Zhou Chengwen looked at his sister suffering alongside Wei Zhao, anxiously saying, "Qingxue, don't be afraid. Father listens to mother the most. I'll ask mother to plead for you. You'll be fine soon. I'll be right back." After speaking, he quickly left.
Zhou Chengwen didn't dare to delay for a moment. He immediately went to Yao Xintong's residence, "Mother, something's wrong. Sister, to save Wei Zhao, was locked up in the water dungeon by father."
"What? How did this happen?" Yao Xintong asked anxiously.
"Wei Zhao is seriously injured, and Sister wants to save her. But father won't let Wei Zhao out of the water dungeon. He said if Sister doesn't admit her mistake, he'll let her stay in the water dungeon with Wei Zhao." Zhou Chengwen's mind was still somewhat confused.
Yao Xintong, hearing this, immediately went to find Zhou Yeran. Zhou Yeran, seeing Yao Xintong, said indifferently, "If you're here to plead for them, there's no need to speak."
"Senior Brother, the two kids weren't wrong in the first place. Even if they were, they've already been punished. Please release them quickly."
"Releasing Qingxue is fine, but Wei Zhao is not easy to deal with. Releasing her would only bring trouble to me, wouldn't it?" Zhou Yeran coldly snorted and asked.
"Senior Brother, Qingxue has finally found someone she loves. I don't want the children to have any regrets." Yao Xintong spoke as if recalling her past.
"Heh, regretting marrying me? Right, for so many years, you probably haven't forgotten your traitorous Senior Sister. If it weren't to protect her, you wouldn't have married me." Zhou Yeran sneered and continued, "I advise you to be smarter. Don't harm your traitorous Senior Sister for your reasons."
Yao Xintong shook her head, her eyes red. "Don't harm her. You promised me that as long as I marry you, you'll spare her. I just hope our daughter can be with her beloved person."
Zhou Yeran, after all, had some softness in his heart. After all, she was his daughter. Besides, Wei Zhao was on the verge of death now, and her Nascent Soul cultivation was not enough to threaten him. If Wei Zhao dared to defy him again, killing her would be fine. After all, both Song Weizhi and Song Zhixia were already dead.
"Alright, you go and bring them back for treatment." Zhou Yeran let Qi Yingzhe and Yao Xintong go together to release them.
As soon as Yao Xintong entered the water dungeon, she saw her daughter huddled in a corner, embracing Wei Zhao. To prevent Wei Zhao from being soaked in water, she simply created a thin layer of water around them using spiritual power. However, maintaining this consumed spiritual power continuously, and Zhou Qingxue's face didn't look too good.
Yao Xintong immediately rushed to rescue them. Zhou Qingxue, holding Wei Zhao horizontally, flew to her residence on her sword.
Zhou Qingxue used the purification technique to remove the dirt from both of them and fed Wei Zhao some spiritual medicine. Only then did the suspended heart of Zhou Qingxue loosen a bit. However, thinking about her father's actions, she felt uncomfortable, as if a knife were cutting through her heart.
Wei Zhao's injuries were severe, and it took a full ten days of recuperation before she slowly regained consciousness. During this period, Zhou Qingxue spared no effort to feed her with spirit medicine.
As Wei Zhao opened her eyes, she felt a bit disoriented by the bright light in the room. Squinting, she sensed waves of pain throughout her body. Due to not speaking for a long time, her voice sounded hoarse as she asked, "Where is my Mistress?"
Zhou Qingxue looked weary. She had taken care of Wei Zhao for over ten days without rest. When she heard Wei Zhao's question, she didn't know how to answer. If she told the truth, Wei Zhao probably wouldn't want her help anymore. After much consideration, Zhou Qingxue decided to wait until Wei Zhao's condition stabilized before revealing the truth.
"She's in the disciples' cultivation room. After you've fully recovered, I'll take you there," Zhou Qingxue explained, her eyes flickering.
Unexpectedly, Wei Zhao, holding her chest, sat up straight. "You don't need to worry about my injuries, Miss Zhou. I'll repay your kindness in the future. But I must avenge my Mistress for the harm your father caused. Also, take this back." Suppressing the pain, Wei Zhao took off the emerald earring from her left ear and handed it to Zhou Qingxue.
Zhou Qingxue, with tear-filled eyes, looked at the earring in Wei Zhao's hand. Wei Zhao was already distancing herself, even before knowing about her Mistress's situation. What if she found out? She probably wouldn't even want to look at Zhou Qingxue again.
Silently, Zhou Qingxue reached out, and took the earring from Wei Zhao's hand, but blocked her way. "With your current condition, it's challenging to move around. How will you save Song Weizhi? You'll likely be stopped and achieve nothing. Right now, you can't save her."
Wei Zhao nodded. "Fine, I'll go back to rest at my residence. You don't need to worry about my matters, Miss Zhou."
Suffering through the pain, Wei Zhao forcibly got up. Zhou Qingxue tried to help her, but Wei Zhao pushed her away and staggered toward her residence. Despite the short distance, it took over an hour for Wei Zhao to arrive. Once in her room, she promptly collapsed. Fortunately, her room had an ample supply of healing herbs. After taking the medicine, Wei Zhao fell into a deep sleep.
