Chapter 81 Fragrant City, Peach Blossom Palace (XI) Even the greatest suffering…
"Young Master Wu, stop hitting her! Xiaoxue has been captured!"
Zhou Zheyue made a move to give chase, but unexpectedly, the demon who had just been beaten half to death suddenly seemed to have a moment of lucidity before death and grabbed Wu Xiutang's leg tightly.
His face was already ugly, and Wu Xiutang went all out, each move like the sharpest icicle in winter. After a brutal beating, his entire face was almost completely smashed.
Even so, he still clung to Wu Xiutang and refused to let go. Blood rushed into his throat, and he coughed and laughed at the same time, his grip on Wu Xiutang never loosening.
"You have the same aura as me. Are you a demonic cultivator? Then what are you pretending for? Don't you also want to devour the goddess? How are you any more noble than me?"
Zhou Zheyue was stunned.
Shi Xianxue was enveloped by green stems like a silkworm cocoon and disappeared into the corridor.
This completely snapped the string of reason in his mind.
The sound of bones shattering was exceptionally clear in the quiet corridor. Wu Xiutang slowly turned his eyes, his cold, bloodthirsty gaze erupting without restraint.
No matter how heavy the punch landed on him, Mo Xing didn't utter a sound. Just as Zhou Zheyue was about to fly after him, he took a deep look in the direction where Shi Xianxue had disappeared, and without hesitation, he crushed his inner core.
Zhou Zheyue stared blankly at the chains on her body, which were now imbued with the power of the demonic beast.
"He's buying time for his accomplices! Xiaoxue!"
Whenever Zhou Zheyue tried to struggle, the chains would anticipate his thoughts and actions, tightening their grip and causing the spells cast on the chains to backfire on him.
He coughed up blood, feeling as if a thousand sharp needles were locking his heart and lungs, causing him to gasp in pain and dare not make any further moves.
Yu Guangzhong was standing next to Wu Gongzi, whose condition was much more serious than his.
The demon's inner core was almost entirely used on him, and the chain alone was much thicker than the ones on his body.
Naturally, it will be much more difficult to solve.
Oh dear, this is troublesome. It was better for Xiaoxue to be in her senior brother's hands than in the hands of the demons; at least there was room for maneuver. Now, they are both tightly bound by the demon chains, struggling to break free. Xiaoxue's whereabouts are unknown; whether she is alive or dead...
The strange screams and hissing in his ears mingled with his thoughts. As the pain in his body quietly subsided, the sound of the chains breaking, like a thunderclap, immediately brought him to his senses.
The moment he looked up, all that remained was him and half a broken iron chain.
Zhou Zheyue stared blankly at the pool of fresh blood on the ground, then belatedly raised her eyebrows.
--
Looking at the swaying moon, Shi Xianxue felt like she was going to throw up her dinner.
Her stomach churned violently, and she felt a sharp pain from the protruding bone in the woman's shoulder blade.
"Stop it, I'm going to throw up, really."
The succubus ignored her and carried her away at breakneck speed.
Shi Xianxue suspected that she was a stone demon.
A stone demon that is impervious to oil and salt, smelly and hard, and without ears.
The Nether Birds were endless. The barrier was shattered by the blood of millions of Nether Birds. The stench of blood, combined with the strong bamboo scent on the female demon's body, actually masked the fragrance in her blood, causing the demons and the people of the Nine Heavens Immortal Palace to not notice for a moment. They then openly drifted out of the riddled barrier.
Shi Xianxue regretted cutting her own neck.
It hurts so much.
The gale was like a sharp blade, and the demonic aura released by the powerful demon not only made it difficult for the people of the immortal sect to breathe, but also affected the demons.
Shi Xianxue summoned the Dragon Sparrow, intending to stab the monster in the neck.
The object that Yu Guangzhong caught her eye made her gaze freeze. She looked at it silently for a while, then noticed the wound on the monster's forearm that had been cut by the gale. She silently withdrew her dragon sparrow, lowered her head quietly, and wanted to see what the monster was up to.
