381: Chapter 381 The Seventh Elder's face turned ashen: The most tragic "report" in history is about to be revealed!

At the mention of Ling Qingzhu, Su Chen's state of mind finally calmed down a bit.

That cold and stunning girl, who always loved to let her imagination run wild and had a bit of a tsundere streak, actually made him feel a faint sense of longing at this moment.

He missed that cold temperament of hers that seemed to freeze the surrounding air, and he missed the tsundere softness that occasionally flickered in her eyes, reserved only for him.

He closed his eyes, letting his thoughts drift far away.

Ling Qingzhu had a tranquil personality, unlike the other three women who were so fiery and overbearing.

She wasn't like a ball of scorching fire that would squeeze him until even the marrow of his bones wailed in pain.

Spending time with Ling Qingzhu meant he still had to deal with her overly affectionate "interpretations" from time to time, but at least he didn't have to worry about his dao foundation facing the kind of "test" that could be called a "catastrophic disaster."

That truly would have been the death of him!

Seventh Elder Su stepped forward quickly and responded with a bow.

His voice carried its usual flattery and respect: "Your Highness, everything is normal in the Yaochi Holy Land."

"The spies we planted in Yaochi report that Her Highness the Saintess has been in seclusion at Saintess Peak since the Heavenly Demon Rebellion; she will likely have a Breakthrough soon."

"When that time comes, she will surely be able to share your burdens, Your Highness, and help you marry her into our family sooner!"

"Mm, that's good." Su Chen nodded, his mind completely at ease.

Even the corners of his mouth curled up in a long-lost, heartfelt smile of relief.

As long as that girl was fine, it was okay.

He closed his eyes comfortably, preparing to take another short nap so his exhausted Divine Soul could find a moment of peace.

Once he got home, he would immediately throw himself into his great "Involution King Cultivation Plan," determined to make up for the "losses" of those three days and nights with a vengeance!

However, the instant he closed his eyes, Su Chen's heart suddenly constricted.

That familiar omen of misfortune abruptly swept through his entire body.

An icy premonition instantly soaked through his limbs and bones, making his whole body shudder.

Even the Divine Thought avatar in his Sea of Consciousness seemed startled by some invisible force, suddenly jumping up from a corner.

【Holy crap?!】

Su Chen snapped his eyes open, his brow instantly furrowing tightly.

Those eyes, which had been weary, now burst forth with a light like cold electricity.

【What's the situation? Why did my heart suddenly start racing? It's like something huge is about to happen. This heartbeat is even scarier than when that vixen Ji Hongxue points a nine-foot whip at my Dantian and screams 'One more time'!】

A thought he didn't want to dwell on, yet couldn't suppress, surfaced uncontrollably in his mind.

【No way, right?】

【Could it be that something happened to Qingzhu?】

Su Chen's heart instantly leaped into his throat, and the muscles that hadn't fully relaxed tensed up once more.

But he then shook his head self-mockingly, doing his best to completely suppress this absurd thought.

He tried to use his powerful internal monologue to refute this ridiculous premonition.

【What a joke.】

【Qingzhu is staying safely and soundly in the Yaochi Holy Land, what could happen? That's one of the top Holy Lands in the Eastern Wasteland!】

【Their mountain-protecting array is so impregnable that even a Great Emperor would find it hard to blast through in a short time; not even a fly could get in. Who could possibly go in and snatch someone?】

【Could it be that someone has the guts of a bear and the heart of a leopard to dare snatch someone from the Yaochi Holy Land? Do they really think the Yaochi Holy Land is a vegetable garden they can enter and leave as they please?】

【Besides, even if there really was someone blind enough to try, that old woman, the Yaochi Holy Master, isn't a pushover! She's an old monster at the Quasi-Emperor Peak. Who would dare act wildly under her nose? How could she watch her precious disciple get into trouble? Wouldn't she turn the entire Eastern Wasteland upside down?】

Su Chen kept comforting himself in his mind, every sentence carrying a strong sense of self-hypnosis that "this is impossible."

