# 1640
Chapter 1634: [Heart-Turning Insect]
As the army marched forward, the yellow sand of the northwestern frontier blotted out the sky.
Lin Qiye rode alongside the supply cart carrying Wu Quan, moving forward with the surrounding soldiers.
At this moment, Wu Quan was wrapped in a thick cocoon of vines, lying on the supply cart without a sound. According to the white-haired elder who possessed a healing Forbidden Ruins, his ability could accelerate Wu Quan's recovery to the greatest extent. When the cocoon broke, he would be fully healed.
From the cracks gradually spreading across the cocoon's surface, Wu Quan was not far from waking.
Besides Wu Quan, another person lay on the supply cart—Gongyang Wan, the one Lin Qiye had beaten unconscious. It had been more than half a day since she collapsed, yet there was still no sign of her waking, as if she had died.
"Marquis, that female prisoner..." Scholar Yan Zhong glanced at the supply cart and couldn't help wanting to warn Huo Qubing.
"Don't worry about her." Huo Qubing rode his horse, speaking calmly. "Let her pretend. I want to see if she can keep up this act when we arrive at the foot of Chang'an."
"No wonder they call you Marquis—even if this female prisoner's skills were greater, she couldn't escape the Marquis's palm." Lieutenant Zhan Yuwu sighed.
Yan Zhong furrowed his brows at the distant horizon, his expression gradually turning grave:
"Marquis, the wind is getting stronger. It seems to be coming from the northern desert... I'm afraid a sandstorm is approaching."
"We're already some distance from the desert. Can a sandstorm reach us here?" Zhan Yuwu asked.
"I'm not sure either, but to be safe, we should find a place to make camp first. If the sandstorm isn't severe, we can set out again."
"No need for such trouble." Huo Qubing spoke calmly. "Have the army continue forward. The sandstorm... don't worry about it."
Seeing Huo Qubing's expression, steady as Mount Tai, Yan Zhong and Zhan Yuwu exchanged a glance and said no more. Since the Marquis had spoken, he surely had his methods.
As the army gradually pressed forward, a grayish sandstorm sky slowly approached from the distance. Howling winds swept up the broken sand on the ground, striking the faces of everyone and leaving隐隐生疼, and even the horses in the army grew restless.
The scale of this sandstorm was not small. If it swept directly across the army, it would likely cause considerable damage.
All the soldiers simultaneously turned to look at that figure mounted on horseback, standing immovable in the hurricane. They gritted their teeth and pressed forward against the wind, step by step...
Since the Marquis had not ordered a halt, they must obey the military command and continue forward.
"Marquis." The fierce wind billowed Yan Zhong's scholar's robes. He turned to look at Huo Qubing, his face full of worry. "Marquis, that female prisoner..." Yan Zhong glanced at the supply cart and couldn't help wanting to warn Huo Qubing.
"Wait a moment." Huo Qubing raised his hand slightly, his eyes deep with thought. "Let me handle this."
Huo Qubing gazed at the approaching yellow sandstorm, a glimmer of light flickering in his eyes. A terrifying spiritual power erupted from within him as he slowly raised his palm, and the sky above changed color!
At such a close distance, the aura emanating from Huo Qubing directly caused the surrounding soldiers to tremble involuntarily. That power, as if capable of dominating everything, passed through the distance of several li and surged directly into the sandstorm!
Huo Qubing's raised palm suddenly clenched!
The raging sandstorm that was rushing toward them suddenly split in two from its center, surging in different directions, but its momentum had already diminished far beyond its former strength. The漫天黄沙 even began to fall at a visible rate. In merely a few seconds, this disaster-level sandstorm dissipated like smoke.
Seeing this scene that resembled a divine miracle, the soldiers widened their mouths, their faces filled with disbelief! Even Zhan Yuwu and Yan Zhong were no exception!
They knew the Marquis was powerful, but they never imagined he had reached this level... With a raise of his hand, he could affect the natural order of heaven and earth. What difference was there between this and a god?
