Chapter 42 Duanmu (Part 1) His cultivation limit was reduced. ...
"Qing Xing!"
As soon as Qingxing stepped onto solid ground, Chen Mo rushed over. She was almost instantly beside Qingxing, grabbing her arm to support her.
"So much blood." She frowned as she saw the shocking marks on Qingxing's body.
Upon discovering that Duanmu Tingzhu was missing, Chen Mo immediately returned. However, she had only gone halfway when a strange phenomenon occurred: the water of Emerald Lake seemed to freeze, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't swim. She struggled in place for a long time, and just as she was about to forcefully use her Water-Escape Fist technique, an explosion came from afar, and the resistance disappeared.
A bad feeling suddenly rose in her heart. When she returned to the place where she had fought the Purple-Clad Demon, Qingxing, Jiuquchen and the others had disappeared, leaving only a mess.
Chen Mo searched for a day and a night within a few miles of that location, but couldn't find anyone. He could only send Elder Qinghe and Shen Wan back first, and then led the Duanmu family cultivators back to continue the search.
But after they had only been searching for half a day, Qingxing appeared on her own by the shore of Emerald Lake.
The person is alive, just looking a bit disheveled.
"I'm fine." Qingxing patted her hand after regaining her balance, then pulled Jiuquchen and Duanmu Tingzhu up, "Senior sister, let's go back to the manor quickly."
Chen Mo nodded slightly to her, then carried the two unconscious people to their feet. She used her right foot to slightly brace herself on the ground, sinking into the mud. In the next instant, Chen Mo drew out the wind-attribute spiritual power from her spiritual net. As her legs were enveloped in the dust that rose up, she vanished in a flash with a "whoosh."
Qingxing banished her chaotic thoughts, and taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, she steeled her heart and suddenly clasped her hands together.
A massive surge of spiritual energy erupted, colliding and exploding into a beam of azure light. Qingxing's palm trembled in the scorching azure light, forming blisters identical to those she had developed during her previous battle with the purple-clad demon.
She raised her hand again and traced several lines along the bloodstains on her body. To an outsider, without careful examination, it would appear as if she had been battling a demon for three days and three nights.
The previous strange phenomenon was too bizarre, and she didn't know what kind of attention it had attracted. Before she figured out what was going on with the Resurrected Clan, it was best to pretend she didn't know.
After confirming several times that there were no major flaws in what she had done, Qingxing lifted her foot and followed Chen Mo's steps.
Chen Mo moved extremely fast. Qingxing had just arrived at the Duanmu residence when she heard from the cultivators that Jiu Quchen had already woken up and was currently urgently treating Duanmu Tingzhu.
There was too much bright red in the Blood Peach Forest, so the Duanmu family specially used a white-walled, blue-tiled design to make it easier to find, which was very eye-catching.
Furthermore, according to outside sources, if viewed from dozens of miles away in the sky, the Duanmu Mansion resembles an ancient magic array. This was designed by a master of array formations specifically sought out by the first patriarch after the war between humans and demons in order to suppress the demonic energy within the peach grove.
After undergoing a three-layer spiritual energy search, Qingxing was finally allowed to enter the mansion. Duanmu Yi sent Qiuzhi to lead the way. The hall they were in was located in the center of the mansion, and it would take a while to walk there. Qingxing was a little anxious and kept speeding up, causing Qiuzhi to remind her several times: except in special circumstances, one should not run in the Duanmu mansion.
"The head of the family only allowed us to go this far, Sister Xing, please wait at the door for a while." After passing through the corridor, Qiu Zhi led her to a closed wooden door, and after saying this, she was about to leave.
Qingxing grabbed him: "Where is Elder Qinghe?"
Qiu Zhi: "He is already safe and sound, and he is currently inside watching over things and protecting the Dharma."
As if knowing that Qingxing was also worried about her companion, he added, "Sister Wan and Brother Xie have also woken up. They went to the Misty Forest early this morning to meditate and repair the Spirit Network."
Qingxing finally felt a sense of relief. She let go of his hand and said sincerely, "Thank you."
"It's nothing. You are guests of the Duanmu family. It's our fault for encountering so many accidents on the way." Qiu Zhi scratched his head. He glanced at the hideous wound on Qingxing's hand and was shocked. He then said, "I think Sister Xing is also badly injured. Let me get you some medicine."
"No need." Qingxing casually hid her hand behind her back. "Master can heal me after he comes out."
Qiu Zhi thought for a moment and said, "That's true. Senior Jiu's medical skills are superb, so there's no need for us to get involved."
Seeing that there was nothing he could do to help, Qiu Zhi said something to Qing Xing and then turned and left.
There was a wooden stool nearby, but Qingxing felt itchy all over and couldn't sit down, nor could she squat down comfortably. After struggling for a while, she simply walked to the door and quietly listened to the sounds inside.
