Chapter 176 Awakening "Look carefully, she's the one who saved you!"...

A weak and listless remark reached the ears of the three people.

Li Mengbai felt as if someone had stabbed him in the heart. He was in so much pain that he couldn't speak, and could only feel the person in his arms moving away inch by inch.

An unprecedented sense of panic overwhelmed him, and Li Mengbai suddenly tightened his arms, pressing that slender body tightly back into his embrace, so tightly that he almost pressed the person into his own bones.

He pressed his face against Jiang Yuhuo's neck, tears streaming down her slender neck, hot and sticky.

After catching his breath several times, Li Mengbai was finally able to speak, his words muffled and unclear, "I don't understand the pact... I don't understand. We swore an oath before the gods, to never abandon each other in life or death... I know you just don't like the taste of my blood, I'll just empty it all out... Yu Huo, Yu Huo... don't do this to me... I can't bear it..."

Jiang Yuhuo felt exhausted.

He was always like this, showering her with affection while secretly deceiving and fooling her, watching her being played like a fool. She wasn't clever enough to fight him, and she was tired of it all. This engagement, already rife with intrigue and scheming, should end here.

Jiang Yuhuo grasped Li Mengbai's hand, and the two seal marks glowed faintly as they drew near.

Knowing what she was about to do, Li Mengbai abruptly pulled his hand away and took a step back. Startled and frightened, he quickly hid his hand behind his back, a madness flashing in his bloodshot eyes. "I don't understand, I don't understand! I'd rather die than understand!"

"I won't agree! We'll be bound together forever, and you can forget about leaving me!"

The marriage contract is based on mutual recognition, and so is its dissolution. If Li Mengbai is unwilling, this marriage contract will indeed bind them together forever, just as he said.

Jiang Yuhu struggled to her feet and pushed Li Mengbai away forcefully, but this made her face even paler, her whole face wrinkled up as if she was enduring some kind of pain, and she swayed as if she were about to collapse.

Li Mengbai felt as if his heart was being torn apart, and immediately went to catch her.

Seeing this, Wen Yizhan, despite her own injuries, tried to help her up.

But another pair of hands, before anyone else could reach her, scooped her up in their arms and carried her to an open space in another corner of the tomb without a word.

When did this merman appear?

Li Mengbai's heartache instantly turned into anger, and he rushed over to try and take the person back.

"Give her back to me! She's mine!"

But before Li Mengbai's hand could even touch the hem of the newcomer's clothes, an icicle pierced through his palm.

The merman turned his head, and a chilling voice came from behind him, "She is not yours, she has never belonged to anyone."

The penetrating wound caused by the icicles was much more severe than the cut Jiang Yuhuo had made; the blood flowed more and faster, and the strange fragrance that Jiang Yuhuo disliked instantly filled the tomb chamber.

Li Mengbai paused.

Jiang Yuhu was startled for a moment when she was suddenly picked up, but the next moment she smelled the familiar cool fragrance. She did not refuse, knowing that Jia Yue was going to treat her.

Jia Yue cradled Jiang Yuhuo's neck in his arms, letting her lie down in his embrace. His wide white robe draped over her, conveying an aura of absolute protectiveness. He touched Jiang Yuhuo's forehead, his hand resting on the red mole that had suddenly appeared on her forehead.

Jiang Yuhuo was burning hot. The last time she was like this, she had already fainted, but this time she kept her eyes open, staring at the white figure on the cross not far away.

Jia Yue knew what she wanted to do and said softly, "Don't worry." Her soft, cool hand stroked her eyelids. "Close your eyes, it will be over soon."

Jiang Yuhuo closed her eyes and felt that hand fall on her lower abdomen, where his life pearl was.

A pale blue halo rose from beneath the merman's palm, like a soft mist and veil, enveloping and binding the two together, while also isolating them from others, creating their own world.

The tomb was quiet, with only a faint blue glow spreading through it like wisps of light.

