Chapter 54

The underwater world of the Fish Dragon Realm was still filled with the dead silence after the fierce battle.

Broken white jade columns floated silently in the murky waters, the aquatic pavilions reduced to ruins. In the distance, Su Ruo's lifeless body slowly sank, blood gushing from its broken torso, staining the vast expanse of water a glaring crimson. From afar, it looked like a beautiful yet cruel cinnabar painting slowly spreading across the water.

Lin Yibai took the opportunity to swim to Yan Bujian's side and gently grasped the corner of his robe with his slender fingers.

When the cautious force came, Yan Bujian's right hand trembled almost imperceptibly, his knuckles curled slightly, and he almost turned over and held the cold hand.

But he finally held back.

The two of them looked at the young man in front of them who had fallen into a strange state, and both of them were on edge - the cold fire killing move of the Qi-combining period just now carried too strong a breath of death. Although it was interrupted in the middle, it still made them feel scared.

At this moment, Xiao Mi's cheeks were covered with strange black lines. He let out a painful groan, and a trace of fierce struggle flashed in his eyes, which had become empty. The next moment, his whole body began to spasm violently.

"This is..." Lin Yibai's pupils suddenly shrank and he subconsciously took half a step back.

She was closest to Xiao Mi just now, and she clearly saw those black lines when they first appeared, and they seemed to gather on his chest to form a hideous insect mark!

She was just beginning to feel alarmed, and before she had time to think about it, the next moment, she saw a pale wave of fire suddenly burst out from Xiao Mi's body, and exploded in the water with a "boom"!

The scorching air surged and surged, instantly disturbing the tranquil waters. Lin Yibai and Yan Bujian were pushed backward by this force. A roar filled with violence and unwillingness immediately resonated beneath the water, but it stopped abruptly at its highest point.

The blinding white light gradually dissipated, and when their vision returned, the strange, cold fire that had suddenly erupted had vanished without a trace. Xiao Mi's figure also vanished, leaving only a faint, remnant flame, like an illusion, which eventually disappeared into the flowing water.

Lin Yibai stared blankly at the deserted waters, dazed for a moment.

Just at that moment, she seemed to catch a hint of familiar breath from the black lines on Xiao Mi's body.

It was cold and strange, and very similar to the insect poison that she had personally fed to Yan Bujian.

"Ten Thousand Insects Attracted?"

She murmured to herself, her heart filled with confusion: Why did Xiao Mi turn into such a dark appearance? How could he have the Ten Thousand Insect Attractor of the Bo Deng Sect?

Could it be that... someone had already fed him this poisonous insect long before he entered the mountain as a sacrifice?

Thinking of this, a figure gradually became clear in her mind——

Is it Lin Wuya? !

But what does this have to do with his disappearance just now?

“Ahem…”

However, at this moment, a suppressed cough brought her back from her chaotic thoughts.

Beside him, Yan Bujian's face was as pale as snow. It was obvious that the previous forced summoning of the blood sword and the activation of the sword bone had further damaged his already severely injured body. Almost at the same time as Xiao Mi disappeared, he could no longer hold on, and his slender body sank weakly.

Lin Yibai hurriedly reached out to hold his arm, and the touch of cold and wetness made her heart tighten suddenly.

Yan Bujian felt her support, raised his eyes with difficulty, and forced a very faint smile at her, but he couldn't say a word. He could only lean on her shoulder, breathing rapidly, his thin body trembling slightly.

"How are you?" Lin Yibai's eyes were slightly red, and his voice trembled slightly.

She wanted to scold him for disregarding his life, but the words turned into endless self-blame when they came to her lips - if he hadn't protected her with his sword, Su Ruo's long whip with demonic energy would have seriously injured her; and later, in order to save her from the out-of-control Xiao Mi, he suffered even more injuries.

——However, just when she was feeling extremely confused, two balls of dazzling light suddenly burst out from the deep water beneath their feet!

