Everyone could sense Xin Jue’s vitality slowly sipping away from him and the blood flowing down from his forehead soon dyed half of his face red.
“Big Brother, don’t scare me…” Xin Yan muttered with a trembling voice as her eyes turned red. She tried to wipe the blood off, but she couldn’t get rid of it no matter how she tried.
On the other hand, Lin Yun stared at Xin Jue blankly. He felt suffocated as he stared into Xin Jue’s eyes.
When the Sword-Bearing Elder and the other elders came, their faces changed when they saw the situation.
“This…” Luo Feng’s voice was trembling. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. He was still rejoicing over the fact that Xin Jue had grasped the xiantian sword intent, but in the blink of an eye, Xin Jue’s vitality was disappearing.
He couldn’t accept what was happening before his eyes. His relationship with Xin Jue wasn’t just as an elder and a disciple. When he recalled what Xin Jue’s father entrusted to him, his eyes began to turn watery.
“Sword-Bearing Elder, please save my brother…” Xin Yan had a wisp of hope in her eyes when she saw the Sword-Bearing Elder.
But the Sword-Bearing Elder took Xin Jue’s pulse with an ugly face before he shook his head.
“Why…why…” Xin Yan sobbed. The sadness on her face was heartbreaking to those who saw it. This made Xin Jue, who had disregarded his life and death, begin to panic. He struggled to get on his feet to hug his younger sister like usual.
“Ye Xinyan, don’t cry…” But he collapsed the moment he tried to walk.
“Senior Brother!”
“Big Brother!” Everyone panicked as they helped Xin Jue on his feet. But Xin Jue’s eyes had already closed with his hand wandering in the air as if he was looking for someone.
“Big Brother, I’m here.” Xin Yan’s heart was broken as she held onto his hand and placed it on her cheeks. When Xin Jue sensed the warmth through his hand, he revealed a warm smile and finally took his last breath.
“Big Brother!” Xin Yan wailed. But no matter how she tried, she couldn’t get a response from Xin Jue. The pain of losing her loved one so soon overwhelmed her. She threw up a mouthful of blood and fainted.
“There’s still hope… There’s still hope…” Lin Yun suddenly thought of something and he carried Xin Jue away, which startled everyone.
“Lil’ Red!” Lin Yun roared, his voice filled with sorrow and panic.
A crimson bolt of lightning dashed out from the forest. Without any hesitation, Lin Yun mounted the horse with Xin Jue in his embrace and left, quickly disappearing from everyone’s sight.
“What’s Lin Yun trying to do?” Luo Feng was afraid that Lin Yun might do something foolish.
“Let him go. Perhaps he really has a way to save Xin Jue,” said the Sword-Bearing Elder powerlessly.
As the strongest person here, he was naturally responsible for taking care of Xin Jue and Lin Yun. So he felt responsible for Xin Jue’s death.
“Where is he going?”
“Where else aside from the Sword Burial Woods? Take care of Xin Yan. Don’t let anything happen to her. Got it?”
Luo Feng’s eyes lit up when he heard that. Perhaps there might really be a strand of hope if Lin Yun went to the Sword Burial Woods. But even with the Dragon Blooded Horse’s speed, it would still take seven days. Would there still be hope seven days later?
“Lil’ Red, faster! Faster!” The Dragon Blooded Horse ran at top speed through the mountain range. It might be goofy most of the time, but it was serious right now because it could sense Lin Yun’s current emotions. The sorrow and pain Lin Yun was feeling made the Dragon Blooded Horse run with all its might.
The Dragon Blooded Horse galloped through the mountain range and bulldozed any tree that blocked its path. The Dragon Blooded Horse also felt the anxiety and hated itself for not being able to go any faster.
In the blink of an eye, the Dragon Blooded Horse ran for four days and four nights without a break. Lin Yun’s eyes were dark, but his eyes lit up when he saw the capital.
“Charge through!” The Dragon Blooded Horse turned into a bolt of lightning and dashed into the capital without caring for the guards. The Dragon Blooded Horse had already disappeared when the guards were alarmed.
“We’re almost there. Faster…” Lin Yun’s eyes were bloodshot with his voice becoming hoarse. He could sense Xin Jue’s body becoming colder, which worsened the pain he felt. He had already lost his voice urging the Dragon Blooded Horse to run faster.
