Chapter 155: Soft Girl Extends Her Claw!

The dragon-severing stone sealed the tomb gate, and the entire world fell silent, save for a powerful, steady heartbeat:

Thump-thump—

Xie Jinhuan stood within the sealed tomb chamber; even with his keen eyesight, he could see nothing. After a moment's thought, he raised his right hand:

Crackling~

Pale blue arcs surged from his palm. With his enhanced cultivation, the dense sparks no longer crackled intermittently but formed a continuous arc, illuminating the area within a dozen feet around him.

Then, a female ghost wearing a blood-red wedding dress, her face pale and tongue lolling out, appeared mere inches away, her hollow eyes staring at him:

"Lolololo~~"

"Ah—?!"

Xie Jinhuan, caught completely off guard, bristled instantly, leaped backward into a corner of the tomb, then realized the situation and felt somewhat speechless:

"Wife, this is a great tomb! Do you want to scare me to death?"

"Hmph~ I saw your qi and blood were surging and you were too excited, so I just wanted to calm you down."

Her voice came from beside his ear, shifting from left to right.

Xie Jinhuan's physique had indeed been stimulated by the pills, making him somewhat excited and restless, but after such a scare, he didn't calm down at all; on the contrary, his heart beat even faster.

He used his palm lightning to illuminate the area again, only to see the ghost wife right in front of him, scaring him once more.

The red skirt fabric was even translucent; amidst the flickering lightning, the rising and falling contours of her shadow were vaguely visible...

?

This illusion is so realistic...

Xie Jinhuan's gaze sharpened slightly, and in an instant, the ghost bride no longer seemed scary!

He wanted to examine her closely, but the ghost vanished from before his eyes again. Outside, there came:

Boom-boom-boom—

The sound of wind being torn apart by something approaching at extreme speed.

Looking up, he saw the dragon-severing stone slide open; a figure rushed in, followed by a scorching breath that swept over him, the person staggering and about to collapse.

Xie Jinhuan hadn't expected the person to return so quickly. He hurriedly supported her, feeling the scorching heat and sweat pouring down like rain, realizing the Yang Poison had erupted again. He immediately unleashed his icy qi:

"Miss Mu? How did the poison erupt just after you went out?"

"Huff..."

Nangong Ye had gone all out in one strike to destroy the half-demon; the round trip took less than a minute. Now the Yang Poison had erupted fully, the Yin-Yang Balancing Pill was rapidly consumed, yet it couldn't suppress the poison. Only upon touching the icy qi did her hazy consciousness begin to clear slightly. She gritted her teeth and said:

"Take~ take me back to the inn. Don't let anyone find out..."

Xie Jinhuan sensed the situation was quite serious and dared not delay. He turned and hoisted the person onto his back, leaped out of the tomb, and sped toward the county town. Along the way, he found the Ice Bing Tuozi was burning hot, with sweat pouring down like rain.

Tap-tap-tap...

Nangong Ye lay on the sturdy back. At this moment, she had no mind to worry about the barriers between men and women. She intended to rest her head on his shoulder, but she noticed Xie Jinhuan's arms were purple-red, as if hammered countless times by blunt weapons, with blood droplets seeping from cracked skin already scabbed over.

In the critical situation earlier, Nangong Ye hadn't looked closely, but now she realized Xie Jinhuan's injuries were not light, and her spiritual sense cleared up a bit:

"Who did you fight just now? Why did you suddenly enter Rank 2?"

Xie Jinhuan didn't hide anything. While running through the mountains and fields, he recounted the whole story of discovering the blood-evil qi and rushing to the north bank of Huai River.

Nangong Ye listened carefully, her eyebrows furrowing slightly:

"You used the Blood Demon Core~?"

Xie Jinhuan nodded: "When I arrived, the convict laborers were already all dead. The demon bandit was trying to flee. I went up to intercept but got surrounded. Fighting head-on was risky. With something that could boost my strength in hand, I had no choice but to take this desperate measure. Actually, even after using it, I almost didn't win. That demon bandit was a wild boar spirit; its skin was so thick you might not even be able to break through..."

Xie Jinhuan's words were not entirely false; the wild boar monster's toughness completely defied common sense.

At this moment, his arms, shoulders, and back were all purple-red, indicating severe bruising beneath the skin and that the surface muscles were basically smashed.

And this was with the Panlong Henggang protecting his body, plus the continuous healing of his wounds by his surging qi and blood.

Without the boost in cultivation, he would have been unable to break through the defense. He would have been injured in the first collision. Even with a pill that caused a sudden surge in cultivation, he could at most flee; it would be impossible to collide dozens of times in a row, forcing the opponent to exhaustion, and then seize the opportunity to break through the defense and kill.

