Chapter 122

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Chapter 122: Please Help Us

“Senior Sister.”

Ming He cradled the blood-soaked Qin Chu Yi in the midst of the crimson sea, her trembling, bloodied left hand gently lifting Qin Chu Yi’s battered face. Her expression was shadowed, her eyes bloodshot, radiating a despair she had never known.

The fleeting moment of their descent felt like an eternity to Ming He.

In that brief span, the City Lord of Tianwu City, a cultivator at the peak of the Heaven Origin realm, emerged from his seclusion. With a swift motion, he appeared atop the ancient residence, the very spot where Kuang San had once stood.

Clad in coarse linen, his hair and beard streaked with gray, he exuded an aura of unrelenting power, yet his gaze upon the scene below was heavy with sorrow and regret.

In that instant, the human race lost a prodigious talent—the Young Master of the Ancient Clan.

Qin Chu Yi was a peerless genius among the younger generation, a beacon of hope for aspiring cultivators.

To the human race, her significance surpassed even that of the City Lord of Tianwu City, who governed the heart of the Tianwu Continent.

The City Lord sighed deeply, his eyes shifting to the faintly shimmering remnants of blue formation patterns in the air. His gaze turned icy as he recognized the traces of a shattered formation seal.

Only a king-grade formation master could obscure the senses of an entire city’s cultivators. Such a master was a true formation master, one who walked the same Great Path as Nineteen, Ming He’s acquaintance.

And such a master could only belong to the human race.

The alien races, blessed with innate physical strength, were bound by the natural order of the world—where gains were balanced by losses. Thus, they understood only cultivation levels, not the intricacies of techniques.

Excluded from the myriad Great Paths, they relied solely on raw strength.

“Senior Sister.” Ming He’s voice was hoarse, her arms weak, yet she clung to Qin Chu Yi with unyielding resolve. Her face, streaked with blood, was marked by glistening tears that carved trails through the grime.

Her tears and blood mingled, a testament to the deepest despair of a sword cultivator.

“Exalted One, please, save my Senior Sister.” Ming He lifted her gaze to the powerful human cultivators surrounding her, her once-bright eyes now clouded with desperation and hope.

She had rarely sought help in her journey, for a sword cultivator’s pride forbade it—they sought answers in their blades, not in others.

But for Qin Chu Yi, she would beg for anything.

“Please, save my Senior Sister.” Her voice cracked as she repeated her plea, her strength waning, her heart aching with helplessness.

The surge of Star Power she summoned was the limit of her ability, yet Qin Chu Yi remained unconscious, her life force ebbing away.

The warmth in Ming He’s arms grew colder, like the solitary moon in the night sky.

Qin Chu Yi, her body bloodied and her eyes shut, lay still, her once-vibrant features now frozen under a thin layer of frost—a sign of the cold poison’s grip.

But the Star Lock was powerless.

Ming He could do nothing.

Her eyes dimmed with despair, yet she knelt stubbornly, her gaze fixed on the human cultivators before her, each far more powerful than she.

“Ming He, blood reversal is the supreme secret technique of the Qin Clan. We…” The City Lord of Tianwu City turned away from Ming He’s pleading eyes, his voice heavy with sorrow and regret.

As a peak Heaven Origin realm cultivator and the ruler of Tianwu City, appointed by the Imperial Palace, his position was one of great importance.

Yet he was powerless.

Not just him, but the entire human race likely stood helpless.

In his final moments, Kuang San’s Blood Condensation Technique had drawn upon the blood essence of all alien beings, unleashing a devastating attack aimed not only at Ming He and Qin Chu Yi but at the entire city.

By then, the formation seal had already been shattered, and he, of course, had not been unaware.

But even if he sensed it, it would be of no help.

He could not block this killing move.

So, Qin Chu Yi took the hit, and naturally, there was a price to pay.

However, she never expected that the cost would be a life.

As events unfolded, her actions were not just to save Ming He, but to save Tianwu City as well.

One life for one city; this was the spirit and responsibility of the Ancient Clan, as well as the choice to make sacrifices.

Powerless.

Ming He felt her heart tremble at those four words, momentarily stopping her heartbeat, her soul freezing in shock. The red in her eyes mirrored the sea of blood beneath her, and the once bright and upright sword cultivator no longer held an ounce of clarity. In an instant, she felt as though she had fallen into the eighteen layers of hell.

