Chapter 244: Puppet
This secret realm had a strange atmosphere from beginning to end. After Qiao Wan jumped into the secret realm, she searched the surroundings but couldn't find Fang Lingqing.
Optimistically, Fang Lingqing might have gotten up and left on his own. Pessimistically, he might have been taken away by a monster and is now buried in its belly.
After searching for four or five rounds with no sign of Fang Lingqing, Qiao Wan realized that continuing this way would be pointless. She changed her direction and headed straight towards the faintly outlined celestial palace on the horizon.
"I found it! It's here!" a voice came from behind, followed by a long arrow, adorned with feathers, piercing towards her back.
Qiao Wan swiftly moved her feet, rolling on the ground, and continued running without stopping.
She had a hunch and wanted to figure out what exactly this secret realm was. How could a secret realm meant for selecting and cultivating become so fierce? Who was behind all of this? She had to make a trip to the celestial palace at the edge of the sky.
That celestial palace was the core of the secret realm, and perhaps she would find the answers she was looking for there.
*
The smell of blood from the just-ended battle still lingered in the air.
"Master..." a disciple dressed in a righteous attire sobbed as he looked at Yu Xingzhi. A few gargling sounds came from his throat, and blood bubbles formed at the corners of his lips.
Behind him, sword lights rained down like a shower.
This righteous disciple used his body to shield Yu Xingzhi from the sword lights that were coming from all directions.
"Senior brother..."
After a sobbing voice, the next second, he suddenly collapsed.
"He... He's dead?"
Yu Xingzhi held Wang Ruyi in his arms. She stared with dry throat at the gruesome scene of blood-soaked bodies in front of her.
In a sudden realization, the young man's face turned pale. Without hesitation, he pushed Wang Ruyi away and stumbled towards the pile of corpses.
Wang Ruyi's lips quivered but she didn't dare to approach.
Just then, another wave of violence erupted. The disciples of Sun Tao College were caught off guard and all of them were killed, except for Yu Xingzhi, who reacted quickly and pulled the closest person away.
But because he saved her, he couldn't save his own junior disciple in time.
All the disciples of the Sun Tao College perished.
The young man gritted his teeth and his face turned dark. Tears welled up in his eyes.
It was just like the incident in the ghost market before! He... he couldn't save anyone again! No, in the ghost market before, he at least managed to... This time, his junior disciple sacrificed himself to protect him!
And he, Yu Xingzhi, sat on the ground without expression, tears of blood streaming from his eyes.
And he didn't even know the name of the junior who just took the blow for him.
Seeing the young man with a curved back as if he had been pressed by something, Wang Ruyi felt a sense of fear and helplessness.
Wang Ruyi, who was both naive and silly, didn't know that this was a young genius who had been repeatedly slapped by reality, tortured, and helpless, ultimately causing his spine to bend.
"Yu... Yu Xingzhi?"
"Go away." Without even looking at her, Yu Xingzhi coldly uttered a word.
"I told you to leave."
Before, the little mummy had saved his life, and he had taken care of her along the way, repaying the favor.
"You saved me before, and now I have repaid it." Yu Xingzhi's voice was so dry that it seemed as if blood could seep out. "Now go away, I don't have time to be burdened by a dead weight."
Although the logical part of his mind told him not to blame the little corpse in front of him, he couldn't help but look at it...
Yu Xingzhi felt a slight itch in his throat and coughed up some blood.
That little corpse had died a long time ago, even if it had a few more cuts, it probably wouldn't be a big problem. But if he had just protected not her, but... his fellow martial brother, would his fellow martial brother still be alive?
He had been competing with Ye Xiyuan for the position of Elder Martial Brother at Sun Tao College for so long, yet he couldn't remember his fellow disciple's name. In this critical moment, he was protecting a stranger in front of his fellow disciple, causing him, the disciple, to have to protect him instead.
Wang Ruyi couldn't help but cry, as she had never been treated so cruelly before. She felt both guilty and flustered, saying, "I... I'm sorry..."
The young man stood up coldly, without even looking at her, and began to dig a hole in the ground.
Wang Ruyi also knelt down and carefully helped with the digging.
After silently digging for a while, Yu Xingzhi finally dug a big enough hole to bury his younger martial sisters. He gently placed them inside one by one and covered them with soil.
Sitting quietly in front of the tall burial mound for a while, he suddenly stood up and limped forward.
Wang Ruyi watched Yu Xingzhi's back for a while and anxiously clenched her fingers.
She...worried about him...this little male cultivator who looked exactly like Yong Lang was obviously in a strange state. But now he disliked her, and whenever she approached, he would coldly look at her and tell her to leave.
Eventually, he became even more indifferent towards her, not even willing to spare a glance.
With no other choice, Jiaojiao, a silly and naive girl, had to choose a foolish method and secretly follow Yu Xingzhi.
Wang Ruyi tied her hair to the tree nearby, sometimes hiding behind the tree, sometimes hiding behind a rock. In the moment when the young man seemed to notice, she quickly swung back up into the tree.
Yu Xingzhi's face twitched involuntarily, but he continued forward.
When the young man turned his head, Wang Ruyi quietly jumped down from the tree and looked in the direction Yu Xingzhi was going.
