The two did not ride the carriage again, but strolled at leisure like ordinary cultivators. The valley's brook babbled, spirit-plants breathed, and for once they were far from the tangle of clan affairs.
This Young Lord rarely had such an idle, easy mood, and Yun Qing was glad to keep him company; his own spirit could not help relaxing a moment with the tranquil scenery around.
In the very instant Yun Qing's spirit eased, Yun Huang, ahead of him, suddenly moved.
He did not turn; without any warning, he lifted a hand at random and lightly grasped at the empty air.
"Hmmmm—!"
Space rang with a quake! In an instant, the light within the valley darkened, as though all radiance had been forcibly seized by that hand! Pure, mighty blazing-sun divine power surged madly toward Yun Huang's palm like a hundred rivers returning to the sea!
A light-orb, condensed to the utmost, surfaced spinning above his palm.
That orb was like a miniature sun, its core white-hot, molten-gold crimson fire flowing at its edge, giving off a terrible energy that set the soul trembling. The air around the orb warped violently, keening like glaze about to shatter.
An energy-core, formed of blazing-sun divine power compressed and condensed to the extreme!
An exceedingly ominous premonition ran through Yun Qing's whole body...
Before he could make any response, Yun Huang at last turned slowly, his pale-golden eyes startlingly bright in the light of that miniature sun in his palm. A curve of ill intent hooked at his lips:
"Since Elder Brother would put on a show of 'weakness,' how could This Lord bear not to help?"
Giving Yun Qing no chance to refuse, he flicked a finger.
That energy-core, radiating the aura of destruction, did not fly at Yun Qing; instead it turned into a golden streak of light and sank soundlessly into the earth beneath Yun Qing's feet.
"Booom————!!"
The next instant, with Yun Qing at the center, the ground within three yards blazed with countless golden formation-lines interwoven of raging flame and streaming light! The formation-disk was activated in an instant, blazing divine light shooting to the sky, swallowing Yun Qing whole!
Yun Qing felt only the space around him go white, as though he were forcibly torn from his own world and plunged in an instant into the heart of the sun! Endless blazing-sun divine power poured madly into his body from every side!
Not an attack, but a kind of... tempering?!
No — as Yun Qing would put it, more like a forced "infusion"!
Scorching! Searing! Rending!
A force far more violent and primal than what he had felt in the spar days ago drove, like a hundred million red-hot steel needles, deep into his meridians, bones, and organs — even into his very soul!
The Chaos Dao Embryo circulated madly of its own accord, the grey chaos-energy surging out, trying to devour these invaders.
But this blazing-sun divine power was too mighty, too pure, carrying Yun Huang's will that towered above all things, forcibly colliding, fusing, and annihilating with his chaos-energy!
"Urgh...!"
Yun Qing gave a muffled grunt, the veins at his temples bulging in an instant, the muscles beneath his black garb cramping violently with utmost pain. He bit down hard, blood seeping between his teeth; in his Double Pupils the chaos-energy churned madly at a speed never before reached, trying to parse and adapt to this devastating force.
In an instant he understood Yun Huang's intent.
Yun Huang was using the most overbearing means to forcibly "help" him disguise his injury!
"Embrace the origin and hold to the one; draw the blazing-sun into chaos; take in life-force through annihilation." Yun Huang's clear, cold voice pierced the scorching flames and sounded distinctly in Yun Qing's sea of consciousness, all but drowned in searing pain.
A great shock struck Yun Qing's spirit; he circulated his power with all his might. The Chaos Dao Embryo — encompassing all things, evolving all laws.
He drew that violent blazing-sun power into the chaos-vortex, using annihilation-intent to forcibly suppress and strip its blazing "life," then, with the way of chaos, shattered and decomposed it into the most fundamental yang-attribute energy particles, carefully fusing them into his own spiritual circulation.
Time lost its meaning in that moment.
No telling how long passed before the blazing-sun light filling the valley slowly drew in, the formation-lines on the ground gradually dimming.
Yun Qing still stood where he was, only his face pale as paper, unwiped blood at the corner of his lips, his aura disordered and weak — appearing especially "real."
He did indeed now look gravely injured and unhealed, even his origin-aura turned muddled and unsteady.
As for how much pure blazing-sun origin he had absorbed and refined under this torment, and how much deeper his comprehension of chaos had grown... such things, well, were best not told to Yun Chi.
Yun Huang walked quietly before Yun Qing and stretched out a long finger, a wisp of chaos spiritual power coiled at its tip, and touched it lightly to Yun Qing's brow.
Yun Qing's body instinctively stiffened; he forcibly held down the urge to dodge.
The fingertip touched his skin, cool to the feel. A cool, gentle chaos-energy passed into his all-but-dried sea of consciousness, swiftly nourishing and smoothing the fine cracks left by refining the blazing-sun power, and at the same time firmly fixing in place the "weak" and "muddled" state he had deliberately built up within.
