Chapter 42: Mo Li Becomes Teacher (Part 1)
"Boom!!"
Without any trace of energy fluctuation or any warning, the moment Mo Li raised her right hand, Xiao Jiu's expression suddenly changed, becoming utterly terrified, as if he had seen the most horrifying hell in that instant. Then, with a terrifyingly explosive sound... his body burst apart.
His head, limbs, torso, organs... all shattered in an instant, exploding into a massive spray of blood. The scattered blood droplets splashed far and wide, staining the ground several meters around a deep red...
Yun Che: "!!!!"
Xiao Ba and Xiao Jiu, both outstanding experts from the Xiao Sect and sons of the Xiao Sect's master—one was split apart in an instant, the other exploded in an instant—both were annihilated under Mo Li's hand without a trace of struggle. Perhaps even in death, they never knew how they died.
Moreover, their deaths were each more gruesome than the other. Yun Che had killed countless people in two lifetimes and was long accustomed to bloodshed and cruelty. When facing those he deeply hated, his methods were also extremely vicious, but never had he come close to the brutality of either of these two killings... More accurately, he simply didn't have the ability to do so.
This girl with red hair, who called herself "Mo Li," who exactly is she...
"Ugh..."
A groan of extreme pain suddenly escaped Mo Li's mouth, and her petite body crouched down to the ground, trembling all over.
Xiao Ba lay in scattered pieces of flesh, Xiao Jiu was a pool of blood. Yun Che suddenly understood somewhat why she called herself "Bloodstained Jasmine." From her killing methods, he could imagine how many people she had killed and how miserably those who died by her hand had perished. She was clearly just an immature girl, yet her actions were like those of a merciless and terrifying god of death.
An icy fear uncontrollably arose in Yun Che's heart. Watching her pained expression, Yun Che hesitated for a moment, then took two steps forward and said, "You could have killed him with very little strength just now, but you deliberately made him die without a complete corpse... Your soul body is infected with a strange poison. The moment you move your profound force, these poisons take advantage and devour your soul..."
"Aoow~~"
A long wolf howl suddenly sounded behind Yun Che, and it was very, very close... so close it was almost right in his ear. Yun Che quickly turned around and saw, less than twenty steps to his right, an adult wolf with gray fur that had appeared from nowhere, staring at him with fierce eyes.
A wild wolf!!
Yun Che's heart jolted... This was the edge of a town. How could a wild wolf appear here? Although this wolf was clearly just an ordinary beast, it was still a wolf; it absolutely shouldn't appear in this place.
Wait... The wind was picking up, and with Xiao Ba's dismembered and bloody corpse, the scent of blood drifting with the wind... it was indeed highly possible to attract bloodthirsty profound beasts!
This sudden appearance of a wild wolf gave Yun Che little time to react or think. With a low growl, it dashed straight ahead, leaping from seven steps away, pouncing directly at Yun Che. Its gleaming claws could easily tear his body apart.
What Yun Che had said earlier was absolutely correct. To enter the Heavenly Poison Pearl, Mo Li had drunk Yun Che's blood and attached her life to his. Therefore, Yun Che's life became her life. If Yun Che died, she would die as well. Even if she didn't die, losing the Heavenly Poison Pearl would cause the poison to erupt and her soul to scatter within a short time.
So, seeing the wolf pounce at Yun Che, a murderous intent flashed in Mo Li's eyes, and a violent profound force instantly gathered in her hand... But the moment her profound force surged, she suddenly felt as if thousands of arrows pierced her heart. Her entire body stiffened, and a groan of extreme pain escaped her lips. The profound force she had just gathered completely dissipated. Trembling in agony, her body suddenly wavered, becoming clear and then blurry like an illusion...
Her first strike to annihilate Xiao Ba had caused a powerful backlash from the Godslayer Desolation Poison. Using profound force a second time to kill Xiao Jiu intensified the backlash several times. Now using it again, the poison throughout her body invaded like awakened venomous snakes, madly devouring her soul. Not only could she not attack the wolf, but she couldn't even stand properly. Her semi-illusory body faced the possibility of dissipating under the poison's effects.
"Don't use profound force!!"
Seeing Mo Li's body flicker in and out, Yun Che frowned and roared. But the wolf had already pounced, its blade-like fangs getting closer and closer in his pupils...
Rip!!
The cloth on his right shoulder was torn fiercely, barely missing his skin and flesh. Yun Che narrowly dodged by lunging to the right. Without getting up, he swung his right hand with all his strength toward the gray wolf. The powder he had originally prepared for Xiao Ba was precisely sprinkled onto the wolf's head as it landed.
The wolf let out a piercing, miserable howl, collapsing to the ground as it frantically scratched at its eyes with both paws. Yun Che stood up as fast as possible, quickly picked up the short blade Mo Li had dropped earlier, gritted his teeth, and rushed at the wolf, stabbing with all his might at its throat.
Although the wolf was an ordinary beast, its skin, flesh, and bones were quite solid. If an ordinary person's full-force stab hit the throat bone, it would only damage the skin and bone, not kill it, and would instead fully enrage it. Yun Che's short blade descended extremely fast, and its target was locked in his cold, focused gaze... The blade precisely pierced through the gap between the wolf's throat bones, severing its trachea.
