A Faint Chuckle was Heard from Behind the Half Closed Window...

Before E’Luo Jue finished his last word, the sharp tip of Cherished Heart was right at his face.

This was a matter of life or death for Su Yang. Gu Feidi completely disregarded his own injuries as he forcefully advanced with his sword technique and launched an attack toward E’Luo Jue.

With a snort, E’Luo Jue’s eyes narrowed slightly. He lifted his stave and blocked Gu Feidi’s attack. He spun his weapon widely and neutralised all the forces behind Gu Feidi’s sword.

But he was wounded from Su Yang’s palm move earlier when he dropped his guard. Sustaining the heavy internal injury along with stopping Gu Feidi’s attack, he couldn’t suppress his cough as a wisp of blood spilled from the corner of his lips.

Even after his failed attack, Gu Feidi didn’t retreat. He flipped his sword and slashed towards his target again.

E’Luo Jue restrained Su Yang with one hand and danced the bone stave with the other hand, even with a handicap, he was able to fight a stalemate with Gu Feidi. 

However, under the dual effects of the Apparition and Half-Withered Crimson, Su Yang was already almost fully unconscious and any delay to ease his unbearable symptoms...

Gu Feidi’s eyes reddened with anxiety, but he was unable to snatch Su Yang back from E’Luo Jue’s grasp.

Just then, two masked men dressed in Anying Division from Heiyu Army’s outfit dragged a grey corpse into the Baiwu Tower gate.

E’Luo Jue’s eyes landed on the bloody body of the man in grey and suddenly laughed.

“E’Luo Yin, my dear nephew.” He acknowledged while blocking Gu Feidi’s attack. Raising an eyebrow, he asked Gu Feidi, “Why don’t you look back? Your fellow House of Jade disciple mate tried to kill me to seize the throne...But at what cost?”

Gu Feidi’s throat trembled slightly, he obviously received a large shock.

However, in this current situation, he can’t be distracted with his concern towards Lou Yin—Su Yang’s life was hanging on the line. He could—he must only focus on his fight with E’Luo Jue and take back his most cherished person as soon as possible!

Gradually, Gu Feidi increased the intensity of each of his sword moves. Some were familiar moves that were already used in the battle, but it had a different momentum than from its creator. 

To advance courageously, leave no opening for retreat.

Injury, the pain was nothing; death, also nothing to fear.

There was nothing else in the world that could frighten him more than watching Su Yang trapped in E’Luo Jue’s arms, as his other half’s breathing weakened before losing consciousness.

However, E’Luo Jue was ages beyond his league.

Even if the King was pressed step by step by Gu Feidi, he could still handle the younger man with ease.

The longer the battle dragged on, the worse it would be for Su Yang. The anxiety in Gu Feidi’s heart flared up as urgency was wielded within each of his attacks, and the sword dance gradually lost its composition.

E’Luo Jue raised his hand as he gently and skilfully blocked Gu Feidi’s next move. He let out a mocking laugh and uttered, “...It’s over.”

As soon as the last syllable of his sentence came out from his mouth, a very sharp curved blade skewed him through and emerged from his chest.

Even Gu Feidi was shocked by the sudden change in this battle. 

A look of disbelief climbed onto E’Luo Jue’s face. He swayed and staggered, turned his head to look behind him, at his attacker.

Luo Yin, who was covered in injuries and blood, was just a ‘corpse’ being dragged on the ground. At this time, he was firmly holding the handle of the curved sword. His ice-cold eyes met E’Luo Jue’s gaze.

He whispered, “UncleMore clearly, his father’s younger brother..”

Then he pulled the blade out with force.

Gu Feidi sliced off the hand around Su Yang, recaptured and held the sleeping man in his arms.

One of the assassins dressed in Anying Divison’s uniform immediately walked forward and stood beside Luo Yin. He took off his mask and inquired, “Do you still have any Core Warming Pills left? Keep one in his mouth, now! He needs acupuncture treatment immediately. We must not delay any further!”

Gu Feidi was slightly stunned by the voice. He raised his head and saw Luo Yu, who came from out of nowhere, and nodded in a daze. Before the instructions sank in he immediately stuffed his hand inside the silk brocade bag under Su Yang’s clothes and took out the porcelain bottle containing the pills.

All of a sudden, a sound burst from the clashing of close combat fighting reverberated around the tower.

Luo Yu turned around and was amazed by the scene. E’Luo Jue, even after being seriously injured and close to dying, had the strength to fight back. He was holding on his own against Luo Yin and another soldier from the Anying Division. 

Gu Feidi put the Core Warming Pill into Su Yang’s mouth, bit down and clenched on Cherished Heart’s handle. He turned and stayed on guard between E’Luo Jue and Luo Yu.

