Ye Huohuo's soul consciousness was shaken by a voice that appeared out of thin air. The pain of her soul being torn apart subsided a lot, and even her body seemed to have some strength. She leaned into Zuo Qingya's embrace and slowly lifted her head. She looked up at the sky but saw nothing.
"Friend, would you care to show yourself!" Zuo Qingya pulled Ye Huohuo closer into his arms, his wide sleeves shielding half of her body, making her look like a little bird protected in his embrace.
Zuo Qingya scanned his surroundings for a long time but found no one.
"Little Uncle-Master, could it be Ye Huohuo's master?" Lu Yao also retracted her power and stood up.
Just now, she was fully focused on unblocking Zuo Qingya's blood vessels and didn't notice Ye Huohuo using the "Bin Jie Da Fa." It was Zuo Qingya, who had regained consciousness first, who leaped forward and caught Ye Huohuo. Otherwise, Ye Huohuo would have hit the wall head-on and died even if her soul hadn't been extinguished.
Lu Yao had just completely withdrawn her power and only now realized that Ye Huohuo's condition was very bad, her soul consciousness even unstable. "What happened to Ye Huohuo? Why is she like this!"
"It's you, you must have done this to her!" Lu Yao suddenly charged towards Miao Feng, "Old demon, what did you do to her? I'll fight you to the death!"
But as soon as she reached the vicinity of the ice blade stuck in the ground, she was repelled by a powerful force.
"Lu Yao, don't be reckless!" Zuo Qingya, holding Ye Huohuo with one hand, reached out with the other and grabbed thin air. A gigantic, almost transparent hand formed from airflow pulled Lu Yao back.
"She hurt Huohuo like this... I won't let her get away with it!" Lu Yao said with a sob.
Ye Huohuo listened to Lu Yao's noisy voice, leaning in Zuo Qingya's embrace. The faint sandalwood scent from his body filled her nose. Although her soul still pained her unbearably, she felt an incredibly unreal sensation, as if she were floating lightly, as if in the clouds.
To die like this, nestled in the arms of her idol, with a friend-like enemy by her side, was a death that would make her laugh in her dreams.
Looking at the anxious Lu Yao, Ye Huohuo twitched the corner of her lips. The stubborn image of a ten-year-old girl flashed before her eyes. She was still herself!
"Ye Huohuo is like this because she saved us, she used the 'Bin Jie Da Fa'!" Zuo Qingya's free hand clenched into a tight fist, his eyes filled with deep anger, directed at Miao Feng and himself.
"Bin Jie Da Fa?" Lu Yao grabbed Ye Huohuo's hand and found it as cold as a corpse's. Tears finally flowed uncontrollably. "How much do you not want to live, to want your soul to scatter and vanish completely?"
Ye Huohuo wanted to speak. Who would want to die if they could live? This Lu Yao's thought process was truly bizarre. How could she think she didn't want to live? If it weren't to save them, she wouldn't have wanted to die! But she opened her mouth, and apart from a dry, painful throat, she couldn't utter a single word.
Zuo Qingya didn't hear what Lu Yao said. His attention was focused on the ice blade. He didn't know who had thrown the ice blade that appeared out of nowhere. This person was elusive, not clearly indicating who they intended to save, but simply separating the two of them.
Why didn't this person show themselves after throwing the ice blade? Who were they, friend or foe, and what were their intentions?
Miao Feng, with thoughts similar to his, had lost her previous arrogance and was cautiously observing the ice blade in front of her.
The ice blade was vertically stuck in the ground, more than two meters high. Everyone had to look up to see its edge.
Its lower part resembled a sword, with blades on both sides, thick in the middle and thin at the edges. However, its upper part looked more like a saber, with a blade on one side and a thick back on the other, like the spine of a saber. Moreover, the overall shape of this ice blade varied in thickness, looking like...
"This looks like a poorly kneaded noodle!" Lu Yao said vividly from the side.
Zuo Qingya glanced at her, and Lu Yao stuck out her tongue, realizing she had spoken out of turn.
Zuo Qingya bent down and picked up Ye Huohuo. He looked very slender, yet he was very strong. He held Ye Huohuo without any apparent effort, as if he were holding a piece of silk. He gently placed her in a corner, letting her lean against the wall. He then gathered his true qi at his fingertips and sent a stream of it into her glabella, helping to temporarily protect her fractured soul consciousness.
