Chapter 38
Ji Chun invited Helan Xue to the main hall.
In the main hall, he saw A’Yu kneeling on the ground, bound by chains, while Qiansui stood beside him with a dark face.
After the tree demon was defeated by Helan Xue at the bottom of the cliff, the thick fog released by the tree demon did not dissipate, so everyone had to stay behind to set up a formation and clean up.
And…
The Demon Sword fragment had disappeared without a trace again.
Shouyang was very sure that the Demon Clan did not have a chance to get close, so where did the fragment go?
But Helan Xue did not have time to search, as Lin Queli had “fallen ill.”
Helan Xue took Lin Queli back to the Myriad Sword Sect, Shouyang went to find medicine, and Qiansui escorted A’Yu back to the sect with Helan Xue.
As for the fragment, Shouyang called for Lin Queli’s second senior martial brother, who had recently returned from a foreign country, to continue the search.
Now that Qiansui had suddenly brought him here, something must have happened.
“Grandmaster…” Qiansui took a deep breath. “This kid… slipped out of his room today, his movements suspicious. This junior quietly followed him and found that he was actually trying to poison you! He smeared medicinal powder on your tea set. The evidence is conclusive!”
Ji Chun handed a packet of medicinal powder and a teacup to Helan Xue.
It was rare for Qiansui to be so angry. He glared at A’Yu. “I can’t believe I thought you were a good person… so this was all your disguise, just to trick me into this vicious act!”
A’Yu stuck his neck out. “Say what you want. Since it’s already been exposed, I’ll admit defeat.”
Ji Chun frowned. “Immortal Venerable… a demon is a demon. It’s better to execute him, lest he become a hidden danger in the sect.”
Qiansui paused.
But Helan Xue just looked at A’Yu and asked, “Why?”
Hmm…?
A’Yu was stunned.
Was Taxue Xianzun asking him the reason for the poisoning?
Let alone A’Yu, even Ji Chun and Qiansui were dumbfounded.
As far as they knew, Helan Xue hated evil with a passion. Let alone a demon who had poisoned someone, even a demon who hadn’t would be killed with a single sword stroke.
But now A’Yu had already done something bad, and Helan Xue… was actually asking him the reason?
Even if it was to investigate the collusion between the Radiant Church and the Demon Clan, he could have spared his life, but he could have just detained him directly. Why ask?
Anyway, didn’t demons do bad things for their evil thoughts and greed?
A’Yu paused, then frowned. “For no reason.”
Helan Xue waved his hand, letting Ji Chun and Qiansui leave. After only he and A’Yu were left in the hall, he took a cup of tea, scraped the tea foam, and said lightly, “My disciple has shown you kindness. The Myriad Sword Sect is now helping you track down your clansmen. You wouldn’t poison This Venerable without reason. Tell me the truth.”
To be honest, Helan Xue was not very wary of A’Yu.
A’Yu was too weak for him, not only in cultivation, but he also didn’t seem very… smart.
Helan Xue also didn’t know why, but he was now particularly tolerant of such not-so-smart people.
If A’Yu really wanted to kill him, there were actually many more ways that were hard to detect, but he couldn’t even fool Qiansui.
A’Yu gritted his teeth.
Helan Xue was right, but… to save his clansmen, he needed strength and cultivation. The Myriad Sword Sect was not the only choice.
But now they had already pledged allegiance to the Demon Lord. If the Demon Lord died, then their tribe would definitely be threatened and subdued by Elder Jin afterwards. They were not united now, and the high-level cultivators of the Tiandi tribe, like his older sister, were not here. How could they resist?
And the Demon Lord had shown kindness to their clansmen. It was because of the Demon Lord’s promise that the Myriad Sword Sect had helped…
So the Demon Lord was the most important.
A’Yu remained silent.
Helan Xue shook his head. “If you don’t speak, I have my ways to make you speak. Or should I have Lin Luo come and ask you?”
“…Don’t!” A’Yu suddenly looked up. “Don’t tell him!”
Helan Xue frowned.
