

It wasn't until Jiang Yuhuo helped him sit up that he coughed until his eyes were blurry with tears. His internal organs, which had been injured earlier, were aggravated, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

This mouthful of blood was almost vomited out, more than the water Li Mengbai had drunk.

Jiang Yuhuo only realized something was wrong when she smelled the strong stench of blood. She shone her sword on him and found that his chin was covered in blood, making him look extremely horrifying.

Jiang Yuhuo was startled. "Are you going to die?"

A hand gently patted his back, and after a while, Li Mengbai finally caught his breath and softly leaned into the arms of the person in front of him. He wanted to glare at her fiercely; wasn't his current state all thanks to her? But he simply didn't have the strength, and could only weakly and aggrievedly accuse her.

Do you want me... to die?

"I didn't...take the beads, why...don't you believe me?"

Jiang Yuhu pushed the person aside and put him on her back. "Stop talking, let's go out and find a doctor."

Li Mengbai gave a soft "hmm".

Jiang Yuhuo didn't delay any longer and immediately carried the person on his back and walked outside.

Having rested long enough by the underground river, she regained some of her energy, quickened her pace, and continued walking along the river. Before long, she saw a light in the distance.

She patted the listless person on her back, "Wake up, look, the exit is just ahead."

Li Mengbai lifted his head from her neck and glanced at her.

A sliver of white light appeared ahead, and a faint breeze seemed to be blowing from that direction—it was undoubtedly the exit. He looked at it, yet a strange, inexplicable sense of loss washed over him, and he simply hummed in response.

Jiang Yuhuo assumed he was unwell and too weak to pay attention to her, so she quickened her pace.

The last section of the cave was completely blocked by a river, but fortunately it wasn't deep, only up to their knees. Jiang Yuhu waded through the water and made it out, but the scene outside the cave was completely different from when they entered the forbidden formation.

The low hillsides, the lush forests, the warm sunshine, and the cool breeze.

There is no longer any scene of ice and snow.

Where have they gone?

Jiang Yuhuo looked back at the dark cave entrance behind him. If he hadn't walked through it himself, he would never have imagined that the other end of this cave was a place covered in ice and snow.

It's like two completely different worlds.

Seeing the scene outside the cave, Li Mengbai was quite surprised. After resting on Jiang Yuhuo's back for a long time, he was in better spirits and became more talkative.

"Cough cough... The old man's pretty good at digging; this place is much better than that awful spot. Do you think he comes out every now and then?" Li Mengbai chuckled. "But given his condition, there's probably no point in him coming out..."

Jiang Yuhu interrupted him, "He has a name, his name is Situ Xin."

Moreover, this cave wasn't entirely dug by Situ Xin. Only the initial narrow passage showed signs of human excavation; the wider space that followed was clearly naturally formed, with the man-made passage simply connecting to this natural cavern. Jiang Yuhuo felt this clearly as she walked, while Li Mengbai, having been mostly asleep, was naturally unaware.

Jiang Yuhuo glanced back at the deep cave one last time. There was no longer that green-robed immortal in the world, and no one knew her mother's past anymore.

Li Mengbai paused slightly upon hearing the name, feeling a sense of familiarity, as if he had heard it somewhere before.

"Never mind, we're out anyway." As for where they ended up, he looked around but couldn't recognize it.

Once outside the cave, Jiang Yuhuo stopped carrying him and found Li Mengbai a stick for him to lean on.

Li Mengbai was initially reluctant; she wouldn't carry him, but shouldn't she at least help him? Seeing her exhausted face, and noticing the perfectly straight and symmetrical tree branch, Li Mengbai reluctantly accepted.

Although the two had drunk their fill of water, they hadn't eaten a single grain of rice along the way. If their bodies hadn't been those of cultivators, they would have starved to death inside. Now that they were outside, the feeling of hunger intensified, and their stomachs began to rumble incessantly.

This was a long-awaited experience for Jiang Yuhuo. Since joining Kunlun and cultivating spiritual power, she no longer needed to eat for long periods of time.

But now it's different. Without spiritual power, she will feel hungry and thirsty.

Li Mengbai was already weak, and coupled with hunger and exhaustion, his journey became increasingly difficult.

"I'm so hungry... Jiang Yuhuo, are you hungry too?"

He could hear her stomach growling.

"You stay here, I'll go into the woods and hunt some animals."

Just as Jiang Yuhuo was about to leave, Li Mengbai grabbed her sleeve, gesturing for her to look eastward.

On the distant hillside, a procession of people was approaching them, complete with carriages and horses, looking like the entourage of an official.

*

Qingping returned as instructed by Jiayue, and did not guard outside Shenshui Palace as usual, but she was still worried and would come to check on her from time to time.

Several days passed without any movement from inside; it seemed as if His Highness was asleep.

She sighed inwardly. There was nothing she could do but tell the people of Xihua Palace to stay away from Chenshui Palace during this period.

