Chapter 12 The Dragon's Secret Realm (Part Twelve)

"These resentments again!" Wei Feng cautiously took a half step back and hid behind Jiang Gu.

Before them stood a familiar cluster of stone houses and mermaids with their eyes covered by dragon silk. However, Jiang Gu must have used some kind of magical artifact to conceal his aura, because the group of resentful mermaids did not rush up to attack them.

Jiang Gu raised his palm, and sixteen small flags slowly appeared in his palm.

"What are these?" Wei Feng asked curiously, looking at the colorful little flags.

Jiang Gu naturally ignored him, while Wu Tuo, whom he was holding in his arms, said, "It's a formation flag. The master is preparing to set up a formation here."

Moreover, the sixteen flags were arranged in a large formation.

It couldn't help but feel a little worried. Jiang Gu rarely used spells like formations and talismans. He preferred to kill people in a more open and decisive way. If he started to set up a large formation, either his opponent would be extremely difficult to deal with, or... he would not have enough spiritual power.

The spirit pet and its master have formed a master-servant contract, but this contract is not equal. Jiang Gu can decide its life or death, but it must never harm Jiang Gu. However, since it is seriously injured but not dead now, a large part of the spiritual power it needs comes from Jiang Gu.

Therefore, it is almost universally accepted in the cultivation world that if a spirit pet is seriously injured, it is basically doomed.

If it weren't for Jiang Gu's rare kindness and Wei Feng's intercession, it wouldn't be alive now.

Jiang Gu did indeed expend a lot of spiritual energy on Wu Tuo, but not in the way Wu Tuo had guessed. Rather, it was because he had just looked at Wei Feng and Wu Tuo and found a way to make better use of their abilities.

He used his spiritual power to condense a dagger and plunged it into his heart.

"Owner!"

"What are you doing!?"

Wu Tuo and Wei Feng were both startled, their expressions of fear mirroring each other.

Jiang Gu calmly watched the heart's blood spread out, then manipulated his spiritual power to divide it into two streams, which he injected into the hearts of Wu Tuo and Wei Feng respectively.

The heart's blood of a Nascent Soul cultivator is incredibly precious. Wu Tuo's originally broken meridians were gradually repaired, and its empty inner core even condensed a sea of ​​consciousness. It looked at Jiang Gu with a mixture of gratitude and worry, "Master, you don't need to do this. It's too dangerous for you..."

Meanwhile, Wei Feng's sea of ​​consciousness and dantian, which had been damaged by the indiscriminate consumption of pills, miraculously recovered. His eight extraordinary meridians were more normal than ever before, and he could almost feel the abundant spiritual energy flowing rapidly through his body, healing both old ailments and new injuries. He was wary yet somewhat awkward, saying, "I don't need your help."

However, Jiang Gu's cultivation level was far superior to theirs, and his heart's blood was still being continuously pumped into their hearts, causing Jiang Gu's face to become increasingly pale. In the end, he visibly swayed, almost as if he was about to bleed to death.

Utuo's eyes gradually filled with terror. "Master, you can't let it flow anymore!"

"Are you crazy?!" Wei Feng tried to back away to cut off the flow of blood, but he was firmly held in place by an invisible force.

It wasn't until Jiang Gu could no longer support his body and knelt on the ground that the two streams of blood from his heart finally broke off.

Utuo's entire body was trembling.

Jiang Gu poured so much of his heart's blood into them, which was almost equivalent to splitting his cultivation in half and giving it to them, while leaving himself with only a very thin amount of spiritual power. If a cultivator were to come after him now, they could kill him without much effort.

“Master…” Wu Tuo tried to rub his hand against Jiang’s, but Jiang subtly dodged him.

Wei Feng was now somewhat doubtful and uncertain.

He couldn't understand why Jiang Gu would treat them this way, when he had been so cold and ruthless before.

The scar on Jiang Gu's neck had become fainter than ever before. He coldly raised his eyes and met Wei Feng's complicated gaze.

Behind him, sixteen flags firmly occupied sixteen positions. The array, which was superimposed with a concealment barrier, extended rapidly in all directions from the Mermaid Bay Ruins with barely perceptible spiritual power. Many unsuspecting cultivators were drawn into the array without even realizing it.

*

"...The Divine Kite Shark Scales are in the hands of that brat from the Jiang family. That brat is not easy to deal with..."

"He's a sinister character, ruthless even more so than demonic cultivators. Since we can't steal it anyway, we might as well stay away..."

