Chapter 108: The Boss is Angry and Can't Be Coaxed
The lingering malevolent aura still lingered on the remains of the bone bridge.
Ye Wuyang carried the unconscious Fang Li in his arms, his body radiating a faint, extinguishing sword intent, as he prepared to tear through space and depart.
Deep in the canyon, the wind howled suddenly, and a group of figures dressed in ancient, faded black robes rushed closer like ghosts.
Their aura was ancient and profound, carrying an aura completely different from the evil and malevolent aura of the Soul Devouring Sect.
The leader, with his white hair and beard, immediately fixed his gaze on Fang Li in Ye Wuyang's arms. His once cloudy and dull old eyes suddenly burst forth with an astonishingly blazing light, like withered trees coming back to life, radiating a terrifying vitality.
"Splash! Splash! Splash!"
Without any hesitation, and even with an almost instinctive fervor, all the black-robed priests who followed behind knelt down in unison, their foreheads touching the ground, their bodies trembling violently with uncontrollable excitement, as if the long wait of eternity had finally come to an end at this moment.
The old priest's voice choked with emotion, filled with anticipation and profound reverence. He shouted with all his might towards Fang Li's direction, "Welcome back, my Lord! Immortal Venerable Liuli! The Holy Mountain weeps to welcome our former master back!!!"
The sound echoed repeatedly in the empty, deathly silent canyon, each word imbued with unquestionable piety. The other priests responded in unison, tears streaming down their faces, soaking the black rocks beneath them, as the longing suppressed for countless years surged forth like a flood bursting its banks.
The old priest rose shakily, his bones creaking slightly. He bowed deeply to Ye Wuyang, who stood as still as a mountain, his posture extremely respectful and humble: "Your Excellency... your Dao aura is connected to my lord... could it be... an old friend of the Immortal Venerable? My lord, she..." His gaze urgently turned to the unconscious Fang Li, his worry almost tangible.
It was at this solemn and dignified moment, yet tinged with an eeriness due to the priests' overly intense emotions, that things began to unfold.
"My disciple—!!!"
A heart-wrenching, earth-shattering wail rang out.
Master Qingxuan's figure shot towards them from afar like a cannonball. His Taoist robe was disheveled, his hair was askew and about to fall, and his face was covered in tears and snot. He no longer cared about maintaining any semblance of a sage.
He ran wildly without any regard for his image, stumbling and rushing forward. Without even looking around, he knelt down decisively at Ye Wuyang's feet with a "thump," almost bumping into the old priest kneeling beside him.
He clung tightly to Ye Wuyang's arm, craning his neck to look at Fang Li in his arms, crying so hard it seemed to break his heart and change the very color of the sky:
"My precious disciple! What...what's wrong with you?! It's all my fault! I'm too late! Just now...just now I was drinking when your soul lamp suddenly went dark, almost...almost went out! Waaaaah! Which damned bastard dared to hurt my Qingxuan's disciple?! Come out! I'll fight him to the death!" He wailed with heartfelt emotion, spittle flying everywhere. His grief-stricken, grief-stricken appearance made it seem as if Fang Li had met with certain death. The intense emotional outburst drew the attention of everyone in the canyon. The priests kneeling nearby were all stunned by this sudden, unusual wailing, momentarily forgetting to react.
Perhaps it was the earth-shattering, penetrating cry of Master Qingxuan that was too "shocking," or perhaps it was the residual spiritual power within Fang Li's body that instinctively resisted the intrusion of this "noise."
Fang Li, nestled in Ye Wuyang's arms, trembled violently a few times before slowly opening her eyes, revealing a pair of bewildered and weak eyes.
Her vision blurred and then focused. The first thing she saw was her master's enlarged face, snot streaming down his face, contorted with grief, clinging desperately to the arm of the person holding her, howling so loudly it shook the earth.
Fang Li weakly raised her hand and tugged at Qingxuan's sleeve, her voice barely a whisper: "...Master...don't...don't howl...your ears hurt...I'm not dead yet..."
Master Qingxuan's sobs abruptly stopped: "Uh...?" His face, streaked with snot and tears, underwent a rapid transformation. From grief to ecstasy, then, fueled by lingering fear and a touch of embarrassment, it quickly turned into fury!
He sprang up with a "whoosh," pointing his finger at everyone present one by one...
From the expressionless Ye Wuyang, to the various expressions on the faces of Shen Yunzhou, Xie Chen, the three members of the Ji family, and Chu Yunfan, and even the group of bewildered priests kneeling on the ground, they launched an indiscriminate attack with spittle flying everywhere:
"Fine! You! You bunch of bastards! You worthless wretches! Bringing my disciple to this godforsaken place! Without even telling me beforehand?! Putting her in danger?! She almost... almost..." His eyes reddened with lingering fear, his protective instincts exploding completely. "Do you even know she's the only precious darling of Yi Xing Peak! My heart and soul! If anything happens to her, I'll make you all pay!"
As he got into the heat of his rant, he suddenly turned his ire on Ye Wuyang: "Especially you! Senior brother! Yes! It's you! What are you doing holding my disciple?! Put him down right now! Let me see him!" As he spoke, he actually reached out to snatch him.
Fang Li was even more confused by her master's illogical and chaotic actions. She leaned weakly against Ye Wuyang's chest, feeling her head buzzing.
Ye Wuyang ignored Qingxuan's loud snatching, but subtly tightened his arms to protect her more firmly, isolating her from the outside disturbances.
Fang Li then looked around blankly: a group of unfamiliar old men in black robes kneeling on the ground? Their eyes were so fanatical they looked like they wanted to devour her! Her master was jumping up and down cursing, and her senior brothers had different, complicated expressions, as if they had just experienced something terrible? How did she end up being held by the Immortal Venerable? Why was that eerie and terrifying bone bridge about to collapse? Where was that incomparably terrifying demon general?