The wolf's howl became pitiful and weak. Its body twitched wildly, then collapsed to the ground, silent.
"Huff..." Yun Che let out a long breath and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. Although his strength was now low and his body weak, his combat awareness and eyesight remained. However, the fact that he, who once looked down upon the world, now had to risk such danger against a mere ordinary wolf made him smile bitterly.
Mo Li's body continued to flicker. She curled up on the ground like a wounded kitten, her face in extreme pain. After catching his breath, Yun Che stood up, walked to her side, and placed his left hand on her shoulder. The purifying power of the Heavenly Poison Pearl quickly released, curbing the poison rampaging wildly through her body and soul.
What kind of poison was the Godslayer Desolation Poison? It had nearly killed even this girl with terrifying strength.
The pain on Mo Li's little face finally eased slightly, but her body continued to alternate between clear and blurry, the frequency increasing—a sign of imminent dissipation. At that moment, Mo Li raised her face, reached out, grabbed Yun Che's right wrist, opened her tender lips, and bit down hard on his index finger with her white teeth.
The sharp pain in his finger made Yun Che's face contort. He felt his finger pierced by the sharp teeth, and the blood beads that seeped out were all sucked into Mo Li's mouth. Compared to the first time she sucked his blood, Yun Che was much calmer this time and didn't struggle. He let her bite his finger, feeling the warm, soft little tongue pressing firmly against his fingertip, which gave him an indescribable sense of pleasure amidst the sharp pain...
As drop after drop of blood was sucked into Mo Li's mouth, the frequency of her body flickering began to slow down. After half a minute, it finally stopped completely. Mo Li removed her teeth from his finger. Although her face was still slightly pale, she was no longer in pain.
Yun Che stepped back, looking at the bleeding teeth marks on his right index finger, sucking in cold air: "Are you... a puppy or something! Every time you see me, you bite me!"
Mo Li reached out a small hand and gently wiped the corner of her mouth. Her young face still showed lingering fear. She gritted her teeth slightly, furrowed her delicate brows, and said coldly, "It's still because you're useless! Otherwise, how could this princess be forced to such a state!"
"Useless?" Yun Che laughed self-deprecatingly. "Heh, compared to you, I truly am useless. An ordinary wolf could have taken my life. If not for you saving me twice, I would have already died at the hands of those two men you just killed... However, no matter how useless I am, I've saved you twice. If you hadn't met me that night, you'd have died from the poison. And just now, if I had abandoned you, this dangerous little sister, and walked away, you might have already dispersed your soul by now. When you call me useless, have you ever thought to thank me?"
Mo Li remained silent.
"Meeting the Heavenly Poison Pearl on the verge of death counts as your great fortune. But it seems your luck ends here. My profound vein is crippled; if not repaired, I will remain at the first level of the Initial Xuan Realm for the rest of my life. You are heavily poisoned and cannot casually use your power. With just my own strength, encountering even a slightly greater danger could cost us our lives at any time, and it will drag you down to die with me." Yun Che held his finger, which had finally stopped bleeding, and said flatly.
Mo Li still didn't speak, but her eyes kept changing, as if she was hesitating and struggling with something.
"But don't worry. I will work hard to find a way to repair my profound vein—no, I must find it! Until then, I will do my best to keep my life." Yun Che said calmly and resolutely. In his mind, the figures of Xiao Lie and Xiao Lingxi appeared again. For their sake, on this path that was bound to be extremely difficult, he had to walk it desperately and as fast as possible.
"Repair your profound vein?" The girl's face showed a hint of disdainful smile. "I have examined your profound vein. It was not damaged by external force recently, but was severely injured when you were very young, before it had fully formed. It was damaged at its root, and now it's utterly ruined! There is indeed a method to forcibly repair it, but even after repair, opening three profound gates would be the limit! Moreover, you missed the most critical Initial Xuan foundation period before the age of fourteen. In this state, you won't even break through the Initial Xuan Realm within ten years! And in your entire life, you cannot break through to the Xuan Entry Realm... You will still be a useless cripple!"
Mo Li's words made Yun Che's expression stiffen, and his hands clenched unconsciously. Her words struck the cruel reality that he had been deliberately avoiding... Because as she said, his profound vein was deeply crippled. Even with the methods he knew to repair it, only a small part could be fixed, leaving it half-crippled. Coupled with missing the critical foundational period, his profound force cultivation speed would be several times slower than others... And it would be almost impossible to break through to the True Xuan Realm.
Yun Che's chest heaved heavily. He gritted his teeth and said, "I'll find a way for these things!"
"You plan to gather various medicinal herbs and use the Heavenly Poison Pearl to refine pills to forcibly enhance yourself? It seems like a decent idea. But with your laughable abilities, how will you obtain those high-grade medicinal herbs! Instead, you'll frequently fall into situations that could lead to utter ruin, dragging this princess to die with you!"
Mo Li lifted her face, her gaze clear as if she had finally made a decision: "Put away these laughable thoughts of yours. You saved this princess's life, so this princess should indeed repay you... You only need to agree to three conditions, and then this princess will immediately give you... a new profound vein..."
Under Yun Che's suddenly astonished gaze, Mo Li's eyes became deep and mysterious, and her voice gradually lowered: "A profound vein... of true divine power!"