Chapter 63

Pei Ye had no language to express the astonishment in his heart at this moment.

His first reaction was to be somewhat speechless.

I did say that, but of course you didn't come to save me; you came to destroy the Divine Seed and resolve this matter—everyone was counting on you, Ming Qitian, to turn the tide.

How could you just take it literally?

But the next moment, the stirring of his heartstrings surged up. He opened his mouth but could not make a sound.

Long afterward, when he had time to reflect on this segment, he finally understood that this feeling of being struck came from the "elevation" from the periphery to the core.

From the moment he entered the Xincang Mountain Range, "Pei Ye" had always been a character who was pushed and pulled around.

He was low in strength and humble in status, entering everyone's field of vision only because he carried the Divine Seed.

Everyone recognized him through the Divine Seed, and their attitude toward him was determined by their attitude toward the Divine Seed.

Jing Ziwang, the Qiongqi, and Sister Xing Zhi—even Zhu Gaoyang choosing to bring him out of the valley—were all because the Divine Seed had accidentally fallen upon him.

If they could destroy the Divine Seed, they would kill him; if he could carry the Divine Seed away, they would escort him.

Pei Ye did not feel that there was anything wrong with this.

The Divine Seed had fallen upon him, and he had no one to blame. It was normal for others not to care much about him; the disaster the Divine Seed might bring was the thing that most needed attention.

Even the Black Chi had the destruction of this Immortal Lord as its primary goal.

Even Pei Ye himself had become like this; he was burning with anxiety for the enemy's growth and anxious and puzzled by Ming Qitian missing so many opportunities to attack just now—completely forgetting that it was his own body.

Pei Ye had been trying his best to cooperate with them, but the efforts he could make were truly minimal and often ignored by others.

Until now.

For the first time, someone had rushed over from afar without a moment's pause, fighting with all their might not to destroy this Divine Seed, but to treat the safety of him, Pei Ye, as the sole goal.

That was why she held back many sword strikes and gave up those opportunities to heavily damage the Divine Seed; that was why she was single-mindedly removing those shadows, even at the cost of taking a claw strike from the Qiongqi.

Finally, in the midst of a heavy ghost realm, she had completely rescued the fragile youth who had been parasitized by the Divine Seed and possessed by divine intent, and who had already lost all hope of survival.

Although it stemmed from a misunderstanding—you said come save you, so I came to save you—but, could his, Pei Ye's, life be more important than destroying the Divine Seed?

But at this moment, Pei Ye had not figured these things out; his emotions had simply reacted subconsciously, and for a time, he did not know what to say.

"Where is Zhu Gaoyang?" Ming Qitian asked.

"He... unfortunately..."

"Hmm."

"Actually, you should have gone back to kill It." Recovering from his emotions, Pei Ye struggled and said, "The speed at which It grows in strength is terrifying. Perhaps by tomorrow, no one will be able to control It."

"It's too late now," Ming Qitian said. "Unless It was killed from the very beginning."

Pei Ye was silent for a moment and looked at her blood-stained back: "Are you hurt badly?"

"I'm fine."

Just as Pei Ye was about to continue speaking, the sound of wings flapping suddenly rose from behind him. He turned his head and saw that the Qiongqi had actually caught up!

Now It had absorbed all the power, while Ming Qitian was injured. With the rise of one and the fall of the other, It had once again set Its greedy gaze upon Ming Qitian.

And Ming Qitian seemed to have noticed long ago; she did not look back, just continued to step on branches and leap forward.

But her speed was still slightly slower, and the Qiongqi was gradually catching up.

"Is it... because you are carrying me?" Pei Ye looked behind and turned his head back to ask.

"You are not heavy."

"Oh."

Seeing that she did not like to talk much, Pei Ye was just about to ask "What should we do if It catches up" to formulate a strategy when suddenly, someone came running toward them from ahead.

It was Sister Xing Zhi.