"Master? Master! Wake up! What's going on? I...I think I fainted for a while? What happened? Why are these black-robed old men kneeling before me? What's wrong with Master this time?"
[Hmph! The system responded angrily in her mind, its voice still trembling with sobs and a deep sense of grievance, "Host, you big bad guy! I called you just now and you ignored me! You even yelled at me! You looked at me with those cold eyes! You scared me to death! I...I'm angry! I can't be coaxed! I'm not talking to you anymore!"] Its data stream swirled erratically, clearly showing that it was throwing a tantrum.
"??? Tongzi? I yelled at you? When? How could I yell at you? I'm innocent! What did I do?" Fang Li was even more confused, completely disoriented. "Hey! Stop messing around! Tell me what happened! Did I black out?"
At this moment, seeing Fang Li awaken and able to speak, the old priest was so moved that tears streamed down his face again. Ignoring Qing Xuan, who was glaring at him, he led the priests in another deep bow, their foreheads slamming heavily onto the cold ground: "My Lord! Immortal Venerable Liuli! You have finally awakened! All the spirits of the Holy Mountain welcome the Immortal Venerable back to his throne!"
Fang Li looked bewildered and shocked, muttering to herself, "...Immortal Venerable Liuli?...Me?...Are they...getting old...mistaking me for someone else?" She had no memory of what had just happened, including her earth-shattering transformation.
Ye Wuyang looked down at the innocent-looking girl in his arms, her eyes deep and unfathomable.
His arms around her were steady and strong, seemingly oblivious to the priests' almost fanatical worship and Qingxuan Zhenren's unreasonable clamor. However, his cold gaze swept over the wolf fang amulet that had quietly fallen off the ground again, his brows furrowing slightly, a trace of doubt flashing in his eyes.
Shen Yunzhou's grip on the sword tightened and loosened repeatedly, his knuckles turning white. He watched as Fang Li, in a daze, instinctively leaned against Ye Wuyang's chest, his gaze shifting several times before finally settling into a calm stillness. Only the sword energy flowing around him became more restrained and cold, like a frozen volcano.
Xie Chen bent down to pick up the jade fan that had fallen to the ground, gently brushed off the dust, and regained his usual gentle demeanor. He waved the jade fan lightly, and a warm smile reappeared on his lips. However, deep thoughts were hidden in his eyes, which were always smiling. His gaze subtly shifted between the bewildered Fang Li, the kneeling and fanatical priest, and the unfathomable Ye Wuyang, trying to piece together a complete picture.
Ji Qianqiu's mouth was tightly covered by Ji Kuangshi, whose thick arms were like iron clamps. He could only make "woo woo woo" sounds of struggle from his throat. His eyes were wide open as he anxiously looked Fang Li up and down countless times to make sure she was really alright, only pale and weak. Only then did he slightly relax his struggle.
Chu Yunfan breathed a sigh of relief, his fingers, which had been tightly gripping the silver needles, loosened slightly. He stepped forward, his tone still gentle: "Junior Sister Fang, how are you feeling? Is there any obvious discomfort or stagnation in your spiritual power or soul? Please don't push yourself."
Mo Yun, Ling Shuang, Tie Pan, and Ji Bailie looked at each other in disbelief. The scene before them was too overwhelming and bizarre, making it difficult for them to process. They could only stand there, their eyes darting back and forth between the kneeling priest, the wailing Qing Xuan, the unconscious Fang Li who had just woken up, and Ye Wuyang who was holding her. Their minds were in complete chaos.
Master Qingxuan, his mouth dry from cursing, stood with his hands on his hips, panting heavily. He still glared warily at Ye Wuyang, then suspiciously eyed the kneeling priest, muttering under his breath, "What Immortal Venerable? Liuli? You old folks, talking nonsense, could it be that you're trying to seduce my disciple because of her talent and good looks?!"
The old priest rose respectfully once more, ignoring Qingxuan's mutterings, and addressed Ye Wuyang and Qingxuan: "Your Excellency, Daoist Master. Our Lord... the Immortal Venerable seems to have... forgotten her past life? Although the malevolent energy here has temporarily receded, the remnants of the Soul Devouring Sect have not been eliminated and may launch a counterattack. This is no place to linger. I earnestly request that you all move to the core altar of the Holy Mountain. There... there may be power there that can help the Immortal Venerable regain her memories, or perhaps... answer some of your doubts."
All eyes, whether complex, worried, inquisitive, or bewildered, were now fixed on Fang Li, awaiting her decision, even though she herself was still in a state of great confusion and disorientation.
Fang Li shook her still-dizzy head, suppressing the countless questions in her mind: "Go...I have to go...I have to stop them..."
Just as everyone was preparing to set off.
The wolf fang amulet lying quietly on the ground, in the dim light of the canyon, flickered faintly in a corner unnoticed by anyone.
A faint, almost imperceptible aura of purity swept by, then vanished without a trace.
…Hmm? The system, which was still throwing a tantrum and whose data stream was twitching and choking, suddenly paused and caught the faint anomaly.
[Just now...that wolf fang...it felt...strange? It wasn't the aura of the Holy Mountain...]
Its data stream trembled slightly, instinctively becoming alert!
"Host!" It wanted to report immediately, but then remembered that it had just said "I'm ignoring you" so firmly, and was immediately caught in a huge dilemma.
[...Hmph! Fine! I said I wouldn't talk to you, and that's final! See for yourself!]
Ultimately, it chose to maintain its arrogant attitude, but that unease and doubt had quietly seeped into its data core.
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