Chapter 13: Soul Scars

  "Yao'er!" As he watched her endless growth, his reckless heart grew increasingly anxious.

  "Ah ah......" All the roots seemed to be dancing wildly, and the demon child couldn't help but let out a loud cry.

  Even the stone wall mantises beside them instinctively began to feel fearful, their antennae trembling non-stop, as if communicating something.

  With a loud crash, the entire space was severely impacted, and with Yao'er as the center, a massive amount of energy spread out in all directions. A dense green color permeated the surroundings, and the breath of life caused every pore on Qing Kuang's body to relax.

  It's clear that the radical absorption method has taken a toll on Yao'er, as her energy is unstable and she's emitting green light in circles, making it impossible to see her original form. At this moment, the Stone Wall Mantis apparently wants to take down Qingkuang before Yao'er completes her evolution, frantically waving their front legs and slashing at Qingkuang with skin-splitting wounds, while also putting their blood-stained front legs into their mouths to savor the taste, as if it's a delicacy. The mantises that haven't gotten a share of the "delicacy" are attacking even faster.

  Outnumbered, with wounds still increasing on my body, I couldn't care less about being reckless. Fire and wood spiritual powers simultaneously launched, instantly giving this dark sky a variety of colors. A fiery red phoenix, a pale green whip, and the random dagger that resonated with her heart, ruthlessly dismembering the stone wall mantis beside me.

  The white shirt was already stained with bright red blood, this stimulating scene made the stone wall mantis even more violent, and also made the demon children, gluttons, and other creatures even angrier. A black shadow flashed among the stone wall mantises, sharp claws had just swept by, and in an instant two stone wall mantises were beheaded. However, only solving the surrounding ones, there were still more on both sides of the steep cliffs crawling towards them, the chaotic noise made people shiver, a roar came, a powerful divine beast pressed down, but the group of stone wall mantises only paused for a moment before rushing towards the light again. In this desolate and eerie realm, who cares if you are a divine beast or not? Even if you are a divine beast, they will still devour you without hesitation!

  Of course, the treasure collector had so many treasures that they weren't just collecting them for nothing. As soon as she took out a glittering golden pearl from her treasure trove, no matter how reluctant she was, she still made an offering and tossed it into the air, muttering something with a flourish. The golden pearl immediately flew up to the sky, enveloping a surrounding area in its radiance. For a time, the light burst forth, and the stone wall mantises that were enveloped by the pearl seemed as if they had been cast under a petrifying spell, not moving at all. Then, from their abdomens, golden light began to seep out bit by bit, followed by several consecutive explosions, and in an instant, they were all reduced to powder.

  Not only were the beasts fighting fiercely, but even Qing Kuang couldn't relax at this moment. Just as he dodged an attack from behind, countless flying stone wall mantises descended from the sky, their sharp forelegs gleaming with a cold light. At this critical juncture, the energy accumulated by You'er suddenly burst forth, and a mournful cry echoed through the air. A massive green array appeared beneath her feet, covered in eerie symbols that seemed to suffocate her with their oppressive power.

  At this time, the powerful energy ball had inflated to a saturated state and then exploded with a loud bang. All the roots were detached from the body of the demon child, transformed into sharp swords, accompanied by green light, and shot into the bodies of the stone wall mantises. Then, as if the dandelion seeds that had been drifting in the wind finally found good soil, the stone wall mantises that had been pierced let out a mournful howl. Many green light balls suddenly appeared from their abdomens, and they used their bodies as nutrients, consuming them completely. Whether it was the ones crawling around or flying in the air, none were spared, all being swallowed up by the demon child using this self-mutilating method.

  Everything seemed to have come to an end, the surroundings were quiet without a single sound. However, after all the stone wall mantises disappeared, You'er's roots could not be withdrawn. It was like a hedgehog whose quills had been plucked out, leaving only scars all over its body. The unprotected You'er remained in the green array, shrinking bit by bit until it finally disappeared.

  Her heart sank in an instant, had the evolution really failed? If she had become a Super Divine Beast, Yao'er would have transformed into human form by now. But no matter how she called out, there was not even a hint of response. Could it be... No, it couldn't be! When the array disappeared, she finally walked over, and the two small flowers that were usually shy were also gone, and from now on they could no longer be worn on her ears.

  Immersed in sorrow, Qingkuang ignored the movements around her, or perhaps she felt the sadness in her heart. Two green seeds lay on the ground, emitting a soft glow, tender and pale with a hint of white in the middle, and two small buds curved at the tip. Picking up these two seeds, there was a slight energy stored within them, and suddenly it was as if a clear spring had irrigated Qingkuang's heart, feeling some joy, some excitement, and even more gratitude. Yao'er, her Yao'er...

  Originally her demon child hadn't died, that meant there was still hope. She carefully placed the two seeds into the spatial ring and looked forward to the day when her demon child would return to her side.

