Chu Lingwei’s expression tightened. The young man’s cultivation was very high, and the power of his spiritual energy was so strong that she could feel the oppressive force even through a barrier.
“Husband, what are you doing?”
Su Qing saw her husband about to kill Chu Lingwei and spread her arms, shielding Chu Lingwei. “If you want to kill her, kill me first.”
The young man saw Su Qing’s action and his face contorted in rage, his eyes turning bloodshot. “Su Qing, move aside.”
“I won’t. I won’t let you kill innocent people here,” Su Qing shook her head and took a step forward. “Husband, kill me.”
Chu Lingwei had already gathered her spiritual energy. As long as the young man made a move, she could fight back at any time.
The reason she hadn’t attacked first was that they might be within Su Qing’s illusion. As long as they didn’t move, she couldn’t act rashly.
“Su Qing, how can you be so foolish? This will harm yourself,” the young man said, full of disappointment. “This is a cultivation world. Trusting others too much will only lead to a faster death.”
“Husband, cultivation doesn’t have to be about killing, right?” Su Qing’s tears flowed silently, a smile appearing on her lips. “Unfortunately, I only understood this truth when I was dying. Is it too late?”
Hearing this, Chu Lingwei knew something was wrong and quickly retreated.
At this moment, Su Qing turned her head, hatred in her eyes, staring intently at Chu Lingwei. “Tell me, Fellow Daoist Chu, in the cultivation world, one cannot be too kind, right?”
“That’s not true.” Chu Lingwei felt the entire valley changing. The young man outside the barrier remained still, his eyes still filled with anger. This might be how he looked before he died.
“It’s not true. If I hadn’t naively trusted that person, I wouldn’t have been trapped here for thousands of years,” Su Qing burst into laughter, tears of blood streaming down her face. “Why did I only understand this truth now? I’m so unwilling.”
“Are you Su Qing?” Chu Lingwei slowly retreated, her hand behind her back quickly forming hand seals. As she saw barriers appear beneath her feet, Chu Lingwei’s gaze became firm. “Do you know, there’s another Su Qing outside, who has now turned into a giant ape?”
Hearing that there was another Su Qing outside, Su Qing’s body trembled. “There’s another Su Qing outside? How is that possible?”
“So, who exactly are you?” Chu Lingwei saw that the barrier had been successfully set up. The Bing Yu Han Shuang sword in her hand unleashed ten thousand streaks of spiritual energy, striking the barrier on the ground and encircling Su Qing.
“As expected, I shouldn’t have trusted anyone.” Su Qing’s body was trapped, the confusion in her eyes dissipated. She glared hatefully at Chu Lingwei. “My husband was right. You really deserve to die.”
“No, it’s not that you shouldn’t trust anyone, but that you don’t distinguish right from wrong, good from evil. In short, you’re brainless.”
Those who deserve pity have their hateful aspects. She finally understood why Su Qing’s nightly tribulations were so powerful. It seemed she had refined the souls of countless cultivators.
For a residual soul to materialize, a price must have been paid.
Besides herself, many other cultivators must have come here.
“Disperse.”
Chu Lingwei’s eyes turned cold. No matter what had happened to Su Qing before, today, it was a fight to the death.
Feng Ming’s body instantly grew several times larger and flew into the air, spitting Netherfire at Su Qing.
The Illusion Cat leaped behind Su Qing, continuously creating barriers to trap it. Whether it was a residual soul or something else, it couldn’t escape the confinement.
“Ah!”
Su Qing screamed and lunged towards Chu Lingwei.
“Excellent timing.” Chu Lingwei flew forward to meet the attack. With the Nine Heavens Nine Styles, her spiritual energy transformed into a colossal dragon, striking Su Qing’s body.
“How is this possible? How could I possibly hit my own body?”
Su Qing’s body was repelled, crashing heavily onto the ground, significantly weakened.
“To leave this place, I must kill you, right?” Chu Lingwei walked up to Su Qing. This was the barrier she had set up with her last ounce of soul power. To break through, she had to be killed.
“You can’t kill me.”
Su Qing tried to struggle to her feet and laughed. “No one can kill me.”
Chu Lingwei ignored her and, using her spatial power, unleashed the Xuan Tian Burning Fire, sending overwhelming spiritual energy towards Su Qing again.
“Ah.”
“Ugh.”
A human cry and a screech. Chu Lingwei felt a residual soul turn to dust, yet the barrier they were in did not dissipate.
“So it was you.”
Chu Lingwei looked at the giant ape擎天 (Qingtian) before her, a flash of surprise in her eyes. However, she quickly understood. “You are the giant ape Qingtian.”
“Yes, I am Su Qing’s innate spirit beast,” the giant ape Qingtian said with a calm, bitter gaze. “My master wanted to live and occupied my body, which is the Su Qing you saw.”
“Do you hate her?”
Only with an obsession in one’s heart could such a powerful illusionary barrier be created.
“I don’t hate her.” The giant ape Qingtian shook its head. It was Su Qing’s spirit beast. Even if she took its body and its life, it would not hate her. “Is she doing well now?”
Chu Lingwei thought of Su Qing. She was probably doing well now. At least, her goal was achieved, and she was alive.
“She is alive.”
“That’s good.” The giant ape Qingtian smiled. “The illusion you were just in was Su Qing’s obsession. She was killed here and parted from her husband forever. It was I who extracted her obsession.”
Chu Lingwei let out a light chuckle. Only a ghost would believe that.
“How can we leave this place?”
“I can let you leave.” The giant ape Qingtian stared into the distance. “However, after you leave, you cannot tell anyone about what happened here.”
“I’m sorry, I’m afraid we can’t do that.”
Even if it was Su Qing’s spirit beast, it had harmed many people. To expect her to let it go was simply wishful thinking.
“What are you going to do?” The giant ape Qingtian’s expression jolted, and it quickly retreated. “Even if you kill me, you won’t be able to leave this place.”
“Only by trying will we know.”
As Chu Lingwei spoke, the Bing Yu Han Shuang sword pierced the center of the giant ape Qingtian’s forehead. A hint of terror appeared in the giant ape Qingtian’s eyes, and it instantly dissolved.
As the giant ape Qingtian dissipated, the valley they were in began to change.
All the spiritual herbs, medicinal plants, and the river slowly lost their color. Even the young man standing outside the barrier, like sand, scattered with the wind.
“Weiwei, be careful.”
Feng Ming blocked the venomous bees that attacked them. Chu Lingwei, holding the Illusion Cat, dodged to the side. Before them, a large swarm of fourth-tier venomous spirit bees charged towards them.
The dense mass of hundreds, even thousands, of venomous spirit bees sent a shiver down Chu Lingwei’s spine.
These were the most difficult spirit beasts to deal with. A single sting would cause excruciating pain throughout the body.
Chu Lingwei used her spatial power to set up an invisibility barrier, and the person and two beasts hid in a corner, watching the venomous spirit bees fly past them.
“Are these the venomous spirit bees we encountered when we entered the secret realm?” Feng Ming blinked his eyes. These venomous spirit bees looked so familiar?