This was how the seven day journey was reduced to four. When a foggy lake appeared before them, the Dragon Blooded Horse let out a neigh as it dashed into the fog. At the same time, the True Dragon Bloodline in its body ignited and allowed it to gallop on the surface of the lake.
The huge commotion had naturally alarmed the owner of this place. It didn’t take long for the fog to disappear and an old man stood at the shore looking at Lin Yun with his eyebrows knitted.
“Lord Thirteen, help me save someone!” Lin Yun got off the horse and slammed his forehead on the ground.
“Get up and talk.” Lord Thirteen waved his hand and glanced at Xin Jue. When he looked at Xin Jue, his eyes flashed with shock. He didn’t say a word. He walked over and placed his palm on Xin Jue’s forehead.
A brief moment later, a needle was sucked out by his palm and fell onto the ground. When Lord Thirteen saw the needle, his eyes flashed with killing intent. But that wasn’t all. Lord Thirteen waved his hand and more needles were extracted from Xin Jue’s body.
There were eight of them in total and Lin Yun’s eyes flashed with killing intent when he saw the needles. He knew that these needles were directed at him, but Xin Jue blocked them with his body. His blood was boiling when he looked at the needles. He couldn’t imagine what kind of pain Xin Jue had to go through when he was hit by these needles.
“What are these?” Lin Yun suppressed the rage in his heart and wanted to pick up the needles.
“Don’t!” barked Lord Thirteen. “They’re Bloodrain Silverneedles. It’s an extremely poisonous weapon created by the Profound Mechanism Gate. The Profound Mechanism Gate was famed for its mechanics such as puppets, hidden weapons, and poisons. Both the righteous and demonic sects feared them. However, they were annihilated.”
“But there are still some poisonous weapons that have been preserved by some. It’s extremely difficult to obtain these hidden weapons and there aren’t many of them left in the Ancient Southern Domain.”
Lin Yun was stunned by the mastermind’s planning. But he was more anxious about something right now and asked, “Can senior brother still be saved?”
Lord Thirteen’s eyes dimmed and he shook his head, “The Bloodrain Silverneedles are specially designed for elites in the Profound Martial Realm. Because the origin energy of those in the Violet Palace Realm will undergo a transformation, they have no fear of this poison. But anyone in the Profound Martial Realm will die as long as they’re hit. The poison will seep into their internal organs through their blood.”
There was something else he didn’t tell Lin Yun. Perhaps Xin Jue could still be saved if he was brought here three days earlier, but Lord Thirteen chose to keep it from Lin Yun when he saw Lin Yun’s state. He was afraid that Lin Yun might blame himself.
“He cannot be saved…” Lin Yun’s eyes dimmed when he heard that. At the same time, it felt as though his heart was being gouged out. He couldn’t describe the pain he was currently feeling. He would rather be the one dead instead.
Looking at Xin Jue’s corpse, Lin Yun recalled how Xin Jue saved him back in the Nine-Stars Contest and how Xin Jue shined when he stood together with the four titles back in the Bloodbone Forest. Then, he thought of Xin Yan crying out in pain.
Time gradually flowed and Lin Yun remained in the same position. He didn’t sleep, he didn’t eat, and he didn’t even sip any water. But when Lord Thirteen came out ten days later, he saw that Lin Yun was gone.
His face changed, but he felt relieved when he saw Lin Yun’s figure at the side of the lake. He gradually walked over to Lin Yun.
“Lord Thirteen, why don’t good people live long in this world?” But before Lord Thirteen could reply, Lin Yun continued, “I’ve been thinking about this problem for the past ten days and I’ve finally figured it out. There’s no need for me to think about it. I just have to follow my heart.”
“But as you’ve said before, there is no evidence. So the Sword Firmament Pavilion won’t take any action even if they could guess who it was, nor will they stand by you,” said Lord Thirteen.
“It’s time for me to leave,” said Lin Yun as he turned around. There were too many rules and restrictions in the world. But someone should still be responsible for the dead, so he didn’t have to think about anything else. Even if he became old in the future, his passion would still flow in his blood. He just had to follow the sword in his hand.