The head master has a new female apprentice

Chapter 434 Yao Yao really, really can't bear to part with you all (6k)

Suddenly, Zhou Qing's eyes lit up: "That's right, wood-attribute spirit stones!"

He remembered that Li Niang had used a wood-attribute spirit stone during childbirth, and that wood-attribute spiritual energy was the best for nourishing the fetus.

Zhou Qing hurriedly and tremblingly emptied all the wood-attribute spirit stones from his storage bag, including several millstone-sized raw stones he had obtained from the void.

The emerald green light instantly illuminated the entire cave, and a rich sense of life permeated the air.

Ignoring everything else, he took out a small spirit-gathering array plate, which was originally prepared as an energy reserve for the ultimate weapon [Boundless Karmic Fire Mirror].

As the array plate was activated, countless emerald green spiritual energy threads were drawn from the spirit stones and intertwined in the air to form a huge net of light.

The rich wood-attribute spiritual energy transformed into specks of fluorescent light, gently sprinkling down on Shen Hanyi.

"Hold on!" Zhou Qing held Shen Hanyi's cold hand tightly and generously poured the spiritual energy he had just recovered into her body.

He could feel her meridians, like a dried-up riverbed, greedily absorbing this spiritual energy.

"Am I going to die?" Shen Hanyi weakly opened her eyes, her pupils flashing with an unprecedented fear.

She gripped Zhou Qing's hand tightly, her nails almost digging deep into his flesh.

Zhou Qing held her hand in one hand and gently brushed away the strands of hair on her forehead that were damp with sweat with the other.

He forced himself to remain calm, his voice as soft as if afraid of disturbing something: "How could that be?"

"According to Yao Yao, I will be a level 5 array master who can condense 50,000 spirit seals in the future, and I also found the incomplete mirror of an ultimate weapon from the Black Snow Mountain."

At this point, he shook his head with a wry smile: "But right now I'm only a level four array master, and even Yao Yao is about to be born ahead of schedule."

His voice suddenly choked up: "You don't really think I can condense another 20,000 spirit seals in the next three years, do you?"

Zhou Qing gently grasped Shen Hanyi's trembling hand: "This means we've changed some things."

Upon hearing Zhou Qing's words, Shen Hanyi's already pale lips were bitten until they bled profusely.

A streak of crimson blood slid down her taut jawline, leaving a glaring mark on her snow-white neck.

Her brow furrowed, her pupils trembling: "I'm not afraid of death."

Her voice was barely audible: "I'm afraid I won't be able to stay with you, and even more afraid that Yao Yao will have to go through that kind of life again in the future."

"Ugh!" Another wave of sharp pain struck, and a broken sob escaped from Shen Hanyi's throat.

Zhou Qing leaned down and gently kissed her sweaty forehead, his voice tender yet firm: "Silly girl, didn't I tell you? We've already changed some things."

"We will watch Yaoyao grow up together, watch her get married, and watch her become someone even more remarkable than us."

Zhou Qing's voice trembled slightly, but carried an undeniable firmness, "So you have to hold on, we still have so many promises to keep."

Shen Hanyi looked at Zhou Qing's face, which was so close to hers, a glint of light flashing in her eyes, and softly hummed in agreement.

Just then, she suddenly froze, gripping her clothes tightly with both hands, and let out a heart-wrenching scream: "It's coming!"

The wood-attribute spiritual energy inside the cave suddenly fluctuated violently, and the light emitted by the spirit-gathering array flickered.

"Breathe! Breathe with me!" Zhou Qing hurriedly supported her, his voice filled with unprecedented panic.

Why now?

Why did it have to happen at a time when both of them were seriously injured?

Zhou Qing appeared calm on the surface, but was actually more flustered than anyone else.

Under normal circumstances, with his level four array mastery, he could easily set up an even more exquisite spirit-gathering array.

If he were not injured, his spiritual energy reserves would be sufficient to support a longer period of transmission.

But now, he could only watch helplessly as Han Yi's face grew paler and paler.

"Uh-"

Shen Hanyi let out another heart-wrenching scream of pain, her body arching violently, her back almost lifting off the ground.

Zhou Qing quickly supported her with his body, and could clearly feel that every inch of her muscles was spasming.

