Song Qing expressed heartfelt gratitude for Lady Nian's gift, assuring her that he would diligently work through the problems and not let her down.
Lady Nian felt a bit dazed hearing this. Glancing back at the Divine Emperor's barely contained laughter, she realized her thousand-year revenge plot was a farce. She grew more convinced that handsome men were utterly incorrigible. Frustrated, she made a mental note to capture a few more pretty young men later to lock away in a dark room and vent her spleen.
The female cultivators of the Isle of Celestial Spirits and the disciples of the Heavenly Martial Sect coordinated seamlessly. Within half an hour, all the protective arrays were set up.
Lady Nian activated the tracking array, allowing the Divine Emperor to detect and eradicate all the foul demons within the arrays using the Blood King Vine. Although the Heavenly Martial Sect lost over thirty lives and sustained numerous injuries in the demonic wave, it was a grand victory compared to past calamities.
People were so overjoyed they were moved to tears and hugged each other. Only Haolong slipped back in, tears welling up in his eyes, prepared to cry out for his mother—only for his voice to be sealed by Yue Wuhuan, who then flung him outside to keep watch.
Yuwen Yan hurriedly arrived, thanking the Divine Emperor for his assistance, then inquired, "Where is my son?"
Song Qing was bewildered: "Isn't he with you, along with Jincheng?"
Neither of them had seen Song Jincheng at the Seeking Immortal Peak and assumed he was with Yuwen Yu, who usually spent most of his time training with his father. Neither had considered the boys would be missing from both sides during the demonic wave.
The demonic wave had receded, but the people were missing; this was far from good news.
Yuwen Yan was so anxious he nearly stomped his foot, while Song Qing was also deeply concerned and urged Yue Wuhuan to look for them.
Yue Wuhuan had Lady Nian modify the tracking array to broaden its reach. After a meticulous scan of every blade of grass and tree within the Heavenly Martial Sect, they finally located the boys eight hundred miles away, near the cliff of Mount Yuxiu. The situation seemed dire.
Everyone boarded Lady Nian's magic ship and rushed to the scene.
Upon arriving at Mount Yuxiu, they found signs of a fierce battle near the stream. The remains of five foul demons were scattered around. Yuwen Yu's sword was shattered, and he was holding a blood-soaked Song Jincheng, whose left hand was severed and abdomen was pierced open, struggling to put his intestines back in place.
The young champion, usually so spirited and full of life, had never encountered something so terrifying.
Yuwen Yu's mind was blank. He repeatedly checked Song Jincheng's breath, crying and pleading, "Just hold on a little longer. Someone will come to save us..."
Song Jincheng coughed up a few specks of blood and then stopped breathing.
"Father! Elder Wang! Where are you?!" Yuwen Yu couldn't contain his tears and cried out in despair, "Anyone, please! Save Jincheng! Save us!"
He and Song Jincheng had secretly mounted a spirit horse, intent on running away from home to explore the city. On their way, they were ambushed by five formidable Demons of Foulness, who descended from the sky and beheaded their horse. Both were thrown off a cliff, sustaining various injuries.
After devouring the spirit horse, the demons followed the scent of blood and flesh to locate them.
Despite Yuwen Yu's reputation as a prodigy, he struggled against the odds, finding himself overwhelmed when pitted five-to-one.
In a critical moment, it was Song Jincheng who protected him, shoving a Purification Pill into the mouth of the lead demon, before sustaining severe injuries himself.
The Purification Pill slowed down the demon's movements.
Seizing the opportunity, Yuwen Yu unsheathed his sword and fought with all his might, ultimately slaying the Demons of Foulness.
However, Song Jincheng's injuries were too severe. Despite exhausting all of his hemostatic and life-sustaining pills, Yuwen Yu couldn't slow down the ebbing of Song Jincheng's life.
"I'm sorry, it's my fault. I've been useless," Yuwen Yu cried out in despair. "Jincheng, you can't die. We still have to eat buns at Ronggui Square, drink wine at Taibai Tower, watch the dancers at the Twelfth Ward, and attend the Ghost Lamp Festival in Nan Yue City. Don't leave me alone. Who will come to save us..."
He cried and pleaded incessantly.
...
Suddenly, a whirlwind stirred up fallen leaves. Looking up, Yuwen Yu was surprised to see a magnificent magic ship materialize in the sky.
