Chapter 60 Part 2

This name, another Demonic Beast from the Mountains and Seas? One that escaped from Azure Hill? Jiang Yiguang was the first to have this thought. Moments later, it hit her! Jiuying?! The Jiuying shot dead by Yi atop the Fierce Water? Dafeng and Bashe were only remnant souls reawakening, but what about Jiuying? Her aura was at its peak, and she could even assume human form—clearly not in the same remnant-blood state as Bashe! Could they still fight? Jiang Yiguang coughed a few times, covering her mouth, the pain in her chest intensifying.

Just as the thought arose in Jiang Yiguang’s mind, a droning hum resonated. After the Eight-Headed Giant Serpent was slain, the chaotic magnetic fields gradually returned to order. The helicopter loaded with Mystic Weapons also followed Tao Junran’s signal to pinpoint the location, gradually approaching the target, placing Jiuying within the attack range of the Mystic Weapons!

“Retreat, quickly!” Tao Junran threw down two more words.

Jiuying sneered, glancing at Tao Junran, then looked up at the helicopter faintly visible in the clouds, smiling, “Is this the power of you humans? I’ve been in the Mortal Realm for a while now. I know these things. They’re powerful enough, but they can only deal with your own kind. Against celestial gods, earth deities, and Great Demons of the Mountains and Seas, I’m afraid they can’t even breach spiritual defenses.”

Tao Junran stared coldly at Jiuying, and with a sweep of his pointing fingers, thunder suddenly erupted. He cultivated the Supreme Clarity Orthodox Method, walked the Thunder Orthodox Path, supplemented by Arcane Gate arts, which could briefly restrain the foe. As for Jiuying—this Great Demon of the Mountains and Seas would soon learn the price of underestimating the Mortal Realm.

Mystic Weapons, shaped like missiles, were dropped at the designated point. Given Jiuying’s abilities, evading the bombardment wouldn’t have been difficult. Yet she chose not to, didn’t even bother to break free from Tao Junran’s binding array. A vicious light glinted in her eyes. The round mass in her left and right hands was thrown out, transforming into one blue and one red water dragon that shot straight into the sky! As the two forces collided, the Mystic Weapon erupted with a bang, forming a mushroom cloud. Almost the very instant it detonated, Tao Junran swept his sleeve, engulfing those nearby in a light of escape and quickly retreating!

A sharp, miserable scream drowned out the roar of the Mystic Weapon’s explosion. First, an image of a nine-headed serpent monster appeared midair, then the manifested image shattered, and a crimson-blue light shot into the sky, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

“She’s not dead…” Tao Junran’s tone was somewhat grave. Even though he had anticipated this outcome, seeing Jiuying escape still made his heart sink to the bottom. He didn’t say much to the Dao Court disciples, but his gaze swept around. He exhaled a breath of impure energy and said gently, “Go back and tend to your wounds.” After speaking, he turned his head to look at Fu Juan, asking with some surprise, “Your legs—”

Fu Juan’s brows and eyes were filled with exhaustion. She responded softly, “Mm, I can stand up now.”

Tao Junran nodded. He had many questions he wanted to ask, but the current situation hardly seemed appropriate, so he swallowed his curiosity.

–

The wounded Jiang Yiguang held on until she was lifted onto the ambulance before her eyelids finally closed and she fell into a deep sleep.

Internal bleeding of the organs, broken ribs… In the past, she probably would have died long ago. But after stepping onto the Dao path, her “life” had also become tougher. Several pills of elixir entered her stomach, and the internal injuries gradually healed. However, the broken bones still needed some time to recuperate before they fully mended.

When Jiang Yiguang woke up, she found three people gathered around the hospital bed. She first saw Fu Juan, who was peeling an apple with lowered lashes, then slowly shifted her gaze to Qi Ji and Zhao Sujie.

“Eh? You’re awake?” Zhao Sujie was also peeling an apple with her head down. Sensing a gaze on her, she immediately looked up, meeting Jiang Yiguang’s eyes directly. “If you two hadn’t arrived in time, who knows what would have happened to us.” Zhao Sujie spoke full of gratitude, her tone still carrying some relief at having survived the ordeal.

“It’s good that you’re awake. Rest well after this.” Qi Ji also turned to look at Jiang Yiguang. A gratified smile curled at her lips. After thinking for a moment, she swallowed the words “Teacher Jiang will be very happy when she knows.” Jiang Yiguang’s injuries hadn’t healed yet; there was no need to bring up heart-wrenching matters again. Pausing, Qi Ji added, “There are still unfinished matters at the Dao Court. I need to hurry back.”

“Mm, go ahead and busy yourself.” Jiang Yiguang’s voice was somewhat weak. Lying flat on the hospital bed felt uncomfortably awkward. She turned her head to look at Fu Juan, about to ask about her injuries, but her throat tickled, and what came out was a series of coughs. The wound was aggravated, and Jiang Yiguang’s face instantly turned pale.

“Are you alright?” Zhao Sujie leaned over to look at Jiang Yiguang, offering the apple in her hand.

Meanwhile, Fu Juan was silently, wordlessly expending spiritual energy to cut the apple into small slices.

Jiang Yiguang didn’t make a sound, nor did she raise her hand.

Zhao Sujie frowned. A moment later, she had a sudden realization: “Can’t move easily? Do you need me to feed you?” She squeezed forward, wanting to bypass Fu Juan, who was closest to Jiang Yiguang, to reach the head of the bed. Suddenly, she sensed a trace of icy-cold aura, sharp like an unsheathed sword blade. Her body stiffened, and all the hairs on her body stood on end. By the time she came back to her senses, Fu Juan had already used a toothpick to pick up a small piece of apple and brought it to Jiang Yiguang’s mouth.

