Chapter 50: Journey in the Mountains and Rivers (IV)

Ji Hu’s brows were furrowed; his eyes were cold and filled with an unmistakable murderous intent. His shallow pupils swept over Xie Changzhou, who stood tall before him, and then fell upon Sui Ning, who was weak and coughing behind him.

Sui Ning was too weak to lift her eyes and look at him, but their eyes met, and Ji Hu’s cold and hard expression visibly shattered, filled with inexplicable emotions.

Xie Changzhou stepped forward to block his gaze towards Sui Ning and spoke in a cold tone, “Ji Hu, we did not pretend to be the goddess, but she asked for our help.”

Ji Hu sneered and looked at the two people in front of him, his voice ice-cold and disdainful. “Just a Nascent soul and a Mahayana cultivator who have not ascended—how can you come to the upper realm?”

“Besides, the goddess is the only god in the world. What could she possibly need your help for?”

Xie Changzhou remained calm and distant, with his back straight and his eyes as blue as glass, as he looked back at him. He spoke slowly: “Whether you believe it or not, the goddess can only turn to us for help.”

As their shallow pupils met, the emotions within them became more complicated, and the pressure around them became exceptionally low. The coldness seeped out slowly.

After a long while, Ji Hu said in a cold voice, “Where is the goddess?”

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Tkp blyav yzxspv pvsrrle clyvkdt, yde bkp bydep valxczle yp bl srldle vbl nwavykdp. Mbl rlapsd bl bye clld vbkdjkdt ycswv eyu yde dktbv qsa ps xydu ulyap oyp zukdt iwklvzu sd vbl cle.

Zyd Tldt’p lulp olal nzsple, yde vbl qzsola bykarkd sd bla qsalblye oyp y zkvvzl ekx. Tla zsdt lulzypblp bwdt esod, bla lmralppksd oyp nyzx, yde bla hlkz nshlale bla qynl yp kq pbl olal pzllrkdt.

Tl zssjle esod, yde bkp calyvb nywtbv kd bkp vbasyv.

Mblal oyp y czsseu bszl kd Zyd Tldt’p nblpv, yde bla ekhkdl rsola oyp olyj. Tl nswze cyalzu pldpl bla zkql qsanl.

Tl prsjl bsyaplzu, “Gb bldt…”

The woman lying on the bed remained motionless, her expression still calm.

The stern expression on Ji Hu’s face suddenly softened; his eyes turned red, and tears welled up in his eyes.

“So you did refine the Demon-slaying Sword after all. Was I too late?”

He trembled as he gently stroked her cheek, his voice shaking so much that he could hardly speak.

Xie Changzhou also entered the inner hall with Sui Ning in his arms, gently placing her on a nearby couch. He infused her with pure and warm spiritual energy, carefully healing the injuries left by Ji Hu.

As the spiritual energy flowed in, his face became even more gloomy, and eventually it became so cold that it seemed to freeze into frost.

Sui Ning was injured so badly.

If she didn’t have the spiritual beads protecting her, she would have died long ago.

Ji Hu, a cultivator of tens of thousands of years, even if it was just a casual sword strike, was enough to crush Sui Ning, who was only at the Nascent soul stage.

His expression was icy, and a surge of anger suddenly rose in his heart, but he also knew that he couldn’t blame Ji Hu.

Ji Hu had already held back by not using his full strength to kill Sui Ning with one strike.

Sui Ning’s face was still pale and weak as she looked at Ji Hu, her voice weak and powerless: “Ji Hu, God of War… I did not harm the Goddess.”

She coughed softly, blood spilling from the corner of her mouth, and her beautiful eyebrows furrowed.

Xie Changzhou quickly supported her trembling body, increasing the flow of spiritual energy into her, and the warm energy flowed through every inch of her meridians.

The blood was suppressed a little, and Sui Ning gasped heavily before continuing, “The Goddess wants me to… replace her for a while, until she wakes up.”

