Chapter 26: Jianmu Glory and the Demon King Fangs 2
With an extremely slight sound, similar to the sound of silk being torn, Li Jiuyou's lips, which were slightly chapped due to the high temperature and the previous battle, scraped the skin on Jiang Xuelan's collarbone that he had been holding for a long time with the tip of his canine teeth in a panic as he retreated!
A tiny, shallow crack, about half an inch long, appeared instantly!
Bright red blood beads, like red plum blossoms blooming in the snow, slowly and with a dazzling beauty, seeped out from the gap!
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
Li Jiuyou remained leaning back, his scarlet-gold eyes fixed on the fresh wound on Jiang Xuelan's collarbone, still stained with his teeth and blood. His eyes were filled with extreme shock, bewilderment, and... a subtle hint of panic. He subconsciously licked his upper lip, and the tip of his tongue tasted a very subtle, cool, sweet scent belonging to her.
Jiang Xuelan remained subdued. All the anger, shame, and agony in his icy blue eyes froze and shattered at the sight of that glaring red, transforming into a dead silence, a deep chill that could freeze everything. The blush faded from his pale face, leaving only a nearly transparent, jade-like coldness. He stared at Li Jiuyou, his eyes devoid of any emotion, yet they made Li Jiuyou feel as if he were pinned to the spot by a thousand-year-old black ice, his very soul frozen.
"I..." Li Jiuyou opened his mouth, his throat dry as sandpaper. He tried to explain, but found any words paled and powerless at that moment, like a joke. He, the mighty Demon King of the Zerg Clan, gravely wounded and unconscious, had bitten the collarbone of his savior and mortal enemy (who he thought he was), the Immortal Lord? And even blood?! This was even more terrifying than being besieged by the three great commanders!
The air was as thick as solidified soul-sinking fog.
Only the milky white light emitted by the half broom handle still gently and firmly enveloped the two of them, illuminating this extremely weird and suffocatingly awkward scene.
At this moment, the gravekeeper's hoarse voice, like the friction of sandpaper, actually penetrated the soul-sinking fog, carrying a subtle hint of... **clarity**, and faintly echoed in the ears of the two:
"Yin and Yang meet... a spiritual connection... blood leads the way... the bond deepens... fortune and misfortune are intertwined... inseparable..."
Fortune and misfortune are interdependent? Inextricably linked?!
Jiang Xuelan's eyes grew even colder. He slowly raised his right hand, and the icy immortal power condensed into a sharp ice blade at his fingertips. Without even looking at Li Jiuyou, he pressed it directly against the small wound on his collarbone.
"Shut up!" His voice was icy, an unquestionable command, addressed both to the gravekeeper and to a certain demon king who was ready to make a move. The chill of the ice blade instantly froze the blood drop, coating the surrounding skin with a thin layer of frost.
Li Jiuyou shuddered at the chill of the ice blade and the murderous intent in Jiang Xuelan's eyes. His severely injured body instinctively tensed, and a flicker of alarm and... frustration flashed in his scarlet-gold eyes. He struggled to sit up, to escape this damned, oppressive position.
"Don't move!" Jiang Xuelan did not withdraw the ice blade, and his voice became colder, "If you move again, I don't mind helping you to calm down completely." He meant physical silence.
Li Jiuyou froze, feeling the icy murderous intent beneath him and the repressed rage and shame emanating from that damned Heart-Slaying Contract. For the first time in his life, he experienced the stifling feeling of being bullied by a dog while in a low position (though he would never admit he was a tiger, and the other party certainly wasn't a dog). His scarlet-gold eyes fixed on Jiang Xuelan's close, icy jade-like profile. His Adam's apple rolled briefly, but ultimately remained still. He squeezed out a few words from between his teeth: "You...get up first..."
"You're putting pressure on me." Jiang Xuelan stated the fact with a calm tone, as if saying that the weather was nice today.
Li Jiuyou: "..." He then realized belatedly that he was still firmly pressed against the other person! No wonder his chest felt a little cold (frozen by Jiang Xuelan's icy immortal power)!
An indescribable heat instantly rushed to the Demon King's cheeks (although it was not very visible due to his severe injuries and previous dusty appearance). He suddenly exerted force to turn over and roll away, but his severely injured and weak body did not obey him at all. He just swayed in vain, which made the two of them stick closer.
Jiang Xuelan groaned as severe pain came from his lower back again, and his face turned transparent pale.
"Idiot!" Jiang Xuelan couldn't stand it any longer, and the coldness of the ice blade suddenly increased!
