Originated from mountains and seas, life never ends

"Condition."

As they walked along the road, Hua Wujian suddenly spoke.

"His meridians haven't fully recovered yet; for now, his attributes are just used to stitch them back together in place of his flesh and blood." Qin Xiao touched his chest, feeling the impact. That attack just now was truly powerful, even severing his heart as well. Fortunately, Miao Kaijie stitched it up in time.

Hua Wujian sneered and remained silent.

Chen Mo glanced at Qin Xiao, then hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but didn't.

Qin Xiao didn't notice, continued to look at Hua Wujian, remained silent for a moment, and then couldn't help but ask, "He really—"

"Just wait and get beaten up." Hua Wujian knew what he was thinking as soon as he heard this, and cruelly shattered his illusions.

Qin Xiao's expression didn't change much, but his aura clearly darkened.

Mo Hanyu couldn't help but squeeze his hand. Qi flowed up their clasped fingers, slowly seeping into their meridians.

"There was no other way at the time. I couldn't just watch him die, could I?" Qin Xiao tried to explain. "Besides, I tried my best to avoid him."

"You always have an excuse."

"This is not an excuse, this—"

"Don't tell me." The gun in Hua Wujian's hand had already transformed back into the shape of an umbrella. He opened the umbrella, and the ribbons fluttered down, blocking Qin Xiao's view.

Qin Xiao: ...

Qin Xiao couldn't help but sigh.

"I'll help you," Mo Hanyu said softly.

Qin Xiao gave him a complicated look: "...No, you'd better not show up then."

He feared that Mang Ling would be too upset and, in a fit of anger, send him on his way.

Mo Hanyu frowned slightly: "He wouldn't be that unreasonable, would he?"

Qin Xiao didn't know how to explain it to him, so he grabbed a handful of his hair.

"So what do we do now?" Miao Kaijie suddenly asked, his gaze shifting between Qin Xiao and Hua Wujian. "And what is that magical beast?"

“That’s not a monster… well, you can think of it that way.” Qin Xiao looked at him. “His name is Zhu Yan.”

"The source of war." Hua Wujian glanced at Qin Xiao, "and still keeps him by his side."

"I didn't know at the time." Although he knew Hua Wujian definitely wouldn't believe him, Qin Xiao still explained, "Besides, it's not his fault. They would have fought whether he was there or not."

Hua Wujian sneered, not wanting to argue with him.

Qin Xiao could see his disdain, but he didn't intend to change his mind. After a pause, he asked, "What are you going to do?"

Having already sent his teammates out, is he going to do it himself?

Qin Xiao glanced at him sideways.

Hua Wujian's voice was calm and without the slightest ripple: "Watch the show."

Qin Xiao: "...Are you looking at us?"

Hua Wujian: "Yes."

Qin Xiao: "So you're not going to help?"

Hua Wujian: "Yes."

Qin Xiao: "..."

Qin Xiao looked at him silently for a while, seemingly surprised that he spoke so calmly, as if it were something perfectly natural.

Qin Xiao asked again, "Then you're following me—?"

"Hurry up," Hua Wujian said calmly. "Stop dawdling and finish this quickly."

"Then you didn't help at all, just stood by and watched, and even urged us on... That's called exploitation." Qin Xiao looked at him, clearly dissatisfied. "It's very immoral."

Hua Wujian scoffed, "You're wrong."

Qin Xiao: "Hmm?"

Hua Wujian stared at him with a half-smile.

“Only when you pay someone is it called exploitation; what I’m doing is pure enslavement.”

Qin Xiao: ...

Qin Xiao rubbed his temples in pain and remained silent for a long time.

Mo Hanyu noticed his fatigue and gently pressed his temple along with his hand. The cool air seeped in, causing Qin Xiao to squint.

Seeing that Qin Xiao had calmed down, Mo Hanyu slowly let go and glanced at Chen Mo, who remained silent.

Chen Mo had been like this since just now, looking like he wanted to say something but was too guilty to say anything.

Mo Hanyu glanced at Qin Xiao, who was completely unaware, sighed inwardly, slowed his pace, took half a step back, and came to Chen Mo's side.

"Why this expression?"

Chen Mo was taken aback, meeting Mo Hanyu's gaze. He seemed completely unprepared for Mo Hanyu to take the initiative to speak to him. His brow twitched for a moment, revealing a hint of self-reproach: "I'm sorry..."

"Is there anything I should apologize for?" Mo Hanyu asked him.

"Qin Xiao, he—" Chen Mo's voice was a little hoarse. He looked at Qin Xiao with a heavy gaze, then lowered his eyes. He clearly wanted to say something apologetic, but didn't know how to start.

"Are you injured?" Fortunately, Mo Hanyu took the initiative to ask him.

Hearing his question, Chen Mo felt even more guilty and shook his head dejectedly with his head down.

"……That's good."

Chen Mo, who had expected to be scolded, suddenly looked up at Mo Hanyu.

Mo Hanyu was looking at him with a slight smile on her lips, and patted his shoulder: "You've already suffered such serious injuries, if you get hurt again, wouldn't all that suffering have been for nothing?"

