Spiritual energy transformed into threads, slowly seeping into the bodies of the woman and Sansheng. Qinghe moved his hands around, controlling the spiritual energy, his eyes focused intently on the two people on the ground.
Qi Rong's gaze fell on her fair and delicate hands, his expression shifting before slowly moving to her profile.
Outside, dark clouds gathered and flickered, but he felt as if they were a gentle spring breeze, quiet and peaceful.
After an incense stick had burned, Qinghe withdrew his spiritual power and observed that the two people's complexions had not improved. He shook his head at Qirong.
Qi Rong lowered her eyelashes and said after a moment, "Try using the Divine Pearl."
This sentence reminded Qinghe, and she immediately summoned the divine pearl, using its power to heal the two people on the ground.
As soon as the golden light appeared, the redness on their faces visibly faded, the bloodshot in their pupils turned into wisps of red smoke and dissipated, and their eyes gradually regained their clarity.
Just as the pain subsided, a hoarse, sinister voice roared, "I will definitely kill you!"
Qing ignored Huo Yan's threat and waited until the two of them regained their normal complexion before raising his hand to retrieve the divine pearl.
The woman woke up first. She looked at Qinghe blankly and asked in a daze, "What happened to me?"
Qinghe: "Do you remember what happened just now?"
The woman shook her head: "I only remember that I was making clothes for Sansheng, and I fell asleep while I was making them. I don't remember anything after that."
She found Sansheng lying on the ground and, thinking something had happened to him, cried out, "Sansheng! Sansheng, what happened to you?"
Qinghe explained, "He's fine, he's just asleep."
Upon hearing this, the woman patted her chest and breathed a sigh of relief.
Qinghe then asked, "Do you know where the people in the village have gone?"
The woman thought for a moment and then said, "I only heard that they were going to Xiaojiahe because some kind of pearl had appeared, and they wanted to go and join in the fun. My husband also said he wanted to go."
Qinghe: "Where is Xiaojiahe?"
The woman pointed in a direction: "It's in the southeast corner behind the village, not far."
Qinghe glanced at Qirong, got up to say goodbye to the woman, and walked towards Xiaojiahe.
Halfway there, the woman called out to her: "If you see my husband, please tell him to come home. My child and I are waiting for him at home."
Qing paused for a moment, then nodded.
Xiaojiahe is not far, but you have to cross a mountain along the way.
Qing and others left marks along the way so that Li Jiang and the others could find them.
Qi Rong watched her movements, her gaze falling on her profile: "I thought you wouldn't agree."
Qinghe said calmly, "She harbors illusions, and I can't just shatter them."
After a moment, she stood up and clapped her hands. Qi Rong looked at the ground and saw a fox-shaped mark imprinted on the ground, flashing a dazzling red light.
Qi Rong raised an eyebrow. "I heard you have a red fox, it's very beautiful. Take it out and let me see it."
Qinghe shook her head: "It's very mischievous. It got lost a couple of days ago, and I'm trying to find it this way." She looked at Qirong: "Do you know where it went?"
Her eyes were indifferent, her faint gaze seeming to penetrate him and look at something else.
Qi Rong looked away from her gaze: "How would I know?"
After a long while, Qinghe stopped looking at him, looked up at the sky, and saw that the dark clouds were all gathered in one place, with faint thunder and lightning. There was only thunder but no rain, which was probably strange.
After crossing the mountain, the entire Xiaojiahe River came into view.
The air seemed to be shrouded in a layer of blood mist, which grew thicker and thicker until the two of them could barely see each other's faces as they approached Xiaojia River.
Suddenly, someone grabbed her wrist, and Qinghe turned to look in Qirong's direction.
A figure dressed in red was shrouded in thick fog; Qinghe could only make out the outline of the person vaguely. "What's wrong?"
Qi Rong's magnetic voice rang in my ear: "I'm afraid you'll get lost."
Qinghe chuckled softly, feeling a cool sensation on her wrist. She touched it; it felt like a bracelet. "What is it?"
Qi Rong: "You must carry this with you at all times to protect you. I can sense your location."
Qinghe nodded, then, remembering that he was blind, hummed in agreement.
With Qinghe's assurance, Qi Rong released her hand with peace of mind.
The fog was thick, and there was a nauseating, pungent smell in the air. Qinghe restrained his aura, his brows furrowed more deeply than ever before.
The smell of blood, such a strong smell, could not have been caused by more than one person.
As his divine sense spread out, he could vaguely sense the presence of a living person in all directions. Qinghe couldn't discern the direction, so he called out, "Qi Rong."
Qi Rong seemed both far away and very close to her, her voice ringing in her ear: "I'm here."
Qing felt a little relieved. The next moment, she felt her vision gradually clear. She turned her head to look at Qi Rong and saw that he was holding a wooden plaque that was generating a suction force. In just a moment, it absorbed all the fog in the air.
The area before him was now completely clean, and even the smell of blood had disappeared. Qinghe looked around and saw countless corpses lying on the ground, their bodies rotten and their faces unrecognizable, but their clothes revealed them to be villagers from Crane Village.
The ground was littered with the corpses of villagers. Qinghe did not see a single cultivator. Just as he was wondering what was going on, the corpses that had been lifeless suddenly came to life. Their two blood-filled eyes snapped open, their bodies twisted to a certain degree, and they stiffly walked toward the two of them.
Qinghe surveyed the zombie army, his spiritual energy surging forth. He formed hand seals, and a huge rune array gradually took shape beneath his feet. Once the last line of the array was formed, Qinghe and Qirong lightly touched the ground with their toes and instantly leaped into the air.
The array of runes below formed a huge confinement array, trapping all the villagers inside. No matter how much they tore and pulled, it was to no avail.
Qi Rong glanced at her, raised her hand, and unleashed her spiritual power, about to wipe out the group of zombies on the ground.
Qinghe suddenly raised his hand to block him.
Qi Rong: "They are already dead. If they are not completely eliminated, they will become a disaster."
Qing paused for a moment, then withdrew her hand.
The spiritual energy crashed down onto the ground with such force that the ground itself trembled.
A sandstorm rose up, stretching for miles, and after it subsided, there was no trace of any zombies.
Seeing Qinghe remain silent, Qi Rong asked, "Heartbroken?"
Qing paused for a moment, then said, "I was just wondering whether the fate of these villagers was predetermined from the beginning, or whether our arrival provoked the Fire Eye, causing it to go on a killing spree."
Qi Rong smiled and said, "So, you feel guilty."
Qinghe didn't say anything.
Qi Rong looked at the vast mountain peaks in the distance and said calmly, "In these three realms, everyone's fate is determined by the Book of Life and Death. They are destined to face this calamity and cannot escape it." He looked at Qing He and said, "Even without you, given the greed of the Fire Eye, it would not have let Crane Village go."
Qinghe looked into his eyes, those alluring red pupils were now incredibly serious, calmly looking at her, needing not to say anything, yet more comforting than any words.
She suddenly smiled, a fleeting, ephemeral beauty, as pure and lovely as a lotus.
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