Gu Jingyang struggled to get up and move forward. A’Ling, without the slightest hesitation, disregarded the injury on her hand and her almost depleted spiritual energy, reaching out to summon Little Wandering. But just as she touched Little Wandering on her wrist, her hand was pressed down by Shi Qingqian.
Shi Qingqian turned around, her gaze calmly fixed on the violently trembling skeleton, which seemed on the verge of transformation.
“Fall back.”
The words were directed at Lan Fushang, who only then snapped back from her shock, hurriedly retreating to A’Ling and the others.
Shi Qingqian, however, showed no signs of tension. She sat sideways on the bed, her gaze calmly watching the skeleton, seeing it gradually shrivel like a wilting flower.
Seeing Lan Fushang safely retreat, A’Ling finally felt a little relieved, but her hand still tightly clutched Little Wandering, as she vigilantly watched the skeleton that was trembling so violently it left afterimages.
Simultaneously, above Qiongdian Peak, a white-robed man knelt on the ground, clutching his chest, a thin trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his upturned lips.
He had finally refined his good disciple. Dao Rong tightly clutched his chest, which throbbed with sharp pain. The wisp of spiritual essence connected to the skeleton within him was fiercely clamoring, like a pair of sharp claws tearing at his heart, leaving it riddled with fissures. Dao Rong felt a twisted comfort that his heart could still feel pain; he was indeed still merely a mortal. He curled one corner of his mouth, the curve barely resembling a smile.
He gazed coldly at the space beneath Qiongdian Peak, murmuring to himself, “They’ve seen you, haven’t they, my good disciple? You said you wished for your master’s desires to be fulfilled. If that’s the case, then we shall see if heaven is willing to grant mortal wishes.”
Dao Rong slowly withdrew his gaze, looking up towards the heavens beyond heaven. He let out a sneer, his smile filled with gloom and obsession. High and mighty deities, this time, he would see who could stop him!
A dull thunder rumbled from Qiongdian Peak, shaking all of Mystic Crane Mountain. This was immediately followed by gusts of fierce wind rising, growing stronger and stronger, as dark clouds, layered like black ink, covered Mystic Crane Mountain’s three peaks and twelve caves. The entire Inner Sect became pitch black.
Ye Bingfeng frowned as she looked at this strange phenomenon. She had been in Mystic Crane Mountain for several centuries but had never seen such a bizarre sight. Inside Mystic Crane Mountain, it was so dark as if the entire place had plunged into the River of Eternal Night. She had to stick dozens of illumination talismans inside her room before there was barely enough light to make out Qiu Fanbo, who was less than an arm’s length away.
“How is it? Has Zhao Shan sent back any news?”
Ye Bingfeng’s face was taut as she cast a displeased glance at Qiu Fanbo beside her. After this person was replaced by Shi Qingqian, it was Ye Bingfeng who took her as a disciple, allowing her to enter Winter Snow Peak. Yet now, it was great, she couldn’t even handle such a small matter properly.
Qiu Fanbo hunched her back, her head bowed as she gazed at the ground. Inwardly, she was also blaming Zhao Shan. It had been five full days, and he was like a kite with a broken string, completely out of contact. Before setting off, she had given him a phoenix quill for communication. Yet now, apart from the first few replies, there hadn’t been a single reply to any of the later messages she sent out. She had no idea what the current situation was.
She repeatedly apologized, “Peak Master, please calm your anger. Perhaps they encountered something. Zhao Shan might have run into some danger.”
Ye Bingfeng didn’t want to hear any of this. Zeng Bilan had already taken another team there. If Zhao Shan hadn’t made his move before then, once Zeng Bilan and her group arrived, there would be no opportunity left. Qiu Fanbo naturally understood this, but she truly couldn’t contact Zhao Shan and had no other way. She could only keep apologizing, which only made Ye Bingfeng’s heart grow more irritable.
