In the room, Ling Xi’s brows remained furrowed, his gaze an unreadable mix of anxiety and helplessness, but his voice was exceptionally low and urgent.
“Where is the body?”
Several disciples lowered their heads, their faces filled with fear. “Senior Brother… we couldn’t find it.”
The wrinkles between Ling Xi’s brows deepened, his voice turning to an extreme coldness. “Alive, they must be found; dead, the body must be recovered.”
His voice was somewhat hoarse, bloodshot veins appearing in his eyes, looking utterly exhausted, his gaze still as icy as ever.
“There’s a barrier at the foot of the mountain… we couldn’t get in.”
A barrier?
Ling Xi’s brows twitched, his gaze sweeping over the disciples.
The disciples kept their heads lowered, their voices growing even softer.
That meant there was still a possibility she was alive?
The light in Ling Xi’s eyes grew deeper, carrying a sense of anticipation. “Everyone stay put, I’ll go find her.”
Ling Xi turned and left, leaving behind only his retreating figure for the disciples. By the time they wanted to stop him, the white jade dragon boat had already soared into the mist.
Beside the Peach Blossom Valley barrier, Ye Ziling was reinforcing the barrier with a spell.
It had been a significant oversight the last time mountain bandits had entered the valley when the barrier was weak. If she hadn’t intervened, the people of the Sacred Medical Clan would likely have all perished, repeating the tragedy of the previous massacre.
Now, injured, she needed to recover here. Once she had settled her clansmen, the three major academies would face their doom.
“Cough, cough…”
Halfway through reinforcing the barrier, Ye Ziling coughed twice into her palm. Her mortal body had been submerged in the river for nearly three days. Her injuries were not severe, just a slight cold.
“Saintess Sister, are you alright?” Shuan Zi looked at her thin clothes, standing in the wind as if she could be blown over, and held her arm with concern.
“I’m fine.”
Ye Ziling glanced at him, a hand seal forming in her palm. In a short while, she reinforced the barrier and, as a result, set up an illusionary spell to conceal the entrance.
The boy watched as the cave entrance transformed into a rock, blending seamlessly with the mountainside. With clear eyes, he asked her, “Saintess Sister, what kind of spell is this? It’s so magical! Can you teach me when we get back?”
Seeing his excited expression, Ye Ziling raised a hand and stroked his head, chuckling. “Good boy, I’ll teach you later.”
The boy nodded firmly, a flicker of anticipation in his eyes.
As Ye Ziling took a step to turn, she paused, feeling it was not entirely reliable. She stopped abruptly.
Given Qing Bo’s suspicious nature, he would surely send the three major academies to search for her body. She needed to be cautious.
“Shuan Zi, among the mountain bandits from a few days ago, were there any female corpses?”
Shuan Zi pondered for a moment, then looked up and replied, “I remember when Valley Master Brother asked me to help dispose of the bodies, there seemed to be a few female bandits.”
Ye Ziling smiled at him, hooking her lips. “Help me with a favor, and I’ll teach you some swordsmanship later, alright?”
Her smile was charming, her features exquisite, and a teardrop mole at the corner of her eye rippled slightly with her blinks, making her exceptionally beautiful.
Shuan Zi was stunned for a moment, then reacted immediately and nodded enthusiastically, “Great!”
Ling Xi gazed intently from Myriad Immortals Cliff for a moment, confirming the location where Ye Ziling had fallen. He then took his dragon boat to search the foot of the mountain, but still found nothing.
If that damned beast were here, a single locating spell would solve everything, saving him from this futile search among the weeds.
It was a pity he had already driven it away.
But in his heart, he didn’t wish to find any body. At this moment, he felt as if he were gambling, betting that she was still alive.
A flicker of determination crossed Ling Xi’s eyes. He let his fingertips be stained with fresh blood but did not stop his actions.
He bent over, pulling out a branch from the weeds, and probed inch by inch. He discovered residual bloodstains on it, followed the trail for a while, and found a bloody, mangled corpse behind a rock.
The body lay on its back, its face crushed and rotten, but its figure was excellent, making it easy to tell she had been a rare beauty in life.
Her face was a bloody mess, splattered with a lot of blood. He reached out and gently wiped it, his fingertips coming away covered in blood.
Ling Xi’s eyes widened abruptly, his pupils contracting, his knuckles turning white.
He quickly withdrew his hand, but his eyes remained fixed on the corpse on the ground, not moving away for a long time.
His breathing gradually grew heavier, the bloodthirsty ferocity in his eyes laid bare. He slowly extended a hand, gently stroking her face.
