Qing Feng wiped away the blood, his gaze fixed on the direction where Li Chonglong had fallen. Moonlight pierced through the mountain mist, casting alternating shadows on his pale face.
Qing Feng suppressed his fear of an Eighth-Grade Tribulation Transcending Realm cultivator. The most urgent matter at hand was to preserve the embers of the Beast Taming Sect. His fellow Disciples in the Thousand Lake World had endured the ravages of demonic beasts and the rampant resentful spirits, and now that madman Mo Tong had gone on a killing spree. These survivors were probably their last hope.
He endured the burning pain in his meridians, wiped away the blood, and tossed the blood-stained Thousand Lake Token into the dense forest. This scapegoat would be safely placed on Li Chonglong's head, but he hadn't expected controlling the restrictions from a distance to be so damaging to his body. When he leaned against the rock wall and returned to the cave, the Zouwu's joyful low growl had already penetrated the mist.
“Senior Brother Qingfeng.” Yan Yi rushed over, her skirt lifted, and happened to see the young man's stumbling figure.
Before she could speak, Qing Feng's vision suddenly went black, and he fell backward.
The moment the soft, warm body caught him, the tips of the young girl's ears were so red they looked like they would drip blood.
When she saw the bloodstains on his lips, all her shyness turned into a sharp pain in her heart.
She knelt on the bluestone, letting the young man rest his head on her legs. As her fingertips detected the chaotic spiritual energy, she suddenly remembered A Yun's Instruct before they left.
“Two Golden Core Jade Talismans…” Yan Yi caressed Qing Feng's cold wrist. That day, he had thrown out his life-saving magical artifacts without even a frown.
She had even advised A Yun to stay away from this 'profligate'! She must have been blind!
The crisp sound of a slap startled the Zouwu, making it perk up its ears. The young girl caressed her burning cheek, her Master's teachings ringing in her ears. This man always took on the most dangerous tasks, just like when he had single-handedly lured away the demonic creatures earlier, he hadn't forgotten to seal the cave entrance tightly with restrictions.
The night-luminescent pearl illuminated Qing Feng's pale profile. Yan Yi suddenly noticed the new scar on his waist. It turned out that all his lazy demeanor was a disguise, just like the sword-art hand seal he still clutched tightly in his unconscious sleep, clearly showing the calluses from ten years of sword practice.
This injury was for her.
Yan Yi's fingertips trembled slightly as she brushed over the bloodstain between Qing Feng's brows. Her usually cold voice surprisingly carried some warmth: “Once we leave the Thousand Lake World, I'll cover all your future elixirs.”
A warm sensation suddenly came from the back of his head. Qing Feng unconsciously hummed softly and rubbed against it, a faint medicinal fragrance entering his nose.
As his muddled consciousness gradually cleared, he was startled to realize that he was actually resting on Yan Yi's lap. The usually aloof Head Disciple of Dan Peak was currently sleeping lightly with her eyes lowered, her moon-white robe stained with faint dark red spots.
“Cough.” He hastily propped himself up, but his palm pressed against a furry living creature. Looking down, he met the Zouwu Beast's innocent golden eyes. The little fellow was being held by the scruff of its neck, its four paws flailing in the air.
“Are you uncomfortable?” Yan Yi suddenly opened her eyes, her jade-white fingers already resting on his wrist pulse. Qing Feng froze in place, allowing those slightly cool fingertips to wander over the vital points of his body.
The person who used to even hand him a medicine bottle through a handkerchief was now meticulously smoothing out the wrinkles in his robe.
Pill cultivators were already rare, and which one wasn't pampered and arrogant?
Moreover, this peerless beauty, the bright pearl of Dan Peak, usually couldn't even be bothered to say half a word more.
Qing Feng recalled the last time he returned severely injured; the other party had merely tossed a bottle of elixirs from ten feet away.
“Mo Tong's soul backlash is too dangerous.” Yan Yi suddenly spoke, her fingertips unconsciously caressing the jade pendant at her waist.
Qing Feng then realized that there was a fresh bloodstain on her neck, a dark red hidden beneath her overlapping collar, which perfectly matched the warmth he had felt before losing consciousness.
At this moment, a thunderous sword cry tore through the sky. Thousands of streams of light descended from the clouds, and the demonic beasts of the Thousand Lake World whimpered and curled up into balls.
Qing Feng looked at the gradually collapsing dome, silently clenching the blood-stained half-sleeve in his own sleeve. He had narrowly escaped death this time, but what about next time?
He would go into secluded cultivation as soon as he returned to the mountain. He secretly vowed to himself as he looked at the sky full of sword light. He had originally thought that a Golden Core Ninth Level cultivator entering a Foundation Establishment Mystic Realm was like a tiger entering a flock of sheep, but who knew he almost got his throat pierced by a sheep's horn.
