Yao Wu ran toward the apothecary like a madman. Deep green spiritual energy surged from his body, wrapping around his arms, his shoulders, and his entire being, so dense it almost solidified. He couldn't remember the last time he had channeled his spiritual energy like this—it had been so long that he thought he would never need to do so again in this lifetime.
“No—no—Nannan! Daddy's coming!”
He sprinted wildly, completely disregarding who Su Li was, her cultivation level, or whether she could crush him to death with a mere wave of her hand. He only cared about Nannan. She was the sole relic left to him by his Senior Sister, the foundation of his survival, and his only salvation for the rest of his life. He could not lose her again. Absolutely not.
Yao Wu could hear nothing but his own breathing and heartbeat. The blazing flames crackled, devouring the apothecary he had built with his own hands like locusts stripping a field. The medicinal herbs were burning—all those he had painstakingly collected from all over, dried, processed, and stacked on the shelves, whether precious or common, were all burning. He didn't care. The only thing he cared about was Nannan.
He took a deep breath, almost inhaling sparks into his lungs. As a plant spirit by nature, he was nearly roasted alive in the face of the phoenix fire. His hair began to curl, and his skin began to sear, but he paid it no mind. Stumbling, he charged in Nannan's direction. The flames ignited his robes; he patted them twice, but when they wouldn't go out, he stopped trying. A broken wooden beam crashed onto his shoulder, forcing his body to buckle, but he gritted his teeth, hoisted it up, and crawled underneath. It didn't delay his steps in the slightest.
“Nannan! Nannan! Can you hear me?! Nannan!” he screamed hoarsely, terror and agony churning in his chest like two hands wringing his heart. He didn't dare stop, nor did he dare think, fearing that if he did, he wouldn't be able to take another step. She was fine; she would definitely be fine.
“Da...dy...”
Yao Wu's spirits jolted, like a drowning man grabbing a rock on the shore. He immediately crawled toward the voice. The ground was already ablaze, and the scorching wooden planks seared his palms and knees, but he felt no pain even as his flesh burned. He saw Nannan. She was slumped in the corner, having been blown off the bed by the blast. Her hair was singed, her clothes were on fire, and several black soot marks streaked her face. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, her eyes were closed, and her breathing was so faint it seemed it might stop at any moment. She was on the verge of being swallowed by the inferno.
“Daddy's here, Daddy's here. Don't be scared, Daddy's here.” Yao Wu repeated these words in a trembling voice, shielding Nannan in his arms as he ran outward with everything he had. He didn't know how he got out, what he stepped on, what he crashed through, or when the fire on his clothes went out. He only knew to hold her tightly—tighter, and tighter still.
Only when he reached a safe spot did he finally stop. Kneeling on the ground, he gently laid Nannan down against a wall and frantically checked her breathing—it was there, but incredibly weak. Trembling, he fumbled through his storage bag and pulled out a pill. It was grayish-white and dull, looking completely lifeless. This was his Life Pill, condensed from his own lifespan and refined with his heart's blood. He stuffed the Life Pill into Nannan's mouth, slowly channeling it down with his spiritual energy, while also mixing his own life essence into the energy to transfer it to her bit by bit. His face grew visibly pale and haggard, yet his hands never stopped.
Looking at the unconscious Nannan in his arms with blood staining her lips, and staring at her dirty, chubby little face, his tears finally spilled over. An old monster who had lived for countless years crouched in a corner, holding a child who had almost been burned to ashes, weeping like someone who had lost his soul.
“I beg you,” his voice was so raspy it was barely audible, “don't leave Daddy... please...” Nannan's eyelashes fluttered slightly, but she didn't wake. Her breathing became slightly more stable than before, but she remained unconscious. Yao Wu guarded her side, not daring to leave, move, or look away from her face.
Nearby, Lu Yan was locked in a bitter struggle.