The insanity was growing within E’Luo Jue’s eyes.

White wrinkles started to crawl over his face, even his eyes were covered with a layer of white feelers, as if he was a demon himself.

But the gaping wound opened by Luo Yin’s curved sword had stopped bleeding. A cluster of white feelers wriggled out from the wound to help him temporarily suppress the fatal injury. Even the severed wrist was stitched closed by the tentacles.

E’Luo Jue was like a trapped beast nearing death. Luo Yin was struggling to parry under the deadly onslaught. As they fought, Luo Yin, who joined hands with another soldier, started to slowly be cornered into a disadvantage. 

Gu Feidi moved his attention from Su Yang, who was covered with silver needles, and back at the on-going fight. The hand around the sword handle trembled slightly.

When he finally couldn’t bear to spectate, he bent his knee to advance forward to help.

Then, a cold breeze suddenly blew from outside the Baiwu Tower.

Su Huaizhu leaped inside. Although his complexion was as white as snow, his eyes were as bright as the starry night.

E’Luo Jue roared through his gritted teeth, “It’s you! How could you still be alive! You! You stole my Jin-er from me—”

He immediately abandoned the battle with Luo Yin, and waved his bone stave toward Su Huaizhu.

Countless white feelers pierced out from his skin and coiled forward along the bone stave. He arrived and crossed swords with Su Huaizhu in the blink of an eye. 

Su Huaizhu called forth the cold internal energy with Half-Withered Crimson and transferred the energy to his blade as he cut off the tentacles.

After those insect parts fell from the host, they lit up into white fire in an instant and burned until they were left without a trace.

While E’Luo Jue was engaged in battle with Su Huaizhu, Luo Yin got an opening as he raised his weapon and aimed at the King’s neck.

—But Su Huaizhu blocked and forced him back with his thin sword.

“He has activated his Flame Gu.” Su Huaizhu cautioned. He turned to Gu Feidi and urged, “You must deal the final blow!”

Hearing this, E’Luo Jue roared, turning to attack Gu Feidi.

Su Huaizhu waved his sword to slice off the remaining arm. He shouted to Gu Feidi, “Cut off his head!”

Cherished Heart waved as commanded.

One slice through the throat.

Su Huaizhu stretched out his hand to pull Luo Yin and retreated quickly.

E’Luo Jue trembled and swayed a few times, and fell down to the ground hard once he could no longer support his body.

In a split second, an extremely intense heat wave gushed out from the dead body.

Followed by a silvery white insect the size of a fingernail slowly climbed out of the wound. It spread its wings and crashed into Gu Feidi’s chest at an incredible speed.

The fabric over Gu Feidi’s chest was immediately burned out in a charred hole as the flying insect penetrated the skin, the flesh, and the bone, until it reached that pulsing heart protected by those three layers.

Gu Feidi instinctively gasped out then groaned in pain. He raised his hand to clench his lapel tightly, as he immediately broke out sweating.

Cherished Heart fell to the ground with a crisp ‘clank’. He kneeled down from the unbearable pain and used his internal energy to resist the pain that seemed to fill his body with molten magma.

A pair of cold hands were pressed against Gu Feidi’s neck, as internal energy from Half-Withered Crimson was slowly transferred in, and helped Gu Feidi regain his senses by a bit.

Su Huaizhu muffled his cough, swallowed the blood back down his throat, frowned and asked Luo Yu, “How is Su Yang? When will he wake up?”

Luo Yu twirled the silver needle in his hand using his finger for a moment and sighed, “He lost the Phoenix Jade’s protection and forcibly used Half-Withered Crimson...The most I can do is to keep his heart pulse from freezing. As for your second question…”

Su Huaizhu frowned and uttered, “But without him, Feidi will die.”

They were caught in a deadlock for a moment, and no one knew how to solve this dilemma.

After a while, Luo Yin opened his mouth to break the silence, “I’ll leave a guard here for their protection. I’ll sort out the turmoil in the Royal Court first...then I’ll be back.”

Watching Luo Yin leave the tower, Luo Yu bit down and murmured, “For the sake of this moment, we can only take a risk.”

Su Huaizhu asked, “How?”

Luo Yu glanced at Gu Feidi and ordered solemnly, “For now, you must be ruthless and transfer the burning energy of White Flame Gu into Su Yang. There’s a possibility of both of you gaining the opportunity to live.”

At this time, Gu Feidi’s skin was already burned to bright red and small cracks began to appear on the skin of his four limbs as blood slowly seeped out. 

He endured the severe pain, managed to raise his head to look Luo Yu in the eyes and struggled to ask, “Can...he...endure it?”

Luo Yu concluded, “This is the only way.”

As he said this, he went to grab Su Yang, passed the sleeping man beside Gu Feidi and pushed the two closely together. He pinched Su Yang’s finger, pricked it with a silver needle and moved it by Gu Feidi’s lips.

