Lin Dalu and Xiang'er uttered a groan of pain almost simultaneously, instantly entangled by the vines as they strangled into their flesh! Bones felt like they would shatter, and their blood roared backward in a chaotic surge. A strong sense of suffocation and sharp pain swept through their entire bodies.
"Lu Lang—!"
"Xiang'er—!"
The two's gazes met, their voices filled with pain and even more with endless worry. Lin Dalu's face quickly turned a purplish-red, his chest tightened by the immense force, making breathing difficult. His vision began to turn black, and he nearly fainted.
Diao Sandai stepped forward a few paces, tilting his head to observe Xiang'er as she struggled within the vines, a cold smile crossing his face. His voice was filled with doubt, "Uncle, your nephew is dull and truly does not understand. She is but a little girl at Qi Refinement Level 7. Even if she is somewhat special, why would it require you to personally step in to capture her? If the Pavilion Master, the old gentleman himself, wished for her life, the experts in the pavilion would surely vie to do it."
Diao Zeyi narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping over Xiang'er with a cold, unmistakably suggestive intent, while a filthy hint lingered in his smile. "Do you know that the Pavilion Master's mind is as deep as an abyssal trench? This old man also dares not speculate wildly. Perhaps... it is because her mother has not been satisfactory to the Pavilion Master, and the old flame has lost her charm and is no longer held in high regard? Hehehe..." He emitted a burst of hair-raising low laughter.
Hearing this, Xiang'er felt as if struck by lightning. She looked up abruptly and shouted a question, her voice trembling from extreme anger, "Diao Zeyi! You... what have you actually done to my mother?!"
Diao Zeyi did not answer, but only controlled his sword to approach a few more inches, almost pressing against the outside of the vine cage. His gaze was cold and sticky, scanning back and forth across Xiang'er's face, as he said slowly, "Your mother privately opened the Pavilion Protective Grand Formation to let you escape; this is a Great Crime of Betraying the Pavilion, equivalent to treason. For such a heavy crime, what her end will be is not something this old man dares to decide arbitrarily. Naturally, it must be handled by the Pavilion Master himself... 'personally holding her accountable'—hehe, haha... hahaha!" He deliberately elongated those four words, the malice contained within being self-evident.
[Illustration ↓]
https://i.postimg.cc/gc5sTPxr/Q0011C.jpg
"You lie! My mother would never..." Xiang'er struggled desperately, the spiritual power in her body circulating rapidly regardless of the cost, attempting to break through the constraints. Faint streaks of white gas flashed on her body's surface, but her breath became even more disordered due to her anxiety. Her spiritual power, like a chaotic tide, struck the vines, only to be quietly absorbed and neutralized by the eerie black glow flowing on the vine surfaces, all in vain.
"Qiu Shengshui! What on earth did he do to my mother?! Tell me!" Xiang'er's tears flowed like a fountain as she screamed with all her might, her voice filled with despair.
A cruel and excited light flashed in Diao Zeyi's eyes. He seemed to greatly enjoy her pain at this moment as he lowered his voice, like a demon's whisper, "Hehe—to protect you, this rebellious daughter, and help you escape, she enraged the Pavilion Master and committed an unpardonable sin. During these days you were not in the pavilion, she could only use her own body to endure the Pavilion Master's punishment in your stead, performing the duties that were meant for you!"
"What!" Xiang'er shook violently, as if ice water had been poured over her head, chilling her to the bone. Tears instantly filled her eyes, sliding down her pale cheeks. Her pearly teeth bit down hard, almost breaking them.
"Qiu Shengshui! You old beast! You who aid him in his wickedness are also brutes!!"
Diao Zeyi laughed loudly upon hearing this and flicked his sleeve robe!
"Gazhi—gazhi—!"
[Illustration ↓]
https://i.postimg.cc/VsTgVcJS/Q0011F.jpg
The vines responded by tightening frantically again, emitting the scalp-numbing sound of friction!
"The Pavilion Master allowed you to live until now only because he considers the Sacred Relic hidden within your body to still be of use. In this old man's view, you and your mother are essentially no different; both are merely treated as objects! Since you have fallen into my hands tonight, then resign yourself to fate and come back with me. Perhaps you can suffer a bit less physical pain!"
"In your dreams—!!" Filled with grief and indignation, Xiang'er forcefully channeled the little spiritual power left in her body. The white gas around her flashed violently once more in a final attempt! However, the black glow on the vines flourished, and an even stronger backlash force suddenly struck, making her Qi and blood churn. Her throat felt sweet as a strand of bright red blood slowly spilled from the corner of her lips. Despite her injuries, her eyes remained as resolute as cold stars, glaring unyieldingly at Diao Zeyi.
Diao Zeyi snorted coldly, his withered fingers lifting slightly as he muttered a cryptic incantation, "Binding Vine Spirit Shackle, Meridian Lock Qi Seal!"
In an instant, the light on the vines entangling Xiang'er brightened intensely. The thorns on the surface wriggled and coiled like living things, locking tightly into her Meridian Nodes and Acupoints! The white gas that had just lit up on her body's surface was like a candle in the wind, extinguished in an instant. Her aura rapidly withered away. Lin Dalu, who was tightly strangled, emitted a suppressed muffled groan, more blood seeping from the corners of his mouth, his consciousness already on the verge of fading, his vision beginning to blur.
