"Ya Li, for the sake of our many years of friendship, this is my final warning. Leave now, and I won't lay a hand on you."
"No, Yao Zhu, for old times' sake..."
"Tsk!"
A flash of impatience crossed Leng Yaozhu's eyes. She tightened her arms around the two people she held. At that moment, she had only one thought: get back to the Leng Family as soon as possible and settle the two of them somewhere safe.
It wasn't that she couldn't understand Ya Li's stubbornness. Ya Li was blocking her because she wanted Su Jiu to remove the elements from Yun Ming's Sky-Propping Spear. Those overbearing dual elements were still preventing his Sky-Propping Water Pipe from returning to a spear, and seemed to be gradually damaging the Martial Soul Origin of his Sky-Propping Spear.
If she left things as they were, Yun Ming would be done for.
Leng Yaozhu was at her wits' end. She had explained Su Jiu's current condition to Ya Li: Su Jiu was unconscious and wouldn't wake up. There was nothing she could do.
But Ya Li seemed possessed, nearly on the verge of tears. She wouldn't listen to reason, whether it was kind or harsh, and seemed to think Leng Yaozhu was making it up on purpose. She had latched onto that idea and wouldn't let go, no matter how Leng Yaozhu tried to explain.
Their urgent, unrelenting argument reached Su Jiu's ears. He furrowed his brows, feeling unbearably annoyed. Who could stand being woken up the moment they'd fallen asleep?
He knew one of the voices well. It was his wife, Yao Zhu. He couldn't get mad at her. But the other one... who was that?
He'd have to give that person a good shake-down later.
At the same time, he was full of questions. His injuries didn't hurt anymore—and they were gone?
Unconvinced, Su Jiu immediately used his mental power to inspect his body. The injuries to his meridians and bones, especially those on his right chest and right arm... had all healed. Su Jiu knew exactly how quickly his body recovered. Injuries this severe would take at least two or three days to heal.
This situation... was strange.
Su Jiu abruptly opened his eyes and gently lifted the hand Leng Yaozhu had laid across his waist. Then he left her embrace.
Against the dazzling midday sun, he looked up and saw Ya Li before him, along with Yun Ming, who was out of commission in her arms, and his Sky-Propping Water Pipe.
So that was what this was about. No wonder.
If they left things alone, Yun Ming really wouldn't be able to prop up the sky and shoot down the sun ever again. He'd have been well and truly ruined by Su Jiu.
Hiss—!
Su Jiu sucked in a sharp breath and thought to himself, This won't do. If he can't shoot down the sun, who'll block those two little boys in the future?
He had no intention of taking on such a thankless chore.
"Your Holiness, please forgive me. It was self-defense. I only fired at Yun Ming by accident. Fortunately, he's all right. I'll remove the effects right away."
Su Jiu stepped forward and took the Sky-Propping Spear. Looking through the spearhead, he saw the hole ran straight through to the butt. He sucked in a breath, once again witnessing the terrifying, overbearing power of Flame Demon Roar.
He gently brushed his fingertips over the spear. The Ultimate Fire and Destruction elements on the Sky-Propping Spear ebbed like the tide, falling silent, disappearing, vanishing...
When Ya Li saw Yun Ming's tightly furrowed brows gradually relax, her own heart finally settled.
"Thank you, Lord Wuduan."
"But there's something I don't understand, Lord Wuduan. Why did you attack the Golden Ancient Tree? Of course, I'm not asking that to accuse you..."
Hearing Ya Li's words, Su Jiu couldn't help shaking his head.
It was already this obvious, yet these people kept staring only at the enormous hole in the Golden Ancient Tree. They were completely blind to the blue-green sap seeping out of it and the blue-gold vines coiled inside the hollow.
At the thought, a faint smile curved his lips. His Void Sharp Bee Sentry had successfully collected a sample of Ah Yin's divine power.
With that sample in hand, plenty of things would be much easier to handle from here on.
"Your Holiness, sometimes you can't just look at the surface of things. You have to see what lies beneath. You see a Golden Ancient Tree, but I see a Blue Silver Emperor. As it happens, this Blue Silver Emperor and I have a bit of a score to settle..."
"Blue Silver Emperor?!"
