Jun Xiaomo continued to trudge along within the spirit tool, searching for any traces of Rong Ruihan she could find. Every single step that she took felt incredibly painful and arduous.As time continued to trickle by, her heart began to sink deeper and deeper into the mires of despondence.She was unsure of whether Rong Ruihan had already torn off the Invisibility Talisman on his body. If not, Rong Ruihan would still be relatively safe for now. However, this would also make it much more difficult for Jun Xiaomo to locate Rong Ruihan. After all, she was unable to see Rong Ruihan nor sense the aura emanating from his body. Thus, she could only trudge along aimlessly throughout the domain of the spirit tool as she continued to call out Rong Ruihan's name, hoping and praying that he would respond to her.Unfortunately, despite forging ahead for a long time, her surroundings were still enshrouded in pitch-black darkness, and faint whiffs of blood stench persistently a.s.saulted her olfactory senses from all directions.She was suddenly overwhelmed by a sense of abject dread, loneliness and despondence. These feelings began to wrap tightly around her spirit, causing her chest to feel heavy and burdened, as though a ma.s.sive rock were weighing on her chest. Her breathing began to grow ragged and shallow.Some time ago, when she thought she lost Ye Xiuwen to the Death's Gorge, she had spent the better part of two years waiting expectantly for his return. However, she was saved from the mires of despondence at that time because her loving family and friends stood beside her, showering her with care, allowing her to experience warmth and hope once more. Building on this foundation of hope, she steeled her heart and firmly believed that Ye Xiuwen would one day gain the ability to escape from the clutches of the Death's Gorge and return to the surface once more.Then, she was tossed into the Proving Grounds by her Master, Tong Ruizhen. There, she would apportion her time learning the disciplines of formation arrays and talismans while she battled with the curious creatures contained therein. Isolated from the rest of the world, Jun Xiaomo spent over three-hundred arduous years within the Proving Grounds. However, she hardly felt a shred of despondence there because she knew that her friends and family were all waiting for her return outside the Proving Grounds, eagerly antic.i.p.ating the fruit of her labour and their reunion.But right now, as she stood alone and took in the boundless darkness stretching out endlessly before her in all directions, hearing nothing but the echoes of her own voice, the desolation of her isolation began to blanket and envelop her, amplifying the magnitude of loneliness and despondence within her heart.She felt incredibly despondent because she was unable to locate any traces of Rong Ruihan no matter what she did; and she felt incredibly lonely because she feared that she would be awaiting the very real prospects of death, all alone.That's right. Once Rong Ruihan vanished from sight, Jun Xiaomo began to lose hope that she could ever escape from the domain of the spirit tool, because she no longer had the heart to “rescue herself”.Her only hope lay with her martial brothers who were outside of the spirit tool's domain right now. That said, what were the prospects of that? Given Dai Yanfeng's character, he might not even consider releasing both Brother Rong and her even if her martial brothers were able to defeat Dai Yanfeng and reduce him to his final breaths.After all, she was well aware of the extent to which Dai Yanfeng hated both her and Brother Rong. This was akin to the hatred she experienced when she first learnt that someone had murdered the child within her womb back in her previous life. Any parent that loved their child would never be able to tolerate and suppress the fury in their hearts when their child was harmed by another.Notwithstanding that it was Dai Yue who had first attempted to take Jun Xiaomo's life, and was thus the instigator and perpetrator on all accounts, Jun Xiaomo would nevertheless have committed an unforgivable atrocity in Dai Yanfeng's eyes.Right now, the only thought on Jun Xiaomo's heart was to locate Rong Ruihan. As for whether she could escape the domain of the spirit tool, these were outside of her ambit of considerations. For now, she was content leaving that much to fate.