After she finished speaking, she lowered her head and coughed violently, spitting out droplets of blood as if trying to cough out her entire heart and lungs.

“Ningning, you don’t need to say anymore.” Xie Changzhou’s eyes and brows were cold, his sharp jaw tight, and his expression cold, deep, and unfathomable.

Ji Hu’s straight back was slightly bent, and he stood beside Yan Heng, looking at her with crimson eyes, as if he had no response to Sui Ning’s words.

Sui Ning couldn’t speak, as every time she tried, her entire body’s meridians throbbed in pain. Eventually, she stopped attempting to talk, choosing to remain quietly nestled in Xie Changzhou’s embrace, waiting for him to heal her injuries.

In the spacious hall, only the faint sound of Sui Ning’s coughing remained. No one else uttered a word.

Time passed, and the pain within Sui Ning’s body gradually subsided, though it still hurt intensely. But at least now she could manage to speak without unbearable discomfort.

She struggled to speak: “War God Ji Hu, please believe us.”

Ji Hu withdrew the hand that had lightly touched Yuanhong’s cheek. He controlled his disordered breathing, turning to look at Sui Ning. His stern brows and cold eyes were filled with scrutiny, and his gaze held complex implications.

Sui Ning met his gaze, her eyes unwavering, staring directly into his without flinching.

After a while, Ji Hu chuckled softly: “You and Ah Heng just share a resemblance. She never looked at me this way.”

She remained emotionally detached from everyone, including him.

But in an instant, Ji Hu’s smile faded. He approached them with measured steps, his expression regaining its haughty iciness.

As he walked, he spoke: “How did you two from the mortal realm ascend to the divine realm? One in the Nascent Soul stage, the other in the Mahayana… No, is it the Tribulation Crossing stage?”

His gaze shifted to Xie Changzhou, his brows raising in curiosity and a hint of amusement in his eyes: “Your physique suggests Tribulation Crossing, yet your cultivation is only at the Mahayana stage. Are you suppressed at that cultivation level?”

Xie Changzhou didn’t respond. His focused gaze remained fixed on Sui Ning before him, channeling his potent and warm spiritual energy to meticulously repair every inch of her injured meridians.

Ji Hu, without anger, spoke to himself: “You are truly capable, at the mid-stage of crossing the tribulation, and only two small realms away from ascension.”

“But…” He paused and swept his gaze over the two people, his voice suddenly becoming cold. “Who sent you from the upper realm?”

Sui Ning was startled and weakly replied, “Ji Hu War God, we are not…

“Heh.” Ji Hu lightly laughed and interrupted her, saying, “I don’t care how you got here.”

“Ah Heng chose to believe in you, so I will also believe in you.”

Sui Ning’s mouth twitched.

What do you mean you don’t care what we just said!

Ji Hu’s reversal was too drastic, as if he had split personalities.

Sui Ning smiled slightly, her face pale: “Thank you for understanding, War God.”

Her voice was ethereal, and Ji Hu’s sword had injured her fundamentally, shattering her meridians. Xie Changzhou patiently repaired her meridians inch by inch, and even now he had only repaired half of them.

Ji Hu’s gaze fell on her, his shallow pupils silently watching her for a long time. He then slowly looked at Xie Changzhou, who was standing beside her, focusing on her healing. He suddenly laughed coldly, his laughter icy and mocking.

“How long will you be so careful about repairing her meridian? “

As soon as he spoke, the light blue divine energy rushed towards Sui Ning. Xie Changzhou’s brows and eyes sank, and he stood in front of Sui Ning, protecting her with his clear and translucent true energy and blocking Ji Hu’s divine energy firmly.

He said coldly, “Ji Hu War God, this matter is our business; please don’t bother.”

Ji Hu’s eyebrows pressed down, and he looked at him coldly with a sneer on the corner of his lips.

“I don’t want to interfere with you, but you are causing too much trouble.”