This time, it was supposed to be their excellent opportunity to get rid of A’Ling and Gu Jingyang. Had she known Qiu Fanbo’s people were so unreliable, she would have chosen someone else. What a waste of the Spirit Suppressing Incense she had given out. Qiu Fanbo secretly prayed in her heart, hoping that Zhao Shan had already succeeded and that it was just that the message couldn’t be sent back.
In Ye Bingfeng’s plan, they would encounter mutated demonic beasts. Once A’Ling and Gu Jingyang had fought them almost to exhaustion, Zhao Shan would then produce the Spirit Suppressing Incense—items that could hinder a cultivator’s spiritual energy. He would wait for A’Ling and Gu Jingyang to be killed by the demonic beasts, then, like an oriole ambushing a cicada, he would step in to eliminate the mutated demonic beasts. This way, A’Ling and Gu Jingyang’s deaths could be blamed on the demonic beasts. Secondly, since the demonic beasts would be dealt with by their sword cultivators, the credit would belong to them, and if there were any valuable items in the demonic beast cave, they would all be theirs.
What a shame, the people she sent out were useless!
“How is Shi Qingqian’s side?” Ye Bingfeng asked, turning to another matter of concern.
At the mention of Shi Qingqian, Qiu Fanbo’s face twisted with hatred. “Still in secluded cultivation.”
After such a long time, she still hadn’t come out of seclusion, and Ye Bingfeng’s worries deepened. She couldn’t possibly be about to break through, could she? She was already in the Nascent Soul stage. Another breakthrough would take her to the Transformation Realm, placing her on the same level as Ye Bingfeng, which made the latter extremely uneasy. Since this person dared to challenge the Abode Master, she would naturally dare to challenge the Peak Master. Ye Bingfeng herself would likely be next.
Ye Bingfeng’s decision to make a move against A’Ling and Gu Jingyang this time was also because of Shi Qingqian. Shi Qingqian was aloof and cold, and in the Inner Sect, she was only close to these two. And that Gu Jingyang also seemed to be talented. Although Gu Jingyang and A’Ling were spiritual arts cultivators, seemingly unrelated to their sword cultivators, if Shi Qingqian had the support of spiritual arts cultivators, she would likely become even more arrogant. If these people were allowed to grow, it would certainly affect her position in the future. It would be better to strike now, to nip these talented youths in the bud before they could grow into towering trees.
“Keep monitoring them. And as for Zhao Shan, contact him as soon as possible!”
Qiu Fanbo hurriedly agreed. After excusing herself from Ye Bingfeng, she sent another phoenix quill message to Zhao Shan.
Zhao Shan gazed at the constantly flickering phoenix quill, his trembling hand touching the misty feather. Qiu Fanbo’s furious voice abruptly rang out.
“Zhao Shan, reply immediately upon receiving this! How is the situation progressing? Are A’Ling and Gu Jingyang dead yet?”
Zhao Shan wore a dejected expression. He didn’t dare to reply. If Qiu Fanbo knew he had been abandoned by A’Ling and the others, she would definitely tell him not to come back. He had never expected that on the very first day out, A’Ling would suddenly turn on him, and he would be directly abandoned by them. The plan had no chance to be implemented at all. Zhao Shan wore a long, tearful face, listening to the pitter-patter of rain on the shed roof. He cursed A’Ling loudly, calling her scum, and wishing for her to be skinned alive and swallowed by demonic beasts, to die a terrible death.
Inside the secret chamber, A’Ling looked at the item in her hand, her expression somewhat bewildered.
“You’re not joking, are you?”
In her hand was a string of bones, each about the size of a finger joint, strung together into a bracelet-shaped ornament. This item was what the skeleton on the stool had just transformed into.
Just a moment ago, after the skeleton’s transformation concluded, Lan Fushang stepped forward to retrieve it for everyone. But as soon as she picked it up, she cried out, “Hot, hot, hot!” and violently threw the item away. It landed in Gu Jingyang’s hand. Gu Jingyang flinched from the heat, hastily throwing it onto the bed, where it landed right beside A’Ling.
