Chapter 48 Returning Alive "Let's go! Search over there!" ...

"Let's go! Search over there!"

"Here, here! Don't miss any spot!"

"Splash—"

The bamboo curtain was lowered, and the room fell into darkness again.

Inside the room stood four people, including the worried Gu Xiaozhu, and an unlucky demonic cultivator lying unconscious on the ground.

"What happened? How did he know?" Jiang Zhihe paced back and forth in the small room, constantly stroking his chin with one hand, his whole being exuding anxiety.

Zhu Songyun squatted on the ground, repeatedly tossing the three copper coins into the air. But after the coins landed, he frowned and shook his head, seemingly disbelieving, and picked them up and tossed them again.

"How...how could this be?" she murmured to herself, scratching her hair.

Gu Xiaozhu, on the other hand, seemed somewhat at a loss, her whole demeanor radiating intense unease.

Teng Shao stood aside, looking at the three people who seemed extremely strange, and combined with what Xie Jitong had said earlier, he frowned and asked, "So what exactly happened?"

He looked at the three of them, his sharp gaze undisguised: "I know you all have secrets, that's normal, and I could ignore it and not ask. But now, it's very clear—"

"This so-called secret of yours has seriously jeopardized my interests and even our entire plan."

He took a deep breath and continued, "So, I can no longer ignore this. Now, tell me—"

"What are you hiding? What did Xie Jitong mean by that?"

The three people opposite each other exchanged glances, but surprisingly, it was Zhu Songyun who spoke first.

"A god will fall, a sea of ​​blood will descend. Gather the three souls, and overthrow all living beings..." She spoke softly, then raised her head and pointed to her eyes: "My eyes went blind because of these few words I calculated."

"What I saw back then was a sea of ​​blood engulfing the earth, burning away all life, and finally the whole world was swallowed up by the boundless sea of ​​blood and turned into nothingness." She shifted her gaze slightly and finally fixed it on Gu Xiaozhu beside her.

“I saw it. The sea of ​​blood that swallowed the entire world was flowing from a person… no, from the god who created this world.” She gave a bitter smile. “I don’t know if this has happened before, but I know that this prophecy, which cost me my eyes, is not unfounded.”

"The gods are about to fall. Only by uniting the three souls can we save the gods and our world."

"So, I left the Thousand Machines Pavilion, wanting to find a way to save the gods, and what exactly the so-called 'Three Souls' are?"

"And then—I met you all."

After saying that, she shrugged as if she had been relieved, then took a step to the side and stood with Teng Shao, looking at the remaining two: "Alright, that's all I know. Now—it's your turn to add to it."

Gu Xiaozhu and Jiang Zhihe exchanged a glance. Gu Xiaozhu's condition had not improved since Xie Jitong said those words. Her face was slightly pale, and she was still very uneasy. So much so that she had been holding Jiang Zhihe's sleeve tightly ever since they came to this room.

Seeing this, Jiang Zhihe sighed, patted her shoulder comfortingly, and finally said to the other two, "Alright... the deity you're talking about is Xiaozhu."

“I knew about this from the very beginning.”

His gaze then turned to Zhu Songyun: "And... those scenes you saw, yes, this world was indeed almost destroyed."

"What you see is the scene from back then. However, Heaven later prevented the world from collapsing and turned the world back to the past. He pulled Xiaozhu and the dying god into this world in order to reunite their souls and save her."

After saying that, he turned his gaze to Teng Shao: "The reason I know so much is because I've experienced it all. Before the world collapsed, what I experienced was similar to what I'm experiencing now..." He paused, scratched his head, and finally sighed: "Well... although my identity has changed a bit, it's pretty much the same overall, which is why I know so much."

"Moreover, what Zhu Songyun said about 'gathering the three souls' is actually the three most important soul fragments that Xiaozhu is missing. One has been found now, and two more are still missing."

Teng Shao raised an eyebrow slightly: "The area we're looking for next, could it be in the Demon Realm Holy Land?"

Jiang Zhihe nodded.

“But—now that we’ve already spoken frankly, and Teng Shao and Zhu Songyun, you both have a general understanding of the situation, you must realize that our ultimate goal is the same, right?” he continued.

"We must protect Xiaozhu. She cannot die, for her sake and for the sake of our world."

Teng Shao and Zhu Songyun exchanged a glance and finally nodded.

Zhu Songyun glanced at Gu Xiaozhu, who seemed uneasy, and suggested, "In that case, let's send Xiaozhu away and let her leave the Demon Realm."

Teng Shao frowned: "Xie Jitong has definitely sealed off the entire Demon Realm now, and the other demons will protect me, but they certainly won't protect her. As long as Xie Jitong offers enough benefits, they won't refuse to capture a mortal. So sending her out of the Demon Realm is almost impossible."

Jiang Zhihe pondered for a moment: "Then let's finish this quickly."

He looked up at Teng Shao: "I know a secret passage that leads directly to the Holy Land. This secret passage is not only known to Xie Jitong, but also to you."

Teng Shao raised an eyebrow slightly: "Is this also what you call... memories from a past life?"

