Chapter 62: Jealousy Erupts – You Can Smell the Sourness Even Through the Screen
If Yu Lingzi were to destroy himself, the events of that year and the secrets of Youxu would likely be lost forever.
"Stop him!" Fu Yunshu forcefully mustered his last bit of spiritual power, and the Cold Cry Sword flew out of his hand, accurately striking Yu Lingzi's wrist.
The bone claw loosened its grip, and the longsword fell to the ground again.
The entire fortress trembled violently, the dome began to collapse, and debris rained down. A sharp boulder hurtled straight at Fu Yunshu's head, and without thinking, Yin Lisheng rushed over to shield him with his body.
"Li Sheng!" Fu Yunshu's vision went black, and his nose was filled with Yin Li Sheng's breath.
The pain Fu Yunshu had anticipated did not come—the Broken Abyss Sword suddenly flew up on its own and shattered the boulder into pieces.
"Hurry up!" Yu Lingzi knelt on the ground, her bones cracking inch by inch.
He struggled to point deeper into the fortress, “There… they’re about to wake up…”
The entire fortress was collapsing, and Chu Yu had found a crack: "This way! Quick, let's go!"
Fu Yunshu grabbed the Blood Soul Sword and shoved it into Yin Lisheng's hand: "Take it!" But he stumbled as he turned around—the black aura on his right arm had spread to his neck.
Yin Lisheng caught him and said, "Master!"
“I’m fine,” Fu Yunshu said, barely managing to stand. “Let’s leave first…”
…………
Maple leaves, like fire, fluttered and danced in the air.
When Song Wenzhuo woke up from his coma, the back of his head throbbed as if he had been hit with a hammer. He squinted and looked around—he was in an endless maple forest, every leaf as red as if it had been soaked in blood.
"Gu Yuan?" He propped himself up, his throat dry and sore. The surroundings were eerily quiet, save for the rustling of falling maple leaves.
A dozen steps away, a black figure lay silently on the ground covered with maple leaves.
Song Wenzhuo's heart tightened, and he scrambled over to her, shouting, "Gu Yuan!"
His fingers trembled as he reached under the other's nose. The warm breath brushed against his fingertips, and Song Wenzhuo breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank goodness he's not dead..."
A sticky sensation came from his hand. Song Wenzhuo looked down and saw that Gu Zhinan's clothes at the waist were soaked with blood, but it was not very noticeable because of the clothes.
Song Wenzhuo carefully lifted the fabric, revealing a three-inch-long, gruesome wound with ominous black smoke emanating from its edges.
When he came in, he was protected in Gu Yuan's arms the whole time. When something was thrown at him, Gu Zhinan blocked it, which was probably when he was injured.
"What's the point of showing off..." he muttered as he reached for the medicine bottle at his waist, only to find that the jade bottle had already shattered during the fall.
In a moment of desperation, he tore off a piece of fabric from his sleeve and gently pressed it onto the wound.
Gu Zhinan suddenly opened his eyes and grabbed his wrist: "What are you doing?"
His voice was as cold as ice, but his palms were burning hot.
"I'll save you!" Song Wenzhu struggled but couldn't break free. "Let go! If you keep bleeding, you'll..."
Before he could finish speaking, Gu Zhinan suddenly coughed violently, his knuckles turning white. Song Wenzhuo seized the opportunity to pull his hand away, only to find his palm covered in black blood: "You've been poisoned?!"
Song Wenzhuo frantically tried to pull down his collar, "Let me see where the poison has gone!"
“No need,” Gu Zhinan turned his head away, a faint blush rising on his earlobes. “Let’s find…the others first…”
He tried to get up, but collapsed into Song Wenzhuo's arms. The crisp scent of pine mixed with the stench of blood hit him, and Song Wenzhuo's heart skipped a beat: "Don't move."
Without saying a word, he pinned the man to the ground and bandaged him up.
“Gu Yuan.” Song Wenzhuo lowered his head, and Gu Zhinan could not see his expression.
