Chapter 23 Tinnitus: Upon seeing the familiar, blood-stained characters for "Peace,"...
Killing for love and killing one's relatives are two different paths.
After carrying "Killing Emotion" away, Zhou Fuling clearly felt the changes taking place within herself.
The path of cultivation that relied on plundering the lives of blood relatives seemed to have been blocked, and in its place, she was—
Absorb pain.
Fear, despair, grief, and confusion—these painful emotions seemed to have seeped into her meridians, condensing into strands of spiritual energy that flowed into her spirit and soul like a stream.
The desire to kill others is also a form of self-destruction; pain is solidifying, and Zhou Fuling suddenly becomes agitated.
In the cold, vast expanse, she felt utterly alone, submerged in blood.
"Killing Love".
Is this what they call "murderous passion"?
Zhou Fuling pursed her lips and looked towards the horizon. It was time to head to Tongnan Road.
...
Qingxiu Mountain was shrouded in blood mist, with no one in sight. Only the sound of a sword's cry could be heard as Xu Qingning sheathed his Changming Sword.
Xu Qingning was pale from the attack in Wanyun Forest. When he arrived here, the fog was thick and his blood was swirling.
He released his divine sense to investigate the situation in the distance, and found that the rocks were stained with the foul-smelling blood of demons and the spray of human blood.
Clearly, a fierce battle has just taken place here.
"..." The cold air clung to Xu Qingning's skin, and Xu Qingning's mind went blank for a moment before she released several more tracking talismans.
The tracking charm can locate the talisman on Zhou Fuling's waist.
Xu Qingning had been trying on her way here, but the result was... Zhou Fuling could not be located.
It is still the same now.
Xu Qingning felt as if the strings in her mind were about to snap.
They've gone mad.
He was almost going crazy.
A blood-red scene appeared, and Xu Qingning almost immediately erected a barrier to conceal her figure before searching.
Demon-Slaying Formation.
Scattered spiritual energy from the Yun Ning Sect's cultivation techniques.
Xu Qingning's hands grew colder and colder, and her heart felt as if it were about to freeze.
Upon reaching the center of the formation, Xu Qingning suddenly widened her eyes!
Body parts lay scattered haphazardly on the rocks.
And those torn, blood-stained clothes... the red robes and gold belts, were actually the clothes of the Yun Ning Sect cultivators!
Look up again...
A head was placed on a pile of stones, its face and body riddled with gruesome wounds, staring intently downwards.
Ning Tingyue?!
Although his gaze was unfocused, in this desolate wilderness, it was chilling and terrifying!
Xu Qingning was shocked and set up a protective array, feeling as if she were in an ice cellar, her whole body was cold.
...Was Ning Tingyue killed? Was he a villain?
Ning Tingyue was a high-level first-grade cultivator, even two minor realms higher than him... and he was killed by that person just like that?
Who exactly is that person...?
If anyone else had encountered this situation, they would probably have fled long ago, but Xu Qingning frowned, gritted her teeth, closed her eyes, and walked forward.
He must find Zhou Fuling.
Otherwise he'd go crazy.
Blood welled up in Xu Qingning's eyes.
He thought, what if he really saw Zhou Fuling... what if Fuling met with misfortune?
Upon seeing that villain again, no matter what the system says, he will definitely perish together with the villain.
It took all my heart and soul, and my life.
Even if you can't kill him, you'll still bite off half a layer of his skin.
Xu Qingning closed his eyes, and with a heavy heart, he released several more tracking talismans.
At the same time, he reported this news to his uncle.
[Uncle, Ning Tingyue has died tragically at Qingxiu Mountain, wounded by the guards of Zishijian. If I do not receive any news from you within half an hour, I urge you to quickly lead your disciples back to Tianjimen to seal off the mountain and avoid disaster.]
Xu Qingning placed the Immortal Gate Token on his hand.
Should we inform the Immortal Dragon Pool?
But he quickly dismissed the idea.
Given the unclear situation, Xu Qingning will not act rashly, lest he become a knife that stabs himself.
