The next day, Ye Ye and Baili Changyue still hadn’t arrived, but Lan Ya Junzhu was nowhere to be found. Baili Gelin searched everywhere before finally learning from the innkeeper that she had checked out and left the previous night.
Who knew what Ji Tongzhou had done to drive away this delicate princess? The young prince hadn’t changed a bit over the years—still utterly clueless about how to treat women with tenderness. Those who obeyed him thrived; those who defied him were driven to despair.
“He must have tried to force himself on her yesterday and scared the princess away!” Baili Gelin whispered to Su Wan and Li Fei in the courtyard, tugging them close. Lei Xiuyuan and Ji Tongzhou clearly had no patience for the girls’ chatter—one was flying in the sky, gazing at the scenery, while the other sat blankly in the pavilion.
Su Wan laughed. “I don’t think Junior Brother Ji is that kind of person. Since he’s a prince, what kind of beauty couldn’t he have?”
Baili Gelin winked at her. “Sister Su, you’ve only just met him and you’re already defending him! So? Our little prince isn’t bad, huh? Want to give it a shot?”
Here we go again—she loved playing matchmaker. Li Fei shook her head inwardly.
Su Wan, however, considered it openly before shaking her head. “His temperament suits me as a friend, but not as a lover. He seems straightforward, but he’s actually quite conflicted—I can’t stand that kind of thing. By the way, Gelin, I heard men from the Eastern Sea are all bold and generous. When I visit there someday, how about introducing me to a few?”
Baili Gelin burst into laughter. “Sure! After this gathering, why don’t you all come with me to the Eastern Sea? It’s so much fun there! I have a few senior brothers who are very unrestrained—you’d definitely like them!”
...Senior Brother Deng would probably vomit blood and cry, maybe even threaten suicide. Li Fei rubbed her temples. She didn’t want to listen to these two girls talk about men, but she couldn’t find a chance to speak to Gelin alone. The sly girl kept clinging to Su Wan—just how much did she not want to talk about what had happened this past year?
She sighed softly. If Gelin didn’t want to talk about it, she wouldn’t pry. She’d just have to wait until Gelin was ready to speak, and then she’d listen properly.
“It’s so strange. Even if that idiot Ye Ye got held up by something, my sister shouldn’t be this late!” Baili Gelin glanced at the sky—it was almost noon, and there was still no sign of Ye Ye or Baili Changyue.
Li Fei said calmly, “Maybe it’s good they’re late. Once Changyue arrives, you’ll be in for a scolding. How dare you still be so carefree?”
Baili Gelin gave a bitter smile. “Don’t scare me—I’ve been nervous this whole time!”
Li Fei snorted. “At least you know to be nervous. See if you dare pull something like this again.”
Just as she spoke, a flash of clear light suddenly appeared before Baili Gelin, followed by a letter floating in front of her. The three girls froze—Message Transmission Art? Li Fei noticed the bright golden Celestial Spell Mark on the envelope and said in surprise, “That’s the Earth Treasury Gate’s mark. Did something come up with Changyue and the others?”
Baili Gelin hastily tore open the envelope, only to find the handwriting inside messy and frantic—written in blood. The paper was even smeared with bloodstains, a horrifying sight. Li Fei immediately knew something was wrong and quickly called over Lei Xiuyuan and Ji Tongzhou.The letter was from Ye Ye, mentioning that he and Baili Changyue were suddenly ambushed on their way to Lu Gongzhen. Although there was only one opponent, he was extremely formidable—the two of them combined were no match for him. After fleeing for a long time, Changyue was ultimately captured alive by that person. Ye Ye pursued for a while but eventually lost track of the spiritual energy. Now, he was lingering in Yangxi City.
Baili Gelin was so shocked that she could no longer hold the letter. Her face turned ashen, and she suddenly let out a sharp whistle. Everyone watched as a massive, emerald-green Snake Demon suddenly darted out from the shadows of the courtyard—several times larger than the Centipede demon she had last year. She leaped onto the snake’s head, ready to ride the wind and leave immediately. Li Fei urgently called out, “Gelin, wait! Do you even know Yangxi City? Don’t act impulsively alone! Let’s all go together!”
Baili Gelin’s voice trembled. “Yangxi City is near the Eastern Sea! It must have been that Zhen Yunzi who attacked them! If my sister falls into his hands, she’s as good as dead!”
What did Zhen Yunzi have to do with this?! Li Fei stared at her in shock. Overwhelmed by fear and panic, Baili Gelin no longer cared that Ji Tongzhou and Su Wan were present and blurted out everything without restraint: “I didn’t want to say anything before, to avoid worrying you all! Before I came to the Central Land this time, I happened to see Zhen Yunzi visiting my Master. That’s when I realized this wasn’t his first trip to the Eastern Sea. Master said he’s been coming frequently over the past two or three years, supposedly to hunt some kind of Demon. Every time, he brings a lot of Magical Pills and Elixirs, and since he’s a prestigious former elder of a major sect, Master didn’t interfere. Think about it—what kind of Monstrous creatures in the Eastern Sea could compare to those in the Central Land? Besides, now that Demons are migrating to the Central Land, why would he keep going to the Eastern Sea unless he’s up to something shady? My sister must have been taken by him!”
“No use talking further.” Lei Xiuyuan glanced at Su Wan. “Senior Sister Su, please stay in Lu Gongzhen for now. If anything changes, we can still send word to you.”
Su Wan also knew her cultivation was far inferior to the others, so going along wouldn’t be of much help. Besides, since this matter involved Zhen Yunzi of Star Rectitude Hall, it was likely some unspeakable secret. She immediately agreed. “I’ll wait here for a month. If there’s no news from you by then, I’ll return to No Moon Court and inform Master and the elders!”
