From the moment Ling’er began implanting the Gu, throughout Aunt Rong’s execution of this entire scheme, Deng Tianyu had merely watched silently from beginning to end.
It was only now that he truly understood the words Aunt Rong had spoken that day.
“Tianyu, if Aunt Rong were to become a vicious, wicked woman, would you despise me?”
Could this truly be considered vicious?
The answer was definitively no!
This could only be described as a transformation of mindset.
The coldness of her family, the heartlessness of her father, plotting time and again to put her to death.
Aunt Rong had initially only wanted to escape such control and live some ordinary, peaceful days.
It was only the other party’s relentless aggression that ultimately forced the situation into its current state.
As for why Aunt Rong chose to reveal this unpleasant side of herself in front of a cherished junior, Deng Tianyu understood it with crystal clarity in his heart.
Aunt Rong did not wish to hide it from him. She wanted him to know everything, to face him with the most sincere and genuine attitude.
“Ling’er, you should also go back and rest.”
“Yes, Madam!”
After Ling’er had departed, the unmelting frost on Qu Qirong’s features finally thawed, revealing a gentle, affectionate expression: “Tianyu, today was thanks to you.”
“Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.”
Although she had long ago tasked Elder Huang with secretly monitoring the mother-child pair, Qu Yun’s every move, and had made corresponding preparations, she hadn’t anticipated they would act so quickly.
Of course, she also knew all of this was triggered by her and Tianyu going to the Chanting Moon Pavilion to listen to music and watch performances.
Yet, if she had to do it over again, she would still willingly go with Deng Tianyu, even knowing Qu Yun might see them.
Deng Tianyu smiled slightly: “Between Aunt Rong and I, why speak such polite formalities?”
“Mm!” A warmth spread through Qu Qirong’s heart. Her smile became increasingly radiant and tender.
“Aunt Rong, according to what Qu Yun said, the Sleep-Sealing Curse Mark is still sealed within you.”
“Let me see if, before it erupts, I can resolve it, to prevent greater difficulty later.”
Deng Tianyu understood the terror of Yin-Yang curse marks deeply.
Just like his Shizun Ning Wan: every night of the full moon, she had to endure the erosion of Yin-Cold Intent and Yin Sha.
Had it not been for his unique constitution allowing him to inhale the Yin-Cold Intent and Yin Sha into his body and refine them instantly, this recent curse mark eruption might have truly caused some unforeseen incident.
“Then I’ll trouble Tianyu.” Qu Qirong nodded and sat down with Deng Tianyu in the Orchid Pavilion. “But… how should it be done?”
She had previously known about the Heart-Controlling Gu because she had specifically researched it in ancient texts. But she had never learned anything about this Sleep-Sealing Curse Mark.
“I’ll first use a Yin-Yang Dao Art to probe it, to see roughly how long until the sealing restriction breaks on its own, and whether I can try to slowly draw that Baleful Yang Energy into my body.”
After pondering for a moment, Deng Tianyu voiced his idea.
The Sleep-Sealing Curse Mark inside Aunt Rong was still in a sealed state. Compared to Shizun Ning Wan’s Profound Dark Curse, it was undoubtedly more stable.
Therefore, Deng Tianyu wanted to proceed as before: utilize the [Star Shift] divine ability to take advantage of this stable period, slowly refine the Baleful Yang Energy, and prevent a future eruption.
After all, Aunt Rong’s cultivation level wasn’t high. She fundamentally couldn’t withstand a single curse mark eruption.
Hearing this, Qu Qirong’s elegant brows furrowed in concern: “Why draw it into your body? Wouldn’t that transfer the curse mark to you?”
“If that is the case, I would rather not neutralize the Sleep-Sealing Curse Mark.”
If dissolving it meant transferring the curse mark to Deng Tianyu, that action would undoubtedly harm him.
Sacrifice Tianyu to save herself?
This was something she, Qu Qirong, could not do, and would not do!