Chen Mo stared blankly at him, her lips trembling slightly, but she remained silent for a long time.

“He’s right.” Qin Xiao suddenly turned around and looked at Chen Mo. “You don’t need to feel guilty. This is not your fault.”

After a moment, Chen Mo nodded, looking down at the ground: "...Thank you."

"Do you know who else is involved?" Qin Xiao took a deep breath and looked at Hua Wujian.

Hua Wujian glanced at Chen Mo, then looked at Mo Hanyu after hearing the question, a mocking smile appearing on his lips, but he did not answer.

Mo Hanyu frowned slightly, clearly displeased with his gaze, and softly replied to Qin Xiao, "And—"

"I."

The sound of wind breaking followed, and suddenly a huge rift opened in the sky. A terrifying, white bone dragon emerged from it, its jaws wide open, and it lunged straight at Qin Xiao and his companions.

At the same time, the ground beneath Qin Xiao's feet began to tremble, and the ground beneath his feet suddenly rose several feet high, revealing jagged and deep cracks.

The shadow instantly enveloped Qin Xiao and his companions, their figures vanishing from the spot. The bone dragon's bite missed its mark, and a gigantic brown bear emerged from the ground, letting out a terrifying roar.

Chen Mo and his men instantly teleported several miles away. The moment Mo Hanyu appeared, he launched his attack—suddenly raising his hand, hundreds of thick, long, and sharp ice shards appeared in the air, raining down on the bone dragon and brown bear!

Strangely, the bone dragon seemed to be a truly fragile skeleton, crumbling at the slightest touch, its bones falling to the ground and scattering everywhere. The mad bear, on the other hand, had thick hide and flesh; the flying ice shards only left a few shallow marks on its body, without even drawing blood.

Just as Qin Xiao was about to step forward, Mo Hanyu pressed down on his shoulder.

"You promised me." Mo Hanyu glanced at him, then reached out and formed a solid ice wall. The ice wall reached Qin Xiao's chest, and was scattered with ice flowers, as beautiful as a snowflake dream.

Qin Xiao paused, slowly released his grip, and obediently stood inside the ice wall.

Seeing this, Mo Hanyu smiled slightly, turned around and looked at the group of bones trembling on the ground. His smile gradually disappeared, and he took a few steps forward. At the same time, frost began to spread on the ground, and cold air invaded the entire area.

Just as the frost was about to completely cover the skeleton, the scattered skeleton rose into the air, and sharp bones flew towards the group like flying flowers and willow branches!

Chen Mo waved his hand, creating a shadow wall. The bone spikes were absorbed into the shadow wall the instant they hit it, and reappeared from behind the mad bear the next second.

Just as the bone spurs were about to pierce the bear's body, at the critical moment, the bone spurs scattered like raindrops, almost touching the bear's back and rising vertically upwards, before rapidly gathering back into the dragon shape they had just formed, swirling in the air.

At this moment, Miao Kaijie located the two men's position, quietly tightened the silk thread, and suddenly tugged at it with his fingers. The two men hiding in the shadows were forced to reveal themselves.

"Not bad," the brown-haired boy clapped his hands and laughed.

The black-haired boy beside him remained silent, surveyed the surroundings, and then fixed his gaze on Qin Xiao.

The moment Qin Xiao met his gaze, he knew what he was planning. Sure enough, the air in front of him was suddenly ripped open, and bone spikes flew out from the crack, aiming straight for his forehead!

In a flash, the attack was blocked by the swirling ice flowers around Qin Xiao. They were so tiny, even smaller than normal snowflakes, like scattered fragments of light drifting in a snowy night in a dream.

However, these seemingly fragile ice flowers were firmly attached to the front of the bone spur, preventing it from moving forward even an inch.

A shadow clung to the tiny point where the ice flowers and bone spurs met, instantly covering the bone spurs and making them disappear. Then the ice flowers melted, and the bone spurs appeared without warning on the black-haired boy's head. Due to the previous manipulation, they pierced towards the top of his skull.

The black-haired boy flicked his finger, and the bone spike turned a corner, lightly grazing the top of his head before returning to the bone dragon circling beside him.

"So good?"

Hua Wujian suddenly spoke, looking at Qin Xiao with a half-smile.

Qin Xiao glanced at Hua Wujian, who was sitting leisurely on the ice wall with his legs crossed, holding an umbrella, and was somewhat speechless.

"Are you really watching the show?"

"Otherwise what?" Hua Wujian glanced at the two people not far away, then turned to look at him. "It's none of my business."

"Hey! You, you're not that—"

The brown-haired boy suddenly pointed at Hua Wujian and exclaimed, "Liu Huangli's classmate? You—"

"They've already withdrawn," Hua Wujian said calmly.

"Huh?!" This was clearly unexpected for the brown-haired boy, who turned to look at the silent black-haired boy beside him.

"Who are they?" Qin Xiao asked Hua Wujian.

