Yuxin’s eyes instantly turned cold. Just as she was about to deliver a killing blow, a bolt of lightning struck her body, and another charred shell, scorched by lightning, molted off her. Yuxin directly turned into a wisp of black smoke and vanished. It was simply as if she had several lives, killed twice and still not dead, escaping yet again.
But this time Gu Baiqing had already anticipated it. He directly mobilized his spiritual power to drop a barrier sealing the entire small island. Added to Immortal Medicine Valley’s own defensive barrier, if Yuxin wanted to leave the island, she would inevitably reveal her whereabouts.
“Master!” Three Bean looked joyfully at the appearing Gu Baiqing and Mo Xuanli and rushed over at lightning speed. “Master, you’re here, why didn’t you tell me!”
“Three Bean, are you alright!” Gu Baiqing was extremely anxious. Would it be okay having swallowed the fragment?
Three Bean was just about to speak when Ao Hang, who was coiled around its neck, shifted and directly lashed out with his dragon tail, fiercely slapping Three Bean’s huge cat head.
“You dare swallow anything!” Ao Hang was furious. This kind of thing should have been his move. He had thought Three Bean was only charging in to attack, never expecting it to swallow it directly. If he were not continuously suppressing it with dragon breath right now, with Three Bean’s current body it would have already exploded and died.
“How is it?” Mo Xuanli hurriedly said. “Can you spit it out?”
“I can’t care about what’s going on here anymore. You take care of yourselves. I’ll take Three Bean to get the fragment out! Gu Baiqing, don’t cut off the spiritual power!” Ao Hang was so anxious that he ignored everyone else, directly grabbing Three Bean by the neck and forcibly dragging the cat away.
The two were worried, but they also trusted that Ao Hang would not let anything happen to Three Bean.
At this time, however, the Valley Master of Immortal Medicine Valley flew up, looking as if he intended to stop Three Bean from leaving. He had never seen Three Bean’s true form and did not know where this demonic beast had come from that dared to swallow the fragment. His eyes split with rage as he shouted, “Wicked beast, stop!”
Gu Baiqing turned his head. Already in his true appearance, carrying the pressure of the tribulation-transcending stage, he directly froze the Valley Master in place, his expression changing.
“You… you all…”
“Valley Master, shouldn’t what you need to handle right now be the matters below? Or is the Valley Master chasing something? Do you need help?” Gu Baiqing spoke utter nonsense with his eyes open. At the same time, he signaled Mo Xuanli with his gaze to go down and help. After all, below there were still many innocent people who had come to participate in the event. They could not withstand the spirit-gathering formation and the attacks of so many newly mutated man-eating demons.
At this point, the Valley Master finally guessed the identities of the two before him. Secretly possessing fragments already violated the cultivation world’s orders, not to mention that they had almost been snatched away by the demon clan. Added to the suddenly activated spirit-gathering formation, at this moment he truly had nothing to say, and could only watch helplessly as the fragment was taken away.
Other elders flew up to help, but all froze when facing Gu Baiqing, repeatedly signaling their own Valley Master, what should be done? They could not allow the only chance to save the divine tree to slip away. If the divine tree withered, what would become of Immortal Medicine Valley?
Just as the group of old men were sneaking glances at one another, Gu Baiqing directly swung Morning Snow through the air. “Why aren’t you going down to help? Don’t want your own home anymore?” It seemed like just a casual motion, yet it brought a powerful spiritual pressure that directly made the several old men unable to withstand it, forcing them to fall back down.
The Valley Master’s face was ugly, yet he did not dare to make a move against Gu Baiqing at all. He only heard Gu Baiqing say in a low, ghostly voice, “The Valley Master also wouldn’t want us to speak too much in Taixu Hall after we return, right?”
At this, the Valley Master truly had no way out. He could only obediently go down to help, so as not to lose both the miss and the troops.
And Gu Baiqing was instead sitting in midair on Morning Snow, wearing an inscrutable expression as he looked down at the situation below, as if serving as the final defensive checkpoint to prevent danger from spilling outward.