It was as if he were cheering himself on, and also as if he were putting up a final mental struggle against the approaching unknown fate.

【Relax, relax. It must be because I've been exhausted by that vixen Ji Hongxue these past few days. My body is depleted and my spirit is flagging, so I'm having these hallucinations.】

【Yes, that must be it! Qingzhu is in Yaochi, she's definitely very safe, eating well and sleeping soundly. Maybe she's even secretly cursing me behind my back right now.】

【It's not like the person and the Holy Land could both disappear together, right? Hahaha, my imagination is too rich. How could such an outrageous thing happen!】

He gave a couple of dry laughs, the sound seeming somewhat hollow.

In the end, he completely cast that ominous premonition to the back of his mind and once again enjoyed being fed by Autumn Moon with a clear conscience, as if the shock from a moment ago was just a fleeting delusion.

However, he didn't notice.

The complexion of Seventh Elder Su beside him had turned extremely strange at some point.

His originally ruddy and flattering face was now like a knocked-over palette, turning from red to white, then from white to green, and finally taking on a deathly, sickly green hue.

A layer of fine cold sweat broke out on his forehead, like condensed ice beads, instantly soaking his thinning sideburns.

In Seventh Elder Su's hand, he was clutching a message Jade Slip that had just lit up.

That Jade Slip was no longer glowing with the usual flowing colors, but was emitting a heart-palpitating blood-red light representing the highest level of emergency.

It was as if the sorrow of billions of living beings was condensed within it, filled with an ominous sense of oppression.

Seventh Elder Su's body was trembling violently and uncontrollably.

Not just his fingers, but even his knees were slightly knocking together.

His hands shook like a candle in the wind, veins bulging as he gripped the Jade Slip deathly tight.

It was as if it weren't an ordinary message talisman, but a piece of branding iron that could explode at any moment, or a death warrant that would cause his Soul to Fly Away and Spirit to Scatter instantly.

He could barely even hold onto that tiny Jade Slip; it looked like it would drop onto the deck at any second.

His expression was dramatic to the extreme.

It was as if he had been constipated for half a month—wanting to die but not daring to, wanting to let it out but unable to, and having to keep it all bottled up inside.

Every pore was written with ultimate fear and despair.

"Hmm?" Beside them, Autumn Moon was the first to notice Seventh Elder Su's abnormality.

A hint of doubt flashed in her usually calm eyes, and she stopped massaging Su Chen's shoulders.

As the top security System of the entire Divine Son Peak, she immediately sensed the unusual energy fluctuations emanating from that Jade Slip.

Her gaze instantly locked onto Seventh Elder Su's blood-red Jade Slip, her delicate brows furrowing slightly.

Spring Flower also stopped her leg-pounding motions, blinking her large, watery eyes.

Her gaze held a hint of innocence yet worry as she looked curiously at Seventh Elder Su's unprecedentedly wretched state.

"Seventh Elder, what's wrong with you? Are you feeling unwell? Why do you look so terrible?" Spring Flower asked softly, her voice carrying its usual soft concern.

Hearing this, Seventh Elder Su's body jerked violently, as if he had been struck by lightning.

He almost jumped straight off the deck, and the Jade Slip in his hand nearly slipped out.

He opened his mouth, a dry low growl coming from his throat.

He seemed to want to say something, but the words were forced back down his throat as soon as they reached his lips.

The muscles on his face twitched violently, as if he were enduring the immense agony of having his Soul torn apart.

His clouded old eyes were filled with terror and disbelief.

They stared fixedly at the Jade Slip in his hand, as if he had seen the most terrifying and unbelievable thing in the world.

That shuddering even spread to the depths of his Divine Soul.

The originally relaxed and pleasant atmosphere on the deck, full of laughter, instantly turned heavy, as if an invisible hand of the Heavenly Dao had forcibly pressed the stop button.

Su Chen also finally noticed something was wrong.

Frowning, he sat up from the soft couch. The ominous premonition he had just forcibly suppressed now surged up wildly like a galloping torrent.