Leng Yaozhu and Ya Li looked up. Under normal circumstances, the Golden Ancient Tree's sap should be transparent, filled with rich light and life elements. But this blue-green sap contained only life elements. It clearly wasn't from the Golden Ancient Tree!
His words had opened their eyes!
Ya Li instantly understood how serious the situation was. She was just about to go back when Su Jiu called out to her.
"Lord Wuduan, is there something else?"
Su Jiu smiled again, wearing the same smile he'd shown Sect Master Cao and Vice Sect Master Zang. With a mild and scholarly air, he laid out his plan to fleece her.
"I've heard that Your Holiness and Pavilion Master Yun are a celebrated couple, the perfect match. But because of certain things that happened in your youth, you can't bear Pavilion Master Yun any children. It's the one regret in your heart."
"I have a way to make your wish come true."
Su Jiu's "proposal" struck straight at the softest, most sensitive place in Ya Li's heart. The matter had haunted her like a nightmare for years, becoming an obsession she couldn't escape.
How many times had she woken from the same dream in the middle of the night?
In the dream, she had a lovely child and could stay by the side of the one she loved, sharing their lives and raising a family together. She lived the ordinary, complete happiness she had yearned for all her life.
But when dawn broke and the dream shattered, only the cold, piercing reality remained, crushing that fleeting warmth without mercy or leaving a shred of hope.
Ya Li's desperation was plain to see. She'd taken the bait. Su Jiu knew how important it was to let the fish have a little line, especially when dealing with someone consumed by an obsession. So he once again used the brilliant trick of playing hard to get.
Even if his excuse seemed so flimsy it couldn't withstand the slightest scrutiny.
To Ya Li, it was like a gambler facing a chance of striking it rich that was less than one in a hundred. Even if the odds were one in ten thousand, she'd still risk everything and clutch at that lifeline of hope, unwilling to let go.
Su Jiu raised his index finger to his lips, signaling for her not to interrupt his pitch.
"Your Holiness, I know you're anxious, but don't be in a hurry just yet. This concerns the rest of your life and Pavilion Master Yun's. Can you decide how his life should go?"
"So wait until Pavilion Master Yun wakes up, then come find me. Of course, my method isn't free. One hundred-thousand-year Immortal Herb."
"I'm sure one hundred-thousand-year Immortal Herb is nothing compared to even one ten-thousandth of the value of a child between you and Pavilion Master Yun... My door will always be open to you—and your Immortal Herb."
"Let's go, honey... Hm? Na'er, what happened to her?"
Only then did Su Jiu look at Na'er. Her condition was far worse than he'd realized.
The savage bite on her wrist, with flesh torn open and hanging loose, immediately made him understand what had happened.
A powerful wave of guilt and heartache surged over him, instantly sweeping away the composure with which he'd been fleecing people.
This girl—didn't she know her own situation? She'd thrown herself into danger without a second thought. What a fool... a fool who made his heart ache.
In an instant, he made up his mind.
The Void Sharp Bee Sentry that had collected the divine power sample immediately returned. This time, he increased their number to seven.
To help Na'er recover sooner, they could only make Ah Yin suffer a little longer.
"Give Na'er to me, honey. I'm the one who wronged her."
"Good. You'd better make it up to her properly when we get back, or I won't stand for it either!"
"I know, I know..."
Why not let Ya Li treat Na'er?
Su Jiu didn't want Ya Li to learn the secret of Na'er's blood. Just one drop of Na'er's Silver Dragon King creation blood might be enough to completely heal Ya Li's reproductive injuries. How could he then trick Ya Li and Yun Ming into changing sex and get their Immortal Herbs for free?
That was right. Su Jiu's method was to send Ya Li and Yun Ming into the Universe Inquiry Valley and have them change sex.
Ya Li's internal reproductive organs were damaged. If she changed into a man, wouldn't everything on the outside be perfectly fine?
And Yun Ming?
Su Jiu believed that for Ya Li, and for their child, he'd willingly turn into a woman, wouldn't he?
Of course, Su Jiu didn't want Ya Li to succeed in changing sex. Wouldn't it be better for Yun Ming and Ya Li to both become women, like the soon-to-be female Sect Master Cao and Vice Sect Master Zang, and let them take care of each other?
Before you continue