Chapter 1308: News Leaks
"On Wuyuan Island, there is a hundred-thousand-year sacred medicine called the Thousand-Leaf Sacred Heart Grass, planted personally by Wuyuan the Great Saint. If you bring it out of Yuan Lake and hand it over to me, I will certainly help you reconnect the three meridians."
After saying this, Gu Songzi and the Golden Bat Giant Python left the place.
"Thousand-Leaf Sacred Heart Grass." Zhang Ruochen muttered.
Qing Mo said in a low voice, "Young master, did you see that? That old man seemed to be afraid of something. Yuan Lake and Wuyuan Island must be extremely dangerous. He didn't dare go himself and wanted us to take the risk. He's really playing a clever game."
"You could tell that? I think you're actually quite smart."
Zhang Ruochen stared at Qing Mo intently, then smiled, adding, "Actually, we don't have to take the risk ourselves. We can let her test what dangers lie in the lake first."
Zhang Ruochen woke Zhu Qingyi, then unlocked the chains binding her hands and feet.
"Die!"
The moment she was freed, Zhu Qingyi immediately mobilized her sacred Qi, formed a hand seal, and attacked Zhang Ruochen. However, she was already poisoned and injured, too weak to harm Zhang Ruochen.
With a flick of his finger, Zhang Ruochen sent a bolt of lightning flying at her. It struck her body, and Zhu Qingyi fell to the ground again.
Zhang Ruochen never showed mercy to the Undying Blood Clan. At the same time, he believed that if he fell into Zhu Qingyi's hands, his fate would be even worse.
"I swear, if you ever fall into my hands one day, you will die a miserable death."
Zhu Qingyi bared two rows of snow-white teeth, her beautiful eyes filled with cold, murderous intent.
"You want to kill me? The opportunity is not absent, but first, you must stay alive."
Zhang Ruochen remained indifferent, continuing, "Now, you have two choices before you. The first is that I kill you. The second is that you go to the island at the lake's center and pick a sacred medicine for me."
Zhu Qingyi knew she had no other choice, and she didn't want to die yet. So she asked, "Where is this place? What dangers are in the lake?"
"You don't have the right to ask questions. Just follow my orders, and you'll live." Zhang Ruochen said.
Zhu Qingyi stood up again, mobilized her sacred Qi, channeled it to her feet, and condensed it into a black cloud of energy. Then, stepping on the water's surface, she walked toward the island in the lake.
Qing Mo's eyes widened in disbelief. "She didn't resist and actually obeyed your command."
Having clashed with Zhu Qingyi several times, Qing Mo had always seen her as a peerless demoness—deeply skilled, ruthless, and unbeatable.
Who would have thought that in just a few days, this peerless demoness would become their prisoner, subdued so thoroughly?
Zhang Ruochen said, "She's not obeying willingly; she just wants to save her own life. And right now, she's probably thinking of ways to escape. She might try to flee at any moment."
"I won't let her escape."
Qing Mo took out her silver kitchen knife, her eyes wide and fixed on Zhu Qingyi. If she dared to run, she would throw the knife immediately.
This lake stretched for hundreds of miles, its water clear, dotted with green lotus leaves, and covered in a thin layer of white mist. It was quite serene, not seeming dangerous at all.
After walking about two thousand meters into the lake, Zhu Qingyi felt the time was right. She mobilized the little sacred Qi she had left and rushed forward, planning to bypass the island and escape.
"Not good, she's trying to escape."
Qing Mo was about to throw her silver kitchen knife, but Zhang Ruochen stopped her.
"Wait a moment."
Zhang Ruochen stared intently at Zhu Qingyi's figure as she moved farther from the shore and closer to the island.
"Once I neutralize the poison in my body, I'll come back and capture you myself. I'll use a hundred methods to torment you, making you wish you were dead." Zhu Qingyi shouted coldly.
When she was about ten miles from the island, Zhu Qingyi suddenly changed direction, preparing to go around the island's right side.
Suddenly, something changed.
A whirlpool appeared beneath Zhu Qingyi's feet, and she felt as if she had fallen into a quagmire, her body sinking uncontrollably.
"Crackle."
A purple lightning bolt, as thick as a bowl, formed in midair and struck her.
Zhu Qingyi let out a muffled groan, her body charred black, blood flowing from her mouth—a scene of utter misery.
Then, a second bolt of lightning fell.
A third bolt fell.
...
Trapped in the whirlpool, she seemed frozen in place, unable to move, forced to endure the lightning strikes.
After the seventh lightning bolt, Zhu Qingyi was bleeding from all seven orifices. Unable to hold on any longer, she fainted and began sinking to the bottom of the lake.
"Swoosh."
Zhang Ruochen extended his finger forward, and the water vapor on the lake surface condensed into a white, gaseous chain. It snaked out, wrapped around Zhu Qingyi's waist, and pulled her back.
