She Dominates the Immortal Realm with Her HP Bar-Chapter 105

From this day forward, the world shall know the Black Tortoise.

Upon realizing the familiarity of the sensation, Wu Manshuang's heart immediately tensed.

It must be understood that the Primordial Toxin flowing in Wu Manshuang's veins was not merely a lethal poison that could kill with a single touch.

Over the years, Wu Manshuang's unique constitution had been studied by Ji Qinghong and the Peak Master of Dan Peak, with Yan Luoyue and Chang Lili assisting by proposing additional theories and aiding in experiments.

After numerous trials, they arrived at a conclusion:

Fundamentally, the toxicity of Wu Manshuang's blood was not poison.

It was a purer, more concentrated force that transcended mere toxicity.

As for what this force truly was…

Before a definitive answer could be reached, Ji Qinghong tactfully escorted the Peak Master of Dan Peak away.

The Peak Master of Dan Peak was good-natured and not as obsessive about research as Chang Lili.

Thus, even after being led in circles, she showed no signs of dissatisfaction and peacefully returned to her peak with two storage bags of gifts from Ji Qinghong.

Chang Lili, however, had been eyeing Wu Manshuang with a predatory gleam ever since that day.

It was as if she were ready to carve a piece off him at any moment to test whether burying his muscle tissue in the ground would cause desertification…

Wu Manshuang: "…"

For a long time afterward, Wu Manshuang made a point of avoiding Dan Peak whenever possible.

Ahem. In any case, after sending away the Peak Master of Dan Peak and Chang Lili, Ji Qinghong held a private conversation with Wu Manshuang.

Ji Qinghong said, "On the surface, you can think of your blood as poison."

"Just as humans categorize anything with written records—whether on tortoise shells, animal hides, bamboo slips, or paper—as books. It’s a way of interpreting the known."

Wu Manshuang pondered this for a moment before calmly looking up and asking, "And in reality?"

Ji Qinghong’s lips curled into his signature half-smile, the one that always seemed amused by something.

He gave his young disciple a meaningful glance and said leisurely, "I heard Yan Luoyue gave you your name?"

Wu Manshuang had neither advertised nor hidden this fact. There was nothing strange about Ji Qinghong knowing.

He nodded frankly. "'Moonlight falls, crows cry, frost fills the sky.' I think it’s a very well-chosen name."

Hearing this line—which contained "Luoyue (falling moon)," "Manshuang (full frost)," and "Wu Ti (crow’s cry)"—Ji Qinghong’s smile widened.

"It is indeed a good name. But did you know? In legend, the Crow’s Cry Fire and the Full Frost Stone are opposites—one dynamic, one static; one yang, one yin; one light, one dark; one life, one death."

"The Crow’s Cry Fire is the ultimate yang of life, which nothing can bear. The Full Frost Stone is the ultimate yin of death, which nothing can resist."

After saying this, Ji Qinghong fell silent.

With that same smile, he watched Wu Manshuang, counting silently in his mind: One, two, three…

Before he even reached five, Wu Manshuang’s head snapped up.

"Are you saying…?"

"That’s why I said your name is interesting."

Ji Qinghong propped his chin on his hand, studying Wu Manshuang with the fascination of a blind man seeing color for the first time.

After all, this might very well be a walking, talking Full Frost Stone.

"Though there’s no concrete proof, I suspect your 'toxicity' may embody the Dao of Absolute Death."

In the end, no further experiments were conducted to verify this theory.

But as Wu Manshuang grew older and stronger, he began to sense it himself.

The Full Frost Stone was already one of the three legendary artifacts, alongside the Falling Moon Wood and the Crow’s Cry Fire.

Given that, what could possibly evoke such a sworn-enemy instinct in Wu Manshuang—something he felt compelled to fight to the death, and destined to do so?

Taking Yan Luoyue’s hand, the two exchanged a silent glance.

No signals or gestures were needed. That brief meeting of their eyes conveyed more than words ever could.

—You felt it too?

—I felt it too.

—We’ll find a way to kill it later?

—We’ll find a way to kill it later.

After this bloodthirsty exchange, they smiled at each other.

In that moment, both Yan Luoyue and Wu Manshuang found solace in each other’s presence.

