ISWTDB Ch18

Chapter 18: The Disfigured and Blind Sect Leader (18)

Originally, Xiao Lie intended to wait until the next day to rest and then have Wen Renming lead them to the location of the so-called “Qingyuan Jue.”

However, he suddenly woke up in the middle of the night, unable to sleep. He was unwilling to think that all his efforts were just to fetch this treasure and hand it over to others. If he could truly obtain the “Qingyuan Jue” himself, he could monopolize it and not have to share it with anyone. He thought about killing Wen Renming afterward and deceiving the people of the Piaomiao Pavilion, perhaps he could really get away with it.

So, he tentatively dove into the lake. Unexpectedly, his luck was so good that he quickly found the black jade slip emitting a chilling light at the bottom of the pool.

Xiao Lie did not notice any creatures guarding the jade slip, assuming that the water beast was just a rumor. He eagerly grabbed the jade slip and floated to the shore. However, as soon as he reached the shore, a large beast followed him closely and launched a fierce attack on him.

Xiao Lie immediately woke all the disciples of the Piaomiao Pavilion to jointly attack the beast. But the water beast only needed to roar angrily at them, and those swept by the sound waves fainted one after another.

Perhaps due to the protagonist’s aura, Xiao Lie managed to dodge the water beast’s sound wave attacks every time. Even so, Xiao Lie was struggling to cope.

Seeing that fewer and fewer people from the Piaomiao Pavilion were conscious, Xiao Lie anxiously looked around and quickly noticed the approaching Ying Zhao and Wen Renming.

Upon seeing Wen Renming, Xiao Lie’s eyes lit up. He ran towards Wen Renming and shouted:

“Wen Renming! Think of something! This beast keeps attacking us. As a member of the Wen family, you must know some way to restrain it, right?”

Wen Renming was stunned for a moment, then shook his head at Xiao Lie. As Xiao Lie ran towards Wen Renming, the last disciple of the Piaomiao Pavilion was hit by the water beast’s sound wave. The beast then grabbed the disciple and swallowed him whole.

Seeing the dire situation, with Wen Renming still shaking his head, a surge of anger rose within Xiao Lie. He thought that in this secret realm, Wen Renming was useless except for leading the way. The vines earlier, and now the water beast – he had no solution for either. With the jade slip in hand, there was no need to keep this person around.

With this thought, a ruthless glint flashed in Xiao Lie’s eyes. He grabbed Wen Renming by the collar and threw him toward the beast, thinking that even if it only bought him some time to escape, it would be worth it.

Ying Zhao had noticed Xiao Lie’s actions and tried to stop him. But Wen Renming coincidentally leaned sideways, slipping past Ying Zhao’s grasp, and Ying Zhao grabbed nothing but air.

Ying Zhao could only watch as Wen Renming was thrown in front of the water beast. The beast bit Wen Renming’s shoulder without hesitation and flung him aside, then moved closer, as if toying with its prey.

Seeing this, Ying Zhao’s eyes reddened, and he let out a heart-wrenching scream, rushing towards Wen Renming. However, when he reached Wen Renming, he was already a bloody mess.

Ying Zhao felt his whole body trembling with rage, glaring fiercely at the water beast that had harmed Wen Renming. He stood up, quickly drew the Frost Snow from his waist, but instead of attacking the beast, he thrust the Frost Snow into the lake opposite.

Ying Zhao then recited a secret incantation known only to the Ying family. The entire lake froze instantly, and the water beast, half-submerged in the lake, was frozen inch by inch. It didn’t even have time to let out a wail before it was turned into a large block of ice.

Ying Zhao swiftly made a few hand gestures, and with his commands, the Frost Snow shattered the frozen lake, emerged from the water, and instantly broke the frozen water beast into pieces.

The beast shattered into bloody fragments, scattering everywhere. Xiao Lie, who was planning to escape, was stunned by the scene before him. In the eyes of the Piaomiao Pavilion, Ying Zhao was not considered a highly skilled individual. But when facing a beast that everyone struggled to subdue, he could handle it so easily and end the battle in such a manner.

In reality, Ying Zhao’s power was indeed suppressed in this small world, so if he had to wrestle with the beast, it would still take some time. But fortunately, the beast was in the water, and Ying Yunping’s natal artifact, Frost Snow, worked effectively, allowing Ying Zhao to eliminate the water beast effortlessly.

However, Ying Zhao had no time to care about Xiao Lie’s thoughts. He hurried back to Wen Renming, urgently calling out:

“Wen Renming! How are you? Answer me!”