As soon as he spoke, a powerful divine energy rushed towards Xie Changzhou. The pressure of his tens of thousands of years of cultivation was unabashedly aimed at him.

Xie Changzhou remained calm, wielding his sword and meeting the attack. The black and white figures clashed fiercely in the void. Sui Ning was worried and was about to stand up, but the pain from her injured meridians made her weak, and she fell back heavily.

She looked towards the two figures in the void with concern. Xie ChangZhou’s cultivation was only at the advanced Mahayana stage, and he had just consumed a lot of his cultivation to heal her. Meanwhile, Ji Hu was a war god who had been cultivating for tens of thousands of years. How could the two of them be a match?

A loud boom was heard as a slender white figure smashed heavily into a distant stone wall. The explosive shockwave was intercepted by Ji Hu.

“Jianzun!”

Sui Ning struggled to sit up, her blood boiling as it trickled from the corner of her mouth. Suddenly, she coughed up a mouthful of blood.

“Ningning, are you okay?” Xie Changzhou got up, propping himself up with his sword. He nonchalantly wiped away the blood from the corner of his mouth, his clear and refined brows suddenly showing a hint of killing intent.

Ji Hu raised an eyebrow and said, “You’re just an advanced Mahayana stage cultivator now. I can crush you with a single finger. I have no intention of hurting you.”

Xie Changzhou pursed his lips, his pupils turning reddish. His originally cool and gentle temperament suddenly became cold and chilling.

“War God, you don’t seem to have any intention of hurting us.”

Ji Hu chuckled lightly, a playful look in the corners of his eyebrows. “You misunderstand me. I just want to help this young lady heal.”

As soon as he spoke, a powerful divine energy force rushed towards Sui Ning.

“Sui ning!” Xie Changzhou’s brows furrowed as he called out, and Du Wang responded to the call, trying to intercept him.

Ji Hu’s voice turned cold: “You think you can stop me?”

With his silvery sword by his side, clashing against Du Wang’s frosty white blade, he firmly blocked Xie Changzhou.

In just a moment, a pale blue divine energy entered Sui Ning’s body, and that powerful divine energy traveled through every inch of her meridians, forcefully repairing her damaged meridians.

Sui Ning was only in the Nascent stage, and she had just suffered a serious injury from Ji Hu. Her damaged meridians could not withstand the divine energy of an ancient war god.

She couldn’t help but cry out in pain, curling up on the chair, trembling all over, her face even paler, with beads of sweat on her forehead.

For every inch that Ji Hu’s divine energy traveled through her meridians, Sui Ning’s pain deepened until she was almost unconscious from the pain.

“Ningning!” Xie Changzhou’s eyebrows furrowed tightly, looking at Ji Hu with heavy killing intent, while Du Wang continued to attack the barrier in front of him.

Sui Ning heard the familiar voice, struggling to look at him, her eyes red and dim.

Blood oozed from the corners of Xie Changzhou’s mouth, and his white robe had a few cuts from Ji Hu’s sword just now, but he stubbornly kept his gaze fixed on her.

Sui Ning’s heart ached. She gritted her teeth to suppress the screams of pain that were difficult to restrain, her pale face covered in sweat, and her hair soaked with sweat sticking to her cheeks.

She couldn’t make a sound, and Xie Changzhou was worried. She could only grit her teeth and endure the pain that almost penetrated her bones, like a knife scraping against them.

Ji Hu withdrew the barrier, and Xie Changzhou quickly went forward to hug the curled-up Sui Ning, tremblingly saying, ‘Ningning, don’t be afraid.’ 

Sui Ning shook her head, burying her head in his arms and suppressing the low groans that were about to come out. 

Xie Changzhou’s eyes were at a loss, and he didn’t dare to use too much force to hold her. He held her weakly, watching her grit her teeth in pain, and suddenly felt a pain in his heart. 