“You must intake some of his blood in order to control the Flame Gu.'' Luo Yu informed. Seeing the opposed expression on Gu Feidi’s face, he advised, “This is for the future of both of you. You need to have patience, do not let your emotions affect your decisions.”

Gu Feidi closed his eyes, ground his teeth for a moment, until finally, he opened his mouth. He closed his mouth around Su Yang’s finger and sucked the almost frozen blood.

Miraculously, as soon as Su Yang’s blood entered his mouth, the White Flame Gu inside Gu Feidi’s body calmed down a lot.

“Pour your internal energy from his ‘changqing’ acupoint, below his tailbone.” Luo Yu directed. “Go up along his ‘du’ meridian, the path through the spine, until you reach ‘mingmen’, his lower back…”

Gu Feidi held Su Yang in his arms. Moving his internal energy inside of Su Yang’s body according to the instructions given by Luo Yu.

Being stirred by this intense, raging energy, the Apparition inside immediately fought back. The cold energy travelled down along the meridians, and fiercely collided with Gu Feidi’s internal energy, provoking the White Flame Gu. It gathered some of its scattered scorching energy around Gu Feidi’s meridians into one spot, and began to tear apart the Apparition.

Just like that, their bodies became the battlefield for these two worldly wonders as the extreme pain burst out from inside.

Gu Feidi couldn’t hold back his groan as he subconsciously tightened his arms. As for Su Yang, who was in his embrace, he began to tremble violently even in the state of total unconsciousness. 

“Endure it!” Luo Yu encouraged, as he was no longer able to help the two kids. “You must not faint. Once you do...There will be no hope of reprieve for both of you!”

Gu Feidi’s consciousness had begun to fade, but when the warning entered his ears, it became a glimmer of light that he could finally grasp.

The whirlpool of pain increased as it rotated, it pushed out a muffled pained cry from Gu Feidi’s throat. A wisp of blood spilled from his mouth and nose. Then, he furrowed his eyebrows as he whimpered unconsciously. 

“It hurts…” Su Yang slowly opened his unfocused eyes, as large tears slid down from the corners of his eyes.

He firmly grasped the lapel that was closest to his hand and cried out in grievance, “It hurts...What are...you doing…”

Hearing Su Yang’s cry of pain, Gu Feidi wanted to ease the other man’s pain by withdrawing his internal energy without thinking, but he was shocked by the sudden destructive force from White Flame Gu and coughed up a mouthful of blood foam. 

Su Yang’s eyes gradually focused as he gasped in response, “Feidi! What’s wrong?!”

“You must help him suppress the White Flame Gu.” Luo Yu answered while pressing Su Yang’s shoulders. “Otherwise, soon, the energy contained in his body will explode, and he won’t survive!”

“I…” Su Yang’s heart sank, but he was still at a loss. “...What do I need to do?”

“Transfer your internal energy from Half-Withered Crimson inside his body and help him suppress the White Flame Gu.” Luo Yu continued his guidance.

Su Yang nodded, swallowed, and urged the Half-Withered Crimson to integrate with Gu Feidi’s internal energy.

To help Gu Feidi tame the White Flame Gu, it was completely different from how Su Yang tamed his Apparition.

The Apparition of Frozen Lake had no owner and no self-consciousness. Su Yang only needed to accommodate it inside his meridians, which he went through in numerous near death experiences under that lake.

While the White Flame Gu was cultivated within the Great Shaman’s body all year round, and was raised by the Royal Court’s female blood. It would greatly reject the blood outside of the E’Luo Gui Faction’s Royal Court. Therefore, Gu Feidi’s situation was much more dangerous than Su Yang. 

Fortunately, Su Yang had his mother’s blood, the former E’Luo Gui Faction king’s daughter, and had mastered Half-Withered Crimson. Assisting from the side, he could neutralise Gu Feidi’s life-threatening situation.

The process of taming White Flame Gu was painful and long.

Luo Yu sat next to them, paying close attention to the duo’s physical condition.

After Su Huaizhu removed E’Luo Jue’s body from the tower, he guarded the gate, protecting the three inside. 

In the distance, the two forces of the Heiyu Army clashed, as Luo Yin raised the war flag as a returning royal heir, commanding his army into the palace.

On the ice field, Gu Ruohai, with Pu Lingyun and Fan Xi, led the elite forces of Tengyun Pavilion and the Village of Mount Qianfeng, to pin down the fighters of E’Luo Gui Faction.

On the southern border, Qin Jianyue and Chi Tong led the imperial army to fight against the left commanding forces of the Heiyu Army. 

House of Jade, Hidden Pearl Pavilion...

A faint chuckle came from behind the half closed window.