However… his peripheral vision swept over Yan Yi, who was organizing her medicine pouch. The blush behind the woman's ear always reminded him of the lingering warm fragrance from when he was unconscious.
“Let's go.” Yan Yi suddenly turned around, her wide sleeves fluttering to reveal half of her fair wrist.
Qing Feng stared at the green jade bracelet that had suddenly appeared on her wrist. He vaguely remembered it was an ancient spiritual treasure that could substitute for a life, and now there was clearly a crack on the bracelet.
Where the sword light tore through the air, countless resentful spirits, having lost their minds, were still furiously attacking.
Mu Zhengting stood before the formation, holding the Sect's divine sword. Seeing the remnants of the Demon Sect's defilement, his eyes flashed with intense coldness: “Seven thousand years have passed, and these demonic remnants still dare to cause trouble.”
The clear ringing of the divine sword resounded through the clouds, and a hundred-mile sword domain unfolded in response.
Qing Feng looked at the sword light that tore through the sky, secretly marveling at the might of a Void Refinement Realm powerful cultivator. Such a realm, he feared, was beyond his reach even if he cultivated for another three hundred years.
“Sect Leader.” Li Chonglong arrived with four or five Disciples on their swords, their robes still stained with dark red blood.
The Thousand Lake World Master, Li Wei, rushed forward to greet them. After seeing the number of people, his face suddenly changed: “Why are there only these people left? Where is Yan Yi?”
Zhu Jian suddenly fell to his knees, the hideous claw marks on his shoulder still oozing blood: “This Disciple fought to the death to protect her, but there was a Golden Core Great Demon among the demonic beasts. Martial Brother Qing Feng was greedy for spiritual herbs and refused to retreat, causing Senior Sister Yan to…” He choked, tearing open his robe to reveal a deeply bone-deep wound.
“You're talking nonsense.” Qin Yue stepped out from the crowd, her usually gentle brows now furrowed with frost: “Qing Feng has always been cautious, it must be…”
“Presumptuous.” Zhu Jian's Master coldly rebuked: “How can a junior speak carelessly before the Law Enforcement Hall?” He then cupped his hands to the Law Enforcement Elder: “Dereliction of duty in protecting the Dao should be severely punished, but considering his serious injuries.”
The Law Enforcement Elder waved his sleeve, interrupting: “Thirty years of confinement on Han Ming Peak.”
This judgment made Real Person Yao Jin stumble backward. Qin Yue gripped her sword tightly, her fingernails almost digging into her palm.
When Zhu Jian kowtowed in gratitude, a barely perceptible sinister smile flickered at the corner of his mouth.
“This Disciple accepts the punishment.” Zhu Jian kowtowed in response, his back already drenched in cold sweat.
Thirty years of confinement, for a Foundation Establishment Ninth Level cultivator, was no different from severing their path to immortality.
“How could Yi'er have fallen? Her life tablet is clearly intact.” Real Person Yao Jin's fingertips trembled, his face instantly turning pale as paper.
Three days ago, he had personally confirmed the life tablet. Could it have happened in just half a day?
Zhu Jian suddenly looked up, his pupils contracting violently.
The life tablet wasn't shattered? That day, he had clearly pushed her into the claws of a Golden Core demonic beast!
“Since Senior Sister has already perished, why not rest in peace sooner?” Suddenly, a silver bell-like giggle broke through the air.
“I should congratulate Senior Sister, you died more gloriously than I did?” A cold female voice retorted sharply.
Everyone looked in surprise, only to see Qing Feng breaking through the clouds on his sword, and Yan Yi arriving with the moon, her robes fluttering without the slightest damage.
Zhu Jian trembled all over, his face devoid of color, the clattering of his teeth clearly audible.
Real Person Yao Jin, however, had already transformed into a stream of light, flashing to his Disciple's side, his withered hands repeatedly checking her pulse.
“Reporting to Sect Leader, this is a Zouwu obtained from the Thousand Lake World.” Qing Feng gently stroked the exotic beast in his arms. The beast's head suddenly let out a tiger's roar, startling the spiritual cranes in front of the hall into flapping their wings wildly.
Mu Zhengting's eyes gleamed intensely. Could such an ancient bloodline truly exist in the world?
“It's all thanks to the Sect's luck and protection.” The young man's tone suddenly shifted, “If not for this spiritual beast, how could this Disciple have rescued Senior Sister Yan, who was abandoned in the beast den?”
After speaking, he threw out a recording jade slip from his sleeve. The scene of Zhu Jian's panicked escape was projected in mid-air.