As the sect master of Mount Zihui and someone who had spent years traveling and slaying demons, Nangong Ye knew from the injuries on his shoulders and back that it had been a bitter battle. Thinking of this, she sighed lightly:

"When a person dies, it is like a lamp going out. The laborers were already killed by the demon bandit. You encountered a powerful enemy, used your qi and blood to slay the demon, and avenged the dead. This counts as doing what is necessary when necessary."

"However, as cultivators, if we take from the people, we must give back to the people. The common folk harmed by the demonic path are the righteous men who helped you break through the encirclement. Having received the people's help, you must be more diligent in eliminating demons and defending the Dao in the future to prevent other common folk from suffering the same fate. Only then can you offer a sacrifice to the spirits of these people."

"Understood. I can't say I'll eliminate all evil spirits in the world, but I will definitely wipe out the Mingshen Sect."

The Mingshen Sect was the remnant of the Wu Sect's chaos, basically representing the entire demonic path. Other scattered rats simply didn't constitute a threat.

Seeing Xie Jinhuan had such ambition, Nangong Ye said no more and asked with concern:

"Do your shoulders hurt? How about putting me down? I can walk myself..."

"Can you walk in this state? Rest well. I am a martial artist, famous for my thick skin and tough flesh, not like you fragile types who play with the Five Elements and Yin-Yang..."

Nangong Ye knew Xie Jinhuan wouldn't feel pain during the fight just now, but with his shoulders, back, and arms hammered like this, once the excitement of his limbs subsided later, he would definitely be in so much pain he couldn't even lift his hands. But currently, she couldn't help treat him, so she rested her cheek against his shoulder, closed her eyes, and focused on treating the Yang Poison within her body...

Unexpectedly, she discovered that today's Xie Jinhuan smelled absolutely wonderful!

Not only was his qi flow surging, but the icy qi from his palm contact also contained a trace of supreme Yin qi.

This qi flow was pure to the extreme. Under normal circumstances, it would harm the body, but upon contacting the Yang Poison, the flames burning her body immediately extinguished in large areas. If the quantity were sufficient, it might even be possible to completely eradicate the Immortal-Burning Gu!

Nangong Ye was at the peak of the Yang Poison's assault. Discovering such a treasure, she almost instinctively sought its source...

Hush-hush~~

Xie Jinhuan carried Mu Mu Yun Hong running toward the county town. Along the way, he also unleashed his qi for her to absorb, but as he ran, he realized something was wrong.

He saw the great female hero on his back, whose hand had originally been on his shoulder, quickly moved down, touching his chest, and a moment later moved toward his abs...

?

Xie Jinhuan was utterly baffled. He suddenly stopped in the forest and patted the Ice Bing Tuozi on his back:

"Miss Mu, what are you doing? Hey, Miss, please have some self-respect, this is inappropriate..."

But the Bingshan female knight on his back gave no response; he hadn't woken her, only himself!

Xie Jinhuan still had to rush back to the county town; seeing this, he slapped her hard twice:

"Miss Mu, calm down. I can't take this..."

Nangong Ye's divine sense was nearly sealed; he was secretly pondering how to absorb the yin-cold qi. After being slapped a few times, he slowly opened his eyes, only to discover he was clutching...

?

Nangong Ye's dazed expression froze. Then, his sharp phoenix eyes flashed with shock and shame, quickly turning to a waveless calm, like the Ice Mountain Ancestor who had severed all desire. He closed his eyes and played dead on the spot...

Yet his hand loosened without a sound, as if he had unconsciously grabbed something by accident and then let go...

Xie Jinhuan escaped her evil grasp, relieved, fearing the "Poisonous Hand Sword Maiden" would grab wildly again. He bent forward, switching to carrying her on his back with one hand supporting her buttocks, his arms draped over her shoulders, gripping both her wrists to transfer qi, just in case.

"..."

Nangong Ye was actually awake. Being maneuvered into a sitting position on his palm, the man's five fingers sank into the soft flesh. He could only play dead as if noticing nothing, his cheeks flushing red, his cold, beautiful brows furrowing slightly as he thought:

Have I lost my mind?! Grabbing a child's private parts like that, making them scream...

Fortunately, he hasn't discovered I'm awake. I can pretend to be confused; otherwise, how could I ever show my face again...

That rascal, did he just hit me?

And he's holding my buttocks to prevent me from falling. How could I possibly fall? He's taking revenge on me...

I was in the wrong first, and besides, he did it to save me. Enough, enough. Out of sight, out of mind...

Nangong Ye's eyelids twitched slightly. Carried on his back and grabbed the whole way, until they returned to the inn and he was placed into the bath tub fully clothed, she did not wake again, yet she dared not seal her divine sense once more.

After all, that supreme yin qi was too tempting; if her mind lost control, she wouldn't even know what she might do...

(End of this chapter)