…
A moment later, A’Yu took a deep breath and thought for a moment before saying, “He has shown me kindness. I originally wanted to… get the Extreme Cold Yuan Soul for him…”
Helan Xue frowned. “Lin Luo is This Venerable’s disciple. This Venerable will only find a way for him. Have you ever thought that his body is already so weak? If he directly refines the Extreme Cold Yuan Soul after taking it, and absorbs such a huge amount of spiritual energy in an instant, he might also die from it.”
A’Yu gritted his teeth. “But what other way is there! He can’t wait! He… was plotted against by the Demon Palace. Elder Jin gave him the Yuan Yang Pill and threatened him to kill you, but he couldn’t bear to!”
Click.
The next moment, a crack appeared in the porcelain cup in Helan Xue’s hand.
A’Yu lowered his head, his hands trembling slightly.
This move was very risky. A slight mistake would expose the Demon Lord’s identity, but he… had no other choice.
The Demon Lord was not what he had imagined. He had thought that the Demon Lord should be a ruthless killer, a great figure with only his grand cause in his eyes. But he didn’t expect the Demon Lord to be kind-hearted and simple-minded.
He guessed that the Demon Lord couldn’t bear to kill Helan Xue to get the Extreme Cold Yuan Soul, so…
Helan Xue stood up and said sternly, “Why would the Demon Clan target him?”
A’Yu lay prostrate, his face down to prevent Helan Xue from seeing his expression. He fabricated a story, “The Demon Clan is targeting you, so they will naturally target the people around you, especially the soft persimmons…”
Helan Xue took a deep breath. “When did they do it? How many days are left before it takes effect?”
“This… I don’t know.” A’Yu indeed only knew about the existence of the Yuan Yang Pill. After all, Lin Queli had asked the shadow guards to find a way, and he was responsible for helping to receive the news from the shadow guards, but Lin Queli hadn’t told him more than that.
“Immortal Venerable! Immortal Venerable… not good!”
Ji Chun rushed in again.
Helan Xue pinched his prayer beads. “What are you so flustered about again?”
“Young Master Lin… suddenly spat out blood!”
Helan Xue had Ji Chun lock A’Yu in a room first and not to act for the time being. He himself opened a teleportation array on the spot.
…
Lin Queli slept restlessly, feeling very hot in his dream.
Even though he was sleeping on a cold stone bed, and it was very cold around him, and even in the past when he came in to practice, he would complain for a long time about the cold.
He was trembling and covered in a cold sweat, but his body was unbearably hot, especially below his abdomen. It was not just hot, but also very painful. It was not a feeling of spring, but rather a piercing pain in his limbs and bones.
“Ugh…”
After waking up, Lin Queli propped himself up and wanted to crawl to the cold pool.
He didn’t know if soaking in ice water would help…
Lin Queli’s skin was red, and his breathing was rapid. He staggered towards the pool, but lost his strength on the way and knelt on the ground, trembling all over. He bent over and spat out a mouthful of blood.
The bloodstain was particularly obvious on the snow, but Lin Queli’s vision was already not very clear at this moment.
“Sob, sob, sob… Da Zhuang, I think I’m going to die. It’s so embarrassing. What kind of decent person dies because of that kind of unfulfilled desire, sob, sob, sob!!”
【Host… well, you can’t say that!】
Just then, Lin Queli caught a glimpse of a white figure in the corner of his eye. Before he could see clearly, the next moment he was picked up horizontally.
“…!”
Lin Queli could only vaguely see Helan Xue’s outline and figure.
“Shizun…?”
The places where his skin touched Helan Xue seemed to be even hotter. Lin Queli bit his teeth hard to suppress a broken sound.
Not only the places where Helan Xue was holding him, but also the temperature of the cinnabar prayer beads on his wrist and the coolness of the jade bracelet on his ankle made him tingle all over. And all of these… every one of them reminded him of Helan Xue’s existence.
He had never felt so unbearable towards Helan Xue’s aura.
“Mmm…”
Lin Queli closed his eyes. Because of the discomfort and endurance, tears welled up at the corners of his eyes. He could only plead, “Shizun… can you put me down.”
At this moment, Helan Xue was carrying Lin Queli step by step towards the pool, his face as cold as ever.
