After Xie Wenyun persuaded Jiang Lingzhou to stay, he remained there for another three full days. On the fourth day, however, he could no longer suppress the impulse in his heart, so he slipped away to search for Gu Yi while no one was watching.
By the time Xie Wenyun discovered this, Jiang Lingzhou was long gone without a trace.
Now Xie Wenyun could no longer sit still either. Originally, he had only needed to worry about Gu Yi's safety; now he had Jiang Lingzhou to worry about as well.
Lin Ning had felt guilty about Gu Yi's disappearance all along. And now Jiang Lingzhou had gone out alone as well. She felt deeply uneasy and decided to search for them herself.
Seeing that Xiao Cheng's condition had stabilized, Lin Ning suggested to Xie Wenyun that they go looking together.
Day after day passed, and three days went by in the blink of an eye, yet there was still no word from the three of them. They had never returned.
Gu Yi: ...
"Sister Yiyi? Brother Lin Ning said you went to rescue Brother Lin Yuan? Where is he?" Seeing that Gu Yi had returned alone, Yezi was somewhat puzzled.
A faint blush crept onto Gu Yi's face.
He had left that motor-powered "bastard" in the demon beast's den...
His lower back was still aching...
"I couldn't find him..."
Gu Yi casually told a lie. "When I got there, he was already gone, so I thought I'd look around. I searched for ages but couldn't find him. I came back to look for Senior Brother Xie, only to find they were gone too."
"Oh. So that's what happened." Yezi looked at Gu Yi's lips, which had been nibbled red. "Sister Yiyi, what happened to your mouth?"
"Oh... I bit it myself..." Gu Yi made up an excuse. Sure enough, one lie meant having to keep telling more to cover it up.
Yezi did not press him further, and Gu Yi felt profoundly thankful. If she kept asking, he would have no idea how to answer.
Gu Yi sensed his spiritual energy. His Foundation Establishment cultivation, which had stagnated for three years, was actually showing faint signs of advancing.
Even his lifespan had increased a little.
Was dual cultivation really the only path he could take to cultivate and prolong his life?
Supporting his lower back, he sighed inwardly. Staying alive is so hard...
Gu Yi thought Lin Yuan would probably find his way back after waking up. As for Jiang Lingzhou and the other two, they would naturally return if they could not find him.
All he needed to do was wait here for them to return, then leave when the secret realm opened.
Since he did not need to hunt demon beasts anyway, he might as well raise his cultivation to Golden Core here.
But as it turned out, he still could not break through. He could only leave this place and think of another way after returning to the Tianmu Sect.
Meanwhile.
Xie Wenyun and Lin Ning had also found Jiang Lingzhou.
Jiang Lingzhou stubbornly refused to return with them, no matter what they said.
"I'm not going back until I find Senior Sister Ye!" Jiang Lingzhou stared coldly at Lin Ning.
If not for her, how could Senior Sister Ye have gone missing?
"And that Lin Yuan was getting handsy with Senior Sister Ye last time. Now they're alone together, a man and a woman. What if Lin Yuan gets bold enough to take liberties with her?" His tone grew increasingly agitated as he spoke.
"Young Master Jiang, my younger brother would never take liberties with Miss Ye," Lin Ning said softly, looking somewhat embarrassed.
"He wouldn't? Then why was he holding Senior Sister Ye's hand last time?" Jiang Lingzhou's tone was hostile. "Does being from the Qingling Sword Sect mean he can do whatever he wants?"
"Young Master Jiang, you've misunderstood..." Lin Ning steeled herself. "My brother already has someone he likes. And... and it's a man. He likes men, so he couldn't possibly do that to Miss Ye..."
Jiang Lingzhou raised an eyebrow at her words.
Judging by Lin Ning's expression, she did not seem to be lying...
"So what? I'm absolutely not going back until I find Senior Sister Ye!"
With that, Jiang Lingzhou turned and left.
"Jiang Lingzhou!" Xie Wenyun grabbed him. "If anything happens to you, what is Sect Master Jiang supposed to do? Come back with me first. Perhaps Junior Sister has already returned."
"Do you take me for a three-year-old?" Jiang Lingzhou shook off Xie Wenyun's hand.
