Lei Xiuyuan pondered for a moment before suddenly asking, “Did that person attack without warning? Did they say anything to you?”
Ye Ye took a long time to catch his breath before recounting the entire incident in detail.
He and Bai Li Changyue had arrived half a month earlier than Lei Xiuyuan and the others. Changyue had been waiting for news from Bai Li Gelin, so the two of them decided to scout the East Sea first. In a town on the outskirts of the East Sea Immortal Assembly, they encountered Zhen Yunzi.
Years had passed, and they were no longer children. Their appearances had changed, and Zhen Yunzi likely didn’t recognize them. However, Ye Ye and Changyue didn’t dare to linger and retreated to the vicinity of Yangxi City. Zhen Yunzi lingered near the East Sea Immortal Assembly, and the two were worried about Gelin’s safety. Unwilling to leave, they tried to send messages to their companions, but none of them were at their sects, so the messages couldn’t be delivered. As they were discussing whether to return to Lu Gong Town or stay, the masked person suddenly appeared.
“That person wore a bronze mask, concealing their face, but their eyes were extremely bright and kept staring at Changyue,” Ye Ye said, his expression unusually cold. “We could both sense the intense fluctuations in their Yuan Power, far surpassing ours. It seemed they had broken through the fourth bottleneck.”
Due to the person’s high cultivation, they didn’t want to cause trouble and were about to avoid them. However, the person suddenly produced an ice mirror. Ye Ye was caught off guard and frozen in place. Bai Li Changyue immediately turned back to save him, and upon seeing her return, the person withdrew the ice mirror, allowing Ye Ye to leave.
The following month felt like a nightmare. Just when they thought they had escaped, the person would find them again within days, freezing Ye Ye with the ice mirror and then letting them go with a smile. During the last encounter, Bai Li Changyue finally couldn’t contain herself and coldly said, “If you want to kill us, just do it! This kind of humiliation is disgusting!”
The person chuckled, their voice surprisingly cultured and gentle, sounding quite young: “I told myself that if this boy could successfully escape my ice mirror once, I would let you lovebirds go. What a pity, little junior sister. You’re so beautiful; why waste your time with this useless fellow? In this world, no one is worthy of a hero. You’re a phoenix, yet you’re with a bear. It’s such a waste.”
At this point, Ye Ye’s face finally showed an expression of pain and regret. He said in a low voice, “I was no match for that person and couldn’t escape the ice mirror’s binding. After three days of humiliation, Changyue was about to take her own life, but that person suddenly captured her. I chased after them for days but couldn’t hold on any longer and collapsed at the foot of a mountain.”
This incident was undoubtedly the greatest humiliation of his life. Before he could finish speaking, he let out a long sigh and turned his head away. A tear slowly fell from his tightly closed eyes.
Bai Li Gelin could no longer bear to listen. She suddenly stood up, realizing it was her fault! Not communicating with them for a year had led to her sister and Ye Ye suffering this calamity! She violently tugged at the nine-headed bird pendant on her neck, leaving bloody marks on her hand and neck, but the pendant wouldn’t come off.
Li Fei grabbed her in shock, first casting a healing net before holding her hands and urgently saying, “Don’t be rash! When Ye Ye recovers a bit, we’ll go after them together! We’ll catch up!”
Bai Li Gelin’s eyes were red, but her face was deathly pale. She said in a trembling voice, “You don’t understand… It’s not that I didn’t want to… I… I shouldn’t have…”
Seeing her extreme agitation, Li Fei feared she might do something impulsive and immediately hugged her tightly, patting her back to comfort her. “It’s alright, it’s alright. Calm down! We’re all here!”
Ji Tongzhou’s face was ashen. As a man, he naturally understood the pain in Ye Ye’s heart at this moment. Any verbal comfort would be useless. He silently sighed and crouched down to channel wood-element Yuan Power into Ye Ye’s body without a word.
Lei Xiuyuan suddenly said, “The Yin-Yang Tribulation Wave Mirror is extremely powerful. We need to carefully discuss our tactics.”
“Yin-Yang Tribulation Wave Mirror?” Ji Tongzhou’s expression changed slightly. “You know what that ice mirror is?! Do you know that person?”
Lei Xiuyuan calmly replied, “That person is the personal disciple of Elder Zheng Xu from Wuyue Yan, named Qin Yangling. He has been cultivating at Wuyue Yan for over fifty years, and his cultivation shouldn’t be underestimated. By coincidence, I’ve dueled with him before.”
He explained the characteristics of the Yin-Yang Tribulation Wave Mirror in detail. Now that Qin Yangling had broken through the fourth bottleneck, the range and power of the Tribulation Wave Mirror would undoubtedly be even greater. Honestly, even if they caught up, their chances of winning weren’t high. The Tribulation Wave Mirror became more advantageous the more enemies it faced.
“Ji Tongzhou, you’re responsible for unleashing a major attack every breath to prevent the mirror surface from forming. Bai Li Gelin, you need to watch out for Qin Yangling secretly placing ice mirrors elsewhere and assisting Ji Tongzhou in shattering the mirror surfaces. As long as we force Qin Yangling away from the mirror’s range, I’ll capture him in close combat.”
Ji Tongzhou paused for a moment. “Every breath?”
Lei Xiuyuan asked expressionlessly, “Can’t you do it?”
