Chapter 348 : Not Going to Work
Under the night sky, the bright moon shed its radiance over the ancient temple, which stood in silence.
Seeing this scene again, Jiang Mo was almost moved to tears. As for being picked up by the scruff of her neck, what did it matter? After all, there were no outsiders present... the young monk barely counted as an outsider, right?
Qingyu released her grip, dropping the enormous White Tiger, then gracefully descended to the ground.
Zhu Baiyi stayed behind to cover their retreat, flashes of blade light in her hand temporarily suppressing the rioting demonic energy with overwhelming force, then she quickly flashed out of the well. She moved just in time; had she been even half a step slower, she might have struggled to escape.
From the moment the two discovered the abnormality in the well to going down to rescue Jiang Mo, then pulling the tiger out of the well—all of this took merely a few breaths, happening so quickly that even the demonic energy in the well hadn't fully reacted. When it finally realized what had happened, the demonic energy surged up again, rushing upward only to be blocked by the barrier at the well mouth, crashing against it and making the Buddha-light flicker, as if it might collapse at any moment.
In the brief moment Tan Xin was distracted, a White Tiger suddenly appeared before him, and more terrifyingly, the barrier above the well was on the verge of breaking.
He had no time to focus his attention on the White Tiger and immediately flashed to the edge of the dried well. His hands rapidly formed Buddhist mudras, brilliant Buddha-light gathering at his fingertips. When the Buddha-light reached blinding intensity, he hurriedly pressed it down onto the barrier.
The previously dim Buddha-light on the barrier received support and instantly brightened, barely holding back the impact of the raging demonic energy. However, after using this technique, the young monk's face turned notably pale, and even his figure swayed slightly. Only by supporting himself against the well's edge could he barely stabilize, showing the considerable energy consumed.
Seeing this, Qingyu and Zhu Baiyi realized their earlier actions had caused trouble for the young monk. Zhu Baiyi immediately stepped forward with spiritual medicine and said, "Young monk, you should meditate and recover. We'll help keep watch here; nothing will go wrong."
This statement was somewhat dubious, not because the two had any ill intentions, but because they lacked genuine methods to control demonic energy. However, Tan Xin had indeed expended enormous energy and truly needed to recover. So after expressing his gratitude, he took the spiritual medicine and sat cross-legged by the well.
Seeing that the demonic energy was temporarily suppressed and the young monk was taking medicine to recover, the two finally turned their attention to the White Tiger.
Qingyu was most concerned about Yun Qingyue and immediately asked the White Tiger: "Where is Qingyue?"
The person and the tiger had fallen into the well together, and unless something unusual happened, they should have been together. However, when Qingyu went down to rescue them, she had discovered that Yun Qingyue wasn't present. She worried that the two had been separated, and if they missed today, it would be much harder for Yun Qingyue to get out. Fortunately, she remembered that the White Tiger had an innate space, so she patiently asked this question.
The White Tiger transformed back into human form. Jiang Mo uncomfortably raised her hand to touch the back of her neck while answering: "Peak Master, don't worry. Senior Sister is in my space." As she spoke, her form disappeared, having entered her space to find Yun Qingyue.
However, Yun Qingyue wasn't in a state where she could simply come out with Jiang Mo right now...
Yun Qingyue had always been extraordinarily talented. Whether during her earlier days at Xuanqing Sect or later when she left the sect to wander, her cultivation progress far exceeded her peers. She was just over a hundred years old, yet already possessed Spirit Division cultivation, a prodigy worthy of admiration anywhere. It was already remarkable that Yun Qingyue had never grown arrogant or complacent, but the journey underground had made her deeply realize that her cultivation was still insufficient.
At this moment, her bloodline had begun to awaken, and with a ninth-grade Dragon's Blood Grass in her possession and dragon bones before her, earnest effort was preferable to passive waiting.
When Jiang Mo entered the space, she didn't see her senior sister anywhere. Only beside the dragon bones was a large white cocoon, about as tall as a person. She immediately had her suspicions, and after circling the cocoon twice and touching it, she felt abundant spiritual energy and vigorous life force within. The cocoon was clearly formed from spiritual energy, and inside the enormous cocoon, a transformation was evidently taking place.
Under such circumstances, Jiang Mo naturally couldn't disturb her, and even wanted to stay and protect her—though this was unnecessary, as no danger could appear in the space, she still wanted her senior sister to see her when she opened her eyes.
However, considering that her master and the Sect Leader were waiting outside, she had to abandon this idea. She immediately flashed out, explaining the situation in the space to the two, including the matter of the dragon bones and the ninth-grade Dragon's Blood Grass, concealing nothing. After all, the Peak Masters of Xuanqing Sect knew something about the White Tiger obtaining dragon bones in the Canglán Secret Realm back then.
Hearing this news, Qingyu and Zhu Baiyi had mixed emotions.
For the demon race, transformation almost always meant one thing: purifying their bloodline. The purer the bloodline, the greater the power. The most dramatic outcome would be atavism, reaching the bloodline level of an ancient great demon and correspondingly possessing the power of an ancient great demon.
This was undoubtedly a good thing for the demon race, but Yun Qingyue's birth had been the result of Zhu Baiyi's selfish desires—she could have given birth to a child with pure demon bloodline, but due to her selfishness, she made the child also possess Qingyu's bloodline. Now that Yun Qingyue was purifying her bloodline, given the difference in individual strength between humans and demons, that trace of human bloodline would undoubtedly be eliminated.
