Chapter 31 Qiushui Town (5) South China Sea Abandoned Temple
Fu Yusheng looked at the red-clad figure before him, his light-colored eyes filled with tenderness.
He sheathed his Spring Return sword, stopped in front of her, and reached out, only to touch a patch of warm blood.
"Are you injured?"
Fu Yunyao lowered her brows and slightly curved her eyes.
"You're so slow."
The dangling hair ornaments obscured her face, causing her to miss the surging emotions in Fu Yusheng's eyes.
He spoke, his voice slightly hoarse.
"Feel sorry."
Fu Yunyao was taken aback to hear his apology.
She wanted to say something, but the Dust Restriction within her body surged up once more.
Blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, dripping onto the bright red hem of his dress and onto the plain white sleeve of the person beside him.
Her consciousness blurred, as if she had fallen into boundless darkness once again.
"Yun Yao!"
A familiar voice reached her ears; he was calling her, his voice somewhat urgent.
Once again, she barely managed to suppress the restraints and responded to him softly.
"I'm fine."
She felt the dust-sealing spell binding her neck, leaving streaks of blood. The overflowing crimson stained the white veil around her neck.
She propped herself up and sat against the Xuanlei tree.
Fu Yusheng stared at his empty hands, his eyes swirling with dark emotions.
"What about them?"
He heard her weak voice, composed himself slightly, and took out a new veil from his storage bag.
"We should be there soon, right?"
Fu Yunyao looked at him with some suspicion, but he didn't explain. He just pointed to the blood-stained white veil around her neck.
She took the veil from his hand, removed the phoenix crown from her hair, and let her long, white hair fall loose. She then simply tied it up in her hands, finally concealing it all under the veil.
Fu Yusheng saw that she had finished packing and spoke again.
"Should we go back now, or wait for them?"
"Let's wait."
...
Shi Yubai was following closely behind Fu Yusheng, but he fell into an illusion when he stepped into the village.
In his hallucination, he saw a bustling village turn into a mass of corpses and rivers of blood overnight.
He seemed to be imprisoned in place, unable to move. He was forced into a cycle, watching the demonic energy sweep through and slaughter the villagers time and time again.
Under the moonlight, heart-wrenching screams echoed as yet another person collapsed in a pool of blood.
Someone ran towards him crying and screaming, passed through his body, and finally collapsed.
It seemed as if warm blood had fallen on his face; he closed his eyes, unwilling to look at this tragic scene.
Then another wisp of demonic energy came and brushed past him.
It seemed to be mixed with some musical sounds.
Musical sounds?
Shi Yubai suddenly opened his eyes. There seemed to be a person standing at the entrance of the village. He looked somewhat familiar. He squinted slightly, but before he could see clearly, the surrounding scenery changed again, returning to the state before everything happened.
This time, he forced himself not to close his eyes, letting the blood splatter onto his face.
His attention was focused on the village entrance, until the last person in the village fell, and then the figure reappeared at the village entrance.
This time, however, he still couldn't see who the person was.
Everything went back to the way it was before nothing happened.
Shi Yubai gritted his teeth, but no matter how he tried, he couldn't break free from the restraints.
Massacres were staged time and time again in the village, and that figure would appear at the village entrance again and again, only to return to the starting point just as he was about to see him clearly.
Shi Yubai was utterly impressed.
It wasn't until the seventeenth cycle that he finally felt the restraints on his body lessen a little.
Although it's just a very superficial point, it's enough.
He summoned the Seventeen Divine Wood Tokens and set up an array around himself.
Golden light shimmered on the sacred wooden talisman, resisting the strange force binding his body.
Finally, when that figure appeared, he broke free from his restraints.
The seventeen sacred wooden sticks flew towards the figure at the village entrance, breaking through the illusion and allowing him to see her face clearly.
"Sect Master of Nanheng!"
He had a thousand questions in his mind, but considering Fu Yunyao's current situation, he could only put the mystery aside for the time being.
He made a hand seal with his fingertips, and the divine wooden talismans swirled around him, scattering throughout the illusionary realm as he instructed.
Shi Yue held his fingers together in front of him and murmured softly.
"A myriad illusions are all before my eyes. Hear my command and break the formation!"
The ground shook, and the blood on the ground began to flow backward. The severed limbs that fell to the ground were reattached to the body, but in the next moment, they scattered into a pile of white bones.
The illusion shattered inch by inch, and the Divine Wood Sign returned to Shi Yubai's side.
He opened his eyes, and a golden light seemed to flash in them.
The commotion caused by Bai Pozhen was quite loud. Fu Yunyao, who was sitting under the Xuanlei Tree with her eyes closed, opened her eyes and looked at him.
Shi Yubai looked at her, then at Fu Yusheng sitting beside her, and looked at her with some confusion.
"Are you all alright? What about the dragon snake?"
He was even more puzzled. "What happened? Did something unexpected happen? I left a mark on Minxi and Fuying. They should be able to find us soon."
Fu Yusheng remained silent.
"Cough." Fu Yunyao coughed lightly, and the veil covering her face swayed slightly. Only then did Shi Yubai notice the bloodstains on her veil.
He was startled. "Yun Yao, what's wrong?"
Fu Yusheng looked at her trembling fingertips, his eyes darkening slightly.
She shook her head, wanting to say something, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she couldn't help but cough a few times.
Fu Yusheng knew that she didn't want anyone to discover the restrictions on her body. He lowered his eyes slightly, turned to the side to block Shi Yubai's probing gaze, and answered for her.
