Baby, Please Turn Around

The shadow of death swallowed Li Xiaoyu.

A foul-smelling gale rushed toward him.

The Black Water Profound Snake's enormous maw loomed larger in his eyes, blotting out the entire world.

He could see its sword-like fangs and the darkness deep in its throat.

Lu Xueqi's whisper in his ear.

No!

He couldn't die!

Li Xiaoyu absolutely couldn't let the woman who was willing to follow him into the underworld simply disappear into this darkness!

A desperate will to survive burst from the depths of his heart.

Li Xiaoyu had yet to fulfill his master's expectations.

He still had to lead Morning Sun Peak to restore its glory!

And Li Xiaoyu had yet to tell the woman in his arms the words he had kept hidden in his heart.

How could he die!

Li Xiaoyu's eyes were bloodshot.

He still had one last trump card.

That Innate Geng Metal Sword Qi that Yun Zhongzi had forged in imitation of the Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife.

Once unleashed, that strike would shake heaven and earth.

But he couldn't bear the consequences, either.

That sword qi was the foundation of his survival. Once expended, the Immortal-Slaying Gourd would be gravely weakened and fall dormant.

And Li Xiaoyu himself would exhaust his mind and spirit from forcibly activating that power, falling into a deathlike state.

But now, Li Xiaoyu had no choice.

"Xueqi, close your eyes!"

Li Xiaoyu roared at Lu Xueqi in his arms.

His voice was filled with resolve and reluctance.

Lu Xueqi froze, unsure what Li Xiaoyu was about to do, but she still did as he said and closed her eyes.

Seizing the chance, Li Xiaoyu used all his strength to push Lu Xueqi behind a boulder in the distance.

As for Li Xiaoyu, he rose to his feet and faced death head-on.

He looked at the gaping maw. There was no fear left in his eyes, only the will to fight.

Li Xiaoyu tore the Wine Gourd from his waist and held it high.

"Baby, please turn around!"

His furious shout rang through the entire Abyss of the Dead.

The incantation carried the power to make words come true.

As Li Xiaoyu spoke the incantation, the Immortal-Slaying Gourd in his hand blazed with golden light.

Its radiance outshone the sun.

The golden light illuminated the entire Abyss of the Dead.

Hum!

The ancient patterns on the gourd's surface transformed into golden divine chains, coiling around it.

A vortex abruptly formed at the mouth of the gourd.

An aura of peerless sharpness, as if it could sever space and time, erupted from the vortex.

For the first time, terror filled the Black Water Profound Snake's enormous eyes.

The ancient demon beast sensed mortal danger coming from the gourd.

The Black Water Profound Snake tried to retreat and flee.

But it was already too late.

A slender golden sword qi, so bright it was impossible to look at, shot from the gourd's mouth.

There was no sound, no display of power.

It silently sliced through the darkness.

Time seemed to stop in that instant.

Space itself lost all meaning before it.

The thin golden line ignored distance and obstruction, appearing before the Black Water Profound Snake's head in an instant.

"Pfft!"

A faint sound.

The golden sword qi easily pierced the Black Water Profound Snake's scales.

"Roar—!"

A piercing howl burst from the Black Water Profound Snake's mouth.

Its body twisted and thrashed wildly.

Its massive tail lashed through the Sea of Heartlessness, raising enormous waves and smashing into the surrounding rock walls.

The entire floor of the Abyss of the Dead shook from its struggles.

The wound where the golden sword qi had struck was widening.

Golden light spread from the wound, obliterating its flesh and vitality.

The Black Water Profound Snake was afraid.

This ancient demon beast, which had lived for ten thousand years, was truly afraid.

The Black Water Profound Snake dared not linger any longer. Its enormous body recoiled, and, carrying its fear and unwillingness, it plunged into the depths of the Sea of Heartlessness and vanished.

Only the churning waves and black blood spreading through the water remained.

