The Memory Seal in her palm grew hot in response. Su Su lifted her eyes and met Tantai Jin's gaze.
She had never seen him like this before.
Tantai Jin had always been arrogant, unruly, and brooding, but now he was clutching Cang Hai's disciple robe tightly, his blood staining the white fabric crimson.
He looked at her, his eyes filled with the colors of being deeply hurt.
Su Su pursed her lips. How could she think someone like him was sad? Could it be that harming others made him feel wronged?
Her attack had taken everyone by surprise. Hengyang Sect disciples surrounded her immediately. "Junior Sister Li, how could you..."
Su Su had no intention of covering for Tantai Jin. "He ambushed me and Fuyai."
Upon hearing this, the Hengyang Sect disciples glared furiously at Tantai Jin.
The Hengyang Sect had always been united. When they found Yue Fuyai severely injured, they had been eager to identify and punish the perpetrator. In their eyes, Tantai Jin instantly became a disciple with evil intentions who would kill for treasure. Now that the enemy was right before them, they yearned to swarm him and teach him a lesson.
Cang Hai quickly spread his arms, shielding Tantai Jin. "Fellow immortals, there must be some misunderstanding. My junior brother avoids worldly conflicts—how could he harm Junior Sister Li and Junior Brother Yue?"
A Hengyang Sect disciple retorted, "Are you suggesting our junior sister is lying? He must be the one who injured Fuyai."
The two sides faced off, the situation at a stalemate.
A few impulsive Hengyang Sect disciples had already drawn their swords.
Cang Hai's cheerful expression vanished, replaced by seriousness. He glanced back at the pale-faced Tantai Jin and addressed the crowd, "Cang Jiuming is a member of our Carefree Sect. Even if he is to be punished, the truth must be investigated first, and it should be handled by my master, Immortal Lord Zhao You. If my junior brother truly has evil intentions, the Carefree Sect will cleanse its own ranks."
The Hengyang Sect disciples exchanged uncertain looks. This Cang Hai was usually smiling like Maitreya Buddha, but now he refused to yield an inch.
Su Su glanced at Tantai Jin. She remembered falling off the cliff because of him, but she also remembered... someone carrying her on his back, feeding the Wang creatures with his blood, leading her through the endless Wang Land.
The scent of pine and cypress, pure as the white snow in the mortal world.
Su Su clenched her fingers and suddenly said, "Let's go."
The Hengyang Sect disciples asked, "Junior Sister?"
"Let's go," Su Su repeated, turning first to head toward the flying Immortal Artifact.
She understood clearly that Cang Hai was right—Tantai Jin belonged to the Carefree Sect. With the War of Immortals and Demons on the verge of breaking out, personal grievances could not escalate into conflict between two sects.
The others exchanged glances and followed Su Su.
A pale, slender hand suddenly gripped Su Su's arm.
Cang Hai cried out in alarm, "Junior Brother!" The Hengyang Sect disciples had reluctantly agreed not to pursue the matter immediately, yet his junior brother was chasing after them—was he trying to get himself killed?
Su Su turned and saw the handsome, delicate face of a youth.
Ignoring Cang Hai's attempts to stop him, he said in a hoarse voice, "Li Susu, you promised to take me with you."
You promised to take me home. You can injure me—it doesn't matter, I'm already used to the pain. But how could you... forget what you said?
Su Su met his stubborn, dark eyes and said softly, "Let go."
Who was he trying to deceive? Since he knew she was Ye Xi Wu, he should also understand that Ye Xi Wu would never say such words.That possibility had vanished forever on the night Xiao Lin died.
The youth in white refused to let go: "You said it, you said it..."
As the Path of Ruthlessness silently flowed within her Spiritual Platform, Su Su said: "Tantai Jin, don't be ridiculous."
A pain shot through her palm as the Memory Seal glowed faintly. Su Su frowned as the seal transformed into a red thread, one end tied to her little finger and the other to Tantai Jin's finger.
What... was this?
Seeing the red thread, a faint light appeared in Tantai Jin's eyes. Just as he was about to speak, the young girl before him decisively used her finger as a sword. Blue Karmic Fire spread, burning the red thread to nothingness.
He frantically reached for the thread, but the Karmic Fire scorched his fingers, leaving only ashes in his grasp. Perhaps even these ashes were too hot, burning until his eyes reddened.