Seeing the bleeding hole in Wen Renming’s shoulder and his paper-white face, Ying Zhao’s eyes turned red. He worried about Wen Renming’s safety while turning his head to glare fiercely at Xiao Lie.

He remembered that it was Xiao Lie who had thrown Wen Renming in front of the beast, causing such severe injuries to his beloved.

At this moment, Xiao Lie had just snapped out of his shock at seeing the beast shattered. He saw Ying Zhao’s red eyes and smirked.

Now, with the jade slip in his hand, he thought that as long as the jade slip recognized him as its master, he would obtain the most profound cultivation method in the cultivation world. Although Ying Yunping seemed powerful just now, it was only because his artifact’s attribute happened to restrain the beast.

Thinking this, Xiao Lie felt a surge of pride. He ignored Ying Zhao’s gaze and walked straight towards him. Glancing at the bloodied and collapsed Wen Renming, he sneered and said:

“A waste is a waste, Yunping, he’s not worth your sorrow! Besides, don’t forget what the master instructed us before entering the secret realm. Now that Wen Renming is useless, we might as well let him disappear from here!”

As Xiao Lie spoke, he raised his sword to strike Wen Renming, but the sword was knocked to the ground by Ying Zhao’s Frost Snow as soon as he raised it.

At this moment, Xiao Lie had completely enraged Ying Zhao. Unable to contain his anger, a faint glow appeared around him, unknowingly activating a portion of his innate power.

Ying Zhao mercilessly struck Xiao Lie with a palm, sending him flying and spitting blood.

Xiao Lie fell to the ground, looking at Ying Zhao in disbelief. Compared to his own cultivation level, Ying Yunping’s was much lower. He had reached the late Golden Core stage, so how could he not withstand a single blow from Ying Yunping? But before Xiao Lie could figure it out, Ying Zhao quickly attacked him again.

Ying Zhao discarded Frost Snow and used his fists to brutally pummelled Xiao Lie. Each punch landed on Xiao Lie’s face, and he felt the bones in his face shatter under the blows, while his teeth fell out one by one during the relentless beating.

His mouth filled with blood, yet he couldn’t evade the onslaught. He had to muster all his strength to counter Ying Zhao, who immediately sensed a strong force emanating from Xiao Lie.

This sudden surge of power allowed Xiao Lie to withstand a few of Ying Zhao’s moves. Ying Zhao was momentarily surprised but did not dwell on it.

He sensed the secret realm trembling slightly, indicating that the Heavenly Dao had detected his use of his innate power. Therefore, he needed to finish the fight quickly to avoid being expelled from the small world.

Without further delay, Ying Zhao gathered a powerful force in his fist and delivered a heavy punch to Xiao Lie’s chest.

This punch pierced through Xiao Lie’s body, leaving a large hole in his chest. Xiao Lie collapsed to the ground, his face twisted in a grimace, and stopped breathing.

At the moment of Xiao Lie’s death, his body suddenly shriveled up like a withered husk. Ying Zhao frowned and blinked, leaning closer to Xiao Lie, recalling how he had woken up so quickly and his sudden breakthrough in cultivation upon entering the secret realm.

It seemed that whatever Nan Zheng had given Xiao Lie was certainly not anything good. Xiao Lie’s essence had long been drained by something unknown, and the power he had unleashed was merely the result of burning through his remaining life force.

After Xiao Lie’s death, the glow around Ying Zhao dissipated instantly. He turned around and saw the unconscious disciples of the Piaomiao Pavilion lying on the ground. With an expressionless face, he stepped over them and rushed back to Wen Renming’s side.

Seeing Wen Renming looking at him with a shocked expression, Ying Zhao felt no need to explain himself, nor did he regret killing the person who had harmed his beloved.

Ying Zhao only cared about Wen Renming’s condition. He hurriedly retrieved all the healing medicines from his Qiankun bag and anxiously fed them to Wen Renming.

However, no matter how much medicine he took, the bleeding from his wound did not stop. Ying Zhao began to panic and kept muttering to himself:

“How can this be? Why can’t the bleeding stop even after taking so much medicine?”

Hearing Ying Zhao’s words, Wen Renming gave a bitter smile and, with great effort, gasped:

“Yunping, don’t bother anymore. The water beast’s teeth are poisonous, and ordinary spiritual medicines can’t save me. Yunping, I’m dying. The ‘Qingyuan Jue’ must have been taken by Xiao Lie, and it is now on his body. Take the ‘Qingyuan Jue’ and leave. Don’t worry about me anymore. But before I die, I still want to know. Yunping, do you have any genuine feelings for me? Even a little bit of true affection, I just want to hear the truth right now!”