"I'm here, I'm here. Hang in there, just a little longer." Zhou Qing's voice was low and trembling as he tightly wrapped his arms around her trembling body.

His chin rested on the top of her sweaty hair, his lips gently touching her cool earlobe. "Little Yao Yao will soon see us."

……

Meanwhile, inside a mountain villa somewhere in the inner region!

In the quiet room, a three-colored protective barrier enveloped the bed like a curtain of water, isolating it from everything outside.

Lu Yaoyao slept peacefully, her long eyelashes casting a faint shadow on her cheeks.

Suddenly, her body trembled slightly, and she began to become transparent.

"Well"

Lu Yaoyao opened her eyes in a daze, instinctively clutching her pounding heart, and sat up abruptly as if startled awake.

She looked around, but the familiar room was empty.

"Dad? Mom?"

Her voice echoed in the room, but no one answered.

She hurriedly threw off the quilt and tried to get out of bed, but her legs went weak the moment she touched the ground.

Then, in her vision, her legs became completely transparent and then disappeared entirely.

In just a breath, it mysteriously solidified again.

"This is."

Only then did she notice the three-colored restrictive light flowing around the bed, and her heart pounded even more wildly.

She staggered to her feet, and just as she grabbed the edge of the table, her right arm mysteriously flashed and disappeared, causing her to stumble again.

"Father! Mother—"

She raised her voice and shouted, the last syllable of her voice clearly tinged with sobs.

In the empty room, only the faint hum of the three-colored barrier responded to her.

"Uncle! Shen Yunzhou—" she shouted anxiously towards the door.

Silence remained all around.

After her right arm solidified again, she trembled as she took out the three-colored jade slip that Zhou Qing had personally crafted from her storage bag, and eagerly wrote a message by gathering spiritual power.

Time passed second by second, but the jade slip remained unresponsive.

As Lu Yaoyao watched her body gradually become transparent, she suddenly fell silent.

She seemed to understand something, and a bitter smile appeared on her lips.

"So, it's this time."

She didn't know how long she had been asleep, but she was clearly aware that she, on this timeline, was being born.

"I don't know what they changed," she murmured softly, laughing for a moment before suddenly curling up and burying her face in her arms, sobbing silently.

Tears soaked my sleeves.

She hated herself for falling asleep at this crucial moment, when there were still so many unsolved mysteries and so many unfinished business.

He came alone, and he left alone as well.

Like an absurd dream, it goes around in circles and comes right back to where it started.

She looked up, and through her tear-blurred vision, she saw her legs gradually becoming transparent.

This change is slow, but it carries a certain irreversible resolve.

"Heh," Lu Yaoyao suddenly laughed, her laughter filled with an indescribable desolation.

She reached out to touch the disappearing toes, but her fingers passed right through the blur.

"It seems like this time, it's really time to leave."

She looked at the empty room, thinking of her father who always ruffled her hair, and her mother who never saw her face under the veil, even at the very last moment.

The truth sought for years ultimately remains unanswered.

She then frantically rummaged through her storage bag and pulled out a blank image stone, but stopped just before activating it.

"No. We can't see them like this."

She forcefully wiped away the tears on her face and even used a cleansing spell to tidy her messy hair.

Dragging her already semi-transparent lower body, she crawled to the table and sat down properly.

"Dad, Mom—" The moment the image stone lit up, her voice unconsciously rose, carrying a hint of playfulness as she usually did when she was being affectionate.

"Was I born already? She must be so cute!"

She rested her chin on her hands, deliberately blinked her bright eyes, and curled her lips into a perfect smile.

But before she could finish speaking, something seemed to choke her throat, and she quickly turned her head away, pretending to tidy her bangs, which weren't actually messy.

"I was hoping to see what I looked like as a child." Her voice trailed off, but she quickly forced a smile.

"But it's okay! I don't know if you've changed the course of history, but if you have, I won't feel so insecure in the future."

"Maybe when I go back I'll be able to see my mother, and our family will be reunited."

As Lu Yaoyao spoke, a look of longing appeared in her eyes.

Suddenly she thought of something, put her hands on her hips, but staggered because her right hand had disappeared.

Unaware of her surroundings, she continued, "Mother, everyone says that as long as the father is alive, that's good enough. You'll have to keep a close eye on him from now on."

