Chapter 38: Biting Her Lip

Under the Heavenly Punishment, crimson hot blood flowed into Wen Qiwu’s neck. She parted her lips slightly, a faint, suppressed whimper escaping her throat.

No…

A faint scarlet tint flickered in Wen Qiwu’s eyes. Yun Heng had protected her perfectly—not a single injury under the Heavenly Punishment.

Yet she would rather have taken some of that Heavenly Punishment for her senior sister.

A thin veil of blood mist clouded Yun Heng’s vision. The taste of the Heavenly Punishment was excruciating. If not for the person she held in her arms, whom she kept in mind at all times, she might not have held on.

She seemed to touch the warm tears of the person in her embrace—or perhaps it was her own blood. Yun Heng touched her face, wanting to comfort her and tell her not to be afraid, but a sudden gush of blood from her throat prevented her from making a sound.

The commotion from the Heavenly Punishment was utterly terrifying. The Immortal Venerable’s Divine Sword pierced through the clouds, and the clashing forces felt as if they could shatter the heavens and extinguish the earth. The Half-Completed Concealing Heaven Array that Yun Heng had set up could no longer hide this level of Heavenly Punishment. No one knew what dangerous thing their sect master had done, so some even guessed that Yun Heng had broken through to the Divine Realm—this was the Thunder Tribulation of advancement.

But moments later, snowflakes of all four seasons swirled atop Cloud Mist Mountain as raging flames erupted. The fire was almost pure white, with only a faint tint of azure at its uppermost layer.

Immediately after, everyone heard a shrill phoenix cry. At the center of the flames, the silhouette of a white phoenix shot into the sky. The faint azure flames burning on its long tail feathers traced beautiful, illusory arcs through the air. The phoenix’s mournful cry traveled far, prompting wails of grief from nearly all the Feather Race in the East Zhao Domain.

Origin Spirit Domain.

On this land belonging to the Demon Race, powerhouses of the Feather Race, including the Azure Luan King, all turned toward the East Zhao Domain. They vaguely felt their bloodlines surging, an instinct guiding them there.

The phoenix silhouette plunged into the thunderclouds formed by the Heavenly Punishment. Unlike ordinary tribulation clouds, these were aimed at killing Yun Heng, filled with destructive and explosive power.

With the aid of the phoenix silhouette, the Divine Sword erupted once more with sharp divine light. Yun Heng promptly severed her connection to the forbidden technique. After churning for a while, the Heavenly Punishment gradually lost its initial ferocity.

About the time it took to burn half a stick of incense later, this punishment from the Heavenly Dao finally came to an end.

But what ended was merely the Thunder Tribulation. How could the Heavenly Punishment be that simple?

The Medical Immortal had originally planned to return to her valley to prepare some medicine before coming back. But before she could even step out of the Ask God Sect, that terrifying Heavenly Punishment descended.

The place where the thunder rolled was Cloud Mist Mountain. The Medical Immortal knew Yun Heng’s strength—she had been stuck at the Mid True Immortal Realm for over a hundred years. As long as her Heart Demon lingered, Yun Heng could not advance further. So the Medical Immortal knew this was definitely not a Crossing Tribulation thunderbolt.

That child would surely be heartbroken if she knew her senior sister had ended up like this after her death.

The Medical Immortal had failed to save Wen Qiwu, and she had always felt a bit guilty about it. That was why she paid extra attention to Yun Heng’s affairs.

But even the best healer could not save someone who sought death with all her heart. The Medical Immortal didn’t want to bother anymore, but if she washed her hands of it now, someone from the Ask God Sect would surely come looking for her soon. Fine…

The Medical Immortal could not intervene in the Heavenly Punishment, so she could only wait at Myriad Medicine Mountain. Sure enough, once the thunder ceased, a young woman rushed over holding a blood-drenched person.

The Medical Immortal opened the door. She paused slightly upon seeing Wen Qiwu—this young woman felt somewhat familiar, but she was certain she had never seen this face before.

Perhaps she had met her before and forgotten. The Medical Immortal didn’t dwell on it and simply told her to put the injured person on the bed immediately.

The Medical Immortal first fed Yun Heng a life-saving pill, then began examining her injuries. As she delved deeper, her expression grew increasingly grim. Besides her old wounds and the new ones from the thunder, Yun Heng’s body now harbored all sorts of miscellaneous curses.

“Senior Medical Immortal, how… is she?” Wen Qiwu’s voice trembled. Her clothes were stained with plenty of blood, but it all belonged to her senior sister.