In the dense forest that blocks out the sky, emerald green branches clustered into a protective sphere, perched on a sturdy branch like a bird's nest, blocking countless malicious and covetous gazes. Two plump doves fluttered their gray wings and landed, intently preening their feathers.
Suddenly, they raised their heads alertly, their small, dark eyes looking warily toward the entrance to the jungle.
Zhu Yan's focus was entirely on the barrier sphere, and by the time she sensed something was wrong, the dangerous aura was already extremely close.
The moment she turned around swiftly with the bamboo sword in hand, the sharp blade pierced through flesh and blood. With incredible speed, the figure flashed behind her, leaped onto the tree trunk, and the tip of the sword glowed with fragments of golden light as it stabbed towards the barrier sphere.
With his abdomen pierced, he didn't know what the sword was coated with, but green bamboo sap kept flowing down. Zhu Yan gritted his teeth, sealed his artery, and leaped up, desperately blocking the blade just as it was about to pierce the barrier sphere.
Her heart and lungs were completely pierced. She knelt on the ground, looking at him with pleading eyes, and begged, "Just one more cup of tea's time, give me just one more cup of tea's time, and I can—"
Golden flames ignited in the wound, as if the blood were burning. Zhu Yan sensed that the sword had pierced her body and, without hesitation, thrust it into the barrier sphere. Like a spark falling into dry grass, it quickly spread like wildfire.
"No, no!"
When the barrier sphere was burned to ashes and he saw Shi Xianxue's condition, a terrifying crimson light suddenly rose in his eyes, chilling to the point of being frightening, like a wild beast about to lose its mind.
The sword light flashed like thunder, and Zhu Yan found that her human body, which she had painstakingly cultivated, was torn to pieces.
Only a lonely head remained.
"You want to use Shi Xianxue's abilities to save that disgusting thing, is that it?" His eyes were bloodshot, and he looked down at her with contempt, a sinister and cruel smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
At the center of the barrier, Shi Xianxue had been given some kind of drug. Her eyes were tightly closed, and the power in her palms was draining away like a nutrient solution from the shapeless monster opposite her, which was missing its soul.
His anger drove him insane.
Ignoring Zhu Yan's desperate roar, the sharp tip of the sword pierced the green light with fierce momentum.
"You want him to live? I'll make you watch him die."
"don't want!"
Humans can always unleash power beyond their limits in desperate situations. Zhu Yan, a mother, was strong and resolute. In order to save her child, she completely abandoned her physical body and transformed into a green demon core to stand in front of him without hesitation.
“If you want to kill or torture me, come at me. I won’t say another word. I just beg you, please spare my child. Immortal Master, in just a moment, my child can live. My inner core is entirely at your discretion.”
"If I let you go, then who will let Shi Xianxue go?" His dark eyes churned with astonishing ferocity. He was not gentle in appearance, with sharp and distinct features. He showed no mercy whatsoever. Knowing that further words would be futile, Zhu Yan could only wrap her inner core in a ghostly green light.
This is the last thing a mother can do for her child.
"Stop, Wu Xiutang!"
Fortunately, before things became unmanageable, Shi Xianxue woke up and nearly vomited blood when she saw the scene before her: "I saved him voluntarily, don't go crazy."
The blade stopped just inches away, and Zhu Yan breathed a sigh of relief. However, to everyone's surprise, the long sword, gleaming with golden light, only paused for a moment before piercing through Zhu Yan's inner core with unstoppable force.
The red rattle drum fell onto the tree roots.
Just as the sword was about to pierce through the monster, Shi Xianxue rushed forward and stood in its way. Her beautiful eyes were filled with anger, and her chest heaved. "Wu Xiutang! Didn't you hear what I said? I told you to stop!"
The tip of the sword was only a finger's width away from her eyebrow.
"You clearly heard it, Zhuyan didn't hurt me. I saved her child willingly. Why did you kill her? Why did you do that!"
"Get out of the way, Shi Xianxue." The sword light illuminated his cold and sharp features, and his tone was ruthless and chilling, "The people behind you are demons."
"I won't allow it!"