With Wu Manshuang’s arrival, the situation was quickly brought under control.

Every staff member of the Silver Light Arena who tried to flee was swiftly incapacitated by him.

Yan Luoyue bound them with specially crafted artifacts, trussing them up like shrimp and arranging them at a distance in the corner.

As for the audience members who had been throwing themselves forward to self-destruct—those who had already exploded were beyond saving. The remaining ones, who hadn’t yet detonated, collapsed unconscious the moment their leader was captured.

Only about a dozen spectators remained standing, pale and trembling like cranes among a field of unconscious bodies and gore.

Upon questioning, Yan Luoyue confirmed that these individuals had consumed only small amounts of the blood wine—no more than two cups each.

Among them were two or three whose luck was either exceptionally good or catastrophically bad.

When Yan Luoyue’s group stormed the underground arena, one man had just taken his first sip of blood wine.

Delivering this answer, he wore an expression more twisted than a sob.

Yan Luoyue: "…"

Sighing, she pointed at the unconscious would-be fireworks on the ground. "At least you’re still alive."

"Yeah," the man muttered bitterly, still shaken. "At least I’m still alive."

The interception of the Silver Light Arena’s illegal operations was a matter of great significance, with far-reaching implications.

Before Yan Luoyue and the others could even transport the captives back, a heavyweight figure arrived on the scene.

As it turned out, she was an acquaintance—Master Canhe, Shen Jingxuan’s teacher, whom they had met several times during the Thousand Refinements Grand Conference.

Master Canhe had come to extract more information from the arena’s leader.

At the same time, aside from Kang Bashui and Yan Luoyue’s teams, numerous disciples from the Guiyuan Sect and the Temple of Buddha’s Voice were conducting raids on other Silver Light Arena locations.

However, in every operation where they managed to capture a local leader, the detainee would inevitably explode into a grotesque firework of flesh and blood.

And in cases where they failed to capture the leader… well, naturally, the leader escaped.

In short, the leader apprehended by Wu Manshuang was currently their only living captive.

Realizing this, Yan Luoyue nodded in understanding. "Master, are you here to interrogate him?"

Master Canhe inclined her head slowly.

"Amitabha," the venerable nun intoned, her eyes half-lidded as she solemnly recited the Buddha’s name.

"If the rest of the faction learns of the existence of these benefactors, they will undoubtedly come to deal with them. Even these benefactors themselves might harbor self-destructive intentions."

Shen Jingxuan clasped her hands together in prayer, following her master in chanting Buddhist verses.

The next second, the young nun's eyes snapped open, her resolute expression instantly tinged with a hint of ferocity.

"So, before these rotten scum are killed by their own people, we must first extract what's inside their brains!"

Judging by Shen Jingxuan's overwhelming aura, it didn’t seem like she intended to interrogate them for information—rather, it appeared she literally meant to crack their skulls open and scoop out their brains.

Yan Luoyue: "..."

Master Canhe: "..."

Master Canhe twirled his prayer beads and sighed helplessly. "Jingxuan, I’ve told you many times—you may act directly, but there’s no need for such ruthless phrasing. You sound like an underworld enforcer who hasn’t severed worldly ties."

Yan Luoyue: "???"

Wait, what did he mean by "you may act directly"?

No wonder Shen Jingxuan was growing more and more like a violent nun—if this was how she was being taught!

When helping Yin Wangyou shake off pursuers earlier, Yan Luoyue had already witnessed Shen Jingxuan’s interrogation methods firsthand.

Though the young nun’s approach was straightforward, her techniques were too crude, the scenes too bloody, and her methods overly simplistic.

They worked fine under ordinary circumstances.

But against the Silver Light Arena’s overseers—who would self-destruct without hesitation if given the chance—they fell short.

So, Yan Luoyue turned her gaze to Wu Manshuang. "Manshuang?"

Wu Manshuang nodded and took on the task.

"I’ll handle it."

Since he was the one who captured them, he might as well see it through.

Wu Manshuang brushed off his robes and approached the lead overseer, casting a glance down at him.

Even though the overseer was battle-hardened, when he met those pitch-black, abyss-like eyes, his heart involuntarily skipped a beat.

Some instinct told him that this young man’s gaze was deeply unsettling…

As if, in Wu Manshuang’s eyes, all wrongdoers had ceased to be human and were now nothing more than dishes on a plate.