Several ordinary cultivators talked as they flew away on their swords in the opposite direction from Mermaid Bay.

However, only a few cultivators like them voluntarily withdrew; most were eager to pursue their goals towards Mermaid Bay but ultimately failed.

"I can't kill him by myself, but I refuse to believe we can't take it by joining forces!"

"It's still uncertain whether the Divine Kite Shark Scales are in Mermaid Bay, but I think the cultivator who spread the news is the problem..."

"Who cares? There's bound to be plenty of benefits if we go..."

There are quite a few people who think this way.

*

Qi Fengyuan looked at the neatly lined-up Yanghua Sect disciples in front of him and said coldly, "All of you, go and wait at the exit of the secret realm. Once the gate to the secret realm opens, leave immediately without fail!"

Although the disciples did not understand why, Qi Fengyuan had accumulated great prestige, and no one dared to question his decision.

“But Wei Feng—” Xuan Zhiyan was stopped by a look from Qi Fengyuan before he could finish speaking.

"If you want to live, stick close to your senior brother." Qi Fengyuan interrupted him impatiently.

The disciple with the highest cultivation level accepted the order and led the group towards the exit.

Qi Fengyuan watched them leave, then turned into a streak of light and rushed straight towards the Mermaid Bay Ruins.

Xuan Zhiyan, who was trailing at the very back of the group, hesitated for a long time after sending several transmission talismans to Wei Feng without receiving a response. He then quietly fell behind and flew towards the direction indicated by the locator talisman on Wei Feng's body when no one was paying attention.

*

Mermaid Bay.

The lifeless, resentful merfolk slowly lowered their right arms, which were bent in front of them. The dragon silk in front of them quietly slid off and dissolved in the water. Their dull scales became bright and healthy again, and their stiff and numb expressions became lively and full of life as if they had come back to life.

The bare stone houses on both sides gradually changed. Lush aquatic plants climbed all over the walls, and bright corals formed the roofs in a staggered pattern. The lake water became clear and sweet, and fish, shrimp and crabs swam around everywhere. Beautiful songs came from all directions.

Like a desolate graveyard brought back to life, it suddenly becomes noisy and vibrant.

The cultivators who entered the ruins were all taken aback.

The lively and playful mermaids crowded around and curiously examined them. "They're people."

"They can breathe underwater!"

"Their legs are so ugly..."

"Can we trade some things with them using luminous pearls and dragon silk?"

The merfolk chattered amongst themselves, seemingly oblivious to the wariness and disgust in the cultivators' eyes.

"What's going on?" one cultivator asked in astonishment. "Weren't all the merfolk in Merfolk Bay dead?"

“It’s an illusion,” said a person with high cultivation. “However, the person who set up the formation has low cultivation and very shallow spiritual power. We didn’t even notice it when we came in.”

"What's there to be afraid of? Just destroy this illusion!" an impatient cultivator said.

“I’m afraid that won’t work.” A slender middle-aged man emerged from behind the coral reef. It was Elder Qi Fengyuan of the Yanghua Sect. He pointed to the legs of the cultivators and said, “Haven’t you noticed yet? Our legs are starting to turn into shark tails.”

Sure enough, in the short time it took to speak, many cultivators had already grown fine scales on their bodies, including some with profound cultivation, yet they hadn't even noticed.

“The person who set up this illusion is very clever and knows a lot about the Mermaid Bay ruins,” Qi Fengyuan said. “First, he used extremely subtle spiritual power to set up the illusion, so that we entered Mermaid Bay without any warning. Then, he cleverly used the resentment of the mermaids to assimilate us into mermaids. Now we have become part of the illusion. If we forcibly break through it, it is equivalent to killing ourselves.”

After hearing his explanation, the group of cultivators had different expressions.

"What a vicious scheme!" someone cursed. "If you've got the guts, come out and fight me fair and square!"

"Heh." A sneer suddenly came from the crowd, and everyone's eyes turned to him.

“If he could defeat him, he wouldn’t have gone to such lengths.” A handsome young man leaned lazily against a rock, arms crossed, a cinnabar mole at the corner of his eye particularly eye-catching. Zhou Xiuyuan showed no fear in front of so many people. “Jiang Qi was already seriously injured when he was besieged by me and Elder Qi. He is only at his last gasp. As long as we kill him before we are completely assimilated into merfolk, the illusion will naturally break.”

Qi Fengyuan nodded and said, "That's true."

“Jiang Gu is bold and meticulous, and he likes to seek thrills. He might be hiding among the merfolk observing us.” Zhou Xiuyuan glanced at the merfolk swimming freely around him and smiled, “At worst, we’ll just kill them all.”

