But he did not make a sound. With his two eyeballs protruding out, his whole body was frozen like a stone statue.
Shen Qingqiu held his breath. Gurgling sounds could be heard from the Old Palace Master's throat and bloodshot veins crawled up his eyes.
But he could not move a single step.
Finally!
Hahahahahahahaha!
Was he so stupid and saintly that when beaten he would not fight back?!
Treating him like he's so weak he can't slap you back in the face while dragging another person?!
Qiu Haitang exclaimed, "What's wrong?"
She moved to draw her sword but Shen Qingqiu interrupted, "Lady Qiu, I advise that you do not draw your sword in vain—unless, of course, you want to end up like him."
Suspicious, Qiu Haitang spun around to face the Old Master and screamed.
Between the deep folds of his wrinkles, the Old Master's face was mottled with green pustules and contorted in unbearable pain.
Qiu Haitang trembled. "Shen Jiu.. you... what have you done?"
"I didn't do anything," Shen Qingqiu said. "Did you forget that we are in someone else's tomb? Do you think the Demons will not have any protection?
In fact, floating in the air like a blown dandelion were the spores of a demonic plant, 'QingSi.' This plant uses the bodies of living beings to germinate and is attracted to people who radiate Qi, be it spiritual energy or demonic energy. This was also why Shen Qingqiu used martial arts instead of his Qi techniques earlier.
QingSi embeds itself into the bodies of its victims without any pain—except just maybe a slight itch. However, once it sprouts, it tears the flesh and digs into the blood vessels. The faster the Qi circulates, the faster it grows. If a cultivator unleashes his peak energy, it could germinate in an instant.
The Old Palace Master had been attacking with his roars, focusing his Qi around his head and throat. Not just his face, it was likely that the insides of his mouth and throat passages were choked with the sprouts of this demonic plant, with its fur-like surface tendrils and the roots sinking under the skin, reaching down deep into the nerves.
Shen Qingqiu tutted, "The Old Palace Master must not yell again. Otherwise, it will grow without stopping until it reaches your brain; then truly, you will be dead."
Facing this terrifying and disgusting scene, Qiu Haitang clamped down on her mouth and tried to resist her dizziness but failed. Her eyes rolled into her skull and she fell into a dead faint.
With one person immobilized and the other knocked unconscious, this was truly a victory!
Shen Qingqiu sighed in relief and struggled to stand up with Luo Binghe in his arms. Muscles straining and through clenched teeth, the Old Palace Master vaguely said, "Don't rejoice too early, you are no better off." His face twisted in pain and the sprouts on his face trembled as he said these few words.
Shen Qingqiu just huffed in reply.
From his right arm to right across his shoulders, a deep hysterical pain mercilessly stabbed his flesh and nerves. To block the two swords earlier, he was forced to use his Qi cultivation and now the spores were germinating.
But fortunately, and at the very least, Luo Binghe was safe.
Seeing Shen Qingqiu half dragging half carrying Luo Binghe away, the Old Palace Master choked out his cries and toppled down from the wheelchair in his urgency, dragging his limbless body through the flowers and grasses on the ground—a piteous and terrifying scene.
The Old Palace Master wheezed: "Don't go.... Don't go..... Don't leave."
Shen Qingqiu hastened his steps but who knew that the Old Palace Master's face would suddenly turn violent and open his mouth to let out a roar?
He wanted to bring them down together with him to the grave!
Shen Qingqiu could not figure out if the Old Palace Master was unwilling to let them leave or if he just refused to let Luo Binghe live. Shen Qingqiu used the old scabbard to barely block the blow. His right hand trembled as pain ripped through his body from this movement which aggravated the blistering pustules, all the while shielding Luo Binghe protectively. In the agonizing haze, he turned towards the Old Palace Master and his blood surged, killing intention blazing in his eyes.
With just that one roar, even more pustules started to sprout from the Old Palace Master's skin, extending even to the corners of his eyes. However, he no longer seemed to feel pain as he laughed wildly, rolling on the ground like a pork sausage until he reached Qiu Haitang. Shouting loudly into her ear like a mad man, he said, "Don't you want to kill Shen Qingqiu? He is right in front of your eyes! Quick, get up! Kill him! Kill them all!"