"Heh, a body of mortal flesh, fragile as paper, yet dares to display such base courage?" Diao Zeyi looked down from above, his face full of a grim smile. The flying sword beneath his feet sensed its master's mood and emitted a slight hum, its emerald-ghostly sword light flickering uncertainly like a life-taking talisman suspended under the pitch-black sky.
In the air, a faint scent of blood and the smell of damp, rotting earth drifted, interweaving into a nauseating odor. The thorny vines were still slowly wriggling and tightening, making low "shua-shua" sounds like the wailing of ghosts, appearing particularly terrifying in this dead-silent night.
Lin Dalu's eyes barely opened a slit, his field of vision a blurred crimson. He struggled to turn his eyes, trying to see Xiang'er not far away through the gaps in the vines... but in the end, he lost consciousness.
The night was deep. A half-waning moon hung from the broken clouds, casting cold radiance on the ground. The earth pulse vibrated slightly, appearing and disappearing, revealing a faint light. The air was thick with the scent of blood, and even the night wind blew with a damp, cold, bloody sweetness.
Xiang'er's breath was weak, her consciousness like floating dust. Before her eyes, it was sometimes pitch black, sometimes filled with a flash of light. By her ear, however, a strand of voice seemed to slowly drift over, gentle and familiar, as if from another lifetime.
That voice called softly, "Yun'er... Yun'er..."
Xiang'er's heart trembled, and a tear slid from the corner of her eye. It was her father's voice. That loving tone, that warm aura—she had never forgotten them in her life.
Her thoughts surged as she remembered what her father, Fang Cheng, had once said, "This object is named—'Life-Time Heaven'. It is a Divine Object from the Upper Realm that occasionally falls into the Kunwu Realm and was obtained by the Nightmare Corpse Sect. Because of the loyalty of the Underworld Nightmare Prefecture, this treasure was specially bestowed upon them. After much deliberation, the Prefecture Head finally chose the Gui Chi Gate to bear this heavy responsibility, and it is managed by our Yin Spirit Pavilion. This treasure must perform Spirit Nurturing by the Profound Yin Spirit to accomplish the future plans of the Grand Sect. This object absorbs a person's life force but also performs Spirit Nurturing of the nourisher's Spirit Root. However, when the life force of the one performing Spirit Nurturing is nearly exhausted, or a better person is encountered, it will spontaneously seek the next nourisher. It goes in cycles, like a curse... the only strict requirement is that the nourisher must hold a 'thought of life' and be willing to survive; only then can it work. If the mind seeks death, the spiritual power will not be contained."
Her father had a grave expression back then, his hand trembling slightly, "Yun'er, you and I are both of the Dual-Life Profound Yin Spirit, and both are suitable for this object. But you must never let Qiu Shengshui know. Otherwise, once I breathe my last, I fear you will follow in my footsteps. But this object has a hidden peculiarity: if Spirit Nurturing is done through Forced Cultivation Advancement, one can quickly gain cultivation, but at that time, the lifespan will be severely depleted and the physical form will age rapidly."
[Illustration ↓]
https://i.postimg.cc/59GgRMXQ/Q0011GB.jpg
At that time, the young Fang Yun, worried for her father, had asked urgently with a sob in her voice, "Father! Why don't you accelerate the Spirit Nurturing? Even if it costs your lifespan, in exchange for a surge in cultivation, perhaps you can fight that Qiu Shengshui!"
Hearing this, an extremely bitter smile appeared on Fang Cheng's face. He struggled to lift his hand to gently stroke his beloved daughter's soft hair, his eyes full of helplessness, pity, and deep reluctance, "Yun'er... you think too simply. I am stuck at Qi Refinement Level 13 and have long failed to achieve Foundation Establishment. Even if I exhaust my life force to force an advancement, at most I would be at Mid Foundation Establishment or Late Foundation Establishment... that Qiu Shengshui is already a Core Formation cultivator with profound cultivation. We father and daughter are like fireflies to the bright moon; how can we compete? What's more... he uses the lives of you and your mother to coerce me. I... I can only stay my hand, afraid to strike the vessel lest I break the jade..." He coughed violently, his breath becoming even weaker. "Therefore... I can only do my best to delay, performing Spirit Nurturing slowly, hoping to endure a few more years and linger on, to... win a glimmer of a chance for you to escape this place..."
That scene made the sea of Xiang'er's heart surge, as if countless fragmented shadows were swirling in the darkness, like a dream sealed by time, gently lifting the softest corner of her heart. Her father's face and voice were extremely clear, yet in the next moment, they scattered as light dust and vanished into the mist. Tears moistened her temples as she struggled to lift her gaze, her vision moving with difficulty through her disheveled hair to land on the figure not far away, tightly bound by vines, his face already black-purple and his breath dying. Lin Dalu, this honest and sincere man who was yet as meticulous as a hair, did not hesitate to take risks to protect her, using his mortal body to resist a cultivator. Now his life was as thin as a silk thread, as if it would break in the next moment. Those eyes that always carried a smile were tightly closed, and his once powerful arms hung powerlessly. She could wait no longer... because that would be a consequence she could never bear.
The night wind struck, dust and mist churned, and the moonlight broke through the clouds, scattering like crushed silver over the mountains and fields, so cold it was bone-chilling.
——(End of Chapter)