Xu Zitang was so humiliated and enraged that she wished she could die, her chest heaving with fury. As a glimpse of pale skin was gradually exposed, Tian Liang’s throat went dry at the sight; he swallowed again and again, exulting at the thought of forcing this proud daughter of heaven beneath him. Seeing his expression, how could Xu Zitang fail to understand? She knew she would not escape today. She would rather detonate her own dantian and die than let the two of them have their way. Yet the Hundred-Harm Pill was simply too powerful, leaving even that final wish beyond her reach…
Xu Ziqian said coolly, “Young Master Tian, delays invite trouble. Why are you still fooling around? Hurry and do it.”
Tian Liang could no longer restrain himself. He was just about to lunge forward when Xu Ziqian stepped back several paces, as if she meant to watch with her own eyes as he violated Xu Zitang. She was truly vicious at heart.
Xu Ziqing had still been hesitating, but now he could hesitate no longer. Everything he had just heard was utterly repugnant. How could he stand by and let Xu Zitang’s chastity be ruined by such a vile man? More importantly, Tian Liang had said he intended to seize her yin essence. If a woman’s yin essence were forcibly taken, it would shorten her lifespan, damage her foundation, and leave little future for her on the immortal path.
At that thought, Xu Ziqing acted immediately. He raised his hand and sent out a green cord. Catching Xu Ziqian and Tian Liang off guard, it wound around Xu Zitang’s waist and pulled her over in one motion, placing her safely behind him.
Xu Zitang had been rescued at the brink of disaster, while the other two were caught completely unprepared. They froze for an instant, then immediately recovered and circulated their spiritual power as they looked toward the source of the green cord.
They saw only a plainly dressed young cultivator holding a rod-shaped magical artifact that seemed neither entirely wood nor metal, shielding Xu Zitang behind him. A mask covered the young man’s face, making his features impossible to see. Only his calm and tranquil bearing left a strong impression.
Seeing the duck that had nearly reached his mouth suddenly fly away, Tian Liang was naturally furious. He shouted, “Where did this wild brat come from, daring to ruin this young master’s good affair? Hand her over at once, or your little life will be in danger!”
Xu Ziqian considered herself above angry shouting and instead advised him gently, “Young Master, your cultivation is indeed respectable, but neither of us is weak. If we truly fight, I fear it may be you who…” She left the sentence unfinished, then abruptly changed tack. “This is only a misunderstanding. Why not leave now and spare us all from spoiling the peace between us?”
Xu Ziqing sighed. “I came to this remote place precisely because I did not wish to become involved in trouble. But with something like this happening before my eyes, I truly cannot pretend not to see it.”
Xu Ziqian had only been worried that delay might bring complications. Seeing Xu Ziqing refuse to take the hint, her expression immediately chilled. “Young Master, are you determined to oppose the two of us?”
Xu Ziqing smiled faintly. “I truly apologize.”
Tian Liang had already lost patience. “Miss Ziqian, why waste words on this brat? With the two of us together, are we supposed to fear him?” Then he barked, “Brat, take this cauldron!”
He formed a hand seal. A three-legged cauldron immediately descended from above, radiating tremendous pressure. It came crashing down like a colossal cliff falling from the heavens, intent on suppressing Xu Ziqing beneath it.
Xu Ziqian was angered by Xu Ziqing as well. She raised her hand and released a cloud-patterned kerchief. In midair, it suddenly expanded a hundredfold, becoming an airtight enormous net that swept upward from below.
With the cauldron pressing down like a mountain and the net surging across like a torrent, every direction was sealed. Xu Ziqing, a mere young cultivator, seemed about to be trapped between them and crushed to death.
Xu Zitang did not know why someone had come to save her, but she was deeply relieved. Now, seeing Xu Ziqing in danger, she felt even more anxious than he did. If Xu Ziqing lost, she would not escape either.
She hurriedly warned him, “That cauldron is a middle-grade magical artifact called the Mountain-Suppressing Cauldron. When activated, it bears the force of a mountain and is extremely powerful. The cloud kerchief is called the Heaven-and-Earth Snare Kerchief. It is also a middle-grade magical artifact and can seal all eight directions. If it traps you, it will draw your spiritual power into itself until you can no longer move. Young Master, you must be careful!”
Hearing this, Xu Ziqing understood that there was no easy path of escape. With a sweep of his hand, he sent out a string of green light. Emerald leaves as sharp as blades flashed with spiritual radiance and circled around the two of them, forming a ring that just managed to hold the cloud kerchief at bay.
The cloud kerchief had been meant to wrap around Xu Ziqing, but the ring held it two chi away, preventing it from tightening any further. At the same time, several green cords sprang from above Xu Ziqing’s head and curved downward like drawn bows, barely managing to brace the Mountain-Suppressing Cauldron and keep it from truly crashing onto him.
Because both magical artifacts required careful control, Xu Ziqian and Tian Liang, though astonished that Xu Ziqing still had defensive strength left, could not free themselves to launch heavier killing attacks.
Xu Ziqian clenched her teeth in hatred. How could Xu Zitang’s luck be so good that someone had still appeared to save her at this point? Anxiety rose in her heart. If Xu Zitang truly escaped, then as the culprit who had tried to murder her, Xu Ziqian could forget about marrying Xu Zifeng. More likely, he would cut her down with a single sword.
Tian Liang was equally displeased. He had coveted Xu Zitang for years and had finally obtained this opportunity, only for some stranger to charge in halfway through and ruin everything. The interruption filled him with hatred.
He immediately poured in another twenty percent of his spiritual power and said furiously, “This young master would like to see how long you can keep this up!” Then he added, “Miss Ziqian, don’t hold back. There are two of us against one. Are we really going to let him escape?”
