Chapter 71: Ye Zi, Save Me! Part 2

Old Tang repelled the old man with overwhelming ferocity aided by his shikigami. Seeing the massive demon flower radiating red light before him, he yelled, “Fuck!” He grabbed Wang Ya’s hand, pressed her finger against his Tang Dao to slice it open, and quickly smeared the blood on his own forehead.

Wang Ya had been smashed into the ancient cauldron by the old Taoist’s palm and hadn’t even climbed up when her mouth took a slap. Then her finger stung, and she heard someone behind shout, “Form the array, seal this demon flower!” Footsteps of people charging up followed.

Ignoring everything, Wang Ya stood, gathered her full strength, and struck at those rushing from behind. She saw over a dozen figures swiftly retreat; her attacking palm struck empty air. At the same time, she saw the red light from the Yellow Springs Other Shore Flower in the great cauldron spreading outward. The insects and beasts enveloped by the red light turned into desiccated corpses and withered bones in an instant, crumbling into piles of refuse. Wang Ya had witnessed this exact scene before on the Yellow Springs Road when she opened the Yin Spirit Scroll. The horrific sight within the red light terrified the people pressing toward Wang Ya, forcing them to retreat rapidly.

Two old Taoists, presumably of profound strength, charged through the red light toward Wang Ya.

Wang Ya saw that despite their advanced age, these two old men exuded auras—one like a fierce tiger, the other like a vast ocean—profound, majestic, and far beyond what she could withstand. One Taoist’s longsword pointed at her as he rushed forward with thunderous momentum. The other fixed his gaze on the Yin Spirit Scroll embedded in the cauldron.

Wang Ya couldn’t let them take the Yin Spirit Scroll. She grabbed it, yanked it from the cauldron, and stuffed it back into the thick cloth strip at her waist. In that flash of steel, the two charging old Taoists arrived before her.

Old Tang stepped forward to intercept, his Tang Dao and paper effigy blocking together. The paper effigy slashed at the old Taoist’s arm while the Tang Dao met the incoming sword.

Zhang Qingshui felt overwhelming sword qi descending like a canopy. She immediately activated her Azure Vine for defense, shielding herself, Old Tang, and Wang Ya.

Wang Ya only felt a sky-filling sword light enveloping her entirely. She had no doubt it could shred her to pieces. Not daring to clash, she flipped into the bronze cauldron, thinking it was heavy and thick, made of bronze that even bullets might not penetrate—surely it could block the sword light. But upon flipping in, she didn’t crash into ritual remnants as expected, nor hit the cauldron bottom. Instead, a gust of cold wind greeted her, and she plummeted into emptiness. One thought surged in her mind: Fuck, why is this cauldron hollow?!?!

Zhang Qingshui stood right beside Wang Ya. While activating the Azure Dragon Vine’s defense, she saw Wang Ya jump into the cauldron. Thinking it was an escape route, she called to Old Tang and sent a strand of Yi Wood Spiritual Energy via her Azure Vine into Old Tang to help him resist the sword qi. Then she flipped into the cauldron as well. The moment she entered, her foot met empty air, and she plummeted straight down. Wind whistled past her ears; she saw nothing. Unhurried and calm, Zhang Qingshui urged her Azure Dragon Vine to steady her fall. In her heart, she thought: It really is an escape route! Who would have thought this cauldron was the way out?

Old Tang clashed fiercely with the old Taoist. His Tang Dao collided with the sword, the impact jarring his tiger mouth in agony and nearly sending the blade flying from his grip. His paper effigy drifted back to his hand. Hearing the noise of Wang Ya jumping into the cauldron and Zhang Qingshui’s call, he assumed there was an exit inside. Without thinking, he rolled into the cauldron. His body lightened, and he realized he was plummeting rapidly. From the darkness below came Wang Ya’s utterly shrill scream: “Ye Zi—save me—” This isn’t an escape route! Terrified, he let out a heart-wrenching wail: “Fuck—”

Zhang Qingshui, steadily descending with her Azure Dragon Vine under control and thinking she had escaped death, was stunned by Wang Ya’s scream: Could this not be the escape path? Is the cauldron hollow? Are we falling into the abyss under the bronze pillar?

Zhang Qingshui’s three souls nearly fled in fright. She urgently urged her Azure Dragon Vine to pull herself upward. Sensing Old Tang falling beside her, she quickly had the Azure Dragon Vine wrap around him. Without external support, relying only on the vine’s own spiritual power, it was hard to carry both her and Old Tang—it could only effectively slow their descent.

As for Wang Ya, who had flipped into the cauldron and dropped into the pit even earlier, she had already fallen out of Zhang Qingshui and Old Tang’s line of sight. By the time Zhang Qingshui realized something was wrong, it was too late to save her.

Zhang Qingshui hadn’t heard Wang Ya’s scream and thought she had fallen to her death. She hurriedly shouted loudly, “Wang Ya, are you still there?”

Immediately after, from even farther below came Wang Ya’s earth-shattering scream: “Ah—”

Wang Ya’s figure plummeted at breakneck speed. Terrified, she could only relieve her extreme fear with shrill screams! At this velocity, nothing could catch her—she’d turn into mincemeat on impact. Even falling into water would mean certain death. She only regretted carrying a backpack instead of a parachute! She didn’t want to die! Wang Ya’s eyes turned bloodshot in desperation. Her hands swiftly formed seals, intending to forcibly open the Yellow Springs midair. Falling into the Yellow Springs was better than plummeting into a bottomless abyss—even if she survived the fall into such a deep pit, she could never climb out.