Yan Ling, drunk and groggy, sensed someone hooking his precious bead. Displeased, he yanked it away, muttering: “Don’t touch!”
In front of so many people, Xi Jue forcibly suppressed his irritability, not directly exploding.
The nine made a ruckus all evening until the middle of the night before returning to their respective quarters.
Xi Jue without half a word of nonsense yanked Yan Ling, activating ‘Wheresoever I Roam’ to instantly return to Yan Ling’s quarters.
Yan Ling only felt dizzying spinning. Falling to the side, he toppled onto the bed, groggily saying: “Sheng Jiao, um, gege I’m dizzy.”
Xi Jue sat displeased on the bed edge, pinching Yan Ling’s small face: “Are you a silly boy? Whatever others give, you accept?!”
If Sheng Jiao had given another Tianyan Pearl, Xi Jue definitely wouldn’t have such a big reaction. But as luck would have it, Sheng Jiao gave his life pearl—equivalent to openly telling Yan Ling “I have feelings for you.”
But back at the academy, that dog Sheng Jiao hadn’t shown Yan Ling even the slightest strange affection.
Childhood friends growing up together, classmate affection—when the hell did it turn sour?!
Xi Jue was about to go mad with anger.
If this question were asked to Sheng Jiao, he probably couldn’t answer it himself.
Perhaps it was their lifelong acquaintance and understanding, maybe the longing lasting three years, or that stunning glance when they reunited.
Young people’s affections—where could there be clear boundaries? All came from the heart.
Yan Ling was already drunk and groggy, lying on the bed humming non-stop.
Xi Jue, furious, flicked his sleeves wanting to leave. But worried he’d have an accident drunk and alone, he could only pull down the bed curtain, sitting alone in the outer chamber’s chair to watch over him.
One, watching over Yan Ling. Two, worried some dog with undying thieving heart would come over during the night.
Sure enough, before long, footsteps sounded outside the door.
Sheng Jiao pushed the door and entered. Seeing Xi Jue sitting there with crossed legs, he raised his brows slightly: “Where’s Yan Ling?”
“Sleeping.” Xi Jue said half-smiling: “Lord Sheng acts magnanimous like a gentleman before Ling’er, but privately in the dead of night barges into someone’s quarters—so openly. Don’t you feel this violates the gentleman’s way?”
Sheng Jiao looked at him coldly: “Feng Yu and Fu Man instructed me not to let him leave my sight, lest he be possessed.”
Xi Jue sneered: “Who knows if you’re privately harboring ill intent?”
Sheng Jiao was too lazy to stoop to his level, raising his step to go inside.
Xi Jue was angered senseless by his ease and familiarity. Directly waving spiritual power over: “Today with me here, don’t think of getting close to Yan Ling!”
“I really don’t understand what you’re wary of.” Sheng Jiao said flatly. “Could I really snatch him away to the horizon?”
Xi Jue said expressionlessly: “Do you remember why Ling’er didn’t come to Zhuxing House last year for the gathering?”
Sheng Jiao: “What?”
“The snow lotus he carefully nurtured for over a year was ruined by a ‘beast’ in the mountain forest.” Xi Jue’s words had hidden meaning, saying sarcastically: “At that time, Ling’er was so angry he didn’t even come to the gathering—chased and killed it for three days and nights with his sword.”
Sheng Jiao: “…”
Yan Ling was Xi Jue’s snow lotus. Watching it about to be ruined by the one surnamed Sheng—how could he not be furious?
Seeing Sheng Jiao silent, Xi Jue sneered, pointing at him: “Stop laying your hands on him. Yin-yang intercourse is the proper way. After his capping ceremony, I’ll seek suitable female cultivators throughout the Thirteen States for him to become dao companions. Hurry and kill this thought. If you withdraw in time, Ling’er’s children in the future could still reluctantly call you uncle.”
Sheng Jiao: “…”
Sheng Jiao was silent for a long while before smiling faintly: “These words—he must say them to me himself before I’ll truly give up.”
But Xi Jue said: “Then do you dare tell him those filthy thoughts of yours? Aren’t you afraid he’ll find you disgusting?”
Sheng Jiao froze slightly.
Xi Jue, seeing him retreat, sneered.
Nothing more than this.
Just as the two confronted each other, faint sounds of water droplets falling came from the inner chamber, accompanied by a strong bloody smell.