A’Ling watched their pained grimaces from being burned, then very carefully tried touching it. She found that it didn’t seem to have any temperature at all. As expected, when she held it completely in her hand, she found it wasn’t hot at all. In fact, it was cool and very comfortable.
She raised an eyebrow and looked at Lan Fushang and Gu Jingyang, who were still clutching their hands as if severely burned, wondering what had just happened to them. Lan Fushang and Gu Jingyang were also very surprised. Seeing A’Ling holding the item without it being hot at all, for a moment, they both wondered if they had experienced a hallucination.
“It chose you.”
As everyone was feeling puzzled, Shi Qingqian softly spoke, her gaze on the bone bracelet in A’Ling’s hand. After speaking, she seemed utterly exhausted, finally collapsing backward slowly, unable to bear the burden.
A’Ling: ??????
What’s going on? Not again. Why is it that every time, at a crucial moment, when she wants to ask for clarity, Shi Qingqian looks like she’s on the verge of death?
Lan Fushang thought, This isn’t good. She hurriedly stepped forward to check, and upon seeing Shi Qingqian, her face twisted with a pained expression. How did this person manage to get up just now? Shi Qingqian was empty inside; not a single trace of spiritual energy could be detected. Currently, she was so fragile that even a random child could probably shatter her.
A’Ling still had questions to ask. She wanted to step forward and wake Shi Qingqian, but she was stopped by Lan Fushang. As she channeled spiritual energy into Shi Qingqian, she said to A’Ling, “A’Ling, Shi Qingqian has fainted. Let her rest properly and recover her strength before asking.”
Lan Fushang was also curious about the bone bracelet, but now was indeed not the time for questions. Lan Fushang glanced at Shi Qingqian again. She seemed even more transparent than when they had first entered the secret chamber, and the spiritual energy she channeled had no effect whatsoever. She asked Gu Jingyang to try as well, to see if her spiritual energy could have any effect. After Gu Jingyang tried and found it useless, both their gazes simultaneously turned to A’Ling.
A’Ling furrowed her brow. “Why are you looking at me? If your spiritual energy is useless, do you think mine will be useful?” Saying this, she reached out her hand and placed it on Shi Qingqian’s forehead, reluctantly channeling spiritual energy into her. She had also expended a lot herself, and her spiritual energy also needed to recover.
“A’Ling, yours works!” Lan Fushang said with pleasant surprise, watching the spiritual energy flowing into Shi Qingqian’s body.
A’Ling widened her eyes. She withdrew her hand in surprise and examined it carefully. “What’s with my hand today? Is my luck just too good?” The bone bracelet wasn’t hot in her hand, others’ spiritual energy had no effect, yet the spiritual energy flowing from her palm worked. How come she didn’t know she was such a lucky person?
Lan Fushang didn’t know why either, but she was happy to see the spiritual energy having an effect. She asked A’Ling to channel some spiritual energy into Shi Qingqian to protect her heart meridians.
“Tsk, how troublesome.”
Although A’Ling was not very willing, she still did as told, even channeling in a bit more. She only stopped after seeing Shi Qingqian’s complexion improve slightly. Lan Fushang secretly chuckled. The way A’Ling’s face showed disdain but her hands kept working made her find it extremely cute.
Seeing that everyone was fine, Lan Fushang felt a wave of relief. What they needed most now was to properly rest and recover their spiritual energy. She was actually starting to give out too. Everything they had experienced today had almost exhausted her spiritual energy. Propping open her increasingly heavy eyelids, she glanced at A’Ling and advised, “A’Ling, let’s wait until daylight to discuss our questions. Everyone needs to rest properly now and recover their spiritual energy.”
A’Ling truly wanted to wake Shi Qingqian. She had hundreds of questions she wanted to ask her, but seeing her complexion was truly bad, she had no choice but to give up. And seeing Lan Fushang also looking utterly exhausted, she quickly urged her to rest. “Alright, we’ll talk tomorrow. You should hurry and rest too.”
