Broken Linglong (29)
"You're going to save him? What can you do to save him?" Qi Shuojun asked anxiously. "Maybe we can still go back and get reinforcements in time. What will happen if my father finds out?"
"Then I'll trouble Young Master Qi to go back and get reinforcements. I'll go rescue them first."
Ye Yingying made a move to leave, but Qi Shuojun quickly stopped her: "No! Let's calm down, okay? If you confess everything there, how am I supposed to explain it to Brother Xiao?"
"Do you have any way to deal with that Azure Golden Hou?" Wu Yue asked calmly from the side.
Ye Yingying nodded firmly: "I know its weaknesses."
The two exchanged a glance, and Wu Yue understood Ye Yingying's determination, so she said, "I'll go with you."
"Wait! What?!" Qi Shuojun was furious.
"Go back and get reinforcements," Wu Yue said to him, "Time waits for no one."
Qi Shuojun was speechless. He really couldn't stay here any longer. He couldn't persuade the two of them, so he could only angrily urge them, "Take care of yourselves and hold on until I get there!"
Ye Yingying and Wu Yue agreed, and then followed the direction indicated by Qi Shuojun, preparing to return to the mountains and forests of their ancestral home.
On the way, Ye Yingying remained silent, her surroundings heavy and eerily quiet. Wu Yue noticed this and said sternly, "The calamity I warned you about before is still not over."
Seeing that Ye Yingying still didn't speak, Wu Yue continued to ask, "Have you thought this through? If something happens here, you won't be able to get revenge."
“I know,” Ye Yingying said readily.
"All of Yunyanqiu's efforts over the years will be in vain."
Ye Yingying paused slightly, but quickly continued walking forward. Wu Yue remained silent; it was all her own choice, and as a sorcerer, she should quietly see things through to the end.
They passed through the dimly lit cave and entered a dense forest. The roars of demonic beasts rang out again. They followed the sound and were met with the sight of trees ravaged by sword energy and sharp claws. Deep wounds were etched into the branches, and some small trees were broken off. The ground was covered with blue and red bloodstains, and blue flames scorched them, a horrifying sight.
Ye Yingying, with her sharp eyes, spotted Qin Zhiqing collapsed beside a tree, her head bowed, her expression unreadable. One hand was tightly clutching her abdomen, which was covered in blood. Ye Yingying rushed forward to check on her, calling her name repeatedly. Hearing the movement, Qin Zhiqing slowly raised her eyes, and after recognizing Ye Yingying, weakly replied, "Why are you here again…?"
"Where is the Azure Lion?!"
"there."
Ye Yingying looked up and saw a man and a beast confronting each other on a high place. Yun Yanqiu's white clothes were stained with blood, and a few wisps of blue flames burned the hem of his clothes. The originally neat hem was torn open in the entanglement with the Qingjinhou. His hair was disheveled and blood was flowing from his arms.
The Azure Golden Hou was in an even worse state. The azure flames continued to scorch its body, which convulsed uncontrollably. Several bloody gashes, each deep and long, burst open on its body. Its eyes were bloodshot, and it bared its teeth. Its two pairs of sharp canines gleamed dangerously, and the low growls emanating from its throat screamed out its inner rage.
The beast, driven mad, felt no pain; it charged relentlessly at its enemy, venting its rage with unbridled fury, growing ever more ferocious with each battle. Large beads of sweat trickled down Yun Yanqiu's forehead. The confrontation with the Azure Golden Hou had drained far too much of his spiritual energy; bound by the Witch Spirit Lock, his internal organs were already throbbing with pain. The excruciating pain constantly assaulted his senses, but the Azure Golden Hou was now like a mad dog, relentlessly attacking him, wave after wave, giving Yun Yanqiu no chance to catch his breath.
Yun Yanqiu had no choice but to draw his sword again, condensing several sword energies. Upon closer inspection, these sword energies were loose and not as sharp as before, but faced with the Qingjin Hou's repeated attacks, Yun Yanqiu had no other option. He gritted his teeth and unleashed his sword energy, but the moment it struck the Qingjin Hou, it scattered in the air like a wisp of sand.
The Azure Golden Hou opened its blood-red maw and bit at him without hesitation. Yun Yanqiu was startled and quickly took out his last remaining talisman to try to block this fatal blow.
In an instant, a figure flashed before him. The figure slightly turned to the side, raised its left arm high, and resolutely shielded Yun Yanqiu from the beast's attack. The sharp teeth of the Azure Golden Hou embedded themselves in Ye Yingying's body, suddenly spurting out scalding blood.
Despite the excruciating pain, Ye Yingying raised the short knife in her right hand and plunged it into the Qingjinhou's chest cavity from bottom to top. The solid sensation transmitted to her hand confirmed that Ye Yingying was certain that she had pierced the monster's heart!
The instant she succeeded, the raging blue flames within the Azure Golden Hou suddenly surged towards her, quickly engulfing her body and desperately trying to penetrate it. At the same time, the beast, stripped of its flames, rolled its eyes back, suddenly released its fangs, and collapsed stiffly to the ground.
