Ling Rong paid no attention to Wen Pinglan’s questioning.
Taking advantage of the brief moment when Wen Pinglan lost his focus, Ling Rong leapt up into the air and formed hand seals rapidly, the spiritual energy accumulating in his palms like a surging undercurrent.
Amidst the flickering light, that spiritual energy, carrying a momentum capable of destroying heaven and earth, struck directly and viciously toward Wen Pinglan.
Right at this critical juncture, a dark green figure flitted over like a swift wind, steadily blocking the path in front of Wen Pinglan.
“Don’t you dare think about hurting my master,” Mo Xuan shouted, his long sword instantly leaving its scabbard, and amidst the flashing cold light, a sharp sword aura pierced through the air like a physical entity, thrusting directly toward Ling Rong.
However, the streak of spiritual energy shot out by Ling Rong easily pierced through the sword aura unleashed by Mo Xuan, like a hot knife slicing through butter, continuing straight forward without any obstruction.
At the very instant before this spiritual energy was about to hit Wen Pinglan, perhaps because he saw that familiar dark green silhouette clearly, a trace of complex emotion suddenly flashed through Ling Rong’s eyes.
In the next second, he actually gritted his teeth fiercely, forcefully withdrawing a portion of the spiritual energy, and with a twist of his wrist, the direction of the spiritual energy shifted instantly.
Only a loud boom could be heard echoing out.
That streak of spiritual energy dropped heavily onto the ground nearby like a meteorite.
In an instant, a huge and scorching hole appeared at a speed visible to the naked eye on the floor of the Demon Locking Tower, the rocks at the edge of the hole instantly melting from the high temperature, flowing like lava.
However, at this time, Wen Pinglan’s attention was neither placed on Mo Xuan who had stepped forward to protect him, nor was it focused too much on that terrifying hole blasted open by the spiritual energy.
A single question echoed repeatedly within his mind: why did Ling Rong suddenly divert the spiritual energy the moment he saw Mo Xuan?
A sharp, stabbing pain came from his heart.
He was almost about to be burned to nothingness by this unfamiliar emotion.
Mo Xuan held his long sword across his body, vigilantly guarding in front of Wen Pinglan, “Ling Rong, if you dare to hurt my master even a single bit, I will cut you into a thousand pieces,”
Just as his words fell, he was suddenly pushed away by Wen Pinglan.
“Stand down,” Wen Pinglan said, “This is a private matter between this master and him, there is no need for others to interfere.”
“Master,” Mo Xuan’s sword-like brows furrowed tightly, his dark green robe flapping loudly as it was lifted by the demonic energy, “He has demonized and run amok, and the seal of the Demon Locking Tower is about to break, at this time…”
“I told you to leave,” Wen Pinglan said furiously, “Guard the defensive line outside the tower well, do not speak further,”
Wen Pinglan’s mind at this moment had been completely thrown into chaos, he preferred that the person standing in front of him to block the harm were Ling Rong, and the person who should be showing such concern for him should also be Ling Rong.
Yet the Ling Rong of this moment was like a madman, that streak of spiritual energy shot out just now was clearly meant to put him to death.
Ling Rong let out a light laugh, his blood-stained fingertips brushing past the corner of his mouth, “Is Master flying into a rage out of shame? Did you think that I truly wouldn’t dare to make a move against you?”
“Silence,” Wen Pinglan interrupted his words.
His fingertips forming the hand seals trembled slightly, unclear whether it was out of anger or because he was trying his absolute best to suppress the complex emotions churning at the bottom of his heart.
Looking at the tense expressions of the two people, Mo Xuan finally returned his long sword into its scabbard, “This disciple obeys the command.”
He took a deep look at Wen Pinglan, turning around to transform into a streak of flowing light that broke out of the tower, yet he quietly laid down three hidden defensive barriers before leaving.
Immediately following that, Wen Pinglan’s gaze locked tightly onto Ling Rong, his lips parting slightly, appearing as though he still wanted to say something more.
However, when his vision touched the blood-like crimson at the bottom of Ling Rong’s eyes, a fierce shock hit his heart, as if he had been stabbed by something sharp.
Only now did he faintly realize that everything he had done to Ling Rong might truly have been somewhat too much.
Yet with his consistently proud nature, how could he easily admit it.
He turned his head away slightly, working hard to make his expression appear calmer, his tone unconsciously softening by a few degrees as he asked, “You, hate this master very much?”
It had been a very long time since he had claimed himself as master in front of Ling Rong.
Hearing this, Ling Rong looked as though his scales had been rubbed the wrong way, roaring in grief, “I hate you, I hate you for killing Qing Gui without a single shred of hesitation, the one who fell into the demonic path is me, the one who betrayed his master and destroyed the orthodox path is also me, if you want to kill then kill me, give me a swift death, why did you touch my Qing Gui,”
Hearing these words, Wen Pinglan was stunned, and subsequently closed both eyes, appearing to be making some difficult decision.
After a brief moment, he opened his eyes once more, a trace of resolution flashing through his eyes as he said, “Since it is so, then you come and kill this master, this master promises, I will absolutely not dodge.”
Hearing this, Ling Rong was first taken aback, a trace of disbelief flashing through his eyes.
But very quickly, that crazed hatred occupied his sanity once more.
He suddenly extended his hand, a mass of dense spiritual energy condensing rapidly within his palm as he struck viciously toward Wen Pinglan.
Looking at Ling Rong’s unhesitating appearance, Wen Pinglan’s heart was filled with complex feelings.
He clearly realized that the Ling Rong before his eyes was already no longer that well-behaved disciple who used to follow his every command and obey his every word.
Yet what was strange was that he clearly also hated the sins Ling Rong had committed over these years to the absolute extreme, so why did his heart inexplicably give birth to a trace of grief upon hearing this hate-filled “I hate you”?
It seemed as though there were an invisible knife gently scraping against his heart.
Right at the critical juncture when that spell was about to hit Wen Pinglan, a blinding golden light suddenly burst forth, instantly forming a sturdy barrier in front of Wen Pinglan, blocking this sharp spell.
At the exact same time, a soft golden light also flickered at Wen Pinglan’s chest, the light constantly flowing and reflecting upon his slightly astonished face.
Ling Rong’s high-raised palm froze mid-air, the sharp claws formed from demonic energy rustling and crumbling into black mist.
He staggered a half-step backward.
“It is it-” Ling Rong’s trembling fingertips caressed his own empty chest.
He knew very well that this was his own immortal bone at work.
Only, he did not understand.
Why would his own immortal bone protect Wen Pinglan at the critical moment?
Just like the Qing Gui that Wen Pinglan had gifted him, it would also protect him at the critical moment.
Wen Pinglan was also dazed.
He looked at his own chest, not understanding what kind of thing had blocked the harm for him.
Therefore, he reached out his hand and pressed it against his chest, using his spiritual energy to probe it for a moment, and subsequently his pupils contracted.
“This is… an immortal bone,”
And the aura transmitted from that immortal bone was so familiar.
This immortal bone, it clearly belongs to Ling Rong.
A hundred years ago, he was injured by the demon race. When he woke up, he thought it was because he possessed great fortune and a long life, yet he had never thought that it was someone else who exchanged for it using their own life.