"You haven't gone out to look for Mirror Moon Flower all these years. Have you let it go?"
He tried his best to appear calm, but Gu Zhinan could still hear a slight sob in Song Wenzhuo's voice.
She's a crybaby just like always...
"No," Gu Zhinan said honestly, "I just don't want you to be too tired. If I have time in the future, I will go to see you again."
“I see,” Song Wenzhuo said casually, turning his back to Gu Zhinan. “Don’t push yourself. Rest for a while before going to find your grandmaster and the others.”
Gu Zhinan stared silently at the back of his head; no one knew what he was thinking.
…………
Yin Lisheng carried the unconscious Fu Yunshu with difficulty. His master's body grew heavier and heavier, and the black energy on his right arm had spread to half of his cheek, outlining hideous lines on his pale skin.
"Master, please hold on a little longer..." Yin Lisheng gasped for breath, "We'll find Sect Leader Song and the others soon."
Fu Yunshu's chin rested weakly on his shoulder, his breath brushing against his ear: "Put me down..."
"No!" Yin Lisheng stubbornly tightened his arms and lifted the person up a little.
Before he could finish speaking, Fu Yunshu suddenly coughed violently, splattering a mouthful of black blood onto Yin Lisheng's neck. The scalding liquid made his heart skip a beat, and he quickly and carefully laid the man down.
"Master!" Yin Lisheng frantically wiped the blood from Fu Yunshu's lips, only to find that his sleeves were already tattered. He gritted his teeth and tore off the cleaner part of his inner garment, but a cold hand grabbed his wrist.
“No need…” Fu Yunshu opened his eyes slightly, his pupils already somewhat unfocused. “I’m not going to die yet.”
Yin Lisheng nodded with red eyes: "I know, I know... Please don't say anything, I'll transfer spiritual power to you right away."
Just as he was about to make a move, Fu Yunshu shook his head: "It's no use. This curse will devour spiritual power. If you transfer spiritual power to me, it will only grow faster."
As Fu Yunshu spoke, he coughed again, black blood continuously spilling from the corner of his lips.
Chu Yu and Duan Xuan turned back from the front, their faces grim: "We're surrounded by demonic puppets; we can't get out at all."
Yin Lisheng's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. He frantically racked his brains trying to figure out what to do in this situation, only to find that he was completely helpless.
A clear, melodious crane cry suddenly pierced the sky. Everyone looked up and saw a snow-white crane swooping down, transforming into human form just before landing—Lu Yanci, holding a jade staff, his face, blindfolded with a silk ribbon, remained as calm as ever.
"Pavilion Master Lu?!" Duan Xuan exclaimed in surprise.
Lu Yanci did not respond and walked straight towards Fu Yunshu. Yin Lisheng subconsciously stepped in front of his master, but was gently pushed aside by a soft force.
"Get out of the way." Lu Yanci's voice was still gentle, but it carried an irresistible force. "Unless you want to see him die."
The two looked at each other, and Yin Lisheng, worried about Fu Yunshu's safety, was the first to give in.
The jade staff touched Fu Yunshu's heart, and a shimmering white light flowed like water. The spread of the black energy visibly slowed down, but the patterns that had already formed stubbornly remained on the surface of his skin.
“Lu Yanci…” Fu Yunshu weakly opened his eyes, “How could you…”
"Shh." Lu Yanci gently pressed his fingertip against his brow. "The Heavenly Mystery Pavilion's predictions have never been wrong. Finding you won't be difficult."
The gaze beneath the ribbon seemed to sweep over Yin Lisheng, "You'll have to rely on me in crucial moments."
Yin Lisheng clenched his fists, his nails digging deep into his palms. He watched as Lu Yanci half-embraced Fu Yunshu, a posture that stung his eyes.
“The Soul-Destroying Curse has invaded my heart meridian, and I can only suppress it for now,” Lu Yanci said, looking up and helping Fu Yunshu to her feet. “We still need to find a way to get out as soon as possible.”
Fu Yunshu struggled to back away: "I can do it myself..."