"Stop using such despicable methods," Su Su said with a frown.
There was no trust left between them. He had always been cunning—how could he think she would believe such crude tricks?
The light in Tantai Jin's eyes completely extinguished as he fell silent.
Someone from Hengyang Sect said: "Little junior sister, let's go."
Concerned about Yue Fuyai, Su Su didn't look back at Tantai Jin and turned to board the flying Immortal Artifact.
The artifact transformed into a carriage pulled by nine luan birds that soared into the sky. The golden wings of the luan birds spread wide, their clear cries echoing as they disappeared into the air.
Cang Hai watched worriedly at the lone figure standing motionless in place for a long time.
"Junior brother..."
Cang Hai approached, unsure what had happened between Junior Sister Li and their junior brother, and comfortingly patted his shoulder.
When he looked up, he saw his junior brother's red-rimmed eyes.
The youth in white bit his lip hard, clutching the ashes left by the Memory Seal. The black residue stained the lines of his palm.
His expression seemed desperately fragile, as if about to cry, but the next moment, he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. His dark pupils fixed on the luan bird carriage as he let out a low laugh.
The laughter sent chills down Cang Hai's spine.
"Let's go," Tantai Jin said.
Cang Hai looked—it was undoubtedly still his weak, pale junior brother.
After boarding the nine-luan carriage, Su Su couldn't help but glance at her little finger.
As a fire-element Spiritual Root, Karmic Fire was her origin power, so it naturally didn't hurt her. Where the red thread had been tied, there wasn't the slightest trace, as if it had never happened.
She would never have said such words, so Tantai Jin must have been deceiving her.
She had been foolish once, wholeheartedly going to Tantai Jin's side, thinking she could bring stability to the world and peace to all directions. But what she got in return was Xiao Lin's death.
Xiao Lin's death taught her that she could never comprehend Tantai Jin's thoughts, and should never overestimate her importance in his heart.
One moment he could play pitiful with smiles and laughter, the next he could shoot a Ruoshui arrow into her shoulder, turning her into a Puppet.
She would never... underestimate her enemy again.
The interior of the nine-luan carriage was spacious, capable of traveling a thousand miles per day like a broad room. Su Su approached the unconscious Yue Fuyai and pressed her finger to his forehead, sensing that Yue Fuyai's injuries were truly severe.
At that time... Tantai Jin had genuinely intended to kill them both.
If not for the Past Mirror absorbing Su Su's blood and reflecting Ye Xi Wu's figure, perhaps both she and Yue Fuyai would already be dead.
Someone comforted her: "Don't worry, junior sister. Once we return to the sect, Immortal Venerable Qu Xuanzi will surely be able to heal Junior Brother Yue."
Su Su nodded and sat back down.A chill touched her neck, as if something was moving. Su Su had been distracted until now, when she noticed a pendant hanging around her neck.
She took it off and saw it was shaped like a konghou.
The blue konghou, with every string gleaming with dazzling pearl-like radiance, looked quite flamboyant.
When did she... acquire this thing?
Chongyu sensed her unease. With Hengyang Sect disciples still around, it dared not speak. Immortal Artifacts couldn't develop spiritual consciousness—only Divine Artifacts could. Chongyu could only flutter in her palm, tracing out a heart shape.
Su Su couldn't help curling her lips into a slight smile.
This pendant was oddly adorable.
Chongyu was also in a difficult position. While Su Su was nurturing her soul in the Thousand-Mile Scroll, any events occurring during a deity's soul-nurturing process would be forgotten.
It wanted to remind Su Su that this was indeed a memory seal she herself had created. Earlier, it couldn't speak and reveal its identity as a Divine Artifact. Now, upon second thought, since the memory seal had already been burned away, what good would mentioning it do? Why make Su Su feel guilty?
Moreover, that youth who could wield the God Slaying Crossbow was truly no benevolent character!
It was good that Su Su kept her distance from him. Would anyone really want to keep such a terrifying existence by their side? Chongyu fell into internal conflict.
Suddenly, the communication compass on the table lit up, drawing everyone's attention.
It was Gongye Jiewu!
Before Su Su entered the Secret Realm, Gongye Jiewu, fearing she might encounter danger, had given her this communication device. Now that the compass was glowing, why would Gongye Jiewu be contacting her proactively?
