Chapter 146: Sacrificing His Life to Save Another

"Senior Brother Chi, you cannot die!" The disciple whose bones had been shattered, who had just been saved by Chi Yushu, let out a heart-wrenching cry.

Dragging his crippled body, he tried to pull Chi Yushu back, but it was as if a vast chasm separated them. He could only watch helplessly as Chi Yushu fell into the maw of the Taotie.

"Senior Brother Chi!"

A wave of tragic grief instantly enveloped the disciples of the Tianyan Sect.

Wu Qiu sprinted forward, anxiously grabbing the out-of-control Luo Yingying, a desolate expression on his face.

Qi Yongfeng and Xia Changhan had never expected such a sudden turn of events as they approached the Dead Spirit Locking Array.

"Junior Brother Chi..." Xia Changhan looked in astonishment at the gargantuan body of the Taotie.

Qi Yongfeng and Zou Peng wore complex expressions, both of their gazes sweeping over Qu Yiqiu.

"Senior Brother Chi!" Disregarding everyone's stares, Qu Yiqiu turned back and flew straight toward the front of the Taotie.

Seeing this, Wu Qiu was terribly startled and hurriedly advised, "Junior Sister Yiqiu, you mustn't!"

"Junior Sister! Don't go! Let me do it!" Surrounded by grief and anger, Luo Yingying struggled fiercely in Wu Qiu's arms, trying to break free and slay the Taotie to avenge Chi Yushu.

Wu Qiu's face was desolate, his lips pale as he blocked her to prevent her from escaping.

Yet at the same time, he was powerless to stop Qu Yiqiu's actions.

A streak of light flashed across the air as Xia Changhan's folding fan was severed by the Taotie, temporarily diverting the beast's attention.

Having his carefully nurtured magical artifact damaged, Xia Changhan coughed heavily.

"Thank you," Qu Yiqiu quickly said to him, immediately summoning the spiritual fire in her Dantian, intending to use the Indigo-Purple Finch-Phoenix Flame to scorch the Taotie's physical body.

She hoped to force it to open its mouth in pain, taking the opportunity to dash into its belly and rescue Chi Yushu.

"Clang—!"

The clear, ringing cry of a phoenix instantly caused the Taotie's pupils to constrict, a trace of fear flashing within them.

Its massive head rotated vigilantly in the air, scanning everything around it.

At that exact moment, Qu Yiqiu released the spiritual flame from her palm, which suddenly spread across the Taotie's entire body, igniting a blindingly dazzling fire.

"What is that?" Xia Changhan, who had intended to deploy his sound-bell magical artifact once more, withdrew it back into his Dantian. He looked at the raging fire with a mixture of confusion and astonishment, his gaze hesitatingly shifting toward the graceful figure fleeing from the center of the blaze.

***

Unflinching, Qu Yiqiu hovered steadily in mid-air, keeping her eyes fixed on the situation within the flames.

The Taotie, towering and massive like an inverted mountain, had now been transformed into a volcano.

Qi Yongfeng and Zou Peng had long since retreated with their subordinate disciples into the Dead Spirit Locking Array, but they found themselves irresistibly drawn to this volcano, stopping in their tracks to watch in shock and awe.

"What kind of spiritual fire could possibly pierce the impenetrable armor of the fierce beast Taotie?"

Dragging Luo Yingying, Wu Qiu also halted in his tracks, staring in utter shock as he muttered, "Such spiritual fire is by no means inferior to Peak Master Mo's Nether Lotus Heart Fire!"

Staring blankly at the burning volcano, Luo Yingying murmured, "Is this spiritual fire released by Junior Sister Yiqiu?"

...

Qu Yiqiu had no leisure to care about their shocked expressions. Before the Taotie could fly into a rage, she nimbly flashed away to dodge.

Suddenly, the Taotie raised its head in painful roar, its sharp fangs glaring brilliantly under the firelight.

"A prime opportunity!" Seeing the giant maw voluntarily open, Qu Yiqiu channeled spiritual energy beneath her soles and darted straight toward the gaping mouth.

A streak of azure light suddenly shot out from the Taotie's mouth, wrapping Qu Yiqiu completely within it, devoid of any sense of danger.

Qu Yiqiu paused slightly, offering no struggle.

Amidst curling blue smoke, a figure in pristine white robes stepped back on a flying sword—it was none other than Chi Yushu, completely unharmed.

