151: Memories of the Awakening of Insects

"Pfft!"

The Awakening Thunder Sword pierced through the thin Protective Aura covering Zhou Liang's throat without any resistance! The incomparably sharp tip, imbued with the true meaning of Kui Ox's Destruction, fiercely stabbed into his vulnerable throat!

The last torrent of violent thunder yuan contained within the sword body instantly exploded inside his neck!

"Uh... Hah..." Zhou Liang's body stiffened abruptly, his eyes beneath the mask filled with unbelievable terror and venom.

A wheezing sound, like a bellows breaking, erupted from his throat. Blood mixed with the smell of scorching from the thunder yuan sprayed out from beneath the mask!

He clutched his throat tightly, staggered backward, and the ghostly blue poison needles and the pale bone talisman whose corner had just been crushed scattered across the ground.

A faint, almost imperceptible fluctuation instantly dissipated into the air from the shattered part of the bone talisman.

Di Jingzhe was also thrown backward by the recoil force, crashing heavily not far from Feng Linger. His left rear shoulder was sunken, half his back was covered in ghostly blue frost, his breath was weak, and golden blood mixed with ice shards constantly overflowed from the corner of his mouth.

The Awakening Thunder Sword flew out of his hand, sticking diagonally into the scorched earth nearby. Its light was dim, and a trace of dark red blood remained on the tip.

In the rift valley, there was a deathly silence.

There was only the mournful sound of the wind blowing through the strange rocks, the heavy, difficult gasps of the two heavily wounded individuals, and the occasional low string tremor from that damaged ancient zither.

Zhou Liang struggled, trying to force a sound out of the hole in his throat, but only more bloody froth emerged.

The light in his eyes rapidly dimmed. His body twitched a few times, and then finally became completely still.

On the faceless, pale mask, only a blood hole scorched by thunder yuan remained, bubbling with hot steam. Like the shattered bone talisman, it silently conveyed that a certain message had been sent out.

Di Jingzhe painfully turned his head to look at Feng Linger, who was near death not far away, her left arm completely covered in ghostly blue frost, and the ancient zither beside her dim and lifeless.

Her face was ashen, her lips were purplish-black, and her gaze was unfocused, like a candle flickering in the wind.

"Miss..." Di Jingzhe's voice was hoarse and weak. Every word he spoke pulled at his shattered shoulder bones and the vicious poison raging inside him, causing heart-piercing pain. He struggled to move toward her.

Feng Linger seemed to hear him. Her unfocused gaze struggled to focus, turning toward Di Jingzhe.

Seeing the ghostly blue frost covering half his body and his sunken shoulder, seeing the blood froth constantly seeping from his mouth, seeing the equally profound pain and a barely perceptible concern in his eyes... and the resolute moment when he fearlessly stabbed toward Zhou Liang's throat, flashed again in her consciousness, which was on the verge of collapse.

An extremely faint, almost illusory warmth spread a slight ripple across the lake of her heart, which was frozen by poison and despair.

It was not for herself, but for this young man she had never met, who had fought alongside her to the death and protected her with his life.

"How... are you..." Feng Linger's voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, her breath hanging by a thread.

Di Jingzhe shook his head, indicating he could still hold on. His gaze fell on Feng Linger's tightly clenched right hand—even in a comatose, near-death state, her right hand was still tightly gripping the bronze protective talisman with scorched and damaged edges, her knuckles turning white from the force.

Protective talisman... Feng Wuji... Ninth Mine Area... was taken away... Blue-clothed youth... Fragmented memories, like stones thrown into a lake, churned violently in Di Jingzhe's mind, which was growing dim from the severe pain and poison.

The long and dark mine tunnel during the Transmigration through the Ninth Mine Area... the rough shoving and shouting of the guards... the numb and desperate eyes of the Mine Slaves... and... a figure being forcefully dragged away by two people whose auras were clearly stronger, wearing the uniforms of the Zhou Family elite mine guards... Unlike the worn-out sackcloth of the other Mine Slaves, that youth seemed to be wearing a washed-out, yet relatively intact, old blue shirt... When struggling, his forehead seemed to bear a silver lightning mark, and at his waist, perhaps... perhaps a piece of bronze with an irregular edge flashed a dim luster under the dim mine lamp light?

