Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
“On Wuyuan Island, there’s a 100,000-year-old saintly medicine called Thousand-leaf Saint Heart Grass. It was planted personally by Supreme Saint Wuyuan. If you bring it out of Yuan Lake and into my hands, I’ll definitely help you connect the three meridians.”
With that, Gu Songzi and the golden cobra left.
“Thousand-leaf Saint Heart Grass,” Zhang Ruochen repeated.
“Lord, did you see?” Qing Mo asked softly. “That guy seems to be afraid of something. Yuan Lake and Wuyuan Island must be extremely dangerous. He doesn’t dare go himself, so he wants us to take the risk. He really has everything figured out.”
“You can see that? I feel like you’re pretty smart.” Zhang Ruochen studied Qing Mo and chuckled. “Actually, we don’t have to go ourselves either. We can have her test the river for any dangers first.”
Zhang Ruochen woke Zhu Qingyi up and undid the chains on her arms and legs.
“Die!”
As soon as she was freed, Zhu Qingyi activated Holy Qi and formed a handprint, striking Zhang Ruochen. However, Zhu Qingyi was poisoned and hurt. She was very weak. How could she hurt Zhang Ruochen?
Zhang Ruochen flicked his finger. A bolt of lightning flew out, hitting Zhu Qingyi. She fell to the ground again.
Zhang Ruochen would never show mercy against Immortal Vampires. At the same time, he believed that if he fell into Zhu Qingyi’s hands, his result would be even worse.
“I swear, if you fall into my hands one day, you’ll die an even more tragic death.”
Zhu Qingyi showed her white teeth. Her pretty eyes were filled with cold murderous intent.
“You aren’t without chances to kill me, but you must survive first.” Zhang Ruochen was indifferent. “There are two paths before you right now. First, I’ll kill you. Second, you go to the island in the middle of the lake and collect a saintly medicine for me.”
Zhu Qingyi knew she didn’t have any choices. She didn’t want to die yet, so she asked, “What place is it? What dangers are in the lake?”
“You’re not qualified to ask questions,” Zhang Ruochen said. “If you follow my orders, you’ll live, naturally.”
Zhu Qingyi stood up again. She activated her Holy Qi to her feet. It formed a black cloud of Qi. Then, stepping on the water, she walked toward the island.
Qing Mo widened her eyes, feeling incredulous. “She followed your orders without fighting back!”
After fighting with Zhu Qingyi a few times, Qing Mo felt like she was a horrible demoness. She had advanced cultivation and cruel tactics. It was impossible to defeat her.
Who would’ve thought that only a few days later, this demoness would become their prisoner and completely surrender?
“She’s not following my orders voluntarily,” Zhang Ruochen said. “She only wants to save herself. Plus, she’s probably thinking about how to break free right now. She might escape at any moment.”
“I won’t let her escape.”
Qing Mo took out the silver kitchen knife. Widening her eyes, she stared unblinkingly at Zhu Qingyi. If the demoness dared to escape, she would unleash the kitchen knife immediately.
This lake stretched for hundreds of miles. The water was clear and green lotuses floated on it. There was a layer of white fog on the surface, making it look serene without any dangers.
After walking around 2,000 meters into the lake, Zhu Qingyi felt like her chance was here. She manipulated the remaining bits of Holy Qi she had and rushed forward, preparing to circumvent the island and escape.
“No, she indeed wants to escape.”
Qing Mo was about to take out the silver knife, but Zhang Ruochen stopped her. “Wait a bit more.”
Zhang Ruochen stared at Zhu Qingyi’s backside. She got further and further from land but closer and closer to the island.
“When I dissolve the poison in myself,” Zhu Qingyi yelled coldly, “I’ll definitely come back to capture you personally. I’ll use 100 ways to torture you, making you wish you were dead!”
When she was around ten miles from the island, she suddenly changed direction, preparing to go from the island’s right side.
Suddenly, a change occurred.
A whirlpool appeared under Zhu Qingyi’s feet. As if falling into quicksand, she sank in without control.
Crack!
Thick bolts of purple lightning condensed automatically in the sky, striking her body. She let out a muffled cry. Her body turned scorched black and blood flowed out of her lips. It was ineffably tragic.
A second bolt of lightning struck.
And a third.
…
Because she was in the whirlpool, she seemed to be frozen. She couldn’t move at all and could only be struck by lightning. After the seventh bolt, she was bleeding from every opening. Unable to take it anymore, she passed out and her body sank to the bottom of the lake.
Whoosh!
Zhang Ruochen extended a finger. The water Qi on the lake condensed into a white chain of Qi. It flew over, wrapped around Zhu Qingyi’s waist and rescued her.
