Chapter 164: Jumping Back and Forth in Jealousy

Chapter 164: Chapter 164: Jumping Back and Forth in Jealousy

Si Jin raced toward the canyon, holding Yun Sheng in his arms.

As he approached the canyon’s edge, he suddenly stopped.

The air ahead was saturated with an incredibly savage fluctuation of spiritual power. It was Bai Ye’s aura, yet it was far more violent than when they had fought.

Si Jin’s expression shifted.

He gazed toward the canyon entrance, his brow gradually knitting together.

Yun Sheng sensed it too.

The aura was terrifying. Even from this distance, the oppressive feeling was immense.

Her heart clenched, and her voice trembled. "Bai Ye... Is he in trouble?"

She remembered that Bai Ye’s spiritual power was already unstable. Although she had managed to soothe him slightly, he had then fought Si Jin, depleting too much of his spiritual power. And now, he was fighting off so many pollutants by himself...

’The cracks in his spiritual landscape must be widening again!’

Yun Sheng’s nerves pulled taut, and she instinctively tugged on Si Jin’s arm.

"Si Jin, I want to go see. Take me there!"

Si Jin did not answer immediately.

His brow was knitted tightly, a complex emotion flickering in his eyes.

But when he looked down and met Yun Sheng’s anxious gaze, he couldn’t bring himself to refuse.

The next moment, his pace quickened. He shot toward the canyon entrance like a streak of black light.

When they reached the canyon entrance, the sight before them made Yun Sheng’s breath hitch in her throat.

Bai Ye stood amid a mountain of pollutant corpses, drenched in so much blood that the original color of his combat uniform was nearly obscured.

His blade was still moving, but his actions had lost all form. He was just mechanically hacking, hacking, and hacking again.

The remaining living pollutants scattered and fled from his onslaught, letting out terrified shrieks.

But he didn’t give chase. He just stood there, his blade striking again and again—at the air, at the thoroughly dead corpses, at anything that moved.

Bai Ye’s eyes were terrifyingly vacant.

His eyes were completely suffused with blood-red. His pupils were gone, his focus lost, leaving only a horrifying crimson.

The corner of his mouth twitched, and a low, ragged gasp escaped his throat. The sound was less human and more like that of a wounded beast.

A killing machine.

The two words flashed through Yun Sheng’s mind, and her heart felt as if it were being squeezed by an invisible hand.

She recalled what Si Jin had looked like when he’d lost control. It was the same—he had lost his reason, left with only instinct, transformed into a monster that knew only slaughter.

’Bai Ye... He’s about to degenerate into a Dark Sentinel.’

"Si Jin, put me down," she said, tugging at the front of his shirt.

Si Jin’s expression was grim. "No. If you go over there now, he’ll hurt you."

Yun Sheng watched the blood-soaked figure, her heart twisting with a pain so intense she could hardly breathe.

"He did this to protect my teammates... I... I can’t just stand by and watch... Si Jin, please, will you help me?"

Si Jin saw the plea in Yun Sheng’s eyes and then glanced back at Bai Ye.

He saw the figure on the verge of losing control, felt the aura so familiar it sent a chill through his heart.

He knew better than anyone the despair of becoming a Dark Sentinel—the horror of your reason remaining even as you lose all control.

He clenched his jaw, his expression terrifyingly grim, but he still nodded.

"I’ll go first and clear out the surrounding pollutants. You can go over when it’s safe."

The moment he finished speaking, Si Jin gently set Yun Sheng down. He then erected several spiritual power barriers around her, more than enough to ensure her safety, before his form flickered and he shot forward.

Si Jin moved with incredible speed. The pollutants, already in a panicked retreat, were torn to shreds before they could even react.

He was even more ruthless than Bai Ye.

His goal wasn’t slaughter, but to clear the field as quickly as possible.

His spiritual power locked onto the fleeing pollutants, and they fell one after another.

Within minutes, not a single living pollutant remained near the entrance to the canyon.

Si Jin raised a hand, and black barriers rose to completely seal off the area.

Once he was certain the area was secure, he returned to Yun Sheng’s side and led her forward.

Bai Ye was still standing there.

He was still swinging his blade.

Again and again. The blade was caked in black, foul blood. His hand trembled around the hilt, as if he couldn’t stop, or perhaps as if he simply didn’t know how.

As Si Jin led Yun Sheng closer, the violent spiritual power radiating from Bai Ye surged, threatening to lash out at them.

Si Jin’s eyes narrowed. He pulled Yun Sheng slightly behind him and whispered, "He’s lost consciousness. It’s too dangerous. I’ll restrain him, then you can..."

Before he could finish, a warm hand gently covered his.

Yun Sheng grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

"Let me try first."

Her voice was quiet, but resolute.

Si Jin watched her with a grim expression. He seemed to hesitate for a moment, but ultimately, he chose to trust her.

"Be careful."

Yun Sheng nodded, took a deep breath, and cautiously walked toward Bai Ye.

As she drew closer, the savage aura intensified. The pressure grew, making her feel as though she could be torn to pieces at any moment.

Her heart was pounding so hard it felt like it would burst from her chest, but she didn’t stop.

"Bai Ye..."

She called his name softly.

There was no response.

Bai Ye continued to swing his blade mechanically, again and again, as if he hadn’t heard a thing.

Yun Sheng bit her lip, took another step forward, and raised her voice.

"Bai Ye! It’s me, Yun Sheng!"

Those last two words seemed to hold some kind of magic. Bai Ye’s swinging arm froze.

The next moment, those crimson eyes snapped up and locked onto her, like a predator staring down prey that had just stumbled into its territory.

A chill shot up Yun Sheng’s spine, but she did not back away.

She met Bai Ye’s crimson gaze, gathered her courage, and continued to walk forward.

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

When she was finally standing before him and saw that he was only staring, not attacking, she didn’t hesitate. She lifted her hand and swiftly pressed it to the center of his forehead.

Bai Ye’s pupils contracted violently.

A familiar spiritual power signature—warm, gentle, and soothing—probed its way into his collapsing spiritual landscape.

His body began to tremble violently.

The tremors started in his shoulders, spread to his arms, and then coursed through his entire body. It was as if he were using his last ounce of sanity to battle his own rampaging instincts.

Suddenly, Bai Ye’s hand shot up. He didn’t push Yun Sheng away, but instead seized her by the wrist.

The force of his grip was stunning. His knuckles turned white and veins bulged on his hand.

"Yun Sheng!"

Si Jin’s voice rang out as he instinctively lunged forward.

Wincing in pain, Yun Sheng glanced back at him.

Her gaze held no fear, no plea for help—only calm reassurance and unwavering resolve.

Si Jin froze in place.

His fists clenched, Dark Power swirling around him, but he forced himself to stay put.

Only then did Yun Sheng turn back to Bai Ye, who hadn’t moved since grabbing her.

She could feel his savage spiritual power rushing toward her the moment she made contact, trying to devour her whole. She could feel his struggle on the brink of losing control, like a cornered beast on the verge of collapse, desperately clinging to the precipice between sanity and madness.

"Bai Ye, don’t worry," she whispered, her voice soft but steady. "I’m here. I’ll help you."