In the past, if he touched her, a strange tremor would ripple through his body. Perhaps it was due to the absence of life, but when he first touched the corpse, he felt no sensation.
Impossible! She couldn’t possibly be dead.
But the clothes the body wore and the kitsurey-bellflower hairpin on her head all pointed to her.
Ling Xi’s heart instantly sank like a stone. A strong sense of suffocation washed over him. He stumbled back two steps, staggering as he sat on the ground, clutching his chest and gasping for breath.
His expression was one of intense pain, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He picked up the corpse before him, his voice trembling, “I… I’ll take you away.”
Having witnessed too many partings of the living and the dead, Ling Xi had never been so afraid. All he could do now was find a place to bury her.
He told himself repeatedly that it was impossible, but his heart continued to sink, eventually plummeting into an ice cellar.
A strong golden light appeared in the sky, illuminating the entire green mountain.
Ling Xi jolted awake, stood up, and stared directly at the sky above the mountainside.
Above the clouds, Qing Bo stood with his hands behind his back, glancing down at him indifferently, his gaze fixed on Ling Xi’s face, lost in thought.
“The Emperor is here, why do you not kneel?” an accompanying immortal official rebuked angrily, his gaze filled with disdain.
Ling Xi raised his eyes and shot a cold glance at the immortal official, ignoring his words as he continued to walk away, holding the corpse.
Qing Bo’s displeasure intensified at his actions, his fists at his sides slowly clenching.
Jun Lan, it truly was Jun Lan!
The War God who defied the heavens to create a body for Tu Yao! He had been entangled with Tu Yao in the Celestial Realm, and it was the same in the mortal realm. He hated it!
Since he couldn’t have Tu Yao’s heart, no one else would!
Before Qing Bo ascended to the throne, Jun Lan, the War God, as the Celestial Realm’s foremost military official, was often by the Heavenly Emperor’s side, showing him no respect whatsoever.
Seeing the coldness on Qing Bo’s expression, the immortal official again reprimanded him sternly, “Audacious mortal, to not kneel before the Emperor, what crime is that!”
The figure clad in dark robes paused. He drew a line in the void with his fingertip, and the talisman instantly burned, transforming into a sword energy that shot towards the immortal official, directly targeting his throat.
The immortal official was stunned, his eyes wide with shock, watching as the sword energy grazed past his neck.
“I am the top scholar personally appointed by the Heavenly Emperor. I only kneel to the Heavenly Emperor. What are you?”
Emperor Qing Bo? The only one he respected was the Heavenly Emperor.
Ling Xi’s tone was indifferent, but the coldness in his eyes was enough to send shivers down one’s spine.
The immortal official was rendered speechless by his words, his face turning a beet red. He cast a pleading look at Qing Bo.
“The top scholar is young and spirited. This Emperor rather admires him.” Qing Bo’s lips curved into a smile, but his voice was utterly chilling. He stared at the female corpse in Ling Xi’s arms, a complex light flashing in his eyes.
This was… Tu Yao?
She was dead?
His stern expression remained unchanged, but a tempest raged within his heart.
The former commander of all gods in the Celestial Realm, dead so easily?
He hadn’t intended to kill her this time. As long as she had pleaded with him, even just yielded a word, he would have let her go.
But he was wrong. A person who had been arrogant since childhood, whose maternal clan had been annihilated, whose immortal body had been destroyed by him, how could she possibly bow to him?
Qing Bo lowered his eyelids, concealing the emotions in his eyes, a dull ache in his chest.
As he contemplated, several streams of sword energy arrived with the wind, directly attacking the sky. The sword light was brilliant and exceptionally sharp.
Qing Bo retreated two steps, raising his sleeve to defend himself. The incredibly sharp sword lights struck his sleeve, splashing intense sparks.
Ling Xi watched him dodge in a clumsy manner, a surge of exhilaration filling his heart, a cold smile gracing his lips. “I heard the Emperor is immensely powerful. Now that I’ve tested you with a couple of moves, it seems you are nothing more.”
Qing Bo’s face turned ashen. He, the dignified Emperor, was actually being scorned by a lowly mortal!
Considering he was someone under the Heavenly Emperor, Qing Bo could only grit his teeth and endure.
He had initially come to investigate the news of Tu Yao’s life or death, and now he had his answer. There was no point in prolonging this confrontation with the Celestial Realm’s top scholar, so he left with a flick of his sleeve.
The immortal official, seeing this, timidly followed.