Zhao Sujie opened her mouth, then lowered her head and took a crunchy bite of her own apple, chewing as she retreated back to her previous spot.

Stray strands of hair floated against her face, bringing a slight itch. Those deep, dark eyes were right before her. Yet whereas they were usually an unfathomable abyss, seemingly encompassing all things yet holding nothing, now they clearly reflected only her own… slightly unkempt sickly visage. Jiang Yiguang wanted to cover her cheeks with her hands, but just moving her fingers caused pain. She could only close her eyes in a self-deceptive manner and bite down on the apple.

She knew that if she didn’t react, given Fu Juan’s temperament, she might hold that piece of fruit up until the end of time.

The corner of Fu Juan’s lips lifted slightly, then immediately pressed down. She sat back and gently recounted the events that occurred after leaving Baling.

“Jiuying escaped. She came out of the Mountains and Seas, but Azure Hill says there’s no trace of Jiuying passing through the Gate of Mountains and Seas. It’s highly likely she entered the Mortal Realm through some Mountains and Seas Rift, just like Tushan Yi did a thousand years ago.”

“Oh, right, Xu Heng, the Onmyoji from Dongying, was killed by Jiuying. His corpse and True Spirit were brought back to the Dao Court. From the past revealed within his True Spirit, his appearance in Shenzhou had nothing to do with the Mountains and Seas Realm. He intended to take advantage of Shenzhou’s Revival of the Mountains and Seas Realm, using foreign monsters to replace the concepts of the Fierce Demons of the Mountains and Seas, bit by bit disrupting Shenzhou’s Dragon Veins and ruining Shenzhou’s Qi Fortune. As for the existence directing him… it is the gradually reviving deities of Dongying.”

Jiang Yiguang’s head ached listening to this. Aside from the Revival of the Mountains and Seas Realm, there were also incursions from overseas forces. With both internal and external troubles, how could Shenzhou cope? She exhaled a breath of impure energy and asked, “…How will the Dao Court deal with it?”

“This concerns the survival of Shenzhou, there is no room for the slightest retreat.” Zhao Sujie neatly tossed the apple core into the trash can. Raising an eyebrow, she grinned with an attitude that relished chaos, “Then we’ll just fight back, of course! A mere Dongying Deity System, how could it be a match for my Shenzhou!”

Jiang Yiguang glanced sidelong at Zhao Sujie. She always felt that the current Xuanzhen Dao Court didn’t yet have such boldness of vision. Jiang Yiguang frowned and asked, “Which deity is reawakening?”

Fu Juan calmly replied, “The Sun God. The Great Sun Honored One, daughter of the Netherworld Deity, the chief deity worshipped by Dongying’s Shinto.”

“To encompass all things is greatness… If the Golden Crow were here, would the light of that deity still exist?” Jiang Yiguang chuckled softly. Tilting her head, she gazed at Fu Juan. “With Manifesting Heaven and Earth, can another sun be shot down?”

“Yes.” Fu Juan nodded. Seeing a bright light flash in Jiang Yiguang’s eyes, she added, “But not right now.”

“The matter of Dongying will be handled by the Dao Court. The current focus remains on the Mountains and Seas Rifts. If Jiuying can escape, it means other terrifying existences could also leave the Mountains and Seas and enter the Mortal Realm. You need to rest well first.”

Jiang Yiguang lacked the grand sense of “righteousness” that demanded struggling to the death. Without needing to be told, she would take full advantage of her recovery time to slack off. She fixed her gaze on Fu Juan, seeing the dark circles under her eyes. Unable to hold back, she asked, “What about you?” Whether in the past or now, Fu Juan never seemed to know fatigue or weariness. Before, she was burdened by too many expectations and high hopes; later, she was trapped by pity or ridicule… Just how far did she intend to go?

Not receiving Fu Juan’s answer, Jiang Yiguang wasn’t too disappointed. After all, she’d long known Fu Juan’s temperament. Frowning, she spoke word by word in a detached tone: “I don’t need you to take care of me.” The atmosphere in the ward shifted with her cold attitude, seeming to suddenly drop to freezing point.

Zhao Sujie looked up, her gaze shifting back and forth between Fu Juan and Jiang Yiguang. She’d only drifted off for a moment; how had the atmosphere turned so strange? Her mind only retained what Jiang Yiguang had just said. To break the stiffness, she proactively stood up and smiled at Fu Juan, “Alchemist Tao had something to discuss with you earlier. You go ahead and busy yourself. I’ll take care of Yiguang. Besides, you haven’t closed your eyes to rest since you got back.”

Jiang Yiguang looked at Fu Juan’s taut cheeks and stern eyes and sighed inwardly. Perhaps being ill made her emotions harder to control. She blinked and softened her tone: “You should go and rest.” After thinking for a moment, she added, “I wasn’t taking that blow for you. In that situation, even if I wanted to leave, I couldn’t. You don’t need to feel guilty about it. Before that, you helped me plenty too.”

Zhao Sujie earnestly chimed in, “In that critical moment, if I were the one in trouble, given Yiguang’s noble character, she would have saved me too.”

Jiang Yiguang: “…” Since when did she possess the quality of “noble character”? She glanced at Fu Juan and noticed the pressure around her had dropped even further, yet Fu Juan eventually stood up and left the ward.

Zhao Sujie breathed a sigh of relief. Realizing what she’d done, she scratched her head, confused: “I felt like something was watching me just now, a strange tension.”

Jiang Yiguang smiled: “Perhaps you’ve been put on a death list. My advice is to guard your birth date and eight characters well.”

Zhao Sujie: “…”