Chapter 433: He deserved to die

It's not easy to gauge Pei Si's strength.

Gu Rongjin scooped up Mu Yuanzhi, leapt and stepped on water, and in no time reached the opposite shore. Mu Yuanzhi hadn't even realized she was being held instead of carried on his back when they were already on the other side of the sea—Gu Rongjin's speed was too fast, and even this wide inland sea was crossed in a flash.

Cao Cixiu carried Pei Si on his back, a bit slower than them, but arrived shortly after.

Just as the four of them thought that passing the Dead Sea would let them leave smoothly, a disgusting voice sounded: "Want to leave? Not that easy!"

It was Xiao Yichen!

"Young Master Cao, didn't you say you melted and ruined quite a bit of his shoulder and arm?" Mu Yuanzhi asked.

That doesn't look like it at all.

"He seems to have an extremely strong recovery ability." Cao Cixiu said.

Gu Rongjin disagreed: "He doesn't seem that strong either; we've been delayed so long, and only now does he show up."

"Gu Rongjin, you're utterly useless—needing that many people just to save someone?" Xiao Yichen mocked.

After finishing his scolding of Gu Rongjin, his gaze immediately turned to Mu Yuanzhi: "A Zhi, how did you come out?"

Gu Rongjin instantly stepped in front of Mu Yuanzhi: "Don't let your eyes wander!"

"A Zhi, wouldn't it be nice to go back to how we were? I'm now stronger than Gu Rongjin, I can protect you—can't you see that?" Xiao Yichen ignored Gu Rongjin, wanting only to speak to Mu Yuanzhi.

Mu Yuanzhi didn't want to see Xiao Yichen, let alone talk to him; anyway, speaking would be pointless, she'd already scolded him plenty and couldn't be bothered to waste words.

Pei Si glanced at the sky and said: "A Ci, hurry up and deal with him—we're eager to get out."

They had already lingered here long enough; they thought passing the Dead Sea would let them leave, but unexpectedly, a Cheng Yaojin appeared midway.

"As you command." At some point, Cao Cixiu's palm held transparent shark silk, which he infused with inner power and flung at Xiao Yichen; the nine‑zhang‑long shark silk, dusted with cinnabar, surged, splitting heaven and earth, toward Xiao Yichen!

The shark silk spread like a spiderweb, leaving Xiao Yichen nowhere to dodge; in an instant it bound his whole body, and he felt the inner power he used to protect himself shatter all over, piercing his flesh!

The shark silk stained red with cinnabar wove into a net, trapping the prey and consuming it bit by bit.

Xiao Yichen stared wide‑eyed in disbelief; he couldn't move or summon his inner power, and the mighty surging energy within him seemed to vanish in an instant.

"What kind of evil sorcery is this?!"

"Evil sorcery? Quite right—using it against someone like you, a heretic, is perfect." Cao Cixiu laughed.

As he spoke, he tightened his grip; the shark silk tightened around Xiao Yichen, who felt even his nerves bound, suffering unbearable pain!

Was this person hiding his strength all along?!

Obviously, one needed the contents of that heretic's goatskin pouch just to barely repel him, yet now he was instantly…?

No! He won't lose!

How could he possibly lose!

The shark silk stained with cinnabar glowed with an eerie light in the darkness, gradually strangling the gloomy, mutant‑like person.

Xiao Yichen seemed to smell a stale, rotting corpse stench.

"What kind of broken rope is this?!"

A nauseating stench like that of a rotting corpse!

"What do you think it is? Lower your head and look—this is the foul odor you yourself are giving off." Cao Cixiu smiled.

"What?!"

Xiao Yichen lowered his gaze to see his belly, at some point split open by this red substance, his entrails and intestines spilling out, with maggots wriggling inside!

He gagged dryly, his scalp feeling as if it had exploded, and endless fear instantly enveloped his mind.

"What has happened to him?!"

This isn't him!

"A Zhi! A Zhi!" Xiao Yichen shrieked like a madman, his whole body convulsing, and soon he collapsed to the ground.

Mu Yuanzhi didn't understand, feeling that Xiao Yichen had merely fainted from fright?

Cao Cixiu mockingly retracted the shark silk in his hand.

"Really useless—can't even handle a slight move for real."

Gu Rongjin clapped: "What did you just do?"

"What Xiao Yichen just saw—his intestines spilling out—was merely an illusion, but the power of the cinnabar‑stained shark silk is real; it can suppress the power of heretical ways, fighting evil with evil." Cao Cixiu explained.

"Fighting evil with evil? Young Master Cao, what kind of evil thing is this?" Mu Yuanzhi asked curiously.

"Nothing much, just shark silk—though these shark silks have been soaked in thousand‑year‑old coffin wood, making them evil." Cao Cixiu gave a rough explanation.

Gu Rongjin, not understanding, asked: "Since Young Master Cao, you hide your strength so well, why didn't you just take care of him earlier to avoid trouble?"

"Without orders, I wouldn't act rashly." Cao Cixiu said.

Gu Rongjin: ……

He glanced at Pei Si, feeling that this master‑servant pair truly lived up to their roles—both equally inscrutable.

"How should we deal with this person?" Pei Si asked them.

"Throw him into the Dead Sea, or should someone give him a finishing blow?" Gu Rongjin said, "Or I'll do it."

"He's already worlds apart from his former self—just a vessel gone berserk from deviant cultivation. Now that those heretic protections are gone, he won't last long even without a finishing blow." Cao Cixiu said.

Gu Rongjin: "You can't say that—nothing in the world is absolute……"

Just as he spoke, he saw Xiao Yichen on the ground spring up like a corpse, suddenly gaining strength as if from a brief revival, and launch himself toward him.

Gu Rongjin made a split‑second decision and thrust his sword at Xiao Yichen's heart!

Xiao Yichen's chest instantly burst open with a blossom of blood; he spat out a mouthful, paying no heed to himself or to Gu Rongjin, but locking his gaze tightly on Mu Yuanzhi as he smiled: "I've returned it to you, A Zhi……"

"Get lost!" Gu Rongjin kicked Xiao Yichen flying away!

Xiao Yichen fell into the Dead Sea and sank shortly thereafter.

Mu Yuanzhi, her face splattered with Xiao Yichen's blood, stared blankly for a moment; in her mind flashed the scene from her past life of being hacked to pieces by him, intertwining with the image of him just now being pierced through the heart by a blade, and froze.

It was over……

Pei Yunxi died, Xiao Yichen also died, the nightmare of her past life came to a complete end.

"What are you thinking about, Xiao Yuanzhi? It's already over." Gu Rongjin took out a handkerchief to wipe Mu Yuanzhi's face, cleaning off all the dirt, "Let's go, we'll meet up with the little Qilin."

Exactly, it's already over!

It had already ended before those two got what they deserved.

"Mm!" Mu Yuanzhi broke into a smile again.

"The Qilin Valley Master will be fine, Princess, you can rest assured. How about you think about how we should celebrate our great friendship?" Pei Si laughed.

Gu Rongjin: "The matter isn't settled yet, Third Prince, don't rush."

"Almost, we're about to head out." Pei Si said.

Cao Cixiu followed silently behind Pei Si.