"Ye Tiancheng, what's wrong? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, don't worry. Spitting blood is just detoxification for me."
In reality, Ye Tiancheng only wanted to comfort Hou Mingzhu. In this situation, it meant Ye Tiancheng could no longer push himself. If he continued to force himself, the situation might become very grim.
"I beg you, Ye Tiancheng, don't make me worry about you. If you can't, then don't continue. I don't want to see you get hurt. It's enough, really, I can't bear this torment anymore."
Throughout her pregnancy, Hou Mingzhu had a difficult time. Hou Mingzhu envied other normal pregnant women. Although there were minor troubles, they were absolutely not like Hou Mingzhu's experience, where it felt like all her energy was consumed by it, which was terrifying.
"It's okay, trust me, I can definitely take care of myself and your child. I won't let you or them get hurt. This is my responsibility as a father and husband."
Hearing Ye Tiancheng say this, Hou Mingzhu suddenly froze, "What did you say? We're already divorced, why do you still think you're my husband?"
"Isn't that normal? I never felt like we were apart from the beginning. Those were just temporary measures. The moment you decided to have a child for me, I wanted to know even more that you are my only wife for this lifetime."
Ye Tiancheng's words were indeed touching and completely shook Hou Mingzhu. Hou Mingzhu no longer wanted to keep this child, "It's all my fault. Ye Tiancheng, if I had been more decisive back then, this child wouldn't have been kept, and today's situation wouldn't have happened."
As she spoke, Hou Mingzhu kept hitting her own stomach, "This unfilial child should leave this world. It's like an infinitely expanding monster, needing more and more things to fill it. I'm afraid it will eventually drag you down too. I only want you; the child isn't that important to me. I'm having this child for you, Ye Tiancheng. I love you, and you're the only one I care about."
Finally, she had confessed. Hou Mingzhu felt much more relieved. She had been suppressing her emotions for so long, and for Hou Mingzhu, occasional release was also very important.
"I heard everything you said, Hou Mingzhu. Relax, steady your breathing, and leave the rest to me to handle."
To prevent Hou Mingzhu from saying more and affecting his emotions, Ye Tiancheng could only let her enter a temporary state of dormancy. However, he was already at the peak of the Golden Core stage. When he truly needed to use his vital energy, he realized how small and powerless he was. Ye Tiancheng was in great pain now; his body could no longer hold on, but his willpower refused to give up.
This child had grown so much. It would be a pity to give up now. Not only would it be a blow to himself, but Hou Mingzhu's feelings would likely not be good either. Such a situation would be a huge blow to both of them. Ye Tiancheng naturally wanted to avoid it, but now he really couldn't hold on any longer. Thinking about it made his heart feel half-cold.
"Oh heavens, help me. I've really encountered trouble this time. Nuwa Stone, Great Green Snake, Little Stone, are the three of you great deities not going to appear? Help me protect this child. I'm willing to pay any price."
Ye Tiancheng felt a bit dizzy, and his vision kept darkening. Just as he was about to collapse, he suddenly felt as if there were a pair of golden wings in front of him. Ye Tiancheng began to murmur to himself.
"Am I dead? Why can I see this light? Is the afterlife so beautiful?"
"Master, don't worry, you're not dead yet. It's me who came to save you."
It was Lin Xue's voice. As for the pair of golden wings, they belonged to Lin Xue's spirit beast, the little bird she found in the Pure Land earlier. It had now grown into a half-phoenix.
This means that the little bird was originally a fallen phoenix. The phoenix also wanted to find a good place to help itself undergo nirvana and rebirth, so it searched for the Pure Land. However, it unexpectedly encountered problems during its nirvana, turning into a little bird that needed to continuously absorb spiritual energy to grow into a phoenix. Before that, it needed to put in a certain amount of effort, so now it was just a half-phoenix with not much power.
Lin Xue and the phoenix worked together, and finally managed to stabilize Hou Mingzhu and the child, allowing the mother and son to return to a stable and healthy state.
"Xue'er, you managed to summon a phoenix to be your spirit beast. It's truly unbelievable. You're too amazing."
Even Ye Tiancheng had to envy the phoenix's abilities. If they were fully unleashed, they would be more powerful than any of his treasures. Even the Great Green Snake couldn't compare. He wondered if the Nuwa Stone had a chance to fight it.
"It was probably a coincidence. This phoenix cannot be called my spirit beast. My qualifications are not enough. It can only be considered my temporary companion."
"It doesn't matter. Thank you, Lin Xue. If you and the phoenix hadn't appeared in time, I don't know what fate would have awaited me. I'm truly grateful."
Ye Tiancheng was truly fortunate. It wasn't just him fighting alone; there were always people who would suddenly jump out to help him. This seemed to be the confidence Ye Tiancheng had in doing certain things.
"Alright, Master. Both the phoenix and I have consumed a lot of spiritual power this time. We need to return to the mountains to cultivate. We might also need to go to the Pure Land. When you have some free time, don't forget your disciple. Remember to visit me and the phoenix at the Pure Land."
