Chapter 163 - 159: Immortality

Chapter 163: Chapter 159: Immortality

Chen Yue’s body tensed instinctively.

Beneath his robes, his muscles bulged slightly, every sinew drawn taut like a bowstring.

His breathing didn’t change, but his entire demeanor underwent a subtle transformation. He was like a sharp blade, once hidden in its sheath, now silently revealing its edge.

Shen Dujiang and Hu Shaoyu stood at Chen Yue’s side. They noticed his change almost simultaneously.

The corner of Shen Dujiang’s eye twitched. Hu Shaoyu’s reaction was more direct; his right hand was already on the hilt of the short saber at his waist, his thumb pressing against the guard to push the blade an inch out of its scabbard.

Lin Quan was looking at Shi Zhen Shu with a wide grin, a smile that seemed to bubble up from the bottom of his heart.

"Zhen Shu, this is the Chen Yue I’m always telling you about. He..."

Lin Quan turned his head, gesturing toward Chen Yue as he spoke, intending to make an introduction. Then, his voice died in his throat.

He saw the expressions on the faces of Chen Yue and the other two.

Chen Yue’s body was tense, his gaze as sharp as a blade. He radiated a murderous aura that made one’s heart palpitate.

Shen Dujiang and Hu Shaoyu stood to his left and right, slightly behind him. Their expressions were just as grim, right hands resting on their weapons, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

Lin Quan’s smile froze on his face. His lips parted slightly, his eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment.

"What’s... wrong with you guys?" His voice was a little hoarse, laced with unease.

Chen Yue vanished from his spot. In the next instant, he appeared at Lin Quan’s side.

He stood beside Lin Quan, only a few steps away from Shi Zhen Shu, his body leaning slightly forward.

"Who are you!"

At that moment, inside Chen Yue’s Sea of Consciousness, the Heart Tiger that had been lying dormant did more than just raise its head.

It had gotten to its feet. Its golden eyes were wide, staring out from the Sea of Consciousness. Its body was lowered, and a continuous, low growl rumbled deep in its throat.

Previously, when facing the draconic roar-like attack from an expert like Cheng Fengjun of the Refining Organ Realm, the Heart Tiger in his Sea of Consciousness had barely stirred.

But now?

Without even sensing a tangible attack, the Heart Tiger had gone from prostrate to standing.

"Chen Yue, let me introduce you. She is..." Lin Quan’s voice was strained as he struggled to remain calm.

He couldn’t finish his sentence. From behind, Shen Dujiang and Hu Shaoyu moved to block the space between Lin Quan and Chen Yue, completely cutting off Lin Quan’s line of sight to Shi Zhen Shu.

Shen Dujiang placed a hand on Lin Quan’s shoulder. The pressure was neither heavy nor light, but it was firm, pushing him back half a step.

Hu Shaoyu stood sideways on Lin Quan’s other side, his right hand on his hilt. The blade glinted coldly under the red light of the lanterns.

"Lin, don’t go over there." Shen Dujiang’s voice was low and urgent.

Lin Quan’s eyes widened slightly. His gaze shifted back and forth between Shen Dujiang’s and Hu Shaoyu’s faces, seeing the gravity and vigilance in their eyes.

The last time he had seen such expressions was in Youlin County, on the night the four of them escaped.

Lin Quan’s heart sank.

No matter how confused he was, he knew now that something was wrong.

His lips moved as if to say something, but in the end, no sound came out.

His eyes instinctively drifted toward Shi Zhen Shu.

The woman he thought he would spend the rest of his life with was now standing quietly in the red glow of the lanterns, a smile on her face as she watched everything unfold.

Lin Quan’s eyes were filled with confusion and bewilderment.

He didn’t understand. He truly didn’t understand.

Shi Zhen Shu had been walking toward Lin Quan, her steps light and unhurried, but the moment Chen Yue spoke, she stopped.

She looked at Chen Yue with a smile, the very same one as before, unchanged by his challenge.

Her gaze lingered on Chen Yue for a moment before she tilted her head slightly.

"My name is Shi Zhen Shu,"

Her voice still had that clear, graceful quality, like spring water, neither rushed nor slow:

"Greetings, sir. My husband often speaks of you. Having met you today, I see the rumors don’t do you justice."

As she spoke, Shi Zhen Shu dipped into a slight curtsy, a woman’s greeting, with elegant and composed movements that were utterly flawless.

Chen Yue stared at Shi Zhen Shu, two flames seeming to burn deep within his pupils.

His breathing was steady and deep, his Qi Blood already circulating at its peak, ready to unleash his strongest power at any moment.

In the next instant, a faint tiger’s roar rippled out from Chen Yue’s body.

The sound wasn’t loud. It seemed to resonate from deep within his bones, his meridians, his very flesh and blood.

The tiger’s roar spread out from Chen Yue like a ripple, expanding in all directions.

The people in the courtyard who were helping with the arrangements all paused in unison when they heard the roar.

Then, a vacant expression appeared on their faces, as if something had been stolen from them, their eyes becoming empty and dazed.

