A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 550 Black Jade Coffin

Lü Zhongtang missed his target.

His face paled with horror as he glanced at the pool of blood on the floor. The blood clearly contained fragments of internal organs! Lu Zhongtang's face turned deathly pale, and with a swift movement, he flew out of the hall.

Duan Rong was trapped in the spatial ripples, unable to move at all, but at this moment, two lines of clear tears had already fallen from his rock-hard face.

Lu Qingzhu's last words pierced his heart like knives. "Qingzhu..."

Just then, Zhu He reacted. With a wave of his hand, the spatial ripples surrounding Duan Rong disappeared!
The moment Duan Rong's body recovered, he activated his will, rode the wind, flew horizontally out of the hall, and headed towards the deep valley.

Just after Duan Rong slipped away, Shen Mizhi also took advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention and slipped out of the Dragon Fish Hall, returning to Shang Xiangyu's courtyard.

The people in the hall were all somewhat stunned. Although only half an incense stick's time had passed, a series of unexpected events had occurred, impacting their hearts.

Fan Hongjiao walked over, looked at Zhu He, and said with concern in her eyes, "Master, should I go over there and check on Junior Brother?"

Zhu He knew that Fan Hongjiao was worried about Duan Rong, and sighed, "No need!"

As Zhu He spoke, he turned his head and gave Zheng Yi a disapproving look. He had naturally understood the veiled criticism Zheng Yi had just made.

Zheng Yi noticed Zhu He's gaze but didn't seem to care. However, his attempt to shift the blame onto Zhu He was clearly futile. Everyone had clearly seen what happened in the hall earlier; Duan Rong and Lü Qingzhu were obviously sworn brothers. How could Zhu He possibly have orchestrated this?

However, Zheng Yi couldn't help but admire Zhu He's good fortune. With Duan Rong and Lü Qingzhu's meddling, the marriage alliance between the two families was clearly ruined, and the next leader of the Taiyi Sect was now Zhu He's for the taking. Their numerous schemes had ultimately ended in utter defeat!
The people in the hall were all sighing with dismay, except for Li Ruozhou, who, with a bruised and swollen head, was just grinning foolishly...

Anyway, at least he doesn't have to marry Lü Qingzhu. Wouldn't it be better if he severed his own meridians and died?!

Li Ruozhou was laughing when Li Yunjing glared at him with a gloomy expression, and Li Ruozhou immediately stopped smiling. Ever since he was caught by the patriarch while trying to escape his arranged marriage, he felt that his father's gaze towards him was different from before. In the past, his father's gaze was always full of love and joy, but now it was filled with gloom.

Chu Qiushan walked over and said, "Sect Leader Li, we have to postpone this marriage proposal. Let's finalize the alliance agreement first."

Li Yunjing nodded bitterly. The matter had escalated to this point, so they had no choice but to let it go, saying they'd discuss it later. What future was there? Even if there were, he dared not agree. This had only happened within the Taiyi Sect; if Lü Qingzhu had severed her own meridians in their Tianyan Sect, how terrifying would that have been?

The guests in the hall had already dispersed.

Xiao Dezhao knelt at the entrance of the hall, unable to hold back his grief and weeping bitterly, tears streaming down his face.

"Yaozhang, you died for the sake of propriety; this is martyrdom!"

"I will build a cenotaph for you and personally preside over the grand ceremony!"

The spot where Xiao Dezhao knelt was the very place where Jiang Yaozhang had turned into a blood mist and drifted away. Not only was there no corpse, but not even a trace of blood remained; the blood mist had long since dissipated into the clouds within the valley…

Duan Rong rode the wind and landed in the withered forest. He passed through the withered forest and entered the deep valley.

As soon as he entered the deep valley, he saw Lü Zhongtang standing at the entrance of the ancestor's cave, looking like a walking corpse, lost and dejected.

He was completely unaware that Duan Rong had walked past him.

Lu Zhongtang is a cultivator at the Cave-Nether Realm, so his speed is naturally faster than Duan Rong's.

When Duan Rongfang reached the vicinity of the cave entrance, he felt an invisible barrier blocking his path.

"It's a spatial barrier!?"

Duan Rong's eyes flickered, and he immediately released his divine sense, intending to envelop the cave.

Using his divine sense to probe the ancestor's cave was clearly an act of insubordination, but at this point, he couldn't care less about such things.

The moment Duan Rong released his divine sense, Lü Zhongtang's voice came faintly from beside him. "It's useless."