Qiu Haitang groggily awoke after the Old Palace Master shouted at her. Opening her eyes to a face like a withered orange peel mottled with an unknown monstrosity, her blood drained. Screaming hysterically, she slashed down with her sword. Shen Qingqiu, afraid that she might agitate her Qi further, thus attracting the lingering spores, yelled: "Calm down!"
Undeterred, the Old Palace Master shouted, "Quickly! Quickly! Did you not ask me to help? He is unable to hold on any longer—do it now!"
Qiu Haitang met Shen Qingqiu's eyes, their gaze steady and unwavering. All in all, Shen Qingqiu did not hold any enmity for Qiu Haitang. She was after all the original Shen Qingqiu's victim. But if she insisted on blocking his way, he would not hesitate to retaliate.
Surprisingly, Qiu Haitang was not the indiscriminate killing machine of the past. Glancing between Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe who was held in his arms, she not only did not advance but retreated a few steps.
Her lips quivering, she said, "It is not possible... it is impossible....This is fake! It is all fake! This is not my brother. My brother is never wrong, it's not big brother. You lied to me!"
What's going on?
She cried and screamed, "I don't know. I didn't know it was like this. I didn't do anything, so just why did I have to endure so many years of suffering?!"
Shen Qingqiu was astonished. Qiu Haitang had only fainted for a short while, so why was it that when she woke up, it was almost as if she was a different person?
Or maybe, it was because she saw something she couldn't accept and was terrified to the point where she went crazy.
Shen Qingqiu thought that there was something amiss and sternly said, "Don't move."
Old Palace Master shouted, "What are you waiting for?!"
Qiu Haitang, having lost her sanity, held her head as she screamed at Shen Qingqiu, "Exactly how do you feel when you look at me? Do you hate me? Pity me? Why do you want to torture me by keeping me in this world? Why didn't you kill me? Why don't you kill me?!"
After being randomly screamed at, Shen Qingqiu was confused enough that Qiu Haitang seized the chance to run away. He called out at her back, "Come back! If you run about in the Holy Mausoleum, you will definitely die!"
But she had already run off into the distance and he did not have the time to chase after her. Shen Qingqiu inexplicably felt a sense of loss. In his heart, he lit a candlelight vigil for her and continued forward.
The Old Palace Master could only watch as she ran off into the distance. As Shen Qingqiu started to walk away too, the Old Palace Master's last shred of hope disappeared without a trace. He was on the ground, dazed, before he suddenly buried his head into the grass surrounding him and tore off a mouthful of vegetation.
The Old Palace Master continued to laugh uncontrollably. As he laughed, the sprouts on top of his head started to grow faster, longer, and denser. In an instant, his whole head looked as if it was wrapped up with vines. Not long afterward, he wasn't able to laugh anymore. Shen Qingqiu could almost hear the sounds of his skull being squeezed.
The Old Palace Master exhaled a few shaky breaths before his head crashed heavily onto the ground. He wouldn't ever lift it again.
Even though he was the head of a clan, he died in such a gruesome, horrifying way. It was enough to make people sigh with pity.
Before Shen Qingqiu was able to take more than a few steps, an echoing voice sounded next to his ear. It seemed to come from every direction. Tianlang-Jun's voice held traces of amusement: "Peak Master Shen was able to play such a great game of hide-and-seek. Why don't you guess how long it would take until we meet again?"
Shen Qingqiu broke out in cold sweat as he reached down to run his hand against his leg and encountered a foreign object. The QingSi had already followed the blood vessels to grow on his legs.
Tianlang-Jun's voice was sent over again: "You have been heading east the whole time. Is it because you want to go back to the hole in the protective barrier to escape the Holy Mausoleum?"
This bastard actually knows where he's heading. Shen Qingqiu tried to suppress his shock before lowering his head to look at his leg. If he let the QingSi on his legs take root, when the time came, he wouldn't be able to leave even if he wanted to. Shen Qingqiu gritted his teeth and took a glance at Luo Binghe. Then he hardened his heart, ripped open the helm on his robes, grabbed a handful of sprouts, and viciously yanked.
His brain seemed to have conjured up several dozens of seconds of blankness. The pain felt like he was tearing out a part of his flesh.
Shen Qingqiu gave a series of labored pants and slowly came back to himself before he realized that the sounds that he made as he panted was like he was trying to choke down sobs.
At the moment, he wasn't able to even reach up to wipe his face. There was just no way. This really...hurt way too fucking much!