Looking at Ye Huohuo, his eyes revealed concern, but he had to deal with Miao Feng first. He couldn't let what just happened happen again.
With a troubled look, Zuo Qingya's voice was gentler than ever before. "Rest here for a moment. After I handle this, I'll take you to be treated. I will definitely be able to cure you!"
Ye Huohuo's current situation was extremely dire. If not for Zuo Qingya's timely measures, her soul would have already scattered. However, her condition was still incurable. Ye Huohuo felt a pang in her heart, but seeing Zuo Qingya's sincere attitude, she could only blink her eyes, indicating she understood and would wait for him.
Lu Yao watched from the side with a touch of unease. She had previously felt that her and Ye Huohuo's positions in Zuo Qingya's heart were similar, but seeing his tenderness towards Ye Huohuo, she couldn't help but feel jealous. She really wanted to ask, if I were this seriously injured, would you treat me with such gentleness?
However, she was not someone who would make unreasonable demands based on her mood. This was hardly the time to say such things. She suppressed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.
Zuo Qingya, Lu Yao, and Miao Feng stood on either side of the ice blade, separated by this thing that was neither a saber nor a sword, made of ice.
"There's always someone stronger," Miao Feng said with rare admiration. "I didn't expect there to be someone with such profound spiritual power now, capable of conjuring blades with empty hands and transmitting sound across vast distances. Since they are your helper, let them come out and meet us. Hiding in the dark is not the act of a master."
"Is it Senior Xuan Ji Zi?" Lu Yao whispered to Zuo Qingya.
Zuo Qingya shook his head. "I'm not sure, but based on my understanding of Sect Master Xuan Ji Zi, his cultivation is not of this extreme cold spiritual power. I don't think it's him. Moreover, if it were him, seeing his disciple in this state..." He didn't finish, glancing at Ye Huohuo, who was leaning against the wall, so weak she looked like she could be blown away by a gust of wind. His brow furrowed again.
"If it's not Senior Xuan Ji Zi, then who else could have such great ability? It couldn't be my master!" Lu Yao muttered softly.
Ye Huohuo leaned against the wall, feeling extremely uncomfortable. Although Zuo Qingya had protected her soul with spiritual power just now, it could only slow down the tearing of her soul. She could still feel her soul being torn apart bit by bit. Her vision was blurry, everything appearing with a double image, and her breath grew increasingly insufficient, making even breathing a luxury.
She wanted Zuo Qingya to withdraw the true qi he had placed on her, to let her fade away on her own, to spare her this torment.
Just then, the ice blade on the ground began to vibrate. The surrounding air seemed to pour towards it from all directions, like a whirlpool suddenly appearing in the sea. All the air in the room poured into the center as if it were seawater.
Ye Huohuo was the furthest from the ice blade, but she also felt her body being uncontrollably drawn towards it. She wanted to resist but couldn't even move a finger. Her body tilted forward uncontrollably, inching towards the ice blade.
"Ye Huohuo!" Zuo Qingya forcibly overcame the powerful gravitational pull, took a large step to Ye Huohuo's side, and pulled her into his embrace, using his gecko-like skill to press his back tightly against the wall.
"It's alright, I'm here!"
He then reached out and grabbed Lu Yao, whose body was no longer under her control and was moving towards the ice blade, pulling her also to the wall. "Stay close to the wall."
Lu Yao responded and quickly used her gecko-like skill, pressing her body tightly against the wall.
On the other side, Miao Feng also leaned tightly against the opposite wall. No one knew what would happen if they were sucked towards the ice blade, so they all stayed close to the walls, fearing being pulled over.
This situation lasted for about half a minute. Suddenly, the ice blade flew up and spun rapidly in the air, like a top. The wind it generated in the room was at least a level five or six gale. Moments ago, they were almost pulled over; now, this wind was pressing them hard against the wall.
Ye Huohuo, already struggling to breathe, felt as if she were suffocating. She was so close to fainting that she felt she would be better off dead. Zuo Qingya's hands gripping her waist felt as if they were crushing her.
Half a minute later, the wind finally stopped. Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, they realized that the ice blade in the room had disappeared, replaced by a person who had materialized out of thin air.