Chapter 96: Bai Ze’s Soul

Chapter 96: Chapter 96: Bai Ze’s Soul

Late at night, inside the room.

Looking at Chu Muyun, who stood quietly before them, Fang Xu and Lu Qingluo’s faces were filled with tension.

"Mu Yun, are you sure about this?"

"Don’t push yourself, Mu Yun."

Both of them had their arms outstretched, ready to catch her at any moment.

Chu Muyun’s expression was taut. She looked down at her feet, then raised her head to give the two a reassuring smile before attempting to move her left leg.

As her will commanded her muscles, a piercing pain suddenly shot through her, causing her brows to furrow slightly and her body to sway.

Lu Qingluo hurriedly stepped forward to support her, but Chu Muyun stopped her. "Qingluo, I can do it!"

Refusing Lu Qingluo’s help, she once again endured the agonizing pain and forced herself to take a step forward.

After a bout of trembling, her frail left leg finally shifted an inch forward!

Chu Muyun was overjoyed. She quickly looked up at the two and said, "Fang Xu, Qingluo, my... my legs can move!

"I... I can walk!" Chu Muyun exclaimed aloud, her face beaming with uncontrollable excitement.

For over a decade, from birth until now, she had never taken a single step on her own two feet. Even though she had only managed to move a mere inch today, it was a genuine step taken by her own strength!

Fang Xu smiled, and so did Lu Qingluo.

Only they knew how much Chu Muyun had suffered to recover the use of her legs!

Every day, after consuming Blood Food, the process of the Blood Qi Power slowly unblocking the meridians in her legs was an unbearable torture.

The pain often tormented her until she was drenched in sweat, making her look as if she had just been fished out of a river.

Heaven did not betray her efforts; today, she finally took her first step.

Meeting their gratified smiles, Chu Muyun tried once more, wanting to take a larger step.

However, a wave of intense pain made her legs give way, and she instantly started to fall.

Lu Qingluo and Fang Xu immediately darted forward to catch her.

"You can already take a step. Don’t rush, you’ve got this," Fang Xu said with a smile.

Leaning against him, Chu Muyun smiled and nodded, beads of sweat rolling down her temples.

Helped back into her wheelchair by the two, Lu Qingluo spoke up, "You’re both working so hard. I need to put in more effort too."

Her father, Lu Zhiyuan, had been taken away by the Ascension Association. By the end of the year, she and Fang Xu had to rush to the Central State to participate in the Ascension Association’s assessment, brave the Ascension Platform, and rescue her father.

But right now...

When she first met Fang Xu, she was at the Seventh Realm of Martial Disciple, while Fang Xu wasn’t even a Martial Disciple yet.

Now, Fang Xu was already at the Fifth Realm of Martial Disciple and possessed the strength to fight a Martial Master to the death. She, however, was only at the Ninth Realm of Martial Disciple and hadn’t yet reached the peak of the stage.

As the Saintess of the Dusk Cloud Kingdom, Lu Qingluo had her own pride.

"Fang Xu, I plan to enter seclusion to practice a Secret Technique next. I won’t be able to share your burdens during this time." Seeming to have made a firm decision, Lu Qingluo looked at Fang Xu and spoke solemnly.

Fang Xu gave a slight nod. "Rest assured and focus on your seclusion, Senior Sister. I’ll handle everything here."

Right now, their main enemies were only Su Cheng of the Ascension Association and the Divination God Sect.

According to Huang Qingzhou, after failing once, Su Cheng would be very wary of the Ascension Association’s Law Enforcement Hall. He likely wouldn’t strike again anytime soon.

As for the Divination God Sect, Fang Xu had repelled their attack once; their next move would probably take some time to orchestrate.

Huang Qingzhou had already requested reinforcements from the Central State branch of the Ascension Association. In a few days, other disciples of the Ascension Association should arrive in Fenglin Town. Safety shouldn’t be a concern.

Lu Qingluo slowly stood up, looked at Fang Xu and Chu Muyun, gave a slight nod, and walked out.

Inside the secret chamber of Zhiyuan Hall.

Sitting cross-legged on a woven mat, Lu Qingluo’s expression was blank.

She was the Saintess of the Dusk Cloud Kingdom, born into its sacrificial lineage. Every successive patriarch of her family had been the High Priest of the Dusk Cloud Kingdom.

