The head master has a new female apprentice

Chapter 435 A Glimmer of Hope in Desperate Circumstances (6k)

At this moment, Zhou Qing's entire body was tense, yet not even his fingertips could tremble.

Shen Hanyi looked at Zhou Qing, who was struggling violently, and a bitter smile appeared on her pale lips as tears rolled down her cheeks silently.

Then he lowered his head and gently kissed Yao Yao's pink cheeks, his fingertips lingeringly tracing the child's outline, before trembling as he gently placed the child on the ground.

She then took off her own storage bag and stuffed it into the swaddling clothes.

As she stood up, she suddenly leaned forward and pressed her bloodied lips heavily against Zhou Qing's lips, only slowly releasing them after several breaths.

The kiss tasted of blood and rust, salty and bitter.

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice breaking, "I have to break my promise this time."

Zhou Qing's eyes were bloodshot, his mind reeling wildly: "No, no, don't do anything foolish! I'm here! I have an ultimate weapon! He's badly injured now, I can definitely kill him..."

Shen Hanyi shook her head and said, "He is in the late stage of the Supreme Realm. Even if he is seriously injured and on the verge of death, he is still far beyond our ability to contend with. Right now, we haven't even recovered one-tenth of our strength from our peak."

Zhou Qing's consciousness trembled violently: "No, there must be other ways! We can... we can!"

“If the course of history really cannot be changed,” Shen Hanyi suddenly revealed a poignant smile, her fingertips gently tracing Zhou Qing’s face, “but knowing that you are still alive puts my mind at ease.”

Her gaze fell gently on the baby in the swaddling clothes: "I saw Yao Yao when she was little, and I have seen her when she grew up. So... I have no regrets."

"I beg you," Zhou Qing pleaded, his voice filled with anguish, "Let me go."

“He has a bloodline guiding him; it’s only a matter of time before he finds us.” Shen Hanyi trembled as she took another protective jade pendant from her person and placed it into the swaddling clothes. “The only thing I can do now is to lure him away.”

She suddenly bent down and kissed the child's forehead almost greedily: "Yaoyao, Mommy is so sorry, I won't be able to watch you grow up anymore."

A lump rose in her throat, a sob escaping her lips. "Mother... I truly can't bear to part with you."

“Back then, your maternal grandmother did the same thing to protect me and your uncle,” she pressed her face against the child’s warm skin, “and now your mother is going to walk the same path.”

"Don't hate your mother. I only hope you can all be safe."

Tears fell onto the baby's clothes, and she bent down to kiss him.

Turning to Zhou Qing, Shen Hanyi's voice was resolute: "This restriction will dissipate on its own in half an hour. Take her away, never look back, and don't seek revenge. Just wish for her a peaceful life."

Zhou Qing looked at her, tears streaming down her face.

Shen Hanyi glanced at Zhou Qing one last time, then turned and rushed out of the cave.

"No!" Zhou Qing's lips trembled, and his hoarse cry echoed in the dark cave.

Not long after, a burst of wild laughter suddenly rang out from outside the cave.

"So that's why the light suddenly moved, trying to escape?" the voice mocked. "Where do you think you're going to run now!"

Immediately afterwards, a terrifying roar erupted, spiritual energy exploded, and the cave trembled slightly.

Then, a mournful phoenix cry pierced the sky—

"You dare to self-destruct? Just like your father!" Bai Fengyin's voice suddenly rose, filled with shock.

boom--!
The earth-shattering impact of the self-destruction swept in, the cave entrance collapsed with a deafening roar, rubble tumbled, smoke and dust billowed, and finally, silence returned.

Zhou Qing stood frozen in place, the muscles on her face twitching slightly, tears silently streaming down her face.

"No...no way..." His eyes were glazed over, and his lips trembled as he uttered incoherent murmurs.

A moment later, Bai Fengyin's voice rang out again, this time with a violent cough, followed by a chilling, playful tone:
"She's a strong-willed woman, but she must be doing this to protect someone."

He chuckled softly. "You're right... Zhou Qing?"

Zhou Qing's eyes flashed with murderous intent, and his mental energy fluctuated violently, almost breaking free of its restraints.

"I'll kill you... I'll definitely kill you..."

Bai Fengyin said leisurely, "But since she took the initiative to show herself and even tried to lure me away, your situation must be not good... Then I'll take my time looking for her."

As soon as he finished speaking, an eerie silence fell once more, with only a divine sense sweeping across the entire mountain range like a venomous snake.

However, not long after, a strange, aged voice suddenly came from outside the cave—

"Oh my? Such a commotion, so it's the Vice Palace Master of the Heavenly Phoenix Palace?"

