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墨書 Inktalez
Li Hong shouted wildly, "Second Brother—Master—Shibo..."
No one responded.
Silence enveloped the area, as if even the wind had stilled. There was a faint, burning smell in the air, the scent of charred flesh.
The yellow sand stretched out in an eerie flatness, with dunes and sandbags completely vanished. From this spot, one could see for hundreds of miles. It was nothing but yellow sand as far as the eye could see.
Li Hong jumped onto the scorching sand and began to dig with his bare hands. His heart burned with impatience, his eyes felt swollen, yet he couldn't shed a single tear; only hatred remained.
He frantically dug through the sand like a groundhog, quickly piling up a massive mound behind him, his body sinking lower and lower.
His nails soon disappeared, his fingers bloodied and mangled. Li Hong felt no pain as images of familiar faces flashed through his mind: Second Brother's silly grin, Spirit Stone's fierce, gaunt face, Ling Xuzi's eternally furrowed brow, Yue Qingzi's calm and ancient visage, Ling Yi Zi's heroic posture... even Chuxuan's pale face with a hint of gloom and Chu Hai's timid eyes suddenly surfaced.
His heart ached painfully, making it hard to breathe.
Chu Xi stood motionless behind Li Hong, tears streaming down her face. Two clear streams ran down her cheeks like pure white channels, while the rest of her face remained covered in yellow dust, making her look quite terrifying.
Just as Li Hong was about to bury himself in despair, he felt a movement in his chest. With a whoosh, the Golden Silk Cat sprang out from his clothes. It leaped swiftly onto the sand and stood upright on its tiny hind legs, gazing into the distance.
Li Hong had completely forgotten about it. Seeing this scene, a flicker of emotion finally appeared in his dazed eyes as he straightened up and looked at the Golden Silk Cat with surprise.
After staring for a long time, the Golden Silk Cat suddenly turned around and meowed twice before darting forward like an arrow.
"Follow it!" Li Hong commanded Chu Xi as he turned and took the lead in chasing after the Golden Silk Cat.
The Golden Silk Cat was acting strangely; it must have discovered something. Li Hong's heart finally began to beat strongly.
The little cat dashed forward, stopping every now and then, its nose twitching as if sniffing for something. After confirming the direction, it would sprint off again.
As the sun dipped lower in the sky, the shadows of the two grew longer. At that moment, after running over a hundred or eighty miles, the Golden Silk Cat finally stopped. It lowered its head and carefully sniffed the sand, then pointed a snow-white paw at the ground.
Li Hong's heart raced. Could it be? Without hesitation, he summoned the Dragon Tail Whip and struck forcefully at the sand.
A golden light erupted, sending sand flying everywhere, and a large pit appeared in the ground. With each strike of the whip, the pit grew deeper.
Gradually, Li Hong developed a subtle feeling; he was convinced that the little cat was right—there was something buried deep!
After digging down to a depth of ten zhang, there was a clang as the Dragon Tail Whip struck something. Li Hong focused his intent and gently swept the whip across whatever it was. From the deep pit emerged the top of a Purple Gold Bell.
"Second Brother—" Li Hong exclaimed with joy; it was indeed Chuxiong's Mysterious Bell!
He secured the Dragon Tail Whip at his waist and grasped the bell's ear, shouting loudly, "Rise!"
The Mysterious Bell responded and began to lift, causing Li Hong to feel both astonished and delighted.
Crouched beneath the bell were several people. As the Mysterious Bell rose, they slumped to one side, one of them being Chuxiong. Although covered in dust, his chest still showed signs of faint breathing.
"Quick! Help pull them out!" Li Hong shouted back at Chu Xi.
Chu Xi was already moved; without a second thought, he jumped into the pit and began helping Li Hong lift each person up to the surface of the sand.
Under the Mysterious Bell lay seven individuals. In addition to Chuxiong, there were Chuxuan, Chu Liang, Chu Hai, and three other senior brothers from a different lineage. Once everyone was pulled out, Li Hong noticed a small white corner of clothing exposed at the bottom of the sand pit. There was still someone else! He grabbed the corner of the clothing and yanked it, pulling a person out of the sand, face down and motionless.
Li Hong turned him over and was shocked to see it was his master, Spirit Stone.
He appeared lifeless, eyes tightly shut, covered in dust, with one side of his body stained with blood. After pulling him out, Li Hong must have been too forceful, as he inadvertently aggravated an injury; a pool of deep black blood quickly spread beneath him.
Li Hong felt a chill run down his spine and shouted, “Chu Xi, come quickly!”
Chu Xi was already flustered and rushed over. Upon seeing the situation, tears began to fall as he choked out, “Shibo’s hand…”
“Don’t worry about the hand! Apply pressure to the wound; I’ll find some Elixir.” Li Hong focused his mind into the “Cosmic Bag” and began rummaging through the numerous items inside for Elixir.
Fortunately, Yun Jiuzi had previously provided many pills. After some frantic searching, Li Hong finally found the Supplementary Spirit Pill and the Fire Origin Pill. Without hesitation, he grabbed a handful, pried open Spirit Stone’s mouth, and with a wave of his hand, poured a generous amount of Elixir into Spirit Stone’s abdomen. He then forcefully poured in a mouthful of “Nine-Turn Soul-Severing Wine.”