Only Gu Baiqing himself was panicking inside. Without realizing it, his points had already been used by him from four digits down to three digits. Although it looked like there were still many left, Gu Baiqing did not dare to continue being so reckless. Some things were best saved for moments when one’s life needed preserving. So now he was only maintaining the spiritual power on Three Bean’s side, barely allowing himself to fly by sword.
Of course, the spiritual power stored in the Mo Xuanli–brand rechargeable spirit treasure was quite abundant, but the current situation was controllable, so he still chose not to use it casually, to avoid trouble.
Looking down again, because the one who activated the spirit-gathering formation was Yuxin, the man-eating demons she created were not subject to attacks. Thus, the situation on the field was essentially the man-eating demons and the spirit-gathering formation jointly attacking the Immortal Medicine Valley disciples and the external witnesses. Naturally, Ji Chuling and Li Xiuran were also involved. After seeing the fragment swallowed by Three Bean, they began focusing on dealing with the spirit-gathering formation below. It could be said that the most troublesome attacks of the spirit-gathering formation were all borne by the two of them.
When Mo Xuanli went down, the burden on the two was instantly reduced. The three worked together with seamless coordination, making it quite a good trial.
At this moment, Mo Xuanli discovered that Lou Xuan, who should have been the strongest in Immortal Medicine Valley, was not present.
“Where is Lou Xuan!” Mo Xuanli pressed.
Ji Chuling said, “After changing the origin bone just now, he disappeared. He didn’t see the changes here. That kind of method probably consumes a lot of vital energy. He spat a lot of blood and should have gone back to rest. That… origin bone…” At this point, Ji Chuling’s expression subtly changed.
Mo Xuanli thought again of the white bones beneath the ground, and his expression became even uglier.
Li Xiuran directly said, “You go. The two of us are enough here. You go take a look.”
Mo Xuanli nodded. Just as he was about to withdraw, he heard Ji Chuling stammer, “If… she can be saved… then save her.”
Li Xiuran cast Ji Chuling a half-smiling, half-mocking glance.
Mo Xuanli said nothing more. He raised his head to look at Gu Baiqing, and Gu Baiqing happened to be looking at him as well, seemingly having also noticed the problem of Lou Xuan’s absence.
Mo Xuanli pointed in one direction. Gu Baiqing nodded in tacit understanding, turned around, and performed a small trick, leaving behind an afterimage to pretend he was still there, intimidating the Immortal Medicine Valley people so they would not act rashly. Immediately after, his true body flew straight toward Lou Xuan’s courtyard. Mo Xuanli followed from below.
The two soon arrived at the courtyard, but did not find anyone, so they quickly located the underground secret chamber.
Stepping in here once more, the environment inside had completely changed.
But at first glance, they saw Lou Zixiao, her back to the entrance, bound by chains and suspended in midair.
A bloody hole had been opened in Lou Zixiao’s back. Although the bleeding had stopped, Lou Zixiao herself was completely motionless, her life or death unknown.
When Mo Xuanli saw this scene, his entire body stiffened.
When he heard coughing coming from the front, Mo Xuanli almost did not think at all. He rapidly passed by Lou Zixiao and arrived in front of Lou Xuan.
Seeing Lou Xuan sitting cross-legged, Mo Xuanli could no longer suppress the fury in his heart. God Nine Transformations transformed into a sharp sword and was about to pierce Lou Xuan’s chest.
“Wait!”
Suddenly, Gu Baiqing’s voice sounded from behind.
Mo Xuanli’s movement froze. The red in his eyes fluctuated slightly, yet was still forcibly suppressed.
“Master, don’t stop me. He deserves to die!”
“Look more carefully. They should be connected by something right now.” Gu Baiqing frowned as he stepped forward. He could see an invisible stream of spiritual power connecting the two of them from Lou Zixiao’s body. He did not understand it, but he could not let Mo Xuanli strike recklessly.
Mo Xuanli’s sword did not withdraw and still threatened Lou Xuan’s life, but his gaze had shifted to carefully look at Lou Zixiao. He discovered that Lou Zixiao was not only still alive, she was even being healed by something.
