Are you really trying to cultivate immortality? Something feels off.

*

The group took their swords and headed uphill.

The white mist over the Sword Tomb gradually thinned, and a little sunlight leaked through the cracks at the top, spreading a faint, fragmented light on the stone steps leading up to it.

Having obtained the swords they desired, the group chatted and laughed, planning to rest in the Beast Forest for a while before heading to the Abyss of Night Water. The atmosphere was unusually peaceful.

"What about these two? Should we take them with us?" Shen Chunri looked at Su Boyu and Yan Chenxiao, whose fates were unknown.

Nie Zhao glanced at the two men and said coldly, "Take them to the Beast Forest."

"You go carry it," Shen Chunri said, dawdling as he squeezed Yu Xintang aside.

The latter reluctantly rolled up his sleeves.

He certainly couldn't carry two men on his own.

"Help me!" Yu Xintang deliberately ignored Su Boyu, picked up Yan Chenxiao, and laughed in exasperation. "Do you think a mere, defenseless talisman cultivator like me can carry two idiots at once?"

Shen Chunri clicked his tongue, afraid that Xie Weixing would scream but not daring to let Cangbi out, and raised his hand to carry Su Boyu on his back.

He looked lighter than Yan Chenxiao, and probably because his bones were broken, his back felt loose and flabby.

Xie Weixing walked behind her and raised his hand to help.

No one saw Su Boyu, who was resting on her shoulder, slowly open her eyes, her pupils a deep, unfathomable black-green.

A wisp of black Gu energy, as thin as a hair, suddenly shot out from between his fingertips, silently bypassing everyone's perception, and pierced straight into Yu Xintang's nape.

He quietly activated the dormant Rebellious Heart Gu.

The poison that had been left on the second floor of the Sword Tomb broke through all the shackles and instantly swept through Yu Xintang's limbs and bones.

"Well--!"

Yu Xintang's body stiffened abruptly, her pupils suddenly dilated, and her clear, warm eyes were instantly covered by a deathly gray.

Yan Chenxiao fell to the side.

Xie Weixing was the first to notice something was wrong. Yu Xintang's breathing suddenly became erratic, and he subconsciously turned around, raising his hand to help her: "What's wrong—"

Completely unprepared.

Complete trust, complete relaxation.

But in the next instant, the square sword that was originally hanging beside Yu Xintang suddenly trembled and was drawn from its sheath.

With a clear, ringing sound, the sword was no longer imbued with the gentle spiritual energy of Penglai Realm. Instead, it was covered in layers of dark aura, its blade chillingly cold, completely controlled by the Reverse Heart Gu.

Yu Xintang's eyes were empty.

He could not hear the shouts, nor feel his own movements. Su Boyu's will had forcibly taken over his body, and all he could hear were cold, seductive commands.

"Kill him."

"Piercing Xie Weixing's heart."

The moment the words left his mouth.

Yu Xintang suddenly raised her arm, her movements were ridiculously fast and strangely ruthless, without the slightest hesitation or tremor.

The Four Directions Sword, enveloped in black mist, burst forth, cutting through the wind!

"Watch out!" Nie Zhao's pupils shrank sharply, and the Wind Blade in his hand instantly lit up with a red light as he raised his hand to block.

The blade of the Jade Heart Pear Sword shifted half an inch to the side.

Shen Chunri's expression changed drastically, and his spiritual power surged instantly.

But it was already too late.

Who could have imagined that Yu Xintang would suddenly erupt?

Xie Weixing didn't even have time to condense a protective spell.

He watched helplessly as his fellow disciple, who had just been smiling and walking side by side with him, thrust a sword into his heart. Those once gentle and clear eyes were now lifeless, devoid of hatred or struggle, only an empty void of being manipulated.

A moment of astonishment flashed in his eyes, followed by excruciating pain.

"Pfft—!"

The sharp, square blade pierced his left chest and heart with perfect precision, without any obstruction.

