C38 Let Me Ask Again!

Ann Ziqing hovered motionless in the void.

Beneath her, the earth crackled ominously, and the relentless, fiery streams bursting from the ground's fissures showed no sign of abating.

Yet, she seemed to have no intention of evading any longer.

"It's about time," she murmured to herself.

The crimson orb she had previously extracted once again materialized in her palm.

"Blood Tickle!"

Drops of blood, brimming with spiritual energy, fell from her other hand like pearls slipping from a severed string, all converging on the scarlet orb.

The orb erupted in a dazzling display of light, bathing the entire valley of Mount Aureum in a brilliant, blood-red glow.

It was as if the blood sacrifice magic circle had been brought back to life!

"Hua! Hua!"

Deep underground, the blood surged, weaving a macabre and ghastly pattern visible to her alone.

To the onlookers, all that was visible was the earth torn asunder by the Flame Halberd. The blood-colored luminescence overpowered the flames, piercing through the ground's crevices.

Beams of bloody light soared skyward like a meteor shower!

The Ruby Hand's prized possession, the Flame Halberd, was compelled to ascend from the earth once more.

Upon its emergence, innumerable tendrils of bloody light ensnared it like sinister, twisting vines.

Hundreds of these tendrils latched onto the Flame Halberd, some bursting instantly, others snapping apart.

Yet, with each destruction, even more tendrils surged forth to bind it.

The Flame Halberd radiated intense heat as the Fire Crystal Spells within the fiery river dimmed and extinguished, one after another.

At last, the Flame Halberd settled back into the river of flames.

Following its descent, the ascending blood rays plunged into the river, one after another.

From within the Flame Halberd, a scarlet shadow burst forth, merging into the depths of the fiery river, where the numerous fire runes transformed into the vague phantom of Yuan Qiufang.

Flames cascaded across the sky, yet the rain of blood was no more.

Deep within the river of flames, the previous frenzy and derangement exhibited by Yuan Qiufang had vanished.

"Don't tell me it's you, Yuan Qiufang, who hasn't truly ascended to a Lunar Spirit," Ann Ziqing scoffed. "Even I, with my Lunar Spirit cultivation, cannot wield an artifact with just the Lunar Spirit after it has separated from the body. That is, unless the artifact itself is sentient, and its soul willingly embraces you."

"And you," she suddenly turned, fixing her gaze on Yuan Lianyao, who was itching to get involved, and warned, "I suggest you keep quiet."

Yuan Lianyao immediately halted and remained silent.

"The Flame Halberd is a treasured artifact of the Ruby Hand, a heavenly-grade item with its own spirit," Ann Ziqing explained. "I was surprised it chose to accept you. Without it, you, Yuan Qiufang, would never have been able to force me into hiding to secretly set up the magic circle."

With her explanation, everyone in the valley realized that her movements, ghostlike and elusive, were not just to dodge the Flame Halberd's attacks. She was actually utilizing an ancient blood ravine beneath the earth to arrange her rune circle.

Once the rune circle was complete, she shifted from defense to offense. The Flame Halberd, driven from the ground, was compelled to return to the river of flames.

"I didn't think I'd fail, even after disrupting so many subterranean channels," Yuan Qiufang's voice of resignation echoed from the fiery river. "Even in my frenzied state, I could faintly sense the network of ravines beneath this valley, all leading to Mount Aureum."

"Those must be the actual lynchpins of the blood sacrifice magic circle, right?"

"Father!" Yuan Lianyao called out.

Yu Yuan's brow furrowed as he too stared at the sky, watching Yuan Qiufang's phantom within the river of flames. "Little Sister Zhao, it seems we're headed for defeat. I had hoped to leverage the power of both sides, but the confrontation ended too swiftly."

As the Flame Halberd ascended from the earth and merged with the river of flames, the energies of Ann Ziqing and Yuan Qiufang ceased to spill forth. No longer were extra flames and droplets of blood drawn to the Nine Glories Wheel, to be captured in its grasp.

It appeared that the process of refining the dragon whelp's spirit would have to be abandoned midway. Moreover, Ann Ziqing had made it clear that she was not interested in doing favors for others.

"It's all over now."

A voice, thick with hatred, rose from the other end of the valley. It was a voice they all recognized—the disciple of the Colddeath Sect, aspiring to ascend as a Lunar Spirit.

It was the senior brother Ann Ziqing had mentioned.

"My, my..."

From deep within the river of flames, Yuan Qiufang's voice emerged, filled with fear and unease. The Flame Halberd within transformed into a flickering, unstable fiery serpent.

Atop Mount Aureum.

A man clad in a large red cape adorned with intricate blood patterns slowly materialized.

His left hand's five fingers were connected to five streams of blood light.

These streams of blood light bound a person.

That person, ensnared by the blood light, floated beside him.

It was none other than Yuan Qiufang!

But hadn't Yuan Qiufang been speaking within the river of flames, wielding the Flame Halberd?

