Chapter 21: Chapter 21: A Spate of Mishaps
Ye Zhiyao protected Qin Yu, but he didn’t recognize her. All he saw was someone blocking his path, so his next attack was aimed directly at her. And unlike his attacks on Li Qiancheng, he held nothing back.
Ye Zhiyao was only at the Foundation Establishment Stage. Fearing Qin Yu would kill her in a single blow, Li Qiancheng hurriedly attacked Qin Yu again, trying to interrupt him.
But Ye Zhiyao didn’t notice Qin Yu moving to strike her from behind. She assumed Li Qiancheng was still determined to harm Qin Yu.
In a panic, she brandished her longsword, executed a sword technique, and aimed it at Li Qiancheng.
Meanwhile, Lu Sangjiu had gotten a moment’s respite while Li Qiancheng kept Qin Yu occupied. Her first instinct was to go for the Glazed Box again.
But the first thing she saw was Ye Zhiyao attacking Li Qiancheng. Her expression changed instantly. Forgetting all about the Glazed Box, she yelled, "Senior Brother, watch out!"
Unfortunately, Li Qiancheng’s focus was entirely on Qin Yu. Caught completely off guard, he took a direct hit from Ye Zhiyao and immediately spat out a mouthful of blood.
Seeing Li Qiancheng injured, Lu Sangjiu’s expression turned terrifyingly grim.
In that instant, her loathing for Ye Zhiyao reached its peak, and a murderous urge flared inside her, making her desperately want to attack Ye Zhiyao without a second thought.
Ye Zhiyao froze when she saw Li Qiancheng spit up blood, her face taking on its usual lost, innocent expression. "I... I’m sorry, Senior Brother Li! I didn’t mean to!"
She took a step forward, as if to help Li Qiancheng, but at that exact moment, Qin Yu suddenly slammed his palm into the center of her back, sending her flying!
It all happened so fast. Lu Sangjiu never imagined Qin Yu would actually harm Ye Zhiyao. She froze for a second, and most of her murderous intent vanished.
But she quickly realized something was wrong... ’Isn’t she flying right in the direction of the Glazed Box???’
Lu Sangjiu inwardly cursed the Heavenly Dao but had no choice but to immediately dash toward Ye Zhiyao.
Amid the chaos, she thought she heard Xie Ningyuan say, "...Dangerous!"
But she couldn’t stop. Pushing herself to her absolute fastest speed, she managed to dive from the side and intercept Ye Zhiyao just before she could crash into the shelf.
The force of Lu Sangjiu’s tackle sent Ye Zhiyao careening in a new direction, and the two of them slammed heavily into the side wall together.
Qin Yu was at the Late-stage Golden Core, an entire major realm above them in cultivation. Even a casual palm strike from him was devastatingly powerful for them.
As they both hit the stone wall, Lu Sangjiu felt her insides roil. She fell to the ground, only to be crushed by Ye Zhiyao’s body falling on top of her. She immediately coughed up a large mouthful of blood.
"Little Junior Sister!"
Li Qiancheng, ignoring his own injuries, immediately tried to rush to her side.
But the delirious Qin Yu was still tangled up with him, making it impossible for him to break free.
Ye Zhiyao had taken the full force of Qin Yu’s palm strike before hitting the wall; she had already passed out.
Lu Sangjiu, however, relied on her powerful willpower. Since she hadn’t taken the direct hit from Qin Yu, she stubbornly remained conscious, despite being injured and coughing up blood.
She struggled for a moment and saw Xie Ningyuan staring at her in shock from the side. She couldn’t help but say weakly, "...Could you at least help get her off me? I’m being crushed to death!"
’I must have the worst luck of all time, getting crushed by both Xie Ningyuan and Ye Zhiyao in the same day.’
’I had already suffered Heavenly Punishment for prying into a Heavenly Secret, leaving a trace of Heavenly Dao Qi in my body that made me cough up blood from time to time.’
’Now I’ve been crushed into coughing up blood twice more. I wonder if this little body of mine even has enough blood to get through the day at this rate.’
’And to top it all off, while I’m suffering, there’s someone completely unscathed just standing there, enjoying the show. This is just the worst!’
Lu Sangjiu’s shout seemed to snap Xie Ningyuan back to his senses.
He first lifted Ye Zhiyao and set her aside before offering a hand to help Lu Sangjiu up.
As soon as Lu Sangjiu was steady on her feet, she met Xie Ningyuan’s complicated gaze.
"...I never would have thought... The bond between you sect-mates is so profound. You were willing to be injured just to save her."
Lu Sangjiu: "..."
’’Profound bond,’ my ass! If I wasn’t afraid she’d get her hands on the Glazed Box by some fluke, I would’ve been happy to let her fall and get paralyzed, especially after she just hurt Li Qiancheng!’
Of course, she couldn’t possibly say such a vicious thought out loud.
Lu Sangjiu gave Xie Ningyuan a shy but resolute smile. "We’re sect-mates... It was my duty to save her."
Even as she said this, her eyes were still darting toward the Glazed Box on the shelf in the distance.
’After what just happened, to be honest, I don’t dare make a rash move anymore. I’m afraid the Heavenly Dao will orchestrate an even bigger accident just to protect Ye Zhiyao.’
’Li Qiancheng is already injured. If something else happens, he might not be able to protect himself.’
While she hesitated, Xie Ningyuan simply stood there, watching the spectacle of Qin Yu and Li Qiancheng’s fight.
Neither of them even thought to give Ye Zhiyao an Elixir Pill, leaving her to lie unconscious on the cold, hard ground.
Before Lu Sangjiu could resolve her inner conflict, she suddenly smelled a sickly sweet floral fragrance.
"Oh no... The Flower Demon is here!"
The words had barely left her lips when the Flower Demon, in a gust of wind, shot in from the doorway and headed straight for the bamboo shelf!
Her eyes widened. ’You’ve got to be kidding me... I haven’t even decided if I should make a move, and now someone else jumps in?’
’Honestly, I’d be fine if the Flower Demon managed to grab it.’
’But I’m afraid its appearance will just trigger another chain reaction...’
Qin Yu and Li Qiancheng were occupied with each other, while Lu Sangjiu and Xie Ningyuan both stood their ground. No one showed any intention of intervening.
However, just as the demon was about to touch the bamboo shelf, a blast of Sword Qi suffused with Demonic Qi shot straight toward it!
The Flower Demon, startled, was forced to dodge, which put it at a distance from the bamboo shelf once more.
Lu Sangjiu’s heart leaped into her throat. She looked over and... ’Great. As expected, another failure!’
But what surprised her more was that the attack was laced with Demonic Qi.
Xie Ningyuan reacted faster. Before Lu Sangjiu could even turn her head, he was already pulling her aside.
Once she was steady, Lu Sangjiu saw clearly that the one who had just attacked the Flower Demon was none other than Ye Zhiyao. Her eyes were now red, just like Qin Yu’s. She had clearly been corrupted by Demonic Qi and lost her senses.
And it seemed her condition was even more severe than Qin Yu’s—even her Sword Qi was mixed with Demonic Qi.
A Cultivator’s Spiritual Energy is incompatible with Demonic Qi. If Demonic Qi enters a Cultivator’s body, a mild case results in mental confusion. A severe case can damage one’s cultivation or even cause instant death.
’For a moment, I honestly couldn’t tell if the Heavenly Dao was helping Ye Zhiyao or trying to kill her. Was it really necessary to infect her with Demonic Qi just to keep others from snatching her opportunity?’
But what she found even more baffling was this: ’We’re all here. Why is she the only one who was corrupted by Demonic Qi?’