"That time, when the Demon King was chasing me, he stuffed me, a tiny child, into a dark and narrow mountain crevice. I stayed there for three whole days, surviving only on moss and dew."

"Since then, I have been particularly afraid of the dark, especially in enclosed spaces, where I always feel like I can't breathe."

But then she laughed again: "But with my mother here this time, I definitely won't be afraid anymore when I go back."

Lu Yaoyao grinned, and her body suddenly sank down a bit, leaving only half of her upper body clearly visible.

She simply jumped onto the table, stopped talking, and stared at the image stone. Her feigned indifference finally crumbled, and tears welled up in her eyes.

Then, she forced a smile, her voice trembling slightly:

"Dad, you were so handsome when you were young..."

"And Mother, you are so beautiful. You are the most beautiful woman Yao Yao has ever seen in her life."

As soon as she finished speaking, her body became even more transparent, and it was almost possible to see the wall behind her through her.

She paused, as if desperately trying to suppress a sob, then forced a smile:

"I hope history won't repeat itself. I don't want to experience time travel again... If I really could come back, I wonder if you would still recognize me?"

"Haha, we've gone a bit off-topic."

Before she could finish speaking, the remaining half of her body was already gradually fading away, its outline becoming blurred.

Lu Yaoyao's lips trembled, and her last smile finally crumbled.

A glistening tear silently slid down her cheek, lingered for a moment on her chin, and finally fell.

"Father and Mother."

Her voice was so soft it was almost inaudible, yet every word carried a deep, lingering affection.

"Yaoyao, it's time to leave."

The remaining fingertips first transformed into starlight, then the arms, the shoulders...

She tried to lift her face, wanting her father and mother to remember her last appearance.

"I'm so happy to be your daughter in this lifetime."

"very nice."

As the last word fell, her figure dissipated like quicksand.

A few tiny specks of light floated in the air for a moment before finally vanishing into nothingness. On the table, the image stone still glowed faintly, silently recording the final scene…

……

"what!!!"

A heart-wrenching scream rang out inside the cave.

Shen Hanyi's entire body was taut like a fully drawn bowstring, and the veins on her neck bulged.

Suppressed breathing echoed inside the cave.

The strong stench of blood intertwined eerily with the unique herbal fragrance of the wood-attribute spirit stone, creating a suffocating atmosphere in the enclosed space.

"Uh--"

The next moment, Shen Hanyi suddenly tilted her head back, her Adam's apple bobbing up and down.

Several streaks of blood snaked down from the bitten corner of his mouth.

Her body trembled violently, as if she were being torn apart by some invisible force.

Suddenly, a loud cry pierced the deathly silence of the cave—

"Wow!"

The sound was so crisp and clear, so vibrant, like the first ray of dawn in the darkness.

Zhou Qing instinctively reached out and caught the small body covered in blood.

The baby's skin was bluish-purple, but it quickly developed a healthy rosy glow.

Her little hands waved wildly in the air, her nails as thin as cicada wings, and her fingertips still covered with vernix caseosa.

"It's a daughter," Zhou Qing's voice choked, and tears streamed down her face.

He dared not exert any force with his palm, for fear of shattering this fragile life.

Shen Hanyi, lying on the stone bed, felt completely exhausted, her chest heaving violently.

Her unfocused gaze drifted aimlessly towards the cave ceiling, yet a slight smile unconsciously curved her lips.

Zhou Qing hurriedly grabbed the prepared soft cloth, carefully wrapped the baby in it, and then quickly brought the baby to her side.

"Yao Yao Yao," Shen Hanyi called out weakly.

She twitched her fingers, but didn't even have the strength to lift them.

The next second, the baby suddenly stopped crying.

She opened her wet eyes, her pupils a pure black, yet astonishingly bright.

“She recognizes you,” Zhou Qing said, her voice choked with emotion.

Suddenly, the baby's tiny fingers grasped a strand of Shen Hanyi's hair and gently tugged at it.

When Shen Hanyi finally touched her daughter's cheek, the warm touch made her heart tremble.

A tear slid down her cheek, mingling with the undried blood in her hair.

"Okay, okay." She moved her pale lips, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible.

Seeing this, Zhou Qing suddenly turned around, his shoulders trembling violently.

The joy and sorrow of this moment intertwine to form the cruelest irony.