"Now it looks the part." Yun Huang withdrew his hand, his tone bland: "No need to thank This Lord too much."
Only, if the mischievous smile in his eyes had been a little better concealed, Yun Qing might actually have bowed and said, "My thanks to the Young Lord for the favor."
As it was...
Yun Qing could only press down that speechless, wry helplessness in his heart and shake his head to himself. Let it go, let it go — count it as... indulging this vicious-tempered little brother of his own.
Just amid this wordless "byplay" of theirs, the corner of Yun Qing's eye caught sharply, among the distant mountain woods, several figures hurrying toward them — at their head, none other than Yun Chi.
Yun Chi and the rest had been blocked all along by that terrible energy field; only now, with the formation dispersed, could they hasten near in a fluster.
At a single glance Yun Chi saw Yun Qing's ghastly pallor and the deeply unstable aura around him, and wild joy sprang up in his heart like wild grass run rampant. Just as he made to step forward with "concern" to inquire—
Suddenly!
Yun Huang, who had been standing quietly to watch the show, jerked his head up, cold light surging in his eyes, his golden pupils keen as lightning, stabbing straight up at the azure firmament! His gaze crossed the endless void and locked hard onto some formless existence!
Cowed by this aura, Yun Chi dared not speak.
Yun Qing too sensed the extraordinary air. He stepped forward and asked in a low voice: "Young Lord?" He likewise circulated his Double Pupils, his gaze straining to follow Yun Huang's, trying to look toward that endless high sky. Faintly, there did seem to be some vast, blurred outline of law flickering in and out of a seam at the world's end...
Slap!
A pair of jade-like hands covered Yun Qing's eyes without any warning, blocking his whole field of vision with an irresistible force.
Yun Huang shook his head slightly, as though suddenly gone off the whole idea, and said blandly: "Let's go back. You'll know soon enough."
Then, saying no more, his black figure warped faintly like melting light, and the next instant vanished from where he stood, returning straight to Qiwu Hall.
Yun Qing stood where he was, the cool touch of that fingertip seeming still to linger before his eyes. He gazed in the direction Yun Huang had vanished, a chill in his heart — something big was surely about to happen...
To one side, Yun Chi, who had long been unable to restrain himself, saw Yun Huang leave and at once darted forward a step, blocking Yun Qing, who had likewise turned to go. He had not forgotten his real business!
Seeing Yun Qing turn back, Yun Chi at once heaped a concerned smile onto his face and clasped his hands: "Eldest Young Master!"
As he saluted, his spiritual sense swept swiftly over Yun Qing's pallid face and that muddled, unstable aura around him.
'Just as I thought! This Yun Qing actually stood up for that brat Yun Li just now — the Young Lord was displeased, and laid down a punishment after all!' Wild joy grew fiercer in Yun Chi's heart, but on his face he wore every appearance of worry: "I wonder, did the Young Lord just now... ah, surely the Eldest Young Master has wearied himself teaching today and toiled hard at clan affairs, so that his old injury has relapsed! This younger brother has lately chanced upon a three-thousand-year 'Blood-Jade Spirit-Fungus,' a thing of marvelous effect for anchoring the root, nourishing the origin, and healing wounds. In this younger brother's hands it is a pearl cast into darkness, a waste of Heaven's gift. If the Eldest Young Master would not disdain it, this younger brother wishes to offer it up — and begs the Eldest Young Master's forbearance for my earlier offense."
Yun Qing halted his steps and, deliberately gritting through it, said: "Much obliged for Cousin Yun Chi's concern. It was only that I circulated my power too hastily yesterday and stirred up an old injury a little; a few days' regulation and it will mend."
He seemed intent on covering it up, unwilling to speak much of the injury.
"So that's how it is." A keen light flashed in the depths of Yun Chi's eyes; he feigned sudden understanding, then leaned half a step closer, lowered his voice, and said with a measure of shared indignation: "Speaking of which, it's all the fault of that reckless, ignorant Yun Hao! Had he not deliberately provoked, how would the Eldest Young Master have been dragged in..."
"Let past matters rest!" Yun Qing cut him off abruptly, his tone faintly cold, a just-timed flash of anger crossing his Double Pupils.
This performance of his, falling into Yun Chi's eyes, only cemented the guess that Yun Qing had been punished by the Young Lord and was gritting through it.
"The Eldest Young Master is broad of heart; it was I who misspoke." Yun Chi yielded gracefully and pressed the matter no further.
Yun Qing knew well that too much was as bad as too little; seeing him ask no more, he made a hand-seal and returned straight to Qiwu Hall.
As for what Yun Chi went on to guess and imagine after he left, that was all beyond the range of Yun Qing's concern.