I Transmigrated as a Villainess to Raise Babies, and My Beast Husbands Are Fighting Madly Over Me!

Chapter 430: Chapter 430: So I Must Die?

The water in the droplet instantly enveloped her. Qiao Xixi floated on the water’s surface, gazing up at Yun Ji, who was being held up by Yun Qiong.

She suddenly understood the perspective from her dream.

Why had she seen Yun Ji from that angle? It was because he had been standing on the Fountain of Life, and as the eye of the spring, she had been dissolved within its waters, naturally looking up at him as if lying on her back.

Sigh. ’And here I was, calling Yun Ji old. Looking at it now, it seems I’m not so young myself.’

Qiao Xixi let out a soft, self-deprecating laugh, but tears streamed from the corners of her eyes.

The droplet grew larger and larger, pressing down heavily on the black hands reaching out from the abyss.

Under the droplet’s immense pressure, the monster trying to crawl out was also suppressed.

Jin Ling coughed up a mouthful of blood. Even though his injuries were so severe he could barely move, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to crawl forward.

"Xixi, no... don’t..."

Sunxiao furiously threw Sunxuan aside and turned to charge toward the droplet.

But someone else was faster. With a flick of his fins, Xijing split an opening in the droplet and darted inside.

Qiao Xixi was startled. Seeing Xijing rush in, her composure nearly shattered.

"Xijing, get out of here! Quick!"

Xijing was covered in wounds, but he endured the pain and swam to Qiao Xixi’s side, hugging her tightly from behind.

"Xixi, I’m sorry I’m late. I don’t know what happened, but no matter what, I’ll be with you."

"Xijing..."

Qiao Xixi turned to face him. Looking at his pale face, all the grief she had tried to block out erupted in an instant.

"You... I...!"

Xijing held her tighter. "Xixi, don’t you dare... push me away..."

Qiao Xixi hugged him tightly, sobbing uncontrollably. ’But Xijing,’ she thought, ’I can’t.’

"Xijing, take good care of the cubs..." A look of determination flashed in Qiao Xixi’s eyes, and she pushed Xijing away with all her might.

The droplet instantly condensed immense power, blocking Sunxiao and the others who were trying to charge in.

"AHH!"

The monster shrieked in agony.

"No... no... no one... can... stop me... AHH!"

"Xixi!"

Qiao Xixi slowly closed her eyes. Suddenly, Little Spirit’s anxious voice sounded in her mind.

"Host, get out! Get out now! I found another way! Stop what you’re doing, Host!"

But it was too late. Qiao Xixi watched helplessly as her body dissolved into the water.

"BOOM!"

A tremendous roar echoed.

Qiao Xixi opened her eyes and was suddenly met with Yun Ji’s pale-colored eyes.

"Yun Ji..."

"Xixi, you promised me you would watch over me. This time, you have to keep your word."

Yun Ji spread his wings. The snow-white feathers shimmered with a crimson, multi-colored light.

He hovered above her, and a white light shot out from his body, quickly enveloping him.

Seeing this, Zhi Yan and the others stared with wide, shocked eyes.

"High Priest!"

"Are you crazy?! Come back!"

Yun Qiong flapped his wings, trying to grab Yun Ji, but he was blasted back by a powerful force as soon as he got close.

"AHH!"

"Yun Ji!"

Qiao Xixi felt her body being pushed away by him.

"Xixi!"

Qiao Yi roared and leaped up to catch Qiao Xixi in his arms.

"Father."

Qiao Xixi looked back and saw Yun Ji’s beast soul cover the droplet. A colossal beam of light erupted, so blinding that no one could keep their eyes open.

Qiao Yi quickly reached out and covered Qiao Xixi’s eyes.

When the light finally faded, everything returned to a state of calm.

Qiao Xixi removed Qiao Yi’s hand. If she hadn’t just experienced such a real, intense battle, she would have never believed that the solidified lava before her was the same spot the monster had emerged from.

The large black pillar was completely gone, and Yun Ji lay collapsed in the center of where it had stood.

"Yun Ji!" Qiao Xixi rushed over and helped Yun Ji up from the ground.

Qiao Yi and the others gathered around as well.

Yun Ji’s eyes were shut tight. The feathered garment he wore had lost all its luster, and his luminous white face was now shrouded in a dull shadow.

Qiao Xixi’s eyelashes trembled. She pressed a trembling finger to his pulse, only letting out a soft breath when she felt a faint beat against her fingertip.

’He’s still breathing!’

Qiao Yi assessed Yun Ji’s condition and said coolly, "He’s crippled."

Qiao Xixi looked up, stunned. "Crippled?"

"His beast soul has almost completely dissipated. Even if he doesn’t die, the best-case scenario is that he’ll be a cripple."

Qiao Xixi lowered her gaze, her lips tightening as she recalled the resolute look on Yun Ji’s face when he pushed her away at the last moment.

"Let me." Yun Qiong stepped forward and yanked open Yun Ji’s feathered garment.

Chi Yan wrinkled his brow in disgust.

Yun Qiong gathered a current of beast soul energy in his palm and slowly placed it on Yun Ji’s beast mark.

The beast mark, which had been extremely faint, gradually deepened in color as the energy flowed into it.

Only when the beast mark began to glow faintly again did Yun Qiong release his hand, swaying and being caught by Lei Lie, who was standing behind him.

Yun Qiong waved his hand dismissively. "Hurry and take the High Priest back to the palace. He needs to rest and recuperate."

Qiao Xixi looked up at Yun Qiong. "Will he wake up?"

Yun Qiong turned to look at Qiao Xixi, studying her face carefully before shaking his head. "I don’t know. You’ll have to ask a shaman. All I did was stabilize what little beast soul energy he had left to keep his soul from completely dissipating."

’No matter what, I have to get him out of here first.’

Qiao Xixi stood up, positioning herself in front of Qiao Yi. She spread her arms protectively, like a mother protecting her young, and glared at Yun Qiong and the others.

"I came here to save my father. No matter what, I’m taking him out of the Watchtower today."

Yun Qiong exchanged a look with Lei Lie and the others.

"Her identity is special. We must inform the Beast King."

"You’re right. Although the monster underground has been suppressed, there are still some in the forest. Leave two men here to stand guard. Take the rest of them to the royal palace."

"Mm."

Qiao Xixi watched the group huddled together, whispering loudly, and rolled her eyes, speechless.

’They’re so loud, you could hear them from the mouth of the pit. They’re not taking us seriously at all!’

Just as Qiao Xixi was wondering how to get away from these beast guards, Little Spirit’s voice echoed in her mind.

"Host, please pay attention to me."

’No wonder my head’s been so noisy. It was you babbling this whole time.’

Little Spirit: ...

"Host, I’m asking if you want to save Yun Ji. Although he used his own beast soul to temporarily suppress the monsters, they’ll just burst out again once his beast soul energy is completely gone."

The words struck Qiao Xixi like a bolt from the blue.

"So you’re saying I have to die after all?!"

"Not necessarily. I was frantically searching through the data just now and finally found a way to solve this problem for good. The records are a bit vague, though. They only say that you have to find the source of the Dark Keystone, completely purify the dark power at the source, and then the Dark Keystones in other places will naturally become useless."

"Okay, so where is the source?"

"I don’t know! The records don’t say. However, they do indicate that the appearance of the Dark Keystones back then was related to the royal family. You could ask the Beast King."

"So?"

"You have to go to the royal palace."