"Who are you calling an idiot?!" Li Jiuyou's ferocity was also aroused, and his red-gold demonic power was instinctively about to burst out in resistance!
Just as the two were about to engage in a second round of "close combat" in this strange posture—
The milky white light emanating from the half broom handle at the waist suddenly flickered like breathing! The light seemed to dim a little, and the area it covered also shrank by an inch!
At the same time, the soul-sinking fog that was forced back by the light seemed to smell the opportunity of the weakening of the halo, and began to surge again, and even tentatively extended one or two tiny, gray-black fog tentacles from the edge!
This sudden change was like a shower of cold water, instantly calming the two men who were on the verge of a fight!
The Yin-Yang Spring hasn't arrived yet! The threat of the Soul-Sinking Mist hasn't been lifted! They're still dancing at the gates of hell!
Jiang Xuelan and Li Jiuyou's eyes met briefly in the air.
One that was icy cold and carried a warning.
A violent and irritable person, but suppressing his anger.
No words were needed. The instinct for survival and the subtle connection brought by the Heart-Slaying Contract instantly brought them to a temporary, extremely fragile consensus - **survive first, settle the score later!**
Jiang Xuelan was the first to look away, enduring the piercing pain in his lower back and the burning sting in his collarbone (the psychological effect far outweighed the actual pain). The ice blade withdrew. He took a deep breath, and with almost all his willpower, he restrained himself from throwing the foolish monster off. Instead, he gritted his teeth and, using his remaining hand, combined with the strength of his waist and legs, painstakingly, bit by bit... **tried to move out from under Li Jiuyou**.
Li Jiuyou's face was also tense, his scarlet-gold eyes filled with frustration and unwillingness, but his body rigidly matched the other person's tiny movements, minimizing friction and pressure. He tried to mobilize a tiny bit of demonic power to support his body.
In an extremely awkward, slow manner, full of silent confrontation yet forced cooperation, the two of them, illuminated by the broom handle emitting holy white light and surrounded by the soul-sinking fog, struggled to... **separate**.
When Jiang Xuelan finally managed to pull himself out from under Li Jiuyou, holding his aching lower back as he stumbled to his feet, he felt like he had just crawled through the eighteen levels of hell. Without even glancing at Li Jiuyou, who was still lying on the ground, he bent down and grabbed the glowing broom handle, gripping it tightly in his hand—this thing was his lifeline right now!
Li Jiuyou struggled, using his elbows to support himself as he tried to sit up. The weakness brought on by his severe injuries and the backlash of his origin washed over him like a tide, causing his vision to blacken. His scarlet-gold eyes swept across Jiang Xuelan's pale, cold face, his gaze subconsciously settling on his collarbone. The tiny wound, covered in frost, was particularly glaring in the milky white light.
Li Jiuyou's Adam's apple rolled, and he wanted to say something, but in the end he just growled irritably: "What are you looking at! Hurry up and leave! Are you waiting to be swallowed by this ghost fog?" His tone was fierce, but with a subtle hint of... **lack of confidence**.
Jiang Xuelan glanced at him coldly, as if looking at a pile of irrecyclable garbage. He gripped the glowing broom handle tightly with one hand, supported his lower back with the other, and, enduring the excruciating pain, turned and, without looking back, stumbled toward the mossy path illuminated by the light. Every step strained his back injury and the... **psychological trauma** on his collarbone.
Li Jiuyou stared at his stubborn, yet disheveled figure, his chest tightening with anxiety. He cursed softly, gritted his teeth, and braced himself against the ground with his arms, dragging his heavy body to a shaky stand. His severe injuries made every step feel like treading on the edge of a knife, the uncontrolled primordial demonic fire searing his internal organs. His scarlet-gold eyes fixed on the flickering, warm white light and the cold figure ahead, as if they were his only anchor.
"Hey! Slow down! Wait for me!" He gasped and shouted hoarsely, his voice sounding particularly abrupt in the silent fog.
The figure in front didn't pause at all, but the fingers holding the broom handle turned white from the force.
One in front, one behind, they trudged silently and arduously through the soul-sinking fog, sheltered by the holy light, towards the unknown Yin-Yang Spring. One suffered a severe back injury, the other was critically wounded, and between them was a freshly baked, tooth-marked and blood-stained...**clavicle mark**.
The gravekeeper's hoarse sigh seemed to penetrate the thick fog again and came faintly:
"The brilliance of Jianmu... illuminates our true nature... the mark of the fangs... the bond is established... deep within the spring... is it a calamity or a destiny..."
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