Chapter 295

On the flying vessel, Lu Yaoyao curiously leaned beside Zhou Qing, her almond eyes sparkling as she asked, “Senior Brother Zhou, what are you planning to do next?”

Zhou Qing looked at her eager expression, like a cat anxiously waiting for its master to take it out.

He sighed helplessly, “First take care of yourself—you’ve reached the late Nascent Soul realm; you need to hurry and find an aura that suits you.”

“I already have a lead!” Lu Yaoyao tilted her face up, beaming with pride.

Zhou Qing’s eyelid twitched; he immediately waved his hand. “Stop—don’t bring up your so-called Filial Piety aura to me.”

“What’s wrong with the Filial Piety aura?” Lu Yaoyao stamped her foot, indignant.

“Filial Piety breeds strength, don’t you get it? I think it’s great—and from now on, I’ll stick to you like glue, copying every word and action you make!”

As she spoke, she pulled out a sketchbook from her storage pouch and waved it in front of Zhou Qing’s face.

Zhou Qing felt his temples throb.

If you want to be filial, go after the Sect Master or your five senior brothers—why are you always trailing after me?

I’m not your dead brother, and I’m certainly not your dead father.

Besides, I’m only a few years older than you—if you keep calling me that or harbor such thoughts, I’ll truly have to avoid you.

“Look!” Lu Yaoyao cheerfully flipped open the sketchbook, revealing vivid scenes.

Within the sect, the Five Sects’ Artifact Exchange, Linggu Mountain, the borderlands, Baiyu Tai Xu Court…

Too many moments—every tiny detail of their time together was meticulously captured in her brushwork.

Even expressions Zhou Qing himself had never noticed were precisely recorded.

Looking at those drawings filled with shared memories, Zhou Qing’s heart trembled sharply, his gaze softening involuntarily.

As he gazed at Lu Yaoyao’s focused profile, his heart churned with mixed emotions.

“At first, I just wanted to record them,” Lu Yaoyao pointed at the sketchbook, her eyes alight with excitement,

“But as I kept drawing, I realized these memories held a special power. Li Ni could enter an aura through obsession—why can’t I?”

Zhou Qing laughed at her innocence, flicking her forehead lightly. “You’re barely grown—what obsession could you possibly have?”

The moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them.

Lu Yaoyao’s smile froze instantly; her expression turned sorrowful, head bowed in silence.

Zhou Qing suddenly realized he’d said the wrong thing, panic flooding him.

“Sorry, I was just joking.”

Zhou Qing hurriedly explained, his voice softening unconsciously, “Actually, this aura isn’t bad—if you give it time, you might truly forge a unique path…”

Lu Yaoyao suddenly looked up, her eyes still reddened but blazing with startling brightness: “I feel it’s good too. You’re my senior brother—you’re like an elder.”

“If I sketch every moment we spend together, keep recalling and internalizing them, maybe I’ll truly comprehend the Filial Piety aura.”

As she spoke, she wiped away her tears and grinned, revealing two small fangs: “When my aura activates, I’ll summon you! Whoever dares bully me—you’ll beat them senseless for me!”

Zhou Qing: “...”

I’m still alive, not dead!

How did cultivating an aura turn into a summoning technique?

Even if it’s summoning, don’t summon me!

Just as he was about to protest, Lu Yaoyao rubbed her reddened eyes and declared firmly, “So to gather more material, I need to spend more time with you!”

“Wherever you go from now on, you must take me along—the more dangerous and thrilling the place, the better. Only then will the memories be deep enough to draw!”

Zhou Qing opened his mouth, but found no words to argue.

Then Lu Yaoyao lowered her voice and glanced slyly at Shen Yunzhou, who sat meditating on the deck: “Once this matter is settled, I’ll go get close to Sister Shen.”

She winked mysteriously, “If my guess is right, I’ll summon you both together—a double summon! Just thinking about it is thrilling!”

Zhou Qing: “...”

“What guess?” Zhou Qing sighed helplessly, unable to suppress his curiosity.