Shi Xianxue stared at his face: "I know you're worried about me, but look at me, I'm perfectly fine. They didn't hurt me. This green spirit is the child of a bamboo spirit, born with a damaged soul that can't last long. I wanted to help her, and she promised me—"
Before she could finish speaking, a soft breeze, like silk, bound her from head to toe, and her body was lifted into the air, floating in mid-air. She struggled to kick her legs, about to say something.
The monster that had been painstakingly repaired was then held in someone's hand and turned into ashes and vanished.
Two turtledoves flew up to a higher branch in fright.
The boy's indifferent face was faintly visible behind the bluish-gray smoke until the smoke completely disappeared, and she clearly met his deep and cold gaze.
Shi Xianxue's eyes trembled, her expression blank for a moment, and then she felt the restraints on her body loosen.
She was gently placed on the ground.
Let's go.
As if what had just happened was an illusion, he casually took her hand and calmly repeated, "It's time to go."
The contrast is so striking.
But Shi Xianxue really knows Wu Xiutang too well. This seemingly beautiful and calm exterior is actually brewing an even more violent storm beneath.
Shi Xianxue dodged his hand and looked up: "Explain."
"What's there to explain? Didn't you see it all?" Wu Xiutang tried to pull her again, but unsurprisingly, she dodged him once more. His brow twitched, and he looked at her with displeasure.
"I clearly tried to stop you, why didn't you stop? Why did you have to kill me? Why wouldn't you listen to my explanation?"
The three consecutive questions were quite impolite.
Wu Xiutang lowered his brows, his eyes filled with suppressed anger: "They're just some monsters. The offspring of a demon and a bamboo spirit are destined to die young. This is their own fault, yet you want to argue with me over such trivial things?"
It was that same indifferent tone again, as if he had killed nothing more than a blade of grass or an ant.
Shi Xianxue's breathing became rapid, her lips bitten until they were bright red. She suppressed her anger: "Am I the one who wants to argue with you? Can't you be less impulsive? Can't you let me finish what I have to say? No matter how long or short it is, it is innocent. Zhuyan is not a villain. She was just desperate to save her son and did not hurt me. Why do you have to make things so irreversible?"
"Why?" The boy lowered his eyelashes, pretending to ponder, but the corners of his eyes twitched uncontrollably.
"Tell me why!"
He suddenly looked up, his anger erupting.
"I told you to wait for me, can't you understand human language?"
Wu Xiutang's sudden outburst caught her off guard. Shi Xianxue stared blankly as his calm expression was replaced by rage.
"You believe these outsiders won't hurt you, then why do you never believe me? I told you to wait for me to come back, did you wait? So why should I listen to you?"
"They ended up like this because of you!" He stared intently at her face, a sinister look on his face revealing a desire to strangle her and end it all. "You always want to betray me, to abandon me!"
Shi Xianxue fell silent.
She never imagined that Wu Xiutang would look at this seemingly insignificant matter from such a peculiar angle. In fact, she never even considered it that way. Her breaking free of the barrier wasn't out of distrust of him, but rather out of necessity.
But Wu Xiutang didn't think that way. He was sensitive, suspicious, and prone to overthinking. After the Glazed Flower House, his thoughts and actions became even more extreme.
She didn't know what to say, and was seething with anger. She wanted to hold back, but in her anger, she spoke without thinking.
"Then you can turn me into a puppet."
She said defiantly, "If you want me to obey you completely, then turn me into a puppet."
"Master Xianxue!"
"How about it!"
Shi Xianxue's face flushed red with anger, her eyes bright and clear as if washed clean, and she met his gaze without fear.
"It's wrong of you to act impulsively. It's wrong of you to kill someone without asking why. What do you mean, 'because of me'? You are you, and I am me. We are two independent individuals. If I die one day, does that mean you won't live either?"
She got angrier and angrier as she spoke, and finally pushed him away, saying, "Don't say these nonsensical things to me anymore, I don't want to hear them!"
Shi Xianxue stepped back to create some distance between herself and him, flipping her palm upwards as the power within her body began to surge wildly.
Wu Xiutang was quite angry at her words, and before he could recover, he saw that she was about to act up again.
His expression was practically splitting open.
