Chapter 171: Yu Yi’s Provocation

Guan Yue was stunned:

“You… you’re planning to go head-to-head with them!?”

“If you don’t want to die, get out of here now.” Blue Ling’er glanced at him and said coldly, “The corrupting aura here is getting stronger. If you don’t leave soon, you might die if you’re not careful.”

Guan Yue suddenly realized that this might not be the first time Blue Ling’er had dealt with the current trouble. When he heard her refer to this ominous aura as “corrupting aura,” his heart tightened.

The three beauties before him—one with miraculous medical skills, one with experience countering the corrupting aura, and one who had done nothing the whole time yet seemed particularly mysterious—had clearly set their sights on the Yan Emperor’s reward and came prepared.

Since they were prepared, they must have a plan.

So Guan Yue stopped trying to persuade Yu Yi and the others and prepared to take Guan Ningning to leave the Yunyin Forest first.

But just as the father and daughter were about to step out, several swift black shadows streaked across the sky, charging straight at them.

At the critical moment, a surge of cold air swept through. Blue Ling’er’s extreme ice power exploded in midair, scattering snow and ice shards.

Several rampaging golden-crowned cranes were affected by the cold and suddenly froze, stopping almost right against Guan Yue’s scalp.

Although the golden-crowned cranes were frozen for a moment, they quickly broke free from the cold and continued to pounce on the Guan father and daughter.

Fortunately, Guan Yue reacted quickly and took Guan Ningning to rush outside, letting the golden-crowned cranes crash into the barrier.

They were cranes, yet they were as ferocious as eagles or vultures. The barrier, struck by them, now had several more noticeable cracks, and the cracks were growing wider at an alarming rate.

“We can’t last. We need to hurry into the palace and ask for reinforcements!” Guan Yue panicked as he watched the barrier that could shatter at any moment.

“The barrier originally could have lasted at least three more days, but after just one kick from a few golden-crowned cranes, it’s become like this… Now the barrier probably can’t even hold out for three hours…”

Guan Yue couldn’t help but worry: would those three young ladies really be able to heal all the rampaging golden-crowned cranes without harming them?

That… probably impossible, right?

Inside the Yunyin Forest, heavy snow and icy winds howled.

Blue Ling’er combined her ice-based techniques with the artifact “Bixu Lingyuan” to transform the area into a winter landscape.

If it were before, the cold air released by Blue Ling’er would kill.

But Blue Ling’er was clever and adaptable. She could make the same move take on countless variations.

The cold air she released now would only restrict the golden-crowned cranes’ movements, not harm them.

The ten rampaging golden-crowned cranes were frozen stiff, struggling to move in the wind and snow. They let out piercing screeches, as if furious and eager to fly down and tear Blue Ling’er apart.

Although the situation seemed smooth, the pressure Blue Ling’er was under was beyond ordinary imagination.

“Third junior sister, leave the rest to you…” Blue Ling’er’s forehead beaded with fine sweat as she gritted her teeth and said to Ye Qingluan.

To maintain the winter landscape over the vast Yunyin Forest, Blue Ling’er had to expend a great deal of energy.

And the worst part was that just maintaining the winter landscape wasn’t enough; she also had to keep suppressing the corrupting aura spreading in the air.

Although her cold air couldn’t purify or drive away the corrupting aura, it could suppress it.

Since the corrupting aura was the source of the golden-crowned cranes’ power, as long as the rampaging cranes preferentially absorbed Blue Ling’er’s cold air instead of the corrupting aura, they would remain frozen in the air, unable to move freely.

Since the grand formation jointly set up by the martial experts in the palace couldn’t restrict the golden-crowned cranes, this was the alternative answer Blue Ling’er had given.

Ye Qingluan had not been idle either. While Blue Ling’er was giving her all, she had spread the power of “Azure Wood Jade” over the corrupted land.

However, things did not go as smoothly as expected.

The azure light landed on the ground, rejuvenating a patch of corrupted soil beneath their feet. But before the life force could spread, it was re-corrupted by the corrupting aura.

Ye Qingluan tried several times in succession, with the same result.

She too began to sweat, and in her ears she seemed to hear Blue Ling’er’s increasingly labored breathing, making her even more tense.

As Blue Ling’er’s consumption increased, the cold air surging in the air weakened, and its suppressive effect on the corrupting aura grew worse.

This not only caused the ten frozen golden-crowned cranes to descend faster toward the ground but also left Ye Qingluan at a loss.

At first, Ye Qingluan could still rejuvenate a circle of land around her feet, but as the corrupting aura increasingly broke free from the cold air’s suppression and grew stronger, Ye Qingluan’s power could no longer even stir a ripple.

They both cast glances at Yu Yi, as if telling her that they had done their best but were ultimately powerless.

Yu Yi hugged her arms and silently shook her head.

She probably understood why none of her disciples had become Grandmasters. Was it a lack of talent?

Of course not. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to wield the Heaven-rank artifacts bestowed upon them so easily.

Was it a lack of effort in training?

Of course not. With a workaholic like Lü Qi at the Among the Colorful Clouds, everyone had gone through a long period of hellish training.

Now, except for Huang Doudou who liked to slack off, there was no possibility of others neglecting their cultivation.

The real reason the disciples’ cultivation levels weren’t outstanding actually lay mostly with Yu Yi.

Whether it was Yu Yi or the original host, they had both been too “indulgent” with their disciples.

Whenever they encountered difficulties, Yu Yi would unhesitatingly step in and solve all problems for them. To some extent, this greatly reduced the possibility of the disciples unlocking their potential.

So this time, Yu Yi decided to be ruthless, letting Blue Ling’er and Ye Qingluan overcome the current difficulty on their own.

“This is it? Already can’t handle it? Already need to ask your master for help?”

With a calm expression, Yu Yi said meaningfully:

“If you definitely need master’s help, then it counts as both of you failing your respective missions, okay? The rewards will be confiscated by master too.”

As soon as she said this, both Blue Ling’er and Ye Qingluan’s eyes widened.

They simultaneously retracted the pleading looks they had just given Yu Yi, their movements eerily synchronized.

The cold air suddenly became even fiercer.

In the next second, Yu Yi clearly felt the chill in the air make her shiver involuntarily. She subconsciously touched her arm, feeling an unprecedented cold.

The golden-crowned cranes that were about to dive down were dumbfounded. They had only been frozen stiff by the cold air moments before, but now half of their bodies were completely frozen solid!

Yu Yi then subconsciously looked at the ground and found that the soil beneath her feet had once again come to life, and this time it broke through the erosion of the corrupting aura.

The powerful life force spread outward at a visible speed, restoring color to the corrupted and withered flowers, plants, and trees!

The explosive power displayed by Blue Ling’er and Ye Qingluan truly startled Yu Yi.

Yu Yi couldn’t help but shudder, thinking with alarm:

‘Rewards!? I was just casually provoking them… And they’re going all out like this?’