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

Yu Xintang's heart clenched, and an intense pain swept over her, a thousand times worse than the previous backlash. Her soul was torn apart inch by inch by the silk threads, tightly bound. Every breath was accompanied by excruciating pain as her flesh was torn apart. The pain densely covered the top of her head, almost tearing her soul apart and crushing it.

The scene before my eyes began to blur, as if if this continued, my consciousness would fall into an endless slumber again.

"You dare...use the same old trick again?" Tears of reason welled in his eyes, but he gritted his teeth and said coldly, "Dream on!"

With long, slender, white fingers gripping the dagger, he plunged it into his own shoulder blade without hesitation.

Blood and flesh splattered everywhere!

Yu Xintang's body suddenly arched, trembling violently. A suppressed groan escaped her throat. She tightened her grip on the dagger and pushed it down another half inch!

The metal pressed against the hard bone, producing a dull, subtle clanging sound.

The pain brought his consciousness back to normal, preventing the Rebellious Heart Gu from controlling him.

Before Su Boyu could form another hand seal, Yu Xintang quickly made a hand seal with her left hand, her fingertips sparkling with spiritual light, and a talisman rose into the air.

"A thousand winds, ten thousand blades, a whirlwind," blood trickled from the corner of his lips, "shattered jade—!"

A purple halo appeared on his fingertip, and he drew lines in the air with vigor and sharpness, with runes and patterns appearing out of thin air.

Purple-gold talismanic light crisscrossed, and the spiritual energy of heaven and earth surged and gathered with his gestures, hovering in mid-air.

Yu Xintang's lips were pale, and her shoulder was bleeding continuously, yet she still exhausted all her spiritual power to create talismans.

He fears.

I'm afraid I'll soon lose control.

He feared that his power would harm his fellow disciples again.

The intricate and exquisite runes in the air shone with golden light, carrying the spiritual power of a demigod from the Penglai Realm that could suppress all evil and wicked spells, firmly locking the altar shut.

The Four Directions Sword finally appeared, carrying an imposing aura, rising into the sky along with the formation.

Yu Xintang held two fingers together in front of her eyes, her thin, blood-stained lips uttering a single word in a hoarse voice.

"break!"

The countless runes crashed down, and purple light swept across the entire altar, forming an impenetrable four-sided barrier.

The moment any of the fleeing Gu worms touched the talisman light, they were all sizzled and burned, turning into ashes without leaving a trace.

Forced to retreat, Su Boyu felt her blood surging and roared, "How dare you!"

He stared intently at Yu Xintang, and after a moment, he laughed cruelly, his eyes filled with malice: "You think this will break the Rebellious Heart Gu?"

"I just used up my last bit of cultivation to activate the Rebellious Heart Gu poison in my body and form a life-and-death pact with you," Su Boyu pointed to the red thread on his wrist and smiled strangely, "Fine... If I can't live, then Yu Xintang, let's die together."

Tan Suiting's gaze was deep and cold. The sharp edge of the sword pressed against his fair neck, his fingers pressing so hard that his knuckles turned white, yet he hesitated to strike.

He was willing to die for his senior brother, but that didn't mean he could watch Yu Xintang die and disappear.

These are his fellow disciples and his partners.

She would laugh and put her arm around Xie Weixing's shoulder, asking gloatingly, "How did you bully our Xiaolong again?"

They would sigh helplessly and draw talismans, then stick them on their senior sister's door so that they could sneak out at night to steal pastries from the small kitchen.

They are as close as brothers.

Yu Xintang gritted her teeth and supported her body.

His purple brocade robe was already stained with dust and blood, mottled and tattered, with torn and fluttering edges.

A person who usually loves beauty the most, someone who would complain even about a single loose thread on their clothes.

Now he's in this sorry state.

His left shoulder was ripped open by a sharp blade, the wound revealing bright red flesh, blood gushing out. His figure beneath the cloth was thin and frail, yet he stood ramrod straight, like a lone cypress tree that refused to bend in the wind and snow.

Her once gentle and clear complexion was now an extremely pale, exhausted look. Her jawline was hard and sharp, and her thin lips were bloodless, dry, and chapped.

Tan Suiting's eyes were deep and his fingers, gripping the Fenglian sword, were trembling slightly.

Senior brother is already dead. Now, for Su Boyu's sake, must another Yu Xintang die?

Is there no other way?

Yu Xintang looked at the red thread connecting her to Su Boyu around her neck.

He knew that as long as the red thread remained unbroken and the Gu worms were not destroyed, his mind would forever be controlled by them, and he would never be able to truly break free from the Rebellious Heart Gu.

He will always be Tan Suiting's Achilles' heel and a source of fear, a sharp blade lodged between his fellow disciples' throats.

Crimson threads swirl and coil, each strand cutting into the flesh and veins of the Jade Heart Crabapple.

"Little Dragon," Yu Xintang's body swayed violently, a metallic taste rising in his throat, and he almost vomited a mouthful of blood, but he managed to swallow it down. "...Make your move."

Tan Suiting looked up, and his usually cold eyes trembled slightly.

If he were to kill Su Boyu with his own hands now, it would be the same as killing Yu Xintang, a childhood friend.

"I'll take you back to the sect," Tan Suiting said coldly, raising his hand to use the Nine Locks of Void to bind Su Boyu to death. "The Gu technique is evil, but my master is the head of the Medicine Sect, he must have a way to break it."

Yu Xintang's pale face lost all color, even her lips turned ashen, and a faint sorrow appeared in her eyes.

He could clearly sense the binding of his soul, the restraint of the Gu worms, and the thousands of red threads before him, which became the final obstacle between Tan Suiting and his deep-seated hatred.

As long as he remains bound by the Gu threads, the Feng Hua Sect will always have something to fear and a weakness to exploit.

Su Boyu was bound, but she smiled smugly.

He was never wrong. As long as Yu Xintang was in his hands, everyone in the Feng Hua Sect would be wary of him.

Yu Xintang's shoulders were covered with tiny bloodstains, wounds left by the backlash from the reversed soul when she forcibly broke through the restraints of the Rebellious Heart Gu.

Fine beads of blood seeped from his neck and behind his ears, slowly sliding down his beautiful jawline and dripping onto his tattered brocade clothes, spreading out as dark red blood flowers.

He spoke slowly, his voice hoarse and low, trembling slightly from the agony of his soul: "You think that a mere Gu worm can bind me for life and ensnare my mind? Su Boyu, you underestimate the Penglai Realm, and you underestimate... me."

He watched helplessly as the Gu worms manipulated him, and Xie remained unconscious with severe injuries.

Seeing that Tan Suiting was burdened with deep hatred and faced difficulties at every turn.

Now that he is finally about to avenge his family, he is once again caught in a dilemma because of the Rebellious Heart Gu in his body.

But Yu Xintang was never a puppet to be manipulated.

Su Boyu looked at the person tightly bound by the red thread, a sinister cold light flashing in her eyes, and threatened sharply: "Yu Xintang, see clearly! This red thread connects us. If you dare to resist again, your soul will be scattered immediately! If you obediently listen to me and become my pawn, I may spare your life."

---

Some readers have pointed out that the Dragon Palace character is described too little, even less than the other three members of F5. Here's my unified response: From the protagonist's perspective, the early focus was on Kunkun's rebuilding of his character's foundation and his power-ups, so the Dragon Palace didn't have any scenes requiring such power-ups. As the story progresses, more attention will be given to him in the later stages. This isn't a male-centric novel; the difference in the amount of screen time between the two characters is simply a matter of early, middle, and late stages. I've considered all the feedback. Enjoy reading! Please call me! (orz)