Wu Manshuang flexed his fingers, granting the overseer the freedom to move his tongue.

He spoke flatly. "Answer what you’re asked."

The overseer suppressed his panic and sneered.

"You can blow me to bits or let that little nun smash my flesh and bones with her fists—I still won’t talk."

Wu Manshuang regarded him calmly, showing no trace of anger, and merely flicked his fingers again.

A wisp of faint mist, barely noticeable, slipped into the overseer’s nostrils and mouth.

The next second, the overseer’s scream shot up an octave, sharp enough to pierce the heavens.

Only after letting him shriek for a while did Wu Manshuang’s voice finally cut in. "If I haven’t asked, don’t answer."

"..."

Once the unbearable agony in his organs subsided, the overseer stared at Wu Manshuang with bloodshot eyes, horrified, unable to comprehend what kind of monster this young man was.

Wu Manshuang’s tone was eerily composed—devoid of any emotion, yet so polite it was as if he were a friendly envoy from a neighboring sect, discussing construction plans over tea.

"I have three hundred and twenty-six ways to make you talk. What you just experienced was only the first."

Most people making threats would use vague numbers—"a thousand ways," "ten thousand ways."

But when Wu Manshuang stated "three hundred and twenty-six," his expression remained blank, yet the specificity of the number made it chillingly believable.

Here, Wu Manshuang gave the faintest tug at the corner of his lips.

It wasn’t a smile—just a prelude to a demon lord’s wrath.

He repeated, icy and unfeeling: "Answer when asked—say ‘yes,’ or we move on to the second method."

The overseer’s bloodshot eyes trembled as he stared at Wu Manshuang, before finally surrendering with a hoarse whisper: "...Yes."

...

To test the overseer’s compliance, Wu Manshuang started with an easily verifiable question.

"Where is the nest in Yixin City?"

At the mention of "nest," the overseer’s pupils contracted sharply.

He couldn’t fathom who had leaked their secrets so thoroughly that even the Silver Light Arena’s covert operations were exposed.

Before the overseer could dwell on it, Wu Manshuang coldly raised a hand, fingers poised to clench.

The overseer broke, whispering a location.

Wu Manshuang gave a slight nod. "What’s inside the nest?"

"Three Motherfiends, one Shadowstalker, and other lower-tier fiends."

Upon receiving this answer, the disciples of Guiyuan Sect swiftly assembled an exploration team.

They set off immediately to investigate the disclosed location.

Some time later, Yuan Feiyu received a message: "He told the truth."

Wu Manshuang nodded and continued the interrogation.

As the saying goes, the first step is the hardest.

Once the overseer answered the first question, it was like oiling a rusted gear—the rest poured out like floodwaters through an open dam.

According to the overseer, wherever the Silver Light Arena operated, a demonic nest was established nearby.

Except in Hongtong Palace’s territory, they usually acted with caution.

A nest typically housed only one high-tier fiend, kept as a strategic reserve for future use.

Hearing this, Yan Luoyue suddenly understood.

So, the fiend raised in the nest near Ruyi City was the Illusion Tree.

And in Tianyuan City’s nest, it was the Puppeteer.

Though these fiends remained hidden for now, their existence was like planting explosives in the heart of humanity—waiting to detonate with catastrophic consequences.

As for how these high-tier fiends were smuggled out…

The overseer’s answer indirectly confirmed Yin Wangyou’s speculation.

"Motherfiends," the overseer muttered. "Motherfiends escape from the demonic seals… We shelter them. Then, in as little as a decade or as long as twenty years, the higher fiends emerge."

Compared to the Puppeteer, the Shadowstalker was neither the most dangerous nor the most troublesome in terms of abilities.

From this perspective, the nest in Yixin City must have been established relatively recently.

Wu Manshuang pressed further: "What about Hongtong Palace? Why aren’t you as cautious there?"

"..."

At this question, the overseer suddenly grinned strangely.

Under Wu Manshuang’s gaze, a trace of madness surfaced in his eyes—eerily similar to the Silver Light Arena’s overseer in Tianyuan City.

The person in charge chuckled to himself for a while before slowly speaking: "Hongtong Palace... someone drank our blood wine. Many, many people..."