Now that the newborn Yao Yao has been born safely, does that mean that the girl in the manor has already left?
……

Two hours later, the stench of blood in the cave had faded.

Shen Hanyi leaned against the stone wall, and her pale face finally regained some color.

She carefully held the swaddled baby, her long, slender fingers gently stroking the baby's delicate cheeks.

The little one was sleeping soundly, occasionally making little sucking motions in his sleep, which made her smile involuntarily.

"Don't hold him for too long, you're still weak," Zhou Qing advised softly, but his gaze couldn't leave the little life in his wife's arms.

As Shen Hanyi, a new mother, slowly raised her eyes, and in the instant her gaze met Zhou Qing's, they both saw the same pain and reverence in each other's eyes.

"I want to live, I want to be there for her as she grows up," Shen Hanyi whispered.

Zhou Qing leaned down and gently kissed her forehead: "Okay, this time we'll take her together."

Before he could finish speaking, a terrifying surge of divine sense suddenly swept in from the outside, probing and searching outside the cave.

The two women's expressions changed drastically. Zhou Qing immediately concealed his aura, and Shen Hanyi completely masked the baby's presence at the first opportunity.

Zhou Qing quickly took out a tetanus shot and flashed to the cave entrance.

Shen Hanyi held the baby tightly, looking at Zhou Qing anxiously.

Zhou Qing turned around and gave her a reassuring look.

At this moment, above this mountain range, Bai Fengyin stood in a disheveled state, her clothes stained with blood, and she no longer possessed any of the majesty of the Vice Palace Master of the Heavenly Phoenix Palace.

He held a dripping head in his left hand—the unshaven face frozen with resentment; it was Shen Juefeng's head.

In his right palm, a crimson mist of blood slowly rotated, within which a faint line of blood could be seen extending into the depths of the mountains.

This is a tracking technique he is using, guided by Shen Juefeng's blood essence, to pinpoint the exact location of his daughter, Shen Hanyi.

"It's in this mountain range." A ferocious glint flashed in Bai Fengyin's eyes, but he frowned deeply because he could no longer pinpoint the exact location due to his injury.

He never expected that after several hours of fleeing, the two men would still be hiding within 200,000 li of the Shen family's territory, and would not have gone far.

At this distance, let alone a supreme expert, even a Spirit Severing Realm expert could only tear through the void in two breaths.

A cold, sinister glint flashed in Bai Fengyin's eyes.

Zhou Qing possesses the fortuitous opportunity of having two inscription-level divine abilities; such good fortune is truly a once-in-a-millennium occurrence.

He had to keep this opportunity for himself and not allow it to be shared in the slightest.

That's why he couldn't blast the entire mountain range openly—too much noise would only attract more covetous eyes.

not to mention.
He looked down at his still bleeding palm, the blood at the wound strangely unable to clot.

If what that kid said is true, and this is some kind of fatal curse, not only will it drain all the life essence from one's body, but even possession and rebirth will not be an escape.
The thought sent a chill up my spine and down to the back of my neck.

Therefore, they must be captured, and the curse must be broken!

He shook his heavy head, waves of dizziness from excessive blood loss washing over him.

The bloodshed and fierce battle that lasted for several hours had caused him to lose nearly half of his vital essence.

My heart was pounding anxiously in my chest, and my vision was blurring in waves.

Immediately afterwards, he threw a golden array plate into the air.

The array plate spun rapidly in the air, splitting into twelve streams of light that shot out in all directions.

In an instant, spiderweb-like golden patterns appeared above the entire mountain range, each pattern shimmering with a chilling sealing power.

"Click——"

The space groaned in agony, overwhelmed by the pressure.

The void, which could have been easily torn apart, was now like solidified amber, with even the slightest spatial fluctuations completely locked in.

After doing all this, Bai Fengyin finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Shen Hanyi, right?" he suddenly spoke, his voice echoing through the mountains with spiritual energy.

"Your father's head is in my hands. Don't you want to come out and see him one last time? After all..."

He lightly shook the bloody head in his hand, "His primordial spirit and other remains have been blasted to ashes by me. This is your last wish."

Deep inside the cave, two figures suddenly froze.

When Shen Hanyi heard the words "father's head," her pupils contracted sharply, and the color drained from her face.