The silver light and the azure blue light intertwined and reflected each other, instantly illuminating the dim underwater world as bright as day.

Both of them were startled. Yan Bujian took a deep breath and looked down. A strange color flashed in his eyes and he uttered two words in a hoarse voice: "Fish... Dragon."

Lin Yibai was startled at the sound and immediately focused his spiritual energy into his eyes, looking towards the bottom of the water. He saw the two ichthyosaurs, which should have been dead, now quietly lying in the deepest mud. Their huge bodies were motionless, only a faint stream of water was still flowing in and out of their mouths and noses, clearly still holding on to their last breath and not completely dead!

"They are still alive!" Seeing this, Lin Yibai suddenly remembered the scene when Su Ruo broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm after absorbing the jade rain. If he could absorb the jade rain transformed from the dissipation of these two fish dragons, not only would his injuries be healed, but perhaps even his realm could be broken through!

That missing injury...

She immediately looked at Yan Buxian, and seeing him nod slightly, she no longer hesitated and helped him dive to the bottom of the water.

The two of them passed through the floating debris and broken wood, slowly sinking to the bottom. Su Ruo's shattered body lay not far away, broken in two, his eyes wide open in death, frozen with a final vestige of resentment and resentment. Lin Yibai glanced at this tragic scene, a complex and inexpressible emotion running through her heart—Su Ruo had indeed tried to kill her, but to end up like this was truly heartbreaking.

Yan Bujian, standing beside him, simply walked past the broken body with an expressionless face, his eyes as calm as a cold pond, without a ripple. Lin Yibai was slightly stunned, then understood - he cultivated the path of ruthlessness, his heart had long been frozen, and he had no attachment to external things or living beings. How could he have any unnecessary pity for such a demon?

He is the savior destined by heaven, shouldering the safety of the three realms. In the future, he will sit high on the top of the fairyland, looking down on all living beings like ants.

But thinking of this, Lin Yibai couldn't help but feel a little melancholy in his heart——

So... what about me? Am I also one of those "others" to him?

Now that his murderous intentions have faded, the two of them have become a temporary alliance because of this secret realm of Yunshan. But once they leave this place, when he no longer needs her, what kind of relationship will they have?

As a bystander who knew the trajectory of his fate, she already had the answer in her heart -

The two will return to their respective tracks and eventually become strangers.

"We're here." Yan Bujian's voice interrupted her loss. Lin Yibai came to her senses and found that they had arrived in front of the two ichthyosaurs.

Su Ruo's magic whip was still stuck in the neck of the silver-white ichthyosaur, and the wound on the heart of the blue ichthyosaur was so deep that the bone was visible, but their gill covers still maintained a slight opening and closing, retaining the last glimmer of hope.

Lin Yibai and Yan Bujian looked at each other, and then they used their killing moves at the same time in unison - the Shuyue soft sword in Lin Yibai's hand trembled slightly, and the tip of the sword condensed water-blue spiritual power, accurately piercing the wound on the heart of the blue fish dragon; Yan Bujian condensed a golden spiritual sword with his fingers, and the sword light was like lightning, instantly piercing into the neck of the silver-white fish dragon, completely cutting off its life.

"hold head high--"

Two faint, almost inaudible wails sounded at the same time, and the huge body of the ichthyosaur began to gradually dissipate, turning into countless streams of light as bright and smooth as jade, like thousands of living jade fireflies, floating leisurely in the water.

In an instant, gentle jade rain covered the entire bottom of the water. The extremely pure spiritual energy of heaven and earth gently wrapped the two of them, flowing into their limbs and bones through the pores of their skin, bringing an indescribable sense of comfort, making both of them sigh with satisfaction.

Lin Yibai felt the spiritual power surging in her body, and her heart was shocked beyond words - the power contained in this jade rain was so pure and gentle, far better than any elixir she had absorbed in the past!