The voice mocked, "What's wrong? The dignified Vice Palace Master is in such a sorry state?"

"Hey, why are you running? Even though we have a bit of a grudge, I, Xiao, would never stoop to taking advantage of someone in distress!"

Then, everything fell silent again.

Half an hour later, the runes on Zhou Qing's forehead burned out, and the restraints suddenly disappeared.

"Ah—!" He roared to the sky, his voice shrill, which frightened the baby in his swaddling clothes into crying loudly.

He suddenly came to his senses, picked up the child, and rushed out of the cave like a madman.

Dozens of miles away, deep within the canyon, pillars of black smoke rose, and the violent spiritual energy continued to rage...

"No! No—" Zhou Qing staggered over, carrying the baby, and what he saw made him tremble all over.

The entire valley was covered with glistening ice crystals, and dozens of bottomless ravines crisscrossed the scorched earth.

Wisps of smoke were still rising from the central crater, and eerie dark red ice crystals had formed around its edges.

Fine ice crystal dust still floats in the air.

He fell to his knees, tears blurring his vision.

Suddenly, a patch of pure white appeared faintly in the cracks between the rocks.

Zhou Qing trembled violently and scrambled over—it was Han Yi's veil!

A few drops of dried blood still clung to the gossamer-thin gauze. He trembled as he picked it up, the familiar fragrance of orchids mixed with the stench of blood filling his nostrils.

He suddenly covered his face with the veil and let out a heart-wrenching wail.

"Boom—" A muffled thunderclap came from the horizon, and large raindrops began to fall, quickly turning into a torrential downpour.

Rainwater washed away the scorched earth, but could not wash away the ice crystals covering the ground.

The baby in her arms began to cry again, its tiny fists clawing helplessly in the air.

The sound of crying suddenly made Zhou Qing shudder. He looked up sharply—something was wrong!
After a cultivator in the Spirit Severing Realm dies, the surrounding area should be filled with violent obsessive emotions, but at this moment, everything seems normal.

This discovery made his heart pound and his eyes flash with a terrifying light.

He immediately mustered the last of his spiritual power and spread his divine sense outwards like a tidal wave.

He meticulously examined every inch of land and every grain of dust, afraid of missing any clue.

Suddenly, his divine sense detected a faint fluctuation—a familiar aura that only he could perceive.

Zhou Qing was startled, and his hands flew into hand seals.

Immediately afterwards, a phantom of a blood-red phoenix slowly took shape behind him.

With each flap of its wings, Zhou Qing's face grew paler.

Just as his vision blurred and he was about to give up, the void in front of him suddenly distorted like ripples on water.

Through the rain, another nearly transparent Blood Phoenix slowly appeared.

Its form was so ethereal that it seemed as if it might vanish at any moment, and its wings were covered with tiny ice crystals, leaving streaks of cold light in the air.

The two blood phoenixes circled each other in the air, their mournful cries causing the raindrops throughout the valley to tremble.

This scene is strikingly similar to what happened in that cave years ago.

Zhou Qing's gaze was fixed on the heart of the transparent blood phoenix.

There, a palm-sized phantom was curled up in a ball.

Although the outline was already blurred, the familiar strands of hair and the moon-white ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) remained.
"Han Yi!!" Zhou Qing cried with joy, staggered forward, and carefully held the wisp of remnant soul in her palm.

Feeling the familiar fluctuations, he finally broke down and wailed.

Then, trembling, he took out a piece of soul-nourishing jade, gently took in the remnant soul, and pressed it firmly against his chest.

At that moment, he finally let himself kneel down in the mud, looking up at the sky and letting out a roar that sounded like both crying and laughing.

……

Inside the cave, the flickering campfire cast Zhou Qing's hunched figure onto the rock wall, its light flashing intermittently.

He sat cross-legged, carefully cradling the swaddled infant on his lap. The baby's rosy face flushed an unnatural red in the firelight.

"It's all Father's fault." Zhou Qing's voice was terribly hoarse. He gently placed his hands three inches above the baby's chest, and his pale blue spiritual energy slowly flowed into the baby like smoke and mist.

Beneath his tightly furrowed brows, a pair of bloodshot eyes stared intently at the child's trembling eyelashes.

The next moment, the baby suddenly coughed violently, his tiny body curling up in his palm.

Zhou Qing's pupils contracted sharply, and he hurriedly withdrew ninety percent of his spiritual power, instead gently pressing the back of his hand against the baby's burning forehead.

