Harvest, Return

In the pitch-black environment, Yu Jingqiu felt a very peculiar sensation at this moment.

First, under the pressure of the Divine Envoy, she had already given up, prepared to welcome death! Yet, Dongbo Xueying, who had always seemed ordinary and unremarkable, stepped forward and unleashed power that left her stunned, directly killing the Divine Envoy head-on! Just then, Lu Huairu made the desperate choice to perish together, and she was used as a shield by Si Borong, once again plunging her into a near-certain death.

She had been saved again.

In the darkness, buried under countless piles of rubble, a myriad of emotions stirred in Yu Jingqiu's heart.

"Boom!" With a loud crash, Dongbo Xueying exerted force with a single arm, lifting the massive pile of debris pressing down on the shield, sending countless stones flying.

"Let's go."

Dongbo Xueying immediately wrapped one arm around Yu Jingqiu's waist and leaped up instantly. At the same time, his shield struck out like lightning, delivering dozens of blows in a near-instant to swat away all the falling stones.

Holding the waist of a beautiful female mage with one hand might seem picturesque, but in reality, because Yu Jingqiu was constantly protected by her Ice Armor, the sensation was quite mediocre—hard, cold, and not comfortable in the slightest.

"Thud." Landing on a nearby pile of rubble, Dongbo Xueying set Yu Jingqiu down.

"Be careful. The entire hall could have giant stones falling at any moment, or even a secondary collapse. Don't you dare deactivate your Ice Armor." As Dongbo Xueying spoke, his gaze swept across the surroundings. Many areas had completely collapsed; even in the first and second levels of the inner castle, pillars and walls had fallen, supporting some of the stone slabs above.

The supporting pillars and walls were either tilted or had already toppled, with stones falling occasionally.

These falling rocks posed no threat to powerful knights, but for a physically weak mage, they were lethal, which was why defensive spells had to be maintained at all times.

"Mm." Yu Jingqiu nodded. "You..."

"Whoosh." Dongbo Xueying had already darted away. Reaching the distance, he used his spear to quickly pry through the debris, stones flying everywhere; he was clearly searching for the corpses.

However, in an explosion of this magnitude, even the Divine Envoy's body had been completely shattered. After all, the power of the blast was enough to kill a Silver Moon Knight; without protective battle qi, whether it was Tang Xiong, the Divine Envoy, or Lu Huairu, their bodies were all reduced to unrecognizable fragments. Si Borong's body was likewise no longer intact.

"I've found their belongings. Let's go." Dongbo Xueying walked back to Yu Jingqiu's side.

"Alright." Yu Jingqiu nodded, walking side-by-side with Dongbo Xueying toward the exit. At this moment, the hall walls were shattered and the floor above had fallen, so they could easily walk out.

Even if there were no path, Dongbo Xueying, a powerhouse of Title-level strength, could easily carve one out.

"Dongbo Xueying, thank you." Yu Jingqiu's voice was filled with gratitude. "Thank you for saving my life. If not for you, I would surely have died."

In the situation earlier, it would have been perfectly normal for Dongbo Xueying not to save her.

"It's nothing. To me, it was a small matter, but to you, it was a matter of life and death." A cold glint flickered in Dongbo Xueying's eyes. "I just didn't expect that Si Borong to be so shameless."

A knight, using a mage as a shield?

Dongbo Xueying had truly seen it all now.

"I didn't expect him to do that either." Yu Jingqiu's hatred and resentment toward Si Borong dissipated, as the man was already dead. "Dongbo Xueying, don't worry. I won't say anything about Si Borong, nor will I mention what happened inside."

Yu Jingqiu felt that since he had hidden his strength until the critical moment, there was no need for her to help expose him.

Dongbo Xueying smiled and glanced at her.

"Ah, your leg is bleeding." Yu Jingqiu suddenly noticed bloodstains on Dongbo Xueying's leg, a wound from the earlier explosion.

"Haha, it stopped bleeding long ago; the blood has dried. It's just a minor scratch." Dongbo Xueying said. As his body grew stronger, his recovery rate became increasingly astonishing. That superficial wound had indeed healed completely, leaving not even a scar on his skin.

The two walked side-by-side.

The man in black, the woman in green robes, her entire body encased in Ice Armor.

"It's Liang Yong." They walked for a while before seeing Liang Yong's corpse. The inner castle spanned a mile or two, and the explosion had only destroyed the underground palace and parts of the first and second floors; the overall structure of the inner castle remained largely intact. At the very least, the corridor where Liang Yong lay was mostly undamaged.

"He can be considered to have left behind a complete body," Dongbo Xueying remarked.

The two soon walked out of the inner castle. The Lu Clan castle was completely frozen, and the servants and soldiers had long since fled far away.