“Aunt Rong, where is your mind wandering?”
“I’m doing this because my constitution is special. I can refine the Baleful Yang Energy within the Sleep-Sealing Curse Mark.”
“This Baleful Yang Energy is not only harmless to me, but can actually deepen my cultivation.”
Deng Tianyu explained, caught between laughter and tears.
“Is that truly the case?” Qu Qirong remained skeptical, afraid he might be recklessly disregarding everything just to save her.
Deng Tianyu smiled: “When have I ever lied to Aunt Rong?”
“If it is truly so, then Aunt Rong will entrust everything to you. Tianyu, do as you see fit!” Qu Qirong smiled beautifully, finally letting go of the worry in her heart.
Her trust in her own Tianyu had long since, unconsciously, reached an extreme point.
“Then I will begin.”
Deng Tianyu nodded and took hold of Aunt Rong’s delicate hand. Traces of Yin-Yang Fish surfaced.
His Spiritual Sense followed the complex and densely packed meridians, spending quite some effort before finally discovering an anomaly in an extremely remote meridian pathway.
Within this meridian pathway, an extremely faint, scorching aura emanated.
“The curse mark is hidden in such a secluded meridian. No wonder I didn’t notice it when I helped Aunt Rong remove the Heart-Controlling Gu last time.”
Under the careful perception of his Spiritual Sense, he also discovered an extremely obscure, blurred barrier of patterns enveloping this meridian pathway.
However, this barrier had already developed numerous cracks. It probably wouldn’t be long before it completely shattered.
Clearly, this barrier was the sealing restriction. The scorching intent wrapped within must be the Baleful Yang Energy of the Sleep-Sealing Curse Mark.
After a long while, having grasped the specific situation, Deng Tianyu opened his eyes and spoke:
“The sealing restriction has already developed cracks. As Qu Yun said, it’s estimated it will fully break apart in less than half a year.”
A puzzled look appearing on her face, Qu Qirong asked: “Then what should be done?”
“I will actively find one crack, use my Sword Intent to pry it open slightly, and then employ the [Star Shift] divine ability to draw out the Baleful Yang Energy.”
“To avoid accidents, I’ll first attempt to extract just a wisp of Baleful Yang Energy.”
After some thought, Deng Tianyu proposed the most cautious and safest method.
He didn’t know whether drawing out too much at once might trigger the Sleep-Sealing Curse Mark to erupt prematurely.
If such an accident truly occurred, even if he could absorb and refine all the Baleful Yang Energy, Aunt Rong’s cultivation base wouldn’t be able to withstand it.
“Open it with Sword Intent, then draw it into your body.”
“Is it similar to last time, or…”
Bringing this up, the exquisitely beautiful, mature woman’s face was instantly tinged with a layer of the most stunning red clouds.
Because the last time Sword Intent entered her body, it had been through the pores near her chest.
Recalling that intimate, ambiguous scene instantly caused her heart to tremble slightly, a feeling of shyness washing over her.
Hearing this, Deng Tianyu fell into an awkward silence for a moment.
Ultimately, as the man, he gritted his teeth and spoke out:
“This time, the Sword Intent will still need to enter through the pores near the Dantian.”
“But to extract that Baleful Yang Energy… it will have to pass through Aunt Rong’s mouth and mine.”
The place where that Baleful Yang aura emanated, the location of the Sleep-Sealing Curse Mark, was closest to the Dantian area.
A mouth and the Dantian… this was indeed awkward to the extreme.
“The Dantian… and the mouth?”
As expected, the moment Qu Qirong heard this, her voluptuous and graceful body trembled. Her face flushed even redder, the shyness in her heart almost impossible to suppress.
The last time, when Sword Intent had enveloped her chest, she had been forced into a moment of slight indulgence, not knowing if Deng Tianyu had noticed.
And now, this time, they had to extract the Baleful Yang Energy from her mouth, and the Sword Intent had to enter through the even more embarrassing Dantian area… this…