The letter from Ye Ye was stained with large patches of blood—he must have been seriously injured. He and Baili Changyue had only recently broken through the third Bottleneck a few months ago. Together, they shouldn’t have been easy to defeat, yet someone had managed to capture Changyue alive. That meant the opponent’s strength far surpassed theirs. It really might have been Zhen Yunzi. Strangely, he hadn’t targeted Lei Xiuyuan or Li Fei first but had instead taken Changyue—and alive, no less. There was no doubt he intended to lure them in. Even knowing it was a trap, they had no choice but to walk right into it.
Li Fei couldn’t sit still on the Horn of the Rhinoceros. Restless, she paced back and forth from one end to the other. In the end, this whole mess had stemmed from her. If anything happened to Changyue because of this, she would live with guilt for the rest of her life.
The group flew much faster than before, arriving at Yangxi City before nightfall. This large city bordering the Central Land and the Eastern Sea was filled with countless spiritual energy fluctuations. Many Immortals had gathered here due to the recent Demon migration. To prevent another tragedy like the one in Duanming City, major sects of the Central Land had stationed people here for protection.The spiritual energy was chaotic and mixed, making it impossible for everyone to sense Ye Ye's exact location. Suddenly, Baili Gelin pulled out a talisman paper, waved it in the wind, and transformed it into a bright red dragonfly demon. She tied Ye Ye's hair to it, and the creature immediately fluttered forward lightly. It didn’t linger in the city but flew straight over Yangxi City, eventually circling above a cliff.
From afar, they could already see a person lying motionless under a tree on the cliff, a large pool of blood beneath them. Baili Gelin was so shocked her legs gave way. She sprinted over but didn’t dare touch him, tears streaming down her face as she choked out, "Dead?! I... who... who... go..."
Li Fei had already stepped forward and turned the person over. His face was covered in blood, making his features unrecognizable, but the faint trace of spiritual energy fluctuation was unmistakably familiar—it was indeed Ye Ye.
His entire body was drenched in blood, practically mangled. His clothes were torn to shreds, and not a single patch of skin was left intact. Who could have been so cruel?! Suppressing her horror, Li Fei detected a faint breath and quickly released her spiritual energy to probe his Eight Extraordinary Meridians. She found cold poison raging violently inside him, dangerously rampant. Even his breath carried a bone-chilling coldness, as if contagious, and half her body immediately froze stiff.
Baili Gelin had already collapsed to the ground, trembling uncontrollably. Ji Tongzhou’s face turned pale as he stepped forward urgently. "Can he be saved?!"
Li Fei raised a hand to stop him from approaching. "Stay back for now. He’s been poisoned with cold toxin. Keep your distance so you don’t get affected."
She first cast a healing net over Ye Ye, followed by a soft, glowing white light that drifted down like snowflakes. The Jade Snow Technique slowly devoured the cold poison, but before even a tenth of it was consumed, her spiritual energy was nearly depleted. Li Fei tossed out the Horn of the Rhinoceros, which flew high into the air as if sentient, silently absorbing vast amounts of spiritual energy like a whale gulping water before returning to her side. The glow of the Jade Snow Technique immediately brightened, and the speed at which it consumed the cold poison increased significantly.
Even so, it took an entire night to fully heal Ye Ye’s injuries. His clothes had long been torn to pieces, so Ji Tongzhou draped his own outer robe over him, frowning deeply. "As far as I know, Elder Zhen Yunzi isn’t skilled in aquatic immortal techniques. His primary Spirit Root is metal, with fire as secondary."
For the cold poison to be this rampant, it couldn’t possibly have been his doing.
Li Fei’s face was pale. Though the Horn of the Rhinoceros had aided in replenishing her spiritual energy, maintaining the Jade Snow Technique nonstop for an entire night without a moment’s respite was even more exhausting than when she had treated Lei Xiuyuan last time. Just as she was about to speak, she noticed Ye Ye twitch slightly, as if waking up. Everyone immediately gathered around him.
"How are you? Who did this?! Was it Zhen Yunzi?" Ji Tongzhou pressed urgently.
Ye Ye’s expression twisted in pain. He panted weakly for a long while until Baili Gelin gripped his wrist and channeled Wood Elemental Spiritual Energy into him, giving him enough strength to speak in broken fragments. "Not Zhen Yunzi... a masked person. From the voice, they sounded young... This person... was terrifyingly strong. That immortal technique... I don’t know what it was... countless ice mirrors... once reflected, escape was impossible..."
"Ice mirrors?!" Li Fei’s heart jolted. "Were the wounds on your body also caused by them?"
Ye Ye’s eyes burned with fury as he uttered coldly, "Yes..."If he had simply killed him with one sword strike, it would have been a matter of inferior skill deserving death. But this person insisted on torturing him slowly like a cat playing with a mouse, using a small flying sword to slice him until there wasn't an inch of intact skin left—it was enough to drive one mad with fury.
Li Fei stared at Lei Xiuyuan in horror. This was terrible. With Chang Yue now in Qin Yangling's hands, who knew what suffering and humiliation she would endure? Compared to this, falling into Zhen Yunzi's grasp would have been better!
Though it wasn't clear why Qin Yangling had suddenly attacked Ye Ye and Chang Yue, it probably wasn't to take revenge on Lei Xiuyuan. He likely didn't even know Xiu Yuan was acquainted with Ye Ye and Chang Yue. Could it be that he had taken a fancy to Chang Yue's beauty and given in to his beastly desires?! This man had been taken out of No Moon Court by Zheng Xu Zhang Lao, so he should have been with the elder. How could this doting elder still not restrain him?!
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