Qu Yiqiu swept a surprised glance over him, and upon spotting a faint layer of azure radiance around him, she instantly understood how he had escaped this calamity.

"It seems I underestimated Senior Brother Chi. He actually possesses the Taiqing Talisman Treasure, which has been hidden for tens of thousands of years!"

She communicated silently with Little Yan in her mind.

Seeing the azure light flickering around Chi Yushu, Little Yan agreed, "We shouldn't have bothered with him. Since he dared to charge forward, he definitely had a trump card in hand. You wasted your energy for nothing!"

Qu Yiqiu smiled. "It wasn't a waste. At least the people from the Xuanyi Sect have already fled into the Dead Spirit Locking Array. Now it all depends on whether Junior Martial Brother can keep them contained."

"You..." Looking at the cluster of flames flickering in her palm, how could Chi Yushu not understand what had just happened?

"Why did you come to save me?" His normally gentle voice carried an imperceptible tremble at that moment.

Meeting his moved gaze, Qu Yiqiu hurriedly waved her hands in denial. "Senior Brother, do not misunderstand. I merely wanted to lure the Taotie away; I am not daring enough to come save you!"

Although she had harbored that intention, since Chi Yushu had managed to get out on his own, she saw no need to continue exposing her trump cards.

Chi Yushu's throat bobbed, ripples spreading across his clear eyes, while the heart beating within his chest felt scorching hot.

Placing a hand over his heart, he lowered his gaze and said, "I know."

She was kind-hearted and respected her teachers; even if she had risked her life to save him, she likely wished to avoid being watched under the scrutiny of the crowd.

Uncle-Master Mo still harbored resentment toward Master.

"As long as Senior Brother knows, that is enough. As an utterly ordinary disciple of Lesser Flat Peak, I am truly terrified of the Taotie's might!" Pulling a wry face, Qu Yiqiu hastily recalled the spiritual fire in her palm and retreated several Zhang backward, distancing herself from Chi Yushu.

"Roar, roar, roar!"

Behind them, the Taotie let out a furious roar as a sheet of black shadow cast down from above its head, completely obscuring the area within three Zhang of Chi Yushu.

Just as the Taotie's attack was about to land on Chi Yushu, the azure light surrounding him erupted with dazzling brilliance. A phantom image of the Supreme Ancestor (Taiqing) manifested from his back, suddenly spreading its palms wide to meet the incoming strike of the Taotie. A powerful shockwave rippled out in all directions.

Qu Yiqiu had long since cleverly hidden herself far away.

"Not good!" Qi Yongfeng thought to himself, attempting to turn and sprint back toward the Dead Spirit Locking Array, but he was struck by the rapidly spreading, terrifying shockwave, which directly flattened him and a few others, sending them tumbling straight into the Dead Spirit Locking Array.

"The Taiqing Talisman Treasure, containing the power of the Supreme Ancestor. The Ninth Prince of the Liulan Kingdom is indeed deeply favored!" Coughing up a mouthful of blood with an enigmatic expression, Xia Changhan stood firmly in place, showing no intention of moving.

"The Taiqing Talisman Treasure—truly a useful gadget. My All-Realm Cultivation Mall should have something like this as well," Qu Yiqiu muttered, secretly observing the might of the Taiqing Talisman Treasure and calculating whether she could purchase one for future emergencies.

"Roar—"

Pummeled by both fire and the power of the Supreme Ancestor, the Taotie swayed unsteadily before crashing heavily onto the ground, instantly creating a massive sinkhole.

With a gaze as swift as lightning, Chi Yushu swept his eyes across the hiding spot of Qu Yiqiu before calling out loudly to Wu Qiu and the others, "Everyone, hurry into the Dead Spirit Locking Array! It is our only way out. Not a single person from the Xuanyi Sect must be allowed to escape; this trip to the Feiling Secret Realm is a massive conspiracy!"

"What?" Wu Qiu and Luo Yingying had just begun to show expressions of pleasant surprise when they heard these baffling words.

"What's wrong with the people from the Xuanyi Sect?" Qi Yongfeng demanded sharply.

His fierce hostility was entirely directed at the Xuanyi Sect.

Ever since Huo Tangsheng produced the projection stone, he had felt that this trip to the secret realm was far from ordinary!