  A loud rumbling sound began, and looking at the falling rocks on both sides, she lightly jumped to avoid being hit. Is this an earthquake? No one has ever mentioned that there are earthquakes in this desolate ghost realm! However, when she saw those enormous creatures in front of her, she didn't know whether to cry or laugh. The cliffs on both sides were not what she thought they were - they were actually giant female stone wall mantises! There were several of them piled up like mountains, which is why no one had noticed them before. Now that these few female stone wall mantises appeared in front of her, their huge bellies seemed to be about to give birth. All Ling Kuang could do was smile bitterly - she couldn't even handle the smaller ones before, and now there were these larger ones... Was it really heaven's will to destroy her?

  A deafening roar echoed, and the small mountain-like stone wall mantis directly used its physical advantage to suppress her. Even if it casually stretched out a leg, it could trample her into a meat paste. What was even more depressing for her was that these few female stone wall mantises had bodies that were even harder, like boulders that couldn't be moved in the slightest. Her fire spirit energy was only able to scrape off a layer of sparks on their surface. Even if she was now a Huang Qian realm three-star strong practitioner, it was still just a minor scuffle.

  When a foreleg came, Qingkuang could even feel the strong wind, just about to make a backflip to dodge, another sneak attack came from the side, dodging too late, and a piece of tender meat was directly cut off from her right waist, making her break out in cold sweat. This stone wall mantis was so cruel that it put her flesh into its mouth and started eating with relish. Before Qingkuang could counterattack, those few hungry ones on the side were stimulated, rushing over with bared teeth and claws, causing the earth to shake.

  As the situation was about to take a turn for the worse, the two beasts, Pi Xiu and Bao Yu, immediately piled on the pressure, warning them not to make any rash moves. However, several female stone wall mantises only paused for a moment before speeding up again, this time clearly treating Pi Xiu and Bao Yu as their next meal.

  The longer they stalled, the more wounds appeared on Qing Kuang's body. Pi Xiu couldn't afford to be stingy anymore, taking out one treasure after another, shrieking loudly, and instantly cutting off a stone wall mantis' leg with a single slash. The mantis let out a pained wail.

  Bao Yu also adopted a wild and unbridled fighting style. Since the stone wall mantises wanted to eat him, he'd see who had the better bite! With his shiny white teeth gleaming, he nimbly darted between them, biting wherever he pleased. Although being large had its advantages, being small also had its benefits. Even when bitten, these mantises were at a loss for what to do with Bao Yu. When they swung their front legs to chase after him, the little guy was already gone without a trace.

  Compared to them, only Qing Kuang is the most dangerous. Fighting again and again, but still being attacked from all sides, losing too much blood, I'm afraid she won't be able to hold on for long. Her back was pierced again, Qing Kuang panting heavily, continuing to fight like this isn't a solution, should she retreat? But knowing that Ye Er is right in front of her, she's not willing to give up! She really can't bear it!

  Several stone wall mantises suddenly changed their solo combat method, partnering to trap the lightly arrogant one inside. As she watched her hands and feet being trapped, unable to move an inch, a wave of desolation flooded her mind - was she going to lose her life here today?

  "Sister!" A figure rushed over quickly, risking her own injury to rescue her. Qing Cang opened her eyes and couldn't believe that Mo Bai had saved her at this critical moment!

  "Sister... is it okay? No, nothing's wrong..." Covering her own arm, Mo Bai winced in pain, but still didn't forget to ask Liang Kuang with concern.

  "I'm fine."

  "But you... so much blood..." Looking at the bloodstains on Qing Kuang's body, Mo Bai's tears kept welling up in his eyes, how painful must it be!

  Qing Kuang was about to speak, but those stone wall mantises didn't give them time to chat. The fat meat that was about to reach their mouths was snatched away, how could they not be angry? However, another piece of fat meat delivered itself, this was really great!

  When the Stone Wall Mantis attacked again, Mo Bai suddenly blocked her way, looking lightly arrogant and puzzled. Is this Mo Bai or Mo Qing? When she first met the Double Souls, it was timid Mo Bai, who was so scared that he cried and hid behind her at that time. How did he dare to stand in front of her now? And what surprised her even more was that this person was actually a one-star strong master of the Golden Attribute Earth Boundary!

  He picked up a long golden sickle and directly fought with the stone wall mantis, turned his head to look at Qingkuang who hadn't moved, and shouted: "What are you looking at? Why aren't you taking action?"

  As soon as she heard this, she immediately recognized that the person was Mo Qing. Holding the Suixin dagger, Qing also joined the battle, but unexpectedly, the people were caught off guard, and they never thought that these stone wall mantises would lay eggs at this time, and the eggs laid were not the foam-like ones she had seen before, but rather the smaller versions of the stone wall mantises that had been eliminated by Yao earlier, crawling all over the place in a dense and disorderly manner, as if conveying some information. After laying the eggs, the female stone wall mantes was relieved of her burden and moved even more quickly.