Ji Tongzhou glanced at him. When it came to tactical planning, Lei Xiuyuan had always been more skilled than any of them since childhood. With such an important matter at hand, he didn’t want to argue with this person and coldly said, “Leave it to me.”
Bai Li Gelin had finally calmed down. She wiped away her tears and nodded, “I understand. I’ll do my best.”
Li Fei moved her lips, sometimes wanting to cast some offensive spells, but supporting had become a habit since childhood. She needed to save her Yuan Power and attention for the injured, so she had to swallow her impulse.
Ye Ye lay for a moment, and his internal Yuan Power finally slowly recovered. Anxious beyond measure, he disregarded his severely depleted energy, put on his clothes, and left. Since they had known Ye Ye, the others had never seen such a gloomy, furious, yet extremely suppressed expression on his face. For a moment, they didn’t know how to comfort him.
Seeing him fly away, Bai Li Gelin shook her head and said softly, “When we first met Ye Ye, he always had this expression. Only my sister could control him. Let’s go, Li Fei. Don’t let Ye Ye rush in later. Help restrain him a bit.”
She tied her sister’s hair to the dragonfly spirit, which immediately flapped its wings and flew forward. Then she took out a talisman, and instantly a dense group of small green spirits poured out like a thick mist, covering everyone. Their Yuan Power fluctuations were immediately concealed, much more practical than concealment techniques.
Li Fei had been secretly anxious all along. She clearly remembered Yue Cailing’s miserable state when she was forced by Qin Yangling. Yue Cailing still had deep trauma from that incident and would avoid male disciples, even those younger than her. Li Fei didn’t dare to imagine what Changyue might suffer at Qin Yangling’s hands. This person might have relied on his status before to use sweet words and forceful persuasion, but after being publicly defeated by Lei Xiuyuan’s tickling technique and being led out of Wuyue Yan by Elder Zheng Xu to avoid Lei Xiuyuan, he must have become extremely twisted. There’s no telling what horrific things he might do.
No matter how severe external or internal injuries might be, they could eventually be healed. Only psychological trauma would linger for a long time. Everyone was already worried and anxious, and she didn’t want to mention this to make them even more concerned. She could only continue pacing back and forth on Si Zhi Jiao.
The dragonfly spirit flew for an entire night, twisting and turning. It seemed to be flying towards the East Sea Immortal Assembly but then deviated. At dawn, it stopped in front of a cave, circling but not entering.
A cave? Lei Xiuyuan immediately understood. The terrain inside the cave wasn’t open, and the more confined the space, the easier it was for the Tribulation Wave Mirror to trap the opponent’s movements. Correspondingly, it would also be easier for someone to get close to Qin Yangling. Stopping here meant he was prepared for close combat.
Ye Ye was the first to rush in, but the others quickly held him back. Even the usually calm Ye Ye could be quite impulsive when agitated. Li Fei immediately cast Earth Lord’s Protection on everyone. Under the shelter of the small green spirits, they silently moved deeper into the cave. Halfway through, they suddenly heard a voice from inside – it was Qin Yangling’s voice.
“I prefer women with some reaction,” his voice carried a smile, with a mix of smug certainty and casual mockery. “Being like a wooden block is quite unappealing.”
No one spoke. Then suddenly, the sound of tearing clothes rang out, but still, there was no sound. Qin Yangling sighed, “Glaring at me like that, you don’t pique my interest. Why haven’t your friends come yet? And that little girl surnamed Jiang… Heh, never mind. Not making a sound, like a dead person, you’re nauseating. Let me hear some noise.”
Following that was a muffled sound like bones being broken. Bai Li Changyue let out a stifled groan, but after that, no matter how he verbally abused her, she stubbornly remained silent.
Li Fei felt her hair stand on end. What did he just say? A little girl surnamed Jiang?! He knew they had come back?! He knew Lei Xiuyuan was acquainted with Ye Ye and the others. How did he know? Did Changyue tell him? Unlikely, Changyue wasn’t that kind of person. Could it be that he had known all along?
Lei Xiuyuan’s expression was also grave. Suddenly, Bai Li Changyue spoke up, her voice sounding very dry and hoarse: “You all, be careful of his body!”
Upon hearing this, everyone’s expressions changed. Changyue’s hearing was extremely sensitive, and she must have heard their heartbeats before Qin Yangling noticed their presence.
Black flames suddenly flickered around Ji Tongzhou’s body. Something seemed to be exploding and vibrating in the air. In an instant, the explosive, shocking sound filled the entire narrow cave. The sound of shattering ice mirrors constantly rang out from inside. As everyone rushed in, they saw the deepest part of the small cave covered in ice mirror shards. Qin Yangling, wearing a bronze mask, held Changyue in his hand and stood on a jade-green flute, floating in mid-air. On either side of him were two conch-like magical items releasing light blue water walls. Ji Tongzhou’s domineering mountain fire tremors shook the entire cave, but it seemed to not affect him at all.
“Sister!” Bai Li Gelin cried out in alarm. Bai Li Changyue’s clothes were tattered and torn, and her arms and legs had all been broken. She appeared to be unconscious.
Bai Li Gelin threw out a talisman, and a small yellow oriole spirit fluttered out, its iron hook-like claws gripping the cave wall. Although its body was small, the cry it emitted was extremely piercing, echoing throughout the cave, mixing with the explosive tremors of the mountain fire, causing small stones to continuously fall from the cave walls.