When You're the Elder Brother, You Should Protect Her

Outside the mirror.

Every cultivator was deeply moved.

Gu Youwei's body trembled even more violently.

She kept shaking her head. "No, no..."

Though she knew in her heart that this was likely how she had obtained her Immortal Root, at this moment, she was utterly terrified.

She feared that the truth was exactly as she imagined.

She feared that she would not know how to face him.

Gu Changqing tossed aside the woodcutter's machete and pressed both hands against his chest.

With all his strength, he tore it open.

Within that mangled mass of flesh and blood, a radiant bone burst forth with blazing divine light.

Endless mysterious and profound divine runes coiled around that divine bone.

The searing pain drew Gu Changqing's brows tightly together, draining every trace of color from his face in an instant.

He took a deep breath, doing his utmost to acclimate himself to the pain.

Then he reached into his body, seized that divine bone, and pulled it from his flesh.

The terrifying pain nearly made him pass out.

"Ah..."

He opened his mouth. Whether because he had no strength left or because he was forcing himself to endure it, his scream was incomparably hoarse.

This Immortal Root had been born with him.

Just as Gu Youwei's master had said, it was a gift from the Heavenly Dao. It had not merely fused with his body, but with his soul as well.

To tear it out alive—such agony carved itself into the bones and heart!

"Ah!!"

Gu Youwei seemed to go mad, feeling an unbearable stabbing pain in her heart!

By now, she had long become a tear-streaked wreck.

Her mind roared frantically.

Her aura was in complete disarray, and in that instant, even her consciousness nearly fell into chaos.

She staggered a step forward.

"Miss Youwei, be careful." Ye Chen hurried forward to support her.

But in that very instant, an indescribable agony surged into both their bodies.

"Ah!!"

Ye Chen suddenly let out a shrill cry and staggered sharply backward.

Gu Youwei also shuddered violently, her body instinctively retreating at explosive speed.

"What is going on?!"

Everyone was startled by the commotion from the two of them.

The two were the foremost figures in this world—how could they lose their composure like children only a few years old?

"It is the sensation felt by the person within the mirror at this moment."

"Everyone, take care not to stand too close to that mirror. When the person in the mirror transmits fragments of past memories, half of the pain he suffered back then will also be transmitted outside the mirror."

At that moment, a clear voice rang out.

It was none other than the owner of the Bronze Ancient Mirror, Luo Qinghe.

"Only half the pain was enough to make Emperor Ye cry out like that..."

Once they understood, everyone fell silent.

Then how had the Young Heavenly Emperor endured the agony of having his bone dug out?

Ye Chen's face flushed red.

Fortunately, no one had the spare attention to mind him, sparing him further embarrassment.

Gu Youwei slowly extended her slender jade-like hand toward the mirror's surface.

In that instant, her face turned deathly pale, and she could not help letting out a muffled groan, but she ultimately endured it.

"Only half of it is already this unbearable. How did you endure it back then?"

Hearing Gu Youwei's murmur, many female cultivators outside the mirror could no longer hold back, and tears streamed down their faces.

Half the pain was already enough to make an Empress who stood proudly above all heavens change color. All of it falling upon an eight-year-old child—it was easy to imagine.

Gu Changqing took out his own Immortal Root.

Then, with a light stroke of his finger across little Youwei's chest, he cut a tiny wound.

He slowly stuffed that Immortal Root back inside her, bit by bit.

The method was crude, but the effect was exceptionally clear.

Having found its host again, the Immortal Root swiftly fused with its host's flesh and blood. Color rose in little Youwei's face at astonishing speed.

"So that's how it was..."

Gu Youwei pressed a hand over her chest, utterly dazed.

No one knew that there was a tiny scar there.

She had once thought she had been born with it.

But she had never imagined it.

This was how that wound had come to be.

The gathered cultivators were moved more deeply than ever.

Only at this moment did everyone finally dare confirm the speculation in their hearts.

So, when faced with an Immortal Root that could make one a Supreme simply by lying down, there were people who would give it away to another.

So, that brutal and lawless great demon from their memories would personally destroy his own incomparably brilliant path of cultivation for the sake of a younger sister unrelated by blood!

"Old man."

"I don't like owing people, and I don't like people owing me."

"I'm giving you a disciple whose talent is unparalleled beneath the heavens. You'd better take good care of her."

"Otherwise, I won't let you off. I definitely won't let you off..."

Gu Changqing did his best to make his voice sound more intimidating, but by the end, it was as faint as a mosquito's buzz.

The white-robed old man was deeply moved. Though he had long regarded even life and death lightly, his eyes were now faintly reddened.

"Is it worth it? If it were her, do you think she would do the same for you?" the old man asked softly, his gaze gentle.

The Young Heavenly Emperor shook his pale face, offering no answer as he instead asked, "Does it matter?"

"If things were truly reversed, I wouldn't want her to dig out her Immortal Root for me."

"What does worth it or not worth it even mean..."

Mei Gongzi did not rush to attack after neutralizing Cao Yuwei's strike this time. She merely stood where she was.

Cao Yuwei's brows drew together slightly. Was this little girl's perception truly so sharp? After he had forged armor from flames, he still had other methods at his disposal. If Mei Gongzi had followed up with an attack, he was confident he could use those methods to restrain her. But Mei Gongzi had not advanced, forcing the ability he had poised to unleash to be interrupted.

The battle saber slashed out once more, its surging saber intent even stronger than before. Cao Yuwei moved with his blade, man and saber becoming one as he charged straight at Mei Gongzi.

The Heavenly Secret Plume in Mei Gongzi's hand invoked the Heavenly Mysterious Circle again. With a single instant teleportation, she shifted her position. While dissolving her opponent's attack, she also broke his lock-on. In the next instant, she was already on the other side. Golden-red light flashed across Cao Yuwei's body and vanished. Had she not evaded so swiftly, another ability would undoubtedly have descended upon her.

A battle of attrition! She seemed intent on competing with Cao Yuwei in endurance.

Yet no one doubted the origin of this ability. After all, the Peacock Demon Race's greatest innate gift had always been Stellar Transposition. Her technique shared the same wondrous effect through a different path as Stellar Transposition.