The two people who suddenly appeared before him both possessed upper-level strength, and their attire clearly indicated they were from the same team. Although Qin Xiao couldn't tell, he assumed they knew each other because he saw the brown-haired youth speaking to the man in blue.

"I don't know," Hua Wujian replied indifferently.

Qin Xiao was surprised: "You didn't know?"

"Not everyone will leave an impression on me." Hua Wujian looked at the two indifferently, unmoved.

Qin Xiao thought about it and realized it was true, so he said nothing more.

The brown-haired boy appeared to be around twenty years old. His hairstyle was somewhat messy, with long hair falling to his shoulders. He wore a two-finger-wide headband to prevent stray hairs from sticking to his face. His dark robes were slightly loose, revealing a large expanse of his honey-colored chest. Several necklaces hung around his neck and chest, the pendants occasionally flashing with an eerie light, giving him a free and unrestrained air.

The black-haired boy beside him was much more restrained in comparison, his robes neatly worn, with a white high-necked shirt underneath. His black hair fell cleanly to his ears, without a single sloppiness, giving him an overall impression of composure and restraint.

"Why did you quit? Who defeated you?" the brown-haired boy asked, a playful smile on his face.

Hua Wujian did not answer him.

When the brown-haired boy saw that he ignored him, he persisted, "Why aren't you answering?"

Hua Wujian still didn't spare him a single glance.

“Luo Feng,” Mo Hanyu suddenly spoke, his eyes coldly fixed on the two of them, “Shen Yuran.”

The brown-haired boy looked at him, a smile playing on his lips: "Yes."

The black-haired youth looked at them and said coolly, "Xuantian Sect, Shen Yuran."

The brown-haired youth chuckled twice and bowed to them, saying, "Xuantian Sect, Luo Feng."

Xuan Tianzong?

Upon hearing the name of the sect, Qin Xiao's brows relaxed slightly, his pupils dilated, and he looked at Miao Kaijie, who had suddenly approached.

“…It’s not that I’m saying this.” Miao Kaijie couldn’t help but lean against the ice wall and say to Qin Xiao, “You clearly looked at that information, how come you didn’t remember anything?”

Qin Xiao: ...

Qin Xiao turned his head away in an evasive manner, without saying a word.

Hua Wujian let out a sneer without any politeness.

Miao Kaijie sighed and shook his head helplessly.

"So? What do you want to do?" Mo Hanyu looked at the two of them coldly.

"Hmm? Aren't we being obvious enough?" Luo Feng looked surprised, his eyes darting around, and he chuckled, "Of course—"

Before he could finish speaking, Mo Hanyu suddenly waved his hand. Frost instantly covered the entire area, the temperature plummeted, and the person who had not been there before was frozen out.

The girl trembled all over, constantly exhaling white breath. Her eyelashes were already covered with frost. The sudden cold air froze her so that she could not move. She could only swallow large gulps of air, trying to warm her body. However, the air she inhaled was mixed with countless ice crystals, which made her even more stiff and cold.

In front of Qin Xiao and Miao Kaijie, however, it condensed into two thin, eerie needles.

The reason it's considered strange is that this needle previously seemed to have no physical form, almost perfectly blending into the air; even with maximum effort, one could only perceive a slight fluctuation in the air. However, unlike light and shadow-based attributes, this needle couldn't solidify under Mo Hanyu's freezing power.

"What is this thing?" Miao Kaijie raised an eyebrow, glanced at the girl who was lying on the ground trembling, and then at the needle floating in front of him.

Qin Xiao cut it in half with his knife, frowning slightly as he looked at the needle broken in two.

"Intermediate level".

The ground simultaneously cracked open, pulling the girl back to his side. Mo Hanyu didn't stop them, only coldly watching them.

Chen Mo had just sensed the girl's cultivation level, glanced at Miao Kaijie, and said.

“No wonder I don’t remember it well.” Miao Kaijie recalled the information because they only focused on the upper level and skimmed over the rest, so they didn’t remember it well.

"Yu Yu, are you alright?" Luo Feng patted the girl's frost-covered shoulders and found that she was as cold as ice. He had no choice but to have Kuang Xiong hug her, trying to give her some warmth.

"It's too cold, that kid..." Luo Feng frowned as he looked at Mo Hanyu.

Shen Yuran remained silent, her gaze grave.

The surrounding temperature was too low, so they had to circulate their vital energy to resist the cold.

"I have a feeling that I'm about to capsize in a ditch?" Luo Feng laughed.

Shen Yuran clicked his tongue, slowly raised his hand, and several cracks immediately appeared in the air. The bone dragon burrowed into them and moved back and forth between the cracks.

“Sky-Splitting Bone Dragon.” Miao Kaijie was still leaning against Qin Xiao, looking at the dragon’s tail that was so close to him, his eyes gradually turning cold. “Earth-Splitting Mad Bear.”

"These two people's attributes," Miao Kaijie said to Qin Xiao. "That Shen Yuran has the ability to tear through space."

"How does it compare to the Shadow Department?" Qin Xiao asked him.

Miao Kaijie smiled and shook his head: "The two are completely incomparable."

"I'm referring to the film department."