Chapter 55: Sprout

Pei Ye looked at his hand, and with a thought, frost covered the wound to stop the blood.

The panic in his heart had dissipated at some point. Pei Ye watched the tentacles feast rapidly on these corpses. There was another germination in his abdomen, but he no longer had any feeling.

The light cocoon shrank into a tiny ball, and two things like antennae reached out from it, one pointing to the upper left and one to the upper right.

After going through multiple "feedings," it finally broke its shell.

In the normal martial arts cultivation system, this is called "the first life of the meridian tree."

After these two branches grew out, Pei Ye clearly felt that its speed of absorbing Mystic Qi had accelerated, even... a bit too fast.

For a normal meridian tree, every branch is a hurdle, requiring the martial artist to practice diligently and accumulate strength before they can break through.

And this seed seemed to not need any assistance from the host at all; it could grow rapidly on its own, as if it were a real tree.

Of course, a normal Dantian Seed couldn't absorb Mystic Qi from heaven and earth either.

Returning to the present, "Dragon Blood" flowed smoothly in his body, and those wounds began to heal.

Pei Ye caught his breath and went back to carry Zhu Gaoyang.

Zhu Gaoyang hadn't just been doing nothing while hiding here. He wiped away the disguise on his face and gestured to Pei Ye at this moment, signaling him not to keep wearing his handsome face.

Pei Ye wiped away the disguise on his face and returned to his original appearance.

"Can you use that frost ability now?" Zhu Gaoyang asked.

"Mm." Pei Ye nodded, "I don't know why."

"Is it because the hatching of that seed has made progress? I saw it swallow many corpses."

"No." Pei Ye was dazed for a moment and shook his head.

Zhu Gaoyang felt slightly relieved.

Pei Ye came back to his senses and sneered: "What, are you thinking of killing me again?"

Zhu Gaoyang sighed: "To be honest, if I were sure that killing you would end it once and for all, I really would do it. But based on the ease with which it transferred from the Qiongqi to you, the host seems to be just an object that can be replaced at any time.

"And I can't move. If I kill you, the two of us and the seed will just have to lie on the spot waiting for the Candle World Sect to come and pick it back up. It's better to let you carry it and run for a while, and this thing hasn't shown much disaster potential yet."

"Perhaps when it erupts, it will be too late for anything."

"There's no help for that." Zhu Gaoyang was silent for a while and smiled, "We are one weak and one crippled; what perfect plan can you expect us to have?"

Pei Ye nodded: "Mainly, you might not necessarily be able to kill me now."

"..." Zhu Gaoyang couldn't help but curl his lips. His long, narrow eyes narrowed into curves, and he looked at him with a gentle, even tender expression.

Pei Ye recognized this expression. When the eight-year-old child who had just entered the martial arts hall raised his fist at him and said "I will definitely defeat you within three years," he would show this expression, pat his head, and say "Good."

Sure enough, Zhu Gaoyang then sighed in a low voice: "An expert like you whose 'sword technique is quite good'—I truly can't beat you now."

"..." Pei Ye recalled his own big talk in front of this first of the Sword Pulse, and glared at him.

"I'm serious." Zhu Gaoyang poked his shoulder, "Such deep, intense, and cold sword technique—I now fully believe you have the ability to kill a Seventh Life with your skills. If you had grown up in Long Jun Dongting from childhood, it would be hard to say who the current first of the Sword Pulse would be."

"... Thank you."

"You're welcome." Zhu Gaoyang sighed, "I never thought I would meet a buried talent like you in these dangerous mountains and evil waters. If only it were a different time and a different place."

"Then let's get to know each other again when we get out." Pei Ye reached out to carry him.

Zhu Gaoyang had already leaned on him, but suddenly felt dazed and waved his hand to refuse.

"What's wrong?" Pei Ye frowned in confusion.

"It's too late. After delaying for a while like this, the purple-robed people are about to catch up."

"We can't just wait for death."

"Who's waiting for death." Zhu Gaoyang laughed lowly, "Come on, it's time to rely on me again."

Pei Ye frowned: "Can you still move?"

Zhu Gaoyang said: "Give me some Dragon Saliva."

"What is Dragon Saliva?"

"Do you know about Dragon Tongue?"

"I do."

"Mm-hmm, you have one in your abdomen. Dragon Saliva is the kind of liquid it secretes that can turn people into 'food'."

Pei Ye immediately reacted—he wanted him to infect him, just like Jing Ziwang, relying on burning his life to support his resistance against the enemy.

Pei Ye subconsciously refused: "No!"

"What do you mean by no?" Zhu Gaoyang laughed, "To have such a path for us to counterattack is already a great stroke of luck. Do you still want to be picky?"

"..."

"Do you know why Xi Wuqiu sacrificed himself for a friend he had only met a few times?" Seeing Pei Ye silent, Zhu Gaoyang changed the topic, "He could have clearly solved this matter perfectly after breaking through his realm."

"Because he's an idiot."

"No, not an idiot." Zhu Gaoyang laughed, "And it's not the so-called 'friendship of drinking together and dying for you'."

"It's because he was proud enough." Zhu Gaoyang restrained his expression, "Nothing could force him to retreat, not even life itself."

"..."

"Actually, I am the same." Zhu Gaoyang smiled, "I'm twenty-seven this year. Do you want to be like my master and tell me what I can and cannot do?"

"..."

"Come on, Pei Ye. You've already done very well just now; now it's my turn."

Zhu Gaoyang's shining eyes were embedded in his pale, blood-stained face. He reached out to Pei Ye. Pei Ye looked at him, was silent for a moment, then raised his hand and placed it on his.

As a "human Dragon Tongue," he had indeed always possessed this ability.

The viscous liquid soaked into his skin, and his muscles and bones began to mutate almost immediately.

He didn't know what kind of feeling that was; Pei Ye only heard Zhu Gaoyang sigh.

"I will use true Qi to guard my head; I shouldn't lose my sanity in a short time. I will go to meet the two purple-robed people, but I might not be able to stop them all." Zhu Gaoyang said while moving his sharp hands, "You just run west with all your might. If you are caught up by the black-robed people, you'll have to rely on yourself."

"Mm."

"Oh right." Zhu Gaoyang pulled a jade pendant out of his abdomen, "Weren't you curious about how much stuff I had in my stomach? It's all in here. If you can survive, help me send it back to Long Jun Dongting. I told my master before that whoever sends it back can pick any two items from inside."

Pei Ye nodded.

Zhu Gaoyang handed the sword scabbard to Pei Ye. At this moment, the ghostly blue mutation had already infected half of his body: "Take the sword for self-defense."

"Wanting a divine beast was actually my second wish; my biggest wish is to become a Sword Master." Zhu Gaoyang sighed, "I'll leave this wish for you to complete."

"I'll take your word for it." Pei Ye rolled his eyes. ===== CHAPTER 56 =====