On the supply cart, Gongyang Wan, who had appeared as if dead, suddenly had her fingertips tremble. Her complexion turned somewhat pale.
*Crack—*
The moment Huo Qubing released his power, a crisp shattering sound came from the vine cocoon.
Lin Qiye turned to look. The vine cocoon on the supply cart had suddenly cracked open from the center, and an aura, identical and extremely similar to Huo Qubing's, shot into the sky!
This was the fated connection between [Dominion Emperor] and [Dominion Emperor]. Huo Qubing's display of power had directly and forcibly awakened the King's Ruins within Wu Quan. A hand stretched out from the cocoon, and then Wu Quan's form slowly rose...
He looked around in bewilderment, then instinctively turned to look in the direction where Huo Qubing was. The latter also looked at him at the same time.
The two were a hundred meters apart, their gazes meeting.
After a moment, Wu Quan furrowed his brows and shifted his gaze away, looking at Lin Qiye beside him. His eyes were full of confusion,
"Brother Seven Nights... Where are we?"
Seeing Wu Quan wake up, his injuries also healed, Lin Qiye felt a weight finally lift from his heart. He briefly repeated the sequence of events, and the latter's eyes widened in shock.
"We... traveled through time?"
"That's right."
"What about Brother Qingzhu?"
"When [Covenant] activated, he was sailing the boat. He probably wasn't caught up in it."
Wu Quan nodded, but as a young man, he still found it difficult to accept this bizarre reality... His curious gaze swept across his surroundings before finally landing on the unconscious female prisoner beside him.
"Who is...?"
Before Wu Quan could finish his sentence, the female prisoner suddenly opened her eyes wide. Her body launched upward like a cannon shell, the recoil force shattering the supply cart into fragments. She transformed into a streak of light, darting toward the distance at breakneck speed!
Her movement was too swift, and the timing was extremely cunning—precisely when everyone's attention was focused on the just-awakened Wu Quan. Even the vast majority of soldiers hadn't clearly seen what had flown past. Even when Lin Qiye tried to seize her, he only caught a remnant image.
Lin Qiye's brow furrowed. Just as he was about to take chase, her form suddenly froze in mid-air!
A hundred meters away, Huo Qubing raised one hand into the air and gently beckoned. Gongyang Wan couldn't resist being pulled backward, flying backward against her will until a tremendous force controlled her body and slammed her violently to her knees before the warhorse where Huo Qubing sat!
"Do you think you can leave just like that?" Huo Qubing spoke casually. "Could it be that you don't intend to fulfill our agreement?"
Gongyang Wan gritted her teeth, staring fixedly at Huo Qubing. A glimmer of despair appeared in her eyes.
In truth, she had long since awakened. The reason she had kept feigning unconsciousness was to find a suitable opportunity to escape. After all, no one wanted to swallow that [Heart-Turning Insect]. But when she had just witnessed Huo Qubing's power moments ago, panic had begun to stir in her heart...
Huo Qubing was far too powerful—far more powerful than she had ever imagined. Even if she hadn't encountered Lin Qiye in Xue County, she never could have escaped those city walls. From the very beginning, she had been toyed with within this person's grasp.
After realizing this, she had panicked and wanted to leave directly through this opportunity. But she still couldn't escape Huo Qubing's palm.
"I... I was just trying to get up and move around. Who wants to leave?" Gongyang Wan forced herself to say.
Huo Qubing raised an eyebrow. "Oh? That's best... Since you have now awakened, it's time to fulfill our agreement."
With a snap of his fingers, Huo Qubing sent out a tiny shadow that flew out of nothingness, diving into Gongyang Wan's lips. Her pupils slightly contracted, her entire body bowing as she retched violently. But no matter how hard she tried, that [Heart-Turning Insect] showed no intention of coming out.
"HUO QUBING!!!" Gongyang Wan raised her head and howled at Huo Qubing.
Huo Qubing swept a casual glance at her, urging his warhorse forward at an unhurried pace:
"From now on, like them, you shall call me Marquis."