"You said the same thing last time, but what happened? Senior Sister Ye never came back at all, and I waited there like an idiot with you for days! If we'd gone out looking sooner, we might have found her already..."
As he spoke, Jiang Lingzhou sprang up into a tree. "Go back yourselves if you want. I can find Senior Sister Ye on my own!"
"Jiang Lingzhou... come back!" Xie Wenyun's brows knitted tightly. Why was he so stubborn?
He hurried after Jiang Lingzhou in a flash. Seeing this, Lin Ning also leaped after them.
The three searched along the way, one fleeing and the others pursuing.
Xie Wenyun finally caught up with Jiang Lingzhou. Thinking that since he refused to return, they might as well search together, he decided that was better than letting him go alone.
Because of her earlier injuries, Lin Ning lagged a step behind them.
When Jiang Lingzhou saw Xie Wenyun catching up, he assumed he was going to tell him to return again and sped up.
"Watch out!" Xie Wenyun saw Jiang Lingzhou lose his footing and slide down toward the bottom of the rock face.
The three were at a sheer cliff, where vines cascaded down like a green waterfall, lush and full of life.
The vines intertwined like a vast green net, clinging firmly to the cliff's rock face.
Sunlight spilled down, and specks of light glittered on the vine leaves, making them look as translucent as emerald jade.
A breeze brushed past, and the vines swayed gently with a rustling sound. Beneath them lay a bottomless darkness.
He reached out and caught Jiang Lingzhou's wrist, grabbing a vine on the rock face with his other hand. "Don't let go! I'll pull you up!"
As a cultivator, Jiang Lingzhou should have been able to steady himself. Yet somehow, the moment he reached this cliff, the spiritual energy within him could no longer keep up with the demand.
Xie Wenyun's expression stiffened as well, because he had felt it too.
He immediately realized something was wrong with this place and shouted, "Lin Ning, don't come over! Something's wrong here!"
Hearing Xie Wenyun's voice, Lin Ning hurriedly stopped a hundred meters from them, not daring to approach. "Young Master Xie, Young Master Jiang... are you all right...?"
The moment Jiang Lingzhou was caught, time seemed to freeze.
Their eyes met, and Jiang Lingzhou immediately turned his face away. Who asked you to save me!
Time ticked by. Jiang Lingzhou's weight, combined with some unknown force, dragged Xie Wenyun inch by inch toward the edge.
Although the hand with which he clung desperately to the vine had been scraped raw and bloody, and his feet scraped frantically against the rocks at the cliff's edge, he still could not resist that tremendous force.
As time passed, the two drew closer and closer to the edge.
"Xie Wenyun, let go!" Jiang Lingzhou suddenly spoke, no longer exerting any strength with his hand either.
Xie Wenyun's face was pale, and he tightened his grip on Jiang Lingzhou. "I can't let go. Jiang Lingzhou, don't you like Junior Sister? Would you be content to die like this? We're love rivals! If you die, I'll pursue Junior Sister. Proximity gives me the advantage, and she'll definitely accept me!"
"Xie Wenyun, are you sick in the head? Why are you so eager to save your love rival?" Jiang Lingzhou looked at Xie Wenyun's sweat-covered face. He had no strength left. "If this keeps up, we'll both fall. Let go, Xie Wenyun!"
"Young Master Xie! Young Master Jiang!" Lin Ning stood anxiously at the boundary, not daring to approach.
"I won't let go!" Xie Wenyun said through gritted teeth.
"You idiot!" Jiang Lingzhou suddenly laughed. "Do you actually want to die together with your love rival?"
Crack-
The vine finally snapped, unable to bear their combined weight, and that force dragged them both off the cliff.
The instant they fell, the wind howled past, their robes snapping in the gusts.
Like two drifting leaves, they plummeted toward the unknown depths below. The vine-covered cliff flashed rapidly past their eyes.
"Xie Wenyun, I don't want to owe you anything!"
Just as darkness swallowed them, Xie Wenyun felt something icy being shoved into his hand. In the darkness, his entire body was enveloped.
"Jiang Lingzhou?" he called anxiously. But no one answered. The next second, the two plummeted, sinking into an abyss of despair.
Before you continue