Lan Ling Nu slammed into the pillar behind her, then slowly slid down it, landing heavily on the ground.
She spat out a mouthful of blood, lying prone. Gasping for breath, she struggled to lift her head and look at Gu Qian Ying.
Her voice was weak, "Don't think that... by killing me... my junior brother will change his mind. No... impossible... he doesn't love you anymore, do you hear me? Gu Qian Ying... your husband, Nan Gong Mo, he doesn't love you anymore."
As she spoke, blood trickled from the corner of Lan Ling Nu's mouth. She couldn't get up, so she could only lie on the ground, looking up at the person before her.
Her face was filled with unconcealed hatred.
Gu Qian Ying looked down at her. Seeing her speak such words at the brink of death, she couldn't help but smile.
"So what if he doesn't love me? So what if he does? Whether he loves or not, it has nothing to do with you. You will never be the one in his heart!"
As if a weakness had been exposed.
Lan Ling Nu went mad, falling into a state of collapse. "No! You're wrong, I am his senior sister, he likes me, he loves me."
A cold smile curled Gu Qian Ying's lips. "At death's door, still deceiving yourself. A woman like you, living in your own fantasies, is truly incorrigibly foolish. Heh, but no matter what you think, today, you injured my friend. Your life, I... will take!"
Approaching, Gu Qian Ying flipped her palm. The Po Yun Sword spun in her hand, then she grasped it and swung.
An arm, severed, flew into the air and slowly fell.
Blood splattered far above.
Lan Ling Nu, with her arm cut off, could no longer support herself.
Blood flowed from the severed limb, making her face even paler.
"Tear..."
Another arm was tossed into the air.
Blood stained the ground.
Lan Ling Nu was in such pain that she couldn't even cry out.
Now armless, she lay on the ground, supporting herself with her chin.
Her body was limp, unable to move at all.
Even so, her gaze towards Gu Qian Ying remained filled with hatred.
Gu Qian Ying watched her, like an ant on a hot pan, unable to move much.
Her clear eyes held a chilling gaze. "You severely injured my friend. Your fate can only be worse than death!"
First her arms, then her legs.
Without her four limbs, Lan Ling Nu was like a shell-less "turtle" on the ground, unable to flip over. Her severed limbs were bloody, flesh-torn wounds.
Gu Qian Ying slashed her exquisite face several times, bloodstains covering it.
To ensure Lan Ling Nu wouldn't die too quickly, Gu Qian Ying took out a pill from her sleeve and forced it into Lan Ling Nu's mouth.
This pill only stopped the bleeding, it did not prolong life.
Gu Qian Ying squatted down, pinching Lan Ling Nu's chin with her slender fingers, and looked at her coldly. "How does it feel to live a life worse than death? Lan Ling Nu, I won't let you die so easily. I want you to look at your own hideous face and truly savor the feeling of living a life worse than death!"
With that, Gu Qian Ying flung Lan Ling Nu away and stood up.
She took out a small bronze mirror from her embrace and placed it before Lan Ling Nu, letting her see her current appearance in the mirror.
The small bronze mirror was a gift from her son, Xiao Yi Hao.
When he gave it to her, her son Xiao Yi Hao had said that all women loved beauty, and he gave the small bronze mirror to his mother, hoping she would be beautiful every day.
Looking at herself reflected in the bronze mirror.
Lan Ling Nu went insane. She screamed "Ah ah..." in a broken voice.
Her voice wasn't very loud, but it could still be heard.
Gu Qian Ying turned her back to her, not looking back.
She raised her eyes to look at the two people imprisoned in the iron cage.
Almost instantly.
Holding the Po Yun Sword, she leaped up.
She struck the iron bars of the iron cage on the far right with her sword, blow after blow.
Using her demonic power, the sword radiated demonic energy.
"Bang!"
With a loud bang.
The iron cage was chopped open by her in a few breaths.
She approached and picked up Ou Yang Qing Lin, who was lying on the ground, into her arms.
"Ou Yang Qing Lin... Ou Yang Qing Lin... wake up..."
Ou Yang Qing Lin, who had fainted at some point, finally opened his eyes at Gu Qian Ying's call.
At this moment, Ou Yang Qing Lin still had the appearance of a snake demon, with snake scales on his face and a snake tail.
After opening his eyes, he looked at the person beside him.
He was stunned for a moment, then as if remembering something.
He quickly covered her eyes with his hand. "Don't look, I'm ugly."
Ou Yang Qing Lin's gesture of covering her eyes made Gu Qian Ying feel a pang of heartache.
She knew Ou Yang Qing Lin's feelings for her, and even more so, she knew that in this life, she only felt guilt towards Ou Yang Qing Lin.
What Ou Yang Qing Lin wanted, she could never give him.
And what Ou Yang Qing Lin could give her was his entire being.
Such an Ou Yang Qing Lin was the most heartbreaking.
She grabbed his hand and gently removed it.
Gu Qian Ying smiled, looking at Ou Yang Qing Lin, whose face was covered in snake scales. "Silly, how could you be ugly? In my heart, and in everyone's heart, you are handsome."
Lacking confidence, he was instead somewhat self-conscious.
