The water in the Bihai Domain was squeezed out by his movements, bubbles landing on the seagrass, water waves swaying gently.
Lian Yunzhi: “…”
Lian Yunzhi suddenly felt inexplicably guilty and wanted to touch his nose.
But he only carefully patted Mu Cheng’s back.
“…Alright, alright… don’t cry.”
.
Feng Xi and the others arrived later than Lian Yunzhi expected.
By the time he heard the noise, the wound on his shoulder had fully healed. He was brimming with energy. He shielded Mu Cheng behind him, pressing tightly against the cave wall. The vine at his fingertip was poised to strike.
Sword light appeared at the cave entrance. Without looking, Lian Yunzhi attacked. The vine pierced through the shield and straight into the intruder’s chest!
It was as simple as killing a mortal.
Tch, was this the capability of a cultivator without spiritual power?
Lian Yunzhi curled his lip and looked outward.
…Then he froze.
Outside were densely packed mortal assassins, their shoulders marked with the emblems of the Mu, Lian, Fang, and Chen families—the Four Great Families. They swarmed like ants on the ground, fish in the sea.
Looking up, on the water surface of the Bihai Domain, at the convergence of light.
Lian Yunzhi saw Feng Xi standing high above inside a Glazed Magic Tool like a water avoidance cover. Behind him flickered a cyan figure.
Lian Yunzhi recalled the joint siege by the Four Great Families against him.
So it started back then? From the moment the Four Great Families hunted him down together, Feng Xi and that cyan-clothed person had already been involved?!
No wonder, no wonder. No matter where he hid, those assassins always found him, as if guided by an Immortal…
Countless assassins surged toward Lian Yunzhi and Mu Cheng.
The water of the Bihai Domain gradually turned red.
.
Even Lian Yunzhi grew tired.
When his vine slowed for an instant due to exhaustion, his newly healed shoulder was pierced by a sword once more.
Lian Yunzhi’s body involuntarily tilted backward. Mu Cheng caught him from behind and stabbed the attacker’s throat with a dagger.
Lian Yunzhi shook his head, pushed Mu Cheng away, and rejoined the fight. But no matter what he did, one vine always clung tightly to Mu Cheng’s spine.
“Lian Yunzhi.”
Feng Xi’s voice rang out again.
“Stop. Without spiritual power, you’ll exhaust yourself eventually. The next wave of killers is almost here.” He paused. “Over ten thousand of them.”
“Splat!”
Thick, foul blood splashed onto Lian Yunzhi’s face from close range. Even with the Water Avoidance Pearl’s membrane blocking it, he felt as if the blood had entered his nostrils, nearly making him vomit.
He opened his eyes. Everything around was covered in red blood. He seemed to stand in a pool of blood, transformed into a tireless demon ghost that only knew killing.
“Give up.”
“Hand over Mu Cheng.”
Lian Yunzhi heard multiple voices urging him simultaneously.
“…Give up.”
The final voice urging surrender came from behind him.
Lian Yunzhi stopped fighting. He had no strength left to fight. His vines no longer killed but formed a tight cage, wrapping himself and the person behind him securely.
Lian Yunzhi turned his head.
“There are many ways to dissolve a Dao Companion Contract, some without using spiritual power. I’ll inscribe an Oath Inscription on myself. When I die, I’ll be the contract breaker. You won’t suffer backlash or a drop in cultivation.”
Mu Cheng’s clothes were dyed deep red. His face appeared blurred behind the murky blue water.
“Wasn’t I bad to you in my previous life?” Mu Cheng curved his lips slightly, his tone light. “So don’t grieve for me. If there’s a next life, I’ll be your Human Cauldron and slave again, okay?”
He reached out, as if to touch Lian Yunzhi’s fingertip one last time.
But the current pushed his trembling fingers away just before they met.
Mu Cheng withdrew his hand, making no second attempt. He lowered his head and carved the inscription word by word into his arm with blood.
He turned and stepped out of the fragile vine cage on his own.
The mortal legion halted. Some surfaced, others retreated, clearing a path to death for Mu Cheng.
“Turn around.”
But Feng Xi didn’t let Mu Cheng approach. He produced a Soul Scattering Needle and made Mu Cheng bare his back.
Mu Cheng looked up. “Will you hurt him?”
“No,” Feng Xi said coldly. “Our target has always been only you. As for Lian Yunzhi, we won’t harm him unless he opposes us.”
Mu Cheng nodded and turned candidly.
But Feng Xi didn’t use the Soul Scattering Needle immediately. He looked up at Lian Yunzhi. “Retract your vine.”
Lian Yunzhi’s vine still clung firmly to Mu Cheng’s spine, never separating.
Lian Yunzhi slowly raised his head.
Though immersed in icy water, he felt as if his whole body burned.
The second time.
Lian Yunzhi thought.
This was the second time someone tried to take Mu Cheng from his side.
Why was he always so weak, always letting others snatch his things?!
Why did this always happen right after he boasted about protecting Mu Cheng, turning him into a master who only made empty promises?!
Lian Yunzhi raged at his own incompetence.
“Retract your vine,” Feng Xi commanded a second time.
Lian Yunzhi looked at his vine.
Mu Cheng was too far, the blue water too murky. Without spiritual power and exhausted, he couldn’t see clearly. He instinctively used his Divine Sense.
He saw…
Lian Yunzhi’s eyes widened bit by bit.
He saw countless wisps of black mist drifting from the corpses of the dead, like eager ghosts finding their way home, burrowing toward Mu Cheng’s spine—only to be blocked by the vine.