Upon hearing this answer, even Master Canhe, with the composure of a monastic, couldn't help but widen his eyes in righteous fury.

"Who are they?"

Wu Manshuang nodded at Master Canhe and asked, following his intent:

"In Hongtong Palace, who do you know has drunk the blood wine?"

The person in charge didn’t answer the question directly.

He gasped for breath, straining to roll his eyes past Wu Manshuang’s shoulder, gazing into the distance.

At this moment, the whites of his eyes were densely streaked with vivid red veins, making them resemble a quintessential British dish.

His eyes nearly rolled back entirely, yet they remained unwaveringly fixed on Yan Luoyue.

"You... bring her here. I want to speak to her."

"..."

Wu Manshuang, who had remained expressionless until now, suddenly darkened his face.

The next second, the person in charge’s scream rang out again.

The only difference was that this time, after the surge of poison in his lungs subsided, he still coughed out a laugh: "I just... want to speak to her. Only her."

"It’s ​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‍alright, Manshuang. Since he insists, I’ll go over."

Wu Manshuang frowned slightly. "There’s no need..."

Moreover, the request was highly suspicious.

Yan Luoyue smiled and nodded at Wu Manshuang, signaling that she understood.

"It’s fine. Master Canhe is here too. Let me handle this."

If the enemy attacks, we defend. If water comes, earth will block it. Whatever scheme the other side had, Yan Luoyue’s enormous health bar wasn’t just for show.

From the moment Wu Manshuang asked the first question, Yan Luoyue had been holding a jade slip to record the scene.

After hearing the person in charge’s persistent demand, she handed the recording jade slip to Yuan Feiyu and stepped forward.

"What do you want to say? I’m listening."

Though the person in charge couldn’t move a single finger, the intense gleam in his eyes gave the illusion that he might leap up at any moment.

At the same time, behind his pupils, all the red veins in his eyes converged into a single bloody shadow.

The moment Yan Luoyue locked eyes with him, her movements abruptly froze.

—This hidden mastermind behind the Silver Light Arena, who had given Yan Luoyue a sense of familiarity, was indeed a familiar enemy.

It might even know the length of Yan Luoyue’s health bar.

This time, it specifically targeted her golden spiritual energy bar.

A direct spiritual attack would have been intercepted by Master Canhe.

And given the person in charge’s physical state, he might not have been able to launch one anyway.

So, the mastermind didn’t attack Yan Luoyue directly.

Instead, the moment their eyes met, it connected with Yan Luoyue’s consciousness and forcibly transmitted a scene to her.

"..."

If this were a tailor-made holographic broadcast for one person, Yan Luoyue would be the lucky viewer.

And what she saw now was the "camera" slowly zooming in from a distant view to a close-up.

As the "lens" drew nearer, the Moonfall Tree gradually appeared in Yan Luoyue’s vision.

In the distance, Yan Luoyue crossed mountains, traversed rugged peaks, and spanned a roaring river of blood until the Moonfall Tree was almost within reach.

At this moment, Yan Luoyue beheld the Moonfall Tree, towering between heaven and earth.

A divine entity where ten thousand years made a spring and ten thousand years made an autumn, its color eternally verdant.

Its branches and roots stretched endlessly, spreading like two vast nets that blotted out the sky.

Beneath the soil, the gnarled web of roots was tightly entwined with a black jade-like stone, its surface patterned like frost and rime.

And at the tips of its endlessly spreading branches, another presence was intricately tangled with every twig of the Moonfall Tree.

Silver threads, fine and dense, layered upon each other like a spider’s web, suffocating to behold.

Normally, such a scene—"the heart like twin silk nets, with a thousand, thousand knots"—might evoke thoughts of tender, lingering affection.

But now, the sight of these silver threads only sent a chill down Yan Luoyue’s spine.

Unconsciously, her breathing grew labored.

It was like watching a dodder vine slowly strangling a great tree...

No, it was worse than that. It wasn’t a dodder vine—it was clearly...

The answer was on the tip of her tongue, ready to spill out.

Yet at the same time, Yan Luoyue felt a wave of dizziness, as if her soul were being torn from her body.

"—Luoyue!"