Before the Dusk Cloud Kingdom was destroyed, her grandfather was the Taibu of the nation and the designated successor for the next High Priest.

When she was just born, the Yu Kingdom had already waged war against the Dusk Cloud Kingdom. Her grandfather had foreseen the crisis of their nation’s destruction and made preparations in advance. He had her father take her, still a young child, to infiltrate the Yu Kingdom in order to preserve the family’s legacy.

Slowly extending her right hand, Lu Qingluo gazed at the faint light radiating from her palm.

It was Bai Ze’s Soul, the mark of the Saintess’s inheritance.

The successive Saintesses of the Dusk Cloud Kingdom were not of a fixed bloodline. Any woman who could earn the acknowledgment of Bai Ze’s Soul could assume the position of Saintess.

Gently stroking her faintly glowing right hand with her left, Lu Qingluo murmured, "Father always said you shouldn’t have chosen me.

"All these years, keeping you inside me has been unfair to you.

"Did you know? I never wanted to be the Saintess. I don’t want to guard the solitary oil lamps of the Divine Temple and grow old alone..."

Muttering to herself, Lu Qingluo suddenly let out a self-deprecating chuckle. "The Divine Temple has already been destroyed, and my father was taken away. I can only rely on you now."

With that said, she slowly drew a sharp dagger and slashed across her right palm!

Crimson blood, exuding a pale blue fluorescence, welled up from the wound.

The next moment—

A miniature, pure white phantom with a lion-like body and deer antlers slowly materialized in front of Lu Qingluo.

The auspicious beast, Bai Ze.

After galloping joyfully through the empty air in front of her for a few laps, the phantom of Bai Ze let out a melodious cry before plunging headfirst into the space between Lu Qingluo’s brows!

A burst of blue fluorescent light erupted!

It directly enveloped Lu Qingluo’s entire body within it.

Days passed one by one.

Everything seemed to have returned to a peaceful state. Fang Xu spent his days recovering from his injuries at home. Whenever his friends list emptied, he would head to the mountains to make a new batch of friends.

Ever since Lv Liren had "monopolized" one of his friend slots, he only had five slots left at his disposal.

Fortunately, over the past few days, the Life Value of Mu Xuan and the other two had dropped to thirty percent. Fang Xu figured it wouldn’t be long before those three friend slots were freed up.

On the seventh day of Lu Qingluo’s seclusion, Fang Xu’s injuries had essentially fully healed with the help of the Rejuvenation Pill and the Divine Attendant.

As for the Central State, the reinforcements from the Ascension Association had yet to arrive.

According to Huang Qingzhou, Xu Changqing had sent word that Ascension Association disciples from various neighboring countries were making their way to the Yu Kingdom one after another. When the time came, they would all head to Fenglin Town together.

That day, Fang Xu tried practicing a Fist Technique in the courtyard. Feeling that the wound on his back was no longer a major issue, he decided to head into town to take a look.

After reaching an agreement with Xing’s last time, Xing Rong, having seen Li Xun, was completely convinced by Fang Xu. Upon returning to Qinghe County Town, she immediately began preparations for the Blood Food Shop.

The day before yesterday, she had sent someone with an invitation, informing Fang Xu that the Blood Food Shop would open within a couple of days.

With a ten percent dividend, Fang Xu felt he should visit before the opening; otherwise, he would seem like a negligent shareholder.

Arriving at the entrance of Zhiyuan Hall, he happened to run into Huang Qingzhou, who had just returned from outside.

"Heading out?" Huang Qingzhou asked, carrying a jug of Maple Brew in his hand.

Fang Xu nodded. "The Blood Food Shop in town is about to open. I’m going to check it out."

"I’ve heard over the past few days that the Blood Food Shop originally belonged to your master?" Huang Qingzhou asked curiously.

Fang Xu nodded in agreement. "The shop has been handed over to Xing’s now. My senior sister and I will take a ten percent cut."

Hearing this, Huang Qingzhou was slightly surprised.

He knew very well that the Blood Food business was incredibly lucrative. Fang Xu owned a ten percent cut of a Blood Food Shop, yet he still acted like a miser every day, going out to loot corpses whenever he had nothing else to do. It was truly hard for him to understand.

"What a coincidence, I don’t have anything to do either. Let’s go take a look together," Huang Qingzhou said, turning to follow Fang Xu toward the town.