"I was injured. I'll go back to recuperate once things are settled here."
Shi Yubai frowned. "If you're injured, go back and rest. It's too dangerous to stay here."
As if remembering something, he continued, "Did that serpent successfully transform into a dragon?"
"No." Fu Yunyao's voice was a little weak, but even so, her voice still carried a smile. "It hasn't fully transformed yet, and its horns are still there. Its injuries are much more serious than mine."
He looked in the direction she was pointing, and the thing that had fallen to the ground did indeed resemble the shape of a dragon's horn.
Shi Yubai remained silent for a moment, as he had always known of Fu Yunyao's outstanding talent in swordsmanship.
However, in the current cultivation world, it is probably impossible to find another person who can survive the combined attacks of the Xuanlei Tree, the lightning tribulation, and the serpent in the dragon transformation, and even have the strength to cut off the dragon horns and stop the serpent from transforming into a dragon.
Fu Yunyao didn't think her abilities were that terrifying. All she knew was that she was feeling really uncomfortable. She had barely managed to suppress the restrictions within her body, and there was always the risk of a backlash.
Shi Yubai glanced at the sky, somewhat puzzled, "Why haven't Minxi and Fuying arrived yet?"
Fu Yusheng sighed and reminded him, "They've arrived and are investigating the dragon's hiding place."
Shi Yubai: ...
"So I was the last one?"
He became withdrawn, thinking, "I thought I broke the formation quickly, but it's only been repeated seventeen times..."
Fu Yusheng ignored his rambling and turned his gaze back to the person beside him who had closed his eyes to rest again, his fingertips lightly tapping his knee.
He thought that the reason he was late was because Heaven had pulled him into the formation in order to lure him into becoming a demon.
Why did Shi Yubai also enter the formation? Could it be... also the work of Heaven?
"Oh, right, I just saw in the illusion..." Sect Master Nanheng.
Before he could finish speaking, he was interrupted by the jade slip that suddenly emitted a sound from his body.
"We've found Xuan Kui's hiding place: the South China Sea Temple at the entrance of Dongfang Village."
Cheng Minxi’s low voice came, and Shi Yubai momentarily forgot what he was going to say. He looked at Fu Yunyao, somewhat hesitant.
"you……"
He actually wanted her to stay and rest, but he also knew she wouldn't listen to him.
Sure enough, she heard the telepathic message, slowly stood up, and looked up to meet his gaze.
Fu Yunyao: ?
"lead the way."
Shi Yubai then realized what was happening, coughed lightly, and followed Cheng Minxi's telepathic guidance, heading towards the South China Sea Temple with the two of them.
...
Xuan Kui transformed into human form, and the blood flowing down his face made his originally handsome features look somewhat terrifying.
He leaned against the stone table inside the temple, his gaze falling on the clay sculpture in the dilapidated temple.
Her eyes were lowered, filled with compassion.
He scoffed and looked away, but his body unconsciously moved closer to the statue. The fierceness in his eyes softened, and he appeared somewhat docile.
He didn't seem to care about the people outside, and simply spoke in a calm tone.
"I failed to transform into a dragon. Even if they don't come, I won't live past tonight."
Oh, those two little guys outside, I recognize one of them.
You should recognize her, right? It's been so long. I still remember the first time I saw her; she was just a little girl who couldn't speak.
I never imagined he'd already become such an outstanding cultivator, capable of slaying demons and monsters.
As he spoke, a hint of nostalgia appeared in his eyes. "It seems that Nan Xiangyu took good care of her. If she really knew everything, would she be sad for you?"
It's a pity. I had planned to avenge you after successfully transforming into a dragon, but now it seems I can only join you first.
But it doesn't matter. She's been tormented by her inner demons for so long, and even went so far as to break the seal of the demonic realm. It seems she can no longer suppress the demonic energy within her.
Once she begins to succumb to demonic possession, divine retribution will surely follow.
The moonlight, filtering through the dilapidated window, fell softly on the sculpture, making it appear even more gentle.
He chuckled softly, "You still love moonlight so much. Tell me, if the people of Qiushui Town knew that the South Sea God they've worshipped for so long was actually a little moon demon, wouldn't they be devastated?"
He kept talking, his expression calm.
"Xuan Kui! You're teasing me again!"
...
"She's so small, was she abandoned in the wild? Let's take her in."
...
"Xuan Kui! You went to town to play pranks on people again, didn't you? I told you not to provoke others, or you'll get caught by cultivators, skinned, and boiled into soup!"
...
"Xuan Kui! Run! Don't look back, run!"
Memories of the past flooded his mind, leaving him feeling somewhat helpless, yet also wanting to laugh.
"But where could I run off to? You're still here. I'll always come back to find you."
The tightly closed temple door was finally pushed open, and the already dilapidated door swayed in the evening breeze.
For the first time, Xuan Kui felt that moonlight could be so dazzling. He squinted slightly and looked at the girl holding the crescent moon flute.
Her features were aloof, and her gaze toward him was cold and wary, yet it seemed to contain a hint of sadness that was hard to detect.
Su Fuying didn't know why she felt uneasy. Ever since she stepped into this village, she had felt a deep sense of sorrow and grief.
These feelings all overwhelmed her when she saw the clay sculptures in the temple.
But clearly, this was her first time here...
Xuan Kui raised an eyebrow slightly, thinking casually, "It seems that I didn't spoil that little girl for nothing."
He rose, conjured a pair of vertical pupils, and transformed back into a dragon, circling within the temple.
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