Wu Manshuang’s startled cry abruptly snapped Yan Luoyue’s drifting thoughts back.

Yan Luoyue shook her head, as if waking from a dream, and only then realized her golden spiritual energy bar was nearly depleted, flashing a dangerous warning light.

"!!!"

What was terrifying was that even this brief moment of clarity was as fleeting as a reflection in a mirror or the moon in water, lasting only an instant in Yan Luoyue’s consciousness.

The next moment, she was forcibly pulled back into that mysterious scene. And then...

Then, Wu Manshuang abruptly covered her.

Dark mist poured endlessly from Wu Manshuang’s body, enveloping Yan Luoyue within it.

The all-encompassing black fog blocked out all light, even severing Yan Luoyue’s spiritual connection momentarily.

To others, this was a lethal poison.

But now, it was a gentle haven where Yan Luoyue could rest safely.

At the edge of Yan Luoyue’s health bar, there was a barely perceptible fluctuation.

Yet at the same time, her golden spiritual energy bar began to recover, slowly inching upward.

They say that in total darkness, one either feels safe or terrified. Yan Luoyue was undoubtedly the former.

But if asked why she felt safe...

In this moment of utter silence, Yan Luoyue could feel her entire back pressed against Wu Manshuang’s embrace.

In the darkness, unseen by anyone, the corners of Yan Luoyue’s lips curled upward.

She relaxed, letting herself sink deeper into him, then closed her eyes and smiled, utterly at peace.

Not all darkness brings a sense of security.

But this darkness belonged solely to Wu Manshuang.

What made Yan Luoyue feel safe wasn’t the darkness itself, but being by Wu Manshuang’s side.

Amid the pitch-black void, Yan Luoyue heard the sound of fabric tearing and a few scattered gasps from others.

What she didn’t see was the pair of wings that suddenly unfurled from Wu Manshuang’s back.

They were the wings of a Teng serpent, spreading like twin blades to either side, exuding an overwhelming, majestic aura.

In Yan Luoyue and Wu Manshuang’s original speculation, they thought the little snake would need a few more molts before these wings could emerge.

Yet now, as Yan Luoyue faced danger, Wu Manshuang seemed pushed to his limits as well.

He embraced Yan Luoyue’s trembling body, where even the slightest pause in her breath resonated through the most sensitive depths of his being.

Under the overwhelming pressure, frost-like patterns, pale as rime on winter branches, surfaced once more in Wu Manshuang’s eyes.

Then, a pair of majestic wings burst forth from his back like towering trees breaking through the earth!

The wings were entirely black, devoid of vibrant hues, yet exuded an innate nobility. Each feather stood rigid and coldly elegant, their edges gleaming with a deep, ink-like sheen.

When fully unfurled, they resembled blades unsheathed, their arcs sharp and shadowed, as if forged from the essence of dark steel.

With this motion, the purest force of deathly yin from his bloodline surged violently.

It coursed through the channel forcibly established between Yan Luoyue and the intruder, turning the enemy’s own method against them with ruthless retaliation!

Amid the swirling black miasma, Wu Manshuang’s eyes were colder and deeper than the night itself.

He snarled, “Pathetic stray—get out!”

His words were swift, but his actions were swifter.

And sharper still was the lethal poison flowing through his veins, striking with unstoppable force.

The channel linking that entity to Yan Luoyue had never been stable to begin with.

Wu Manshuang’s assault held nothing back, each strike brimming with unrestrained fury.

Though intangible, the killing intent pricked at the skin of everyone present—except Yan Luoyue.

In that moment, the icy blade of his power flowed through Yan Luoyue like a flood breaching a dam, surging toward the enemy without harming her in the slightest.

“…”

Yan Luoyue could clearly sense it—through their embrace, Wu Manshuang’s attack first passed through her as if she were a conduit, then transferred into the enemy’s forced channel.

Yet, miraculously, her health bar didn’t flicker even slightly.

As if… they were fated to fit together this perfectly.

Just as the Moonfall Tree could take root beside the Froststone, unafraid of the deadliest yin, its dense roots instead embracing the stone’s icy patterns.

In this moment, Yan Luoyue was the channel, Yan Luoyue was the vessel, Yan Luoyue was the network, Yan Luoyue was…

Her thoughts cut off abruptly.

