Chapter 25: Desperate Situation

The spirit root in his lower abdomen emitted one last trace of heat; the lingering warmth of the burning furnace supported the young man's final sprint.

Under the silent night, the battered young man wandered through the mountains, constantly moving forward in an unknown direction.

A cyan figure appeared so holy under the bright moonlight, the woman's beautiful face adding a touch of elegance.

She hid in the sky, waiting to taste the fruit named despair.

Junior Brother Bai Ming flew at a low altitude, the flames on his body hidden within him, flying toward the mountain forest in a concealed manner.

No one was chasing him from behind, and he didn't know how far he had run; he only knew he could not stop.

Junior Brother Bai Ming's eyes were filled with excitement. "It seems I am quite strong. If I continue to cultivate like this, one day I will surpass that crazy woman."

Thinking that the shackles binding him were gone, Junior Brother Bai Ming's heart was filled with intense excitement.

But a gentle and extremely familiar voice came from the sky.

"Perhaps, though I truly didn't expect this."

Junior Brother Bai Ming's expression turned terrified, and he looked toward the source of the voice.

A gentle cyan robe came into view, and the woman's playful smile entered his eyes.

Against the moonlight, the woman's perfect body curves were revealed, further accentuating the warm smile on her face and eyes brimming with autumn water; every frown and smile was like a fairy from a painting.

Seeing the beauty, Junior Brother Bai Ming's body stiffened, and his thoughts became chaotic.

Why? How could Song Wanqing appear here? Wasn't she forming her core? What is going on!

A cold chill rushed straight to his brain, and his body reacted faster than his brain; he immediately flew in the opposite direction.

But a powerful pressure came out of nowhere, pinning him firmly to the ground.

Junior Brother Bai Ming mobilized all his spiritual power, struggling to stand up, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stand up, just like those days of torture in the prison.

The only difference was that his face was in contact with brownish-yellow soil, not the cold floor.

Song Wanqing flew toward Junior Brother Bai Ming unhurriedly, a faint smile on her face.

Junior Brother Bai Ming's heart was icy cold, but no matter how he struggled, his body could not move, and he could only watch her walk over.

Song Wanqing arrived in front of him, leaned over slightly, looked down, her gaze filled with a strong sense of teasing.

"Young Master Bai is truly capable; you've actually managed to escape this far."

Junior Brother Bai Ming dug his hands tightly into the yellow soil on the ground. "When? When exactly did you come here!"

Song Wanqing curled her lips into a beautiful arc. "Saying 'when did I come' isn't quite accurate. I have always been here; you just didn't notice."

What! Always here? Since I started escaping?

Junior Brother Bai Ming gritted his teeth. "Impossible. How could such a massive change in spiritual energy be fake?"

Song Wanqing smiled gently. "It was fake. From beginning to end, I never went into seclusion."

Junior Brother Bai Ming was stunned, thinking of a terrifying fact.

This meant that the information Xiaoxue gave might have been wrong from the start, and he had been kept in the dark from the very beginning.

Junior Brother Bai Ming held onto a glimmer of hope. "Does Xiaoxue know?"

Song Wanqing's brows moved slightly. "Xiaoxue, tell him yourself."

A delicate girl in white walked out from the nearby woods, her expression cold, exuding an aura of keeping strangers at a distance.

Seeing this scene, without needing an answer, Junior Brother Bai Ming already knew the result.

Xiaoxue bowed slightly. "Everything is as the Miss commands."

Junior Brother Bai Ming's expression was complex. His heart sank with a 'thud', as if it had been yanked down half an inch by an invisible thread; the blood in his heart stagnated, sending a palpitations-inducing pain.

Only then did he realize that all his plans were crystal clear in Song Wanqing's eyes.

What he thought were desperate, thrilling actions were all within her design; he had always been controlled in her palm like a marionette.

He only had himself to blame for being too naive. Why would he think that a few dozen days of getting along would make someone willing to betray her to help him?

There was no such thing as sudden kindness; all the efforts he had made so far were nothing but futile.

It was laughable how he felt grateful, laughable how arrogant he was, even talking about revenge, yet from beginning to end, he had never escaped that woman's control.

The successive huge blows extinguished the last lingering flames in Junior Brother Bai Ming's heart furnace, draining away his last bit of strength.

Junior Brother Bai Ming smiled bitterly. "So this was all just a farce, and I was the protagonist kept in the dark without knowing it."

A glimmer of spiritual light shone in Song Wanqing's eyes. "How is it? How was this game? Did you have fun?"

A game. My carefully crafted plan was nothing but a game in her eyes.

From beginning to end, all my schemes were in her eyes.

I was simply a clown pleasing her.

The young man was covered in dust, the last glimmer of light in his eyes fading away. Hope was shattered; all that awaited him was a cold prison and endless torture.

Hope and excitement completely dissipated, and a hatred so intense it reached the extreme filled Junior Brother Bai Ming's entire chest.

"Song Wanqing, you are fucking damnable. Why do you have to toy with my life? What am I in your eyes!"

"What am I exactly!"

Song Wanqing feigned indifference, touching her chin uncaringly. "An interesting toy? Probably."

The young man's body was pitch black in her eyes, the little starlight in his eyes vanishing completely with her answer.

Song Wanqing was excited inside, an arc appearing on her lips.

It's done! A treasure that belongs only to me. From now on, he will never be tainted by the world again; his eyes will only hold my figure.

A few flushes of crimson appeared on the cyan-clad beauty's cheeks, making her look even more gentle and lovely. The girl in white on the side pulled her dress tighter unconsciously, sighing inwardly.

Junior Brother Bai Ming's head rested against the yellow soil; he could not see the night sky, nor could he see the expressions of the two.

I don't want it anymore.

Everything of mine, including my life.

Everything in this life is given to you as fuel, I only ask that you give me the power for revenge.

You useless spirit root!

The spirit root in Junior Brother Bai Ming's lower abdomen began to spontaneously combust; the immense hatred became a catalyst, driving the evolution of the spirit root and also driving the demise of his body.

Flames clung to every inch of Junior Brother Bai Ming's skin, burning every one of his cells; everything in his body turned into fuel for the raging fire.

Song Wanqing looked at the flames on Junior Brother Bai Ming, her brows knitting together. This was spontaneous combustion. Clearly, I had sealed his spiritual power; how did he manage this?

She increased the output of her spiritual power. Junior Brother Bai Ming's back, which had just straightened, was pressed down again, the flames on his body flickering.

"Junior Brother Bai Ming, I do not allow you to die!"

Withstanding a spiritual pressure a hundred times higher than before, Junior Brother Bai Ming straightened his arms bit by bit.

"Of course, I haven't killed you yet!"

The flames on Junior Brother Bai Ming surged, erupting violently, breaking through the spiritual pressure on him.

At the same time, the spirit root underwent a change at this moment, and a vision appeared in the world, bringing a crimson halo to the pitch-black night sky.

Song Wanqing's eyes tightened. In order to not damage Junior Brother Bai Ming's body to the maximum extent, she had only used spiritual pressure at the Qi Refining Peak level.

But she didn't expect that Junior Brother Bai Ming's dying body could still erupt with such power.

But it was futile in the end.

Song Wanqing smiled dotingly. "Fine, I'll just play with you a little."