He stared at the bits of flesh, his lips and fingertips gradually losing their color, turning as pale as paper.
The veins on the back of his hand were bulging and clearly visible.
Xu Qingning's rationality... is being devoured.
He was afraid...
I was afraid to find what I feared most among the pools of blood and pieces of flesh.
But he must find...
This must be confirmed.
Is Zhou Fuling among them?
Xu Qingning is currently feeling uneasy.
But he examined the body piece by piece.
This process is agonizing.
This piece is too fat; it's not from Fuling...
This one isn't either...
Xu Qingning felt increasingly heavy and confused, but suddenly stepped on something soft.
He lowered his head.
A pale white hand emerges from the jumbled stones.
For a moment, Xu Qingning felt a daze, as if he could see Zhou Fuling holding him, stroking his hair, and softly comforting him the day before. Her movements were so gentle.
His heart felt as if it had been pierced by a sharp sword, his blood seemed to freeze, and a tingling pain came from the top of his head.
Xu Qingning stared at the hand with red eyes, then froze, unable to look up for a long time—
Then, he slowly squatted down.
No.
It turned out to be a large, rough man's hand.
Xu Qingning suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, her chest heaving.
—The calluses on his fingertips, brimming with spiritual power, are used to wield a bow?
The Zou family? What are they doing here? This is...
Who is this?
Xu Qingning frowned, increasingly feeling that this matter was not simple.
The hand was covered in blood and veins, looking as if it had been ripped off alive.
It's not surprising that Xu Qingning is like this.
After all, he had witnessed that person's cruelty when he was young. In his heart, no one in the world, except Zou Lanci, could rival that person.
The surroundings were still, and there was no movement for a long time. Xu Qingning guessed that the person was probably not here, so he pried open the corpse's fist.
He held a bead that shimmered with golden light.
Xu Qingning: "...A recording bead?"
The recording bead is a magical artifact used for recording.
This bead is commonly used in this realm for slaying demons. High-level cultivators are also usually equipped with recording devices to help record the battles. These recordings are passed down to future generations to aid in combat. Xu Qingning possessed a row of recording beads left by his mother and uncle.
Besides the recording bead, there was also a piece of cloth stained with blood stuck in his fingertip. Xu Qingning couldn't see what it was for a moment. He picked it up and rubbed it.
System: [Congratulations, host. You have obtained a key item to unlock the villain's identity. Please observe the item and uncover its secrets.]
"Buzzing"——
A tracking talisman has returned.
[South Three Miles, Valley of Kunlu Mountain].
Xu Qingning was about to deal with the piece of cloth in her hand when she opened her eyes.
Zhou Fuling's whereabouts appeared for a moment, but then disappeared again, as if she had been hidden by something.
Not daring to delay, Xu Qingning picked up the recording bead and the piece of cloth, put them into the mustard seed talisman, and then rode off on her sword.
...
Three miles south of Qingxiu Mountain lies Kunlu Mountain.
[Fuling, reply.]
[Fuling, if you are conscious, first use the silver talisman to protect yourself, and use the gold talisman last. Then use the invisibility talisman to hide. Unless you see me, do not make a sound!] Xu Qingning was already on his way and sent several messages to Zhou Fuling's jade tablet.
The system advised: "Host, don't rush. Let's first unravel the clues to finding the villain... The items still need to be deciphered. Deciphering any one of them will reveal the villain's identity. Before going to find Zhou Fuling, let's investigate first."
Xu Qingning completely disregarded the system.
system:……
Well, the host will have to endure some suffering sooner or later.
No rush.
The system couldn't tell that Xu Qingning had absolutely no interest in the villains' affairs.
Let it go. Xu Qingning still seems to be a very calm person when things happen.
On the way to find Zhou Fuling, Xu Qingning appeared cold, but when his path was blocked, he would rage and chop down mountains; when his vision was obstructed, he would strike down trees with lightning. He had the aura of killing gods and Buddhas if they were in his way.
He had completely lost the calm and refined demeanor of the immortal prince he once was.
Host, slow down, slow down. Zhou Fuling is waiting for him, waiting for him to discover that he can't escape...
