Chapter 55: Chapter Fifty-Five: Bud

Pei Ye looked at his hands, and with a thought, frost spread over the wound, stopping the blood.

The panic in his heart had somehow vanished; Pei Ye watched as the tentacles devoured the corpses swiftly, his abdomen stirring again—but he felt nothing.

The light cocoon shrank into a tiny cluster, two antenna-like appendages emerging from it—one pointing upper-left, the other upper-right.

After multiple feedings, it finally broke free of its shell.

In the standard martial cultivation system, this is called “the lifetime of the meridian tree.”

After these two branches sprouted, Pei Ye clearly felt its absorption of Xuan Qi accelerate—even… too quickly.

In a normal meridian tree, each branching is a barrier, requiring the martial artist to train diligently and breakthrough only after accumulating sufficient strength.

But this seed seemed to need no assistance from its host at all—it grew at breakneck speed, like a true tree.

Of course, a normal dantian seed could never absorb celestial Xuan Qi.

Back to the present, the “dragon blood” flowed smoothly through his body, and the wounds began to heal.

Pei Ye took a breath and returned to carry Zhu Gaoyang on his back.

Zhu Gaoyang hadn’t done nothing while hiding here—he wiped off his disguise and now pointed at Pei Ye, signaling him to stop wearing that handsome face.

Pei Ye wiped away his disguise, returning to his true appearance.

“You can use that frost ability now?” Zhu Gaoyang asked.

“Mm.” Pei Ye nodded. “I don’t know why.”

“Did the seed’s hatching make progress? I saw it devour many corpses.”

“No.” Pei Ye blinked, shaking his head.

Zhu Gaoyang relaxed slightly.

Pei Ye snapped back to awareness and sneered: “So, you’re thinking of killing me again?”

Zhu Gaoyang sighed: “To be honest, if killing you would truly end this, I’d do it. But given how easily it transferred from Qiongqi onto you, it seems you’re just a disposable vessel to it.”

“I’m immobilized—if I kill you, we both just lie here waiting for the Candle World Sect to come pick it up. Better to let you run with it, and besides, it hasn’t shown much destructive potential yet.”

“Maybe by the time it erupts, it’ll be too late for anything.”

“Then there’s nothing we can do.” Zhu Gaoyang fell silent a moment, then smiled. “We’re weak and crippled—what perfect plan could we possibly expect?”

Pei Ye nodded: “Mainly because you can’t kill me right now anyway.”

“……” Zhu Gaoyang couldn’t help but smile, his narrow eyes curving gently, his expression soft—even tender—as he looked at him.

Pei Ye recognized this expression: when he was eight, a child fresh into the martial school had raised his fist and declared, “I’ll defeat you within three years,” and Pei Ye had given him this same look, ruffled his hair, and said, “Good.”

Sure enough, Zhu Gaoyang murmured: “I truly can’t match you now, you who are ‘better at swordplay.’”

“……” Pei Ye recalled his own boastful words that day before the top swordline master, and glanced at him sidelong.

“I’m serious,” Zhu Gaoyang poked his shoulder. “Such deep, cold, severe sword art—I now fully believe you could kill seven lives through technique alone. Had you grown up in Long Jun’s Dongting, the current top swordline master might not even be who you think.”

“……Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.” Zhu Gaoyang sighed. “Never thought I’d meet someone like you, a hidden gem, in this treacherous land. How much better if it were another time, another place.”

“Then let’s meet again after we get out.” Pei Ye reached to lift him onto his back.

Zhu Gaoyang had already leaned in, but suddenly grew dizzy and waved him off.

“What’s wrong?” Pei Ye frowned.

“No time. We’ve delayed too long—the purple-robed ones will catch up any moment.”

“Then we can’t just wait to die.”

“Wait to die?” Zhu Gaoyang chuckled lowly. “Come on—time for me to help again.”

Pei Ye frowned: “You can still move?”

Zhu Gaoyang said: “Give me some dragon saliva.”

“What’s dragon saliva?”

“Do you know what dragon tongue is?”

“Yes.”

“Mm. You’ve got one inside you. Dragon saliva is the fluid it secretes—the one that turns people into ‘food.’”

Pei Ye instantly understood—he wanted to infect him, just like Jing Ziwang, burning his life to fuel resistance against their pursuers.

Pei Ye instinctively refused: “No!”

“What do you mean ‘no’?” Zhu Gaoyang smiled. “We’ve been handed a rare chance to strike back—why are you picky?”

“……”

“Do you know why Xi Wu Chou sacrificed himself for a man he barely knew?” Zhu Gaoyang changed the subject as Pei Ye stayed silent. “He could’ve resolved it perfectly after breaking through.”

“Because he’s an idiot.”

“No, not an idiot,” Zhu Gaoyang smiled. “Not some romantic ‘friendship worth dying for’ nonsense.”

“Because he’s proud enough,” Zhu Gaoyang’s expression turned solemn. “Nothing—not even life—can force him to retreat.”

“……”

“Actually, I’m the same.” Zhu Gaoyang smiled. “I’m twenty-seven. Are you going to tell me what I can’t do, like your master would?”

“……”

“Come on, Pei Ye. You’ve done well enough already. Now it’s my turn.”

Zhu Gaoyang’s bright eyes gleamed against his pale, blood-smeared face as he reached out; Pei Ye stared at him, silent, then raised his hand and clasped his.

As a “human dragon tongue,” he had always possessed this ability.

Thick fluid seeped into his skin; his muscles and bones began mutating almost instantly.

He couldn’t say what it felt like—only heard Zhu Gaoyang sigh deeply.

“I’ll use my Qi to protect my head—I won’t lose my mind right away. I’ll face the two purple-robed ones, but I can’t guarantee I’ll stop them all.” Zhu Gaoyang moved his sharpened hands as he spoke. “You run west at full speed. If the black-robed ones catch up, it’s up to you.”

“Mm.”

“Oh.” Zhu Gaoyang pulled a jade pendant from his abdomen. “You’ve wondered what’s inside me? It’s all here. If you survive, take it back to Long Jun’s Dongting. I told my master before: whoever returns it can pick any two items inside.”

Pei Ye nodded.

Zhu Gaoyang handed Pei Ye the scabbard; the eerie blue mutation had already spread over half his body. “Keep the sword for defense.”

“Wanting an Immortal Hunter was my second wish,” Zhu Gaoyang sighed. “My greatest wish was to become a Sword Master. Let you fulfill that one.”

“Thanks for the good luck.” Pei Ye rolled his eyes.