Elsewhere, after unleashing that earth-shattering strike, the golden light of the Immortal-Slaying Gourd in Li Xiaoyu's hand dimmed.

The patterns on the gourd lost their luster, and it returned to being an ordinary wine gourd.

A wave of weakness swept over Li Xiaoyu.

His consciousness sank into darkness.

The waves raised by the Black Water Profound Snake's escape crashed onto the shore.

The surging water lifted Li Xiaoyu's unconscious body and hurled him toward a distant rock wall.

Then the seawater swallowed him, carrying him into the darkness.

After an unknown amount of time,

Li Xiaoyu's consciousness finally awoke from the darkness.

His body felt as though it had been crushed to pieces and then stitched back together. Every bone throbbed with pain.

Li Xiaoyu struggled to open his eyes.

A damp, dim stone wall came into view.

The sound of dripping water came from nearby, unusually clear in the stillness.

"Drip, drip."

He moved his fingers and realized he was lying on a cold stone slab.

"Where is this?"

Li Xiaoyu's memories began to return.

He remembered the Black Water Profound Snake, that final frenzied strike, and Lu Xueqi.

"Xueqi!"

Li Xiaoyu's heart jolted. He abruptly sat up, but the movement tugged at his injuries, and he sucked in a sharp breath from the pain.

He looked around and found himself in a small cave.

The cave was damp, filled with the smell of blood and a strange, delicate fragrance.

Lu Xueqi wasn't here.

"Could it be..."

A dreadful thought entered his mind, making his heart sink.

Li Xiaoyu endured the pain and struggled to get up, wanting to search for Lu Xueqi.

Just then, a familiar voice, tinged with delight, came from around the bend in the cave.

"Senior Brother Li? You're awake!"

Li Xiaoyu whipped around.

A thin, youthful boy came around the bend carrying a stone bowl.

When he saw Li Xiaoyu awake, the worry on the boy's face turned to joy.

"Zhang Xiaofan?"

Li Xiaoyu froze. He hadn't expected to meet this junior brother from Big Bamboo Peak here.

"That's wonderful, Senior Brother Li! You're finally awake! You've been unconscious for three days!"

Zhang Xiaofan hurried to Li Xiaoyu and handed him the stone bowl.

It was filled with clear water.

"How are you feeling? Here, drink some water."

Li Xiaoyu took the bowl and, too caught up to ask anything, tilted his head back and drained it.

The cool spring water slid down his throat, soothing it after it had felt scorched dry.

"How did you end up here?" Li Xiaoyu asked, catching his breath as he looked at Zhang Xiaofan.

Zhang Xiaofan scratched his head, a fearful look crossing his face.

"I don't know, either. The ground collapsed, and some force pulled me down. When I woke up, I was already here."

As he spoke, a crisp voice came from behind him.

"Well, your Senior Brother Li has finally woken up."

A girl in a green dress, her hands clasped behind her back, came around the bend with a light step.

She had bright eyes and white teeth, a smile playing at the corners of her lips as her lively gaze curiously sized up Li Xiaoyu.

"You?"

"Miss You Ji?"

She was none other than Bi Yao, the young lady of the Ghost King Sect of the Demon Sect, whom Li Xiaoyu had met once at the Mountain Sea Pavilion.

Li Xiaoyu's pupils contracted, and he grew wary.

He instinctively reached for the Immortal-Slaying Gourd at his waist, only to find that, although it was still there, its light had faded, and his connection to it was faint.

That previous strike had gravely weakened the gourd and left it dormant.

He struggled to stand, but the pain in his body made him slump back down.

Seeing him in such a sorry state, Bi Yao wasn't the least bit afraid. Instead, she smiled even more brightly.

"Oh my, the great hero of the Green Cloud Sect is so weak!"

"Let me introduce myself again. I'm not called You Ji. Just call me Bi Yao."

She walked over to Li Xiaoyu and crouched down, poking him in the shoulder with one finger.

"In your current state, I could crush you with just one finger."

Her tone was full of provocation.