The system really wanted to remind him, but that didn't fit the Heavenly Dao System's persona, nor did it align with... the tasks those people had assigned it. It shut up.
Xu Qingning entered Mount Molu and shot out the tracking talisman again, but Zhou Fuling's whereabouts were still nowhere to be found.
His eyes reddened, and he began splitting the mountain again.
"Villain... if you don't show yourself soon, the host is going to tear Mount Mo down..." the system thought silently.
Zhou Fuling remained silent.
After Xu Qingning used lightning to break another giant boulder, he seemed to finally calm down a bit. Fearing that it would attract other people, he calmly summoned his compass and looked at the map of the mountain again.
He marked seven possible locations, pondered them, but finally opened his eyes and rushed towards a cave on the south side of the mountain.
The mountain path was covered in blood.
In addition, the ground was covered with tire tracks, as if someone had painstakingly searched for people here.
Xu Qingning's expression changed drastically, but she pursed her lips and continued searching.
The cave he went to was filled with spiritual energy and served as a protective barrier against demons. Because the barrier was dense, it also blocked the spiritual energy of the talismans, making it difficult for the tracking talisman to find him.
Xu Qingning seemed almost certain that this was the place, and began to search further inside.
The system followed Xu Qingning inside.
But then Xu Qingning walked to a corner of the cave and suddenly froze.
Amidst the weeds and rocks, lay a young girl. The hem of her blue dress was stained with mud and was dirty.
She lay face down on the rocks, her brows furrowed, her face pale, and covered with many protective talismans and spirit-nourishing talismans, seemingly unconscious.
It's Zhou Fuling.
The system witnessed a scene it had never seen before.
Xu Qingning placed his hand on the stone, staring blankly at the girl, and remained motionless for a long time.
His hands trembled, his eyes were bloodshot, and for some reason, he seemed to hesitate and take a few steps back.
Everyone was stunned.
Xu Qingning was stunned for a long time, then carefully knelt down next to Zhou Fuling, lifted her hair, and took her pulse.
He did it very carefully, and then, as if to make sure everything was in order, he hugged Zhou Fuling.
He held her for a long time.
After a while, he held Zhou Fuling tightly and left without saying a word.
...
Zhou Fuling was truly unconscious. She was trapped in a prolonged nightmare.
...In the dark lair, she was surrounded by four people.
"Save my mother!" her mother cried out for help.
Zhou Fuling struggled forward.
With great strength and precise movements, she climbed the stone wall like a cat and grabbed her mother's hand tightly.
A flash of blood, and she plunged to the bottom of the cliff.
The bottomless cliff is like the mouth of a giant creature.
She was engulfed by the array that filled the sky, the excruciating pain devoured her spiritual veins, and the restrictions were like ropes hooked into her spiritual body.
She fell into a state of torment, unable to awaken.
She didn't know how much time had passed before she gradually emerged from the darkness. She weakly opened her eyes and saw the light.
A pale blue sky, phoenix's bright feathers, and a snow-white Taoist robe—
There's also wind.
A cold wind blew against Zhou Fuling, and she suddenly felt a headache coming on.
She grabbed the Taoist robe of the person in front of her.
Xu Qingning.
He sat in front of her, wearing a thin, snow-white Taoist robe, and rode a phoenix to carry her through the sky.
His cloak covered her completely. But perhaps because of the nightmare, Zhou Fuling felt uncomfortable at the sound of the wind.
"Senior brother..." she called out.
Xu Qingning turned around and stared at her for a long time.
"Fuling...you're awake?"
"The wind is so strong. It's so noisy," Zhou Fuling said.
"Okay." Xu Qingning patted her head reassuringly, then cast a spell, and the wind stopped.
Zhou Fuling grabbed Xu Qingning's clothes and fell into a deep sleep again.
...
Soon after, Zhou Fuling slowly awoke and saw light again. Candela.
Through the gauze curtain, she heard Xu Qingning's voice.
Xu Qingning was actually directing the crowd.
His voice was clear and melodious, like a spring, but it also carried a sense of solemnity and coldness.