“How could this be?” Ming He whispered, a faint smile on her lips. She refused to believe her Senior Sister would fall here; she was Qin Chu Yi!

In the original story, she had been safe and sound, even when imprisoned by the Qin Clan, living until Dragon Hero, the protagonist, fully grew up and rescued her. So how could she possibly fall?

Ming He never believed Qin Chu Yi would die, so after witnessing the scene before her, her soul trembled with disbelief and denial.

Was it because of her presence?

She couldn’t help but think of this question. Because of her arrival, she was no longer the cold and unfeeling Qin Chu Yi from the original narrative; she began to experience the warmth of humanity, breaking free from the confines of pale, sparse text.

Was it she who changed her fate, leading to the predicament of today?

As these thoughts coursed through her mind, Ming He felt an unbearable pain, as if a sharp knife was slowly carving into her heart, ensuring she would never recover.

How could this be? How could she accept this? She never believed in fate, nor did she accept it.

A sword cultivator acted based solely on the heart and the sword, nothing else mattered.

Ming He’s gaze turned fierce as her right hand flickered, and she swiftly grasped a Blizzard Pill. Without hesitation, she tilted her head back and, under the shocked and pained gaze of the City Lord of Tianwu City, resolutely swallowed it.

Even if her path to cultivation was to be destroyed, she would protect her Senior Sister.

As long as there was still a sword, she need not fear the end of her path.

The Blue Sea Sword flew back to its sheath on her back, its body trembling softly as spiritual energy flowed into her heart. Though no one could see or know it, it was indeed true.

The Jing Ying Sword emitted a clear ringing sound as it flew from the distance, hovering in midair, beginning to circle around Ming He, its white blade resonating with the inner spiritual energy flowing within her, emitting a low hum.

No one could see it, but with each chime, the Ghostly Sword within her Sea of Souls solidified further, linking the real and the ethereal in a dance of the universe’s rhythm.

The power of the Blizzard Pill had begun to manifest.

Ming He raised her head and spat out a mouthful of blood. She positioned Qin Chu Yi in a cross-legged position in the middle of the sea of blood, placing her hands on Qin Chu Yi’s vital points, continuously channeling the diminishing Star Power and the increasingly solid spiritual energy into her, ignoring the flaws and breaches in her own spiritual ocean.

A gentle breeze began to stir in the stillness of the world, rustling the trees and dropping leaves, the sea of blood rippling. After the formation seal of the ancient residence shattered, only the solemn red walls and green tiles remained.

This place was originally where the remnants of the Sword Master’s soul had settled.

Ming He was nearing her limit; she had received three Blizzard Pills from the Domain Lord’s mansion in the Eastern Region. She consumed one to fight Kuang San and used the second in a desperate attempt to save Qin Chu Yi.

Now, only the last one remained, pinched between her right fingertips.

Reason and a cultivator’s instinct warned her that taking the third pill would truly ruin her path to cultivation.

But she could not care less about that now.

Ming He forced a smile, tilted her head back, and swallowed the pill, ignoring the sorrowful gazes of the powerful allies around her.

In the entire World of Martial Arts, only she possessed the Star Lock, and only she could possibly save Qin Chu Yi.

So, how could she give up?

The path to cultivation was important, but it paled in comparison to Qin Chu Yi.

Ming He thought this, feeling the final shivers of her heart settle, her mind clearing as the last flicker of Star Power surged through her hand with the Star Lock.

As her consciousness gradually faded, blood flowed endlessly from her crimson lips, and the pain in her body could no longer support her weary form.

Ming He had truly reached her limit; she had gambled her life for Qin Chu Yi’s chance to live.

Even in unconsciousness, she held onto Qin Chu Yi in the same position, lying in a sea of blood, her body covered in filth, while Qin Chu Yi rested clean and untainted in her embrace, as if they existed in two extremes.

In the moment before losing awareness, Ming He seemed to see a dark figure rushing towards her and Qin Chu Yi, filled with heartache and tears in its eyes.

That was Jiujou, the divine beast Pi Xiu, who was almost lost after being trapped by Kuang San in a dark purple net, unable to transform successfully.

Ming He bent her lips, wanting to reach out and touch its fluffy head, but her head dropped before her hand could rise.

Thus, she missed Jiujou’s complex gaze, an expression that belonged to the divine beast Pi Xiu, hinting at a trace of regret.

“Young Master!”

“Ming He!”

