Chapter 703 - 702: Slumbering Yi Xingchen

Chapter 703: Chapter 702: Slumbering Yi Xingchen

"Tianyun..."

As Jiao Linghe walked up to Yi Tianyun, she immediately pulled him into a firm embrace, tears blurring her vision. She had never thought she would see her own child again in her lifetime.

Yi Tianyun felt rather awkward in her embrace, though a moment later, he was genuinely moved. The feeling wasn’t overwhelming; after all, he had no memory of her, making it hard to feel any special mother-son bond.

A moment later, Yi Tianyun stepped out of her embrace. His expression was less stiff, but still far from natural. He felt unable to speak. He had never seen her once in his entire life, and now he was suddenly expected to call this person "Mother." It was just too bizarre.

"Tianyun, she’s your mother!" Shi Xueyun fretted from the side, seeing Yi Tianyun just standing there, frozen like a block of wood.

What happened to his previous imposing aura? The presence he had when slaying his enemies was astonishing, yet now he was like a wooden block, unable to even speak. It was maddening to watch.

"I understand. After so many years apart, it must be awkward to suddenly acknowledge me..." Jiao Linghe sighed deeply, the disappointment in her eyes unconcealed.

But on second thought, wasn’t this to be expected? So many years had passed. She could be deeply moved, but Yi Tianyun had never even met her. It would be stranger if he *was* moved.

’They would just have to build their relationship little by little to deepen their affection. Forcing him to call her Mother now would result in empty words, not a heartfelt cry.’

Immediately, Jiao Linghe turned to look at Celestial Slaughter and his companion. They lay on the ground, their bodies slowly turning to sand. Aside from struggling helplessly, there was nothing they could do.

They couldn’t suppress the erosion; they could only watch helplessly as their bodies turned to sand.

"Now it’s your turn to die. And you thought you could snatch the Blood-Drinking Grass I worked so hard to obtain?" Jiao Linghe watched them coldly as a longsword materialized in her hand.

The two of them stared fixedly at Jiao Linghe, their eyes filled with sorrow and despair. They hadn’t expected the tables to turn in an instant, sealing their fate.

"If you’re going to kill us, then do it! We won’t so much as frown!" They didn’t beg for mercy. From the moment they entered this line of work, they knew this day might come and were long since prepared.

They knew she wouldn’t let them go even if they begged for mercy, so they might as well go out with a spine.

"Don’t worry, I won’t let you die so quickly!" Jiao Linghe took out the Blood-Drinking Grass. It pulsed with a dense, crimson light in her hand, making the two of them tremble inwardly.

"What... what are you planning to do?" They looked at the Blood-Drinking Grass with terror in their eyes.

"What do you think?"

Jiao Linghe gripped the Blood-Drinking Grass and placed it on their chests. The grass’s exposed roots immediately plunged into their bodies and began to frantically devour their blood.

"No, no..."

They screamed in agony, but it was futile. The Blood-Drinking Grass relentlessly drained their blood. The Essence Blood in their bodies was rapidly siphoned away, and they began to shrivel.

Yi Tianyun said nothing as he watched from the side. The Blood-Drinking Grass, true to its name, grew by absorbing blood. It didn’t matter whose blood it was; it would immediately begin to absorb any it came into contact with. If placed near a person, it would instantly pierce their body and reach inside to drain their Essence Blood.

If it couldn’t absorb Essence Blood like this, the Blood Qi of the Blood-Drinking Grass would never be so potent.

A moment later, the Essence Blood in their bodies was completely drained, leaving them looking like desiccated corpses. They weren’t dead, however, but hovering on the brink. It wouldn’t be long before they expired completely.

After they were drained dry, Jiao Linghe sealed the Blood-Drinking Grass once more. Otherwise, it would have started draining her next.

"That’s enough. Let’s get out of here. It isn’t safe to linger." Jiao Linghe gestured for them all to leave at once.

They nodded and swiftly flew away. The place was indeed dangerous, and who knew what enemies might be waiting to surround them.

"Sister, why did you come to the Desolate Bone Forest? Was it for this Blood-Drinking Grass?" Shi Xueyun asked. "Speaking of which, where is Yi Xingchen?"

She didn’t call him brother-in-law. She felt that if it weren’t for Yi Xingchen, Jiao Linghe would never have ended up in such a state.

"He..." Jiao Linghe glanced at Yi Tianyun beside her, then sighed. "Come with me. You’ll know soon enough."

Shi Xueyun nodded and didn’t press further. Yi Tianyun remained silent, lost in his own thoughts.

Soon, they exited the forest without incident. Under Yi Tianyun’s protection, unless a peak Saint King or an expert at the Divine King level appeared, he could easily suppress any foe.

Once outside, they quickly found a place to settle—a nearby cave. It had clearly been carved out by someone, and that person was Jiao Linghe. After she dismantled the concealment formation, they all walked inside.

Upon entering, the first thing they saw was a crystal coffin. Lying inside was a handsome man. When Shi Xueyun saw him, she cried out, "Yi Xingchen!"

The man lying in the crystal coffin was none other than Yi Xingchen—Yi Tianyun’s father. To think that the foremost genius of the Sealing Heaven Divine Kingdom was now lying in a crystal coffin.

Sensing his aura, it was clear he wasn’t dead, but merely in a deep slumber. His face was frighteningly pale, completely devoid of color, as if all his Blood Qi had been drained away.

"This feeling... why does it seem so familiar?" Yi Tianyun studied Yi Xingchen’s condition and said in a low voice, "His Blood Qi is almost nonexistent, incredibly faint. How could this happen?"

Jiao Linghe sighed, her eyes filled with anger. "I don’t know who sent people to ambush us. Your father was caught in a sneak attack. It wasn’t until after we escaped that we realized he’d been afflicted with a powerful poison. It seems to be a type of Bloodthirsty Poison, one that drains a person’s Essence Blood and causes their Blood Qi to weaken severely!"

"I had no choice but to put your father into a deep slumber and use supplementary Blood Qi Elixirs to keep him alive. He’s been like this for more than a decade... This all happened right when we were about to return to the Mortal Realm to bring you back. We never expected to be surrounded by that group of people."

Tears streamed down Jiao Linghe’s face as she spoke. "It’s not that we didn’t want to come back for you. The situation was just too critical. We couldn’t return."

The Celestial Realm is obviously the best place to find Spirit Medicines. The Mortal Realm has far too few, and their quality can’t compare. That’s why they didn’t go to the Lower Mortal Realm to retrieve Yi Tianyun.

"So that’s what happened..." Yi Tianyun’s gaze turned cold. No wonder Jiao Linghe and his father hadn’t returned for him; it was because of this unexpected disaster. ’Did they provoke someone? To think even I ended up suffering because of it...’

Yi Tianyun had a faint guess as to what was going on, and he hoped he wasn’t right.