Ou Yang Qing Lin touched his face, covered in snake scales. He looked at Gu Qian Ying and asked her, "Is it really not ugly? You won't dislike me?"
"No."
As she spoke these two words, Gu Qian Ying's attitude was very serious.
She looked into Ou Yang Qing Lin's eyes.
At the same time, she was using her attitude to prove to him.
She would not dislike him, much less mock him.
"Qian Ying, with me like this, I'm afraid I'll never be able to return to human form again. Qian Ying, in this life, perhaps I can only be like this. Qian Ying, will you never dislike me? Will you forever and ever be my good friend for life?"
Ou Yang Qing Lin's current lack of confidence made Gu Qian Ying's heart ache even more.
"Of course. Not just this life, but the next life, and the life after that, we will be good friends, friends for many lifetimes."
She helped Ou Yang Qing Lin adjust his clothes.
After transforming into a snake demon, Ou Yang Qing Lin's red robe was no longer fitting.
It was almost bursting at the seams.
And at this moment, there was no opportunity to go back and change.
Gu Qian Ying could only help him, tidying his robe for him first.
"No, I don't want to be friends in the next life or the life after that. In the next life, it will be my turn to chase you, to get to you before Nan Gong Mo, to win you over, and have you marry me and become my wife. Is that okay?"
With his sinews severed, Ou Yang Qing Lin was like a cripple, unable to stand up at all.
And the demonic energy within him, after swallowing a demon, had rapidly proliferated.
Soon, Ou Yang Qing Lin's eyes turned red.
The demonic energy surrounding him also became more intense.
When he looked at Gu Qian Ying, his eyes revealed a bloodthirsty killing intent.
Not only his expression when looking at Gu Qian Ying, but even when looking at anyone present, his eyes were filled with a terrifying coldness.
"Qian Ying, I feel something growing inside me. Qian Ying... I don't want to become a snake demon monster that kills without batting an eye. Qian Ying, help me, kill me, okay?"
Gu Qian Ying, who was struggling to help Ou Yang Qing Lin up, trembled. The hand supporting him paused.
Gu Qian Ying looked at Ou Yang Qing Lin and smiled. "What nonsense are you talking about? You'll be fine."
"Qian Ying!"
Ou Yang Qing Lin looked at Gu Qian Ying, tears welling up in his eyes.
He knew very well that Gu Qian Ying was deliberately lying to him.
He knew even better his current physical condition.
The demonic energy within him did not belong to him alone; more than half of it was brought by the demon he had swallowed.
But no matter what, he was fully aware of the changes in his body.
It was precisely because of this that he had made such a request.
He did not want to become a snake demon monster that indiscriminately killed innocent people, a monster that killed without batting an eye.
He also did not want his upright friends to despise him.
Nor did he want to be seen by the one he loved, killing innocents or eating people.
"You'll be fine, Ou Yang Qing Lin. Don't worry, I'll help you."
She continued to help Ou Yang Qing Lin walk out.
How could she bring herself to kill her close friend?
But she also knew very well that the demonic energy within Ou Yang Qing Lin was growing at an astonishing rate.
If it were not controlled, Ou Yang Qing Lin would become the bloodthirsty snake demon he spoke of.
A demon that only knew how to kill.
Helping Ou Yang Qing Lin to Song Wu Ji, she handed him over to Song Wu Ji and instructed him to constantly monitor Ou Yang Qing Lin's condition.
During this time.
Gu Qian Ying, worried, used her demonic power to temporarily seal the demonic energy within Ou Yang Qing Lin.
She also gave Song Wu Ji a pill and told him to give it to Ou Yang Qing Lin immediately if he showed any abnormalities.
The demonic energy within Ou Yang Qing Lin needed to be suppressed, but at present, she had not found a way to suppress it.
She could only temporarily use her demonic power to help Ou Yang Qing Lin suppress the demonic energy within him.
To completely expel it, another method would need to be found.
Song Wu Ji nodded at Gu Qian Ying, assuring her.
Gu Qian Ying also nodded at Song Wu Ji, then turned and used her movement technique to lightly leap into another iron cage.
She intended to take Meng Qing Hua away.
At this moment, Meng Qing Hua was still unconscious.
Gu Qian Ying stayed by his side and lifted his robe.
She saw Meng Qing Hua's severed leg wound.
Upon closer inspection.
Gu Qian Ying's body trembled, her jade hand clenched tightly.
At this moment, her eyes instantly reddened.
Only upon getting closer and clearly seeing Meng Qing Hua's wound did she realize.
It turned out that Meng Qing Hua's legs were not cut off, but rather, corrosive powder had been applied, causing the flesh and skin connected to the bone to rot bit by bit, inch by inch, turning into bloody water and disappearing little by little.
At the severed leg wound, pus was forming on the flesh, and dense maggots crawled upon it.
Such a wound clearly indicated that it was the result of torture by more than one person.
Her jade hand clenched tightly, Gu Qian Ying turned her gaze towards Lan Ling Nu, who was desperately banging her head on the ground, writhing in pain.
She then glanced at the white-haired elder still cultivating within the barrier.
A cold glint flashed in her eyes.
She would not let go of those who harmed her close friends, even if they were Nan Gong Mo's master!