Feng Hanyu was secretly investigating when she suddenly heard a long whistle from afar. The Twin Heart Butterfly slowly landed on her fingertip, its wings trembling incessantly.
Knowing something was amiss, she conjured a water mirror out of thin air. In it, she could clearly see a cultivator stumbling and fleeing through the darkness. Pursuing close behind her was a demon resembling an evil dragon, its jaws nearly brushing the ends of her hair.
With a flash of her silhouette, Feng Hanyu flew past as fast as a phantom, heading straight toward the source of the sound.
Within the pitch-black cavern walls, the evil dragon gathered its strength for a fierce strike, about to swallow Yi Qinglan’s head whole.
At this life or death juncture, Feng Hanyu remained remarkably calm. Emerging soundlessly from the darkness, she grabbed Yi Qinglan, pulled her to her side, and lunged forward several times, instantly breaking through the barrier.
The entire crystal palace shook and rumbled. The people outside had no idea what was happening. The Golden Toad Attendants moved upon hearing the commotion, gathering around the barrier like a swarm of black flies.
Facing the enemies surrounding them in a fan formation, Feng Hanyu originally intended to use her full strength to obliterate these pests all at once. Unexpectedly, Yi Qinglan, who had been leaning passively against her and was almost unconscious, suddenly raised her head and whispered, “Don’t… they are mortals.”
What a joke. When had she, the Demon Venerable, ever cared about mortals?
However, looking at Yi Qinglan’s current state, her facial features contorted in pain despite having no external wounds. Feng Hanyu guessed that this was the result of the Ruins Fire flaring up and violently assaulting her internal mansion.
At this critical moment, it was better to avoid causing extra trouble. Feng Hanyu reluctantly withdrew her hand. Virtually hoisting Yi Qinglan onto her shoulder, she swiftly turned down a secluded path and bolted straight for the main entrance.
To leave this place, the only way out was the great door they had entered through.
However, the Golden Toad Attendants guarding the door saw the two women fleeing toward them at high speed with a mob of pursuers behind them, and they quickly triggered the mechanism. The heavy doors began to close slowly, and the nine door bolts fell into place one by one.
Seeing their exit about to be sealed shut, Yi Qinglan endured her agony and lifted her head. Silently chanting a spell, the ring on her hand instantly expanded into a sword that looked entirely like white jade. The sword possessed immense spirituality, upon receiving her command, it flew forward like an arrow. The sword’s momentum was fierce and rapid, embedding itself deeply into the ground and perfectly wedging into the barely open crack of the door.
Having even a small crack made things much easier. The corners of Feng Hanyu’s mouth curled upward. Even with a person on her back, her forward dash did not slow down in the slightest.
Seeing the two women charging toward them, the Golden Toad Attendants at the door reacted as if facing a formidable enemy and rushed to pull the sword out. However, they possessed mere mortal bodies, their efforts were like an ant trying to shake a giant tree. The sword remained completely immobile, and the heavy doors could not close any further.
Cold sweat poured down the Golden Toad Attendants’ faces, only to see the black clothed woman arrive right in front of them with a ferocious smile.
A sharp pain struck his waist. When the Golden Toad Attendant opened his eyes, he found himself flying dozens of meters away through the air, left dangling from a tree, swinging back and forth.
Squinting his swollen eyes, he looked back toward the doorway. He saw that the woman possessed terrifying strength with a single hand, she pushed open the heavy doors, gave the other woman a shove forward, and then relaxed her strength, letting the heavy doors slam shut together.
With a thunderous boom, the two of them were completely cut off from the pursuers behind them.
Supported and half-carried by Feng Hanyu, Yi Qinglan finally made it out of the grand gates. As the cold wind hit her, an intense discomfort and suffocating feeling washed over her. She felt herself being carried up onto a chilly, elevated platform. Opening her eyes, she realized her legs were dangling in the air, she was actually sitting on the edge of a water well.
Before she could react, Feng Hanyu had already pulled her along to leap into the water. Yi Qinglan felt a sudden wave of coldness over her entire body and quickly sealed her mouth and nose, forcing her eyes open beneath the surface.
Looking down from above, the bottom of the well had seemed extremely narrow, yet underwater it did not feel cramped at all. As Yi Qinglan floated serenely through the water, unsure of where the current would take her, a force suddenly tugged at her collar. She turned her head and saw Feng Hanyu’s bright eyes staring right at her in the dim depths of the water.
Moments later, the two of them burst through the surface of the water. Yi Qinglan gasped heavily for air and looked around. She and Feng Hanyu were standing, dripping wet, right in front of the mirror of the dressing table. They had actually returned to the bedroom where Feng Hanyu had originally brought her.