Sheng Jiao vaguely sensed something wrong, instantly rushing into the inner chamber. But his foot had just stepped in when he felt a strange, eerie coldness spread throughout his body.
He looked in shock. In the originally pitch-black inner chamber, an ominous crimson spread. Yan Ling, wearing snow-white underclothes, stood in the very center, long hair hanging loose to his waist, expressionlessly extending his hand.
His wrist had already been cut with a gruesome wound. Blood continuously surged out but didn’t drip. Instead, pulled by an invisible force, it spread little by little all around.
Where each drop of blood fell, it slowly condensed into intricate circles and runes. Looking closely, it was precisely the array Yan Ling had inadvertently drawn yesterday.
—The sacrificial array.
Golden patterns flashed in Yan Ling’s pupils. He expressionlessly watched Xi Jue and Sheng Jiao, his voice low and hoarse, mixed with strange sounds as if from another world.
“The time has come.”
The Thirteen States’ earth veins were about to deplete. The Spirit-grade xiangwen raised for seven or eight years had finally reached “maturity.”
Once the sacrificial array was complete, the three Spirit-grade xiangwen would merge into the Tianyan earth veins, once again condensing into true Tianyan origin, continuously generating Tianyan spiritual power to maintain the xiangwen of the Thirteen States.
Tianyan originally planned to take them for sacrifice on Xi Jue’s capping ceremony day. But Tianyan’s consumption speed grew worse each day. If more spiritual power nurtured Sheng Jiao and Xi Jue to break through to Spirit Transformation Realm, the Tianyan origin would probably instantly dissipate from the world.
Unripe fruit had ripened.
The young birds for sacrifice just needed their wings directly severed—no need to mature fully.
Xi Jue’s face turned deathly pale, looking at Yan Ling in the crimson array. He wanted to activate ‘Wheresoever I Roam’ to snatch him from the array, but just as he moved, Sheng Jiao stopped him.
“Don’t come over! Don’t go in either!”
Xi Jue raged: “Don’t order me! Why should I listen to you?!”
Before Sheng Jiao could speak, the belatedly arriving Fu Man said hurriedly: “Don’t approach—that’s a sacrificial array! Xiangwen are useless inside! Do you also want to be caught in it?!”
Seeing Xi Jue still about to rush in, Fu Man grabbed Xi Jue’s waist and pulled back. Even getting elbowed twice, he bore it without complaint. Finally, the others who’d arrived forcibly held him down.
Sheng Jiao had already half-stepped into the not-yet-complete array. Unable to escape now, he forcibly activated spiritual power, struggling toward Yan Ling’s direction.
The array constantly absorbed Tianyan spiritual power from Sheng Jiao. Even the Tianyan Pearls trembled violently.
Yan Ling stood in the very center of the array with vacant eyes.
That should be the array’s eye, also the first place to be sacrificed. The gruesome wound on his wrist still dripped copious blood. If the array fully formed, perhaps Yan Ling would also lose his life from excessive blood loss.
Can’t let the array complete—otherwise both would die here.
Within the array, every step was difficult, like stepping in a quagmire. Each step seemed about to sink in. The coldness of gradually losing vitality and xiangwen crept up Sheng Jiao’s back.
He gritted his teeth tightly, walking step by step. Finally, when the array was mostly complete, he lunged to Yan Ling’s side, embracing him in one motion.
Yan Ling’s still-bleeding hand suddenly dropped. Face numb, he was held in Sheng Jiao’s embrace.
Sheng Jiao’s face deathly pale, with trembling hands wrapped cloth around Yan Ling’s wrist, crudely stopping the bleeding.
“Yan Ling? Yan Ling!”
Yan Ling was expressionless, like a controlled puppet. Only his eyes still retained golden patterns.
The Zhuxing House people sensed something wrong. They’d already arrived one after another. Seeing this, they rarely didn’t know what to do.
Liu Changxing was reckless. Seeing this, he pushed others aside, directly taking out his sword to slash with full force at that strange array.
Nascent Soul cultivation’s full-force strike could almost cleave a mountain peak in half. But thundering down on that illusory array, it nearly shattered his life sword.
The sword intent hummed continuously.
Liu Changxing was numbed from the shock, nearly trembling along with his sword, stammering: “Looks—looks like—brute—brute force doesn’t—doesn’t work…”
wannaberecluse On SRTT Chapter 98.2