Chapter 441: Progress Over Halfway (2/5, Autumn Subscription)

If not for her high stats, she'd have been erased right then and there.

If Jing Yan had taken that hit, he'd have vaporized instantly!

"Let me see, let me see the wound."

"No need to check—I'm fine! The thing pierced through my thigh and nailed me to the ground!" Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu clutched her leg, trembling as she spoke.

Jing Yan looked down and saw a fresh small hole in the floor, with a nail jammed inside.

That meant… the thing that just attacked Dou Baiyi was this nail.

And after being deflected, the nail struck Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu like a stray bullet, driving through her thigh with the remaining force.

Amazing—in a way, both attacker and defender were incredible! So incredible they weren't mere opponents to be dealt with!

My life is over!

Jing Yan was filled with profound regret.

If he hadn't surrendered to desire, none of this would've happened.

Or if he'd just waited a few more days, he wouldn't have run into this.

Truly… utterly cursed!

"I never thought my character's scene would end with me dying in a brothel… my lifelong reputation!"

Jing Yan slumped in despair, memories flashing before his mind like a spinning lantern.

But before he could recall much, Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu suddenly slapped his thigh hard.

"Hey hey hey hey! Jing Yan! Get me out of here! He's been distracted by the guy upstairs!"

Huh? Ah!

Jing Yan snapped to attention, looked outside—and just caught sight of Dou Baiyi charging up the stairs toward Xia Ceng, radiating murderous intent.

Awesome! Awesome! Unknown nail master, awesome!

He immediately helped the limping Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu flee outside, with Xiao Xuedou right behind them.

As the two descended the staircase from Chun Ceng, littered with corpses, a series of screams echoed overhead.

Then came a heavy thud as a dark shadow crashed to the ground—and the noise stopped abruptly.

They looked down: the man's ten fingers were all gripping the same nail that had pierced the floor, but his internal organs were crushed, his body riddled with sword wounds, utterly dead.

Damn!

Jing Yan cursed silently, dared not look up, and hurriedly dragged Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu away.

Only when they escaped Qingluan Lou did they finally exhale deeply.

Turning back, they saw Qingluan Lou now ablaze—figures leaping from Chun Ceng, Xia Ceng, even Tian Ceng.

Others climbed down the building's exterior, and some slipped, falling to their deaths.

Tian Dan Zhi Yuan Wu finally realized: cultivators weren't as numerous as she'd imagined.

She'd only ever seen Guard Teams and other powerful cultivators while accompanying Fang Yue, so she assumed they were everywhere.

In truth, even in Qingsi County, the vast majority were ordinary people.

Chaos spread rapidly.

Those who escaped fled like madmen; those who spotted the commotion on the streets rushed over to gawk.

The two ran all the way back to the inn, only then breathing a sigh of relief.

"What happened to you?!"

Lin Ling was stunned and immediately sent for a doctor.

After hearing the full account, he frowned.

"Dou Baiyi? Possessed by a supernatural entity, then went on a killing spree in Qingluan Lou?"

He didn't ask why they'd gone to Qingluan Lou—it was obvious. What else would anyone go there for?

The dark-smoke-transformed Lord Han now stepped out of the room.

After learning what happened, he shook his head slightly: "If it's none of our business, stay out of it. This is Qingsi County—Qing Si will handle it."

Seeing Lord Han say this, no one spoke further.

They merely went on high alert: some packed their belongings, others woke those still asleep.

Except for Fang Yue, still meditating on his Heart Method, everyone else was roused.

This was the unique vigilance they'd developed on this journey.

Compared to the peaceful villagers of Qingsi County, they knew better how to protect themselves.

If something drastic happened and they had to flee, this preparedness would let them depart sooner.

The fire at Qingluan Lou burned all night.

When the flames finally died, the morning sun rose slowly.

The Gu Yue Cun group had no idea how Qingluan Lou's ordeal ended.

Seeing Qingsi County had returned to normal, they assumed the matter was resolved, put their things away, and went back to rest.

Another half-day passed, during which Grey-Clad Qing Guards patrolled the streets frequently, interrogating people and dragging many back.

When the noon sun rose high, Fang Yue, deep in meditation at the inn, slowly opened his eyes.

"Progress… over halfway!"

Fang Yue's eyes gleamed, brimming with delight.

He'd expected that though his realm surpassed Internal Energy Heart Method, cultivation would accelerate—he still thought it'd take at least ten days or half a month to break through.

But with the remaining firestones and the frantic burning of his lifespan, progress surged past the halfway mark!

Fang Yue could feel: if he had more firestones, he could push through to the seventh layer of the Flame Heart Method within two days.

And the lifespan burned? Less than a year's worth.

Before a Yang Shou powerhouse of Fang Yue's grade, this hardly counted as anything.

With the fire stone as a cushion underneath, cultivating the Blazing Fire Heart Method didn't actually consume much Yang Shou.

Getting up from the bed and stretching his limbs, Fang Yue could clearly feel that his inner force had grown considerably thicker.

Apart from the room, Fang Yue gave a slight start.

He noticed that among the people in the team, only a scattered few were outside eating lunch, and every one of them looked out of sorts.

Did something happen? Why is everyone sporting dark circles under their eyes?

Fang Yue was puzzled. He had been planning to head over to the Qing Division today, have a chat with Lord Jun, and then see if he could borrow the Qing Division's strength in advance to search for Bai Xiaoya's whereabouts.

Seeing everyone in that state, his original idea of heading straight out to the Qing Division was temporarily set aside.

"Just you few here? Where are the others?"

Fang Yue casually asked one of the team members. That member had been somewhat drowsily dozing off.

Looking up and seeing it was Fang Yue, he gave a sudden start and hurriedly said excitedly, "Captain Ye, you've come out of closed-door cultivation!"

Closed-door cultivation…

I suppose so, though for our little bit of inner force cultivation, calling it closed-door cultivation seems a bit of a stretch.

Without thinking much, Fang Yue said, "Mm, where did the others go?"

"They're all resting. They stayed up all night last night; everyone just lay down."

"Stayed up all night? What were you all doing?"

"It's not what we were doing, it's Qingluan Lou…"

Just as that team member said this, a squad of Grey-Clad Qing Guards suddenly came clattering in through the door.

While Fang Yue and the others were caught dumb, the Grey-Clad Qing Guards lined up in two rows at the doorway, as if welcoming someone.

Then Fang Yue saw a woman in blue clothing, hands clasped behind her back, chest out, stride into the inn.

"You Sisi?!"

(End of chapter)