Lu Yaoyao raised a finger to her lips: “Heaven’s secrets cannot be revealed~”

Zhou Qing silently shook his head, already formulating a plan.

He was about to head to the borderlands to condense Blood Phoenix Catastrophe Crystals using a Mingwen-level divine technique—this secret could not afford the slightest leak.

The less Lu Yaoyao knew, the safer she would be.

Once he finished dealing with Shen Yunzhou, he’d slip away quietly.

An incense stick later, Shen Yunzhou suddenly opened his eyes; the black-gold dung beetle in his arms had already crawled out.

“Monster! Absolutely a monster!” He leapt to his feet, glaring down at a certain spot and roaring curses.

Yet his eyes burned with frenzied excitement.

“The dead outnumber even those of the Yangyang Sect!” Before he finished speaking, he was already standing on the railing, rushing headlong toward the bloody scene.

Zhou Qing shook his head helplessly and guided the flying vessel downward.

In the days that followed, Shen Yunzhou continuously expanded his aura among the corpses, absorbing the stench to refine it.

Lu Yaoyao, like a persistent shadow, never left Zhou Qing’s side.

She constantly sketched his every expression and movement in her notebook.

Seven days later, the three arrived at the final sect wiped out—perhaps due to the heat, the stench here was unbearable.

Swarms of flies blanketed the air; as Zhou Qing and Lu Yaoyao stepped onto the mountain gate’s stone steps, their stomachs churned, sour bile rising to their throats, forcing them to stagger backward.

Their faces turned deathly pale.

“We won’t go in—you go alone!” Zhou Qing said quickly.

Shen Yunzhou spread his arms, greedily inhaling the air, his face filled with satisfaction.

“I feel it—once I absorb all this, I’ll be ready to close my eyes and break through to Nascent Soul Great Completion!”

Zhou Qing and Lu Yaoyao exchanged glances and smiled, offering their congratulations.

Nascent Soul Great Completion—the realm countless cultivators in the Eastern Region spent their entire lives chasing.

Yet here stood this boy from a Level-Five cultivation nation, impossibly young, already standing on the threshold of breakthrough.

“Senior Brother Zhou, thank you!” Shen Yunzhou suddenly turned, gripping Zhou Qing’s hand gratefully.

Zhou Qing quickly pulled his hand away, pointing toward the mountain’s corpse-strewn bloodbath: “What’s there to thank me for? I merely pointed you in a direction. If you want to thank anyone, thank them.”

Shen Yunzhou sighed, “Each man’s fate is ordained by heaven. I, Shen Mou, cannot avenge you, nor can I interfere further—I can only offer a few sticks of incense to show my respect.”

With spiritual power, Shen Yunzhou gathered nine columns of blue smoke in the air, slowly burning.

Then, with Zhou Qing and Lu Yaoyao, he bowed solemnly, hands clasped: “May you rest in peace. May your next lives know no war or strife.”

After Shen Yunzhou entered, Zhou Qing and Lu Yaoyao waited outside.

Based on past experience, this would take at least two or three days.

Zhou Qing found a shaded, odor-free corner, pulled out a fire-element spirit stone, and began absorbing and refining it.

Lu Yaoyao tilted her head, pacing around, gesturing.

Finally, she chose the perfect angle, opened her sketchbook, and began capturing Zhou Qing’s focused profile on paper.

One day later, Zhou Qing, who had been meditating, suddenly opened his eyes and immediately tensed, glancing upward into the empty air.

“So there truly is something special—I only let slip a tiny bit of spiritual energy, and you caught it!”

The next instant, ripples formed in the air, and a figure wrapped in a black robe slowly stepped out.

The moment Zhou Qing saw him, his heart sank.

“Yan Sen—”

Lu Yaoyao, who had been dozing, instantly darted behind Zhou Qing.

Her trembling voice exploded in his spiritual sense: “We’re done! That’s the smiling tiger who locked the six-color array and was hunted by Sister Shen!”

Zhou Qing said nothing, forcing a polite smile, bowing: “If it isn’t Senior Yan—long time no see!”

Though he spoke calmly, alarm bells rang in his mind.