Lan Fushang truly couldn’t hold on any longer. Seeing A’Ling agree, she took out a lounge chair from her spatial storage bag and placed it beside Gu Jingyang. Just as she was about to lie down and rest, she was suddenly called out to by A’Ling again.
“Wait, Fushang, take out the other lounge chair too.”
A’Ling glanced at Shi Qingqian on the bed, thinking of having to lie on the same bed as her. That image was simply too terrifying. She had a bit of a mental block…
Lan Fushang didn’t ask for the reason and directly took out the other lounge chair for A’Ling. A’Ling placed the lounge chair on Gu Jingyang’s other side. After seeing that Gu Jingyang was lying beside her, she thought, Now I can rest assured. If she woke up and opened her eyes to see Shi Qingqian’s face, she would be scared to death.
Lan Fushang then brought a blanket for all three of them. After thinking for a moment, she also brought a quilt for Shi Qingqian. Having done all this, she could barely keep her eyes open. A’Ling quickly urged her to rest properly. She also lowered the brightness of the illumination talismans in the secret chamber.
Hearing the long, rhythmic breathing sounds rise from not far away, A’Ling turned over to look at Gu Jingyang, who was also lying beside her with her eyes open. Since just now, Gu Jingyang seemed to have been deep in thought, remaining silent. She felt a gaze and turned her head, seeing A’Ling staring at her with wide eyes. She paused slightly.
“What’s wrong?” She glanced at Lan Fushang, who already seemed asleep, then turned back and asked in a low voice.
A’Ling looked at Gu Jingyang’s relatively energetic face, remembering that she usually didn’t like to sleep. In the past, she would even chat with her about all sorts of things throughout the entire night. She was also the first to collapse in the demonic beast cave, so she must have rested and recovered a bit by now.
“Want to chat?” A’Ling asked tentatively in a low voice. As expected, upon hearing those two words, the light in Gu Jingyang’s eyes brightened a little. She also had a lot to say, but everyone else looked so exhausted, she had no one to talk to. Especially since Qingqian had fainted, and Lan Fushang seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep from exhaustion, she was afraid of disturbing their rest.
Seeing Gu Jingyang nod, A’Ling immediately used her remaining spiritual energy to cast a barrier around them, and also an illusion spell. From the outside, it would appear that she and Gu Jingyang had closed their eyes and fallen asleep.
Gu Jingyang gave her a thumbs up and said in a low voice, “You’re still the most thoughtful.”
No sooner had she spoken than she saw A’Ling take something out of her spatial storage bag. Immediately, a bundle of something was shoved into her hand.
“A’Ling, why are you giving me a chicken?” Gu Jingyang looked bewildered at the chicken shoved into her arms. It was still alive. Weren’t they going to chat? What was this chicken for? She couldn’t eat it alive. Turning back, she saw A’Ling was holding one as well.
Hearing her words, A’Ling’s eyebrow twitched, and her eyes were practically bulging out. “What kind of eyesight do you have? What kind of chicken is this? This is a Sound-Devouring Bird!” A’Ling was so angry she wanted to hit someone. Although her two Sound-Devouring Birds were of common grade, there was still a huge difference between them and a chicken, right?!
When Gu Jingyang heard A’Ling say she had taken out Sound-Devouring Birds, her eyes widened even more than A’Ling’s. She stared in shock at the chicken-like animal in her arms. It was so fat its belly was drooping a bit. Gu Jingyang reached out and poked it; it was solid. Its belly was truly full of meat.
“This is actually a Sound-Devouring Bird? What did you feed it to make it look like a chicken?” Knowing it was a Sound-Devouring Bird, Gu Jingyang no longer kept her voice low. Such a fat Sound-Devouring Bird could probably swallow her small voice immediately.