A blank, snow-like stillness shielded her mind once more.

Now, Yan Luoyue understood—this sudden emptiness was her own form of self-preservation.

Like how the human body shuts down under unbearable pain.

Had she continued absorbing the overwhelming flood of golden consciousness threads—from the Moonfall Tree to the silver web—it would have been disastrous.

The return of this protective void meant the enemy’s forced connection had crumbled under Wu Manshuang’s assault.

A second later, his voice sounded by her ear, slightly hoarse from tension yet still achingly gentle.

“Are you alright?”

Yan Luoyue smiled. “I’m fine.”

Wu Manshuang pressed his lips together before murmuring, “That thing… I couldn’t kill it completely.”

She patted his hand reassuringly. “It was just a temporary channel. Its true body must be elsewhere.”

Unless Wu Manshuang could tear through dimensions to pursue it, dealing a fatal blow was impossible.

If her guess was right, the intricate silver web entangling the Moonfall Tree was part of “that thing.”

With a vengeful glint, Wu Manshuang growled, “We’ll find a way to destroy it later?”

Yan Luoyue giggled and nodded eagerly. “Yes, we’ll find a way later.”

Even with her thoughts frequently shielded, she was beginning to grasp the truth.

—That natural enemy of hers was also Wu Manshuang’s fated adversary. Perhaps their very reason for coming to this world was to eradicate it.

As they spoke, the black mist slowly dissipated, light returning to Yan Luoyue’s vision.

When she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Wu Manshuang’s worried face—and the lethally elegant wings behind him.

…Hmm, wasn’t this scene oddly familiar?

Wu Manshuang shot her a reproachful glare, though his gaze softened almost instantly.

By the time it landed on her, it had melted into something far deeper.

Through gritted teeth, he muttered, “The demon realm. The Moonfall Tree.”

Yan Luoyue: “…” Oh. Now she remembered why this felt like déjà vu!

Even the way she’d been caught by him after collapsing seemed identical to last time!

Her eyes darted away guiltily, only for her to snap her head back a second later.

Wait, one thing was different!

For instance, Wu Manshuang’s wings had utterly shredded his Southern Border attire.

Which meant Yan Luoyue was currently pressed against his bare, sculpted torso—warm and unfairly perfect.

“Sorry, I really won’t do it again,” she cooed, then added, “slurp slurp slurp…”

Wu Manshuang: “…”

“This is the second time—in every possible way, the second time! Why is there ‘slurp slurp slurp’ again?!”

Yan Luoyue tilted her head against his chest and burst into delighted laughter.

“Oops, my bad. Don’t be mad~”

“…Luoyue, I’m not angry at you.” Wu Manshuang sighed, helping her up carefully. “I was terrified for you. I’m angry at myself.”

“Don’t be angry at yourself either! You just saved me.”

He remained silent, his expression shadowed.

Thinking quickly, Yan Luoyue found the perfect distraction.

With solemn gravity, she announced, “Manshuang, you grew up so beautifully.”

She reached up to gently stroke his magnificent wings—while her eyes, however…

Noticing where her gaze had drifted, Wu Manshuang went still.

Then, his cheeks burning crimson, he decisively clamped a hand over her mouth.

“Stop. Complimenting. Me.”

Yan Luoyue: “Mmph mmph!”

—This was purely a height issue! Really!

In his current form (thanks to the age-altering pill), Wu Manshuang stood a full head taller than Yan Luoyue’s petite frame.

So when she stood straight, her eye level naturally aligned with…

Anyway, Yan Luoyue’s intentions were pure. Entirely pure.

The one who should reflect was the flustered little snake who’d forgotten his anger in sheer embarrassment.

Yan Luoyue shook her head, freeing herself from Wu Manshuang’s grasp. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that the leader on the ground had already turned into a puddle of…

Wait, no—there wasn’t even a puddle left.

As the rope in their tug-of-war, the leader had met a gruesome end, not even leaving behind ashes of his remains.

Now, looking back from her perspective as a firsthand witness, Yan Luoyue concluded that the leader had probably died the moment their eyes first met.

Or perhaps, he had vanished under the surge of Wu Manshuang’s deathly energy directed at the passage.