Xu Ziqian reconsidered and realized he was right. Although the three of them had similar cultivation, this was still two against one. Even if it became a contest of spiritual-power consumption, this newly arrived brat should not be able to match them. Suppressing her unease, she released even more spiritual power.
Xu Ziqing was indeed being consumed rapidly. Middle-grade magical artifacts carried tremendous power and were far from ordinary. Caught under pressure from both opponents, he felt trapped in a cage and found it difficult to maneuver. Fortunately, both the green cords and the leaves were subordinate woods linked directly to his mind, so controlling them cost him less mental effort than Xu Ziqian and Tian Liang expended on their artifacts.
He could therefore still speak to Xu Zitang. “Miss Zitang, do you have any spiritual medicine that can resolve your condition?”
Xu Zitang smiled bitterly. “No. The Hundred-Harm Pill is a forbidden substance and already extremely difficult to refine successfully. Its antidote is even harder to produce. How could I possibly have one?”
Xu Ziqing pondered briefly. He knew something about the Hundred-Harm Pill. It was essentially refined from substances highly poisonous to the meridians and tempered through fierce flame to make the toxicity even more violent and rapid. Once it entered the body, it ravaged the meridians at terrifying speed, damaging sinews and severing channels, draining vitality, and destroying the foundation. In the end, all of those effects came from cutting off the life force within the meridians.
Thinking along those lines, perhaps there was a method that could work.
He said, “Miss Zitang, if you are willing to trust me, do not resist.”
Xu Zitang did not believe this stranger could neutralize the Hundred-Harm Pill, but with no better option, she could only take the chance. She immediately agreed. “I trust you.”
Xu Ziqing smiled and grasped the pulse point at Xu Zitang’s wrist. Her wrist trembled, but she did not pull away.
In the next moment, a mild and gentle stream of spiritual power entered through the pulse point and flowed directly into her meridians. Xu Zitang felt it immediately. The spiritual power moved like a quiet stream, without the slightest trace of forcefulness. Yet within that gentleness was a vigorous vitality. Wherever it passed, it carried the sensation of plants springing to life and spring sweeping across the earth.
Th-this is extraordinarily pure Yi-Wood qi! Who exactly is this person? He is clearly only at the seventh layer of Qi Refinement, yet his spiritual power is so endlessly regenerative, so rich and expansive.
Xu Zitang was immediately filled with astonishment and doubt. This stream of qi contained no impurities whatsoever. Its purity was unlike anything she had ever encountered. She herself was a widely experienced favored daughter of heaven, with an extraordinarily gifted elder brother besides, yet even for the two siblings, their meridians inevitably contained traces of other Five-Elements qi mixed in with the spiritual power of their primary attribute. That was the consequence of having dual spiritual roots. Even when one root was thick and the other fine, the finer root still exerted some influence. At higher cultivation levels, various methods would eventually be required to expel those unwanted mixed attributes from the body. The purer the spiritual roots, therefore, the faster one’s cultivation.
Could someone with spiritual power this pure possess a single spiritual root? But no one with a single spiritual root has appeared in a thousand years. If one of the families truly possessed someone with such extraordinary aptitude, how could I possibly not know?
There was no time to think further. Yi-Wood qi flowed delicately through the damaged portions of her meridians, prompting them to repair themselves and gradually awakening their vitality. Within only a few breaths, Xu Zitang already felt an improvement. When she tried once more to stir the spiritual power that had been lying dormant in her dantian, her meridians no longer stabbed with such intense pain.
Seeing that Xu Zitang’s complexion had improved, Xu Ziqing could not help asking, “How is it?”
Xu Zitang felt somewhat steadier and replied, “It truly works.”
Xu Ziqing was delighted. Yi-Wood qi was exceptionally effective at healing injuries. This was his first time using it for such a purpose, so he had inevitably been uncertain, but fortunately it worked. Xu Zitang was even more relieved. After such a disaster, being rescued meant little if a cultivator had lost all spiritual power and become like duckweed without roots, with nowhere to anchor herself. Now that recovery seemed possible, she naturally felt she had something to rely upon again.
To Xu Ziqian and Tian Liang, however, the sight of the two of them was extremely irritating. Xu Ziqian in particular saw Xu Ziqing holding Xu Zitang’s pulse point and said mockingly, “I was wondering why this young master refused to leave. So you have taken a fancy to the beauty. Just be careful that your attempt to rescue a beauty does not cost you your own life instead!”
Xu Zitang had always been proud. Hearing this, her fair face flushed with anger. “Do you think everyone’s thoughts are as filthy as yours?” Now that she had seen Xu Ziqian’s true character, she would never allow this woman to become her elder sister-in-law. Since they were already destined to fight to the death, Xu Zitang had no intention of yielding even in a war of words. “Who knows when you began consorting with a thief from the Tian family? Such admirable ‘self-respect and self-love.’ My elder brother truly could never aspire to someone as lofty as you. Why not simply marry Tian Liang instead? The two of you would make a splendidly matched pair!”
Xu Ziqing fell silent. The verbal blades between these women somehow carried even more smoke and fire than men trying to kill one another. He certainly wanted no part of it. His priority was to give Xu Zitang more Yi-Wood qi so she could recover enough strength to help him fight.
Seeing the two women quarrel while the Mountain-Suppressing Cauldron still failed to crush his opponent, Tian Liang grew thoroughly impatient and shouted, “What are you arguing about? There isn’t much time left, and this young master still intends to enjoy her. I have no time to listen to your war of words! Stand back and watch this young master act!”