That luster... that vague shape... was incredibly similar to the scorched and damaged protective talisman tightly held in Feng Linger's hand!

Di Jingzhe's heart clenched violently! As if grasped tightly by an invisible large hand!

He gasped laboriously, using all his strength, and hoarsely spat out a few words. Each word carried heavy weight and clearly reached Feng Linger's ears:

"Ninth Mine Area... entrance tunnel... the Blue-clothed youth dragged away by two Zhou Family elite mine guards... has a silver lightning mark on his forehead... when struggling... bronze luster flashed at his waist... the shape... is similar to the protective talisman in your hand... Is it him... Feng Wuji?"

Deep within the Ghost Cry Ridge rift valley, it was as silent as a tomb.

The smell of blood mixed with the odor of scorching pressed heavily upon the lead-gray air.

Feng Linger was curled up on the cold rock, her left arm covered in the strange ghostly blue frost, her breath as weak as a candle in the wind. Her unfocused gaze was fixed tightly on Di Jingzhe's face, like a drowning person grasping the last piece of driftwood.

"What... what did you say?" Her voice was dry and hoarse, every word seeming to be forcibly squeezed from a frozen throat, trembling with disbelief,

"Blue clothes... lightning mark... bronze luster... struggling... You... you really saw it?" The right hand tightly gripping the broken protective talisman emitted faint creaking sounds from the knuckles due to excessive force, and the ghostly blue frost patterns on the back of her hand seemed to subtly undulate with this violent emotional fluctuation.

Di Jingzhe painfully shifted his body. The severe pain from his sunken left rear shoulder and the bone-gnawing coldness made his vision momentarily blacken.

He endured it, and replied in an equally hoarse but unusually clear voice: "Yes. At the intersection of the main tunnel's three paths at the entrance of the Ninth Mine Area... he was dragged away by two people wearing black armor with purple thunder patterns. He struggled very hard... At his waist... something reflected the light of the mine lamp... the shape... is similar to the object in your hand."

His gaze fell on the protective talisman tightly held by Feng Linger; its scorched edge was particularly glaring in the dim light.

"It's him... It really is Wuji..." The last shred of luck in Feng Linger's eyes shattered completely, replaced by a madness bordering on despair.

"The Zhou Family... a big shot..." She suddenly struggled to sit up, ignoring the tearing pain caused by the frost spreading across her left arm.

"I have to go... I have to go save him! Right now!" The remaining Purple Mansion True Essence in her body surged wildly due to the intense emotional fluctuation. The damaged zither strings were pulled, emitting a death-like mournful tremor, and a chaotic, violent sonic wave energy vibrated uncontrollably around her body, causing surrounding gravel to roll down.

"Calm down!" Di Jingzhe hissed, his voice exploding like muffled thunder in the confined space.

He forcibly summoned a breath of True Essence, disregarding the vicious poison raging within him and his shoulder injury. His right hand shot out like lightning. Instead of touching Feng Linger's body, he spread his five fingers wide and pressed them virtually about a foot above her Qi Sea!

"Zzzzzzzz—!"

Pale golden-purple Kui Ox thunder yuan erupted from his palm. It was not an attack, but rather formed a finely interwoven net of lightning, imbued with the dual true meanings of Destruction and Rebirth!

The lightning net instantly enveloped the out-of-control sonic wave energy vibrating around Feng Linger.

The domineering true meaning of the Kui Thunder Shakes the World Art forcibly intervened, like the most violent thunder tearing apart a chaotic storm!

"Pfft!" Feng Linger seemed to be hit hard, spitting out another mouthful of blood foam mixed with ghostly blue ice crystals, but the reckless madness in her eyes was momentarily shaken away by this power containing the will of primeval thunder. The chaotic, rampaging True Essence and the zither string backlash were temporarily suppressed.

She gasped violently, her expression still painful and despairing, but now mixed with a bewilderment and weakness caused by being forcibly pulled back to reality.