Success! Her heart pounded as the last layer of Azure Netherfire returned to her body. Ye Yingying was overjoyed and immediately tried to summon the complete flame to examine it, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't lift her hand. Ye Yingying remembered something, and the excitement in her mind gradually faded. She looked down blankly and realized that her left arm was a bloody mess and she had lost all feeling in it.
Blood gushed from her wound, and Ye Yingying felt dizzy. She could no longer stand and fell heavily to the ground. Just then, an arm caught her. Ye Yingying struggled to see his face, but she couldn't hold on any longer and couldn't hear what Yun Yanqiu was saying.
The Azure Golden Hou is dead, the Azure Netherfire has returned, and most importantly, she saved Yun Yanqiu. There couldn't be a better outcome, but why does she feel an emptiness in her heart?
Was it because she was dying? Indeed, she was badly injured. The bite from the Azure Golden Hou was incredibly painful, no less than being pierced through the heart by the Ghost Calculator. But Ye Yingying didn't feel regret; she was just somewhat lost. Just like Wu Yue had told her earlier, if something happened to her, Yun Yanqiu's efforts would have been in vain.
She didn't want to let Yun Yanqiu down again, but she couldn't think of any other way. Besides, what she least wanted to see was him getting into trouble because of her.
Ye Yingying's consciousness gradually sank, as if she had returned to the dazed state she was in after being killed by the Ghost Calculator, when her soul was residing in the Azure Nether True Fire. This state wasn't too uncomfortable, but it wasn't exactly good either; she was somewhere between being awake and drowsy, unable to wake up or fall asleep.
She didn't know how much time had passed when she suddenly heard a cracking sound. She groggily opened her eyes and saw a campfire with orange-yellow flames flickering in the air, illuminating the figures beside her.
Ye Yingying looked up and saw an old man with gray hair, a full beard, and an unkempt appearance, wearing a black robe casually draped over his body. He bent one leg and sat on the ground, his withered arm resting on his leg, revealing old scars on the back of his hand, some like burns, some like knife wounds. These scars intertwined, looking ferocious and terrifying.
The old man, who had been staring expressionlessly at the campfire, glanced sideways at Ye Yingying when he heard the noise. He chuckled and muttered, "It's just a Qingjin Hou, not even ranked among the top monsters in Fangli Continent, yet you almost had your arm bitten off while trying to kill it."
Ye Yingying was still in a daze when she heard the old man scold, "What a reckless act."
This annoyed Ye Yingying. She frowned and forced herself to sit up, retorting, "I'm several levels below it. How could I possibly succeed without doing this?"
After saying that, she pouted and muttered a complaint in her voice, "It's as if you have a better way."
The old man clearly heard him. He sneered disdainfully, his eyes filled with contempt, and continued to berate Ye Yingying: "When you encounter an opponent whose realm is far superior to your own, running away is the best policy. You haven't even learned this. You've wasted all those books you read in the Scripture Pavilion."
"I have people to protect and things to take back. I can't run away!" Ye Yingying argued firmly.
"A man's greed is like a snake trying to swallow an elephant." The old man clicked his tongue and threw another handful of firewood into the fire beside him. "With your meager strength, the more you want, the more you'll be doomed."
The flames burned even brighter, and Ye Yingying's anger was ignited as well. She roared at the old man, "Who is it that made me like this?!"
"You cunning old man, what exactly do you want?" Ye Yingying glared at the old man with resentment and continued to press, "Why did you bring me into Misty Mountain in the first place? Why did you give me the Azure Nether True Fire? Why did you kill me?"
The fortune teller scratched his ear in annoyance, looking disgusted: "It's so noisy, all these chattering questions."
Ye Yingying persisted, "Answer me!"
The fortune teller couldn't persuade her otherwise. After a moment of silence, he said coldly, "Haven't I answered this many times already? How many more times do you want me to answer?"
"When did you...!"
Ye Yingying suddenly froze, as if she had realized something. She looked around and found that it was pitch black. When she turned her gaze back, the campfire and the Ghost Calculator had both disappeared.
Was she dreaming? Ye Yingying was shocked. Why would she dream about the Ghost Fortune Teller? What did he mean by those words? Why did he say he had already answered that question many times?
A series of doubts welled up in Ye Yingying's mind. She pinched her face hard and found that it didn't hurt at all. She looked down and found that her bloodied left hand was also completely unharmed.
She looked up, gazing blankly around. Now that she knew it was a dream, how did she get out?
Just then, a beam of eerie blue light appeared in the dim distance.
Like a moth drawn to a flame, Ye Yingying instinctively walked towards the firelight. The firelight seemed ever-present, impossible to reach no matter how she tried. Ye Yingying grew anxious; she walked faster and faster, finally running, desperately trying to grasp the blue flame.
Finally, the flames drew closer, and she reached out with all her might, her fingertips touching the flickering flames. In an instant, the flames expanded rapidly, spreading outwards like flower petals, suddenly enveloping Ye Yingying and transforming her into a bewitching fire lotus, bursting forth with dazzling light.
A flash of white light appeared, and Ye Yingying couldn't help but close her eyes. When she opened them again, she saw the familiar ceiling above her bed.
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