Although his blood was flowing like a river, at least he could finally walk again. Before, he thought that Luo Binghe looked to be in a pitiful state. Now, who could have thought that his appearance at the moment is what really should be considered 120% miserable?
Since Tianlang-Jun knew where he was, he would definitely go where Shen Qingqiu was. If he continued to bring Luo Binghe with him and head east, they would definitely directly meet Luo Binghe's 'nice relatives.' Shen Qingqiu left the ancient forest-esque tomb and went past a couple of other rooms in the tombs. Swiftly, he picked a stone coffin that could be considered clean and comfortable and, protecting Luo Binghe's head, carefully placed his unconscious disciple inside. He reached up and placed the back of his hand against Luo Binghe's forehead. It was still hot enough to burn his hand. At the center of Luo Binghe's forehead, the Demon Mark emitted a bright red light.
Shen Qingqiu placed the Heart Devil sword under Luo Binghe's hands. He gathered his composure before finally sealing the coffin.
Tianlang-Jun walked unhurriedly in the front while Zhuzhi-Lang followed closely behind. As the stone road turned, they saw Shen Qingqiu standing in the middle of a tomb with the Xiu Ya sword in his hand. He was watching them coldly, looking as if he had been waiting for their arrival for a while.
Half of his light green robes was dyed scarlet. Blood flowed over the dried blood tracks on his left hand and dripped onto the floor. His lips seemed as pale as his face. Tianlang-Jun was astonished. "It has only been a short while since our previous interaction. How is it that Peak Master Shen is this battered?"
Shen Qingqiu looked back at him. He was clearly swallowed whole by a flaming magma pillar in that Anger Tomb. But now, you couldn't even smell the scent of roasted mushrooms from Tianlang-Jun's body. The only sign of the adversity was the burned crisp at the edge of his black clothes. Where was the logic?
Tianlang-Jun asked, "Where is Peak Master Shen's beloved disciple?"
Shen Qingqiu said, "He left."
Tianlang-Jun laughed, "If Peak Master Shen is still here, how is it possible that he would leave?"
Shen Qingqiu also started to laugh with him. As they continued to laugh with one another, Tianlang-Jun suddenly wasn't able to laugh anymore.
Because he realized that he wasn't able to take another step forward.
He lowered his head to see the obstacle. He hadn't noticed that he was frozen by a thick, solid layer of crystalline ice from the soles of his feet to his waist. The area that it was covering continued to climb up his body. Zhuzhi-Lang was in a worse condition than him. Both of his legs and one of his arms was already frozen in place.
Tianlang-Jun finally noticed that the tomb he was in was extremely cold. He sullenly said, "Mobei-Jun."
This tomb hall really was created by Mobei-Jun's ancestors. They have a natural, unique affinity towards controlling ice in the demon race. Therefore, the tomb hall behind them was also inextricably linked to ice.
In the Holy Mausoleum, there were arenas and props everywhere to be used. Even if he didn't personally engage in conflict, there were other things that could be used to contain the opponent. Shen Qingqiu remembered that in the original novel, as soon as there was something with a temperature higher than the air in the tomb hall, it would immediately be frozen into an ice sculpture. After 2-3 days, it would then shatter into ice shards. So, before he went inside, he circulated his spiritual energy to decrease his own body temperature as low as possible. That was why he appeared to be so pale.
In the effort it took to say a single sentence, the solid ice had already climbed up to Tianlang-Jun's chest. His expression didn't change. Even with his hand covered in demonic energy, he still wasn't able to break the ice crystal that covered his fist. The effect that it had was minimal. Even if the ice was not able to freeze him in place forever, it could at least buy around an hour's worth of time.
Tianlang-Jun said, "It looks like it wasn't my misperception. Peak Master Shen really does seem to know the demon's forbidden area like the back of his hands."
Shen Qingqiu didn't reply. He gave them a wave before he turned and walked away. Tianlang-Jun gave Zhuzhi-Lang a glance and calmly said, "I told you before, if you really intend to bring Peak Master Shen to the Demon Realm, you have to promise that he won't cause any problems. You know what you should do.
Zhuzhi-Lang quietly said, "This subordinate understands."
After listening to their interaction, Shen Qingqiu suddenly felt as if he forgot or didn't take something very important into account.