“Brother Rong!” Jun Xiaomo yelled into the pitch-black surroundings, yet she heard no response whatsoever.Just then, the Nightgleam Pearl worn around Jun Xiaomo's neck flickered and began to glow once more, illuminating the corners of her garments – the Invisibility Talisman on her body had finally expired once more!Jun Xiaomo only had two Invisibility Talismans remaining within her Interspatial Ring. Her original intention was to leave one for Rong Ruihan and use the other for herself. That way, both of them would be able to elude the spirit tool's attacks for a period of another four hours.Whoos.h.!.+ A fireball rushed straight towards Jun Xiaomo, and she swiftly avoided its trajectory.The fireball vanished instantly when it struck the ground. Jun Xiaomo looked vacantly at the place where the fireball had vanished into. Then, with a grimace on her lips, she made her resolve.She no longer applied the next Invisibility Talisman on her own body. Instead, she began to fend off the fireb.a.l.l.s as she rushed straight towards the location of spirit tool's domain where the fireb.a.l.l.s' attacks were the most concentrated at!Rong Ruihan had previously mentioned that the fireb.a.l.l.s would generally only attack a single person. By extension, if she used her Invisibility Talisman right now, Rong Ruihan would most certainly receive the full brunt of the spirit tool's attacks on his own.Thus, she chose not to apply the next Invisibility Talisman on her own body so that she could expose herself to the fireb.a.l.l.s' attacks. This way, she could divert some of the spirit tool's attacks away from Rong Ruihan, and at the same time determine where Rong Ruihan was located based on the location of the fireb.a.l.l.s' attacks.After thinking through these thoughts, Jun Xiaomo rushed valiantly towards where the fireb.a.l.l.s were most concentrated, pursuing the firm thread of belief on her heart.Outside, Ye Xiuwen suddenly opened his eyes and gazed straight into the spirit tool.His eyes were cold, deep and abstruse. A trace of vile, almost-corporeal emotions could be seen swirling viscously in the depths of his eyes, almost like a slow-moving whirlpool. Unfortunately, n.o.body recognized the source of the peculiarity in his eyes right now.Zhang Shuyue was still lingering about beside Ye Xiuwen at this moment. Her earlier probative advances were merely met with no more than a dispa.s.sionate glance from Ye Xiuwen. Thus, growing emboldened, she brazenly took her seat right beside Ye Xiuwen.That said, it was evident that Ye Xiuwen had simply turned a blind eye to her actions. Ever since she minced her way over to Ye Xiuwen's side, he had simply shut his eyes dispa.s.sionately, as though shutting himself off to the rest of the world. Nothing she said or did attracted any form of reaction from him.The Heavenly Peak disciples were incensed by this new development. One of the disciples even strode up to Zhang Shuyue in a huff, calling her a vicious, poisonous snake as he pointed straight at her face. Was she not satisfied with stumbling and murdering their Martial Brother Zhou? Was she really intent on taking Ye Xiuwen's life as well?!However, Zhang Shuyue simply chuckled coquettishly as she gingerly wrapped her arm around Ye Xiuwen's firm, st.u.r.dy waist. Then, leaning her face gently on Ye Xiuwen's arm, she glanced furtively at the Heavenly Peak disciple and quipped, “Brother Ye hasn't said anything about my advances, so why are you getting so mad? Jun Xiaomo is greedy and promiscuous, and she'd gone out searching for another man despite already having earned Brother Ye's heart. Certainly, you can call me opportunistic for worming my way into Ye Xiuwen's heart while he's hurting from Jun Xiaomo's betrayal. But everything is still Jun Xiaomo's fault when all is said and done. There's no reason to blame me, is there? Furthermore, you allege that I'm going to hurt or even take Brother Ye's life – but why would I? I'm far better than women like Jun Xiaomo. At the very least, my love for Brother Ye has never changed once…Brother Ye, don't you agree?”Ye Xiuwen glanced over at her languidly, before shutting his eyes without giving any form of response whatsoever. However, Zhang Shuyue was hardly disheartened at all.She found Ye Xiuwen's present att.i.tude towards her much better than it had ever been. At the very least, he was no longer looking out for Jun Xiaomo at every turn.At this moment, she firmly believed that she would most certainly be able to win over Ye Xiuwen's heart as long as she had enough time.As for Jun Xiaomo, she can perish within the spirit tool for all I care. Just like what Ye Xiuwen said earlier, both she and Rong Ruihan can go become a pair of