At this time, Lou Xuan finally recovered from the uncontrollable coughing and looked toward the two.
“You really came…” Lou Xuan said as he looked at Mo Xuanli.
Mo Xuanli turned his head to look at Lou Xuan, his gaze cold and sharp like a blade.
“Then help me. By myself… I’m afraid I can’t do it anymore.” Lou Xuan said slowly.
Originally, when the divine tree bestowed blessings, one hundred living people were needed to stabilize the formation. Naturally, it was not to take their lives, only to use their vitality to stabilize it. But this time there were only half that number, so Lou Xuan had no choice but to consume his own spiritual power to assist. Unexpectedly, after returning, he found it difficult to hold on.
Mo Xuanli was stunned when he heard this. Gu Baiqing stepped forward and asked, “What are you doing?”
“Saving her.”
Mo Xuanli’s expression darkened instantly. He said sarcastically, “Saving her? A mixed-blood is worth saving? Or are you coveting something else on her body?”
Lou Xuan seemed to have no emotion at all, or perhaps he no longer had the strength for excess emotion.
“You are also a mixed-blood, aren’t you?” Lou Xuan suddenly said. “Helping her won’t trouble you, will it?”
Mo Xuanli’s expression changed slightly. “You…”
“After long-term research on how to conceal Xiao Xiao’s mixed-blood aura, I still have some sense of it.” Lou Xuan said calmly.
Gu Baiqing frowned slightly. “You weren’t hiding her identity for her sake. You were helping her adjust her physical condition, cultivating an origin bone suitable for replacing the God-Slaying Sword fragment, to save Lou Zihan. You were just using her life to exchange for Lou Zihan’s life. Lou Xuan, did you take her as a disciple for this reason? Don’t you think you yourself are cruel?”
Lou Xuan slowly raised his eyes to look at the unfamiliar Gu Baiqing, yet saw a look of compassion in Gu Baiqing’s eyes, as if he could not believe Lou Xuan would do such a thing.
Lou Xuan gave a faint smile, suddenly recalling events from many years ago. “At first, I truly did not think I was cruel… Back then, I found her still clinging to a breath of life among the corpses sent from the demon realm. It was only because I knew that an origin bone could be exchanged for Zihan’s life that the Valley Master and I decided to secretly hide her away. Originally, we never intended to… take her as a disciple.”
“Then why did you take her?”
“Perhaps… I was still not cruel enough. Seeing her so pitiful, suffering so much during the conditioning, I felt… I should give her a little hope of survival, so I pretended to be the one who saved her, and took her as my disciple.”
Actually, Lou Xuan had not lied. It was indeed conditioning her into the medicine most suitable for Lou Zihan, but at the same time it was also… truly helping Lou Zixiao conceal the mixed-blood aura. Otherwise, with the environment back then, even if they had the intention to hide it, they would not have been able to conceal the existence of a mixed-blood.
It was not Immortal Medicine Valley that would not let Lou Zixiao live, it was the world that would not let Lou Zixiao live.
“What you say really sounds lofty and dignified. You wanted her origin bone, how many chances did you really have of keeping her alive? It was nothing more than fattening her up before slaughtering her. The fact that she survived was merely good luck. It would have been better to let her die back then than to let her endure all this suffering.” Mo Xuanli said coldly. If it were his choice, he would rather die at the very beginning when he knew nothing, rather than be made to die after experiencing all the suffering. How could he be willing to accept that?
Lou Xuan coughed lightly and raised his head to look at Lou Zixiao suspended in midair. Gu Baiqing noticed that the emotion in Lou Xuan’s eyes was very real, not false or perfunctory.
“You’re right, so I made other plans.” After saying this, Lou Xuan lowered his head and looked at his own abdomen.
At this moment, a ray of light lit up from his dantian, and some kind of formation was on his body.
“Since I took her in, I must take responsibility for her future. That is what a qualified master should do, and her future originally cannot have an origin bone.” As he said this, Lou Xuan’s gaze gradually firmed as he looked at Mo Xuanli. “A mixed-blood can completely become human. I want Xiaoxiao to become human, to live openly and uprightly in the cultivation world.”