When Wen Qiwu had rushed to find the Medical Immortal while holding her senior sister, she had already sensed how faint her breathing was. She didn’t even dare pray to the heavens for her safety—after all, it was that thieving heaven that wanted her senior sister’s life!

“Not good.” The Medical Immortal always spoke bluntly. At those two words, Wen Qiwu felt a buzz in her mind, her body going limp uncontrollably.

The Medical Immortal quickly steadied her, preventing her from falling.

“Please save her! No matter what medicine you need, I can go find it. Please, you must save her…” As she spoke, Wen Qiwu choked up with sobs, tears falling. Her red-rimmed eyes made her look especially fragile and helpless.

“I’ll do my duty, but whether she survives depends entirely on her! A patient who ignores medical advice… no matter how skilled I am, I can’t save her!” Though the Medical Immortal pitied her tears, she steeled herself to point out the real issue.

Yun Heng’s biggest problem was her heart ailment. Apart from a few terminal illnesses recorded in ancient texts, the one thing she couldn’t cure was a disease of the heart.

As long as the heart ailment persisted, it didn’t matter if she treated her or not.

“I understand! I swear I’ll make her follow your orders!” Wen Qiwu promised without hesitation.

The Medical Immortal raised an eyebrow slightly. Make Yun Heng follow orders? Others had boasted the same, but all ended in failure. Unless that child came back to life, she didn’t believe Yun Heng would ever obey.

But… who exactly was this young woman? She didn’t remember Yun Heng having someone like this by her side. From her tone… she seemed very close to Yun Heng.

“That’s for the best. Now she’s got a few new curses in her body that weren’t there before—very similar to the aura of that thundercloud. This is troublesome. I recall the Phoenix Lord Tomb in the Endless Tree Sea has something that can break the sect master’s curses. If you get the chance, try your luck there. I’ll suppress them for now while you look for a way.” When the Medical Immortal tried to dispel the curses, she found they weren’t simple—they carried a faint trace of the Heavenly Dao’s aura. They were more like remnants of the Heavenly Punishment than ordinary curses.

Ordinary methods couldn’t eradicate them now. The best option was still to seek a solution in the Phoenix Lord Tomb.

“Got it! Right, I heard A Yue say you needed Jade Bone Grass for… for Cloud Sect Master’s medicine. Besides Jade Bone Grass, is there anything else? I’ll gather it all!”

“Jade Bone Grass won’t cut it anymore for her heart… Her injuries are too severe now. But a couple days ago, her condition suddenly improved a lot—who knows what spirit medicine she took then. If you have that, it’d be perfect.” The Medical Immortal sighed with regret. A few days ago, Yun Heng had indeed looked much better. She should have asked more at the time.

“A couple days ago…” Wen Qiwu suddenly remembered taking a drop of her Heart Blood to feed her senior sister. Phoenix Heart Blood was the ultimate medicine.

…

Even as a True Immortal Realm immortal, Yun Heng had damaged her foundation by forcibly taking several strikes of Heavenly Punishment. These past days, she had lain in a dazed slumber, unable even to open her eyes.

But A Que…

A Que seemed to have returned.

In the darkness, she couldn’t see her junior sister’s figure, anxious enough to prevent sleep. Whenever that happened, someone would take her hand—that familiar, warm touch soothing her nightmares.

Yun Heng’s perception of the outside world grew clearer. Gradually, she sensed someone constantly by her side. That familiar aura… it felt like A Que? The sensation filled her with immense peace.

Yun Heng’s injuries were too severe; she needed time to recover on her own. When she regained consciousness again, something soft landed on her lips.

The sweet fragrance made her dizzy, but it came with a thick metallic tang of blood.

Blood?

Yun Heng abruptly opened her eyes. Before her was a pair of unfamiliar eyes wide with shock. No, not entirely unfamiliar—the soul reflected in those eyes… she knew it better than anything.

Tears welled in Yun Heng’s eyes. Wasn’t this a dream?

Wen Qiwu was feeding her senior sister her own Heart Blood. She hadn’t expected her to wake so suddenly without warning.

She—she wasn’t deliberately taking advantage of her senior sister!

Wen Qiwu hurriedly tried to pull back, pretending nothing had happened. She had only meant to feed her Heart Blood, nothing more. Who could have known that her senior sister, just awakened with watery, panicked eyes, would chase after her lips in a kiss? She bit her own lip lightly, tender and meticulous.