At the moment the Qiongqi appeared, their group had left immediately. Why had she returned alone now?

Because she saw Ming Qitian's sword light?

He saw Sister Xing Zhi hold a jade talisman high, running while shouting: "Come quickly!"

That jade talisman turned into cyan liquid, circling her body, then expanded into cyan Qi, and then continued to decompose and grow, as if things that had been compressed inside were now being released.

The magnificent Mystic Qi gathered like clouds.

Seeing this familiar scene, Pei Ye was overjoyed beyond words. He tugged at Ming Qitian's lapel: "Hurry over!"

Ming Qitian landed gracefully into it, and the three of them disappeared together, leaving only the Mystic Qi slowly dissipating.

【Spirit-Bright World-Illuminating Floating Dust Unbound】; Zhu Gaoyang indeed had a teleportation talisman, but this talisman, which recorded divine arts, had been gifted by him to Sister Xing Zhi.

That familiar sense of loftiness descended once again, but this time, there was no soft-boned corpse beside him. Pei Ye felt his body being gently nudged, and his feet had already stepped onto solid ground.

Looking around, Ming Qitian and Sister Xing Zhi stood beside him; they were at the top of a high mountain.

It was exactly the one he had gazed at from afar before.

After descending this mountain, ahead lay Fenghuai.

When the three of them stepped into Fenghuai City, the sky in the east was just beginning to brighten.

Only then did Pei Ye realize that Ming Qitian had arrived much earlier than the "before sunrise" she had promised.

Fenghuai was still that familiar, peaceful little city: the ancient city walls, the smooth bluestone roads. Perhaps because of the previous rain, a layer of green moss had grown on many of the chipped city bricks.

The roosters had not crowed three times yet, and people were still in their dreams; the street was very quiet.

Expecting that the old man had not woken up yet, Pei Ye first went to the county government office with Xing and Ming. However, upon pushing the door open, there was light inside, and an elderly figure was cast onto the window by the candlelight.

Pei Ye recognized at a glance that it was Chang Zhiyuan. He walked over quickly and pushed the door open. The old man had just heard the movement and propped himself up; his eyes were still filled with astonishment, but his mouth had already unconsciously formed a smile. The old man said in disbelief: "Pei... Little Pei... are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Magistrate Chang," Pei Ye said with a smile.

This was an official room. Tilting his head to look toward the back, the county government office had basically been repaired to a functional state, with only the collapsed houses left unattended.

There were still lights moving about in the backyard. Pei Ye guessed that it was the death of Jing Ziwang that kept them so busy.

"Magistrate Xing has also returned, and this... is Miss... Miss Ming. Both of them are injured and need a physician."

"Hmm, good."

"No need, I am skilled in medicine," Sister Xing Zhi said.

"That is also good; Magistrate Xing should be much more proficient." Sleepless in the deep night, the old man was clearly also a bit dizzy. "Then, this place is too cramped... come to the backyard to sit first, sit first."

"I won't, Magistrate Chang," Pei Ye said. "I need to go home and check."

"Are you worried about the elderly at home?"

"Yes... and a cat."

"I have already invited Brother Yue to the county office to take care of it—the cat is here too."

"Ah! Is it here at the county office now?"

"Yes, Brother Yue is fond of sleep and is staying in the backyard at this time."

"Truly, thank you for your trouble, Magistrate Chang. I am deeply grateful... deeply grateful..."

"Deeply grateful from the bottom of your heart." Chang Zhiyuan smiled and held his arm. "Do not say superfluous words; you are the hero of Fenghuai."

The three of them followed Chang Zhiyuan to the backyard. Pei Ye saw the soft black ball lying on the stone table in the courtyard first.

He hurried over to pick it up, and the little cat raised a pair of sleepy eyes.

Pei Ye held it up before his eyes to observe those emerald eyes carefully—it was not Bai Chi!

"Little Chi!" he called out in pleasant surprise.

"Hmm."