As soon as these words came out, Mo Xuanli’s expression changed drastically, and Gu Baiqing was also shocked. The only method they currently knew was the God-Slaying Sword that they had heard about from the half-step immortal.
“What method do you have?!” Mo Xuanli said excitedly.
Lou Xuan naturally saw Mo Xuanli’s expression and said, “It’s useless to you. One must change the constitution from childhood, change the origin bone.”
Mo Xuanli’s expression changed several times. The tension in his body still could not relax, as if he had suddenly seen hope only to be struck back into disappointment. One could imagine his mood.
“Tell us exactly how. Perhaps we can improve it.” Gu Baiqing said.
Mo Xuanli was stunned for a moment, then looked at Lou Xuan. “What you said… is it true?”
Lou Xuan said, “Now you can help me, right? I don’t have much time left. Help me, and I will tell you everything.”
Having said this far, they were not afraid that this man would harm Lou Zixiao again. After all, it was under their eyes. Whatever he wanted to do, they could see it.
So the two agreed to cooperate. In fact, it only required Mo Xuanli to lend spiritual power to Lou Xuan.
Mo Xuanli had thought it would be some great technique that consumed a lot, but once he made contact with Lou Xuan’s body, he realized that Lou Xuan was truly at the end of his strength. Only then did Mo Xuanli remember that Lou Zixiao had once seemed to say that her master’s body was not very good either and required long-term recuperation.
And now, Mo Xuanli could be completely certain that Lou Xuan’s body was not simply unwell, but was actually on the verge of death.
The oil in the lamp being exhausted was not a momentary thing, but something long-lasting.
“You’re about to die.” Mo Xuanli said.
“I know.” Lou Xuan’s tone was flat, as if he did not care. He calmly absorbed Mo Xuanli’s spiritual power, until the formation at his dantian began to function, and the spiritual power connecting the two finally became thicker and thicker, until it completely stabilized.
Gu Baiqing looked back and forth and then said, “You… were already seriously injured back during that incident?”
“Yes. To make up for my mistake, to protect the only child left behind by my senior brother and sister-in-law, I forcibly endured it. I didn’t expect that I would end up with another small attachment. But things also coincidentally worked out, Heaven finally gave me a bit of luck.”
Lou Xuan slowly recounted the truth of the matter, while at the same time the connection at the dantian between him and Lou Zixiao grew ever tighter.
The dantian is where the spiritual root resides. Naturally, it is slightly different in a mixed-blood’s dantian, there, the spiritual root and demonic root are intertwined.
Back then, he knew his life would not last long and understood that after his death there would certainly be no one to protect Lou Zixiao. The only way to let her live was to change the mixed-blood constitution.
And according to his research, it had to be approached from two aspects. First, dig out the origin bone, which perfectly aligned with saving Lou Zihan. Second, replace the spiritual root.
Gu Baiqing suddenly recalled that the research books he had seen back then did seem to have methods of replacing spiritual roots, but because spiritual roots differ from person to person and reject one another, replacement was impossible. However, Lou Xuan was a genius medical cultivator, and Gu Baiqing did not dare to draw a conclusion.
According to Lou Xuan’s method, when Lou Zixiao was very young, the direction of the adjustments had already changed. It was not only to cultivate the origin bone, but also to change her constitution. In this way, it could both prevent her from encountering danger in the future because of digging out the origin bone, and conceal her mixed-blood aura to suppress her development, thus also avoiding the possibility of her halfway falling into demonic cultivation.
While changing her constitution, Lou Xuan was also changing his own constitution while treating himself. It could be said that all the suffering Lou Zixiao endured, he endured as well.
Lou Xuan deliberately adjusted the constitutions of the two to a similar degree. All those years of preparation were for this moment.
Suddenly, the light connecting the two flared brightly. When the light flashed past, the two of them spat blood at the same time.
Lou Zixiao fell straight down from midair and was caught by Gu Baiqing, and at this moment Gu Baiqing was already shocked.
