Broken Linglong (28)
At the mountaintop, Ye Yingying and her two companions were still locked in a stalemate with Gu Wusi. This woman, who had suddenly appeared, exuded a mysterious and dangerous aura. She claimed she wanted to talk to Ye Yingying, but her eyes were like those of someone eyeing prey. Ye Yingying was very displeased, so she said sharply, "Since you know that it was the Ghost Calculator who killed me, then you should also know that I would never hand over the fire to his lackey!"
"Lackey?" Gu Wusi narrowed his eyes. "That's an awful word. If that's the case, weren't you one of his dogs before?"
“I’m not like you. I’ve already reformed!” Ye Yingying argued. “Unlike you, who’s still so stubborn.”
"Is that so..." Gu Wusi lowered his eyes, a hint of sarcasm in his smile. "I think you're the one who hasn't figured it out yet, aren't you? Let me guess, are you still fantasizing about finding the Ghost Calculator and asking him why he wanted to kill you?"
Ye Yingying's gaze sharpened: "What do you mean?"
"Looks like I guessed right?" Gu Wusi's mockery deepened. "How could you be so naive? You actually thought that guy would calmly explain the reasons to you?"
"This is my decision, what's it to you?" Ye Yingying frowned, her face hardening, but she couldn't help feeling nervous inside.
Gu Wusi's blatant sarcasm precisely saw through Ye Yingying's indecisiveness in dealing with the Ghost Calculator. She mocked her mercilessly, as if she were looking down on Ye Yingying and tearing off her disguise, saying directly to her heart: See, I knew you still had illusions about that guy.
"That's precisely why I can't let you gather all the Azure Nether True Fire." Gu Wusi suddenly drooped the corners of his mouth, his gaze turning icy. "How could someone like you possibly kill him?"
Ye Yingying hesitated. She just wanted to know, if the Ghost Calculator was going to kill her in the end, why did he give her such a vague hope in the first place? But Gu Wusi's resolute attitude seemed to say that she was just overthinking things, and that the Ghost Calculator was just an unpredictable madman who loved to play with people's hearts.
Seeing Ye Yingying in a daze, Wu Yue frowned. She glanced at Yun Yanqiu, her gaze seemingly both puzzled and reproachful. She clicked her tongue, inwardly scolding Yun Yanqiu for being so indecisive. This guy must not have been honest with Ye Yingying about those things, which allowed Gu Wusi to take advantage of the situation!
Yun Yanqiu clearly realized this as well, and he immediately interrupted Ye Yingying's wild thoughts: "Don't listen to her!"
Ye Yingying turned her head blankly and met Yun Yanqiu's firm gaze. She heard him say again, "She has no right to judge your thoughts."
Yun Yanqiu's words were always calm yet powerful, like a cool breeze that swept away the dust of anxiety from her heart.
"I'm not qualified?" Gu Wusi scoffed disdainfully, raising the lantern with its flames extinguished, her eyes fierce. "Then I'll see who's more qualified!"
The words had barely left his lips when a wild beast's howl echoed through the forest, startling all four. Even Gu Wusi's expression froze for a moment. It was the roar of the mountain's overlord awakening, a sign of impending danger. Instantly, flocks of birds took flight, frantically flapping their wings to escape the forest. The rustling sounds of running filled the air as all creatures scrambled to flee the mountains.
"Tch!" Gu Wusi frowned, her face showing anxiety. She hadn't expected the Azure Golden Hou to be so resistant to the drug; even three catties of bewitching incense couldn't last more than four hours.
This was no place to linger. Gu Wusi took a step back and turned to flee. Yun Yanqiu wasn't about to let her go. He lunged forward, swinging his longsword straight at Gu Wusi's arm. With a loud clang, a slender, jet-black sword suddenly appeared, blocking Yun Yanqiu's attack. Yun Yanqiu staggered back, and Gu Wusi seized the opportunity to create distance.
"Quick, after them!" Upon seeing this, Wu Yue grabbed Ye Yingying's wrist without saying a word and chased after Gu Wusi.