Zhang Ruochen looked down at Zhu Qingyi lying on the ground, slightly moved. He muttered to himself, "Enduring seven lightning strikes in a row, nearly dying, yet she didn't cry for help. Her will is incredibly strong. No wonder the imperial army keeps losing to the Undying Blood Clan—they have no shortage of formidable talents and ruthless characters."
Qing Mo gasped, "This lake is indeed extremely dangerous, not as calm as it seems."
"It's probably a remnant formation from the Middle Ages, likely set up by Wuyuan the Great Saint himself. The path Zhu Qingyi took earlier was relatively safe, only triggering the formation when she was ten miles from the island."
Zhang Ruochen stared at the now-calm lake surface, silently memorizing the route Zhu Qingyi had taken.
"But there's still ten miles left. If we trigger the formation... with our cultivation, we definitely can't withstand the lightning."
Qing Mo stuck out her tongue, feeling that Yuan Lake was too dangerous. It was a formation set up by a Great Saint from the Middle Ages; how could they possibly break through?
One wrong step, and they'd be doomed.
"I'll have to let her keep finding a safe route for me."
Zhang Ruochen took out a healing pill and fed it to Zhu Qingyi.
Zhu Qingyi was, after all, a Heaven-Connecting Blood General with profound cultivation. Soon, she woke up again, her injuries about sixty to seventy percent healed.
Zhu Qingyi looked at Yuan Lake, a hint of fear in her eyes. She asked, "Where exactly is this place?"
"A very dangerous place."
Zhang Ruochen didn't elaborate further. "Continue finding a safe route for me. I must reach that island."
"I won't go."
Zhu Qingyi was utterly frustrated, feeling her dignity trampled. She didn't want to be used by Zhang Ruochen anymore.
Zhang Ruochen said calmly, "With my current spiritual power, I can completely erase all your memories and turn you into a puppet under my control. Now, do you know how to choose?"
"You..." Zhu Qingyi said.
Zhang Ruochen continued, "This time, I'll go with you. Rest assured, I'll do my best to keep you alive, since you're still of great value to me."
Whether it was to seek revenge or because she truly feared Zhang Ruochen erasing her memories, Zhu Qingyi eventually agreed to continue scouting the path.
Zhu Qingyi walked ahead, with Zhang Ruochen and Qing Mo following a hundred zhang behind, cautiously advancing.
Qing Mo sent a voice transmission to Zhang Ruochen, asking, "Why not just erase her memories and make her willingly scout for us?"
"First, her will is extremely strong, and I'm not absolutely sure I can erase her memories. Second, Situ Fengcheng won't trade the Sky-Burning Sword for a Zhu Qingyi who has lost her memory." Zhang Ruochen replied.
Over the next dozen or so attempts, Zhu Qingyi triggered the formation each time, narrowly escaping death on every occasion.
Finally, they found a safe route that could bring them near Wuyuan Island.
Zhu Qingyi was physically and mentally exhausted. Even with her strong will, she was on the verge of collapse.
Before, in her eyes, humans were nothing but two-legged sheep—she could kill them at will, drink their blood, and keep them like livestock.
But after encountering this human spiritual power saint, everything changed. Now, she was the two-legged sheep, and he was like a jackal, tormenting her, breaking her, and planting seeds of fear in her heart.
Zhang Ruochen took out a piece of spirit paper and drew the safe route, marking all the dangerous spots that could trigger the formation.
"Even if we reach Wuyuan Island, there might be other dangers."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze fell on Zhu Qingyi.
Zhu Qingyi met his eyes, a flicker of fear passing through her pupils. "I won't scout for you anymore. Just kill me."
"Oh!"
Zhang Ruochen's ears twitched as he heard three sounds of wind breaking, approaching from afar until they reached the shore of Yuan Lake and stopped.
Three Saint-level experts in black robes appeared by the lake. Their bodies exuded waves of evil energy, making the air feel colder.
"I heard there's a Thousand-Leaf Sacred Heart Grass on Wuyuan Island, a hundred thousand years old, the main ingredient for refining the Saint-Transforming Pill. I wonder if it's true or false."
"This news has already spread through the Immortal Machine Mountain. It should be true."
The black-robed Saint at the front looked relatively young, about thirty years old, with a silver belt around his waist. The belt was engraved with dense inscriptions, emitting a silver sacred light, indicating it was a powerful sacred artifact.
He glanced toward Zhang Ruochen and the other two, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Someone got here before us."
"Black Market First Class Hall Saint-level experts."
Zhang Ruochen noticed the Black Market First Class Hall emblem on the sleeves of the three black-robed Saints, identifying them.
All three were formidable, with the leading black-robed man having reached the Heaven-Connecting Realm—undoubtedly a renowned figure.
"Whoosh, whoosh."
Soon, more sounds of wind breaking followed. More and more Saint-level experts arrived at the lake, all having heard the news and coming to seize the Thousand-Leaf Sacred Heart Grass.
Who had leaked the information?
...
(Wishing all readers a happy Dragon Boat Festival. Also, Little Fish continues to ask for recommendation votes. Haha!)