To an ordinary person, this roar was like a gentle breeze across the cheek. It caused no physical harm, but it was enough to make them temporarily lose their awareness of their surroundings.

When Shi Zhen Shu heard this roar, her expression shifted slightly.

Her facial features were like a reflection cast upon water, rippling as a breeze passed over it. These ripples caused her face to fluctuate for a moment.

It was as if other faces lay beneath her skin, trying to break free and reveal themselves to the world.

Chen Yue’s eyes narrowed, the gaze that shone from the slits colder than before.

"Cui? No, Chen Yuqing?"

His voice was soft, as if he were muttering to himself.

In the faces that had flashed across Shi Zhen Shu’s features just now, Chen Yue had seen two people.

One was Cui’s, and the other was Chen Yuqing’s.

Ever since the plague of evil spirits erupted and Youlin County was destroyed, Chen Yue had not seen either of them.

’Mountain Monarch?’

’Did Cui and Chen Yuqing become Chong Ghosts?’

Shen Dujiang and Hu Shaoyu, standing at Chen Yue’s side, had also seen the fleeting change on Shi Zhen Shu’s face.

For a split second, two unfamiliar faces emerged from Shi Zhen Shu’s own, wavering like reflections in water before being covered again by her graceful features.

The scene was utterly bizarre, like a carefully choreographed shadow play where the puppeteer behind the screen had accidentally revealed their true face.

Shen Dujiang’s brow furrowed into a tight knot. His lips were pressed into a thin line, the muscles in his jaw twitching.

His right hand had moved from Lin Quan’s shoulder and was once again gripping the weapon at his waist.

Hu Shaoyu’s expression was just as grim. His saber was already halfway out of its sheath, the blade casting a cold, green-tinged glint under the lantern light.

Those two faces were unfamiliar to them, but not to Lin Quan.

Lin Quan knew Chen Yuqing, and he also knew Cui.

When the faces of Chen Yuqing and Cui flashed across Shi Zhen Shu’s features, Lin Quan looked as if he had been struck by lightning.

His face instantly turned deathly pale, drained of all color.

His eyes became vacant and dazed. Reflected in his pupils was Shi Zhen Shu’s still-smiling face, but the warmth and love that had been there moments ago were gone, replaced by terror.

He opened his mouth, a muffled sound catching in his throat.

He wanted to say something, but the words were stuck, unable to escape. His last shred of hope had just been shattered to pieces.

The smile on Shi Zhen Shu’s face had long since vanished.

The corners of her mouth, once upturned, were now a flat line. Her aura transformed from gentle and approachable to an indescribable, sinister coldness.

Her black eyes were now like two bottomless, dried-up wells—dark, frigid, and utterly devoid of warmth.

Then, she suddenly let out a soft laugh.

The laugh wasn’t loud—it was quiet, even—but in this strange atmosphere, it was more horrifying than a scream.

"I was just wondering how the four of you managed to escape Youlin County unscathed. So, it was you?"

Her gaze rested on Chen Yue, as if re-evaluating this young man she had previously paid no mind.

"But aren’t you only in the Skin Refining Realm? And this level of Martial Arts... what’s that about?"

"You became Chong Ghosts?" Chen Yue suddenly asked.

Hearing the two words "Chong Ghost," Shi Zhen Shu frowned slightly.

"Chong Ghost? That sounds so unpleasant."

She raised her head slightly, tilting her chin up at an angle, and looked down on the four of them with a condescending gaze.

"We were merely fortunate enough to serve our lord and thus attain eternal life. Our lord granted us power, an undying body, and eternal youth. This is an opportunity countless people could only dream of."

She paused, her gaze sweeping over Chen Yue, then Shen Dujiang and Hu Shaoyu, before finally landing on Lin Quan.

"And you all missed such an opportunity."

Shi Zhen Shu leaned forward slightly. "However, you may yet have a chance to remedy that."

"Remedy?"

The corner of Chen Yue’s mouth twitched. "By becoming Chong Ghosts like you?"

"My lady, why waste words on him!"

A shrill voice suddenly came from Shi Zhen Shu’s direction, but it didn’t come from her mouth. It came from within her body.

In the next instant, a head poked out from Shi Zhen Shu’s right side.

The head had no neck. Or rather, its neck was connected to Shi Zhen Shu’s shoulder.

It was the head of a young woman. Her features were delicate, but at this moment, she looked utterly sinister.

Her skin had an unhealthy, bluish-white pallor, like a corpse that had been submerged in water for too long. Her eyes were large and hollow, her pupils like two black holes, devoid of any light.

It was the face of Cui, but compared to when she was alive, the Cui of this moment looked infinitely more macabre.

"Now that everyone’s here, kill them all and offer them to our lord!"

Cui’s voice was sharp and piercing, like fingernails scraping across metal, making one’s skin crawl.

Seeing Shi Zhen Shu’s new form, Lin Quan stumbled a step backward in terror.

His lips were bloodless, and his entire body seemed to have been drained of all strength. If Shen Dujiang hadn’t reached out to steady him in time, he might have collapsed.