The healing power of the mermaid pearl was subtle and gentle, and Wen Yizhan's wounds began to heal miraculously. The flesh inside was growing little by little, and the spiritual energy was just as gentle, only deeper than when Jiang Yuhuo had healed him before.

Jiang Yu used the power of the merfolk to heal his wounds.

Looking at the two figures seemingly isolated from the world within the halo of light, Wen Yizhan felt a pang of bitterness in his heart. It turned out that they were once again connected in a way he was unaware of.

“Zhan’er…”

Suddenly, a gentle female voice called to him, and Wen Yizhan shook his head to look in the direction from which it came. A pure white, transparent spirit stood not far away, smiling at him, just like the mother who stood in front of the door of the Sleeping Cloud Pavilion on Qingwu Mountain many years ago, waiting for her young son to return from playing.

The healing power of the mermaid pearl restored Wen Ruoxin's memories to her soul.

Wen Yizhan smiled and stood up, heading towards the ghostly figure, "Mother."

A ray of pale blue light passed through Li Mengbai's palm, and the horrific bloody hole in his palm healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, along with the wound that Jiang Yuhuo had slashed with his sword.

His hand quickly returned to its original fair and slender state, as if nothing had happened. Jiang Yuhuo was still waiting for him in the main hall. It was the first time she had willingly waited for him, and he was truly happy. He had decided that when they returned, he would definitely hold her hand. She would ride her beast to take him back to the villa in the suburbs. If they encountered a strong wind, he could naturally carry her in his arms, letting everyone see how happy they were as a couple.

But now, she lies in someone else's arms, her face calm and serene.

This trusting and relaxed demeanor was something Li Mengbai had never seen before. His eyes were bloodshot as he sat cross-legged on the ground, staring intently at Jiang Yuhuo, wishing he could kill the person holding her immediately. He was consumed by jealousy!

But he remembered that Jiang Yuhuo was healing her wounds, and he couldn't interrupt her; it would hurt her...

After a moment, the alarming body temperature of the person in her arms finally subsided. Jia Yue watched as her brows and eyes gradually relaxed, and her tense mind was finally able to relax a little.

No one could understand the anxiety he felt, knowing she was in danger inside, yet forced to wait anxiously outside the Li family ancestral tomb. Even he couldn't break through that powerful formation; every moment of waiting outside was agonizing. The instant the formation vanished, he felt his heart pound with fear, terrified that she would disappear with it again, just like before.

He couldn't bear to lose her again. So much so that the moment he entered and heard her say those words, he felt no joy as he had expected. As long as she was alive, nothing else mattered; even being by her side in darkness would be enough for him. As long as she was alive…

"Thank you..."

Jiang Yuhuo opened her eyes, a pale blue halo lingering around her. This was the first time she had witnessed the healing power of the mermaid pearl while fully conscious. Compared to Jia Yue's performance, her use of the mermaid pearl was like child's play.

Jia Yue didn't say anything, but just pursed her lips and shook her head slightly, whispering, "Don't use too much force."

Jiang Yuhuo stood up and picked up the Dingchun Sword that had fallen next to Li Mengbai.

Li Mengbai looked at her with red eyes, "Fishing lights..."

Jiang Yuhuo didn't stop for a moment, as if this person didn't exist at all. She carried her sword and walked to the winged man at the end of the tomb.

With a swift motion, Bai Hong severed the rack in two.

The cross-shaped rack that had stood for hundreds of years broke and collapsed. She caught it and placed the winged person, who was nailed to the rack, on the ground. Each of the winged person's wings had a golden nail, which was nailed to the bronze rack.

Even with the strong binding of the Blood Binding Heart Seal, the person who cast the seal was still not at ease. They even placed a curse seal on the two golden nails. Jiang Yuhuo burned off the curse seal with fire and then used his sword to remove the nails, finally freeing the Feathered Woman from the rack that had bound her for hundreds of years.

