Chapter 61: Vina's Fluttering Heart, I'll Listen to Everything You Say
"Hoo..."
Liu Yuan pushed himself up from the damp earth, his muscles trembling slightly as he exhaled a long, ragged breath.
He looked down at his torso. The massive, gaping hole—bored straight through his chest and abdomen by the Death Spider Emperor's razor-sharp scythe-claws—had already knitted shut. The Undying Body's terrifying regenerative power had forcefully stitched the shredded tissue and shattered bone back together, leaving behind only a patch of slightly pale, unblemished skin.
'Is it finally gone?'
He didn't stand up immediately. Remaining low to the ground, the crimson light within his Double Pupils flickered with a faint, dangerous intensity. He swept his gaze through the dense underbrush, carefully filtering through the chaotic ambient energies of the forest.
Only when he was absolutely certain that the suffocating, oppressive aura of the hundred-thousand-year Death Spider Emperor had faded into the deepest shadows of the jungle did he allow his tense shoulders to drop.
Liu Yuan knew the rules of this world too well. The perceptive instincts of these apex Soul Beast overlords were terrifyingly acute. If he had allowed even a fraction of his vigorous life force to leak out the moment he was thrown clear, that monstrous arachnid would have undoubtedly doubled back to finish the job.
Still, lingering here was a death sentence.
The cloying stench of fresh blood, mixed with the violent, lingering residue of a Soul Sage's self-detonation, would act as a beacon for every predatory Soul Beast within a ten-mile radius of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Pushing himself to his feet, Liu Yuan swayed for a fraction of a second before stabilizing his stance. He walked over to the mangled remains of the Evil Soul Master, which had been brutally torn apart by the spider's frenzied strikes.
The man was dead. His soul had been completely eroded by the spider's lethal neurotoxins, leaving behind nothing but rotting meat. Yet, Liu Yuan's pragmatism bordered on paranoia.
He channeled his soul power, his Double Pupils flaring with a cold, golden-red brilliance. Two concentrated beams of destructive light shot forth, incinerating the severed head and obliterating the chest cavity. Only after reducing the corpse to unrecognizable ash, ensuring absolutely zero possibility of some foul resurrection technique, did he turn and vanish into the treeline.
Meanwhile, hidden within a damp, narrow cave several miles away.
Vina pressed her back tightly against the freezing stone wall. She had forcefully compressed the perception radius of her Brain Martial Soul to its absolute limit, daring only to project her senses within a meager hundred-meter sphere. Any further, and she risked drawing unwanted attention.
'Liu Yuan... are you alright?'
Her slender fingers twisted the hem of her robes. She gripped the fabric so tightly that her knuckles had turned completely white, the fine silk threatening to tear under the strain.
During their desperate flight, Liu Yuan had made the cold, calculated decision to split up.
Relying on his terrifyingly sharp observation skills, he had deduced that the Evil Soul Master possessed a specialized tracking technique locked specifically onto his aura.
To prevent Vina from becoming collateral damage, and to ensure she could provide tactical support from a secure vantage point, he had forcefully hidden her in this crevice.
His judgment, as always, had been flawlessly accurate.
Not long ago, the terrifying pressure of that seven-ring Soul Sage had swept directly past this area. Because the hunter's focus was entirely consumed by Liu Yuan's lingering scent, and because Vina had perfectly masked her soul power fluctuations exactly as instructed, the Evil Soul Master had completely overlooked her hiding spot.
Yet, this temporary safety brought her no comfort. It only plunged her into a suffocating abyss of anxiety.
She understood the brutal reality of the cultivation world. What did it mean for a Rank 39 Soul Elder to face a seven-ring Soul Sage?
It was a chasm of power so vast that no amount of raw talent could easily bridge it.
Initially, her concern for Liu Yuan might have been rooted in cold imperial pragmatism. He was the peerless genius of the Body Sect, a critical asset, and an indispensable future ally for the Heavenly Soul Empire.
But as the agonizing minutes ticked by, that political calculus had quietly melted away.
From the moment she truly understood her imperial father's grand design and accepted her role, to the subtle, unspoken bond they had forged during their journey to the capital, and finally to today's harrowing, life-and-death struggle in the primeval forest... Liu Yuan's presence had carved out an immovable place in her heart.
More than his talent, it was his suffocating reliability.
Since the day they met, whenever disaster struck, he was always there. He would step forward, placing his body between her and death without a second thought.
That back—not overly broad, yet impossibly steady—had unknowingly become her greatest source of comfort.
Vina was a proud woman. As a princess of the Empire and a genius possessing Twin Martial Souls, she was accustomed to bearing the weight of the world alone. She solved her own problems. She fought her own battles.