Jiang Zhihe suddenly smiled, clearly satisfied with the metaphor of "memories of a past life," which was indeed quite apt.

He nodded: "That's right. We can sneak into the Holy Land through that secret passage, and then, under my cover, you can enter the Holy Land, obtain the inheritance, and get the soul fragment. Then we'll have accomplished our mission!"

Teng Shao knew that Jiang Zhihe had made the process sound far too easy. Even if there were secret passages, there was still a chance of unexpected events along the way. Moreover, once they infiltrated the holy land, there was a high probability that they would be ambushed by the fallen demon cultivators stationed there…

He turned his gaze to the girl standing next to Jiang Zhihe, who was tugging at his clothes, but in the end, he didn't say anything.

Jiang Zhihe continued, "And Zhu Songyun, you will stay by Xiaozhu's side and be responsible for protecting her safety, how about that?"

Zhu Songyun said with great enthusiasm, "What else can I do? Compared to you guys, the task assigned to me is much easier! Of course I'll accept it!"

Her lively tone eased the atmosphere considerably, or rather, that was her purpose.

Seeing this, Jiang Zhihe nodded and smiled, "In that case, let's set off now! The sooner we resolve this, the better!"

Suddenly, he felt his sleeve being gently tugged. He immediately turned his head and met a pair of uneasy eyes.

“It is [He], it is the law, I feel it… the Heavenly Dao also feels it.” She looked at Jiang Zhihe and spoke softly.

She feels very bad, extremely bad. Ever since Xie Jitong said those words, the unease and panic in her heart have lingered and even intensified.

Moreover, she constantly felt that there was a faint, indistinct presence watching her, seemingly uncertain. A chill permeated her, making her hands and feet icy and her whole body stiff.

It wasn't the refreshing coolness of Jiang Zhihe, but rather a deathly chill, like sinking into the deep sea, as if the warmth in her body was slowly disappearing, as if—

die.

The thought sent a chill down her spine, but the next second, she felt a warm sensation envelop her hands, followed by the boy's low, yet somewhat serious, voice:

Why are your hands so cold?

Gu Xiaozhu snapped back to reality, and when she looked up, she met a pair of worried eyes. The boy's hands were tightly holding hers, as if trying to warm them with his own heat. The warmth traveled along their touching skin, and inexplicably, Gu Xiaozhu felt much calmer, as if this warmth had dispelled some of the gloom that had been piling up in her heart.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down: "It's okay..."

Jiang Zhihe's brows remained furrowed. He looked at Gu Xiaozhu and finally sighed softly as if in despair: "Xiaozhu, don't be stubborn, okay?"

Gu Xiaozhu smiled and said, "I won't."

"But Ah He, and all of you." She turned to the others, "I hope you can protect yourselves too. Your lives are important, I..."

She pursed her lips, suppressing the sudden unease rising in her heart, and said, "I don't want... to lose any of you."

"Hey, what are you talking about?" Zhu Songyun chuckled, waving his hand casually. "Don't worry, not only them, but also us. We'll definitely turn misfortune into good fortune!"

Gu Xiaozhu looked at her, her eyes still showing obvious hesitation. Zhu Songyun simply smiled, walked over and put her arm around her shoulder, tossing three copper coins into the air with one hand—

As the coins fell, she caught them with a wave of her hand, then opened her palm and glanced at them.

The moment she saw the divination result, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, but she quickly concealed this emotion, casually put the copper coin away, and smiled, "It's an ominous sign, but in the end, you'll be able to turn misfortune into good fortune."

So, don't worry so much!

Gu Xiaozhu stared at her for a while. For some reason, Zhu Songyun felt that her gaze could penetrate her heart and expose her lies.

Fortunately, Gu Xiaozhu simply nodded slightly in the end.

Seeing this, Zhu Songyun breathed a sigh of relief.

I was terrified, but thankfully she really couldn't understand the divination.

Jiang Zhihe smiled and extended a hand. Gu Xiaozhu immediately understood and placed her own hand on top. Zhu Songyun followed suit. Finally, under the watchful eyes of the three, Teng Shao reluctantly placed his hand on top.

"come on!"

The boys said this, and their clasped hands opened at the same time, like fireworks bursting open, carrying the shared wishes of the four of them.

Before Jiang Zhihe and Teng Shao left, Gu Xiaozhu looked at the two of them and finally couldn't help but speak:

"Come back alive, okay?"

The two looked at each other and then smiled at the same time.

Jiang Zhihe: "Of course!"

Teng Shao: "Hmm."

The two figures disappeared through the door, leaving only Gu Xiaozhu and Zhu Songyun in the dimly lit room.

Zhu Songyun, very familiar with the place, sat down on the edge of the bed and patted the spot next to him, saying, "Come on, Xiaozhu, sit down. It's tiring to stand there!"

Gu Xiaozhu looked at her for a long time, and finally sighed softly: "Songyun, please tell me the truth."

Zhu Songyun froze, but Gu Xiaozhu was not finished speaking.

"Does your divination truly indicate that you will turn misfortune into good fortune?"