Chapter 243

The two brothers went back and forth, speaking vaguely, but I seemed to realize what they were going to do.

I was about to open my mouth to say something when Xiaoye directly cut me off: "Sister-in-law, don't burden yourself with any psychological pressure; what Lao Qi has to do tonight, he will eventually have to do—just cooperate with me."

He said, giving Liu Junyan a glance.

Liu Junyan got out of the car, but then went around to the passenger side, opened the door, and reached out to hug me: "Xiao Jiu, don't be afraid, bravely charge forward, trust me."

After saying that, he let go of me and strode toward the forbidden area.

I watched his resolute back, my heart pounding like a drum.

I instinctively wanted to follow him, I was very panicked.

Xiaoye stopped me, saying: "Sister-in-law, if you don't handle your affairs well, Lao Qi won't be able to devote himself fully to his own matters; tonight we can only succeed, not fail."

"Is he going to move that sword in the forbidden ground?" I asked, my voice trembling, "But he hasn't retrieved all the Golden Scales yet—something will go wrong!"

"Just move it a little, it'll be fine."

Xiaoye gazed at the dark night outside the car window and murmured: "This Divine Needle of Calming the Sea ought to be moved now, otherwise the Linghai Dragon Clan might forget the sins they once committed!"

After saying that, he gave a sinister smile.

That smile was as if laced with poison, brimming with bloodthirsty killing intent.

I got out of the car, walked to the front, and looked toward the forbidden area.

Not long after, I felt a foul, damp vapor penetrate the layers of night and hit me head-on.

Xiaoye also got out of the car, and as he passed me he said: "Sister-in-law, stay close to me."

His steps were large and steady; I jogged to keep up.

I have been here before.

"The first time Li Qingying brought me here; the second time was in a dream, when Liu Junyan's mother summoned me over."

"But at that time I didn't know that, beneath this cliff in the forbidden ground, an undercurrent had once swept away Li Qingying's several horned brothers and sisters."

"At this moment, on the water surface below the cliff, which should be pitch black, large patches of bubbles spread far and wide."

"Like boiling water, the whole surface was covered with a white layer."

"The water ripples on my middle finger, which had been still for a long time, suddenly stirred at this moment, coiling around my finger base and turning nonstop, as if it could burst out at any moment and plunge into the water."

"Immediately after, the ground began to tremble, and on the water surface large and small whirlpools gradually formed—such a commotion would surely alarm the Linghai Dragon Palace."

"Just as I was wondering what scene I would see next, a water column shot up into the sky, and a powerful sword qi split from the water column, as if directly dividing the Linghai waters in half."

Xiaoye turned his head and shouted at me: "Sister-in-law, don't just stand there—jump with me!"

"Ah?"

"Jump?"

"Jump into the sea?"

In the moment I was stunned, Xiaoye actually leapt straight down the water path cleaved by the sword qi.

Liu Junyan told me I must definitely cooperate with Xiaoye tonight; he has already painstakingly taken the first step, I have no excuse to falter.

So I didn't hesitate much, closely followed behind Xiaoye, gritted my teeth and jumped down.

Whooshing wind laden with vapor scraped my cheeks like a blade; my body fell straight down, with a plunge I entered that water channel—and kept falling.

Bang.

A muffled thud.

That muffled sound was not the noise of landing somewhere, but was produced when penetrating the sword qi.

The next moment I steadied my posture.

Unbelievably, the space I now occupy should be within that sea of the forbidden ground.

I could see the surrounding sea constantly churning, see fish turning belly-up, and even… deep beneath my feet, that sword mound!

I have been down there before, I know how deep that sword mound is.

At the depth visible to the naked eye, it's fundamentally impossible to see these.

But now I actually see them.

I saw Liu Junyan inside the sword mound, both hands gripping a sword hilt, his whole body in a state of levitating suspension.

He exerted all his strength, veins bulging on his forehead, cold sweat dripping.

On the hands gripping the sword hilt, veins twisted and knotted, spreading upward along the arms…

Sure enough, Liu Junyan was drawing his natal magic weapon.

But he wasn't pulling it upward; instead he was tilting it… he was shifting and flipping the sword body!

Don't look, we need to speed up. Xiaoye called out, "The dragon clan guard squad will be coming soon; we must run as far as we can before the sword qi vanishes."

Xiaoye said this and already began to run; I glanced back at Liu Junyan once more and immediately followed Xiaoye.

While running, I saw that someone was already attacking this barrier outside the sword qi.

The white light of the sword qi gradually faded.

I don't know what lies ahead, nor how far I still have to run; I only know I must keep close to Xiaoye, constantly charging forward.

The sword qi, which started white, gradually turned transparent.

I don't know how long I've been running, but fortunately I have a bit of cultivation foundation to sustain me.

At the exact moment the sword qi completely vanished, Xiaoye suddenly turned toward me and traced a sigil in midair.

Before the seawater could engulf me, a barrier suddenly appeared around me.

That barrier was like a big bubble enveloping me; Xiaoye thrust a palm forward, and the big bubble shot ahead with me inside.

The seawater's resistance pressed against the bubble, which kept tumbling, making my whole body spin until my vision blurred.

At that moment, a dozen or so people with pointed horns on their heads swarmed toward Xiaoye.

But Xiaoye moved faster; he swept out a palm, and his powerful internal force rolled up the seawater.

Seawater instantly formed numerous thin water swords, stabbing toward the dozen or so people.

Xiaoye had no intention of lingering in battle; he caught up to me and then pushed forward with his inner strength.

I never would have imagined he would use this method to send me away.

After who knows how many tumbles, I felt dizzy, and suddenly heard a clear, pleasant sound like a silver bell: 'Xiaoye, is that you?'

At the moment that voice rang out, the surrounding water trembled.

Xiaoye's fighting stance froze abruptly, and the big bubble enveloping me gradually came to a halt, drifting up and down in the seawater.

I saw Xiaoye's frozen figure.

I watched him slowly turn around.

I saw in the distant seawater a faint silhouette gradually condense and take shape, becoming a young and beautiful girl.

The girl looked only a few years older than me, and very thin.

It was a sickly thinness.

Iron chains were locked around her wrists and ankles, their other ends disappearing into the water, who knows how far they extended.

The girl hovered in the seawater, so frail that a single wave could scatter her.

She softly called out again: 'Xiaoye...'

Xiaoye glanced at me, then turned his head to look at the girl.

Just as he hesitated, the girl spoke again.

She said pitifully: 'Xiaoye, you finally came to take me home, right?'