The moment Yao Wu rushed into the fire, Lu Yan had popped some pills. The bitter taste dissolved at the back of his tongue, and spiritual energy surged from his dried-up dantian like a flood breaking through a dam. A Nascent Soul early stage cultivation level descended upon him once more. His spiritual sea was forcibly held together by the Focus-Stabilizing Pill, and that long-lost feeling of power spread through his meridians to every corner of his body. His eyes brightened for an instant—not because his sight was restored, but because the deathly gray in his eyes had faded slightly. He could see Su Li. She sat high in midair, bathed in reddish-gold flames, a phoenix spreading its wings behind her with trailing tail feathers, looking like a fire god stepped out of myth. She looked down at him with a calm gaze, as if looking at an ant. Lu Yan had no time to exchange glances with her; she was in the sky, and he was on the ground. He pulled out his formation plates and threw them out one by one—the Spirit-Gathering Formation, the defensive formation, the trapping formation. Formation runes expanded in the air and shattered, exploding like fireworks. Su Li didn't even move. With a flap of the phoenix's wings, flames swept down, blotting out the sky. The defensive formations Lu Yan hastily threw together were like paper before her, torn apart effortlessly. As a wave of fire rushed toward him, he rolled backward, his robes singed with several holes and his face burning from the heat.
Gritting his teeth, he threw out another formation plate. It shattered. He threw another, and it shattered again. The shards of the formation plates littered the ground, resembling his own shattered pride. He knew he was no match for her. A half-step Void Refinement, half-demon bloodline, and a phoenix contractor—she and he were not in the same league. Right now, he wasn't truly at the early stage of Nascent Soul; he was just a cripple who could barely touch the edge of the Nascent Soul realm by taking pills. He had gritted his teeth and held on until now only because Yao Wu hadn't come out yet. He had to hold the line, but he was truly reaching his limit. A sudden clash—another damn sudden clash. If that son of a bitch had any real skill, she would have let him set up his formations beforehand.
Yet another formation plate shattered. Lu Yan finally couldn't hold back any longer and roared, “Lao Wu! Are you done yet?! Get over here and help!”
He pulled out the Ten Thousand Formations Compass. The grayish-white bead embedded in the black plate seemed to sense the influx of spiritual energy and came to life, spinning rapidly on the plate. The grayish-white bead began to glow, first a tiny speck, then spreading into a brilliant light, as if something that had slept for far too long was finally being awakened. Lu Yan gripped the compass tightly, his knuckles turning white.
Yao Wu heard Lu Yan's shout. He gently settled Nannan in the corner, transferred another breath of spiritual energy into her, and only stood up once he was sure her breathing was stable. The look in his eyes had changed. It was no longer the madness from when he had charged into the fire, but a stillness—a terrifying stillness that made one's skin crawl.
He quietly raised his head and looked at Su Li in the sky. An old monster who had lived for countless years looked at a young girl who wasn't even a fraction of his age. There was no hatred or anger in his eyes; he simply stared at her. Then, step by step, he walked toward the battlefield. Each step was steady, and each step carried a world-destroying fury. He suppressed his monstrous rage, burying it deep into the soil, into the marrow of his bones, and into every inch of his meridians.
Behind him, a deep blue orchid stem burst forth from the ground. In just an instant, it shot up into the sky, its leaves unfurling to blot out the sun. Blood-red veins ran across the deep blue leaves, totaling nine in all. At the very top, a flower bud was tightly closed, within which a human figure could be faintly seen. This was his Dharma Body, his true essence. With every step forward, a leaf withered, and his aura surged violently.
Late-stage Golden Core. Mid-stage Nascent Soul. Early-stage Soul Transformation.
With three consecutive stems and leaves withering, Yao Wu's aura broke directly into the mid-stage Soul Transformation realm. He continued forward. The fourth leaf began to turn yellow. The withering of each leaf would cost him at least a hundred years of his lifespan. But he didn't care. He was a plant; his lifespan was vast, and he could afford to burn it. However, he could only burn up to the fourth leaf. If he went any further, he wouldn't be able to protect the figure inside the flower bud. He stopped there, but his mid-stage Soul Transformation aura did not stop—it continued to rise.
Late-stage Soul Transformation. Great perfection of Soul Transformation.
Su Li's eyes narrowed. She stared at the sun-blotting orchid, at the nine leaves with four of them withered, and at the curled-up figure inside the flower bud. She finally recognized him.
“A remnant of the Azure Medicine Valley,” her voice wasn't loud, but every word was crystal clear. “The Everspring Azure Emperor... Yao Qingzi.”
Yao Wu looked up at Su Li, his killing intent unfurling.
“You... deserve to die!”
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