“This time… they won’t pursue us here, will they?” Yi Qinglan forced herself to endure the pain within her dantian, leaning over the dressing table to slowly lower her body.
Without saying a word, Feng Hanyu helped her straight to the bed, where the two of them sat cross-legged facing each other.
Yi Qinglan forced a smile. “Why does this scene feel so incredibly familiar? I almost thought it was the first time we met.”
“How can you still be joking at a time like this?” Feng Hanyu couldn’t help but tap her forehead. “I leave you for just a brief moment, and you manage to get yourself into such a wretched state?”
Seeing Yi Qinglan’s pale face still trying to offer a forced smile, Feng Hanyu wasted no more time on words. She immediately pulled out a Spirit Attaching Pill and fed it to her, then retrieved a magical artifact to heal her injuries. This artifact was vividly bright and red, shaped like a cat’s eye gemstone, the very one Yi Qinglan had seen last time in Muyin Village.
Feng Hanyu pinched it between her index and ring fingers, forcefully probing toward Yi Qinglan’s lower abdomen. At that contact, Yi Qinglan felt a sharp pain radiate intensely from a single point in her dantian, leaving even her limbs numb with agony.
However, before long, this pain gradually transformed into a burning, fiery heat. A steady stream of warmth emanated from the artifact, invading her body and even slowly drying the clothes on both of them.
Yi Qinglan felt it with absolute clarity, two distinct auras were battling one another inside her dantian. One was a pure, refreshing Daoist spiritual energy that had originally occupied her body, which was now locked in a fierce, inseparable struggle with a strand of evil fire. Under the opponent’s aggressive onslaught, her spiritual energy was gradually showing signs of defeat. As the enemy’s power grew stronger and its momentum surged, her spiritual energy was forced to retreat step by step, seemingly on the verge of a total rout, about to be forced to yield its territory.
However, with the intervention of the artifact, the spiritual energy seemed to receive an immense boost. Suddenly, it surged like a torrential tide, its momentum skyrocketing. Having been fiercely suppressed and battered by the opponent just moments ago, it unexpectedly turned the tide of defeat in an instant.
Yi Qinglan’s tightly furrowed brow gradually relaxed.
Guided by Feng Hanyu, the spiritual energy within her body began to circulate smoothly and freely through every major and minor meridian. It felt as though her entire body was soaking in a nourishing hot spring, bringing immense comfort even to the marrow of her bones.
Half an hour passed before Feng Hanyu withdrew the artifact. The hellish pain Yi Qinglan had felt previously had completely vanished, she felt as if she had awakened from a beautiful dream, entirely reborn.
Lifting her arms and stretching her fingers, she felt that every bone and sinew in her body was comfortable and powerful, and her eyes and mind were clearer and sharper than ever before.
With a slight probe, Yi Qinglan discovered to her surprise that her cultivation realm showed signs of another breakthrough, faintly advancing toward the late stage of the Golden Core realm.
Could it be…
Yi Qinglan abruptly raised her head to look at Feng Hanyu, only to find the other woman staring at her silently with a thoughtful expression, lost in unknown thoughts.
After a moment, Feng Hanyu shook her head to herself.
She said, “Do you feel right now that your cultivation realm has broken through?”
“Indeed,” Yi Qinglan said in pleasant surprise. “I was originally at the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm, but now I feel I am approaching the late stage.”
Feng Hanyu nodded and said, “Then that is correct. These past few days, the Ruins Fire has lay dormant inside your body. Although you didn’t realize it, the spiritual energy within you has been secretly and continuously fighting against it. As the saying goes, strength breeds strength. The Ruins Fire is incomparably potent and desires to completely occupy the territory inside you. Your spiritual energy held its ground against it, and every clash was like a desperate struggle for survival, so it naturally grew stronger at a rapid pace.”
“This time, I used the artifact to help you suppress the Ruins Fire. It is equivalent to your spiritual energy finally winning a battle, which is why your realm has advanced.”
“So that’s how it is.” Realization dawned on Yi Qinglan, making her even happier. “To think that after being tormented by this Ruins Fire for so long, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise? Doesn’t that mean breaking through my realm is just around the corner?”
However, Feng Hanyu countered, “The Ruins Fire is extremely formidable; how could it be suppressed so easily? I can only suppress a fraction of it for you at a time. The Ruins Fire is still inside your body and has not been radically eradicated. Do not rejoice too early. I am afraid it will flare up again later.”
