“Pa!”
Just as Qin Zifeng was about to leap away, his body slammed into an invisible yet tenacious wall.
An irresistible force smashed him back, making him stagger and land where he started.
His heart trembled in alarm.
That move carried no aggression—he was simply forced back as if a hand had pressed him down.
The young man shaking his folding fan still stood in place, as if he’d only dusted off his sleeves.
A gentle smile hung on his face.
Qin Zifeng’s murky old eyes flickered with uncertainty as he measured the fan-wielding youth before him.
“You… Who exactly are you?”
Wu Qing let out a light chuckle, snapping his fan open with a crisp “swish” and fanning himself leisurely.
“That’s not your concern.” His voice was calm, yet brooked no argument. “All you need to do… is wait here quietly for a while.”
Meanwhile, on the other side of the forest.
“A-Che, is it because of that Shi Ling Gu?”
Hu Qiao’er was supporting Jiang Che, whose entire weight seemed to collapse onto her. Her voice trembled on the verge of tears.
The last time Jiang Che had checked himself, he’d told her about this thing.
“I’m fine… let’s keep going…”
Jiang Che clenched his teeth, forcing out a few words. Cold sweat beaded his forehead, and his face was as pale as paper.
“A-Che, stop forcing yourself!” Hu Qiao’er’s voice was both anxious and distressed. “Besides! You look absolutely terrible!”
Jiang Che didn’t want to answer.
He had thought about whether there was any way to get rid of the Shi Ling Gu, but no matter how he tried, he couldn’t think of one.
This Shi Ling Gu was cunning. Even though Jiang Che’s body was weak, it refused to leave on instinct, as if it knew it would die if it left.
The only way was to find a cultivator to nurture it inside themselves for Jiang Che, but that would mean begging someone for help.
But who?
The old Zongzhu’s mind was inscrutable; Jiang Che didn’t want much to do with him.
As for Xu Qianlan, Jiang Che didn’t want to ask her either—that would just make him seem pathetic.
He wasn’t sure when it started, but he’d been living day to day without much desire, with few things stirring any emotion in him.
The only regret was not being able to walk further with Hu Qiao’er.
A wave of immense fatigue and weariness seized him all at once.
Suddenly, he wrenched himself free from Hu Qiao’er’s supporting grasp.
“Qiao’er-jie… I’m a bit tired. You should go ahead.”
His voice was weak, with a calm resignation.
This way… is fine too.
He’d long lost interest in it all.
Hu Qiao’er stared at him in disbelief, her eyes instantly rimmed red.
“No way!” she shouted resolutely, fiercer than ever before. “I’ll never leave A-Che alone! Let’s go back to the Sect! We’ll find the Zongzhu! The Zongzhu will definitely have a way!”
Did she understand what Jiang Che meant?
She did.
Maybe not entirely.
But what she really couldn’t accept was Jiang Che giving up like this.
After all this… after everything it took to make it this far… Suddenly, she remembered the fragmented records she’d once secretly read in the Scripture Repository about the Shi Ling Gu.
It devours spiritual energy and will not stop until its host dies.
Watching Jiang Che’s breathing grow more labored and his body temperature dropping fast, Hu Qiao’er clenched her fists, as if coming to a decision.
Jiang Che could feel his strength draining away, icy darkness surging over him like a tide.
Death? To his surprise, he didn’t fear it—instead, it felt like a release…
But just then, a gentle, warm breath suddenly pressed against his lips, catching him off guard.
Jiang Che shuddered violently, as if struck by lightning! With his last ounce of strength, he instinctively shoved the person before him away.
“Qiao’er-jie! What are you doing?!”
“A-Che… I’ve always been stronger than you…”
Before she finished, her lips came down on his once more.
Jiang Che was held tightly by Hu Qiao’er; the determined, strangely warm touch left his mind blank.
At the same time.
Qin Zifeng’s withered, claw-like hands clenched tightly, his clouded old eyes fixed unblinking on Wu Qing as if staring down a venomous snake.
He couldn’t sense a hint of Wu Qing’s presence; even the previous Zhuji Realm aura had vanished.
He couldn’t even sense a killing intent.
What was this guy really after? Qin Zifeng still had no idea.
Was he just going to stall until those two kids escaped?
“Old man, rest up. It’s not your turn yet.”
He didn’t even spare a glance for the on-guard Qin Zifeng. Instead, with interest, he turned his gaze toward the depths of the woods where Jiang Che and Hu Qiao’er had disappeared, the corners of his mouth curling into an inscrutable smile.
Just then, a tremendous aura ripped through the night sky, bringing with it a crushing pressure that instantly enveloped the entire area!
Qin Zifeng’s murky old eyes shrank, his heart nearly crushed by the sudden terror.
Xuxu Stage!
That suffocating pressure… he would never mistake it. It was almost on par with Lin Yin, who had once grievously wounded him!
Who? Another powerhouse from the Shenxiao Sect? Did that kid call for reinforcements? No, impossible—not so quickly!
He looked up, alarmed and uncertain.
In the night sky, a massive lion bathed in a pale gray-white glow was streaking through the air, wings unfurled behind it—a bloodline gift unique to its kind.
On the lion’s back stood a graceful figure, dress fluttering in the wind—Xu Qianlan.
Little White had sensed Jiang Che’s presence and immediately carried Xu Qianlan here, locking onto the location at astonishing speed.
They hadn’t been sensed earlier only because Qin Zifeng’s residence was protected by a formation that concealed spiritual auras.
“Roar!”
Little White let out an urgent, threatening growl, its giant feathered wings folding with a crash as it landed in the forest clearing, whipping up clouds of dust and leaves.
Xu Qianlan, already burning with anxiety, leapt gracefully to the ground before Little White could come to a complete stop.
Her worried eyes swept the scene, instantly locking onto the person she cared for most—her little Che.
Yet, the sight before her left her anxious words stuck in her throat.
Instead of the life-or-death Jiang Che she’d imagined, what she saw was a young girl holding him tightly in her arms.
The two were nearly fused into one silhouette under the quiet moonlight, their posture so intimate… truly, they were clinging to each other!
Xu Qianlan’s phoenix eyes widened, her red lips parting slightly, even her breath caught for a moment.
Deep in her mind, three words sprang up, carrying a sourness and anger she hadn’t even realized:
Faithless man!
But something suddenly felt wrong.
Jiang Che erupted with a strength he hadn’t known he had and pushed Hu Qiao’er away.
“A-Che!”
Hu Qiao’er called out in worry.
She had just tried it—knowing that her spiritual roots were of high quality, she wanted to gamble, to see if the Shi Ling Gu would choose to leave Jiang Che and enter her body instead.
Jiang Che bit down hard.
He had sensed it too.
The cautious Shi Ling Gu had actually found this a tempting option, beginning to stir within Jiang Che’s body.
The tentacles connecting it to his meridians were gradually detaching, ready to abandon Jiang Che.
But Jiang Che refused. Summoning what little strength he had left, he pushed Hu Qiao’er away.
And at the moment Xu Qianlan appeared, the Shi Ling Gu instantly reverted to its previous state, reconnecting with many of Jiang Che’s meridians.