Normally, they had no conflict of interest; even their meeting on the island had been brief—just exchanging names, nothing more.

Moreover, Yan Sen was a mid-stage Severing Spirit cultivator, roughly equal to Xuan Yuan Shuo.

But he came from a powerful family in a Level-Five cultivation nation, was a Level-Four array master, younger, and likely possessed far more tricks.

Even Xuan Yuan Shuo wouldn’t dare confront him unprepared.

Yan Sen looked down at the two, his gaze briefly lingering on the spirit stone in Zhou Qing’s hand.

Then he turned toward the ruined sect behind him, a faint, unreadable smile curling his lips.

“This guy’s recovered well enough—though his aura is disgusting, just like his dung beetle pet.”

Though Yan Sen spoke with a smile, Zhou Qing felt his mockery and contempt.

Moreover, Shen Yunzhou had mentioned that it was Yan Sen who had guided him to the ruin where he’d been exposed to the Ancient Poison.

And—

Zhou Qing looked at the annotation hovering above Yan Sen’s head: still the glaring characters 【ANT】.

“Gentlemen, it’s been a long time indeed!” Yan Sen descended slowly.

But seeing their tense expressions, he burst into loud laughter, cold light glinting in his eyes: “Don’t be so tense—I’m not a monster who eats people.”

As his gaze shifted to Lu Yaoyao, his smile widened, chilling her spine: “Especially little Lu—you’ve inherited Hanyi’s true teachings—we’ll have to get closer in the future.”

Lu Yaoyao instantly shrank behind Zhou Qing.

“Senior Yan, I’m not Sister Shen’s disciple, nor have I received her true teachings—she merely gave me a heart method to cultivate.”

Lu Yaoyao tugged at Zhou Qing’s sleeve, her fingers trembling.

Yan Sen’s lips curled into a knowing smile: “I know. You call her sister—technically, she’s also my fiancée. I can’t favor one over the other.”

He narrowed his eyes, a flicker of subtle malice flashing in their depths. “Don’t call me ‘Senior.’ Call me ‘Yan Brother’ and let me hear it.”

Zhou Qing frowned slightly, stepping forward to block Lu Yaoyao’s front, his voice low and steady: “Senior, you’ve come here—do you have some task requiring my assistance?”

Seeing Lu Yaoyao’s fierce resistance, Yan Sen turned his gaze to Zhou Qing’s face and spoke slowly: “Speaking of assistance, there is indeed a small matter I’d like to ask.”

As he spoke, his expression darkened instantly, his aura turning icy cold.

“That day, I had a minor quarrel with Hanyi… you know, petty squabbles between cultivation partners are only natural.”

“To let her cool down, I left first to prepare a gift to apologize.”

“But when I returned, I found you both gone. Where did you go after that?”

Facing Yan Sen’s seemingly gentle but increasingly aggressive tone, Zhou Qing forced a thin smile.

Just as he was about to speak, Yan Sen suddenly raised his index finger to his lips, signaling silence.

“I hate being lied to.”

He stepped half a pace forward, his pressure surging like a tidal wave. “Let me rephrase: that six-color array was locked by me. How did you get inside afterward?”

Zhou Qing maintained a facade of calm, but Lu Yaoyao’s face paled slightly.

Seeing their silence, Yan Sen slowly circled them.

“Don’t laugh at me—I’m a fourth-rank array master, just like Hanyi. She condensed ten thousand spirit seals; I’ve got two thousand more than her.”

He halted abruptly, his gaze sharp as a blade.

“I brought my Eighth Uncle along this time—he’s nearly a fifth-rank array master—but even he couldn’t find the slightest clue to break the array.”

“So I’m truly curious: how did she get in, find the shape-shifting divine herb, and save my little brother-in-law? Or perhaps—what was your purpose in being there at all?”

Yan Sen suddenly drew close, a chilling stench of blood rushing toward Zhou Qing’s face, followed by an invisible pressure crushing down upon him.

The air itself thickened as if frozen. Zhou Qing felt his eardrums buzz, his breath growing labored.