But Lin Queli heard his heartbeat, which was more obvious than usual.
The top of the Ice Cave Abode was open to the sky. Moonlight poured down, casting a long shadow of the two overlapping figures.
It was at this moment that the sky suddenly tore apart, and the originally twinkling stars were instantly devoured by thunderclouds.
A fierce wind rose around them. Helan Xue looked up and saw the sky covered with thunderclouds. The dark golden lightning swimming in the clouds seemed to be a warning.
The weather had changed.
Helan Xue closed his eyes.
After he made such a decision, it would actually attract heavenly punishment.
Why?
Was it because he had betrayed the teachings of the Dao of Cangsheng and was about to do such an improper thing to his own disciple?
Lin Queli was also stunned when he saw the strange movement in the sky.
In an instant, he seemed to understand what Helan Xue was going to do.
—Helan Xue was going to dual cultivate with him.
The union of the leader of the Righteous Path and the Demon Lord, the birth of the son of destiny, the Long Aotian, a degenerate and derailed but connected to the main plot…
All of this had actually attracted heavenly thunder!
Lin Queli grabbed Helan Xue and said anxiously, “Shizun… don’t!”
But Helan Xue did not stop. Instead, he held him and went into the water together. The pool water went over their waists.
The next moment, Helan Xue reached out and untied the sash of his undergarment under the water. With the cover of the pool water, it was as if they could pretend that all of this was normal.
“…!”
“Shizun… sob, sob… I-I’m uncomfortable. Please don’t touch me anymore.” Lin Queli curled up in Helan Xue’s arms, panting helplessly. “I-I can’t control myself…”
Lin Queli couldn’t see Helan Xue’s expression, so his hearing was even sharper, and his sense of touch was also more sensitive.
He seemed to hear his Shizun’s low but indistinct panting, and he also felt his Shizun’s cold hand accidentally brush past his abdomen when untying the sash.
The thunder in the sky grew louder, as if it were about to fall at any moment.
The heavens and earth changed color, and it was dark everywhere. Helan Xue raised his hand and set up a barrier around them, so that others could not approach.
Helan Xue looked at Lin Queli and said, “Don’t be afraid. The heavenly thunder will not hurt you.”
He concentrated his qi, and frost and snow flew around them, the wind and snow growing stronger.
Helan Xue was already prepared to resist the heavenly thunder.
“Shizun…” Lin Queli’s eyes were red with discomfort.
“Lin Luo.” Helan Xue asked in a low voice, “Why would you rather endure it yourself than kill This Venerable?”
Lin Queli was stunned.
How did Helan Xue know? How much did he know??
It’s over, it’s over…
Lin Queli wanted to cry but had no tears. “How did Shizun know? I and the Demon Clan…”
“Is this the reason for your suspicious behavior recently?” Helan Xue frowned. “Because you were plotted against by the Demon Clan to deal with This Venerable?”
“Ah…?”
“…Mmm.” Lin Queli turned his head and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
Helan Xue asked again, “Then why not kill This Venerable?”
Lin Queli pouted and buried his face in Helan Xue’s chest, sniffing. “Shizun is asking the obvious… bad.”
Helan Xue closed his eyes.
No wonder his little disciple had been saying things that made no sense yesterday. It turned out he had already made preparations to die.
“Stupid.”
Helan Xue looked at Lin Queli and said firmly, “It’s not just by killing This Venerable that you can obtain the Extreme Cold Yuan Soul. The Yuan Soul… This Venerable can give it to you in another way.”
Everyone said that to obtain the Extreme Cold Yuan Soul, one could only kill the cultivator who possessed it.
But as the only Extreme Cold Yuan Soul in the past thousand years, Helan Xue knew clearly that it was not so.
—Dual cultivation could also.
It was just that the cold qi from dual cultivation was naturally not as good as taking the Yuan Soul directly, so it could only delay the onset of the evil fire and could not completely eradicate it. But now, before a solution was found, it was better to let Lin Queli delay for as long as possible.
What…?
Before Lin Queli could react, his undergarment was lifted the next moment.