Why was his body now in the clutches of this man?

Many with lesser cultivation were baffled.

Yu Yuan, with a furrowed brow, remained silent.

He realized that Yuan Qiufang was beyond help and acknowledged that due to his own low cultivation level, he was too dependent on external forces, which was unreliable.

"I've been reborn for such a short time, and yet I've already encountered an anomaly like Ann Ziqing in the early period," Yu Yuan lamented internally.

"Father!" Yuan Lianyao called out once more, her eyes filled with concern as they shifted to Yu Yuan.

Just then, she acutely sensed her father's soul shadow, submerged in the river of flames, weakening rapidly. "Yu Yuan, what exactly have you done to my father?"

"Don't blame him," Yuan Qiufang said, his voice tinged with resignation. "Without the pill he gave me, I would've been obliterated by that Lunar Spirit, manipulated by its control over vitality and blood. That pill unleashed all my potential, allowing me to reach the Ruby Hand's so-called Crazy Demon Realm in a brief span. My vitality and earthly soul combined, creating a false devil soul."

"The devil soul, a blend of vitality, spiritual energy, and earthly soul, enabled me to connect with the Flame Halberd and wield power beyond imagination."

"Regrettably, it was all too fleeting and couldn't last long."

"This devil soul is merely an ephemeral illusion, not a true eternal one."

...

Yuan Qiufang's voice faded to a whisper.

The river of flames gradually shrank, transitioning from tangible to ethereal.

"Senior Brother, let him reclaim his soul," Ann Ziqing suddenly interjected.

The envoy from Colddeath, reluctantly clutching the body of Yuan Qiufang, protested, "The Ruby Hand and Colddeath are sworn enemies!"

"As the scattered phantom of the devil soul returns to its original form, it becomes an earthly soul," Ann Ziqing said, looking at him squarely. "Surely Yuan Qiufang doesn't frighten you now?"

"Afraid? Hardly," the man retorted with a snort.

"Whoosh!"

A hazy river of flame, bearing nearly invisible fire runes, streamed into Yuan Qiufang from above his head.

"Swoosh!"

The Flame Halberd emerged and shot away.

"Return to me."

Ann Ziqing smiled, her hand beckoning. "You, an unexpected gain. Securing you compensates for my senior brother's disgrace in failing to ascend to the Lunar Spirit."

Innumerable tendrils of bloodlight ensnared the Flame Halberd, rendering it immobile.

"Young Master, let's negotiate."

Only after completing her task did she turn her gaze back to Yu Yuan, who was holding Zhao Yafu's hand. "I can lend my strength to refine that object and assist the young Miss Zhao in her task. We can consider the Asvetaesi issue closed. I'll take the Flame Halberd and leave with you for Colddeath immediately."

"How does that sound?"

This was her second time posing the question.

Previously, she had offered to exterminate the Huang family if Yu Yuan simply agreed.

Then, Yu Yuan had faith in Yuan Qiufang and declined the offer.

But what about now?

Yuan Qiufang, the one he had pinned his hopes on, was now a captive of Colddeath, and the heavenly artifact, the Flame Halberd, was in Ann Ziqing's possession.

She had also promised to aid Zhao Yafu with the dragon whelp issue.

If all went smoothly, the Zhao family would be indebted to him. Should he accompany Ann Ziqing to the Land of Quiescence, the Zhao family would be bound to look after the Yu family.

"I think it's acceptable," Zhao Zhenghao said wearily as he emerged from Mount Aureum. "With Colddeath showing such good faith, Yu Yuan, what's there to hesitate about?"

"My father?" Yuan Lianyao inquired.

"He won't die," Ann Ziqing said with a smile. "Frankly, your father's current condition might not be such a bad thing after all."

"What do you mean?" Yuan Lianyao pressed, her curiosity piqued.

"The fire toxin that has tormented him for years has been completely eradicated," Ann Ziqing explained, having already unraveled the hidden truth. "He's merely suffered a fall from grace, depleting his vitality and spiritual energy. He'll descend from the Subtlety realm to the Golden Sanctum. Nonetheless, he can begin anew and pursue his cultivation once more. Free from the torment of the fire toxin, regaining his former peak within the Subtlety realm is just a matter of time."

Yuan Lianyao fell silent, contemplating the situation before abruptly addressing Yu Yuan, "Colddeath has certainly demonstrated ample sincerity. I'd advise you to stop dithering. With Colddeath backing you, you won't have to worry about the Lin family, and even Winter's Bite wouldn't dare cross you."

To my surprise, she was echoing Zhao Zhenghao's sentiments, urging Yu Yuan to capitulate and willingly join Ann Ziqing.

Faced with overwhelming power, both the mayor and the head of the Zhao family had made the prudent decision.

...

Trust me, I'll get back on track. Once I'm back in form, I might even have a couple of bursts of inspiration.

Rest assured, the writing will only get better from here on out. Truly.