Previously, after Lou Zixiao’s origin bone had been dug out, someone of Gu Baiqing’s level could still tell that she was a mixed-blood. But now, in Gu Baiqing’s eyes, Lou Zixiao was already an ordinary person—no… more precisely, a person with a very high-quality wood-element spiritual root. And originally Lou Zixiao was not wood-element, so… it was Lou Xuan’s spiritual root inside Lou Zixiao’s body.
Only the aura was still somewhat strange, yet one could no longer say she was a mixed-blood. Because she could no longer release demonic qi, even the Divine Hidden Gods Clan’s tests would not be able to detect it.
Looking again at Lou Xuan, he directly collapsed and was supported by Mo Xuanli. His body fundamentally could not adapt to the mixed-blood’s kind of dual spiritual-demonic roots, so at this moment his eyes alternated between black and red, and he began to vomit blood incessantly again. Mo Xuanli quickly checked and instantly stiffened, knowing there was no turning back.
Yet he curled the corner of his mouth and smiled, like a mad experimenter, happy that his experiment had been proven successful.
“It worked…”
If it hadn’t worked, he probably would have taken Lou Zixiao with him and left. After all, without him, a mixed-blood like Lou Zixiao wouldn’t be able to survive.
Mo Xuanli was also dazed as he sensed Lou Zixiao. He could still feel the aura of the same kind, but it was completely different now. That kind of aura was something cultivators would absolutely not consider to belong to a mixed-blood.
Lou Xuan had truly done what he said he would. He used his final value to change Lou Zixiao’s fate.
Now Mo Xuanli no longer knew whether he should help Lou Zixiao resent Lou Xuan, or whether he should…
Just at this moment, Lou Zixiao slowly woke up. As soon as she opened her eyes, she naturally sensed the familiar spiritual energy within her body. Then, seeing her master’s miserable state, she was instantly so shocked that she couldn’t react.
“Master… I didn’t die?”
“You didn’t die. I said I would let you leave this place.” Lou Xuan said calmly. “And I also said I would cure you.”
Lou Zixiao’s expression was blank. She still remembered the pain when her origin bone was dug out, and she naturally also remembered that fleeting glimmer of tears in her master’s eyes when he made his move. She had resentment, she had hatred, but she still couldn’t bear to retaliate against her master, because her master was her entire world. So she willingly sacrificed herself, foolishly repaying him with her life.
But why was it her master who was about to die now?
“Master… Master…” Lou Zixiao couldn’t help but crawl toward Lou Xuan. She felt that her master was about to be gone, that she was about to lose her master forever. But her body was bound by iron chains. Gu Baiqing couldn’t bear it and directly waved the chains away, letting her go to Lou Xuan.
And Mo Xuanli, too, watched all of this with a heavy heart. Lou Xuan pushed Mo Xuanli aside. He was still able to sit on his own, to give this little disciple some final instructions.
Mo Xuanli could only retreat, coming to stand by his own master’s side.
“Master, don’t leave me… what exactly is going on?” Lou Zixiao cried in fear, crawling over and directly collapsing onto Lou Xuan’s legs, trembling uncontrollably.
“Xiaoxiao, from now on you can live a normal life. As your master, I wish you a future with a bright and promising path.” Lou Xuan spoke slowly, raising his hand to lift Lou Zixiao’s face. Seeing his little disciple crying like a little flower cat again, he finally reached out to wipe away her tears. Such a worrying disciple, really.
“Master… don’t…” Lou Zixiao shook her head in panic, crying so hard that her mind had gone blank.
“Don’t worry… you won’t suffer.” Lou Xuan was just about to do something.
But just at this moment, a voice came through, “Why… Lou Xuan… are you deceiving me, are you playing with me?”
Only to see Lou Zihan staggering as she rushed over.
Gu Baiqing and Mo Xuanli were about to stop her, but they saw Lou Xuan make a gesture indicating it was unnecessary, allowing Lou Zihan to pounce over.