Hot blood gushed out instantly, soaking his red clothes, and flowed continuously down the cold blade.

The sword blade pierced through his back, sending tiny droplets of blood flying.

Tan Suiting was utterly devastated, feeling as if the world had suddenly changed color, and his voice was almost broken: "Senior Brother!"

The moment the excruciating pain exploded, Xie Weixing's body jolted violently, he staggered half a step, and his breath suddenly caught in his throat.

He looked down at the sharp blade that had pierced his heart, at the warm, crimson stains covering his face.

Before her, Yu Xintang maintained her rapier stance, her arm straight and stiff, her whole being like a puppet whose soul had been taken away, her eyes gray and lifeless, her lips trembling slightly, yet unable to utter a sound of her own.

Su Boyu shoved Shen Chunri aside and coldly ordered, "Yu Xintang, take me away!"

Yu Xintang's eyes turned ashen, and she withdrew her sword!

A horrifying sound of blood and gore rang out, and without hesitation he turned around and picked up Su Boyu, whose bones were all broken.

The wind blowing in from the exit of the Sword Tomb was biting and piercing.

Xie Weixing felt excruciating pain in his chest, his spiritual energy dissipating inch by inch, and warm blood soaking through his clothes. He struggled to lift his eyes, looking at Yu Xintang before him, whose eyes were empty and who was completely unconscious, his voice hoarse and broken.

"...Xintang."

A soft call, so soft it was almost blown away by the wind.

The controlled boy was completely unable to respond.

The three people behind him were stiff and cold, their eyes filled with blood and pain. The entire sword mound was deathly silent, with only the soft thud of blood falling to the ground and a chilling laugh.

"Xie Weixing," Su Boyu said, "you will ultimately be trampled under my feet."

Tan Suiting moved with lightning speed, catching Xie Weixing's swaying body, his eyes bloodshot: "Senior brother..."

A piercing pain shot through his heart, and Xie Weixing opened his mouth, a metallic taste rising in his throat: "Yu Xintang... has been controlled."

It must be some kind of Gu worm or something similar.

Large swaths of warm blood soaked through his clothes and bones, and his once clear and bright eyes were quickly covered with a deep, pale white and weak look. His spiritual power scattered and flowed away rapidly like a river bursting its banks.

Tan Suiting pressed his hand tightly against the wound to stop the bleeding, tears streaming down his face, like snow-white pearls rolling onto the ground: "Don't speak, I know, I know, Senior Brother, I'm sleepy..."

He sensed the life force of the person in his arms slipping away, and without hesitation, he transferred his dragon-blooded power to them.

Upon hearing the hoarse "Xintang," the purple-clad youth's eyes flickered, and he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

A crack appeared in the sea of ​​the heart that had been sealed by the Reverse Heart Gu.

Yu Xintang suddenly came to her senses.

The crimson light before my eyes was blinding, the sword hilt in my palm was icy cold, and the sensation of the sword piercing through flesh was terrifyingly real.

In his memory, he clearly saw the sword tip pierce Xie Weixing's chest, saw the blood droplets dripping and hitting the bluestone ground, and saw the lingering shock and tenderness in the boy's eyes.

The memories and actions that had just been forcibly altered and manipulated by the Gu worms surged back into his mind like a tidal wave.

"No……"

A very soft, broken murmur escaped from Yu Xintang's trembling, pale lips.

Su Boyu felt as if he were facing a formidable enemy. He used the last of his spiritual power to forcefully control the Reversal Heart Gu, but the backlash caused him to vomit another mouthful of blood: "Yu Xintang, I'll let you take me away!"

The Rebellious Heart Gu was activated again, and Yu Xintang felt a sudden pain in her chest, her neck veins became prominent, and her eyes returned to blankness in the next moment.

---

No angst, hehe. I'll give Kunkun another cheat code to play with. F5, no one will die, and they won't separate. I'm still sick today, but I'm trying my best to write. Please give me lots of energy! (orz)