As soon as his slender hand moved, Ji Hu, who was standing in front of them with his hands behind his back, interrupted them: ‘You need to think carefully. Our energy is mutually restrained. If you send spiritual energy to heal her now, it will only aggravate her injuries.’ 

Xie Changzhou’s hand suddenly stopped, and his throat was dry and rolling. He was speechless. 

Ji Hu looked down at Sui Ning in his arms and said, ‘I don’t easily help people, except for you and Ah Heng.’ 

His cold voice was proud and indifferent, making Sui Ning want to slap him. 

She was very impressed with herself for having the leisure to think about this at this time, but she had just had an impulse to kill the lofty Ji Hu. 

First, he injured her indiscriminately; then he injured Xie Changzhou; and now he was forcefully healing her without considering whether their mortal bodies could withstand it. 

‘You…’ 

Sui Ning’s voice was very small, weak, and almost like something she muttered to herself. 

Ji Hu didn’t hear her clearly and asked, ‘What?’ 

‘You…bastard…’ 

Her voice was still very small, but this time Ji Hu heard it clearly. 

His face suddenly turned cold, his eyebrows furrowed, and he said coldly, “I am saving you. How long will it take for your little lover to heal you like this?”

One wave of pain followed another through her meridians, and Sui Ning was too weak to argue with him. She could only tremble and bury herself in Xie Changzhou’s arms. 

Xie Changzhou held her weakly, feeling powerless for the first time. Sui Ning was in such pain in front of him, but he couldn’t do anything, not even relieve her pain.

“Sui Ning…” His voice was hoarse and dry.

Sui Ning shook her head, holding his hand tightly and burying herself in his embrace, preventing him from seeing the tears on her face.

Xie Changzhou silently embraced her shoulders, his slender hand gently patting her back, comforting her with a gesture reminiscent of how parents soothe a child.

“Tsk.” Ji Hu clicked his tongue and sheathed his sword. “Your constitution is too fragile; endure it.”

The two individuals before him had yet to exchange words. Ji Hu fell silent for a moment, seemingly realizing that he had gone too far. When he spoke again, there was a slight hint of explanation in his tone.

“I didn’t intend to harm you. Gui Ba has stirred up activity again, and a group of Immortal Masters has gathered beyond the Heavenly Boundary. You need to go and take charge of the situation as soon as possible.”

Ji Hu paused and glanced at Sui Ning. Upon seeing her trembling in Xie Changzhou’s embrace, he suddenly recalled Yan Heng.

Sui Ning and Yan Heng had nearly identical faces.

Even though Yan Heng would never display such a pale and powerless expression, seeing Sui Ning with a face resembling Yan Heng’s stirred a trace of compassion within him.

Ji Hu’s gaze shifted to the peacefully lying Yuanheng on the large bed, the surrounding curtains partially veiling him in shadow. Only a vague silhouette was visible.

After a long while, he spoke hesitantly, “I apologize.”

Having lived for tens of thousands of years, he had never apologized to anyone. His voice was dry and weak, carrying a rare touch of gentleness.

Sui Ning completely ignored him, gritting her teeth to withstand the waves of pain coursing through her body and suppressing her tears.

She was on the verge of passing out from the excruciating pain. Her clothes were soaked with sweat, and the piercing pain in her body gradually intensified. After an indeterminate amount of time, it began to subside slowly, finally dissipating entirely into tranquility.

As if her meridians had suddenly been unblocked, her spiritual energy began to circulate anew, gradually dispelling the exhaustion within her body.

Ji Hu chuckled, “Was that quicker? Much better than the healing from your little lover?”

Sui Ning breathed heavily, slowly pulling away from Xie Changzhou’s embrace. Sweat dampened her forehead.

“Sui Ning?” Xie Changzhou whispered softly, his eyes the color of glazed glass, filled with concern.

Sui Ning shook her head at him, then turned to face Ji Hu. His stern expression remained composed, his sword-bearing figure poised and dignified, his gaze slightly lowered as he looked at her, his emotions inscrutable.