However, apart from this, she also felt a sense of inexplicable familiarity from this "Jade Rain".

As soon as this thought came to her mind, the next moment, she seemed to have an epiphany. A mystery that had troubled her for a long time was finally solved at this moment.

She turned her head and whispered to Yan Bujian, "You absorb it first."

Yan Bujian was startled for a moment, then his sword-like brows knitted together. He was about to refuse, but she continued, "Your injuries are more serious than mine right now. We can't delay any longer. And...if I'm not mistaken, I should have absorbed it once just now."

Yes, the moment she felt this familiar breath, she finally remembered - previously in the Monster Fish Cave, when she was on the verge of defeat, it was the power that surged out of the silent root in her body that helped her break through and turn defeat into victory... And the breath of that power actually came from the same source as the jade rain transformed from the fish dragon in front of her!

Although she didn't know when or how Silent Root had absorbed such power, she was well aware that she had just stabilized in the late Jindan realm. If she forcefully absorbed any more Jade Rain, her foundation would be unstable and counterproductive. She wasn't a native cultivator of this world, but she knew the principle of biting off more than she could chew.

What's more, she didn't have much pursuit in cultivation, as long as she could protect herself.

But Yan Bujian was no different. He was the future Immortal Lord, the savior destined by heaven, and he needed this opportunity far more than she did. Moreover...

"This was originally yours."

Lin Yibai stared at Yan Bujian, his tone calm but firm.

She recalled the original novel's plot: these two Spiritual Transformation-stage fish-dragons might have been Yan Bujian's greatest opportunity in the Cloud Mountain Secret Realm. If it weren't for her, the "variable" who had transmigrated into the novel and disrupted the planned trajectory, "Lin Yibai" would have perished in the delusion of food long ago, never standing here, let alone sharing a single drop of Jade Rain.

Although the system's notification sound had been silent for a long time, she knew in her heart that she had no right to share in the jade rain transformed from the fish and dragon.

Yan Bujian's heart was slightly disturbed when he heard her words.

He saw the undeniable determination in her eyes and knew she had made up her mind. However, he also had other plans in mind. So he stopped resisting and nodded slightly to her. He turned and swam to the place where the Jade Rain was thickest. He sat cross-legged in the water, closed his eyes and concentrated, and began to guide the pure power into his body.

Lin Yibai stood quietly by, glancing around vigilantly to prevent any accidents.

The Jade Rain Spiritual Light continuously flowed into Yan Bujian's body. His weakened aura was recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye. His pale face gradually turned blood red, and the hideous wounds on his body were slowly healing under the nourishment of the spiritual light.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, another strange change occurred!

From the spot where the two fish dragons had vanished, two balls of intense light suddenly erupted. Lin Yibai's heart skipped a beat as he gazed intently—only to see two broken, stone-like objects slowly emerging from the light, one silver-white, the other azure.

It was as if the two "stones" had originally been hidden within the ichthyosaur's body, only to emerge after its disappearance. After emerging, they seemed to be attracted to each other as if by some spiritual force, slowly approaching each other. Finally, under Lin Yibai's gaze, they seamlessly merged into one, transforming into a brand new token!

The token was a light purple in color, with intricate and gorgeous golden patterns surrounding its edges, giving off a faint aura of majesty.

Unexpectedly, at the moment the fusion was completed, the token seemed to have telepathy and flew towards Yan Bujian with a "whoosh" sound!

At this point, most of the Jade Rain had already been absorbed into Yan Bujian's Dantian, awaiting refinement. This was a crucial period. Seeing this, Lin Yibai was startled and was about to reach out to stop it.

But after feeling the token approaching, the young man next to her suddenly opened his eyes, then raised his hand over her and took the token steadily in his palm!

He rubbed the card deeply with his fingertips, then turned his hand over to reveal three small characters in ancient seal script engraved on the back:

Wind and Thunder Order.