In other words, the transformed Yun Qingyue might no longer possess Qingyu's bloodline, and she would no longer be Qingyu's daughter!
༻༺❀༻✧⋆｡°✩☽༓☾✩°｡⋆✧༺❀༻༺
Regarding Yun Qingyue's transformation, neither Qingyu nor Zhu Baiyi wanted to say anything for the moment, or perhaps they didn't know what to say.
After a brief silence, Zhu Baiyi was the first to change the subject, speaking of recent events: "Maintaining the seal is urgent. We made an agreement with Tan Xin for only seven days. If the seven-day period ended and you hadn't emerged, he would have completely sealed this place." She then added with feeling: "It's already the evening of the sixth day; fortunately, you came out in time."
Hearing this, Jiang Mo felt a wave of fear. Although she and her senior sister had guessed there would be a time limit, they hadn't expected time to pass so quickly. It was fortunate that she had made a decisive decision to spend points to find the exit; otherwise, following the normal process, they might have been too late.
After expressing her relief, Jiang Mo also planned to tell them about what she and her senior sister had encountered underground these past few days. The demonic energy wasn't the focus; what mattered was the precipice that had suddenly appeared with concentrated demonic energy, and the Three Elder who was setting up a formation at the edge of the precipice—she felt that the elder's fall into the well wasn't an accident like theirs, but seemed deliberate and with ulterior motives.
However, just as Jiang Mo was about to speak, another change occurred. The demonic energy suppressed by the barrier suddenly moved again—the demonic energy gathered under the barrier at the well mouth seemed energized, frantically assaulting the barrier.
Jiang Mo and the others saw golden light flashing before them, Buddha-light flaring brilliantly, almost illuminating the area around the dried well as bright as day.
Zhu Baiyi and Qingyu's expressions immediately changed. Muttering "This is bad," they turned without regard for Jiang Mo and rushed toward the dried well.
Sure enough, although the Buddha-light at the well mouth was exceptionally bright, anyone with discerning eyes could see it was running out of energy. If nothing unexpected happened, this barrier, empowered for tens of thousands of years, had reached its final limits. If they couldn't turn the tide at this critical moment, the barrier would soon shatter, and the consequences of tens of thousands of years of accumulated demonic energy surging out would be unimaginable.
"What's happening? Wasn't it already suppressed earlier?!" Jiang Mo also recognized the dire situation and instinctively blurted out. As she spoke, her gaze unconsciously shifted to Tan Xin, who was meditating at the well's edge, her eyes inevitably showing a hint of regret.
Although Tan Xin had long prepared to sacrifice himself, and although only one day remained of the seven-day agreement, watching the young monk go to his death was still heartbreaking for Jiang Mo, who wasn't stone-hearted, and she felt sorry for him.
Qingyu and Zhu Baiyi had no time for such thoughts. After examining the dried well, their expressions turned grim: "Something's wrong. Why is there so much more demonic energy in the well than before?!"
Earlier, in order to rescue Jiang Mo, both Qingyu and Zhu Baiyi had personally risked danger and had firsthand experience of the concentration of demonic energy at the well mouth—although a large amount of demonic energy had been absorbed to form the three-headed dog and the "kelp monsters," and the remainder had been burned by the demonic fire, the current situation was far more intense. The concentration of demonic energy now was at least several times greater than before.
It's important to note that demonic energy was already difficult to deal with, and the Nameless Temple had barely managed to suppress it after countless years. With this sudden increase in demonic energy, the previously barely maintained balance naturally couldn't be sustained. The barrier not breaking immediately was largely thanks to Tan Xin's earlier reinforcement with the Seven Treasures Glass Heart.
Hearing this, Jiang Mo walked to the well's edge to look and was also startled by the ferocious demonic energy. However, after her underground journey, she knew more than Qingyu and Zhu Baiyi did, so she immediately told them about the Three Elder, especially about the underground precipice and the formation. Unfortunately, she wasn't skilled in formations, so when Qingyu and Zhu Baiyi asked her about the formation, she couldn't describe it, only recounting from memory a few formation patterns on the formation nails.
Qingyu and Zhu Baiyi were uncertain, but even the most simple-minded person could guess that the elder had ill intentions. They immediately regretted not taking the Three Elder's life earlier. But it was too late for regrets now, and the current disturbance was most likely caused by her.
With two elders to rely on, Jiang Mo didn't bother to rack her brains. After explaining, she asked the two: "What should we do now?"
Tan Xin, who had been meditating to recover, opened his eyes and immediately said: "This humble monk will seal the well now."
The dried well was the weakest link in the sealing formation. If the well mouth were sealed, it would naturally repair the formation, allowing it to operate on its own. However, Jiang Mo and the others all had doubts. There had been the Merperson Island in the Southern Sea, and now the Ancient Temple in North Abyss. They feared that this might not be the only problem with the sealing formation. And given the Nine Abyss Sect's restless activities over the years, this possibility was quite high.
Qingyu and Zhu Baiyi exchanged glances. The two still maintained some tacit understanding, and they both saw a clear "Not Going to Work" in each other's eyes. Zhu Baiyi immediately said: "Something unknown has happened underground. I'm afraid just sealing the well mouth won't be enough."
Hearing this, Tan Xin looked at the well mouth and knew she was right, but his brows furrowed tightly: "But this humble monk cannot do more."
The Three Elder underground was like a ticking time bomb; no one could rest easy until she was dealt with. But the young monk's strength was truly limited. The only thing he could do was seal the dried well; for anything else, he was willing but unable.
Zhu Baiyi was silent for a moment, then said: "I'll go."