As expected, Duan Rong's divine sense could not enter the cave entrance. Clearly, Lü Zhongtang had already tried it and knew about this situation.

Duan Rong turned his head and glanced at Lü Zhongtang.

Lu Zhongtang noticed Duan Rong's gaze, but lowered his head somewhat timidly.

Duan Rong was quite surprised by Lü Zhongtang's reaction. Lü Zhongtang was now like an abandoned puppy, hunching his shoulders and looking as lost as a stray dog.

Lu Zhongtang was indeed terrified at this moment!

He panicked the moment Lü Qingzhu severed her own meridians in the hall.

He was terrified because he knew very well what would happen if a cultivator at the Qi Cyclone Realm had a death wish and used his vital energy to reverse his meridians!
At this moment, he was so anxious and even somewhat afraid of Duan Rong's gaze because he was extremely afraid that Lü Qingzhu would die. That fear had penetrated all his defenses!

Lu Zhongtang never imagined that Lu Qingzhu would die!
Even in the hall, even if Duan Rong hadn't made a move, he wouldn't have actually killed Lü Qingzhu! The spatial ripples he created were merely meant to engulf Lü Qingzhu.

But now Lü Qingzhu might really die!
Even with the help of the ancestor, the reverse flow of vital energy through the meridians is tantamount to destroying the internal organs!

Deep inside the cave, in a small stone chamber, one of the stone walls was covered with mushrooms that emitted a faint bluish fluorescence.

There was nothing else in this stone chamber.

Only in the center stood a black jade coffin!

This black jade coffin was specially made by Lü Yinlin during his early years of martial arts practice.

Later, after he mastered his skills, the black jade coffin remained in this stone chamber.

This black jade coffin has been here for hundreds of years, but now the lid has been opened.

Amidst the eerie blue light, wisps of chilling energy, visible to the naked eye, emanated from the black jade coffin…

Lu Qingzhu, with bloodstains at the corner of her mouth, lay motionless in the black jade coffin, as if asleep, her face and hands covered in frost.

In the void above the black jade coffin, Lü Yinlin sat cross-legged with a cold expression!

He released his divine sense and carefully examined every wound on Lü Qingzhu's internal organs and meridians. The more he examined, the more horrified he became!
The moment he discovered it in the hall, he stopped the reverse flow of vital energy in Lü Qingzhu's body, but Lü Qingzhu's internal organs were still damaged to a degree that shocked him!

Lu Yinlin opened his eyes with a solemn expression, looking at Lu Qingzhu, who was like a living dead in the black jade coffin!
Inside the Dragon Fish Hall, the image of Lü Qingzhu severing her own meridians and screaming in heart-wrenching pain once again flooded into Lü Yinlin's mind!
"Grandpa! I hate you!" How similar this scene is to that of more than a thousand years ago!
Old wounds from the past were reopened in Lü Yinlin's heart.

The scar, now unseen by anyone, was bleeding profusely, dripping with blood...

Who would have thought that an old monster who has lived for over a thousand years also has scars in his heart!

It is said that Lü Yinlin is cold-hearted, but he was not born that way.

Lu Yinlin's eyes welled up with tears. He never imagined that a thousand years later, he would make the same mistake again. He had also driven Lu Qingzhu to his death.

More than a thousand years ago, he made a mistake that he could not undo!

However, this time, he was already a Nascent Soul cultivator, and he wanted to mend his ways!
Lu Yinlin suddenly vanished like a ghost. When he reappeared, his entire body was floating horizontally above the black jade coffin, with his right thumb pressed against Lu Qingzhu's brow.

Strands of cyan light shot out from the pad of his right thumb, like fungal hyphae, and entered Lü Qingzhu's brow.

This bluish-green light has the effect of nourishing the spirit and soul!
Lü Yinlin needs to stabilize Lü Qingzhu's mind first!
Then, the black jade coffin was used to seal the wounds on Lü Qingzhu's body, and she was slowly healed!

This was the treatment method he had come up with on the way!

Duan Rong and Lü Zhongtang waited at the entrance of the cave for two days!
Both of them hadn't slept for two days and two nights, their eyes were bloodshot like rabbits', and they were both very anxious, but Lü Zhongtang was even more listless than Duan Rong...

That day, Li Ruojian brought a plate of fruit picked from the mountains to Duan Rong and said, "Brother Duan, have some fruit. You can't keep going like this."

Duan Rong answered, his voice hoarse, "Thank you!"

Duan Rong placed two fruits there, then took the plate and walked over to place it next to Lü Zhongtang.