He would interrogate the medicine assistant about her medication, and then direct the formation assistant to check the formation outside her house. He even personally inquired about what she ate, managing everything in an orderly manner.
Zhou Fuling slowly sat up and looked around.
Ice Mirror Peak?
No, it's not... Outside the carved windows of the wooden house, the wind and snow were raging, with only one or two green leaves on the withered trees, and the cries of crows could be heard. This is not Ice Mirror Peak.
Border village?
Zhou Fuling quickly came to a conclusion. There are usually some hidden hiding places and places to recuperate on the borders of each continent, and Xu Qingning had probably sent her to one of these border villages.
It looks like the Hidden Heaven Village in the southern part of the Eastern Continent. It's heavily protected by a barrier, making it difficult for outsiders to discover.
Xu Qingning lifted the gauze curtain to personally check the condition of Zhou Fuling's spiritual veins. Upon seeing that Zhou Fuling had woken up, he opened his eyes.
Zhou Fuling sat on the edge of the bed, gazing at him expectantly. Xu Qingning pursed his lips and sat down beside her, taking her pulse.
"Everything is fine." He stared at her, his gaze so tender it could melt water, and whispered, "Don't be afraid, it's safe here."
Zhou Fuling paused for a moment, then lowered her eyes, pursed her lips, and nodded.
She thought Xu Qingning would ask her what had happened, but unexpectedly, Xu Qingning seemed afraid of upsetting her and didn't ask.
What she didn't know was that Xu Qingning didn't ask because he was also frightened by the horrific bloodstains on Zhou Fuling's body.
He also believed that he had pieced together part of the truth.
He witnessed the scene of the oxcart falling apart and being attacked by monsters on Tongnan Road.
There were clues about the drugged mortal. But he believed it had nothing to do with Zhou Fuling, and that Zhou Fuling wouldn't notice or ask.
It's also possible that Zhou Fuling escaped using the talisman he left behind.
Although it seemed somewhat illogical and too lucky, Xu Qingning was only grateful and wanted to wait until Zhou Fuling was more composed before asking for details.
So, for the rest of the time, Xu Qingning stayed close to Zhou Fuling, silently watching her without saying a word, as if everything was understood without being said.
Zhou Fuling felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze and stared back at him silently, while Xu Qingning turned his head away.
After a while, someone brought the medicine. Xu Qingning rolled up her sleeves, took the medicine, and brought it to Zhou Fuling's lips.
"Take your medicine."
His voice was so gentle it could melt your heart.
A gentle knife, yet each strike is deadly… For some reason, Zhou Fuling suddenly thought of this phrase.
She was about to drink her medicine when she suddenly turned her head away, dodging the spoon in Xu Qingning's hand.
Xu Qingning was puzzled: "?"
“Didn’t you tell me not to feed you your medicine before?” Zhou Fuling said. “I don’t want you to feed me either. I can do everything myself.”
Xu Qingning: "…………"
Okay. Zhou Fuling brought up old grievances.
...No, we can't dwell on the past; we haven't truly moved on.
"Alright, Fuling, I'm sorry." Xu Qingning lowered her eyes, looking at her pale wrist. "What happened in the past was my fault."
Zhou Fuling narrowed her eyes: "What's wrong?"
"...some words were said wrong; some things were done wrong."
"What?"
Xu Qingning said in a low voice, "I shouldn't have been so willful and avoided Fuling. That approach is not advisable and will damage our relationship."
Zhou Fuling was stunned.
During this period, after she sought a partner, Xu Qingning would either run away because of her proud and aloof nature, or she would suddenly become angry and say that it was brainless of her to chase after him.
He only shows concern like an elder brother when something big happens, but he also pays attention to boundaries.
Upon hearing this, she felt as if the sun had risen in the west.
Zhou Fuling couldn't help but exclaim, "My God, Xu Qingning can speak human language now! This is truly unprecedented!"
Xu Qingning's expression also looked a little unnatural.
In the past, Zhou Fuling had said this, and he would have to say it back no matter what.
But this time, he held back.