Without waiting for the ship to land, Song Qing leaped off, propelled by Red Lotus Mysterious Fire. He pushed aside a tearful and disoriented Yuwen Yu, handed him to his father, and immediately began administering emergency medical procedures on the injured boy, including CPR and acupuncture.
Yue Wuhuan, accustomed to being his assistant, stepped forward to help. He stitched up the torn intestines and wounds before tucking them back in and tightly binding them. He even recovered the battered left hand from the mouth of one of the slain demons.
Song Jincheng began to breathe again.
"Do we have a Six-Body Rejuvenation Pill, Qi Dispersion Pill? Dilute it in eight portions of spirit fluid. Do we have Nine-Turns Blood Lotus Pills or Fierce Sun Solidifying Pills?" Song Qing, relieved that the emergency treatment was successful, instructed Yue Wuhuan to fetch blood-replenishing and life-saving elixirs. Once diluted, he administered them, stabilizing Song Jincheng's vital signs.
Using the Blood King Vine, Yue Wuhuan fashioned a makeshift stretcher and gently lifted the injured boy onto the magic ship, before hurrying back to the Heavenly Martial Sect.
Upon arriving, Song Qing immediately performed abdominal and hand-stitching surgeries on Song Jincheng. He wrote up a long list of rare elixirs for limb regeneration and body recovery, and without any sleep, labored non-stop for two days, finally pulling the young rascal back from the brink of death.
When Song Jincheng regained consciousness, after hearing about the events and examining his bandaged body and immobilized left hand, he pondered for a long while before cautiously concluding: "Given the state I'm in, my parents wouldn't scold me for bad exam scores or running away from home, right?"
Song Qing was flabbergasted: "???"
...
Yuwen Yu sustained some minor injuries but was otherwise unharmed.
After receiving a stern whipping from his father and kneeling in the ancestral hall for three days of reflection, he wasted no time in seeking out Song Jincheng. He was at his beck and call, serving him tea and attending to his needs meticulously.
Knowing the full story, Yuwen Yan felt somewhat awkward obstructing any further. He turned a blind eye, letting his son continue his association with Song Jincheng as long as he didn't go too far.
Song Jincheng was quite demanding; he wanted his pears sliced and fashioned into flowers, his grapes seeded and peeled. After lying down for three days, he complained of discomfort and desired the latest popular stories. Yuwen Yu instantly descended the mountain on a spirit beast in the middle of the night to purchase them, delivering them to his bedside before dawn.
Once Song Qing had finished his immediate tasks and encountered Yuwen Yu returning in the twilight, he was surprised to find that the blinding protagonist's aura that usually shrouded him had vanished. After pulling Yuwen Yu into a brighter spot for a closer examination and confirming his observation, he became perplexed.
After much pondering and drawing a blank, he confided his observations to Yue Wuhuan.
Busy with myriad responsibilities, Yue Wuhuan had no time for trashy novels. He thought for a moment: "From the information from Zhao Qian, every protagonist requiring rescue is assigned a poorly written story. I think this demonic tide is crucial. Had it not been for the intervention of the Immortal Summit, the Heavenly Martial Sect would have been annihilated. But what does it mean for Yuwen Yu, a mere Golden Core swordsman, to have a tragic fate?"
Both seldom read such novels and after discussing it from a logical perspective for a long while, they came up empty.
A light bulb went off in Song Qing's head. He remembered Song Jincheng, who was constantly reading popular stories. Dragging Yue Wuhuan along, they went to Song Jincheng's sickbed. They truncated the whole affair and rephrased it, hypothetically constructing a similar protagonist like Yuwen Yu to get Song Jincheng's opinion on what kind of story it would be.
"Certainly, a story of revenge! Quite a fascinating one," Song Jincheng eagerly recommended a book from his stack called "Swordsman's Revenge Chronicles." "In it, a sunny and kind-hearted protagonist faces the tragedy of his sect being annihilated. Not only do his parents die, but his fiancée also sacrifices herself for him. Fueled by hatred, he vows revenge. Along his journey, he encounters various chances and treasures, inherits magical instruments, tames mythical beasts, and even attracts a beautiful, divine healer when critically injured. Eventually, he becomes a powerful figure in the celestial world and defeats the villain."
Yue Wuhuan remained silent, finding such twists and turns beyond his logical comprehension.
