Translator: CinderTL
"Fellow Daoist Fang, would you consider another condition?" Jin Xiuqi called out to Song Wen, who had already stepped out of the shop.
No matter how much he cared for 'Li Yue,' he could never publicly cripple one of his own Divine Transformation Stage cultivators for a woman. Such an act would irrevocably damage his standing with the Jin Family's Void Refinement Stage Ancestors, regardless of his talent. A man blinded by lust was ultimately unfit for great responsibility.
Song Wen ignored Jin Xiuqi's words, continuing to walk away and gradually disappearing into the bustling crowd.
Jin Xiuqi gritted his teeth, a longsword suddenly appearing in his hand, his eyes flashing with cold light.
Jin Kaicheng's face turned deathly pale, and he stumbled backward.
"Jin Xiuqi, what are you planning? If you dare cripple my cultivation, the family will never forgive you!" In his terror, he dropped the honorific "young master" and addressed Jin Xiuqi by name.
"Rest assured, I won't cripple your cultivation," Jin Xiuqi replied. "I merely require your arm. Afterward, I will personally reattach it and offer generous compensation as an apology."
Without waiting for a response, he raised his hand and unleashed a swift, sword strike through the air.
Pfft!
Jin Kaicheng's right arm was severed cleanly at the shoulder, blood spraying as the limb flew high into the air.
Jin Xiuqi snatched up the severed arm, turned, and strode out of the shop, leaving the still-shaken Jin Kaicheng behind.
The moment Song Wen saw Jin Xiuqi draw his flying sword, his eyebrows twitched, and his pace quickened, transforming into a blur as he weaved through the crowd.
He had only casually proposed a difficult condition to Jin Xiuqi, hoping to shake him off. He never imagined Jin Xiuqi would actually resort to violence.
Phoenix Feather City was enclosed by towering walls and sealed by a formation barrier. If they alerted a Void Refinement Stage cultivator from the Jin Family, the consequences would be disastrous.
This was precisely why Song Wen had lured Jin Xiuqi here when Jin Kaicheng demanded an exorbitant price. Otherwise, he could have simply crushed Jin Kaicheng and seized the treasures without all this trouble.
By the time Jin Xiuqi claimed Jin Kaicheng's arm, Song Wen had already traversed dozens of miles and reached the East City Gate.
As he passed through the gate, he noticed Ye Bing hovering in the air hundreds of miles away, gazing expectantly in his direction.
"Immortal Maiden, hurry!" Song Wen urged telepathically as he rapidly ascended.
He wanted to prevent Ye Bing from encountering Jin Xiuqi, sparing her the need to explain why Jin Xiuqi knew she had come to Phoenix Feather City.
Just then, Jin Xiuqi's voice called out from behind.
"Fellow Daoist Fang, wait!"
Jin Xiuqi seemed to possess a special token that allowed him to bypass the city's formation barrier. He soared directly through the barrier and over the city walls, unlike Song Wen, who had to navigate winding streets and dodge pedestrians to catch up.
Jin Xiuqi's shout reached Song Wen's ears and was also sensed by Ye Bing, who was hundreds of miles away.
Ye Bing turned her head to look at Jin Xiuqi.
As if sensing her gaze, Jin Xiuqi extended his divine sense toward her location.
Instantly, his perception narrowed, and only Ye Bing's figure remained in his awareness.
Though she wore a wide-brimmed hat that concealed her face and aura, he was certain this was the woman he had longed for day and night.
With a flash of movement, he urgently flew toward her.
"Li Yue, is that really you?"
Ye Bing didn't respond. Instead, the eyes behind her hat grew colder.
Oblivious to her reaction, Jin Xiuqi reached out to grasp her hand as he drew closer, but she easily evaded his touch.
He froze in mid-air, momentarily disoriented.
"Li Yue, you..."
In his mind, Li Yue had once been deeply devoted to him, even shedding tears of sorrow at their parting.
"Young Master Jin, please conduct yourself with propriety," Ye Bing said, her voice icy and carrying a chilling aura of rejection.
She then removed her veiled hat, revealing a pair of beautiful eyes filled with reproach.
However, her gaze wasn't directed at Jin Xiuqi, but at Song Wen, who had arrived behind him.
Song Wen shrugged and grinned, baring his teeth.
"Li Yue, I've thought of you every moment these past years. Why..." Jin Xiuqi's voice trailed off, his tone a mix of shock and bewilderment.
But before he could finish, Ye Bing interrupted him.
"Young Master Jin, Fang Pengyi and I have already become dao companions. Please choose your words carefully."
Upon hearing this, Jin Xiuqi felt as if he had been struck by lightning on a clear day, freezing in place.
His face turned as pale as paper, his lips trembled slightly, and his eyes filled with disbelief and emptiness.
He had harbored suspicions when he saw Song Wen and Ye Bing exchanging glances, but Ye Bing's direct confirmation struck him like a thunderbolt, leaving his world drained of color.
"Let's go."
Song Wen brushed past Jin Xiuqi, took Ye Bing's hand, and swiftly fled into the distance.
After a long silence...
"No..."
A voice filled with despair and rage echoed across the heavens and earth.
Tens of thousands of miles away, Song Wen and Ye Bing soared through the air at breakneck speed.
"Why did you have to provoke Jin Xiuqi for no reason?" Ye Bing asked, her voice tinged with annoyance.
"This whole mess started within the Jin Family itself," Song Wen retorted. "Don't blame me for their internal squabbles."
He then recounted the events that had transpired in Phoenix Feather City.
"Jin Kaicheng, as the Jin Family's steward, was running a protection racket. If I hadn't been worried about attracting the Divine Blood Gate's attention, I would have razed the Jin Family to the ground. Jin Xiuqi's humiliation is entirely Jin Kaicheng's fault—what does it have to do with me?"
"Even if you're right," Ye Bing countered, "we can't stay near Phoenix Feather City now. Where should we go?"
After a moment of silence, Song Wen replied firmly, "North."
"North?" Ye Bing asked, puzzled.
"I plan to travel north all the way to the Primordial Qi Death Zone," Song Wen explained.
"What do you want to go there for?" Ye Bing pressed.
"To..." Song Wen hesitated, "to see it for myself. I've heard countless tales of its dangers and mysteries, but I've never witnessed it firsthand. Now that I've reached the Void Refinement Stage, it's time to take a look."
A look of delight instantly spread across Ye Bing's face.
"I've never seen it either. It's perfect timing to go with you and take a look."
The pair moved with incredible speed. Even with occasional stops at cities along the way, they reached the edge of the Primordial Qi Death Zone in just two months.
Black Primordial Qi permeated the heavens and earth, blotting out the sun and moon.
Spiritual Qi was completely absent, and the surrounding landscape appeared utterly desolate.
"This is Primordial Qi?" Ye Bing exclaimed, reaching out to feel the faint traces of it in the air. "It's truly bizarre. It can actively corrode flesh!"
Song Wen frowned slightly, offering no response to Ye Bing's words. Instead, he stared intently into the depths of the Primordial Qi Death Zone.
According to information obtained from Hong Zhe, the underwater tunnel lay approximately a million miles ahead.
His objectives for this journey were twofold: first, to verify the existence and nature of the tunnel, and second, to confirm whether the "shadow void" was truly as miraculous as Hong Zhe claimed.
(End of the Chapter)
--------------------------------
Translator's Corner
⚠️You Are Reading [RDC] 260 Chapters Behind.⚡Go to the site and catch up now!!
𝟏𝟒 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐬 | 𝟖.𝟓𝐤 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 | 𝟏𝟒.𝟑𝐌 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 [𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐥.𝐜𝐨𝐦]