Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
“Jiang Yi, what’s wrong with you?”
From far away, Yin Ruobing noticed that Jiang Yi had suddenly stopped attacking and was just standing there in a daze, looking utterly dejected and dispirited. She hurriedly flew over and asked him anxiously. The Demon Sovereign had already been mortally wounded and was no longer a threat. The presence of the Demon Sovereign had also scared away the Demon Thearchs. Yin Ruobing was not concerned about their safety but was more afraid of Jiang Yi’s expression. Besides the Mystic Divine Palace treasure hunting on the Pegasus Continent, she had never seen Jiang Yi with such an expression.
“Nothing!”
Jiang Yi recovered and forced a smile. He did not want Yin Ruobing to worry. He also liked to keep things to himself, for himself to bear alone.
Yin Ruobing more or less guessed what had happened and asked, “It is the Glazed Pagoda?”
“En!”
Since Yin Ruobing had guessed, Jiang Yi did not want to hide from her anymore. He sighed deeply and said, “The Glazed Pagoda is very important to me. If Zhan Tianlei gets it, I can only try to snatch it from his hands. However, Zhan Tianlei is definitely stronger than She Fei; we might not be able to catch up with him. Furthermore, if it was Jian Wuying who had obtained it, I would also never have the chance to get the Glazed Pagoda again.”
Once the Mystic Divine Palace treasure hunt ended, everyone would most probably be teleported out and sent down to the foot of Mystic Divine Mountain. The Demigods from the respective clans would definitely surge forward to protect their own. Jiang Yi was not a deity and wasn’t an unbeatable god either. He could not possibly take down Jian Wuying or Zhan Tianlei under the watchful eyes of a group of Demigods.
Hence, he probably would no longer have the chance to get the Glazed Pagoda. This meant that he would not be able to exchange it for Su Ruoxue’s peaceful return. Hence, he had been so dejected and dispirited just now.
“There will always be an opportunity!”
Yin Ruobing hugged Jiang Yi lightly from the back and smiled slightly. “Isn’t there a saying that good fortune lies within bad, bad fortune lurks within good? It is still too early to give up; the treasure hunt has not ended. As long as we give it our all, no matter the ending at least we will not have any regrets, right?”
Smelling the fragrance of a beauty and hearing her warm and soft words in his ears, Jiang Yi could feel the warmth and affection coming from Ruobing. Jiang Yi’s heart did a flip as a little color returned to his eyes.
That’s right!
The treasure hunt had not ended yet. As it was not the last moment yet, it was still too early to give up. If he didn’t give his best, how would he know the final ending? If he didn’t give it his all, who could say who would be laughing at the end?
“Thank you, Ruobing. To be able to gain your favor and good grace is the best thing that has happened to me.” Jiang Yi turned around and hugged Yin Ruobing, softly kissing her on the lips. Jiang Yi’s both hands started furiously sending out astral winds once more, continuously attacking the Demon Sovereign.
“Go!”
Under his insane barrage, Jiang Yi only took ten minutes before finishing off the Demon Sovereign. He was also not idle as he flew forward; he kept on sending out astral winds, attacking the nearby mountain peaks. He wanted to seize every second he had to try and perfect the fusion of his astral winds.
If he wanted to catch up with Zhan Tianlei, he needed to clear the Evil Spirit Ridge and enter the fifth stage. To pass through the Evil Spirit Ridge, his strength was still insufficient. If he could not perfect the combination of his astral winds, he would end up stuck in some mountain here.
The tenth mountain was cleared by Jiang Yi in only one hour. However, they had once again met a Demon Sovereign. Fortunately, this Demon Sovereign was not that much stronger than the pig-faced, monkey-bodied Demon Sovereign. Furthermore, its defenses were weaker. With the Divine Sound Heaven Skill suppressing it, Jiang Yi easily sliced open its tummy and killed it without a sweat.
The eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, fourteenth…
Jiang Yi did not rest and continued attacking day and night, completely entering a crazy demon state of mind. He kept his eyes shut as he attacked while in the State of the Union of Heaven and Man, trying to fathom the technique of merging his astral winds. In merely three days, he had once again cleared ten mountains, reaching the twentieth mountain.