Ye Yingying also realized what was happening. She glanced at Yun Yanqiu, who was entangled by the black sword, gritted her teeth, and quickly ran towards Gu Wusi.
The most urgent task was to reclaim the last Azure Nether Flame! They all understood this, and kept their eyes fixed on Gu Wusi's figure, running faster and faster through the forest where they couldn't tell which way was which.
Gu Wusi initially intended to use the terrain to circle around and shake off the two behind her, but Ye Yingying had trained in these mountains for several nights and wouldn't let her succeed so easily. Seeing that she couldn't shake Ye Yingying off no matter what she did, Gu Wusi realized this wasn't a solution. While pondering a plan, she suddenly heard a roar not far away. A thought struck Gu Wusi, and she charged towards the direction of the howling Qingjinhou.
Ye Yingying was somewhat puzzled, but she still followed closely behind, determined not to let Gu Wusi out of her sight. Gu Wusi was getting closer and closer to the Azure Golden Hou, which also noticed the uninvited guest. It twisted its body, lowering itself into an attack stance towards Gu Wusi. Seeing this, Gu Wusi's lips curled into a smile. Instead of stopping, he quickened his pace.
What was she trying to do? Ye Yingying was puzzled and hesitated, slowing her pace. Getting any closer would put her within the Azure Golden Hou's advantageous range, and she wasn't confident she could escape within that distance. But Gu Wusi charged forward without hesitation, forcefully hurling the cage in her hand into the beast's gaping maw!
The Azure-Golden Hou bared its two rows of sharp teeth and bit the cage to pieces. It suddenly froze, the flames in its mouth shooting down its esophagus and rampaging through the monster's body. Unable to find a home within the Azure-Golden Hou's body, the azure flames blazed fiercely. They expanded several times their original size, piercing through the monster's internal organs and overflowing from its body, instantly engulfing its golden form in blue flames. The Azure-Golden Hou abruptly collapsed, head bowed, trembling all over, appearing to be in great pain.
Ye Yingying was shocked, and even Wu Yue, who had hurriedly caught up behind, was taken aback. Gu Wusi seized the opportunity to jump onto the tree trunk, took out a bone flute, and gently blew on it. The bone flute did not make a sound, but the black sword that was entangled with Yun Yanqiu suddenly stopped its attack and flew away without hesitation.
Yun Yanqiu didn't have time to think and immediately rushed towards Ye Yingying.
"Let it keep you company while you play." Gu Wusi smiled gloatingly at the two below, then turned and disappeared into the dense forest.
Ye Yingying wanted to chase after it, but Wu Yue grabbed her arm and said, "Leave first, something's wrong with this monster!"
Before they could even lift their legs, the Azure Golden Hou had already lost its mind. It raised its head and roared angrily at the sky, then suddenly attacked Ye Yingying.
Before Ye Yingying could react, she instinctively raised her elbow to defend herself. In an instant, a short knife pierced the foreleg of the Azure Golden Hou, and dark blue blood spurted out, splashing onto the ground. Upon closer inspection, faint blue flames were still burning at the edges of the blood.
The Azure Golden Hou turned its head angrily, only to see two short knives flying towards it. Before it could dodge, it was stabbed in the waist, blood gushing forth. A figure emerged from the woods; upon closer inspection, it was none other than "Qin Zhiqing"!
Ye Yingying was shocked, but now was not the time to chat. Suddenly, a fan came into view, blocking her vision. Ye Yingying recognized the ink painting on the fan and turned her head to find that it was Qi Shuojun.
"You two?!" Before she could question them, Ye Yingying looked around and found that Qingjinhou and Qin Zhiqing had disappeared. The surrounding area was no longer a dense forest, but a vast lake. She, Wu Yue, and Qi Shuojun stood in the pavilion in the center of the lake, quiet and peaceful, as if everything just now had been an illusion.
But Ye Yingying knew very well that this was an illusion. She looked at Qi Shuojun, clearly wanting an explanation. Qi Shuojun didn't hesitate and frankly said, "This is the secret realm inside my fan."
