18: Safety, Cultivation and Care

Chirp—

A magnificent giant eagle with a wingspan exceeding five meters soared up like a phoenix.

The phoenix spread its wings.

Brilliant golden light shone dazzlingly above the forest.

That was the light emitted by flames condensed into a physical form!

Soul power, soul rings, all converged into the Golden Flame Eagle's body.

This single strike used up everything Su Ye had!

In the blink of an eye.

The golden giant eagle suddenly swooped down, attacking the Blood煞 Doom Markings.

Its wings carved out sizzling sparks in the void, and the terrifying flame power seemed to melt everything in its path.

Sensing danger, the Blood煞 Doom Markings wanted to dodge, but the Golden Flame Eagle's speed was simply too fast.

Offense and defense reversed; at this moment, the Blood煞 Doom Markings became the prey.

Boom!

The Golden Flame Eagle collided with the Blood煞 Doom Markings, and an extremely magnificent flame vortex with a diameter exceeding ten meters completely enveloped the latter.

The flames transformed into astonishing impact, and the mere spreading aftershocks ignited the vegetation within a radius of several dozen meters.

Su Ye was extremely weak at this moment, thrown back by the flames without any strength to resist, blood staining his sturdy chest.

"Su Ye!!"

Zhu Zhuqing quickly leaped up, wanting to catch him.

However, under the impact of the flames, the two of them could only be thrown backward together.

Zhu Zhuqing, who was used as a cushion, let out a painful muffled groan, while Su Ye's low roar echoed in her ears.

"Go—"

"You...?!"

The desolate voice was like a candlelight in the twelfth lunar month, ready to extinguish at any moment, which made Zhu Zhuqing's heart tighten.

She looked closely.

The young man's cheeks were sunken, his aura weak, and he was convulsing violently from pain.

Spiderweb-like blue veins bulged on his bare chest, and in many places, blood had even cracked open, a shocking sight.

It looked like...

His whole person seemed about to fall apart, barely clinging to life by a few breaths.

Even when he escaped from a Soul Emperor last time and suffered damaged meridians from the Netherworld Hundred Claws, his situation had never been this bad.

"I heard you—"

"Go, I'll take you now—"

Seeing the young man still muttering, urging her to leave, Zhu Zhuqing felt as if her heart was being cut by a knife, tears streamed down her face, and she quickly hugged him and fled into the woods behind.

Behind them, a fierce roar came from the center of the sea of fire where the Blood煞 Doom Markings was.

But it seemed to be firmly trapped by something, unable to escape, and could only endure the pain of being burned by the flames.

In the flames, the deafening roar gradually turned into a mournful low growl...

...

Two days later.

A quiet village.

Wooden houses built with thatched roofs dotted the valley like ancient artworks.

Working at sunrise, resting at sunset.

Cooking smoke curled up, and the smell of food spread through the village; it was time for lunch again.

"When cooking porridge, you can't make it too thick; if it's too thick, it will block his throat, and it's hard to feed him while he's unconscious."

"But it can't be too thin either; if it's too thin, he'll urinate more frequently, which is troublesome to take care of. You must remember this..."

In the small courtyard with a brushwood gate, an old voice echoed from the kitchen.

An old woman wrapped in a headscarf was teaching the girl in black how to cook porridge; her kind and friendly face was like a warm sun, making people feel comfortable in their hearts.

However, upon hearing the words "urinate more," the girl's cheeks couldn't help but flush slightly, and she secretly gritted her teeth.

"The porridge that was just cooked is still a bit hot. Scoop out a bowl first so it cools down quickly."

"If he wakes up and wants to eat, just scoop it with a spoon and blow on it. His body can't handle it if it's too hot right now."

The porridge was almost ready, and after the old woman finished her earnest instructions, she leaned on her cane and left with peace of mind.

Zhu Zhuqing gratefully escorted the old woman to the wooden house across the way before returning to the small courtyard and getting busy following her instructions.

In the main house.

