Chapter 67

"Golden Wind Divine King has at least five hundred years of cultivation, capable of hovering in the void and traversing a hundred li in an instant."

Zhuo Qingyan emphasized to the group, "Yu Fei is one of Golden Wind Divine King’s two secondary consorts; now that she’s dead, he will surely come for revenge. If you stay here, you’ll only die with me."

Although Daoist Yan Song and Gu Zhao had both demonstrated extraordinary power, five hundred years of cultivation was a threshold—she still didn’t believe they could defeat Golden Wind Divine King.

"Golden Wind Divine King can fly?"

"Can you fly with five hundred years of cultivation?"

Gu Zhao learned another fact, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on it: "Do you bear his mark?"

"Half a month ago, someone caused chaos in the Golden Wind Hall, killed the First Guardian of the Golden Wind Sect, and stole the sect’s incense deity statue. Golden Wind Divine King descended upon Xiuyue County to investigate and accidentally discovered me—he demanded I become his third divine consort. I was no match for him and was injured."

Zhuo Qingyan spoke softly, "When he saw I refused to submit, to crush my will to die, he implanted a magical mark, saying he’d return in a month to claim me. You already know what happened after."

"He can sense my presence and approximate location through this mark. When he draws near, he follows the aura to track me down." Zhuo Qingyan said, "So I can’t escape no matter what. You should leave quickly."

"Ah!" Xiuniang gasped, her eyes filled with worry.

She had just learned Zhuo Qingyan’s story, and now heard about Yu Fei—how could she not realize Golden Wind Divine King intended to give Zhuo Qingyan to her greatest enemy?

But now that Zhuo Qingyan bore Golden Wind Divine King’s mark, she couldn’t bring herself to beg Gu Zhao to take her away.

Gu Zhao blinked, simply asking, "Is this mark hard to remove?"

Zhuo Qingyan shook her head. "Golden Wind Divine King has centuries of cultivation. His mark cannot be removed."

Gu Zhao turned to Daoist Yan Song. "Will our magic power harm her?"

Daoists’ magic power inherently opposes ghosts and evil spirits, allowing them to fight above their level. Gu Zhao suspected it might erase Golden Wind Divine King’s mark—but it might also injure Zhuo Qingyan.

Though confident, he still sought confirmation from Daoist Yan Song.

Daoist Yan Song smiled and shook his head, then winked at Gu Zhao. "Whether a knife hurts depends on whether the wielder intends to hurt. Control your magic power, and it won’t harm her."

Gu Zhao turned to Zhuo Qingyan. "May I try?"

Zhuo Qingyan regarded Gu Zhao with cool detachment. After a moment, she extended her hand, gently rolling up her sleeve to reveal a pale, snow-white arm.

Gu Zhao then took her wrist without hesitation.

Zhuo Qingyan’s body tensed slightly, then felt a warm energy surge through her wrist, traveling upward along her meridians.

"The mark is on my shoulder." Zhuo Qingyan used her own spiritual power to guide him internally, pointing with her other hand to her shoulder.

The next instant, Gu Zhao sensed the mark within her.

Cold and chilling, with a faint spiritual quality—identical to the aura he’d sensed on the incense deity statue.

"No wonder he can sense it." Gu Zhao nodded. Though he still didn’t understand how the mark was cast, he grasped its basic principle.

The key was destroying the spiritual thread within it.

Gu Zhao enveloped the mark with his magic power—but the spiritual thread immediately erupted in violent resistance.

Perhaps due to inherent magical opposition, the spiritual thread, facing Gu Zhao’s power, behaved like boiling water or burning fire, surging along his magic power straight into his spiritual sense.

Zhuo Qingyan gasped, fearing for Gu Zhao’s safety, and yanked her arm. "Let go!"

Gu Zhao didn’t let go. The instant the spiritual thread entered his body, he silently recited the Heavenly Heart Total Incantation to shield his spirit.

Daoist contemplation practices cultivate spiritual strength. Though this thread was dense, Gu Zhao wasn’t afraid. The moment the Heavenly Heart Total Incantation activated, his Five Thunder Talisman trembled in unison.

In the next instant, a bolt of lightning shot from the Five Thunder Talisman, striking the spiritual thread. Though dense in appearance, the thread was too weak—it shattered instantly under the thunder.

Gu Zhao, "..."

"Thunder Brother, I misjudged you—you do protect my spiritual sense!"

Having erased the spiritual mark, Gu Zhao released Zhuo Qingyan and snapped his fingers. "Done and dusted!"

Zhuo Qingyan stared at Gu Zhao in shock. The mark that had tormented her for half a month, which she could never remove, had dissolved under his touch.

"Young Master, did you remove the mark from Miss Zhuo?" Xiuniang couldn’t help asking.

"Removed." Gu Zhao nodded.

"Once the mark is gone, Golden Wind Divine King will sense it. You must leave quickly!" Zhuo Qingyan urged.

Xiuniang asked, "What about you, Miss Zhuo?"

"I..." Zhuo Qingyan looked around her home, a pang of reluctance tightening her chest.

Daoist Yan Song stepped beside her and spoke gently, "Where the heart finds peace is home. No matter where you are, as long as you cherish thoughts of your parents, you need not cling to external things."

Zhuo Qingyan bowed respectfully. "Thank you, Elder, for your guidance."

"Let’s leave the city first," Daoist Yan Song nodded. "Xiuyue County has seen too many incidents already. Golden Wind Divine King will likely arrive soon."

Zhuo Qingyan was no indecisive woman—otherwise she wouldn’t have defied her father’s arrangements years ago. She took only a few cherished mementos and swiftly departed Xiuyue County with the others.

"Thank you, Elder. Thank you, Young Master."

Outside the city, in the woods, Zhuo Qingyan thanked them again, glanced at Gu Zhao, then took her leave.

Gu Zhao watched her determined gaze and asked, "Are you going to Changping Prefecture to find Yuan Wenrui?"

Zhuo Qingyan paused, speaking softly, "Yuan Wenrui caused my parents’ wrongful deaths. I didn’t know his whereabouts before—but now that I know he’s the Prefect of Changping, if I don’t avenge them, I’m no child of my parents."

"But Golden Wind Divine King is in Changping! If you go for revenge, isn’t that... isn’t that..." Xiuniang grew anxious, then remembered Gu Zhao’s words upon seeing Bai Ke on her shoulder, and blurted out, "Isn’t that like throwing a meat bun at a dog—no return?"

Bai Ke: (▼へ▼メ)

Xiuniang glanced at Gu Zhao, who winked at her. She immediately understood and urged Zhuo Qingyan, "We live in Cuishan Village west of the city. Why not come back with us first? We can plan carefully."

Zhuo Qingyan waved off the offer. "No. I can’t drag you into this."

Seeing her resolve, Gu Zhao shook his head and said, "It’s not you dragging us into danger—it’s me who dragged you into it."