Speaking of that deathly energy…

Yan Luoyue nudged Wu Manshuang’s arm and whispered, “Did any of it leak out?”

Wu Manshuang thought for a moment, unsure.

He had been too frantic earlier, his mind entirely focused on Yan Luoyue’s condition, pushing everything else to the back burner.

With a hint of guilt, he stole a glance around—good, his martial brothers were still alive, Little Master Shen Jingxuan hadn’t collapsed, and Master Canhe was standing unharmed. It seemed nothing had leaked.

Still, just to be safe…

Wu Manshuang whispered back, “Should we give them some… of that?”

After a brief pause, Yan Luoyue nodded.

She walked over to their group, rummaged through her storage pouch, and handed each person a small lump of paste-like substance.

The tug-of-war between Yan Luoyue and “that thing” had been lost on the others. They simply thought Yan Luoyue had fallen victim to the leader’s sneak attack before Wu Manshuang rescued her in time.

Now, sitting in a row and receiving the paste from Yan Luoyue—who had just been in danger—they all felt a little awkward.

“Junior Sister Yan, what is this?” someone asked.

Yan Luoyue replied, “The poison Wu Manshuang used might have leaked. This is the antidote.”

Hearing this, everyone promptly swallowed the black jelly-like lump.

But in truth, the power flowing through Wu Manshuang’s veins wasn’t pure poison, so there was no true antidote for it.

What Yan Luoyue had given them was a specially refined preventive measure, made from unique materials to counteract the “toxicity.”

As for what those unique materials were…

Yuan Feiyu tasted the paste and suddenly asked, puzzled,

“Senior Sister Yan, why does this antidote taste a bit like… turtle jelly?”

Yan Luoyue: “……”

After a silent beat, she replied with a deadpan expression, “Junior Brother Yuan, you could’ve at least… not said it out loud.”

“???”

Yuan Feiyu looked utterly confused but obediently agreed.

A moment later, the ever-stubborn “Junior Brother Yuan” finally realized his mistake:

“My apologies, Senior Sister Yan! I forgot about your true form for a second—and also, it’s Senior Brother Yuan, not Junior Brother!”

Yan Luoyue: “Got it, Junior Brother Yuan.”

—After that “turtle jelly” comment, you’ll be Junior Brother Yuan for life!

……

After such a dramatic turn of events, and with Wu Manshuang now sporting wings like a Tengu serpent, Yan Luoyue wanted to return to their peak to regroup.

So, after interrogating the remaining underlings, the two took their leave.

Walking side by side, Yan Luoyue couldn’t resist reaching out to touch Wu Manshuang’s wings after just two steps.

By the third step, she was rubbing them curiously.

At the fourth step, she gave a quick warning before carefully plucking out a feather.

Wu Manshuang: “……”

He sighed helplessly. “You didn’t pester Xiao Ling like this when he turned into a crane.”

Yan Luoyue tilted her head, wide-eyed. “Xiao Ling’s wings and yours—how could they be the same?”

She didn’t elaborate on the difference.

But Wu Manshuang smiled and didn’t press further.

Under the sunlight, his wings fluttered twice, as if beckoning or inviting.

“Want to fly?”

Yan Luoyue’s eyes lit up. “Can we—Wait, won’t your wings feel too heavy since they just grew?”

Without waiting for an answer, she solved the problem herself. “I’ll turn into a little turtle! That way, I won’t weigh you down.”

In the next instant, both transformed simultaneously. Yan Luoyue shrank into her turtle form, while Wu Manshuang coiled into his serpent body.

The near-black serpent wrapped tightly around the turtle’s shell like a seatbelt, looping two or three times.

Then, the Tengu serpent beat its wings, exhaled a misty breath, and soared into the azure sky.

As they flew higher and farther, their figures seemed to merge into one.

Like two halves of a whole, perfectly made for each other.

One was the other’s armor and tether; the other was their blade and wings.

Watching their retreating figures, one of the Guiyuan Sect disciples murmured, “Is this… the legendary Black Tortoise?”

“After seeing Junior Brother Wu and Junior Sister Yan like this, maybe the Black Tortoise won’t just be a legend anymore…”

If they hadn’t witnessed firsthand how Yan Luoyue and Wu Manshuang combined, they might’ve truly believed the Black Tortoise had always looked like this!