Lu Zhongtang glanced at the plate and suddenly said to Duan Rong, "Duan Rong, I will not agree to Lu Qingzhu becoming your concubine!"

Duan Rong took a bite of fruit, ignoring Lü Zhongtang. With Lü Qingzhu's fate unknown, he had no interest in discussing the matter with Lü Zhongtang.

Lu Zhongtang said, "Let me tell you, Duan Rong! You divorce that Xiao Yu and make Qingzhu your legal wife! Otherwise, this matter is not over!"

Upon hearing this, Duan Rong choked on the berry he had bitten into and coughed several times.

Lu Zhongtang had already seen it in the Dragon Fish Hall that day: Duan Rong and Qingzhu had a sincere and unwavering relationship, but he absolutely could not accept that Lu Qingzhu would become someone else's concubine!

Duan Rong finally stopped coughing and said, "Qingzhu's life is still unknown, how could you..."

Lu Zhongtang said, "Ancestor will definitely be able to save her."

Duan Rong gave Lü Zhongtang a strange look.

Lu Zhongtang said, "It's been two days already. This is good news. If there was no hope, there would have been signs of life by now."

Duan Rong nodded and said, "I hope it's as you say!"

As the two were talking, Chu Qiushan slowly walked over.

Chu Qiushan walked to a spot not far from the entrance of the cave, looked at Duan Rong and Lü Zhongtang, and asked, "The Ancestor hasn't come out at all?"

Lu Zhongtang glared at Chu Qiushan and shouted, "What? Chu Qiushan, are you hoping something will happen to my Qingzhu?"

Chu Qiushan was completely bewildered by what Lü Zhongtang said, wondering why this person had suddenly become angry with him.

Duan Rong understood perfectly why Lü Zhongtang was furious. Just as Lü Zhongtang had analyzed earlier, the fact that the patriarch hadn't appeared meant that Lü Qingzhu had hope; if he appeared too soon, it would indicate that hope was slim. Lü Zhongtang was now filled with terror and felt like he was covered in thorns.

However, Duan Rong did not want the two to quarrel here, so he said, "Sect Master Chu, the Ancestor has not come out these past few days."

Upon hearing this, Chu Qiushan nodded to Duan Rong; that was exactly the question he had asked. Then, he silently glanced at Lü Zhongtang before turning and leaving the deep valley.

The alliance between the two sects had been finalized, and he had originally come to report this matter to the patriarch. However, the patriarch was clearly in seclusion treating Lü Qingzhu and could not possibly see him.

Regarding the events at the Dragon Fish Hall, Li Yunjing sent a secret letter to Li Ku, the patriarch of the Tianyan Sect, via a flying eagle.

The Tianyan Sect couldn't say anything more about this. Lü Qingzhu's refusal to marry Li Ruozhou, even at the cost of her life, might also be related to Li Ruozhou's reputation. That kid's usual conduct was indeed far from respectable. Within the Taiyi Sect, there were even rumors circulating about his ten most notorious acts of debauchery…

The Tianyan Sect also bears responsibility for Lü Qingzhu's self-inflicted injury.

Therefore, the matter of the two marriage alliances was never mentioned again and was left unresolved.

However, the negotiations for the alliance were completed in just two days.

After the alliance was agreed upon, the members of the Tianyan Sect left Taiyi Sect the next day aboard the Cloud Feather Mad Eagle.

Chu Qiushan walked out of the withered forest and slowly walked to a thatched hut in a clearing in the dense forest.

In the vegetable patch in front of the thatched hut, Chu Wushang, dressed in old farmer's clothes, was squatting there digging potatoes.

Chu Qiushan walked over slowly, bowed deeply to Chu Wushang who was squatting there, and respectfully greeted him, "Mr. Chu!"

As Chu Wushang rubbed the mud off the freshly dug potatoes, he turned to look at Chu Qiushan and said, "It's Sect Leader Chu! Is there something you need?"

Chu Qiushan said, "The alliance with the Tianyan Sect has been agreed upon. However, the Ancestor is currently in seclusion! If the Ancestor emerges from seclusion, please inform him for me, Mr. Chu!"

Chu Wushang nodded and said, "Yes, this matter should indeed be reported to the Ancestor in time. If I can see the Ancestor, I will convey the message for you."

Chu Qiushan bowed deeply again and said, "Thank you, Mr. Chu!"

But by this time, Chu Wushang had already ignored him, turned his face away, and continued digging his potatoes.

After bowing, Chu Qiushan left on his own.

(End of this chapter)