The swordsman, previously sent flying by Ye Lingyuan, had already suffered broken ribs and ruptured internal organs.
However, for cultivators, as long as death was not instantaneous, even severe injuries could be endured with great effort.
He struggled to his feet, spitting out a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of his organs.
His face was pale, and his sword-wielding hand trembled violently. He gazed at Ye Lingyuan standing opposite him, filled with dread.
Ye Lingyuan, radiating killing intent, even when standing casually, was like an insurmountable mountain, suffocating him.
"You… Pfft!"
He attempted to speak, but as soon as he opened his mouth, his qi leaked, causing him to spew another mouthful of blood.
Ye Lingyuan frowned, a hint of disgust flashing in his eyes.
"Who are you?" the swordsman asked, adjusting his breathing.
"You wanted to kill this King's consort. What do you think?" Ye Lingyuan's words were icy cold.
Indeed, his gentleness was always reserved solely for Zi Linling. As for others, hah!
The swordsman was stunned, and a sense of despair washed over him. Ye Lingyuan's cultivation, capable of so easily wounding him, was undoubtedly superior. Yet, strangely, he couldn't sense Ye Lingyuan's cultivation realm. At their level, they possessed spiritual sense. This sense allowed them not only to perceive danger but also to gauge an enemy's cultivation, even vaguely discerning it if it surpassed their own. But Ye Lingyuan's realm remained undetectable, a phenomenon he had never encountered. Despite this, he still sensed the threat of death.
"Does Your Excellency know that your consort destroyed the thousand-year foundation of my Hehuan Sect!"
"This King knows!"
"Then does Your Excellency know that, as the second generation sect master of the Hehuan Sect, I was not wrong to kill her!"
"This King knows!"
"..."
The swordsman fell silent for a moment, then sighed, "Forget it. Take her and go." His unspoken words meant he would swallow the great grievance of his sect's destruction.
Ye Lingyuan shook his head and said, "She wants to kill someone!" The implication was clear: he would not spare anyone she wished to kill.
A trace of anger appeared on the swordsman's pale face. "Does Your Excellency need to be so aggressive?"
Ye Lingyuan's expression was unmoving. "Will you do it yourself, or shall this King do it?"
The swordsman became furious. "If that's the case, then there's nothing more to say. If you want this old man's life, then make your move!" His meaning was evident: he had already compromised once, and you still wouldn't let him go. If he was to die, you needed the ability to do so.
Ye Lingyuan smiled, but his smile held no warmth. "Very good!" As his voice fell, his smile vanished.
A blur of movement.
The swordsman's sword sliced across his own throat.
Ye Lingyuan didn't even look. He returned to Zi Linling's side, blocking her view, and said gently, "Don't look!" Behind him, his head fell, and blood spurted from his neck like a fountain. The man's face was filled with shock; he never saw how Ye Lingyuan achieved it even in death.
Although Zi Linling's vision was blocked by Ye Lingyuan, it did not prevent her divine sense from witnessing the scene. Her shock was no less than the swordsman's, but she had no intention of asking. However, she knew that Ye Lingyuan had become even more powerful.
"Let's go!" Ye Lingyuan didn't explain. He simply scooped Zi Linling up by her waist.
"There are still two..."
Before the word "people" could be fully uttered, Zi Linling heard two distinct "bangs." The tall and short figures who had just emerged from the formation had, before even regaining their footing, simultaneously self-destructed. Zi Linling refused to believe they had chosen to do so. The only explanation was that Ye Lingyuan had acted. Though she had no idea what he had done.
Sunlight stretched the shadows of Ye Lingyuan carrying Zi Linling. Behind them lay the ravaged Hehuan Sect. The thick smell of blood permeated the air, lingering stubbornly.
Zi Linling wearily closed her eyes. Although she had recovered to her peak state by drawing upon the spiritual essence of the Hehuan Sect with the "Human Emperor's Medical Codex," the mental toll of days of exertion was not easily erased.
"Ye Lingyuan, what is your cultivation now?"
"Half-step God King realm!"
"I knew it..." Zi Linling trailed off and fell into a deep sleep. Ye Lingyuan looked at the sleeping figure in his arms, his eyes filled with affection and pain.
Zi Linling slept for three days and three nights. When she finally awoke, she discovered her soul power had broken through. Her cultivation had also soared to the late stage of the Emperor realm, just one step away from its peak. Furthermore, she could feel the spiritual essence of the "Human Emperor's Medical Codex" continuously flowing into her, silently advancing her cultivation, even though it had left the Hehuan Sect's territory.
"Little girl, you're awake?" Elder Du's soul was seated by the window, observing the outside with interest.
"Mm, what are you looking at?" Zi Linling asked as she rustled out of bed.
"Watching a master cook!" Elder Du said with a smile.
"A master? Who? Where's Ye Lingyuan?" Zi Linling blinked in surprise and asked.
Elder Du gave her a speechless look and continued watching the outside with keen interest, saying nothing.
Zi Linling realized belatedly, "No way? He can cook?"
Elder Du nodded. "Indeed, he cannot!" Su Dan Novel Network
Zi Linling, while tying her hair, casually remarked, "That's more like it! Him, a pampered prince, it would be strange if he could cook!"
"Oh well! The third time!" Elder Du seemed not to hear Zi Linling's words and muttered to himself.
"The third time what?"
"Of course... the kitchen has burned down for the third time!" Elder Du replied casually.
*Poof!*
The hair Zi Linling had just tied up came undone.
Elder Du shook his head and said, "Alright! This old man is going back to the Nine Spirit Ring!" With that, his soul body vanished.
Zi Linling retied her hair and appeared before Ye Lingyuan, asking, "Ye Lingyuan, why are you suddenly cooking?"
Ye Lingyuan smiled lightly. "Ling'er, are you teasing this King?"
"How could I dare? I'm just a little curious!"
"What's there to be curious about? This King simply wanted to cook something for you himself," Ye Lingyuan said dotingly.
A warmth flowed through Zi Linling's heart. "Silly, I don't object to men cooking, but it should be based on the premise that they know how to cook."
Ye Lingyuan dotingly flicked her nose. "Who knows everything from birth? If you don't know how, you can learn! Besides, learning to cook for you, this King does so with pleasure!"