Sounds erupted from within Spirit Stone, and as the medicinal effects took hold, he opened his eyes to see Li Hong. A smile slowly appeared on his bloodied and dusty face: “It’s Old Six! Looks like I’m not dead yet.”
Li Hong smiled back but felt tears welling up in his eyes. He said, “I’ll help you sit up to meditate; you must hold on, Master.” He reached out.
Spirit Stone pushed him away with a smile: “I’m not that easy to kill!” He struggled to sit up and glanced sideways. Chuxiong and the others were slowly opening their eyes. The smile on Spirit Stone became more genuine as he cheerfully said, “Fortunately, I thought of using Old Seven’s big bell! Go check on your junior brothers; I don’t need your help!”
However, Li Hong’s heart sank. Just moments ago, he could tell that Spirit Stone was gravely injured; most of his spiritual energy was gone, one arm was completely missing, leaving his right sleeve empty while blood continuously oozed from a massive wound on his shoulder. In contrast, Chuxiong and the others had only been knocked unconscious by the shockwave and were relatively unharmed. It was evident that Spirit Stone had exhausted himself to protect all seven of them.
Turning away, he quietly wiped away his tears and began tending to Chuxiong and the others alongside Chu Xi.
As night fell, everyone gradually regained some mobility. The bleeding from Spirit Stone’s wound had stopped, and he seemed much more alert. As long as his Golden Core remained intact, he would surely recover in time. However, that missing arm would have to be dealt with later.
A bright full moon rose in the sky. The yellow sand rolled, and the moonlight in the desert was exceptionally clear. Under the moonlight, Li Hong quietly inquired about the cause of the explosion.
The Spirit Stone hung its head dejectedly: "It was you, Yue Qingzi, Great-Granduncle. She couldn't bear to see the suffering of living beings and used the 'Nine Separation Technique'..."
Before the words were finished, Chu Xi exclaimed in shock: "Nine Separation Technique!" Her body swayed unsteadily, and tears streamed down her face again. "Then Yue Qingzi, Great-Granduncle, and my master..."
The Spirit Stone said solemnly: "Yue Qingzi, Master Uncle, may have perished... but your master might still be alive. I sensed her aura nearby last. However, that move 'Nine Separation Technique' from Yue Qingzi is a secret technique of my Nine Li Sect's Mutual Destruction; I don't know if Ling Xiangzi has been affected."
"No! My master must still be alive!" Chu Xi shook her head vigorously, her hastily tied hairpin coming undone again.
Li Hong understood Chu Xi's feelings very well. Ling Xiangzi was her master but was actually a blood relative, their bond was very deep.
He touched his chest and whispered, "Little cat, can you help me one more time?"
The Golden Silk Cat moved slightly and after a moment finally extended a small paw, lazily pointing to the left.
Li Hong was overjoyed; could there still be someone alive? He immediately jumped into the air and shouted, "Come with me!"
Throughout one night, under the guidance of the little cat, Li Hong ran around digging through the sand. By dawn, their group had grown larger.
But some people were still nowhere to be found.
At that time, the situation was critical; Yue Qingzi had inexplicably decided on a desperate course of action and used the Nine Li Sect's ultimate technique, 'Nine Separation Technique.' This Divination Technique required burning one's entire Innate Vital Blood as a price to achieve a tenfold increase in cultivation for a single strike that could devastate everything. With this move, all Demon Sect Monsters were wiped out. However, some from Nine Li Sect were entangled with demons and could not escape to safety in time. Yet no one wanted to think this way; that thought flashed by and no one dared to voice it.
As more and more people were found, a troubling thought gradually took root in Li Hong's heart, making him very uneasy. He remembered that when he last met Yue Qingzi, Great-Granduncle, she had forcefully pushed him into the sky before entering the center of the sandstorm to fight against the demons. Was it all to protect herself? Was it because he had exposed the Summoning Technique?!
A shadow in his heart grew larger. At that moment, the little cat squeezed Li Hong again, its claws pointing to the left.
Ling Xiangzi was buried ten feet deep, maintaining a cross-legged meditation posture as everyone dug him out.
Chu Xi was overjoyed and cried tears of happiness. She suddenly ran towards Li Hong, threw herself into his arms, and cried loudly while pinching his arm. Then, she abruptly pulled Golden Silk Cat from his embrace, gave it a fierce kiss that made a loud smack, and quickly covered her face as she rushed back to Ling Xiangzi.
She was so happy that she seemed almost insane.
This felt like a kiss on Li Hong's face. He felt his cheekbone burning, and the shadow in his heart finally retreated quietly.
Some things do not require deep thought; overthinking would betray the deep affection once held.
Demon Sect! Facing the rising fiery sun, Li Hong's eyes burned like fire as he clenched his fists, with drops of blood seeping through his fingers and slowly dripping onto the scorching yellow sand below.
Blood debts must be repaid with blood. He would never forget that it was Yue Qingzi who reminded his master to teach him the Six Spirit Salty Ritual. That ancient and serene face would forever remain in his memory.
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