"Alright, since your senior brother apologized," Xu Qingning picked up the medicine again and said gently, "Would Fuling like your senior brother to drink the medicine with her?"
"I dare not drink what you feed me. I'm afraid it will shorten my lifespan if I do," Zhou Fuling snorted.
"What nonsense are you talking about..."
Xu Qingning could tell that Zhou Fuling was just putting on an act, so he handed her the medicine, which she then drank.
After Zhou Fuling finished drinking, Xu Qingning continued to show concern and care, this time personally sitting beside her, wiping her sweat and covering her with a blanket, without relying on anyone else.
The officers exchanged glances, all with expressions of disbelief.
Zhou Fuling whispered, "Senior brother, you seem to have something on your mind?"
As Xu Qingning did all this, her face gradually turned pale, lost in thought.
Xu Qingning paused for a moment, then whispered, "It's alright."
Zhou Fuling frowned slightly, wanting to ask more questions, but then she saw wisps of blood-red smoke rising from the valley sky.
Zhou Fuling looked up.
Smoke from the Immortal Sect? She recognized it; something big had happened to the Immortal Sect.
Xu Qingning also raised his head.
If his expression had been warm just moments before, now it was as cold as ice, his lips pressed tightly together.
An officer whispered, "Young Sect Master... it's Dragon Pool. Dragon Pool has sent a message."
Xu Qingning got up.
"Fuling, I'll come back after I finish what I'm doing."
His face looked extremely pale.
What exactly happened?
...
That blood-red smoke is the dragon smoke from the Dragon Pool.
Once this is announced, it signifies a major event in the immortal sects, and all high-ranking cultivators must proceed to Dragon Pool for a meeting.
He must calm his mind and furrow his brows.
...Ning Tingyue's death must have been discovered by the immortal sect.
Why did the villain torture and kill Ning Tingyue like that?
"Young Sect Master, the superior-grade Pure Spirit Pearl has been retrieved."
Xu Qingning stood in the snow, serene and cold, his Taoist robe pristine white, untouched by a speck of dust.
Xu Qingning nodded, walked out of Zhou Fuling's room, and climbed the corner stairs of the attic.
The attic was dark and gloomy.
He seemed to have stepped out of a warm hearth and into a frosty, frozen wasteland, his face appearing and disappearing in a dim light.
Xu Qingning took out the recording bead she had obtained earlier.
There were also strips of cloth stained with blood and whose shapes were hard to discern.
He hadn't investigated this clue properly before.
After bringing Zhou Fuling back to Tianji Sect, he has been taking care of her ever since.
Although I took the time to examine the two objects, I still couldn't sort out my thoughts... The recording bead was covered with a secret technique, which required the deciphering of the inscriptions and could not be easily deciphered.
The blood on the torn strips of cloth could not be easily washed away, so he asked someone to fetch a high-grade Pure Spirit Pearl.
The Cleansing Pearl was a keepsake from his mother; it can cleanse impurities.
Xu Qingning took out the two items and tried to unblock the recording bead again, but failed.
He then looked at the bloodstained strip of cloth and used the Cleansing Pearl.
The Pure Spirit Pearl emitted a clear light, and the tainted blood disappeared.
However, at that very moment, Xu Qingning abruptly stopped.
[Congratulations, host, you have solved a key clue.]
The candlelight shone on the fabric, and it turned out to be...
A piece of greenish-blue shredded silk.
The character "安" (peace) is embroidered on the tattered silk, the handwriting neat and elegant.
And that tattered silk was a corner of a rhombus-shaped sachet.
The smell of blood overpowered the fragrance of the water chestnuts. There were finger marks on the strip of cloth, as if someone had torn it apart in their death throes, but the words "Peace" on it looked so familiar.
—It is exactly the same as the one that Zhou Fuling gave to others during the day.
All sounds around disappeared.
The light and shadow vanished.
He experienced tinnitus.
Looking at the candlelight and the amulet, Xu Qingning's hand paused.
He sat there, motionless, as if the blood in his body had frozen.
"Senior brother?" Zhou Fuling's voice suddenly came close.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com