Facing a Cutting Spirit cultivator, no matter how many tricks he had, it was useless.

They weren’t even on the same level—and he’d just mentioned bringing his Eighth Uncle.

Clearly, they knew far too much about him and Taiqingmen.

Better to offend a gentleman than a villain.

Yan Sen, this petty, vengeful, ruthless man, was far more troublesome than he’d imagined.

But then again—could he admit the truth?

The Kunpeng Palace opens only once every thousand years. They’d already entered last time; the next opening won’t be for another millennium.

Even the old Peng King, a Cutting Spirit cultivator at the peak of his realm, couldn’t force entry—he’d had to travel to the Eastern Region in search of other opportunities.

If I tell him the truth, do you think a man like Yan Sen, so greedy, would believe me?

It might trigger a whole chain of complications.

After a moment’s thought, Zhou Qing forced calm and bowed: “Senior Yan, please understand: at that time, Senior Shen and we truly couldn’t open the array. The locked seals were utterly impenetrable…”

CRASH!

Before Zhou Qing finished speaking, a massive force wrapped in black spectral light slammed into his chest.

He had no time to even raise a defense—his internal organs felt crushed by a sledgehammer, blood rising bitter and hot in his throat.

His body flew backward like a severed kite, crashing hard into Lu Yaoyao, both of them slamming into the stone archway of the Shanmen.

With a thunderous CRASH, the thousand-year-old stone arch collapsed, burying them beneath rubble.

Amid the ruins, Zhou Qing spat out a mouthful of blood, every rib shattered by the impact.

Yet instantly, under the effect of the “Subduing Demon Golden Bones,” the broken bones reknit before his eyes, glowing faintly golden at the wounds.

Zhou Qing forced himself upright, spiritual energy surging wildly, blasting the rubble away in an explosion.

His furious pupils reflected Lu Yaoyao’s frail form; a suppressed growl escaped his throat as he rushed to her side in three strides.

Lu Yaoyao leaned against a nearby stone pillar, blood staining her front crimson, her pale face smeared with dust and stone fragments.

“Zhou… Zhou Shi-Xiong—”

Lu Yaoyao’s faint, breathless call pierced Zhou Qing’s heart.

“Don’t speak!” Zhou Qing’s trembling hands pressed against her bleeding chest, pouring vast spiritual energy into her like a gentle stream.

Thankfully, no vital organs were damaged—but even so, a casual strike from a Cutting Spirit cultivator was beyond the endurance of a Nascent Soul cultivator.

At this moment, her spiritual energy was scattered, her meridians nearly shattered by the blow.

Feeling this, Zhou Qing’s spiritual energy erupted violently, his hair lifting without wind, his eyes brimming with tangible killing intent.

Yan Sen looked slightly surprised. “Your body’s tough. You can take a beating.”

“But your eyes—good. There’s some grit in them.”

Watching Zhou Qing’s rage, Yan Sen snorted.

“But to me, a weakling’s anger is just laughable.”

“I already said—I hate liars. Don’t forget, I’m a fourth-rank array master. Did you really think I wouldn’t notice if the array had changed?”

Zhou Qing’s neck veins bulged. He surged forward half a step, the shard of the Ultimate Weapon’s frame trembling violently in his spiritual sea, locking onto Yan Sen, ready to strike.

“You know what I love? Conquering stubborn bastards like you. The more you resist, the more excited I get.”

Yan Sen toyed with the black mist swirling around his fingertips, a cruel smile curling his lips.

“But my Eighth Uncle is waiting. Since you want to be a hard bone, I’ll deal with you later—but right now, I’d rather see for myself!”

As he spoke, Yan Sen vanished and reappeared before Zhou Qing.

His finger shot toward Zhou Qing’s third eye. Zhou Qing had no time to dodge—cold, invasive energy slithered into his spiritual sea like a venomous snake, striking straight for his memories.

In that moment, he felt unprecedented humiliation—just like when Xuan Yuan Shuo had searched his soul.

A boundless hatred ignited within him: Cutting Spirit, Cutting Spirit—someday, I will crush your arrogance beneath my feet. I will make you pay a hundredfold for today!