A’Ling pursed her lips after hearing her question. She looked at Gu Jingyang, smiling meaningfully. Wasn’t it because of this chatterbox in front of her who kept feeding it? Those nights of ceaselessly eating sounds, they didn’t even have time to digest before new sounds arrived. How could it not get fat?!
“Why are you smiling so creepily?” Gu Jingyang felt a bit creeped out by A’Ling’s smile.
A’Ling shook her head. “Let’s not talk about that. Let’s quickly get to the important stuff.”
Gu Jingyang nodded, but too many things had happened today; she didn’t know where to start. A’Ling was the same. She had hundreds of questions but didn’t know which one to ask first. And so, the two of them lay on their lounge chairs, each holding an incredibly fat Sound-Devouring Bird, and for a long while, they didn’t know where to begin.
Finally, A’Ling spoke first, asking the question she most wanted to know but couldn’t quite figure out. “What do you think the relationship between Jin Zhuyue and Shi Qingqian is? Could she be her mother?” As she said this, she guiltily glanced at Shi Qingqian on the bed not far away.
Gu Jingyang also glanced over, then hugged the fat Sound-Devouring Bird in her arms tighter. “Probably not. The timing isn’t right. Qingqian’s mother only gave birth to her eighteen years ago.”
A’Ling nodded. She had also ruled it out based on the timing. “Then why are they so similar?”
Gu Jingyang was also puzzled by this. “Could it be reincarnation?” Before A’Ling could answer, Gu Jingyang continued, “But cultivators are different from mortals; they don’t undergo reincarnation. Furthermore, reincarnation doesn’t guarantee an unchanging appearance. Reincarnation with an unchanging appearance is likely only possible for deities from the Nine Heavens undergoing mortal trials in the mundane world.”
Before A’Ling could agree, Gu Jingyang thought of another matter. “Let’s not talk about that for now. Quickly tell me, why did Qingqian suddenly appear here?” A’Ling pondered Gu Jingyang’s mention of deities undergoing trials; she had indeed heard of such things. Before she could consider how high that possibility was, upon hearing Gu Jingyang’s question, she immediately glanced at Shi Qingqian.
A’Ling hesitated. Should she tell Gu Jingyang that Shi Qingqian had spatially teleported here, lost all her spiritual energy, and then relied on a demonic transformation to destroy the two mutated sword dragons outside? Shi Qingqian’s demonic transformation was no simple matter. In the images on the cave wall just now, the Demon Lord who fought Saint Lord Dao Rong to the death was covered in ethereal black energy, yet it wasn’t as dense and purely black as the demonic energy Shi Qingqian had displayed earlier in the demonic beast cave. What was even more terrifying was that after Shi Qingqian dealt with the two mutated sword dragons, she was actually able to transform back. Lan Fushang had checked her body twice just now and found nothing amiss.
A’Ling looked at Gu Jingyang with a conflicted expression. She admitted to herself that her brain wasn’t very sharp at this moment, and she really wanted Gu Jingyang to analyze it with her. She hugged the fat Sound-Devouring Bird in her arms tighter, just like Gu Jingyang, as if doing so made her feel a little more secure.
“If I tell you, can you promise not to tell anyone?”
The corner of Gu Jingyang’s eye twitched. With a question like that, would she say no? But usually, questions starting like this were followed by extremely explosive content. She excitedly hugged the Sound-Devouring Bird in her arms. She really wanted to hear.
“Tell me, I promise.”
As the two leaned their heads together to discuss this, they didn’t notice that on the bed across from them, the person who should have been unconscious suddenly opened her eyes as if summoned by something. Shi Qingqian glanced at the illusion spell, which was so shoddy that it could be seen through with a single glance. Inside, she saw the two of them, each holding a chicken, whispering something to each other. She couldn’t hear clearly. She only heard a sound coming from A’Ling. It seemed to be the bone bracelet that had transformed.
It was saying: “Run, monster.”
Nice chapter
Tf is this scary ahh message man