In the distance, cries of surprise rang out, a mix of clarity and steadiness, but also tinged with an unmistakable panic.

Listening to those voices, Ming He finally felt a sense of relief, letting her mind settle as she sank into the realm of shadows.

Pain.

So much pain.

It was an endless ache that made her question her very existence.

The moment Ming He regained consciousness, a heavy feeling settled in her heart, and an overwhelming pain spread throughout her body, tearing at her soul. For a moment, she longed to return to the afterlife, to never awaken again.

But alongside this agony appeared a cool, distant figure. To others, she was cold and proud, but to Ming He, she was radiant and gentle.

Ming He firmly thought of Qin Chu Yi, and in the next moment, despite the surging pain, she forcefully opened her eyes. The sudden brightness surrounded her, causing her eyes to brim with tears.

But she didn’t care; she blinked and let the tears fall. In her wandering gaze, she caught a glimpse of a white figure standing by the window, looking out at the palace embraced by majestic mountains, exuding an aura of darkness and gloom.

“Senior Sister.” Ming He’s expression hardened slightly as she reluctantly turned away, sitting up. The sudden movement drew a sharp, deep pain through her body.

She groaned softly but could not suppress a long cry as she tried to rise to find the woman standing by the window, the Qin Chu Yi she held in her heart.

“Stay seated and don’t move.” The woman by the window finally spoke, her voice cold and clear, but she was not Qin Chu Yi.

This voice… Ming He furrowed her brows, staring intently at her emotionless face and did not attempt to rise again. “Where is Senior Sister?”

Her gaze burned with intensity as she peered at that figure, but her eyes held no brightness, only dullness and silence.

“Your path to cultivation is destroyed; do you understand?” Song Guanting approached Ming He, her eyes filled with a mixture of complex emotions, a hint of undeniable regret and… heartache.

“Where is Senior Sister?” Ming He’s expression did not change; she simply repeated her previous question, looking at Song Guanting.

“Beneath Qin Huang Mountain, in the Ice Palace.” Song Guanting answered without dodging the question. “Blood reversal is serious; moreover, she is afflicted by cold poison, with toxic gas invading her veins. She should have perished immediately.”

The woman in white turned back to her previous position, gazing out at the beautiful scenery of blue skies and white clouds, green trees casting shade; it was a breathtaking sight, yet it could not pierce through the viewer’s eyes.

“You consumed two Blizzard Pills, forcibly activating the Star Lock, and managed to snatch a life back from the hands of death,” Song Guanting paused slightly, “But you can only keep her alive for now; you cannot awaken her.”

“The Ice Palace is designed to protect her life; there is no immediate danger there, but she cannot awaken at this time.”

“What can I do to make Senior Sister wake up?” Ming He’s brows furrowed, still displaying a somber demeanor.

“The Star Lock, as well as the emperor grade spiritual medicines Asura Heart, Four Seasons Flower, and Stupa Fruit…” Song Guanting spoke lightly, but her fists clenched slightly, “These spiritual medicines are born from the blessings of heaven and earth. Without great fortune, one cannot even hope to encounter them, let alone possess them.”

At least she couldn’t, but Ming He could.

“I can go find the spiritual medicines.” A glimmer of light finally appeared in Ming He’s eyes; as long as there was a way, it was enough.

As for great fortune, she didn’t think she had it, but since Song Guanting said so, she must have it. Life and death did not matter; she would do everything she could to obtain those spiritual medicines.

“Where is the Ice Palace?” Ming He supported herself with the Jing Ying Sword, standing up and looking at Song Guanting in search of answers, ready to head out at any moment.

“Ming He, did you not hear what I just said?” Song Guanting gazed at her, her expression complex in a way Ming He could not comprehend.

“I certainly heard.” Ming He was puzzled by her meaning.

“Aren’t you curious how I know about the Star Lock?” Song Guanting raised an eyebrow, deliberately challenging her.

“How do you know?” Ming He fell silent for a moment, then asked out loud, looking at Song Guanting’s expression as she wished.

“……” Of course, it was because the Star Lock was not simply an ancient spiritual artifact to the human race; it represented hope and the future, light and integrity.

The Star Lock was never just a spiritual artifact; it was a choice of sorts.

“Ming He.” Song Guanting opened her lips, not answering the question about the Star Lock, but repeating a fact, one that Ming He deliberately ignored: “Your path to cultivation is destroyed.”