Many people immediately hesitated.

Zhou Xiuyuan spread his hands in puzzlement, "Haven't we always done this? We can wipe out a real merfolk clan, let alone an illusion."

“That makes sense!” The impatient cultivator nodded, a ruthless glint in his eyes. “Anyway, they’ve already died once.”

Several monks also strongly agreed.

“That’s not right.” Qi Fengyuan shook his head and said, “As Fellow Daoist Zhou said, Jiang Gu is cunning and may be deceitful. Even if he can think of using subtle spiritual power to set up a trap and use resentment to assimilate and confuse people, he must be in an illusion.”

"As far as I know, this seventh young master of the Jiang family is a cultivator with four spiritual roots: metal, wood, fire, and earth." Qi Fengyuan narrowed his slender eyes. "I suppose everyone here has at least three spiritual roots or higher?"

No one could refute this point. After all, there are very few cultivators who can cultivate past the Qi Refining stage with four spiritual roots. Being able to cultivate to the Nascent Soul stage is simply a miracle. In the entire cultivation world, there is only one person with four spiritual roots at the Nascent Soul stage: Jiang Gu.

“The cultivation methods of merfolk are different from those of humans. You may wish to spread out and sense them. The one with the most mixed spiritual energy is definitely Jiang Gu,” Qi Fengyuan said.

“He’s seriously injured now, so he definitely can’t completely conceal his spiritual power. That’s one way to do it.” Zhou Xiuyuan stroked his chin and looked at Qi Fengyuan with ill intent. “Elder Qi is really shrewd as an old man.”

This was blatant mockery. Zhou Xiuyuan and Qi Fengyuan were both in the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm, but the former was only in his thirties while the latter was nearly six hundred years old, which clearly showed the difference in their talents.

Qi Fengyuan gave him only a cold glance before focusing on searching for Jiang Gu's presence.

Not to be outdone, Zhou Xiuyuan led several hot-tempered cultivators to kill the merfolk while searching for the spiritual energy leaking from Jiang Gu's four spiritual roots.

The group split into two groups, as if competing with each other, and went in two opposite directions. Soon the entire Mermaid Bay was stained with blood, and the mermaids began to scatter and flee.

Wei Feng was still a little confused when he ran after Jiang Gu, his silver-blue fish tail swishing around, but he still obediently swam desperately in the direction Jiang Gu pointed.

He has no choice but to behave, because his body is completely out of his control right now!

After being forced to accept most of Jiang Gu's heart's blood, he felt as if he had become a puppet controlled by the other party, and all the emotion he had felt earlier vanished into thin air.

That damn old pervert!

"It's mixed spiritual energy!! So concentrated. It seems Elder Qi was right, he's already seriously injured and can no longer conceal his aura!"

"Kill him!"

"Kill all these merfolk!! He's inside."

Wei Feng turned his head to look behind him. The merfolk were almost clearly divided into two groups. One group was desperately trying to escape with their heads covered, while the other group was already bloodthirsty. Judging from the human weapons they were using, they were not the original merfolk in the illusion at all.

They were cultivators who came to steal the Divine Kite Shark Scales!

'Swim to where you are, and you'll survive.'

Jiang Gu's indifferent voice still lingered in his ears.

Wei Feng gritted his teeth. In this situation, whether he fell into the hands of that old pervert or this group of cultivators, he would probably not have a good ending. He had to think of a way.

At this moment, the communication talisman behind his ear suddenly lit up, indicating that Xuan Zhiyan was trying to contact him. Unfortunately, his body was not under his control, and Wei Feng had no way to reply. He could only accelerate the swinging of his fish tail and desperately move forward.

Meanwhile, Wu Tuo was also desperately fleeing, followed by a group of cultivators wearing mermaid skins with burning eyes.

"Found him! He's here!!"

"Quick, don't let him get away! The Divine Kite Shark Scale must be on him!"

Wutuo's newly healed wound was still throbbing, but thanks to its master's spiritual power, it still had the strength to escape.

"I don't keep useless animals." Jiang Gu coldly gave it the command. "If you want to live, prove your worth to me."

Wutuo calmed its mind. Its master had given it a chance, and now that it possessed almost half of its master's cultivation, it was certain that it could complete the mission.

Qi Fengyuan frowned slightly as he watched the fleeing merman in front of him.

"Elder Qi, what's wrong?" A cultivator with very low cultivation level came up and asked him.