Light shone in through the paper-covered window, bright and dazzling, as if trying to enter his pupils through his eyelids.

Su Ye, who had been unconscious for two days, finally managed to open his eyes at this moment.

The scattered light of intelligence quickly gathered in his eyes.

"...Where is this?"

Turning his head to look around at everything, Su Ye's memory was still in the Star Dou Great Forest at this moment, and his face showed confusion.

He wanted to get up, but he couldn't muster any strength in his whole body; even his arm could only be slightly lifted.

Realizing that his physical condition was extremely poor, he lay back down helplessly.

But feeling the pain in his body, Su Ye's heart relaxed; having pain meant he was still alive.

"It's good to be alive!"

"If other things are lost, they can be regained, but life only comes once."

Su Ye comforted himself in this way.

But thinking of what happened in the Star Dou Great Forest, he couldn't help but tremble with anger.

He could have been completely fine, yet Zhu Zhuqing insisted on coming back to do some beauty-saves-the-hero thing.

If he hadn't heard her wanting to hold off the Blood煞 Doom Markings alone so he could escape, Su Ye wouldn't have softened his heart for a moment...

In his anger, he probably would have left without a word, abandoning this foolish woman and making a run for it.

"Meeting such a foolish woman is simply eight lifetimes of bad luck..."

His features contorted in pain, Su Ye was filled with regret.

If he had known it would cause so much trouble, he shouldn't have been greedy for that storage ring.

A fifteen-hundred-year comprehensive soul ring, and the soul skill was so powerful, yet it just disappeared after putting on a fireworks show.

This was too painful!

"However, going through this also proved the feasibility of Ring Fusion. Now I can be considered to have a trump card."

"Furthermore, Ring Fusion seems to be even more powerful than the Haotian School's divine skill, Exploding Rings..."

Looking leisurely at the wooden house's arched ceiling, Su Ye's lips curved into a smug smile.

Ring Fusion!

Using the fusion system, one's own soul rings are turned into nourishment to supply the Martial Soul, completely unleashing all the power of the soul rings.

Although the soul rings cannot be recovered, the effect made Su Ye feel like he had found a treasure.

As long as the body is strong enough to withstand that impact, this kind of ultimate move can completely save one's life in times of crisis.

The lost soul rings can just be replenished later.

"Misfortune is what fortune leans upon, fortune is where misfortune lies hidden..."

He lay on the bed.

Su Ye, whose mouth and tongue were dry, licked his lips.

Clang—

Before long, the door was pushed open.

Zhu Zhuqing carefully carried a wooden bowl and walked in.

Perhaps not wanting to cause trouble, she had changed into coarse black peasant clothes.

Although it concealed her shapely curves, her full and voluptuous figure was vaguely visible, inevitably making people imagine things.

Cough—

Hearing the cough, Zhu Zhuqing's body stiffened, she turned her head to look, and the smile on her face was like a hundred flowers blooming, her beautiful eyes lit up.

"You... you're awake?!" The girl's happy voice trembled slightly.

Su Ye looked over speechlessly, "If you hadn't suddenly come back, I could have completely escaped from the Blood煞 Doom Markings."

"Thanks to you, I'm not dead now, and I've only got half a life left."

So that's how it is...

Zhu Zhuqing's expression dimmed slightly, but she didn't dwell on it, and walked over with the porridge.

"You've only had thin porridge for the past two days, you're probably hungry now. Have some porridge to fill your stomach first, and then we'll see what else you can eat later."

Su Ye didn't refuse; he was thirsty and hungry now, and had even less strength to be angry. Moreover, if not for her care, he probably wouldn't have survived either.

Su Ye was helped up to lean against her shoulder; the intimate soft reliance made his heart flutter, but Zhu Zhuqing didn't pay attention. She blew on each spoonful before feeding it to him.

"Drink slowly. I'll get another bowl later; there's still a lot in the pot."

Su Ye didn't speak, just drank the porridge, making slurping sounds with his mouth.

Zhu Zhuqing: "...".