"Shi Xianxue!" He reached for her arm, but she dodged him with the agility of a small fish in water. Seeing that she was really going to disregard everything and cut open her spiritual meridians, he trembled with anger and couldn't help but growl: "For those two alien races, for those mere outsiders, you're going to threaten me with your life again!"
Clearly, she was the one who made the mistake, so why won't she admit it? She always tries to break free, wants to betray him, and never listens to him.
Why can't you just stay put and wait for him?
Shi Xianxue stubbornly raised her other arm. "I'm not threatening you. I just have to keep my promise. Unless you turn me into a puppet, I will do it even if I still have a breath left."
The air seemed to freeze. Wu Xiutang's pupils were already an unusually dark color, and when he was overcome with bad emotions, they were like a dark sky on a stormy day, making people feel fear at first glance.
He stared at her silently for a long time, and finally, slowly released her arm.
At the same time, a golden spiritual force bound the two doves, one large and one small, that were about to spread their wings and fly away, and pulled them down.
The two birds, dazed and confused, stared innocently at the enormous creature before them with their nightshade-seed-like eyes.
As the golden light dissipated, Shi Xianxue vaguely saw a strange human face on one of the bird heads.
It's bamboo smoke.
She sheltered the baby bird under her wings, shivering.
Shi Xianxue's gaze paused for a moment.
It was like a sudden enlightenment.
Wu Xiutang didn't kill them at all.
Instead, they used a trick to stuff their souls into the bodies of the turtledoves.
Shi Xianxue blushed.
The tassels on her hat brushed against her cheek, causing an unbearable itch. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Wu Xiutang seemingly turning to leave, and without thinking, she reached out and grabbed him.
"Wu Xiutang, wait for me outside the woods, I have something to tell you."
It seemed as if a rain had just fallen; the forest floor was filled with the fresh scent of earth and grass. Moss covered the tree trunks, and birds chirped among the dappled sunlight filtering through the branches. Panting, Shi Xianxue walked through the tangled forest and saw the boy waiting for her, just as she had been told.
She breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness.
Hearing footsteps approaching from afar, Wu Xiutang pursed her lips and made as if to leave. Shi Xianxue exclaimed loudly and chased after her in three steps.
"Don't go, don't go, I'll apologize to you, okay?" She ran two steps forward, blocked his path, and hugged his arm tightly. "But don't play tricks on me, okay? Let me explain."
Wu Xiutang looked up at the sky with a cold expression.
“I opened the barrier because it was damaged. I was afraid you wouldn’t be able to get back in time, and the barrier wouldn’t be able to withstand the reinforcements that the demons brought. Besides, Xiaoyue is still outside. I can’t just sit here and wait to die. I didn’t mean to abandon you or not wait for you.”
Her face was pale from using her healing power. "As for saving Zhuyan's child, firstly, it's out of pity for her loving mother's heart and her eagerness to save her child. If it were my mother, I would also hope that she could find hope in her desperate situation. Secondly, she promised to exchange her inner core if I could save her child... This is very fair, one life for another. I earned this through my own abilities and paid the price."
She buried her face in Wu Xiutang's arms, and seeing that he did not refuse, she hugged him even tighter.
She felt wronged, but the strong heartbeat in her chest gave her a sense of security. She didn't know what she was thinking, but it made her eyes well up with tears again. "But I am so easily swayed. Even though I have exhausted my spiritual power, I still can't bring myself to take her inner core."
“I want you to stop working so hard and stop doing such dangerous things, but even something as simple as this, I can’t help you with… Without an inner core, what will you do? How miserable you must be, Wu Xiutang.”
Time seemed to stand still. The crying in his arms tore at his heart, as if a piece of it had suddenly gone empty, and he couldn't even feel his heartbeat anymore. He wanted to say something, but his throat seemed to be blocked, and he couldn't make a sound.
The grass blades were white from the sun. He felt a pang of tenderness for the first time in a long time and was at a loss for what to do. With his long arms and legs, he almost clumsily hugged her back.
He buried his eyes in the hollow of his neck and rubbed against it slowly, softly like a canine, as if begging for forgiveness or apologizing.
After a long while, Shi Xianxue finally heard his muffled words.
"As long as you don't keep thinking about leaving me, I can endure any kind of suffering."
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