The fan Qi Shuojun carried with him wasn't just a decoration for a young master to show off. After all, he was the only son in his family, and his parents had prepared various protective magical artifacts for him, this fan being one of them. The painting on the fan depicted an entrance to this secret realm, and with a little spiritual power, Qi Shuojun could bring people into the secret realm.
"One of the exits of this secret realm connects to my home. Let's go back directly from here." Qi Shuojun briefly introduced the situation of the secret realm and then led the two of them toward the exit.
"Wait! What about Qin Zhiqing? Yun Yanqiu is still there!"
“Senior Yun is incredibly powerful; surely a mere Azure-Golden Hou wouldn't be a problem for him. Our presence would only cause trouble,” Qi Shuojun analyzed. “As for ‘Qin Zhiqing’…”
Qi Shuojun paused, her gaze dimming slightly: "This is her choice, so let her be."
Ye Yingying was speechless. What happened between Qi Shuojun and Qin Zhiqing? Why did his attitude towards Qin Zhiqing suddenly become so indifferent?
“I don’t think so.” Wu Yue suddenly retorted to Qi Shuojun, “After the Azure Golden Hou went berserk, its strength was all heading towards the Nascent Soul stage. Yun Yanqiu’s current strength is probably not enough.”
"What do you mean by that?" Ye Yingying was stunned. She suddenly remembered the night Yun Yanqiu had endured the pain with all her might, and her eyes widened immediately. She asked Wu Yue with a tense expression, "What's wrong with Yun Yanqiu's strength right now?"
Looking at the nervous and uneasy Ye Yingying, Wu Yue sighed helplessly: "He really didn't tell you."
“Yun Yanqiu suppressed his cultivation level, and he is now at most at the Great Perfection of the Golden Core stage. To go head-to-head with a Nascent Soul stage demon beast, even with his rich experience in killing demon beasts, it is hard to say that he is not courting death.”
How did you know?
"How would I know?" Wu Yue tilted her head and shrugged expressionlessly. "The magic artifact that suppressed his spiritual power was given to him by me. How could I not know?"
Ye Yingying listened, feeling dizzy and confused. She murmured to herself, "Why would he do this?"
"Why else could it be? Of course, it's to find you."
“Yun Yanqiu’s strength had already reached the Nascent Soul stage. If he left his secret realm, he would attract lightning tribulation no matter where he went. This is the law of Heaven.”
"To avoid the constraints of the Heavenly Dao, one must abide by its rules. So he asked me for the Witch Spirit Lock, which he used to lock his twenty-four ribs, thereby suppressing his cultivation level to the Golden Core stage."
"But the concentration of spiritual energy won't change; any spiritual energy exceeding the Golden Core stage will turn into pain and backfire on him. The more spiritual energy he uses, the more painful the backfire will be."
"Didn't you see it too? He was in so much pain that he could barely walk?"
One, two, three... Wu Yue's words were like drumsticks, striking Ye Yingying's heart heavily, each blow more painful than the last.
So that's how it is. No wonder his spiritual energy fluctuations were similar to those of Han Yaocheng and other Golden Core cultivators back in the Secret Sea; no wonder he was trembling with pain late at night... Ye Yingying stared blankly, saying nothing.
Qi Shuojun, who was standing nearby, was also dumbfounded. He couldn't help but estimate in his mind, and then he blurted out in shock: "My goodness, I heard that Senior Yun has been a guest elder for over a hundred years. Has he always done it this way?"
Another heavy blow struck Ye Yingying's heart. He had searched for her for so long. How many times must he have been tormented by pain in these past hundred years? Only now did she realize how miserable Yun Yanqiu had become in order to find her.
All of this was just so she could leave the Xuanming Realm and find her... Ye Yingying's heart trembled. In an instant, all her doubts and unease turned into guilt.
The image of that night, Yun Yanqiu's pale and powerless appearance, flashed through her mind again. Ye Yingying clenched her fists, her voice resolute: "No, I have to go save him."
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