Chapter 78: Xu Liangcai’s Burning Jealousy

As Chu Huaizhou’s words landed, the stone chamber fell briefly silent. Only the faint sobs of the dwarf captives and distant whimpers and footsteps echoed.

“Ha-ji!”
Xia Baiqian shot a glance at her Master, crushing the gu insect egg she’d just crafted.
Damn it, that woman’s so lucky! I want Master to say that to me!
Did he know the impact of those words? If he dared say them to another woman again, she’d seal his mouth shut, especially in less dire circumstances.

Bai Li, perched on his shoulder, shuddered as if electrocuted, her small face twisting in a human-like grimace of disgust. She covered her mouth with a paw and turned away.
Idiot, so cheesy! Grossed out this princess, ugh!
The clever, ruthless Bai Li couldn’t grasp the words’ power, as being protected was her norm.

Cheng Qingning’s reaction was entirely different.

Thump—thump—
His unexpected reply sent her heart racing, its beat loud in her ears.
A strange tingle coursed through her, pupils dilating, fingers unconsciously gripping her sleeve. Those words were in The Chronicles of Sword Immortal Chu.
When Chu Huaizhou faced demonic cultivators’ siege, shielding an unknown female cultivator, he’d said them, followed by, “Today, I’ll take her away…”

At first, they seemed ordinary, reassuring.
But why, when spoken by this low-cultivation, disheveled Ye Feng, did they stir such unfamiliar, intense emotions?
Ye Feng… truly worthy of being the Sword Immortal’s disciple.
Facing the Green-Eyed Ancestor, who even she feared, he chose not to flee in mere moments.
To hear such words from him… it was hard not to feel something.
A mix of excitement, bitterness, and inexplicable warmth flowed through her heart.

She hurriedly lowered her head, hiding the burning blush creeping up her cheeks behind her hair.
The solemn atmosphere between them turned subtly awkward, the air thickening.

Chu, seeing her shyly bowed head, thought his words might’ve been too flippant, offending her. He quickly added,
“Besides, if I’d left, your fate would’ve been grim, right?”
“Uh, Miss Cheng, even if I’m talking nonsense, we’re here now, so let’s make the best of it.”
“Instead of regretting the past, let’s figure out how to escape with everyone here. If we pull that off, it’d be a great deed!”

Cheng Qingning paused, his impractical yet righteous words drawing a soft chuckle. She shook her head. The cold reality doused the fleeting, inappropriate romantic sparks in her heart. Trapped in this dire situation, surrounded by enemies, with life hanging by a thread, now wasn’t the time for such feelings.

Escape was the priority.

Ye Feng’s words were likely inspired by the Sword Immortal’s tales to lift her spirits, seeing her despair.
She’d been foolish, letting strange emotions cloud her, betraying her master’s teachings and her love for the Sword Immortal’s sayings.

Taking a deep breath, she buried those disorienting feelings. Lifting her head, she met Chu’s concerned, urgent gaze. Oddly, under his focused eyes, her heavy fear and dread eased slightly, restoring some of her usual cool resolve.

“Brother Ye… your ideas are unique, truly worthy of the Sword Immortal’s disciple. I won’t be sentimental anymore.”
“Please guard me briefly. I need to fully channel my secret art to break the seal on my cultivation. Once restored, we’ll fight our way out of this ghostly Youming domain together!”
“If possible, I want to do my part to save as many people here as I can.”

This exchange didn’t escape Xu Liangcai, nearby, who overheard it despite his blurred senses.

Damn it… damn it!
What a joke!
A fiery rage, mixed with the chilling, mind-eroding air, surged through him, clouding his clarity. His ears buzzed.
He couldn’t control his expression, his face twisting with jealousy and venom as he glared at their faint, piercing figures.

He’d pursued Cheng Qingning for so long, running countless missions with her, yet never touched her jade hand or seen her genuine, warm smile. She’d always been proper, friendly but distant to everyone.

So why? Why, after knowing Ye Feng for less than a day, were they so close?
He could imagine her reddened ears as she lowered her head!
Ye Feng, a mere mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, a nobody compared to him.
Xu Liangcai, with his talent and background, outshone him.

What did Ye Feng have? Just the empty title of “Sword Immortal’s disciple,” and Cheng Qingning was smitten, maybe even falling for him?

Just because his master was the Sword Immortal, she fawned over him?
Cheng Qingning… you hypocritical wretch!

Malicious voices roared in his heart.

I poured my heart out, groveled for you, and you ignored me, discarded me like trash!
Yet you throw yourself at a pretty boy you just met! Fake! Vile!

Jealousy’s poison burned away his last shred of reason. Eyes closed, he recklessly channeled his cultivation, ignoring the unknown figures nearby.

Though he despised Ye Feng, he knew the man likely had powerful protective treasures from his sect elders. In his unstable state, attacking Ye Feng might backfire.
But Cheng Qingning…
Just thinking of her fueled his rage!
It’s all your fault!

If not for her, he wouldn’t be in this Nine Nether hell, caught by Youming Sect demons. Their precious teleportation talismans were gone.

Even if they had them, the Youming Sect’s protective array would block them, sending them randomly underground, possibly into worse demonic lairs.

If escape was impossible…
He glanced at the hooded, emaciated figures atop the pit, radiating Golden Core or even Nascent Soul auras.
And the Transformation-stage demon outside!
This was surely the Youming Sect’s headquarters, a stronghold rivaling the Seven Immortal Sects.

Here, Foundation Establishment cultivators like them were fish on a chopping block, with no path but death!
If murder demands a life, and he couldn’t live, neither would Cheng Qingning!