This seems to be...that fairy palace.
But what is in front of this fairy palace that looks so dark...and why is it moving?
The next moment, she caught sight of Yu Xingzhi's face changing drastically, and he muttered angrily, "Damn!"
The shadows got closer and closer, and they turned out to be countless heads coming at them!
Even the ghost cultivator Wang Ruyi couldn't help but let out a loud scream in fear.
In just a split second, those rolling heads were already right in front of Yu Xingzhi. With his magic tools exhausted and being disabled, he was immediately knocked down to the ground and bitten off a large piece of meat.
Wang Ruyi, without thinking, immediately tied up her hair and rushed to rescue Yu Xingzhi.
Bravely, she stretched out her arms and protected Yu Xingzhi from harm.
Yu Xingzhi widened his eyes and said, "You..."
In the blink of an eye, Wang Ruyi had several pieces of flesh torn off by the attackers. She smiled shyly while enduring the pain.
"It's okay, I...I...I have already died anyway."
As long as the other person doesn't get angry with her, it's fine.
The woman's eyes became dim. She knew she had made a mistake and all she wanted was for Yu Xingzhi to forgive her.
As soon as she finished speaking, Yu Xingzhi's face changed. His chest heaved a few times. Without saying a word, he immediately shielded Wang Ruyi from the attack.
The woman corpse was surprised and exclaimed as she fell to the ground, clutching her stomach and tears streaming down her face. She said in a whiny voice, "Ouch, it hurts!"
It was because Yu Xingzhi's knee accidentally hit her stomach.
Yu Xingzhi looked at the wrapped up shriveled female corpse in the bright red wedding dress and his expression changed constantly. "Little mummy, listen, even though you're dead... "
"But, I am still a man, a cultivator."
His back was bitten, blood flowing incessantly. Yu Xingzhi groaned and lowered his eyes. "I don't need you to protect me."
Wang Ruyi stared blankly at the boy on her body, not saying anything, but her hair couldn't help but grow longer and longer. Gradually, it wrapped the two of them up like a cocoon.
As a result, the screaming sound of the severed head outside faded away. This cocoon securely protected the two of them, and they fell into a long stretch of darkness. Only each other's warm breath remained in their surroundings.
Wang Ruyi stared blankly, curling up her toes, covering her face in sorrow and anger. "Embarrassing... it's so embarrassing."
Yu Xingzhi was instantly confused. "What is this?"
"This is my cocoon," she said.
After speaking, the young man in front of her suddenly fell silent again.
Yu Xingzhi stood up expressionlessly and gave the small corpse in front of him a quick, graceless kick.
"Go away."
If this thing had been shown earlier, he wouldn't have been moved by an idiot.
Wang Ruyi happily followed, holding her wedding dress.
"Aren't you angry anymore?"
The young man's face turned into a grimace, distorting the remaining half of his beautiful face.
As they walked, they suddenly heard a cry for help not far from the celestial palace.
Yu Xingzhi and Wang Ruyi glanced at each other and hurried towards the sound.
Unfortunately, they were one step too late.
Not far away, a male cultivator's face froze in the most fearful and desperate moment of his life. His body slumped down, and dark red blood gushed from the large hole in his chest, staining the ground.
Above the two of them, the sky was almost completely covered in silver spider silk.
In the center of the spiderweb, a young boy floated silently. He stood on nothing, with no expression on his face. His dark eyes seemed unfocused.
What caught everyone's attention was his skin. It had an abnormal, smooth, and glossy appearance, like white jade. His messy black hair fell across his shoulders, and there were faint scars on his neck. From his fingertips, thin, cold, shimmering threads extended like a puppet's strings. At first glance, he looked like an exquisite puppet.
Both Wang Ruyi and Yu Xingzhi were shocked in an instant.
This... What the heck!
...
Xiao Sanlang was a bit unsure of what Xiao Huan was thinking now.
Although he wasn't the head of the Xiao family yet, after a series of ruthless actions such as killing his younger brother and father, Xiao Huan had basically taken control of the Xiao family.
But Xiao Huan seemed unaffected. He lay lazily on the bed, quietly looking at the Evil Sword Book on the table. This was a priceless book of swordsmanship that countless people in the cultivation world desired.
"Sanlang," Xiao Huan sighed with a bitter smile, "I did it."
But as he finally stumbled his way into this position, he suddenly realized that there was no one around to celebrate with.
After enduring hardships and carrying burdens for decades, Xiao Huan had finally risen to power and held authority in his hands. However, he felt a little weary. It was still too early to relax as there were still many things he needed to arrange and take care of. But at this moment, he found himself thinking, "If Little Sui were still here. If Little Sui were still here..."
Thinking about the news he was about to deliver, Xiao Sanlang went silent for a moment before choosing to speak.
"Young Master, the toxins that remained in Xiao Sui's eyes earlier have taken effect."
If someone were to notice the poison on Xiao Sui's body...
As Xiao Sanlang spoke, Xiao Huan finally stood up calmly. The bit of humanity and affection in his eyes was replaced by indifference and distance.
"Well then, let's just gouge out Little Sui's eyes."
"Act like it a little."
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