Chapter 022: Don’t Come Any Closer!

Such a strikingly handsome man, looking so wretched and pitiful, smiled at her and beckoned her closer, asking her to help him up. In her previous life, as someone hopelessly partial to good looks, Yan Shu would have rushed over with a delighted squeal. But now, she didn’t dare move a muscle. Not only did she not want to move, she even wanted to run…

Time ticked by, and the smile on Xiao Jihan’s face gradually faded into coldness. He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and gave a derisive laugh as he looked at Yan Shu. “What is Master so afraid of? I have exhausted all my spiritual power. Even if I hadn’t, I would still not be your match.”

Not your match?

Hearing this, Yan Shu immediately understood the source of that surging murderous intent. She wailed inwardly. See, isn’t this exactly what she expected? How could the male lead’s affection be so easily improved? If it were her, having her heart gouged out for over a year, no amount of kindness shown over a few days could possibly erase such deep hatred.

No wonder the Heavenly Dao had lured her here. In the end, was she just a supplement for the male lead?

Yan Shu’s knees went weak, and she instinctively took a step back, stammering, “Don’t—don’t come any closer!”

Xiao Jihan sneered, “What is Master saying? I am completely drained, grievously wounded. How could I possibly move?”

Ha! Did he really think he could fool her? He was practically Heaven’s favored child. Tribulation lightning for him was like a father disciplining his son—at most a bit of a beating, nothing that could truly harm him. Did he take her for a three-year-old?

Yan Shu silently retreated another half-step.

Xiao Jihan’s gaze grew colder as he watched her.

Yan Shu looked at him, her heart pounding in terror.

In their minds, only one thought echoed: He (She) wants to dig out my spiritual root!

Wait!

Gazing at the hostility value above Xiao Jihan’s head, flashing like a siren, Yan Shu suddenly calmed down. There was no escape for her. The Heavenly Dao had forced her here with thunderbolts; even if she ran now, the lightning would chase her down relentlessly.

She understood all too well—because she was Xiao Jihan’s reserve source of energy, the previous rounds of lightning had been mere child’s play. If she truly tried to flee, the Heavenly Dao would obliterate her without a trace.

Moreover, with Xiao Jihan’s affection now at minus ninety-nine—murderous intent surging—even if she escaped the lightning by some miracle, he would never let her go.

Her life or death now lay entirely in Xiao Jihan’s hands.

But the real question was, just moments ago, his affection value had been at minus forty—disgust. Why had it suddenly plummeted to minus ninety-nine—raging murderous intent? Was it just because she had taken a step forward? Did he suspect she wanted to kill him?

Yan Shu watched Xiao Jihan carefully, noting every flicker of expression, every movement. She tentatively took a step forward.

A sword appeared in Xiao Jihan’s hand—none other than the high-grade magical treasure she had gifted him.

She understood then.

With a heavy sigh, Yan Shu realized she had indeed underestimated how difficult it was to cultivate favor. Even if his affection increased, the hatred from having his heart gouged out over the past year could not be so easily dismissed.

Between them, trust simply did not exist. At the first sign of danger, his first thought was that she would kill him.

Above, the thunderclouds continued to rumble, purple lightning rolling within but refusing to strike. It seemed to be weighing Xiao Jihan’s endurance or perhaps waiting for him to recover.

A true favored son of Heaven—such special treatment was unprecedented and likely never to be repeated.

The churning lightning illuminated everything as if it were broad daylight.

Yan Shu glanced at the sword in Xiao Jihan’s hand, then at his frost-covered gaze. After a moment’s silence, she suddenly sat down cross-legged.

Thinking of her third senior brother Liu Zhiqing’s advice, she gave what she believed was a most benevolent, motherly smile and said, “Disciple, focus on your tribulation. I know you are troubled, so I won’t come closer. I’ll stay here and guard you.”

With that, she quickly formed a series of seals, and a protective barrier instantly enveloped Xiao Jihan.

He was briefly startled, staring at the cross-legged Yan Shu before him, his eyes deep and unreadable.

Yan Shu, having no other choice, pushed everything else aside. She knew that casting this barrier would reveal her true cultivation, but compared to that, dissipating Xiao Jihan’s murderous intent was far more important.

Perhaps he was weak now, but soon his spiritual power would return, and with the support of the Heavenly Dao, her fate would be sealed.

Damn it! She would risk everything.

She would make Xiao Jihan feel the selfless, motherly love of a master—as devoted as an old mother hen.

So what if it was the final heavenly lightning? If Xiao Jihan could withstand eight strikes, there was no reason she could not bear the ninth.

If she failed, she would meet her end honorably. If she could not be a hero, she would become a martyr.

If she truly perished shielding him from the lightning, then she would have repaid her debt with her life. She would owe him nothing.

It was her choice. Even if her senior brothers disliked him, at most they would expel him from the sect. With his background, he would not exterminate the entire Xuanyuan Sect just for being cast out. Thus, her promise to her master to change the fate of the sect would be fulfilled.

Yan Shu summoned her life-bound spiritual treasure—the Nine-Section Thunder Whip.

A life-bound spiritual treasure was so called because it was linked to its owner’s very existence; their fortunes and fates were intertwined.

The moment the Nine-Section Thunder Whip appeared, it shone brightly, sensing its master’s resolve. It hovered restlessly in the air.

“Go!”

At her command, the whip shot toward Xiao Jihan.

His phoenix eyes turned icy, and he gripped his long sword tightly.

Yet, the whip did not strike for his chest as he expected. Instead, it soared upward, passed through the barrier protecting him, and hovered above his head.

“Expand!”

The whip blazed with thunderous light. Its body, once just over three feet long, instantly grew to over thirty feet, its width swelling from an inch to two feet.

This was the true form of the acquired spiritual treasure, the Nine-Section Thunder Whip—not a whip, but a violet thunder dragon.

The thunder dragon roamed restlessly above Xiao Jihan’s head, letting out a piercing peal of thunder.

He glanced up at the dragon circling above, then turned his gaze to the meditating Yan Shu, his eyes growing ever darker.

At that moment, the restless thunderclouds finally moved. Two massive clouds collided like a giant bronze gong, producing a deafening crash.

Boom!

A bolt of purple lightning, thick as a man’s body, plummeted directly toward Xiao Jihan.

At that instant, the thunder dragon moved. With a thunderous roar, it shot upward like a flying sword, meeting the descending lightning head-on.

The lightning struck, and the violet thunder dragon vanished into its midst.

The bolt crashed against the protective barrier shrouding Xiao Jihan. The barrier shattered in response, and the lightning dissipated into the air, vanishing as though it had never been.

Something fell from above. Xiao Jihan reached out and caught it—it was Yan Shu’s life-bound spiritual treasure, the Nine-Section Thunder Whip, now dim and battered.

“Pfft!”

Yan Shu coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground, unable to hold on any longer.