This person's cultivation level was so low that it was almost negligible. He was probably just some young master who was sent in to make an appearance. He didn't even glance at the other person. Instead, he said to another Nascent Soul cultivator who asked the same question, "I don't know, but I have a vague feeling that something is wrong."

"Kill him first," the Nascent Soul cultivator said. "But we can't let him lead us by the nose."

Qi Fengyuan nodded. "Block his path. Don't follow him!"

The cultivator next to him, who was almost invisible, subtly moved his fingers.

Unseen by these monks, the sixteen flags exchanged positions in a dazzling display.

He watched as Qi Fengyuan and the others chased after them in the predetermined direction, and then followed them at a leisurely pace.

This person was Jiang Gu, who had disguised himself as an ordinary cultivator and mingled among them. He had taken a risky move that almost exhausted his life force, and he had divided all his cultivation power among Wu Tuo and Wei Feng. The remaining spiritual power in his four spiritual roots was almost negligible. He then disguised himself as an ordinary cultivator with two spiritual roots. He had been observing the crowd since Qi Fengyuan and Zhou Xiuyuan spoke.

And things are progressing steadily according to his plan.

Jiang Gu controlled Wei Feng to stop on the high platform in the center of the illusion, while Wu Tuo also led Qi Fengyuan and the others to the high platform. However, the two groups seemed to be unable to see each other's presence.

From Jiang Gu's perspective, the two groups of people seemed to be standing on opposite sides of a mirror, their faces filled with determination to obtain the Divine Kite Shark Scale, while they were completely unaware of what was about to happen.

The blood of the mermaids stained the clear lake water crimson.

"Kill someone to steal their scales!"

"Kill someone to steal their scales!"

The two groups of people looked at "Jiang Gu" in their eyes and decisively made their move.

Jiang Gu gave a very faint smile and snapped his fingers lightly.

Qi Fengyuan and Zhou Xiuyuan's two groups immediately clashed, causing the entire illusion to shake violently, yet they were firmly trapped within it by the sixteen flags.

Wu Tuo and Wei Feng clearly felt the spiritual power that originally belonged to Wei Feng in their bodies rapidly draining away. They had been exhausted from being chased earlier, and now, as the "targets" of the cultivators, along with the two mirrors, both their bodies and souls suffered severe damage.

Wei Feng met a pair of cold, narrow eyes through the blood mist. He had never seen such arrogant and indifferent eyes before, as if he were nothing more than an ant on the roadside.

Crushing an ant is a perfectly normal thing for a person.

Long, slender fingers pierced his heart.

“Using the entire illusion and the lives of these cultivators to nurture your protective scales isn’t a waste.” Jiang Gu effortlessly removed his protective scales, tearing off large chunks of flesh with a clean and decisive motion.

Wei Feng was in so much pain that he couldn't make a sound, he could only tightly grip his sleeve.

With the Heart-Protecting Scale in hand, Jiang Gu was in a great mood and generously let him hold it. He supported the young merman's back, knowing that he could crush Wei Feng's heart with just a little force. "You did a good job."

The two leaned close together almost in an embrace, but Wei Feng was suddenly startled.

This is the same thing he said when he was about to kill Utuo!

“You…” he managed to utter a few words, “You never intended… for me to live…”

"You're really smart." Jiang Gu praised insincerely, as if he were talking about something perfectly normal. "It's all thanks to you being the Divine Kite Shark that I was able to cleanse my spiritual roots and break the seal at the same time."

"In return, I'll make your death quicker." Jiang Gu completely withdrew his cultivation and spiritual power, and the hand that was on his back suddenly turned into a claw and stabbed in.

Almost simultaneously, a sharp pain shot through the scar on Jiang Gu's neck, and the scar, which had already faded considerably, completely dissipated and disappeared.

Suddenly, a jumble of random thoughts, such as "love tribulations" and "spiritual partners," flooded Jiang Gu's mind, causing him to momentarily lose his composure.

Wei Feng seized the opportunity and suddenly unleashed the Eternal Sound-Eliminating Bell, which he had been hiding in the flesh of his arm, towards Jiang Gu. Then, he quickly retreated and swallowed all the high-level pills he had hidden, chanting an incantation.

The deep, ancient bell crashed down, completely enveloping Jiang Gu.

Before Wei Feng could even feel joy, his tail suddenly ached as a very thin thread of blood tightly wrapped around his scales, dragging him into the bell.

Buzz—

The deafening roar caused Wei Feng's vision to go black, and he completely lost consciousness.