But Duanmu Yi seemed to have cast a shielding spell, and she couldn't hear anything.
The situation inside could only be vaguely glimpsed through the semi-transparent window paper.
A fire was burning inside the room. Qingxing looked closely and saw three or four people standing in the shadows in front of the bed.
The one casting the spell was Jiu Qu Chen. He made a hand seal with one hand and controlled the silver needles in his bag with the other, making them land steadily on Ting Zhu.
Behind him, two spiritual energies formed a circular barrier. A flying snake and a six-armed monkey, their shapes blurry, were leaping around, easing the spiritual burden on Jiu Qu Chen—these were the nascent divine forms of Qing He and Xuan Ying, protecting Jiu Qu Chen.
Tingzhu lay on the couch with her eyes closed, occasionally being stimulated by the falling silver needles, and suddenly vomited mouthfuls of black blood.
This scene caught Qingxing's eye, and she frowned, then turned around and leaned against the wooden door.
She raised her hand and gently patted her chest—it felt as if something was stuck there, making her feel extremely uncomfortable, unable to go up or down.
After a long pause, she decisively left, barely managing to follow her memory of the way she came, and stumbled out the door in a daze.
The Blood Peach Forest had just been embroiled in an incident, and Duanmu Yi had sealed off the surrounding area for the past few days. Along the way, Qingxing encountered many patrolling Duanmu family cultivators, but no one stopped her, so she continued walking until she left the peach forest and entered the Jade Lake.
Qingxing squatted down by the lake and looked down at her reflection in the water.
The sky is clear today, and there is no wind on the lake.
The sun was already setting, the orange sunset colliding with the blue water, creating another world. Qingxing tilted her head slightly, and in this two-colored otherworld, she saw her own bewildered eyes.
The cut on my palm when I left the secret room had healed, leaving only a shallow scar that tingled slightly with itchiness.
Qingxing held her palms out to herself, and as if possessed, she stretched out her hand, level with the lake surface. Then, with a slight effort, large and small blood droplets broke free from the scabs and rushed out, gradually gathering into a single drop before jumping into the lake.
The blood droplet bounced a few times on the lake's surface, creating ripples. Qingxing stared blankly as the blood droplet grew smaller and smaller until it finally blended into the lake water, becoming part of Emerald Lake.
The world has quieted down; she should think about her own affairs now.
The truth is about to be revealed, and the secrets about the "villain" may only require a little analysis to tear away that disguise. But with so many important matters piling up, Qingxing is no longer in a hurry. After looking around and confirming that no one was nearby, she snapped her fingers and whispered, "Xingxing."
Bang!
After the smoke cleared, a xingxing appeared in the open space with its hands on its hips and one foot tapping the ground repeatedly, seemingly quite impatient.
"What?" It didn't even look at the green apricot.
Qingxing took out the peaches she had taken when she left the mansion and gently placed them in front of it: "These are for you."
The ape snorted softly, ignoring Qingxing. Qingxing wasn't in a hurry either, just waiting silently. After a while, the ape sniffed the air. It finally couldn't resist the temptation of the peach's aroma. After glancing at Qingxing for the third time, it quickly picked up the peach and ate half of it in the blink of an eye.
"Is it delicious?" the green apricot asked.
The monkey, its mouth covered in peach juice, still said, "It's not tasty!"
"Don't be in such a hurry, I have one more." Seeing that its cheeks were bulging, Qingxing magically produced another one from somewhere and placed it on its head. "Eat slowly."
Xingxing took the peach and gently shook his head: "I'll only help you with one thing. One is enough."
Qingxing said, "Keep it. I have another request."
Xingxing: ?
It rolled its eyes and plopped down next to Qingxing: "Speak, what is it?"
Qingxing placed her injured hand in front of it: "Smell it."
The Xingxing gave her a strange look, but still did as she was told.
"Smells like a dead person," it commented.
"Smell this again." Qingxing spread out her other hand.
The Xingxing took a closer look and found a thin thread lying there.
Above the silk thread, there were also some dark purple bloodstains.
Xingxing leaned forward suspiciously, sniffed lightly, and then immediately looked away, its eyes seeming to say to Qingxing, "Aren't you bored?"
Qingxing understood immediately: "The same?"
"Don't you have any self-awareness?" Xingxing said speechlessly.
Qingxing fell silent.
She had suspected all along that someone had been testing her rebirth.
Evil Book, Li Xu, Purple-Clad Demon.
They seemed to be strung together by a thread, and Qingxing guessed that the person behind it all must be the world-destroying villain from previous lives.
Like her, he is constantly being reborn.
It was only in this life, when Qingxing's behavior deviated from its original course, that he realized it.
And what Xingxing just said confirmed her guess—the world-destroying villain, like her, had the blood of the resurrected race.
