I Was Only Guilty
Sang Ying's prediction was correct; after her cultivation reached the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, she quickly reached the barrier of the Golden Core Realm.
However, to truly Core Formation, one must undergo a tribulation of lightning.
Sang Ying looked up at the miasma overhead that seemed to never dissipate, and had no confidence that the heavenly lightning could strike into the bottom of this valley.
However, it was already an urgent matter for her to Core Formation, and Sang Ying was unwilling to suppress her cultivation any longer, so she had no choice but to seek out Jiang Zhuoxue to discuss it.
"You mean you want me to take you out of the valley?" Jiang Zhuoxue asked again after hearing Sang Ying's purpose.
Sang Ying immediately nodded. "Senior, I am about to Core Formation, so it may not be convenient for me to stay here. If you can lead us away from here, I will help you cut the remaining chains."
This time it was for real; as long as he agreed, Sang Ying would set him free.
Jiang Zhuoxue had been waiting for this day for a long time, so naturally she had no reason to refuse.
He immediately nodded in agreement. "It's quite strange that the young cultivator isn't so wary of me today."
No matter how alluring his tone was, Sang Ying remained as still as a block of wood, completely ignoring his advances. Instead, she changed the subject, saying, "Then, senior, let's set a date!"
Once the departure date is set, she can prepare accordingly.
If, unfortunately, the two of them end up back at the Flowing Light Sword Sect, she will have to find a way to escape the pursuit of Su Fuyun and the others.
Jiang Zhuoxue thought for a moment before saying, "Then tomorrow will be fine."
Sang Ying had anticipated his eagerness, so she wasn't surprised by his answer. She simply said, "Very well, I'll go back and pack my things first, and come to see you again tomorrow."
Jiang Zhuoxue agreed, and Sang Ying immediately turned and left, showing no intention of spending even a moment longer with her.
Her avoidance was so obvious that Jiang Zhuoxue couldn't help but chuckle.
"Look, she's still a little afraid of me. Seeing her like this, I don't want to get rid of this 'Shared Fate Gu' anymore. Tell me, how long should I keep her by my side?" Jiang Zhuoxue asked her vine softly.
However, the vines did not answer him.
Sang Ying said she was packing things up, but all she really needed to do was bring the wooden house back; it wouldn't take much effort at all.
She rushed back so that she could carve more array plates.
During her time at the bottom of the valley, Sang Ying practiced swordsmanship during the day and began studying the array formations passed down from her mother at night.
She has learned a lot of offensive formations during this time, and now she can inscribe them on a formation plate. If she encounters danger tomorrow, she can throw out a formation plate to buy herself some time to escape.
Just as Sang Ying was preparing to leave the valley the next day, Helian Mo finally used his powerful beast form to break through the miasma and fall into the valley.
He fell right near Sang Ying's wooden house. Before Sang Ying, who was focused on inscribing the array, could even notice him, Jiang Zhuoxue inside the cave commanded the vines to surge out and bind him back.
Helian Mo had already suffered considerable injuries from forcibly breaking through the miasma formation, and now, being dragged back by the vines, he was even less able to resist.
Countless vines tightly wrapped around him, turning Helian Mo into a cocoon-like shape, hanging upside down in the cave.
Although Jiang Zhuoxue couldn't see the other person's appearance clearly, she had heard some things from the vines.
Helian Mo is still in his beast form, a giant, jet-black wolf with massive teeth. If Sang Ying were here, she would soon realize that Helian Mo's beast form looks remarkably like Su Fuyun's pet Amo, when it grows up.
"Tsk, why is the little brat from the Helian Household here instead of staying in his own Demon Emperor Palace?" Almost as soon as the vines described Helian Mo's appearance, Jiang Zhuoxue guessed his identity.
He was also helped by the Helian Demon Race when he was sealed away.
After he was locked up, the other party took his Essence Blood to purify their own demon blood. It was because of this that the Helian Household changed from silver wolves to black wolves.
Helian Mo whimpered, enduring the pain from the vines binding him, and demanded, "Did a girl fall down here?"
Jiang Zhuoxue tilted her head, a hint of interest in her eyes. "Yes, but what does this have to do with you?"
So it really was for Sang Ying, Jiang Zhuoxue suddenly became interested.
"You saw her? Where is she now?!" Upon hearing his confirmation, Helian Mo immediately became excited.
He escaped from the Demon Emperor Palace in order to find Sang Ying.
Unexpectedly, he heard the terrible news about Sang Ying halfway there. He couldn't believe that Sang Ying would do such a thing. Taking advantage of his past experience living in the Flowing Light Sword Sect, he took the place of another disciple and sneaked in.
Unfortunately, although he later went to great lengths to find out that Sang Ying had fallen into the crevice, he was unable to get down.
Today, he risked his life to break through the formation in the crack, and only by relying on the powerful body that the Demon Race possessed was he able to fall to the bottom of the valley.
The thought that Sang Ying was nearby and that he would soon be able to meet her stirred Helian Mo's heart with excitement.
"Aren't you Demon Race? Why are you so concerned about a cultivator?" Jiang Zhuoxue licked her back teeth. "What, you like her?"
He seemed particularly concerned about these emotional entanglements.
Upon hearing this, Helian Mo, who had been struggling, immediately fell silent.
He was silent for a moment before saying with difficulty, "No, I don't like her. I just feel guilty..."
No one knows how he got through those ten years.
He once believed that Su Fuyun was sincere towards him, and for Su Fuyun's sake, he abandoned Sang Ying, who had shared life and death with him, several times.
However, the truth told him that Su Fuyun's affection for him was all fake, and even the Spirit Stone that Su Fuyun bought from him were paid for by Sang Ying.
When these truths were exposed, Helian Mo reflected on his past and suddenly realized that Su Fuyun's insincerity towards him was evident in every aspect. On the other hand, Sang Ying's true feelings for him were clear from the beginning.
But Helian Mo made the wrong choice, so on Gleaming Gold Island, after being lost by Su Fuyun once again, he didn't go back to look for her like before.
He had originally planned to go find Sang Ying, wanting to ask her if she was still willing to be his master.
Halfway there, he was discovered by a high-ranking Demon Race in the sea. The man was a confidant of the previous demon emperor. After the death of the previous demon emperor, he had been ordered to search for the demon emperor's bloodline that had been scattered.
That bloodline naturally belongs to Helian Mo.
Even though he was unwilling, he was eventually forcibly taken back to the Demon Race. After awakening his bloodline power, he was forced to sit on the throne of the demon emperor.
It wasn't until recently, when he finally revealed his strength as the Demon Emperor, that everyone relaxed their control over him.
Helian Mo took this opportunity to escape and try to see Sang Ying.
Although she was unaware of the details between the two, Jiang Zhuoxue was happy to be an observer.
He offered, "The person you want to see is nearby. She'll be coming back to find me tomorrow. If you're willing, I can be generous and let you two meet tomorrow. Would you be willing?"
Helian Mo's wolf-like gaze immediately shot towards Jiang Zhuoxue, so intense it seemed capable of piercing through her.
"I do!" he answered hastily, as if if he had hesitated any longer, he would never see Sang Ying again.
Having received a satisfactory answer, Jiang Zhuoxue quickly smiled.