A bad premonition rose in Su Su's heart. She quickly picked it up and said, "Senior Brother?"
There was no response from the other end.
"Senior Brother, can you hear me?"
After a long pause, a panicked voice came through: "Brother Gongye is in trouble... help... ah, save us!"
The communication compass shuddered violently before falling silent.
The abruptly cut-off message made everyone anxious. Gongye Jiewu was among the most outstanding young disciples. How could mere Taixu Mountain cause him trouble? What exactly was there?
It would still take two days to fly back to Hengyang Sect. Su Su made a decisive decision: "You all take Fuya back to the sect. I'll go to Taixu to rescue Senior Brother."
Hengyang Sect disciples immediately protested: "No, Junior Sister, you take Junior Brother Yue back. I'll go check."
"Right, I can go too. Junior Sister mustn't go."
...
Most present were Golden Core stage disciples, all representing Hengyang Sect's future. Without speaking, Su Su formed a hand seal. From her fingertips emerged a fiery phoenix with blue tail feathers. Though its form was still indistinct, its crimson feathers carried the domineering aura of Karmic Fire as it circled around Su Su.
Su Su raised her eyes: "I will rescue Senior Brother."
Everyone stared wide-eyed at the phoenix. This time, no one objected.
Meanwhile, Tantai Jin and the worried Cang Hai sat on a traveling wine gourd.
Looking at the white-robed youth sitting cross-legged in silence, Cang Hai sighed again. His junior brother was already withdrawn, and this outing had made him even more somber.
He'd said it before—how could someone from their Carefree Sect possibly get involved with the precious daughter of Hengyang Sect? The gap between their statuses wasn't just a generation gap, but an entire mountain range.
"Junior Brother, did you really injure that fellow cultivator from Hengyang Sect?" Cang Hai asked.
The youth opened his eyes. His lips were vermilion, but before he could speak, he coughed up blood, startling Cang Hai: "Alright, alright, don't speak, Junior Brother. I believe you. There must be some misunderstanding."
After his nervous outburst, Cang Hai saw his junior brother looking at him with a faint, ambiguous smile."Where are we heading?" The youth's voice was clear and pleasant.
The Carefree Sect was full of straightforward, broke men with thick nerves, so Cang Hai didn't find anything unusual and replied, "We're going to Taixu Mountain."
"Taixu?"
"That's right." Speaking of Taixu, Cang Hai felt rather embarrassed. "We can't let the entire immortal realm send disciples to investigate the Taixu massacre while our Carefree Sect sits back, can we? I sent a message to our master about this, and he said he'd go check it out personally."
Immortal Lord Zhao You was one of the two elders of the Carefree Sect and held considerable authority. With the sect being so small, only Zhao You could represent their "face" at such times.
"Alright, then let's go to Taixu."
The gourd swayed gently but flew swiftly. As they approached Taixu, Tantai Jin narrowed his eyes.
"What's wrong, junior brother?"
Cang Hai knew his young junior brother had always been sharp.
Tantai Jin looked at the towering Demonic Energy over Taixu Mountain, raised an eyebrow, glanced at Cang Hai, and said, "Something's wrong."
"What? Where?"
Tantai Jin formed a hand seal and passed it over Cang Hai's eyes. When Cang Hai looked into the distance, he was startled by what he saw.
The entire Taixu Mountain was enveloped in terrifying Demonic Energy, so thick that there was no Spiritual Energy around. The ground was barren, not a blade of grass in sight, and even the rivers in the mountain valleys had dried up.
Cang Hai slumped onto the gourd, muttering, "Good heavens, only the emergence of an ancient Hanba could create such a horrifying scene."
Tantai Jin said calmly, "It might actually be Hanba."
Cang Hai was dumbstruck.
When they reached Taixu Mountain, the fear screaming in his heart urged Cang Hai to flee, but thinking of their master still inside, he couldn't bring himself to move.
"Junior brother, you go back first. I'll go check it out!"
Tantai Jin glanced at Cang Hai's legs, trembling yet feigning calm, and said, "Alright, I'm leaving."
Cang Hai: ...So cold.
A flash of icy blue light streaked across the sky. Tantai Jin halted, watching the light, his fingers slowly clenching. He bit the inside of his cheek and suddenly said coldly, "Senior brother, I'll go with you."
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