This time, he was not that lucky. The Demon Sovereigns that he encountered were starting to be stronger and stronger. While his Divine Sound Heaven Skill could still suppress them, its effectiveness had been weakening. If not for his Rainbow Soul Spear and Yin Ruobing’s God Shooter Bow, it was getting very hard to kill Demon Sovereigns.
Be that as it may, the defensive strength of the Demon Sovereigns was also getting stronger. He had killed yet another Demon Sovereign, but that had taken him almost one full day.
“This cannot do. There are still twenty-nine mountains. Even if I can continue with this speed of killing, it will still take me twenty-nine days. That would take too long, and the treasure hunt would definitely be over by then.”
Jiang Yi was extremely anxious, and that was causing his mind to be less calm. He was also not able to realize the way of fusing the astral winds. This had created a vicious circle, making him even more annoyed.
“Jiang Yi, let’s take a break. Continuing like this will actually make things worse. Furthermore, I am tired also.”
Yin Ruobing’s voice transmission made Jiang Yi regain his senses. He turned and looked at the utterly tired Yin Ruobing and felt guilty all of a sudden. They had been pressing on for a few days and nights? Although he was used to such a life, Yin Ruobing was—after all—a prestigious young lady. She was used to a cultured and relaxed life. Following Jiang Yi, she could only eat energy elixirs when she was hungry, some dry rations and some water. Even when she wanted to relieve herself, she could only find a random stone and squat down.
He had sworn in Fengdu City that he would give Yin Ruobing happiness, that he wanted to protect her forever. Now that she had just abandoned her clan, given up on her status, and given herself to Jiang Yi, he had brought her along to battle demonic beasts for three—four days consecutively?
The most important thing was that while Yin Ruobing had made the decision to give up everything to follow him, Jiang Yi had not even had a good chat with her about this. He hadn’t given her even a sliver of assurance. Had he thought of whether she was feeling scared, fearful, or even feeling guilty towards the Yin Clan and her parents and deeply blaming herself?
Thinking about all these, Jiang Yi scolded himself for being an idiot; he was also really starting to like this absolute beauty. The past few days, Ruobing had never complained once, never showed any signs of weakness, never yelled about how difficult the journey was… never acted like a pampered girl. Conversely, she even had to console him, encourage him.
“Ruobing!”
His gaze looked towards Ruobing, full of guilt and was just about to say something. Yin Ruobing, however, shook her head, smiled, and said, “Jiang Yi, you do not have to say anything. I understand!”
A simple sentence and an exchange of glances rendered Jiang Yi speechless. He flew over to hug her tightly and brought her towards the ground. He found a patch of grass under a tree, took out a blanket from his ring, and laid it out before carrying her to sit on it.
After that, Jiang Yi went to fetch some water and took out some spirit fruits and some cured meats, starting a fire to cook the latter. Yin Ruobing, on the other hand, sat there and leaned on the tree as she saw Jiang Yi busy at work. A smile hung on her face, peaceful and warm.
Jiang Yi’s culinary skills were still passable; he had spent many nights outside over the past years and was also used to living in the wild. It was a pity that the barbecued meat was cured meat, and so it didn’t taste that fresh. However, it was hot food that was also prepared personally by Jiang Yi. Yin Ruobing ate with much gusto and actually fell asleep against the tree after eating.
Jiang Yi gently brought her into his arms and let her lie on his thigh while she slept. He gently caressed her hair and looked at her beautiful face. Jiang Yi felt very conflicted.
He did not sleep but started to concentrate and entered the State of the Union of Heaven and Man. With it, he would know immediately when demonic beasts were nearby. He then continued to realize the technique behind fusing the astral winds.
Yin Ruobing suddenly opened her eyes wide after Jiang Yi started to meditate and looked as his sharp face, smiling sweetly. She then closed her eyes again and slept soundly. Her sleeping position was very graceful; even though she was asleep on a grass patch in the wilderness, she still looked like a wealthy lady laying on a bed. She created a unique and beautiful sight to behold in the Evil Spirit Ridge.