But standing behind Liu Yuan, she felt a deep, grounding sense of security. For the first time in her life, she felt she could completely surrender her guard.
The trope of a hero saving a beauty was an ancient, worn-out cliché. But when the jaws of death were snapping shut around you, the visceral impact of someone tearing you from the abyss was irreplaceable.
Just as her thoughts threatened to spiral into despair, a faint rustling echoed from the dense foliage masking the cave entrance.
Vina's breath hitched. Her muscles locked instantly. The defensive formation of her Brain Martial Soul flared to life, her beautiful eyes narrowing into a sharp glare of mingled terror and lethal vigilance.
Then, a familiar hand pushed aside the thick vines.
The moment Liu Yuan stepped into the dim light of the cavern, Vina's iron composure shattered.
Casting aside every lesson of imperial decorum and reserved grace, she threw herself forward, crashing into his chest and wrapping her arms tightly around his waist.
"Thank the heavens, you're alive..." Her voice trembled, cracking under the weight of her relief. She pressed her cheek against his chest, listening to the steady, powerful thumping of his heart. It was beating slightly faster than usual, but it was strong. It was alive. "Where... where is the Evil Soul Master?"
"He's dead."
Liu Yuan's voice was flat, carrying the calm exhaustion of a man who had just walked through hell and returned.
Vina's delicate frame stiffened. She pushed back slightly, her eyes wide with absolute disbelief as she stared up at his face. "Dead? That was a seven-ring Soul Sage... You killed him?"
Liu Yuan didn't waste breath on a detailed recounting of his brutal survival. He simply grasped her hand, his tone turning sharp and authoritative. "This isn't the place to linger. The residual aura of the Death Spider Emperor is going to attract things far worse than a Soul Sage. We need to move now. I'll explain on the way."
Vina instantly swallowed her shock, her imperial training kicking back in. She nodded firmly.
Without a moment's hesitation, Liu Yuan swept her off her feet, catching her in a practiced, secure bridal carry.
This time, Vina felt no trace of shyness or hesitation. Her arms naturally looped around his neck, her body instinctively pressing flush against his chest to minimize their aerodynamic drag.
She didn't even realize how deeply she had acclimated to his touch. Her mind and body no longer mounted any resistance to such intimate proximity; it had simply become a natural, comforting reflex.
Liu Yuan's soul power flared. The Qilin Precious Technique activated, sending pulses of brilliant ice-blue light surging through his legs. With a powerful leap, he carried them both into the dense canopy, blurring into a streak of light that shot through the shadows of the ancient forest.
As the wind roared past their ears, Liu Yuan gave a brief, clinical summary of how he had manipulated the hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast, using the apex predator as a borrowed blade to execute his pursuer.
He kept the description sparse, omitting the agonizing details of his near-fatal impalement. But Vina was smart enough to read between the lines. She could vividly picture the razor's edge he had danced upon.
To formulate such a deranged, suicidal plan while being hunted by a superior opponent, to execute it with flawless precision, and to seize the single, fleeting window of survival... Liu Yuan's sheer ruthlessness and tactical genius left her in genuine awe.
"I owe you my life again," Vina murmured, resting her chin against his shoulder, her voice barely audible over the rushing wind. "If you hadn't drawn him away and orchestrated that trap, neither of us would be leaving the Star Dou Great Forest alive."
Liu Yuan offered a faint, dismissive smile. "Save the gratitude for when we're actually safe. Focus on the route."
He adjusted his grip slightly, his eyes fixed on the thinning treeline ahead. "According to the map, once we cross this sector, the Star Luo Empire's border is just ahead."
His voice shifted into a commanding, pragmatic cadence. "The moment we cross into Star Luo territory, we head straight for the nearest major city and secure an audience with the local City Lord."
"We use their military channels to establish immediate contact with the Star Luo royal family. Simultaneously, we send priority distress signals back to the Heavenly Soul royal family and the Body Sect."
Liu Yuan's eyes darkened, the memory of the ambush flashing through his mind. "Ju Chui Douluo is powerful, but Old Ghost Tree-Infant is also a Titled Douluo, and her methods are deeply unnatural. Old Luo might not be able to suppress her indefinitely, and we have to assume she has backup. We need to mobilize Titled Douluo from both the Star Luo Empire and the Body Sect to reinforce us. We cannot afford a single misstep."
Listening to his cold, methodical breakdown of their survival strategy, Vina felt an overwhelming sense of trust wash over her. Every word he spoke was steeped in obvious logic.
She tightened her arms around his neck, her voice soft but entirely resolute.
"Mm... I will listen to everything you say."
[Akarin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/AkarinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/AkarinTL
🔗 All My Links: linktr[.]ee/AkarinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]