Yet the instant Yan Sen’s spiritual sense touched Zhou Qing’s spiritual sea, before he could act, it was violently torn apart—as if ripped by some unknown force.

Yan Sen staggered back three steps, a muffled groan escaping his throat.

“What happened? What just occurred?”

Yan Sen’s expression changed instantly. He retracted his spiritual power, his triangular eyes flashing with erratic light as he stared fixedly at Zhou Qing.

“Let go of my Shi-Xiong—”

Lu Yaoyao struggled to rise from the rubble, blood still dripping from her lips, her pale face filled with despair and fury.

But Yan Sen ignored her. He stared at Zhou Qing’s enraged eyes, his shock turning into wild curiosity.

“Interesting…” He licked his dry lips, a twisted, vicious grin spreading across his face.

“Is this a special seal Hanyi left in your minds? Then let’s see—will her seal hold, or will my spiritual sense break it?”

No sooner had he spoken than he struck again—this time more cautiously.

Yet the moment his spiritual sense entered, before even scanning the surroundings, it was torn apart again.

As if swallowed whole by some indescribable force.

He groaned again, pain lancing through his own spiritual sense.

“She’s too kind. The best way to keep a secret is to kill the witness—but she refused. Instead, she set up this bizarre seal.”

“But this proves one thing—you know how to open the six-color array.”

At this, Yan Sen’s eyes gleamed with greedy, dark light.

Suddenly, a bone-chilling chill struck from the side.

Lu Yaoyao had somehow risen, her pale hand releasing a crystalline, translucent ice lotus.

The lotus shimmered with deep-blue runes, each petal frozen into razor-sharp ice crystals.

“Let go of my Shi-Xiong!”

She cried out, and the ice lotus shot forward like a streak of light, hurtling toward Yan Sen. Where it passed, frost spread across the ground.

Yan Sen’s eyes narrowed slightly, a mocking smirk curling his lips, his gaze brimming with contempt.

He lazily raised a finger—the ice lotus, wrapped in piercing cold, exploded into dust midair.

“The ice cultivation method ‘Pure Ice Scripture,’ the divine technique ‘Ice Lotus’—she really did pass you her best treasures. Too bad your power is too weak—you can’t even unleash their true strength!”

Yan Sen’s fingers curled into a claw, yanking Lu Yaoyao toward him, then clamping his hand tightly around her slender neck.

“Little girl, do you really think this trick can hurt me?”

His fingers tightened slightly. Lu Yaoyao’s face turned purple, her legs kicking uselessly in the air.

Zhou Qing’s eyes turned bloodshot. He feared Yan Sen would attempt soul-searching again.

Soul-searching harms the caster too—especially the brutal severing and devouring of the Four Flowers, which counts as backlash.

He’d failed twice already—he’d naturally assume Lu Yaoyao’s spiritual sea was also sealed.

So he wouldn’t risk trying again, lest he hurt himself.

If he realized otherwise and tried to search her, not only would he see their memories—but he’d inflict irreversible damage on her spiritual sea.

A torn spiritual sea is like shattered glass—even if forcibly repaired, it remains cracked.

Every future use of spiritual energy might trigger tremors.

Even advancing in cultivation would become like walking on thin ice—any misstep could cause spiritual energy to explode.

Minor result: regression to a waste. Major result: bodily explosion.

That’s why everyone refuses soul-searching at all costs—Xuan Xu and Tian Shu were the same; so was I when facing Xuan Yuan Shuo.

Watching Lu Yaoyao’s throat emit faint, ragged coughs, her limbs twitching less and less…

Zhou Qing screamed with all his strength: “I can get you into the six-color array!”

Yan Sen slowly turned his head, his gaze locked on Zhou Qing’s eyes—overflowing with killing intent.

Then he glanced at Lu Yaoyao and let out a shrill laugh: “If you’d been sensible from the start, why make this girl suffer?”

Saying this, he released his grip; Lu Yaoyao collapsed to the ground, coughing violently as she lay prone.

(End of Chapter)