Chapter 773: Extra Chapter 4: 10

Everything happened too suddenly; even Xiao Jiu couldn't tell for a moment whether the old turtle had repaid kindness with hatred.

She didn't believe the old turtle would do such a thing.

But seeing Liu Junyan's painful appearance and hearing his painful groans, she felt somewhat shaken.

Xiao Jiu pushed open the car door, transformed into her true phoenix form, shook her wings, and in the blink of an eye had rushed to Liu Junyan's side.

That day, some survivors of Suedi fortunately witnessed the magnificent sight of a dragon and a phoenix appearing and disappearing among the clouds.

But they didn't know just how much pain Liu Junyan was in at that time.

If Xiao Jiu hadn't arrived in time and continuously poured true qi into his body, he would have had a certain chance of exploding and dying.

The old turtle wasn't harming him; it was injecting the inner elixir it had refined from its lifelong cultivation into Liu Junyan's body at the very end of its life.

The old turtle's payment promised to Yin Dang Hang was a third turtle essence.

But its time was short; no matter how good the turtle essence, how could it possibly surpass the inner elixir?

The old turtle meant well, but its method was indeed a bit radical.

Liu Junyan had just blocked a heavenly thunder for the old turtle, suffering internal injuries; in this situation, his body suddenly received an inner elixir from the old turtle with thousands of years of cultivation, and in a short time he could not digest it at all.

That inner elixir rampaged inside his body, while his body instinctively activated its defense mode; in the struggle between the two, Liu Junyan's seven apertures began to bleed.

Xiao Jiu transformed into her phoenix form, approached Liu Junyan, and continuously poured true qi into his body.

Just as many times before when she had been seriously injured, Liu Junyan would pour true qi into her body to save her.

"Āyàn, stay calm!"

"Slowly adjust your breathing, circulate your true qi; I believe you can definitely do it."

"Āyàn, I will be with you; I have always been here."

……

Xiao Jiu comforted the suffering White Dragon with one voice after another, calling out 'Āyàn' over and over; Liu Junyan could hear Xiao Jiu's voice and knew she had arrived.

Even in such agony, he kept warning himself: 'Liu Junyan, be careful, don't hurt Xiao Jiu!'

Hui Moqiong was also anxious.

He stood beside the vehicle, tilting his head up to stare at the situation in the clouds.

He knew that at such a time, only Xiao Jiu could help Seventh Lord.

He also knew that what he should do now was to handle the aftermath.

But before Seventh Lord was safe, he simply couldn't bring himself to do anything else.

Hui Moqiong waited and waited.

He didn't know how long he had waited until, in midair, the White Dragon and the phoenix both took human form, with Xiao Jiu carrying Liu Junyan as they descended.

Hui Moqiong sprang forward and rushed over.

At the moment Xiao Jiu landed, Hui Moqiong had already reached out and caught the unconscious Liu Junyan in his hands.

Liu Junyan's body was scorching hot, as if it were about to burst into flames.

Xiao Jiu said, "Fifth Lord Hui, first put Āyàn on the ground, support his body so he can sit up; I need to examine him."

Hui Moqiong didn't know why, but he did as she said.

Xiao Jiu removed Liu Junyan's upper garment.

When Liu Junyan's back was revealed, Hui Moqiong let out a sudden exclamation.

On Liu Junyan's back, a golden turtle-shell-shaped mark appeared and faded intermittently, still not very stable.

Xiao Jiu said, "Āyàn has temporarily suppressed the old turtle's inner elixir, but the fusion still needs time. Fifth Lord Hui, stay behind to help me collect the old turtle's corpse, contact Fang Lao as soon as possible to handle the aftermath together; I must first take Āyàn back to River City for him to enter seclusion."

Hui Moqiong naturally agreed without condition.

Just helping Xiao Jiu put Liu Junyan into the car, when he closed the car door, Hui Moqiong opened his mouth, wanting to say something to Xiao Jiu, but… alas.

Even after seeing the car drive away, the words stuck in Hui Moqiong's throat still couldn't be spoken.

He felt somewhat uneasy and also a bit lost.

Between Xiao Jiu and Seventh Lord… why do they face so many disasters and hardships?

Having endured this great calamity, Seventh Lord could be said to have gained a great opportunity; that's a good thing.

But Seventh Lord himself… he had already transformed into a dragon, and his merit was profound.

And that old turtle, as early as over three hundred years ago, already had the momentum to ascend.

Once Seventh Lord fully fuses with the old turtle's inner elixir and the two combine, Seventh Lord… he might find it hard not to ascend!

Hui Moqiong worriedly raised his hand and firmly pinched his brow.

Given his understanding of Seventh Lord, he feared Seventh Lord would do something foolish again.

Hui Moqiong wanted to call Li Qingying to talk about this, but then he thought: with Xiao Jiu's cleverness, once she calmed down she might not fail to notice this point.

The various bonds between Xiao Jiu and Seventh Lord will be resolved by themselves.

If he called Li Qingying now, it would only make her worry needlessly and serve no purpose.

Never mind, never mind.

Better to wait a bit longer and see.

As Hui Moqiong had expected, at first Xiao Jiu devoted her whole body and mind to Liu Junyan, with no spare attention for anything else.

But when she drove the car, carrying Liu Junyan back, she calmed down and immediately thought of the same point Hui Moqiong had considered.

She glanced at the still-unconscious Liu Junyan in the rearview mirror and could feel the vigorous merit and cultivation emanating from within his body outward.

He only needs to enter seclusion and train for a period of time.

He only needs to fuse with the old turtle's inner elixir.

This time, Liu Junyan certainly has a chance to ascend.

But will Liu Junyan choose to face this opportunity head-on?

Xiao Jiu thought, it probably wouldn't happen.

He was just like her, born into the mundane, and even more mundane than that.

They were the same kind of people: daring to love, daring to hate, cherishing each other, greedy for the collective's warmth, enjoying familial, friendly, and romantic love.

Liu Junyan could not let go of her, could not let go of the Nine Flame District, and could not let go even more of his two children.

To let him ascend alone is nearly impossible.

But if he does not merge with the old turtle's inner core, how should he deal with this inner core?

A golden turtle-shell marking had already appeared on his back; given time, this marking would merge with him, so it was not that he refused to accept the old turtle's inner core—he simply would not accept it.

The old turtle meant well; if placed on most other cultivators, upon encountering such a great opportunity, they would probably be so happy as to burn high incense.

But… it just had to be Liu Junyan.

Xiao Jiu thought a lot along the way.

She thought about Liu Junyan's ascension, thought of Xu Chun's threatening words to her, and finally she thought of Xingchen's attitude in handling matters.

Heaven's Mandate… is difficult.

Liu Junyan having obtained this great opportunity might itself be Heaven's Mandate imposing a great task upon him.

If so, then it is not something he could refuse with just a single 'I am unwilling.'

Even if he could properly handle the old turtle's inner core this time, another great opportunity might still arise later.

The Hand of Fate will gradually push him to the position he ought to occupy.

Perhaps she should try to persuade Liu Junyan.

The unconscious Liu Junyan fell into a void realm.

He felt himself like a turtle, lying still on the deep seabed, continuously breathing; this breathing cultivation method was not unfamiliar to him…