After doing all this, Jiang Yuhuo placed the winged woman on the stone platform. The winged woman was no longer breathing, so Jiang Yuhuo checked her pulse.

There was no movement in her meridians. Jiang Yuhuo's heart sank. Had he still failed to save her?

Another hand pulled on Yu Ren's arm. Jiang Yu Huo turned her head and saw that Jia Yue had appeared beside her at some point.

He pondered for a moment while pressing the winged woman's pulse before saying, "She is still alive, but she has been put under the spell of Spirit Silence. This spell seals all of a person's meridians, making the person appear dead, but in reality, it only puts them into a permanent slumber."

Jiang Yuhuo looked at Yu Ren's face; it was serene and beautiful, without a trace of pain, as if she were asleep. Before being struck by the spell, she probably never imagined that someone close to her would do such a cruel thing to her.

With a flick of her finger, Jia Yue simultaneously pressed several acupoints on the winged man's body.

With a deep breath, the winged man slowly opened his closed eyes. Those eyes, as golden as flowing gold, made Jiang Yuhuo slightly stunned; they felt familiar and dear.

It turns out there really are people like her in this world, with her white hair, golden eyes, and wings that seem completely out of place for humans. It turns out she really wasn't a monster; she just left her kind.

But the next moment, those golden eyes suddenly sharpened, and with a sweep of her enormous wings, she instantly passed through the two of them, hovering high in the air. The remaining aura of the mermaid pearl healed the wounds on the winged woman's wings, and her wings became strong and powerful, causing a gust of wind to sweep through the entire tomb chamber with each flap.

Everyone in the tomb chamber turned their gaze in unison to the winged figure in mid-air, who appeared to have been resurrected. She possessed a beauty rarely seen in the world, with flowing white hair and gleaming golden eyes—a beauty that seemed to belong to another realm. At this moment, however, her gaze was fixed solely on the black-clad female cultivator on the ground.

"Are you a Feathered One?" She looked Jiang Yuhuo up and down, her gaze authoritative. "Where is your body? My people."

Jiang Yuhuo hadn't expected her to ask this as her first question. Seeing Yu Ren's cold and stern expression, she suddenly felt a pang of guilt, as if facing an elder's interrogation. She lowered her eyes and whispered, "Nothing else..."

The winged man's gaze sharpened, and his tone became stern. "As a descendant of the gods, you can't even protect your own body? Five hundred years from now, will all the winged people be as useless as you?"

Jiang Yuhu remained silent, only clenching her fists tightly. She was right; she was indeed a useless person.

The winged woman in mid-air suddenly felt a cold, sharp gaze. She turned her gaze and saw a merman beside her tribesman, his eyes filled with warning. Just as she was about to speak, a mocking voice suddenly rang out from inside the tomb.

"Ha, you think you're so great... You yourself were imprisoned for hundreds of years because of a miscalculation, and all you do is criticize others." A person with a face covered in dirt but whose beauty was undeniable stood up from the ground and sneered at her, "Look closely, it was she who rescued you!"

Upon seeing the person's face clearly, the winged man reached out his hand in the void. As if sensing something, hatred instantly filled his beautiful face.

"Two members of the Li family, how dare you show yourselves in front of me!"

Yu Ren bent her hand and a golden fireball appeared in her palm. Just as she was about to swing it at Wen Yizhan and Li Mengbai, Jiang Yuhuo immediately blocked her way, "No!"

Jiang Yuhuo flew past Li Mengbai as she approached Yu Ren. The closeness between the two caused the intertwined lines between their fingers to light up for a moment. Although it was only a brief and faint light, Yu Ren still noticed it.

The moment he saw the connection between the two, Yu Ren's golden eyes were filled with shock and anger, and his gaze toward Jiang Yu Huo was also filled with hatred.

"You actually formed a pact with the Li family!"