A playful smile tugged at the corners of Sui Ning’s lips as she raised her hand and made a friendly gesture towards him.

Ji Hu was taken aback; his pupils slightly contracted, and his brow furrowed with confusion.

He frowned and asked, “What do you mean?”

Sui Ning got off the soft couch, smoothed her wrinkled skirt, and cast a cleansing spell on herself.

She met Ji Hu’s eyes; her brows and eyes suddenly curved, and she spoke softly, “Thank you so much.”

Ji Hu frowned and was about to speak, but Xie Changzhou interrupted him in a cold voice, saying, “War God, we need to discuss business.”

Xie Changzhou’s voice was cold and devoid of the warmth and distance of the past, and his eyes were indifferent.

Ji Hu silently locked eyes with him, his expression cold and heavy.

Neither of them spoke, and time passed by by the minute. Sui Ning couldn’t help but speak up first.

She peeked out from behind Xie Changzhou and said, “War God, do you want to talk about business, or do you want to stand off against us like this?”

It was he who was in a hurry to make her recover quickly just now, and now it was he who was wasting time without speaking.

Ji Hu turned his gaze to her and waved his hand, and a water curtain appeared in the void.

Sui Ning and Xie Changzhou looked up.

Blood and water were everywhere; the soil was stained reddish-brown, and fresh blood flowed without congealing. Demon generals with terrifying looks and blood-red eyes were eating humans alive. People in cultivator clothes were resisting stubbornly but were quickly struck down.

There were broken limbs and arms everywhere, and the ground was covered in fresh blood, with screams and howls of pain ringing out.

Xie Changzhou’s eyes darkened, his brows furrowed, and his expression became heavy.

Sui Ning’s phoenix eyes shrank, and her throat seemed to be choked with something.

Ji Hu whispered, “This is a scene sent up from the mortal realm. Demon generals from the Ghost Tribe have broken the seal of the Goddess and gone down to the mortal realm.”

Sui Ning exclaimed, “Then why don’t you send your celestial soldiers down to protect the mortal realm?”

Ji Hu shook his head with a deep chill in his eyes and said, “We have already sent someone down and discovered something else.”

He paused, his voice suddenly freezing: “The ghosts and demons have also captured a lot of people and taken them to the demon realm.”

“Why did they take those people to the demon realm? Don’t the demons eat people? Did they capture them to eat them?” 

“No, it’s not that.” Ji Hu’s body was filled with low pressure, and the hand holding the sword clenched tightly, causing the knuckles to turn white.

“The scouts we sent to the demon race said that those people didn’t die but were taken to the Wanmo Cavern.”

Wanmo Cavern?

Suddenly, Sui Ning remembered something the system had told her.

Wanmo Cavern was not originally called Wanmo Cavern. It had an extremely beautiful name: the Land of Jade Bones.

At the beginning of the creation of the heavens and the earth, the Land of Jade Bones was originally a pure land, a place where the Creator God, Yuxi, refined evil thoughts. But because it held too much evil, it was completely unable to suppress it and suffered a backlash after Yuxi’s demise. Evil spirits ran rampant, and thus it was named Wanmo Cavern.

Later, the gods continuously sacrificed their divine souls to seal Wanmo Cavern until the last god perished and Wanmo Cavern was completely sealed.

But after more than ten thousand years of quiet, Wanmo Cavern began to stir again.

Until finally, the ghosts and demons opened Wanmo Cavern and released the evil spirits inside.

Sui Ning and Xie Changzhou looked at each other, and they could see the heaviness in each other’s eyes.

Could it be that the ghosts and demons captured people for the sake of Wanmo Cavern?

Ji Hu’s face was also icy, and the low pressure around his body seemed to be condensing into frost. “Do you know what will happen if the ghosts and demons open Wanmo Cavern?”

Of course, they knew.

Countless living beings would suffer, and corpses would litter the ground.

But this is already the end.

They were powerless to change it.