Zhou Qing quickly pressed down on her trembling shoulders, his sharp eyes indicating: it might be a trap.

"Do you think I'm bluffing you?" Bai Fengyin's cold laughter pierced through the rock wall. "Why don't you think about why I was able to pinpoint this mountain range so precisely?"

He deliberately dragged out his words: "This world is so vast. After you leave the Shen family, there are so many places you can go, but I have locked onto this place."

"That's because I happen to know a bloodline tracing technique, so when I search for my daughter through her father, the results are absolutely accurate."

The baby in Shen Hanyi's arms suddenly started crying. A flash of inspiration appeared at Shen Hanyi's fingertips, and she instantly set up a small soundproof barrier.

But she bit her lower lip tightly, the words "bloodline origin" like poisoned steel needles, piercing her last bit of hope and leaving it riddled with holes.

Zhou Qing's expression was equally grim.

Despite her severe injuries, Bai Fengyin managed to unleash her divine sense, but the mountain range stretching for thousands of miles was like looking at flowers through a fog.

Seeing that there was still no movement, he couldn't help but chuckle: "Your father is a real man. He left the way out entirely to you and chose to self-destruct his primordial spirit."

"A supreme realm cultivator who had painstakingly cultivated for thousands of years," he said with a voice filled with the regret of a viper spitting its tongue, "gone just like that, what a pity."

Upon hearing this, Shen Hanyi trembled violently, and the baby in her arms suddenly felt heavy.

She bit her lower lip hard, and blood flowed down the corner of her mouth.

Zhou Qing's hands were clenched so tightly they turned white, and the veins on his arms bulged.

"By the way," Bai Fengyin changed the subject, "I found it in the fragments of your father's remaining primordial spirit..."

He deliberately drew out his words, "I've learned some interesting things. Qingzhou? Or should I call you Zhou Qing?"

"You played your hand cleverly. You got someone else's daughter pregnant first. No wonder you fought so fiercely to protect her not long ago."

He clicked his tongue in disapproval: "It's laughable, your father-in-law seems to think highly of you, what a pity..."

Shen Hanyi's legs went weak and she collapsed to the ground.

Zhou Qing's expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly stepped forward to support her.

Very few people know about Shen Hanyi's pregnancy or Zhou Qing's real name.

Bai Fengyin's ability to accurately state these things can only prove one thing—he did indeed kill Shen Juefeng and search his soul.

Shen Hanyi held the child tightly, tears silently streaming down her face.

She bit her lip until blood flowed freely, but she dared not make a sound.

Zhou Qing's eyes were bloodshot, but he dared not reveal the slightest mental fluctuation.

He pointed silently out of the cave and mouthed, "Kill them."

Shen Hanyi nodded through her teary eyes, her fingernails already digging deep bloodstains into her palms.

"I almost forgot," Bai Fengyin continued ominously, "You probably don't know, but the Shen family has been completely wiped out. Your uncle..."

His voice suddenly turned cold: "Killed by two Supreme Realm experts from the Yan family working together."

"As for your grandfather, Shen Canghai," he feigned a sigh, "he escaped severely injured, but he won't live much longer. The Shen family now..."

He let out a chilling laugh: "Tsk tsk, that scene... truly a living hell, rivers of blood!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qing's pupils contracted sharply.

Shen Hanyi, standing beside him, was trembling uncontrollably.

Above the mountain range, Bai Fengyin, seeing that her provocation had failed, sneered coldly: "You're quite patient. No problem, patience is the least of my worries, it'll just take a little more effort."

Before he finished speaking, a vast divine consciousness swept down once more, like a tidal wave sweeping over every inch of land.

Zhou Qing's gaze darkened, and he turned to look at Shen Hanyi and the sleeping little Yao Yao in her arms.

He gritted his teeth and slammed his palm into the storage bag—a bronze ancient mirror appeared in response. The mirror was broken, but it faintly shone with an obscure spiritual light.

Just as he was about to speak, he saw that Shen Hanyi had somehow produced a mysterious talisman and swiftly stuck it to his forehead.

Zhou Qing froze instantly, his eyes flashing with shock and anger.

Without thinking twice, he immediately used telepathy to call out, "Han Yi! What are you doing? Untie me right now!"

(End of this chapter)