lovebirds in the depths of h.e.l.l together!Just then, Ye Xiuwen opened his eyes once more, but his attention was not on Zhang Shuyue.He had just discovered traces of Jun Xiaomo's aura within the spirit tool once more. Furthermore, he had also detected traces of Jun Xiaomo's suitor, Rong Ruihan.Ye Xiuwen glared coldly at the spirit tool in his hands. it was evident that his heart was roiling with indescribable emotions.Zhang Shuyue noticed Ye Xiuwen staring at the spirit tool in his hands as soon as he opened his eyes, and she immediately began to grow anxious that Ye Xiuwen's heart would soften; that he would release Jun Xiaomo.If that happened, she would no longer have a place beside Ye Xiuwen anymore.A vicious, hateful gleam flickered across the depths of her eyes, and Zhang Shuyue did everything she could to adjust her expressions before leaning into Ye Xiuwen's arms once more. Then, gently placing her palm over Ye Xiuwen's arm that was holding the spirit tool, she expressed with some measure of anguish, “Brother Ye, stop wasting your spirits on women like Jun Xiaomo – it's not worth it. Look at her. She's willing to do so much – to sacrifice so much – for that man, yet has she ever considered your feelings at all? I know that you're not willing to see her suffer. However, if you simply release them right now, aren't you essentially giving them your blessings?”Ye Xiuwen finally turned his attention away from the spirit tool in his hands and looked at Zhang Shuyue.In fact, Ye Xiuwen was staring straight into Zhang Shuyue's eyes right now, causing Zhang Shuyue's face to flush bashfully as she subconsciously tightened her grip around Ye Xiuwen's arm.Then, without any warning, Ye Xiuwen curled his lips into a smile. This smile was ostensibly laced with vicious intentions, and Zhang Shuyue was momentarily dazed when she saw it.As he continued to gaze deeply into her eyes, he stretched out his hand and gently lifted Zhang Shuyue's chin, before leaning closer and whispering, “Would you like to watch a good show?”“Good…good show?” Zhang Shuyue's heart was all over the place right now. Their present proximity and the intense scent of Ye Xiuwen's fragrance had sent her mind spinning.Ye Xiuwen's bold actions had caused her to brace herself as she eagerly antic.i.p.ated a kiss from him, and her mind was already thinking about how she would react when that happened.However, Ye Xiuwen released her in no time. Then, with the flick of his sleeves, a projection instantly appeared right above the spirit tool. The projection was completely dark. At first glance, nothing could be seen at all.That said, looking at the spirit tool in Ye Xiuwen's hands, Zhang Shuyue knew better. She searched expectantly at the projection, and she finally barely made out Jun Xiaomo's characteristically striking-red garments in the dark.Jun Xiaomo appeared to be in a tragic state. It was evident that there were even parts of her body that were charred and burnt, having been struck by the fireb.a.l.l.s from the spirit tool.“Brother Rong!” Jun Xiaomo dashed ahead as she continued to avoid the fireb.a.l.l.s hurtling towards her. Unfortunately, she slipped up slightly in her eagerness to reach Rong Ruihan, and a fireball struck her squarely on her arm.Instantly, her arm was burnt, and a gory chunk of flesh was completely melted off her skin.That said, she did not appear to feel any pain at all. Instead, she rushed straight into her target as innumerable fireb.a.l.l.s continued to hurtle after them. With an arm around him, she leapt to the side, barely avoiding the potentially fatal barrage of fireb.a.l.l.s.Jun Xiaomo's Nightgleam Pearl fell off her neck, illuminating the appearances of the man in her bosom for a single, fleeting moment. Even though Zhang Shuyue desperately wanted Jun Xiaomo to perish, she couldn't help but be astonished by the man's appearances right now.Half of his face had already been melted off by the fireb.a.l.l.s, leaving only the other half of his face intact – barely enough to identify who the man was.Zhang Shuyue felt a pang of nausea shoot up from her belly. That man had clearly been disfigured, yet Jun Xiaomo continued to embrace him without letting go. Was there something wrong with Jun Xiaomo's mind?!Regardless, Zhang Shuyue turned to look victoriously at Ye Xiuwen as she exclaimed in her heart – That's great. Feast your eyes on this, Brother Ye. Lap it all up, because your heart is going to be mine soon.Jun Xiaomo, do carry on as you please!
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