Song Qing's mouth twitched uncontrollably. What in the world did the term 'beautiful divine healer throwing herself into his arms' mean?
Yuwen Yu, walking in with supper, heard this and angrily rebuked, "His fiancée sacrificed herself for him, and he still flirts with other women? This swordsman has no integrity!"
He placed the supper down and, seeing Yue Wuhuan, earnestly apologized, "I had some misunderstandings about the Immortal Summit before. Now, I am truly ashamed. I will remember the grace of the God Emperor and focus on my cultivation from now on, disregarding any frivolous rumors. Even my father agrees; if the Immortal Summit commands, the Heavenly Martial Sect will comply wholeheartedly."
Song Qing, puzzled, asked, "What frivolous rumors are you talking about?"
Ashamed, Yuwen Yu said, "Many people believe the Demons of Foulness were created by the Immortal Summit. I, too, was foolish enough to believe such rumors. I swear that if anyone dares speak such nonsense before me, I'll give them a thrashing!"
After the demonic tide, the God Emperor eradicated all the Demons of Foulness and saved everyone in the Heavenly Martial Sect. How could such a benefactor have any connections with the demons? Even previous dark rumors must be false!
Grateful and teary-eyed, Yuwen Yu decided to trust the Immortal Summit for the rest of his life, keen on repaying their kindness. No one is allowed to speak ill of the God Emperor!
Unmindfully, Song Jincheng complained that the porridge in the late-night snack was too hot and refused to eat. Yuwen Yu ignored everything else and immediately started cooling it for him.
Seizing the opportunity, Song Qing dragged Yue Wuhuan out of the room.
By now, they had more or less pieced together the system's plan for Yuwen Yu's fate: Song Jincheng would skip school to play with Yuwen Yu in the Heavenly Martial Sect. A demonic tide would occur, leading to the sect's annihilation. Yuwen Yu would narrowly escape but lose his parents and best friend. Filled with hatred for the Immortal Summit, he would embark on a path of vengeance.
The puppet master has always loathed Yue Wuhuan and will certainly contrive various opportunities for Yuwen Yu, aiding his smooth ascension to the pinnacle of power.
Song Qingshi's mission is likely to use elixirs and medical techniques to assist Yuwen Yu in defeating Yue Wuhuan.
However, after the system was destroyed and the original story's information corrupted, unable to influence the direction of the mission, Song Qingshi once again disregarded it. Yue Wuhuan came to seek him out, and together with Song Jincheng, they executed a masterstroke at the Tianwu Gate, derailing the original plot. Now, Yuwen Yu has become an unwavering fan of the Undying Summit, drawing his sword at anyone who dares trouble Yue Wuhuan.
As a result, Yuwen Yu has lost the favor of destiny reserved for the protagonist.
The puppet master can no longer employ this pawn for future schemes.
Yet, it certainly won't rest easy.
While contemplating, Song Qingshi suddenly felt the ground shake again and hurriedly asked, "Another earthquake?"
"No," Yue Wuhuan softly closed his eyes, "An Long has gone berserk. I'm sending my avatar to investigate."
...
In the Endless Abyss, the monster bound by the seal began to violently struggle, emitting roars akin to the cries of a dragon. It was enveloped in a vile, dark aura, lashing its tail in agony and striking the rock walls so hard that they started to crumble, making the seal increasingly unstable.
Yue Wuhuan formed a sword from condensed flames and swung it at the monster's head.
The monster howled, its wound rapidly regenerating.
Over the years, Yue Wuhuan had tried numerous methods to kill An Long—fire, the Deathly Red Butterfly, strangulation, and various other means such as curses, ice, poison, corrosion, and piercing arrows. Some attacks couldn't penetrate the creature's defenses, while others were quickly healed.
He even negotiated with An Long to burn the monstrous body in Phoenix Flames for three months, but it was to no avail. When the burning ceased, the body had been tempered by the fire to become even more warped and powerful. An Long's madness escalated, requiring additional layers of seals.
Now, he could only bind the frenzied monster with endless Blood King Vines, subdue it, and add further seals to induce a slumber.
The monster had lost all sense of reason, and its periods of slumber were growing shorter. It desired nothing more than to break free from the Endless Abyss and go on a rampage.
This is not a good sign.
He must find a solution with Song Qingshi as soon as possible.