"Good girl, Yao Yao," he said, pulling open his shirt to press the child against his warm chest, while his other hand continued to gently guide her meridians with the most tender spiritual energy.

It's all his fault!
So engrossed in searching for Han Yi's lingering soul, they let the infant child get soaked in the torrential rain.

How could this tiny body, only a few hours old, withstand the biting cold of the mountains?

About fifteen minutes later, the baby's tightly clenched fists finally loosened, and its nostrils stopped flaring rapidly.

Zhou Qing lowered her head and touched the child's forehead with her lips. After confirming that the high fever had subsided, she leaned back like a deflated sack.

He slammed the back of his head against the rock wall but felt no pain at all.

"It's alright, it's alright." He murmured to himself, gazing at the stalactites hanging from the cave ceiling, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, swallowing a mouthful of bloody stench.

The baby in his arms unconsciously grabbed a strand of his hair that was hanging down. The soft little hand gently tugged at it, which made Zhou Qing pause slightly.

He looked down and was startled to realize that, without his noticing, his once glossy black hair was now streaked with glaring gray.

"Hanyi." His throat bobbed, and he suddenly buried his face deep in the swaddling clothes, sobbing silently.

His broad shoulders trembled uncontrollably, and suppressed sobs echoed in the silent cave.

After a long while, he slowly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot and frighteningly red.

With trembling fingers, he hurriedly took out the warm and smooth Soul-Nourishing Jade from his bosom and carefully placed it next to Yao Yao.

"Yao Yao." His lips trembled, and his voice was so soft that it was almost inaudible.

Little Yao Yao seemed to sense something, and reached out her chubby little hand to gently touch the Soul-Nourishing Jade.

In an instant, the Soul-Nourishing Jade emitted a soft white spiritual light, gently wrapping around the baby's fingertips like a mother's tender caress.

"You...you can't bear to part with her either, can you?" Zhou Qing suddenly became agitated, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the Soul-Nourishing Jade.

Another thought flashed through my mind like lightning.

Without saying a word, he immediately focused his gaze on the Soul-Nourishing Jade and began the [Daily Appraisal].

Immediately afterwards, a message was sent out.

[Soul-Nourishing Jade: This jade has a warm and smooth texture and is carved from top-grade soul jade. It can nourish the soul and stabilize the spirit, and is especially effective for remnants of a soul that are about to dissipate.]

Apart from that, there were no other useful clues.

Zhou Qing's fingers unconsciously tightened. He took a deep breath and forcefully suppressed the surging disappointment in his heart.

It's okay, he can re-appraise it after midnight when the count resets. If once isn't enough, try twice; if twice isn't enough, try ten, a hundred, or a thousand times.
His gaze was fixed on the Soul-Nourishing Jade in his hand, and the obsession in his eyes was almost tangible.

There will surely come a day when a way can be found to awaken Hanyi.

It should be understood that a cultivator at the Spirit Severing Realm who was already severely injured and had not yet recovered, forcibly self-destructed after giving birth, right under the nose of a Supreme-level expert—this should have resulted in the soul being scattered.

But that wisp of remnant soul did exist, weak yet tenaciously persisting, undoubtedly due to the inscription-level divine power "Hundred Tribulations Blood Curtain".

Therefore, trying to wake her up using conventional methods was completely ineffective. Over the past two days, he had tried various approaches.

Nurturing with spiritual herbs, resonating with soul power, and even sacrificing one's own essence.
However, if there is even the slightest mistake, the fragile remnant soul will suffer irreversible damage.

The most dangerous time was when the spiritual light within the jade almost completely dissipated.

Right now, all he can rely on is the "Daily Reflection".

"Woo-wah, woo-wah—"

The sudden cry interrupted my thoughts.

Zhou Qing hurriedly looked down and saw that Yao Yao's face was flushed red, and her pink fists were helplessly scratching in the air.

Her eyes, not yet fully open, were brimming with tears, and her little mouth was wide open, emitting a heartbreaking cry.

His heart clenched—this child had never tasted a drop of his mother's milk since birth.

Those little hands, which should have been gently embraced, could only clench the cold swaddling clothes.

He was now far away from that mountain range, but he was worried that Bai Fengyin might launch a surprise attack.

Thinking of this, a terrifying crimson light suddenly surged in Zhou Qing's eyes.

The suppressed killing intent erupted like magma, forming a visible ring of blood-red mist around him.

The temperature inside the cave plummeted, and fine, blood-red ice crystals condensed on the rock walls.

“One day,” he uttered hoarsely through clenched teeth, each word dripping with the stench of blood, “I will tear you to pieces and grind your bones to dust!”