This recovery process would take a month. Wei Zhao's cultivation had barely regained half its strength. However, due to the prolonged immersion in the water dungeon, Wei Zhao's body remained weak. But she couldn't wait any longer. Her Mistress's fate was still uncertain, and she couldn't afford to focus on healing. Once her injuries improved slightly, she couldn't wait to go to the cultivation room.
The guards naturally prevented Wei Zhao from entering. However, Zhou Qingxue had already informed them. If Wei Zhao went there, these guards would notify Zhou Qingxue immediately.
Zhou Qingxue hurriedly arrived with her sword. She thought Wei Zhao would be in a hurry, but she didn't expect this day to come so soon. She looked at Wei Zhao in front of her, feeling a bit at a loss and unsure how to speak.
"Miss Zhou, please let your people allow me to enter. I need to save my Mistress." Wei Zhao's face was pale, with weariness evident in her eyes and brows, but her words were resolute.
Zhou Qingxue's lips moved slightly, but she couldn't find the words. After all, her father was responsible for this wicked deed. She had no reason to deceive Wei Zhao. "Song Weizhi was pushed into the magma under the cultivation room by my father. Now, I'm afraid she has already… already…" Zhou Qingxue's voice faltered, unable to look into Wei Zhao's eyes.
Wei Zhao grabbed Zhou Qingxue's wrist with red eyes. "What? You mean my Mistress? No, I don't believe it. Take me in to see. My Mistress is powerful; she will be fine. She will be fine."
"Wei Zhao, I know the death of Song Weizhi has greatly impacted you. Calm down a bit. Your injuries haven't healed yet." Zhou Qingxue reached out to pull Wei Zhao, attempting to persuade her to go back and rest.
However, Wei Zhao shook off her hand and roared, "How can I calm down? If it were your father who died, could you calm down?"
Zhou Qingxue stepped back, tears falling from her eyes. "I know what my father did was wrong, but is Song Weizhi really that important to you?"
"Yes, more important than you can imagine. Satisfied now? If Miss Zhou doesn't want me to go in, then I can only force my way in." Wei Zhao had already taken out her lifebound whip, ready to take action.
Zhou Qingxue, afraid that Wei Zhao's old injuries might worsen, reluctantly signaled the guards to let them pass. They walked through the hot corridor of the cultivation room and arrived at the room with stairs. Zhou Qingxue ordered the secret room to be opened. Fearing that Wei Zhao might make a rash move, she went down the stairs first to guide Wei Zhao. In no time, they reached the platform Zhou Qingxue had visited before.
Wei Zhao looked at the endless magma around the platform, and her heart seemed to stop beating. She stood still, and when she recovered, she seemed to want to jump directly into the rolling magma.
Luckily, Zhou Qingxue quickly rushed over and, from behind, hugged Wei Zhao to prevent her from jumping. "What's the use of jumping down? Do you want to turn into ashes directly?"
"Let go of me! My Mistress is down there. Even if she turns into ashes, I have to go down and find her!" Wei Zhao's eyes were bloodshot, and she was about to lose control.
"You need to be fully prepared before coming over. If Song Weizhi hasn't died yet, how will jumping down help her?" Zhou Qingxue tightly held Wei Zhao, preventing her from jumping into the magma.
After Wei Zhao calmed down for a while, rationality gradually returned. The urgent task was to find something that could avoid the magma, so they could save her Mistress.
Wei Zhao stepped back a few steps, pulling her hand away from Zhou Qingxue's grip. She looked coldly at the woman in front of her and said, "Miss Zhou, the next time we meet, we will be enemies. You saved me, so I won't harm you. But your father, I must kill."
Wei Zhao finished speaking, red-eyed, and walked away.
"Where are you going, Wei Zhao?" Zhou Qingxue's words were filled with a sob, but Wei Zhao had already walked far away, ignoring her.
Zhou Qingxue sat down on the platform, still holding the earring that Wei Zhao had returned to her. Tears fell drop by drop. She couldn't understand why everything was fine, but why did her father change so suddenly? Why was Song Weizhi so important to Wei Zhao's heart?
On the other side, Song Weizhi sank to the bottom of the magma. In this month, she briefly regained consciousness a few times. From half a moment at the beginning, to one moment, half an hour, one hour, and now Song Weizhi could stay conscious for two hours a day.
However, as the time she stayed awake increased, the pain all over her body became more and more apparent. Song Weizhi endured the burning sensation from the magma. She thought that being alive was always a good thing. No matter what, as long as she endured it, she could see her little girl. Therefore, the pain in her body and spiritual sense didn't seem so unbearable.
After some time, Song Weizhi felt the pain all over her body gradually decreasing. Around her soul and dantian, new flesh and blood were slowly growing. However, the growth was extremely slow, and she still had to endure the burning of the magma. Therefore, every time a bit of flesh and blood grew, it was extremely painful. But over these days, Song Weizhi had already become accustomed to the temperature of the magma.
She only knew that her little girl was still waiting for her, and those damn people hadn't died yet. She had to hold on. With all her strength depleted, to escape from this hellish place, she could only rely on herself.
Gradually, bones and flesh began to grow on her body. These bones and flesh were repeatedly tempered by the magma, no longer burning away like before.
In the magma, Song Weizhi felt as if she were soaking in warm springs. As an Ice-type Single Spirit Root cultivator, she surprisingly wasn't afraid of the surging magma anymore.