Translator: CinderTL
Outside the Rotting Miasma Ridge, Song Wen descended from the sky, landing halfway up a towering mountain and entering a cave.
Ye Bing was already waiting inside, with Jiang Yushan lying unconscious at her feet. Jiang Yushan's face and chest were stained with blood, clearly indicating severe injuries. He lay motionless, completely unconscious.
"Gou Jun, did you eliminate Jiang Lanruo?" Ye Bing asked as Song Wen approached.
After capturing Jiang Yushan alive and exiting the ruins, she had witnessed Song Wen's blood sea blotting out the sun and trapping Jiang Lanruo within. She had intended to assist, but Song Wen had telepathically instructed her to stay back. Without questioning his motives, she had followed his instructions, bringing Jiang Yushan to this cave to await Song Wen's arrival.
As a result, she remained unaware of the outcome of the battle between Song Wen and Jiang Lanruo.
Song Wen, who had been examining Jiang Yushan's condition, paused slightly at her question. He had never intended to kill Jiang Lanruo directly; his true plan was to use her as bait to lure out Hong Zhe. However, Ye Bing remained ignorant of this scheme.
"Jiang Lanruo's strength exceeded my expectations. Moreover, my spiritual power was severely depleted after fighting Chi Qi. She managed to escape when I let my guard down," Song Wen said, forcing a look of annoyance onto his face.
"She escaped?" Ye Bing asked, slightly surprised but not questioning Song Wen's words.
"What about Jiang Yushan?" Song Wen quickly changed the subject.
"He's not in critical condition," Ye Bing replied. "My interruption of his breakthrough caused a backlash, damaging his dantian and Sea of Consciousness. He's currently unconscious."
As she spoke, Ye Bing raised her hand and channeled a stream of spiritual power into Jiang Yushan's body.
The spiritual power surged through Jiang Yushan's meridians, wreaking havoc within his body.
Even in his unconscious state, Jiang Yushan seemed to sense the excruciating pain, his brow gradually furrowing.
"Ah—"
A pained groan escaped Jiang Yushan's lips as his eyes snapped open.
Seeing him awaken, Ye Bing withdrew the spiritual power. The agony on Jiang Yushan's face immediately eased.
Realizing the dire state of his body, Jiang Yushan looked up at Song Wen and Ye Bing, his eyes filled with panic.
"Who are you? How dare you interrupt my breakthrough and kidnap me here? What do you want?"
"Jiang Yushan, look closely. Do you recognize me?" Ye Bing's voice was icy, laced with a hint of murderous intent.
"You..." Jiang Yushan stared at Ye Bing, his eyes widening with disbelief and terror. "You're Ye Bing?"
Ye Bing's gaze was cold and her expression grim.
"So you still remember me. Today, I will avenge my son!"
"You... you can't kill me! If you dare lay a finger on me, my aunt will never forgive you!" Jiang Yushan collapsed to the ground, writhing backward in a desperate attempt to distance himself from Ye Bing, as if physical distance could offer him some semblance of safety.
Song Wen reached out and gently patted Ye Bing's shoulder, shaking his head slightly to dissuade her from approaching Jiang Yushan.
He vividly recalled that years ago, also at Rotting Miasma Ridge, Jiang Yushan had faced Ye Bing's relentless, fatal strikes, triggering the awakening of the shadow void within his Sea of Consciousness.
Song Wen had no desire to awaken the shadow void again.
He stepped forward, positioning himself between Ye Bing and Jiang Yushan, and addressed the latter.
"Young Master Jiang, rest assured. If we intended to kill you, we would have done so long ago. Why wait until now? We brought you here to negotiate a deal with Jiang Lanruo. Once she hands over what we want, we'll release you unharmed."
"Really?" Hope flickered in Jiang Yushan's eyes.
"Absolutely true," Song Wen replied calmly, though a hint of mockery flashed in his eyes.
Jiang Yushan's reaction made it clear he knew nothing about the shadow void and still trusted Jiang Lanruo implicitly. He remained completely oblivious to the fact that his seemingly caring aunt was the true viper in their midst.
"Don't worry," Jiang Yushan said hastily. "As long as you don't kill me, my aunt will agree to whatever you want."
A meaningful smile spread across Song Wen's face.
"I believe so too."
With that, a surge of potent divine sense erupted from Song Wen's brow, piercing Jiang Yushan's skull and invading his Sea of Consciousness.
Jiang Yushan's soul, unable to withstand such overwhelming divine sense, once again lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground.
"Gou Jun, I know you want to keep Jiang Yushan alive to lure out Jiang Lanruo. But as long as Jiang Yushan lives, Jiang Lanruo will inevitably find him through her soul lamp or some other means. And behind Jiang Lanruo stands the Divine Blood Gate. If their people come with her, you and I would likely be no match for them. At that point, we wouldn't just fail to avenge ourselves on Jiang Lanruo—our very lives would be in danger," Ye Bing said.
Song Wen replied, "Immortal Maiden, you need not worry. I would never put us in such peril. I'll head to Demon Subduing City as soon as possible to draw out Jiang Lanruo, giving her no time to wait for the Divine Blood Gate's reinforcements."
After a moment's hesitation, Ye Bing nodded.
"Very well. Then depart immediately."
Song Wen said, "Immortal Maiden, since we don't know Jiang Lanruo's movements, guarding Jiang Yushan directly isn't safe. It would be better to monitor him from a distance, remaining hidden."
Ye Bing agreed, "Alright, we'll follow your plan. But shouldn't we set up some precautions to prevent Jiang Lanruo from escaping again?"
Song Wen replied, "Naturally. I intend to deploy a formation."
With these words, Song Wen strode out of the mountain cave, Ye Bing following closely behind.
They soon found themselves high above the cave entrance.
Song Wen flipped his hand, summoning eighteen formation flags, which he skillfully arranged around the mountain housing the cave.
"Gou Jun, is this just a fifth-rank formation?" Ye Bing asked, frowning.
"This formation is called the Nether Corpse Purgatory Formation," Song Wen replied. "It's indeed only fifth-rank, but it's the strongest trapping and killing formation I possess. Does the Immortal Maiden happen to have a sixth-tier version?"
Ye Bing shook her head slightly, a hint of regret in her expression.
Song Wen quickly completed the formation. He pointed eastward.
"Immortal Maiden, hide in that direction. If anything goes wrong, it will be easier to escape deeper into the Rotting Miasma Ridge."
Demon Subduing City lay to the west. If Jiang Yushan or Hong Zhe came looking, they would likely approach from that direction. Hiding to the east would be relatively safer. Moreover, the eastern reaches of the Rotting Miasma Ridge were shrouded in increasingly dense miasma, perfect for concealing their tracks.
"Then hurry back," Ye Bing said. "I'll wait for you."
"I will," Song Wen replied with a firm nod, his voice resolute.
Ye Bing turned and flew eastward, eventually stopping at a towering mountain a thousand miles away. This distance was the limit of her current divine sense range.
As for Song Wen, despite his promise to Ye Bing, he didn't head toward Demon Subduing City.
After traveling a thousand miles west, he found a deep fissure in the ground and quietly descended.
Suppressing his aura until he was as still as death, he concealed himself within the fissure, remaining motionless.
Unless someone entered the fissure, it would be nearly impossible to detect his presence.
Simultaneously, he secretly released Gu insects to monitor the surrounding area, including Ye Bing's hiding place.
(End of the Chapter)
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Translator's Corner
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