  Countless stone slabs flew towards them, Mo Qing sliced them in half with a swift and clean cut, and Qingwu also dodged past. However, with the threat of this group of small Stone Wall Mantis, the situation became even more severe. As time passed, this battle seemed to have no end, not only was Qingwu covered in blood, but Mo Bai who joined later didn't fare much better either.

  When the kite was lifted again, many cries of surprise came from around his ears.

  "Master~"

  "Mastermind"

  "Sister!"

  Just as the god of death arrived, the expected pain did not come, but she clearly heard the sound of her flesh being pierced. The moment she opened her eyes, Ling Xiao couldn't believe it at all. "Mo... Mo Bai..."

  "Sister... sister... hehe..." Fresh blood gushed out, the forelegs of seven or eight stone wall mantises pierced his chest, and then withdrew with a "plop".

  "Why... why..."

  "Haha...... for myself...... find...... a reason......" Mo Bai, who had lost his support, suddenly collapsed to the ground, with fresh blood staining his robes, several blood holes merging into one, and his face instantly turned pale.

  Having tasted the sweetness, would the stone wall mantis be willing to give up? When it came again, it finally broke through the limit of recklessness, regardless of hurting itself. It struggled violently, like a madman, shouting loudly, "Get out! Get out! Are you waiting for me to die before you come out? If I die, how will you explain yourself? Get out!"

  Accompanied by the faint sound of a sigh, the black shadow in the dragon ring slowly emerged, looked at her with disdain, and then turned around, as if looking at a group of ants. Then the black shadow slowly raised its hand, and a black energy ball slowly rose from its palm, floating into the air.

  "Explode!"

  With a loud crash, in the blink of an eye, all the stone wall mantises turned to ashes, and the steep cliffs she thought were there had all disappeared. Looking around, everything was unobstructed.

  But at this moment, there was no gratitude in his heart. Looking at the black shadow, his heart was filled with burning flames, "Why didn't you appear earlier? If you had come out earlier, he wouldn't have..."

  "Hmph!" The dark figure snorted coldly and stopped talking to her, flashing back into the Dragon Ring.

  Looking at Mo Bai who was covered in bloodstains, Leng Qiu's heart felt a sour and aching pain.

  "Sister...... sister......" Yearning stretched out her hand, Mo Bai's mouth corner revealed a forced smile, still calling out "sister", "sister" nonstop.

  "Mo Bai......" She never thought that at this critical moment, he would stand up for her, but put his own life in danger.

  "Sister, sister..." Mo Bai's eyes were filled with tears, her right hand still reaching out to her.

  Everything was difficult to look at the outstretched hand, perhaps feeling her hesitation, the bony and distinct big hand put down dejectedly, and then another mouthful of blood came out. At this time, Qingkuang didn't care about anything else, grabbed the hand that was about to fall, and knelt down on the ground with a thud, enduring the severe pain coming from the depths of his soul, wanting to comfort him, but his expression was distorted by the severe pain.

  Feeling the warmth spreading from her hand, his pale face was filled with a smile. "Hehe, sister...sister's hand is warm..." Seeing him look as satisfied as if he had obtained the whole world, Qing felt her eyes getting moist.

  Covering his wound that was still bleeding, she comforted him anxiously, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, I'll save you, I must save you..." At this time, she didn't care about any secrets being exposed, only the water of life could bring him back from the hands of death. She couldn't bear to watch someone lose their life for her sake. However, just as she was about to get the water of life, he interrupted her.

  "I'm content... I'm content..." A silly smile, but it hurt his chest wound.

  "You can't do this, no! You're not just thinking of yourself, you have to think of your brother too, he doesn't want to die..."

  "No, no more... I'm happy now, tired, so tired... I'm exhausted, brother too... *cough*..." Grabbing Qing Kuang's hand, Mo Bai rubbed his face against it, feeling great! His sister had saved him before and didn't dislike him at all. He was happy that she would be okay. It didn't matter anymore, he'd held on for so long, he was tired. Brother had also struggled to protect him for so long. He couldn't find the path to his future, he didn't know what people lived for, and now maybe it was time to let go...

  "Don't talk nonsense, you have to believe me, I can definitely save you, I can definitely save your life!" Tears fell as she wouldn't allow a life to disappear just because of her.

  "Cough... sister... let me go, okay? Warmth... warmth..." He wasn't afraid at all, because his life wasn't all cold. Even if he only felt warmth in the last moment of his life, it was enough, and he was very satisfied, really very satisfied! Some people would never have anyone care about them until they died, nor would anyone shed a tear for them. He had gotten what he wanted - someone to be heartbroken over his death, and that was enough...