Dongbo Xueying and Yu Jingqiu looked up. Although the sky was pitch black, Dongbo Xueying's terrifying eyesight clearly saw the Flying Boat hovering hundreds of meters above.

"Come down!" Dongbo Xueying shouted loudly, his voice echoing through the silent night sky.

Whoosh—

The silver Flying Boat that had been responsible for surveillance in the high altitude quickly descended, landing on the open ground directly in front of them.

"Just the two of you?" Two members of the Dragon Mountain Tower stepped out. "Where are the others? Where is Si Borong?"

"They are all dead." As Dongbo Xueying spoke, he produced three storage treasures. "This arm ring belongs to Liang Yong, this bracer to Si Borong, and this ring to Tang Xiong. Please deliver them to their respective families!"

"All dead? What happened? They all died?" The two Dragon Mountain Tower members were shocked. One of the knights took the three storage treasures. Since many died while undertaking Dragon Mountain Tower missions, it was a long-standing custom to return their belongings to their families. Of course, whether companions might pocket some of the treasures was another matter entirely.

The knight glanced at Dongbo Xueying but said nothing more.

Even if some gold notes or other treasures had been taken, there was no evidence!

In reality—

Dongbo Xueying hadn't taken a single thing from the three men's storage treasures. In fact, Liang Yong's arm ring had been found by Dongbo Xueying inside Si Borong's storage treasure! If not for Dongbo Xueying, Liang Yong's treasures would likely have been embezzled by Si Borong.

I thought Si Borong would have plenty of treasures, but he's quite poor, Dongbo Xueying thought to himself. Having refined and inspected them, he knew well that Si Borong's wealth didn't even match Tang Xiong's! Clearly, the great 'Si Family' kept a tight grip on money, and such pampered sons who were unwilling to take risks didn't have much to their names.

He usually dressed in luxurious and extravagant clothing, but his pockets were empty, far inferior to someone like Tang Xiong, who had risen through his own efforts and experienced life-and-death struggles time and again.

Of course, the treasures of all three combined didn't amount to even a fraction of the Divine Envoy's!

This Divine Envoy was truly wealthy, Dongbo Xueying recalled with a hint of awe.

He had no way of knowing the Divine Envoy's rise to power, nor that he had even backstabbed a Title-level powerhouse of equal strength to acquire those two storage rings with such vast internal space.

"My gold coins were always tight before, but now I'm probably among the top ten wealthiest people in the entire Qinghe Prefecture," Dongbo Xueying thought to himself. I'm afraid only a few other Title-level experts could compare to me. Yes, when I go back this time, I must buy my younger brother a few life-saving mage artifacts, and I'll give him some of these powerful spell scrolls I have as well.

Spell scrolls are items that can instantly trigger the power of heaven and earth to release powerful spells, though they require a mage to guide them. Therefore, knights are unable to use spell scrolls.

Of course... in front of a Title-level expert, who has achieved the Unity of Heaven and Man and mastered the power of heaven and earth, spell scrolls cannot guide even a sliver of natural energy, rendering them useless.

The only things capable of threatening a Title-level expert are either another Title-level combatant or a Transcendence!

"I'll also reinforce Snow Stone Castle properly, and hmm, I should get that girl You Yue a good staff." Dongbo Xueying had never felt so wealthy and generous in all his years; having obtained the entire accumulation of treasures from a Divine Envoy who had lived for many years, he was now richer than some ordinary Title-level families.

"It was Lu Huairu who caused the entire underground hall to explode, intending to perish with us. You can go and see for yourselves," Yu Jingqiu said without going into detail.

"The people from the Dragon Mountain Tower in Qutai City will take over this place soon. We will escort the two of you back to the prefecture city now."

"Very well."

Dongbo Xueying and Yu Jingqiu both nodded and stepped onto the Flying Boat.

Only once they were on the Flying Boat did Yu Jingqiu dispel her Ice Armor. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at Dongbo Xueying, who was sitting cross-legged beside her: "Dongbo Xueying, once we reach the prefecture city, are you planning to head back?"

"Yes," Dongbo Xueying nodded.

"Where in Qinghe Prefecture do you live?" Yu Jingqiu asked curiously.

"Snow Eagle Territory in Yi Water City. I would welcome Mage Jingqiu to my small territory at any time," Dongbo Xueying said with a smile.

"Yi Water City?"

Yu Jingqiu nodded gently.

Outside the Flying Boat, the night sky was pitch black; there wasn't a sliver of moonlight tonight. The Flying Boat flew at high speed, the sound of the wind faintly audible. Yu Jingqiu's heart was somewhat turbulent, but she gradually closed her eyes to calm herself. She would never forget the events of this day for the rest of her life.