Elder Xingxuan and Ling Changyu came to inquire about the prince's condition, but she only said that the prince was unwell and needed to recuperate in Shenshui.

But she knew very well the reason for His Highness's state.

Sometimes, she couldn't help but regret that if she had been able to keep her there back then, things might have turned out differently. But no one can predict the future.

That night, Qingping carried a lantern and circled back to Shenshui Palace. The lights outside couldn't shine in; from the outside, it was pitch black inside, lifeless, like a tomb.

Qingping sighed and was about to leave when the door suddenly opened.

A white figure rushed out from inside, flying away with the speed of an arrow, its destination unknown.

"Your Highness!"

Never having seen His Highness in such a hurry, Qingping quickly followed and called to him from behind.

But the person seemed not to hear, and simply flew towards the back of the mountain.

Upon seeing the pristine white snow-capped peak, Qingping instantly understood and made no further advance.

She waited quietly across the snowfield, thinking that His Highness might still need to vent his emotions.

But when the white figure bravely jumped into the deep pit at the site of the old formation, Qingping was still startled and rushed over to check.

Suicide pacts are not uncommon among merfolk, but Your Highness is not that kind of person. When you learned of that mortal's death back then, Your Highness did not do anything out of line, and you certainly will not now.

Qingping told herself to stay calm.

After the Spirit-Sealing Array was destroyed, the ruins were cleared of all the rubble by the disciples of Tianque, leaving a pit nearly a hundred feet deep.

Qingping stood on the edge and looked down. She only glanced down before her eyes widened in horror. The scene below was even more frightening to her than the prince jumping into the pit.

The ground below was covered with a thin layer of snow. His Highness stood at the bottom of the pit and summoned the Life Pearl within his body, which inherited the power of the Mermaid God. The light emitted by the Life Pearl illuminated the entire pit and absorbed all the souls in this area.

This is a forbidden technique. The Heavenly Palace banned this soul-devouring technique many years ago. The person who devours the soul will be devoured by the soul in return, causing the caster to suffer double torment in both body and mind.

What's even more alarming is that Your Highness could use your own life pearl as a soul weapon! This is practically burning through your lifespan!

Jia Yue gazed silently at the bizarre and varied souls, trying to find Jiang Yuhuo's soul among them. Even if it was just a fragment of her soul, as long as it was placed in his life pearl and nourished by his destiny, he would eventually be able to see her again.

But no, her soul was not there.

As the light faded, the souls that had been drawn in from within a hundred miles dispersed again.

The man at the center of the light collapsed to his knees, the life bead returning to his body, but his spirit seemed to have gone with the other souls.

"Come out, Jiang Yuhuo... come out." The merman suddenly frantically pushed aside the rubble, releasing all his spiritual power. Like a mortal, he used his flesh and blood to search through the sharp rubble. His soft hands were instantly turned into a bloody mess, as if he felt no pain, letting the rubble cut his hands to pieces.

"Jiang Yuhuo, Jiang Yuhuo... come out!" The merman shouted the person's name frantically, muttering in panic, "Please come out... I will never forget you again, I will give you anything you want, why won't you come out!"

"Jiang Yuhuo... I was wrong." Another sharp stone sliced ​​through his palm, and his strength gradually waned. The merman, supporting his exhausted body, pleaded, "I was wrong... I shouldn't have let your senior brother put himself in danger. You can punish me however you want, just please come out..."

"Why won't you even give me a shattered soul..."

However, no one answered him; only the howling wind echoed across the desolate snowfield, its sound reverberating in the valley.

The sound of the wind was mixed with intermittent, suppressed sobs.

Did he cry again?

So, he was really that useless.

A tear fell silently, the large pearl landing on the back of her hand, piercing through the mangled flesh.

"Your Highness..."

It sounded like someone was calling him from behind. The merman turned around and saw Qingping not far away, desperately covering her mouth and sobbing.

Oh, so she's crying.

"Your Highness...please don't do this."

Qingping had jumped down the moment he summoned the Life Pearl. She never expected His Highness to do such a thing. Seeing such a horrifying scene, she was so shocked that she was speechless and could only stand there blankly, not daring to approach.

His Highness finally calmed down, and only then did Qingping dare to call his name softly from behind.

“Miss Jiang… is already dead.” Qingping’s voice trembled. “She… wouldn’t want to see His Highness like this.”

Jia Yue closed her eyes.

Yes, she is dead. He was on the other side of the formation when she stepped into it, wasn't he?

When he tried to hide her away, she carried him out of the formation so that the disciples could take him down to heal his wounds.

Even if his Xiao Jiang doesn't remember him, she can't bear to see him hurt, right?

His Xiao Jiang was such a good person, so why did fate not treat her kindly?

"Qingping, tell me."

The merman slowly stood up from the ground, his face stiff like a puppet, but a cold light gleamed deep in his blue eyes.

"What exactly happened when I returned to the mortal realm seven years ago?"