  Looking at those eyes that were gradually losing their luster, the movements of her hands paused, and she felt countless emotions surging inside her body. She wanted to scream, to destroy everything around her, hating the injustice of heaven, and even more so, her own helplessness. "You're an idiot! Idiot! Who told you to save me? Who told you to save me? I was clearly cold towards you, was it worth risking your life for me? Mo Bai, you're the biggest idiot in the world! You're trying to make me feel guilty for the rest of my life, or do you want me to remember you for the rest of my life, that there was a person named Mo Bai who gave his life for me... Congratulations, you succeeded!" The pain deep within her soul continued to wail, but she couldn't care about anything else anymore. The temperature in her hands had gradually turned cold, and the light in those eyes had already dissipated.

  Save or not to save? Leng Kong suddenly fell into a dilemma, recalling what he had said earlier, his heart instantly fell into struggle. Are you tired? After experiencing such painful past, can't you hold on anymore? Alright, I respect your decision. Taking out a handkerchief, carefully wiping away the bloodstains from his mouth, this world will no longer have someone called Double Soul. "I'll let you go, let you go, do you want to be free? Do you want to be at peace, I won't hold you back, won't hold you back... May you be reborn into a good family in the next life, live a peaceful and prosperous life, okay?" Why wouldn't she extract his soul? If she could extract his soul, wouldn't she be able to find him a better place to make up for her debt? Why wouldn't she?! Who can help her, who can help her?! She has borne too much, doesn't want to carry this burden of gratitude anymore!

  Until she wiped away Mo Bai's tears, Qing Kuang covered his dull eyes, and a faint sadness lingered around him, yet there was also a hint of casual liberation. Such a contradictory life had finally come to an end... Standing up, she looked at the disheveled Mo Bai, and with a wave of her hand, a large flame ignited, engulfing him. The firelight reflected the sorrow in her eyes, and it seemed as though only she was left in the entire space.

  Mo Bai, I swear to take you away, I won't let you stay forever in this desolate and ghostly realm. Even if you've passed on, I'll bury you in a place where spring warmth and flowers bloom. Whether it's above the Yellow Springs or below the Azure Falls, I'll find your soul. Your kindness, I, Xiao Zhan, will eternally remember in my heart!

  In her heart, she silently finished speaking and carefully packed up his ashes. Despite constantly telling herself to calm down, she couldn't shake off the feeling of unease. She had lost count of how many times she had hated herself already. Alas! It turned out that she was nothing compared to Qing Lian. As she wandered through this desolate and eerie realm, she felt a deep sense of powerlessness. Yet, she persisted for the sake of her unwavering conviction in her heart. She truly feared that one day, she would no longer be able to hold on and would abandon herself just like Mo Bai did.

  Immersed in sorrow, the light madness looked at the dragon ring on his hand, and the fire rose again. He pulled desperately, regardless of the blood on his wrist. "Come out! Come out! Why didn't you save him? You could have done it, why didn't you save her? Why do I have to bear all the blame? I'm not a god, I'm not a god! I get tired too..."

  She burst into tears, her slender figure looking even more fragile as she crouched down. Yet no matter how much she blamed him, Zhi Long Huan didn't give her the slightest reaction. From the moment they arrived at this broken place, she and Yu Er had been separated, experiencing countless injuries and secret plots. Her worries, her anxiety, her pain - who could she share them with? Can't you see that she's already on the verge of collapse?

  "Master~" The glutton hesitated to move forward, stretched out his small paws to grasp her clothes and looked up at her. The master is so sad now, what should he do?! So stupid, how can he comfort the master?!

  The master saw her like this, and after exchanging glances with Taotie for a long time, he still couldn't think of a good idea, and suddenly became anxious and scratched his ears.

  Looking at the two little ones beside her, she gently stroked their heads, feeling a wave of confusion. Mo Bai died to save her, and Yao Er's fate was still unknown, had her persistence all along been right? Yi Er was the demon child, his son, so did that mean he would definitely be fine? The man from before always managed to find them, so he must know Yi Er's whereabouts and keep him safe. So whether she was there or not, it made no difference, could she also seek liberation? She was tired, really tired, why was life so exhausting...

  What should she do, what to do? Xi'er, mother can't hold on anymore! Her heart hurts so much, it's killing her... Her body also hurts, if she just lets go like this, will she be able to escape?

  However, when all the negative emotions surrounded her, the black shadow that had just been disdainful of her appeared again from the dragon ring and stood in front of her, staring at her straight.

  "Get out! I don't want to see you, scram!"

  "Huh?" He couldn't understand no matter what, what was it about this human that had caught his master's eye?

  "Get out! Get out! Didn't you hear me? Get out of here...!" Tears streamed down her face as she burst into loud sobs.