As if sensing something, the little Yao Yao in his arms suddenly grabbed his blood-stained clothes.

The warm touch jolted Zhou Qing back to his senses. He blinked his sore eyes and forcefully suppressed his surging emotions.

Rough knuckles gently brushed against the baby's cheek, and unexpectedly, little Yao Yao stopped sobbing, her little hand tightly gripping one of her father's fingers.

The force was pitifully weak, yet it sent a shiver down Zhou Qing's spine.

He gazed at his daughter's features, which were identical to his own, and forced a smile.

"Don't cry, Yao Yao," Zhou Qing said gently. "Daddy will go find you some milk right away."

Just in case, he took out a brand new mask from his storage bag.

The moment the mask covered his face, the gentle father vanished, replaced by a cultivator exuding a dangerous aura.

……

The moonlight, like water, poured into a dry yet warm cave.

A moon leopard, about the size of a deer, was taut, its silvery-gray fur standing on end.

Her eyes were filled with fear and trembling, her icy blue eyes fixed on the black-robed man opposite her.

Behind it, five cubs huddled together, whimpering softly.

Zhou Qing sat silently by the campfire, intently watching the boiling animal milk in the stone pot. The silvery milk churned with fine bubbles, emitting a faint fragrance.

Soon after, Zhou Qing carefully scooped up a spoonful of milk, gently blew on it to cool it, and then brought it to Xiao Yaoyao's lips.

The baby smelled the sweet aroma, opened its little mouth, and began to suck greedily.

"Slow down," he whispered, gently wiping away the milk stains from the corner of her mouth with his fingertips.

After eating her fill, little Yao Yao yawned contentedly and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Zhou Qing gently pulled the swaddling clothes tighter to make sure she wouldn't be chilled.

Then he gazed at her quietly, his eyes filled with love.

And so, as midnight fell again, he carefully took out the Soul-Nourishing Jade and re-examined it.

[Soul-Nourishing Jade: This is a Soul-Nourishing Jade of good quality, containing an extremely weak remnant soul. The soul is nearly 90% damaged and requires long-term nurturing to maintain its vitality.]

However, if nourished by the true essence of the Blood Phoenix, it might trigger a rebirth—the phoenix rising from the ashes, reborn from the ashes!

Zhou Qing's pupils contracted, his fingers trembled slightly, a surge of joy welled up in his heart, and his eyes instantly welled up with tears.

He knew it; Han Yi... could still be saved!

But this joy did not last long before he wiped away his tears and his expression turned serious.

Blood Phoenix Essence?

This is almost impossible!
It should be noted that the remains of that enormous dead crow lay dormant for countless years in the third coffin within the forbidden area of ​​the Taiqing Gate.

The Flame Crocodile King, who resided there, spent a long time refining a drop of pure Golden Crow blood with his mid-stage Spirit Slaying Realm cultivation.

However, it still couldn't bear to devour it, but instead used it to refine its own magical artifact.

In order to find the Golden Crow Fan that their second uncle had been dreaming of, the two of them carefully planned.

While the second uncle restrained the Flame Crocodile King from the outside, he used the amplification of the red flower nascent soul in the Four Flowers Gathering at the Top to withstand the magma-like high temperature and penetrate deep into the bottom.

While traversing the scorching heatwave, he not only found the Golden Crow Fan, but also unexpectedly discovered a drop of Golden Crow True Blood suspended in the core of the magma.

Two Flame Crocodiles of demon commander level surrounded the blood droplet, but fortunately they were ignored because of the "lower presence" effect, allowing him to successfully obtain the Golden Crow Blood.

And from this he learned the secret of the Golden Crow Clan, which was not passed down to others—the "Golden Crow Burning Sky Manual".

My second uncle once said that a true pure-blooded Golden Crow is an unparalleled ferocious bird!
Legend has it that the guardian beast of a certain sixth-level cultivation country is a pure-blooded golden crow, whose power is comparable to the foundation of the country where the Heavenly Sovereign Su Minghe resides.

Even the pure-blooded divine beast that fell from the third level of the desolate forbidden area was of the same rank as the three-legged golden crow.

In other words, such an existence is at least at the level of a Heavenly Supreme.

Old Peng King spent his entire life pursuing the return to his ancestral form, but ultimately he still stopped at the Great Perfection of the Spirit Severing Realm.

Only three drops of Golden Roc True Blood remained at the place where he passed away, and it was with these drops that he was able to cultivate the "Emperor's Scripture".

This shows how difficult the path to purebred status is!