Zhang Ruochen stared at Zhu Qingyi on the ground. A bit moved, he murmured to himself, “She suffered seven bolts of lightning and almost died tragically, but she didn’t ask for help. She isn’t the typical kind of stubborn. No wonder the imperial court keeps losing against the Immortal Vampires. They indeed have many strong and talented figures.”
Qing Mo inhaled sharply. “This river is indeed dangerous. It’s not as calm as it looks.”
“It must be the remnants of a formation from the ancient times. Supreme Saint Wuyuan may have set it up personally. Zhu Qingyi’s previous route should be safe. She only activated the formation within ten miles of the island.”
Zhang Ruochen stared at the calmed lake and memorized Zhu Qingyi’s previous path.
“But there are still ten miles. If we activate the formation… With our cultivation, we won’t be able to take the lightning strikes.”
Qing Mo stuck her tongue out. She thought the lake was too dangerous. It was a formation set up by a Supreme Saint in the middle ages. Could they really break through with their cultivation?
If they take this step, they might never return.
“Then I’ll have her find a safe path for us.”
Zhang Ruochen took out a healing pill and fed it into Zhu Qingyi’s mouth. Zhu Qingyi was a Heaven Pass Blood General, after all. Her cultivation was very advanced. A while later, she woke up again. Her injuries had healed around 60 to 70%.
She stared at Yuan Lake with fear. “What place is this?” she asked.
“A very dangerous place.” Instead of explaining further, Zhang Ruochen said, “Go find a safe path for me. I must go onto that small island.”
“I’m not going.” Zhu Qingyi was going crazy. It felt like her ego was being insulted. She didn’t want to keep being used by Zhang Ruochen.
“With my current Spiritual Power abilities,” Zhang Ruochen said indifferently, “I can wipe away your memories and make you a puppet that I control. You should know what to do now, right?”
“You…”
“This time, I’ll go with you,” Zhang Ruochen said. “Don’t worry. I’ll do my best to keep you alive. After all, you’re still valuable to me.”
Whether Zhu Qingyi really wanted to take revenge or was worried that Zhang Ruochen would erase her memory, she agreed in the end. She continued to search for the path.
Zhu Qingyi walked in the front. Zhang Ruochen and Qing Mo walked behind her. They stayed around 100 feet away from her, following carefully.
Qing Mo sent a telepathic message to Zhang Ruochen. “Why don’t you just wipe her memory so she’ll willingly test the path for us?”
“First, her will is very strong. I’m not fully confident in wiping her memory. Second, Situ Fengcheng won’t exchange the Fentian Sword for a Zhu Qingyi with memory loss.”
Next, they tried more than ten times. Zhu Qingyi was struck by the formation more than ten times and almost died each time. Finally, they found a safe path and neared Wuyuan Island.
Zhu Qingyi was tortured physically and mentally. No matter how strong her will was, she was already close to breaking down.
Before, she thought that humans were two-legged sheep. She could kill them at will and drink their blood, raising them like pigs and cows.
After meeting this human Spiritual Power Saint, everything changed. Instead, she became a two-legged sheep, while the other was like a wolf. He tortured her, leaving horrifying shadows in her mind.
Zhang Ruochen took out a piece of spiritual paper and drew the safe path. He also noted the places that could activate the formation.
“When we enter Wuyuan Island, there might be more dangers.” Zhang Ruochen trained his eyes on Zhu Qingyi.
Meeting his eyes, fear flashed past deep in Zhu Qingyi’s eyes. “I won’t continue to help you find the path. Kill me!”
“Oh?”
Zhang Ruochen’s ears twitched. He heard three sounds of wind coming from the distance. They didn’t stop until they reached the bank of Yuan Lake.
Three Saints in black robes appeared on the shore. They radiated evil Qi, making the air turn colder.
“I heard that Wuyuan Island has a Thousand-leaf Saint Heart Grass that has grown for 100,000 years. It’s the main medicine used for the Hua Divine Pill. I wonder if it’s true.”
“This news has already spread on Xianji Mountain. It can’t be false.”
The black-robed Saint at the front looked relatively young—around 30 years old. There were many belts on his waist. The belts were densely carved with runes and shone with silver light. It was obviously a powerful saint weapon.
He glanced at Zhang Ruochen’s trio. Eyes hardening, he said, “Someone actually got here before us.”
“Saints from the Black Market Excellence Hall.” Zhang Ruochen saw the Black Market Excellence Hall symbol on the sleeves of the three black-robed Saints, thus identifying them.
The three were extremely strong. The lead Saint was already in the Heaven Pass Realm. He was definitely a famous figure.
Whoosh, whoosh.
More wind sounds came one after another. More and more Saints arrived at the riverbank. They’d all heard the news and come to take the Thousand-leaf Saint Heart Grass.
Who had spread the information?