"The Immortal Venerable's habit of showing off hasn't changed after all these years." Lu Yanci sighed, and was actually preparing to take action directly.
These words pierced Yin Lisheng's heart like a knife. He stared intently at Lu Yanci's outstretched hand, his chest churning with indescribable emotions.
"I'll carry Master on my back!" He stepped forward abruptly.
Lu Yanci turned slightly to the side: "You can't even walk steadily, how come..."
"I can do it!" Yin Lisheng's voice trembled. "I am his disciple, so naturally I will do it!"
The air seemed to freeze for a moment. Lu Yanci smiled and handed the person over to Yin Lisheng.
“What a deep bond between master and disciple,” he said meaningfully.
“Mirror Moon Flower…” Fu Yunshu began with difficulty, the lines of black energy spreading across his face appearing particularly ferocious, “Where in the Netherworld Ruins?”
Lu Yanci's ribbon fluttered gently in the wind: "The Netherworld is divided into three realms—the outer 'White Bone Wasteland,' the middle 'Blood Maple Forest,' and the core 'Mirror Lake.'"
He drew three circles on the ground with his jade staff: "We are currently at the border between the Bone Wasteland and the Blood Maple Forest. We have not yet officially entered the Blood Maple Forest. The Mirror Moon Flower grows in the center of Mirror Lake."
Yin Lisheng frowned: "Why are you so sure?"
Lu Yanci said quite confidently, "Of course I calculated it."
“Pavilion Master Lu’s divination skills are unmatched. Let’s go over there and take a look first,” Fu Yunshu nodded slightly, then suddenly coughed violently, a trickle of black blood spilling from the corner of his lips.
Yin Lisheng hurriedly helped him up: "Master!"
“It’s alright…” Fu Yunshu wiped away the bloodstains. “Let’s go to Mirror Lake.”
Chu Yu looked worried: "But the Immortal Venerable's body..."
Lu Yanci took out a translucent white pill from his sleeve. "This is a 'Soul-Condensing Pill' made from thousand-year-old cold marrow. It can alleviate your pain."
Just as Yin Lisheng was about to reach out to take it, Lu Yanci directly brought the pill to Fu Yunshu's lips: "Taking it directly will have the best effect."
Fu Yunshu slightly turned her head away, saying, "I'll do it myself."
As he took the pill, his fingertips touched Lu Yanci's, and Lu Yanci's lips seemed to curve slightly. Yin Lisheng saw this and felt a tightness in his chest.
After swallowing the pill, the dark lines on Fu Yunshu's face indeed faded a bit.
He tried to circulate his spiritual energy, but his brows furrowed even more: "My cultivation has been suppressed to the Nascent Soul stage..."
“That’s how the laws of the Netherworld work,” Lu Yanci explained. “The closer you are to the core, the stronger the suppression.”
Duan Xuan and the other person gasped.
Lu Yanci looked into the distance and said, "The entrance from the Bone Wasteland to the Blood Maple Forest is in the northwest. There is a golden maple tree there."
Before the words were even finished, the ground suddenly trembled violently. The darkness in the distance seemed to be parted by an invisible hand, and a blood-red pillar of light shot into the sky.
"Not good!" Lu Yanci's expression changed drastically. "Someone is forcibly activating the core of the Netherworld!"
Yin Lisheng carried Fu Yunshu on his back: "We need to hurry!"
The group hurried forward.
Fu Yunshu lay on Yin Lisheng's back, her breath tickling his ear: "Put me down... I can walk by myself..."
He was still not used to being carried by his apprentice.
"Master, don't move." Yin Lisheng lifted him up a little. "You should conserve your energy."
The weight on his back made him feel at ease, yet also pained him—his master was much lighter than he had imagined, and the pressure on his spine was painful.
Suddenly, an open space appeared ahead, with a golden maple tree standing in the center.
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Author's Note: Sorry I'm late, I haven't written for a few days so I'm a bit rusty QAQ. I've finalized the outline, and I'll resume daily updates as usual.
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