As for why he had the idea of "destroying the world"... Qingxing recalled the delusions in the secret room.
If nothing unexpected happens, there is one most likely explanation: the Huisheng tribe survived the massacre, returned to find all their people dead, and were filled with hatred, wanting to burn the world to the ground.
Li Xu and the Purple-Clad Demon might both have been created by him.
There was just one thing Qingxing couldn't understand—the Huisheng race was immortal, so if the villain had managed to escape the war between humans and demons, what about her? Was she the same?
How did she manage to escape the killing and harassment of the past five hundred years? And why does she remember nothing?
That's so strange.
Besides her and the villain, there seems to be a third party involved.
The villain's actions, seemingly aimed at eliminating her as a "major variable," are actually more like guiding her step by step to discover the mystery of her origins.
In contrast, Gudako has been keeping things secret all along...
But this could also be a scheme by the villains to divert attention, and Qingxing hesitated. Thinking that something was amiss, she decided to keep quiet for now and not tell Guda.
She was so preoccupied with her headache that she didn't notice a pink figure quietly approaching.
It wasn't until a warm touch landed on the back of her hand that Qingxing looked up and met Jiuquchen's tired eyes.
Under the bright moonlight, he smiled slightly at Qingxing and asked, "Why are you here all alone? Aren't you cold?"
Qingxing turned her head and found that Xingxing had already disappeared. She rubbed her thumb, thinking of making up an excuse, but suddenly froze - her hand, which was covered with blisters just now, was now smooth. It turned out that the warmth on the back of her hand just now was not an illusion. Jiuquchen had healed her with his spiritual power.
"I'm not cold," Qingxing said in a muffled voice. "How is Junior Brother?"
Jiu Qu Chen sat down beside her: "His life is not in danger. However, the demon's threads pierced through his spiritual net and drained his spiritual power... His foundation was damaged, and his cultivation limit was also reduced. It seems that there is no hope for him to become an immortal."
Upon hearing this, Qingxing remained silent for a long time.
She found it hard to imagine what would happen if Duanmu Tingzhu woke up and found out about all this.
Not everyone can accept a mediocre life, let alone someone who was once hailed as a "chosen one".
"Why don't you ask your master?" Perhaps the atmosphere was too heavy, Jiu Qu Chen joked.
Qingxing glanced at his profile, then looked away as if her eyes were burning.
She whispered, "Is Master alright?"
"Alright, with you protecting me, I'm naturally fine." Jiu Qu Chen smiled. "It's just that my magic power was sealed, but the patriarch has already helped me remove that thread. To be honest, I, as the master, couldn't protect my disciple, but my disciple has been quite impressive!"
Qingxing said calmly, "Master taught well."
Jiuqu Chen: "Pure humility."
After saying that, he seemed to remember something and asked curiously, "We accidentally entered the magic formation and didn't even know we were sent to the bottom of Emerald Lake. You were the first to break out of the formation, so how did you find out where we were? And how did you defeat that purple-clad demon?"
“Tingzhu sent a communication talisman.” Qingxing recalled, “At the time, I was wondering why there was so much fog in the Blood Peach Forest, until my companions talked about the Jade Lake… and then I suddenly understood.”
"As for the Purple-Clad Demon..." she lied, "Elder Qinghe had already been brought ashore, and since we had been missing for several days, Patriarch Duanmu was almost here. The person behind it probably felt they were about to be exposed, and in order to protect their own interests, they self-destructed and escaped."
Jiu Qu Chen asked doubtfully, "Is that so? Then I heard Elder Xuan Ying say that there was a strange phenomenon in the sky at that time, just like when the false words were sealed five hundred years ago."
He thought for a moment: "Was this also caused by the person behind the scenes?"
Qingxing pursed her lips and nodded: "It should be. I was also unconscious at the time, so I don't know much."
“Then the situation is rather serious…” Jiu Qu Chen frowned and sighed repeatedly, “So many things have happened just from coming out!”
Qingxing felt guilty and didn't know how to comfort her master, so she simply shut her mouth and quietly watched the moon's shadow move.
The master and disciple sat quietly for a while, and Jiu Quchen took the opportunity to heal Qingxing's injuries. As the moon climbed higher into the treetops, he couldn't help but yawn.
"Master, let's go back." Qingxing glanced at him.
Jiuquchen had the same idea: "Let's go back... I've been exhausted for days and haven't even changed my clothes. I'm so bored."
Qingxing walked with him back to the mansion. Duanmu Yi had already arranged accommodations for the group. Since Tingzhu was still asleep, she didn't want to disturb her, so she parted ways with Jiuquchen at the fork in the road and headed to her own courtyard.
But as she turned the corner, she saw a shadow in front of the courtyard gate.
Hearing the sound, Duanmu Yi turned around and nodded slightly to her: "It is truly an impudent act of me to come uninvited in the middle of the night."
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