His tears kept gushing like a fountain, refusing to stop. Zuo Xiaoduo felt as though all the water in his body was draining away. Just as Zuo Xiaonian began weeping streams of tears along with him, and Zuo Xiaoduo was starting to despair-
The tears miraculously stopped.
Zuo Xiaoduo struggled free of Zuo Xiaonian's arms and gasped for breath. Looking up at her, he felt so ashamed he wished the earth would swallow him. "I really wasn't crying because I couldn't cultivate... Huh?!"
Mid-sentence, he suddenly froze.
He felt as though his heart had abruptly stopped beating.
The moment his gaze fell on Zuo Xiaonian's face, a cool sensation suddenly surged from between his brows and rushed into his eyes.
Then he saw a line of text suddenly float out from Zuo Xiaonian's face.
Zuo Xiaonian, female, nineteen years old, peak Fetal Breath Stage; two and a half months later, in the Star Martial Golden Crystal Room, a sneak attack interrupts her breakthrough to the Dan-Origin Stage, causing cultivation deviation and death.
!!
???
Chapter 5: Zuo Xiaonian's Life-and-Death Tribulation!
Zuo Xiaoduo froze.
Zuo Xiaonian would die?
Sister Xiao Nian, who had always loved and cared for him in every possible way since childhood... would die in two and a half months? Looking at the beautiful face before him, heartbroken over his sorrow, Zuo Xiaoduo suddenly felt as though he were suffocating.
Why had such a line of text appeared before him?
What was this?
Zuo Xiaoduo suddenly asked urgently, "Sister Xiao Nian, are you going to challenge the Yin-Yang Boundary in two and a half months? Break through to Core Origin?"
Zuo Xiaonian was still sobbing. Zuo Xiaoduo's tears had made her heart ache so badly it spasmed, and she felt it was about to shatter. In the midst of her grief, she suddenly heard his question, and her heart jolted. She raised her head and looked at him with reddened eyes, sobbing, "How did you know?"
Only after asking did she collect herself. She wiped her tears, her expression turning solemn, and asked again, "How did you know it would be in two and a half months?" Suddenly, the full realization struck her, and her beautiful eyes instantly widened.
The shock in Zuo Xiaonian's heart was anything but small.
Quite a few people knew she was going to break through the Yin-Yang Boundary; her cultivation was there for all to see. That was an indisputable fact.
But all anyone knew was that it should happen soon, or within a month at most. After that month, more false information would be released, continuing to lay a bewildering maze to mislead them.
The exact time and place absolutely could not be leaked. This was a matter of life and death.
Breaking through to the Dan-Origin Stage was a major hurdle for a martial artist; or rather, from that point on, the road to becoming a powerhouse would open completely.
In the eyes of ordinary people, the Dan Origin Realm was the realm of Martial Dao grandmasters.
And the younger someone was when they broke through to this realm, the greater their prospects for growth. Zuo Xiaonian was only nineteen this year, and someone breaking through to the Dan Origin Realm at nineteen was unprecedented throughout the entire Central Plains in thousands of years!
If she broke through, she would surely turn a brand-new page in history.
A nineteen-year-old in the Dan Origin Realm! A nineteen-year-old girl grandmaster!
This was a miracle capable of shaking the world!
Thus, this news would certainly draw attention, and things would certainly not remain peaceful.
Naturally, people harboring sinister intentions would also set their sights on her, unwilling to let Zuo Xiaonian break through smoothly!
Assassination attempts at ordinary times would most likely prove ineffective, especially in a city Zuo Xiaonian knew well. It would be too easy for her to escape or hide; she might even kill her attackers instead.
But during a breakthrough, especially at the critical moment of breaking through a bottleneck, even a shout from an ordinary person would be enough to throw the cultivator's internal energy into chaos and cause cultivation deviation!
If someone wanted to snuff out such a genius, that would undoubtedly be the best moment!
And the date of Zuo Xiaonian's breakthrough was, at least so far, Phoenix City's greatest secret!
As far as Zuo Xiaonian knew, only two people knew it!
One was Zuo Xiaonian herself, and the other was her master.
Even the Star Source Room's schedule was currently packed without a single opening, showing not the slightest sign that Zuo Xiaonian would be using it.
Zuo Xiaonian's heart wavered between shock and doubt.
How could Zuo Xiaoduo know?
Had he guessed at random?
But wasn't that guess far too accurate?!
Seeing Zuo Xiaonian's reaction, Zuo Xiaoduo's heart instead turned utterly cold!
The contents of that line of text were actually true?!
Clinging to a slender hope, Zuo Xiaoduo ventured, "In... the Star Martial Golden Crystal Room?"
"!!!"
Zuo Xiaonian abruptly straightened, her beautiful eyes widening, filled with shock!
He really knew!
The Star Martial Golden Crystal Room was the choice she and her master had made after long deliberation. To avoid interference, they had not even chosen the top three: the Jade Crystal Room, the Heavenly Crystal Room, and the Soul Crystal Room!
Instead, they had chosen the relatively ordinary Golden Crystal Room!
This was even more of a secret among secrets!
She had never told anyone, and her master regarded her as a continuation of her own life, so she would only be even more careful than Zuo Xiaonian herself.
But how did Xiaoduo know?
Zuo Xiaonian's face grew somewhat pale.
Turning away, she said hoarsely, "Not necessarily. Nothing has been decided yet."
Perhaps someone else might have believed those words, but Zuo Xiaoduo, who had grown up with her, could tell at a glance that Zuo Xiaonian was lying!
Otherwise, she would not have turned away.
He had been right.
Zuo Xiaoduo could only feel his heart gradually sinking.
Using the Physiognomy in his mind, he examined Zuo Xiaonian's face meticulously. He saw a faint black line taking shape between her brows.
Black energy gradually filled the space between her brows, reaching upward to the canopy and extending endlessly downward. This was... the sign of a fatal tribulation?!
Zuo Xiaoduo's thoughts tangled like hemp. How can I say it so she'll believe me?
I'm only a Martial Disciple right now... What can I do to help Xiao Nian avoid this fatal tribulation?