Chapter 98: The unfinished conversation with “his” before the well
The unfinished conversation with "his" before the wellhead
Walking out of the exit, the view suddenly opens up.
They were standing on a massive, semi-open circular platform. Built of ancient white boulders, it was bordered by several broken stone pillars, carved with ancient totems, blurred by wind and rain. In the center of the platform stood a circular wellhead, approximately three meters in diameter!
The wellhead, built of the same white boulders, rose slightly above the platform. Its edges were as smooth as a mirror, as if rubbed by countless people. Above the wellhead, a misty, transparent energy barrier, like ripples of water, hovered. The barrier shone with vibrant light, exuding a rich sacred aura and a subtle sense of sadness.
This is the ancient well in the east of Wangchuanwu Village!
Beside the wellhead, there are some decayed sacrificial items and withered wreaths scattered around, indicating that this was once an important place in the divine village.
The most striking sight was a kneeling skeleton, draped in a tattered private school teacher's robe, sitting on one side of the well. Its head bowed, its hands clasped tightly across its chest, as if guarding something. On the ground in front of it, two large, archaic characters were written in dark red, long-dried paint: "Atonement."
It was Shi Yan! He really died here, in front of the ancient well!
Jiang Xuelan's gaze fell on Shi Yan's remains, a complex emotion. This tutor who had betrayed Shencun, yet spent the rest of his life writing a confession...
Li Jiuyou could also feel Jiang Xuelan's complicated emotions. He clicked his tongue and rarely said anything harsh. He just glanced at the two words, and a barely perceptible fluctuation flashed in his scarlet-gold pupils.
Ah Che approached cautiously and discovered that Shi Yan's skeleton was holding a thick booklet wrapped in oilcloth. He gently took out the booklet and opened the oilcloth.
The cover of the booklet was blank, but every page inside was filled with the same single word, written so densely and forcefully that it could be seen through the paper: "I am guilty." The handwriting shifted from neat at first to frantic and finally to a faint, almost wisp of air, as if chronicling the writer's gradual collapse. On the last page, tucked inside was a long-dried, oddly shaped leaf (from the Xirang sacred tree). Beneath it, a line of smaller characters read:
"The well requires the divine blood of a close relative to seal it. However, the secrets beneath the well concern the three realms, so open it with caution. If opened, the power of yin and yang must be used to protect it, otherwise the evil spirit may fully awaken. **—The sinner Shi Yan, the last words."
The divine blood of a close relative? Obviously referring to Jiang Xuelan.
The power of yin and yang? Could it be referring to Jiang Xuelan's immortal power and Li Jiuyou's demonic fire, connected by the Heart-Slaying Contract?
Just as everyone was digesting this information, something strange happened!
A sneer suddenly came from the shadows on the other side of the platform!
"Haha...this is so touching...Junior Brother Jiang, I didn't expect you to actually collude with the monster to such an extent and even find this place."
Bai Zhi, accompanied by several elite disciples of the Lingxiao Sword Sect, whose auras were noticeably more powerful, slowly emerged from the shadows! She looked somewhat disheveled, her clothes stained with blood and dust. It was clear she had fought a hard battle to find this place, but her eyes were even more paranoid and frantic! In her hands, she held the Blood Compass, which could track the aura of divine blood!
"Hand over the Jianmu fragments and the divine blood! Maybe I can leave you with an intact body!" Bai Zhi stared at Jiang Xuelan with greedy and resentful eyes.
Jiang Xuelan and Li Jiuyou instantly entered combat mode. The previous embarrassment and confusion were temporarily suppressed by the sense of crisis faced by the powerful enemy!
"Dream on!" Li Jiuyou sneered, and the evil fire on the Jinsheng Sword ignited again!
Jiang Xuelan gathered icy blue immortal energy at his fingertips and said coldly, "You are still stubborn."
The war is about to break out!
Bai Zhi was clearly well prepared. The disciples behind her immediately formed a fierce sword formation, their swords pointed directly at Jiang Xuelan! Meanwhile, Bai Zhi herself pulled out a long, dark nail that exuded an ominous aura—the Soul-Calming Nail!
"Since you've fallen into depravity, don't blame me, Senior Sister... I'm going to clean up the mess!" Bai Zhi shouted delicately, launching the first attack! The Soul-Suppressing Nail transformed into a black light, shooting straight at Jiang Xuelan's brow!
Seeing this, Li Jiuyou swung his sword to block without thinking!
But Jiang Xuelan was quicker! He knew full well that the Soul-Suppressing Nail could cause great damage to the Yuan Shen. Li Jiuyou's demonic soul was powerful, but his spiritual awareness was not his strong point. If he took it head-on, he would be severely injured!
He could even foresee the pain that Li Jiuyou might feel after taking it head-on!
At that moment, Jiang Xuelan almost instinctively made a move that no one expected -
He suddenly turned sideways, not to dodge completely, but to use his left arm, which was not holding the sword, to accurately block the black light! At the same time, the Frost Silence Sword in his right hand drew an ice wall, trying to slow down the speed of the Soul-Soothing Nail!
Although the black light was slightly weakened by the ice wall, it still instantly penetrated Jiang Xuelan's left arm!
"Ugh!" Jiang Xuelan groaned, and a chilling, piercing pain that pierced his soul instantly spread from his left arm! His face turned pale as paper!
Li Jiuyou also felt that terrible, cold and severe pain directed at his soul!
"Senior Brother Jiang Xuelan!" Li Jiuyou and A Che exclaimed at the same time!
Li Jiuyou's eyes instantly turned red! Not because of the backlash from the blood pact, but because of an indescribable rage and... panic? Jiang Xuelan's trembling pain, which he tried to suppress but still couldn't control, pierced his nerves like needles!
"Are you fucking crazy?!" Li Jiuyou held Jiang Xuelan's shaky body, his voice changed with shock and anger!
Jiang Xuelan gritted his teeth, sweat dripping from his forehead, and tried to push him away: "...It's okay... Let's fight the enemy first..." But his voice became obviously weaker.
Li Jiuyou could feel that the other party's soul was being eroded by the cold power, which made him more frightened than physical damage!
Seeing this, Bai Zhi showed a smug grin on her face: "What a deep and loyal relationship! Let's see how long you can hold out! Keep attacking!"
The sword formation lit up with bright light again!
Li Jiuyou suddenly looked up, his scarlet-gold eyes burning with an unprecedented, almost insane killing intent! He stared at Bai Zhi intently, squeezing out a word from between his teeth, his voice terribly low:
"You... dare to touch him..."
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