Yi Qinglan’s mood, which had just soared due to her increase in strength, instantly dropped by half. “Does that mean I will still lose control of my spiritual energy? What should I do then?” Yet, she quickly cheered up again, thinking that although the Ruins Fire was domineering, if it could continue to help her elevate her spiritual energy, it wasn’t an entirely bad thing.
“You need not worry excessively. Looking at the condition inside your body, it should take about two more times to completely remove the Ruins Fire.”
Only then did Yi Qinglan set her mind at ease. Looking up, she noticed that for some reason, Feng Hanyu had been staring intently at her since a moment ago.
Yi Qinglan felt her face grow inexplicably warm and couldn’t help but touch her cheek. “Is there something on my face?”
Feng Hanyu’s fingers twitched slightly, as if she wanted to touch her, but she lowered her gaze. “No. Just seeing you like this just now suddenly reminded me of an old friend.”
“Oh? Is it that person you mentioned who, like me, also suffered from the torments of the Ruins Fire?” Yi Qinglan asked.
Feng Hanyu let out a soft laugh. “You certainly have a good memory.”
Seeing Feng Hanyu’s smile suddenly blossom, rendering her usually aloof and handsome features with a rare gentleness at this moment. Yi Qinglan felt her heart stir. She replied warmly, “Yes, you mentioned that person before, suffering from the harm of the Ruins Fire just like me. If I ever have the fortune to meet them, we could be considered kindred spirits.”
“Meet her?” A subtle and complex look flashed through Feng Hanyu’s eyes as she said desolately, “She is already dead.”
“What?” Yi Qinglan said in shock. “Could it be that she died because of the Ruins Fire?”
“No,” Feng Hanyu said. “She conquered the Ruins Fire, but she died because of someone else.”
So that was it. Yi Qinglan knew in her heart that Feng Hanyu cared deeply about that person, who might have been a close friend of many years. With that person gone, she must have suffered terribly.
Immersed in her memories, Feng Hanyu did not realize that as she stared at Yi Qinglan, the expression on her face grew exceedingly tender. She couldn’t resist gently placing her hand against the side of Yi Qinglan’s face.
That person was indeed incredibly powerful. In all the world, she was the only one capable of resisting the harm of the Ruins Fire on her own and even converting it for her own use.
It is just that the Ruins Fire and cultivators are inherently incompatible. If one forcibly devours the Ruins Fire, they will instead suffer its backlash.
Thinking up to this point, Feng Hanyu placed the artifact from earlier into Yi Qinglan’s hand. “This item is called the Heavenly Sacrifice Treasure. It can help you use your spiritual energy to suppress the Ruins Fire. Although I am a rogue cultivator, my family’s cultivation system is different from yours, which is why I cannot directly assist you in circulating your energy. This artifact can lend you a helping hand whenever the Ruins Fire flares up.”
“You must remember that once you begin circulating your energy, you must complete a full half-hour, it cannot be stopped midway. Otherwise, all previous efforts will be wasted, and if the Ruins Fire takes the opportunity to counterattack, at best your cultivation will be entirely ruined, and at worst, you will be reduced to ashes.”
Seeing how deeply Feng Hanyu cared for her, Yi Qinglan’s heart turned incredibly soft. She accepted the magical treasure with both hands. “Thank you so much, you truly are my great benefactor.” The corners of her mouth couldn’t help but tilt upward into a gentle curve as she looked into Feng Hanyu’s eyes.
However, Feng Hanyu gazed into the empty air, musing, “Tonight, I saw that the monster in the secret chamber was highly peculiar. Do you know its origin?”
With a brief description, Yi Qinglan relayed everything she had witnessed in the cavern, including the conversation between those two individuals.
“Mm,” Feng Hanyu noted. “It seems that evil dragon is the key to the women altering their appearances.”
An anxious look surfaced on Yi Qinglan’s face. “To think my two junior sisters have also fallen into their hands, it’s truly…” She clenched her fists tightly. “I must go save them!”
Feng Hanyu asked, “Then do you know where your two junior sisters are currently located?”
Stumped by the question, Yi Qinglan pondered for a long moment before saying, “Judging by what those two said, I assume they haven’t entered the evil dragon’s cavern yet. We only need to retrace our steps, capture a few people to interrogate, and we should be able to find out.”
However, Feng Hanyu shook her head. “After such a huge commotion tonight, that place will definitely be reinforced with layers of defenses. The entrance within the Mirror Market changes unpredictably to begin with. I’m afraid it will be very difficult to find it again.”
“Then what should we do?” Yi Qinglan couldn’t help but tug at the ends of her hair. “If it’s too late, my junior sisters…”
Seeing her anxiety, a playful smile appeared on Feng Hanyu’s face. “Don’t tell me you don’t know what else I managed to discover in that place?”