But what shocked him the most was that when he condensed the first wisp of Phoenix Dao Pattern, the phantoms of the Golden Crow and Golden Roc within his body manifested on their own, bowing their heads in submission.

Shen Hanyi once told him at the Kunpeng Palace that Kunpeng was the supreme bloodline of the ancient demon race, possessing both the forms of Kun and Peng.

The Blood Phoenix... is an existence of the same level as the Kunpeng!

Whether it's a pure-blooded Golden Crow, a Suanni, or a Golden-Winged Roc, they are all inferior to the Blood Phoenix!
Putting aside everything else, the Blood Phoenix's inherited divine abilities alone are inscription-level divine abilities, and it can even cultivate three thousand Phoenix Dao patterns, which are comparable to Dao mark-level divine abilities.

These alone are enough to demonstrate their supreme status through bloodline.

Essence and blood?

And it's not ordinary blood, but true blood containing the power of origin... The difficulty is simply like climbing to the heavens!

Upon realizing this, the light in Zhou Qing's eyes gradually faded, and despair once again enveloped his heart.

"That's right, maybe it'll be there!" The next moment, he suddenly remembered something and hurriedly took out Shen Hanyi's storage bag.

After easily opening the box, he quickly began searching through it.

Soon, a black scroll came into view—it was the inscription-level divine power, "Great Luo Demon Sealing Seal," that he had given her, which she hadn't even had time to cultivate yet.

Immediately afterwards, his movements suddenly froze.

At the bottom of the storage bag, hundreds of small pieces of clothing, both boys' and girls', were neatly stacked.

Between the rough stitches, every stitch and every thread seemed clumsy yet meticulously crafted.

Zhou Qing's fingertips trembled slightly as she gently stroked the clothes.

These were all sewn by her own hands.

Perhaps from the day she learned she was pregnant, the moment she chose to keep the child, she had already begun to quietly prepare and look forward to the child's arrival.

But she never got to see the day when she could dress her child in those clothes herself.

Zhou Qing held the small garment to his nose, and the familiar, faint fragrance made his eyes well up with tears.

Tears fell silently, wetting the cloth in her hands.

After a long while, as if sensing something, he suddenly turned his head.

Behind him, the Moonlit Fox was sneaking away with its five cubs. When he saw it, it froze and hurriedly lay back down.

Then he closed his eyes, as if to say, "You can't see me, I didn't do anything."

“You have awakened your intelligence and your cultivation has reached the level of a demon general, so you should be able to understand what I am saying.”

Zhou Qing's voice was hoarse: "Don't worry, I also have children, I won't hurt you. I just want to borrow some spiritual milk."

Upon hearing this, Yuehuali nodded quickly, indicating that she understood.

Zhou Qing waved his hand, and a hundred jade bottles floated in the air.

"I'll leave once I've filled these up."

The Moonlit Fox's eyes lit up, and it quickly pushed the cubs aside to start milking.

Zhou Qing then looked away and carefully put the two small pieces of clothing back in their original place.

Inside the storage bag, number six's blue token lay quietly.

It was exactly the same as his red token, only the color was different.

But within the Divine Ruins Heavenly Palace, there will never be another No. 6 online.

He gently stroked the token with his fingertips for a long time before putting it back.

As they continued searching, a bright red bone suddenly appeared in their hand.

In an instant, the blood in Zhou Qing's meridians stagnated, the Golden Crow Burning Sky Scripture started to circulate on its own, and a dazzling golden halo emanated from his body.

The oppressive aura made the Moonlit Civet, who was milking the civets, tremble all over, and the five cubs went limp and were about to faint.

Zhou Qing quickly placed a sealing mark on the bone, and only then did the terrifying bloodline pressure dissipate.

Then, he stared at the Blood Phoenix Bone in his hand. The bone was as red as blood, with a faint blood-colored mist swirling around it. In a daze, he seemed to hear the mournful cry of a phoenix.

This bone once helped Han Yi discover a hidden cave in the desolate 100,000 mines.

There, they found together the Human Emperor's Shroud, the Transformation Elixir Ice Glass Spirit Mushroom, and the sealed Inscription-level Divine Power "Hundred Tribulations Blood Curtain".

“Since Blood Phoenix Bones have appeared there,” Zhou Qing muttered to himself, “perhaps we can find other remains and extract their essence blood.”

A glimmer of hope ignited in his eyes, but he quickly suppressed his impulse.

He first carefully examined the Blood Phoenix Bone in his hand, and did not make any rash moves.

If his bones are damaged, he will no longer be able to simulate or even access the hidden parts of the mine.

(End of this chapter)