"I know, Xue'er. Thank you for this. Hurry back and recuperate, otherwise, if you deplete so much vital energy at once, it could leave after-effects."
Ye Tiancheng was not joking. Lin Xue and the phoenix working together had saved two lives, one big and one small. That's why Ye Tiancheng cared for them so much.
If it weren't for the powerful spiritual energy as a carrier, this person and phoenix might have been finished. Ye Tiancheng knew how difficult it was, so he told them to recuperate properly and not to deplete their inner power and cultivation further.
"Okay, Master. Then I won't talk to you anymore. We're leaving."
Lin Xue arrived quickly and left just as fast, disappearing without a trace. This made Ye Tiancheng suddenly realize that Lin Xue was no longer the naive little disciple she used to be. She had slowly grown into a reliable companion. Perhaps in the future, there would be many things he would have to rely on Lin Xue to solve. Ye Tiancheng realized that he was truly too weak alone and sometimes couldn't do anything.
"Xiao Xue, slow down."
After Ye Tiancheng said this, he found that both the person and the phoenix had completely disappeared. Ye Tiancheng saw that Hou Mingzhu was fast asleep, and whatever he said would probably not be heard by Hou Mingzhu. Therefore, he decided not to disturb Hou Mingzhu for the time being. He needed to find a place to recuperate as soon as possible.
This time, Ye Tiancheng really went all out to save Hou Mingzhu and the child. The negative effect was that Ye Tiancheng was completely drained of energy, feeling as if his entire body had been hollowed out. He might even die at any moment. At this crucial moment, he needed to cultivate slowly. Restoring spiritual energy was the most important thing; everything else was nonsense.
Ye Tiancheng quickly returned home and, before cultivating, called Xiao Pang. "Xiao Pang, I might need to go into seclusion for a few days. Don't disturb me during this time. I'll be cultivating in my room. If there's nothing urgent, try not to find me. I have many things to entrust to you."
"Brother Ye, I know you've expended a lot of energy to save sister-in-law and the child this time. Don't worry. As your brother, I will be your strong backing at critical moments. I won't hold you back, so you can rest assured."
"Fatty, you know Brother Ye trusts you the most. Let's work together, and we will definitely create a more glorious tomorrow."
Ye Tiancheng spoke very emotionally. It was at this moment that he could discern who among the people around him were true friends and who were not. It turned out that Ye Tiancheng had so many reliable friends around him, which gave him more motivation on his path forward and eliminated his fear of future difficulties.
"Alright, Brother Ye, stop with the mushy talk. You focus on cultivating first. I'll buy you more nutritional supplements and cook for you."
"Okay, Fatty, you're too thoughtful. Brother Ye thanks you here. When I become successful in the future, I definitely won't treat you unfairly."
These words were unnecessary for Ye Tiancheng to say, and there was no need to make empty promises. Simply having this pure brotherhood would solve all problems.
Ye Tiancheng finally entered his cultivation. He only ate one meal a day, and this meal was not just any meal. It was carefully prepared by Xiao Pang and was very beneficial for Ye Tiancheng's cultivation. Otherwise, Ye Tiancheng wouldn't have specifically woken up to eat this meal.
Perhaps for Ye Tiancheng, resting would have been better. There was no need to specifically wake up to eat this meal, except for the brother's care, and because Xiao Pang had added a lot of nutritional supplements, making the meal fragrant and containing nutrients that could enhance one's vital energy.
The first two days were relatively normal, and Ye Tiancheng's vital energy had recovered a little. However, that day, as Ye Tiancheng was cultivating, he suddenly heard several footsteps downstairs, and they were very chaotic. Ye Tiancheng suddenly became a little scared because this was very abnormal. These people seemed like professional assassins.
"You are Ye Tiancheng, right? You brat, we finally found you."
Before Ye Tiancheng opened his eyes, he sensed that there should be three people. These three people had a certain level of cultivation. Their footsteps were chaotic, which made Ye Tiancheng misjudge for a moment, making it seem like there were many people. In reality, there weren't that many, only three people.
"Who are you?"
The one in the lead seemed to be the leader of these three. The senior disciple arrogantly raised his head and looked at Ye Tiancheng. Facing the somewhat weakened Ye Tiancheng, he thought that this guy probably had no ability to resist, so his eyes were filled with unconcealed contempt and mockery.
"What's the use of knowing who I am? You're going to die soon anyway."
Ye Tiancheng closed his eyes and sensed the vital energy, probing the aura of these three people. As a result, he found that these three people had some black energy lingering around them. It was possible that they cultivated black energy, or it was another possibility that they were controlled by black energy.
This Ouyang Xunuo really overestimated Ye Tiancheng. Knowing Ye Tiancheng's current weakened state, it was laughable that he actually sent three people at once.
It was too cautious to send three people together. For Ye Tiancheng, it was a bit of a grand display. He was already as weak as a chicken, so there was really no need for that.