“I’m sorry, Zihan. You and Xiaoxiao are equally important in my eyes. Xiaoxiao can also be considered to have saved your life, and she is my only disciple. She will leave in the future, and I hope you and the Immortal Medicine Valley can both let her go. This is my final request.” Lou Xuan pleaded softly.
But Lou Zihan did not answer. Instead, she stared blankly at Lou Xuan as his complexion turned more and more ashen. She knew she was about to lose Lou Xuan, and all of this was because of… right! It was because of Lou Zixiao, that mixed-blood b*stard!
Lou Zihan had originally been kneeling in front of Lou Xuan, lowering her head and crying.
The instant she raised her head, Lou Xuan froze. He saw that her eyes were blood-red, not from crying, but…
Gu Baiqing and Mo Xuanli both sensed demonic energy at the same time. In that instant, Lou Zihan turned her hand into a blade and stabbed toward the dazed Lou Zixiao, who was crying beside her.
The residual fragmentary power, combined with the new origin bone power, plus the fact that she had already fallen into demonic cultivation, caused Lou Zihan’s strength to skyrocket.
The three of them were too close, and it was already too late for anyone else to save her.
They only heard a puchi sound as a hand pierced straight through a chest.
But Lou Zihan froze, because the chest she had pierced was Lou Xuan’s. Lou Zixiao was also stunned. Looking at her master blocking in front of her, blood spraying from his chest, it was as if all the blood in her own body had frozen solid.
In the next second, Lou Zihan was sent flying by Mo Xuanli.
And Lou Xuan was completely out of strength, collapsing directly into Lou Zixiao’s arms, barely clinging to life.
“Master!” Lou Zixiao screamed, panicking as she used healing techniques on Lou Xuan’s wound, but it was already useless. “Master… don’t die… don’t leave me. I’ll die, I’ll die. I can’t live without you. Even if you don’t love me, that’s fine, I just want you by my side. Why don’t you understand… without you, how could I possibly have a future! Don’t leave me, don’t!”
Lou Zixiao’s sobs were heart-rending, but Lou Xuan no longer had much strength left to comfort her, nor did he have any spare mind to care about Lou Zihan, who had fallen into demonic cultivation. He had done everything he could. He had already tried his best.
But seeing his little disciple cry like this still made him somewhat sorrowful.
He lay in Lou Zixiao’s trembling arms, giving her one last deep look, then smiled faintly and raised his finger to tap her forehead.
“Don’t be afraid, very soon you won’t be sad anymore.”
A beam of light suddenly spread out from Lou Zixiao’s forehead, and her emotions seemed to be pressed with a pause button, stopping abruptly.
Mo Xuanli went to pursue and kill Lou Zihan, while Gu Baiqing watched in a daze. That was… a spell to expel all memories.
And it was an array that had been set up long ago. This moment was merely its activation.
So it turned out that long, long ago, Lou Xuan had already made this plan.
Lou Zixiao also realized something, stubbornly forcing herself not to close her eyes, as if she knew that once she closed them, it would all be over, that she would lose the most important thing in her life. But no matter how wildly her tears fell, she still could not stop the already formed array.
Her eyes slowly closed, and the person reflected in Lou Zixiao’s eyes, the person she loved the most, gradually became blurred… unfamiliar.
“Master…”
That final call was very soft, heard only by Lou Xuan. Lou Xuan curved his lips and softly responded.
He was deeply grateful for Lou Zixiao’s appearance. It had given his life, which had been nothing more than waiting for death while trying to save Lou Zihan and make up for his mistakes, a different kind of hope. It wasn’t that he saved Lou Zixiao, but that Lou Zixiao had saved him.
Lou Zixiao collapsed and was supported by Gu Baiqing.
“You…” Gu Baiqing looked at Lou Xuan.
Lou Xuan was already at the end of his strength, his eyes gradually closing.
“Thank you. I hope you can take her away and don’t let her know anything about what happened here. Lastly… I’ll tell you about the use of the Divine Tree’s blessing on mixed-bloods, consider it a token of thanks.” Lou Xuan spoke slowly, one hand gently holding Lou Zixiao’s hand. In the end, his grip gradually lost strength, loosened, and fell.
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