Chapter 2381 - A Clever Rabbit Has Three Burrows, a Clever Woman, Five Clones

Lu Qingmei didn’t even have time to fight back before someone seized her by the throat and pulled her into the air.

Yi Chen’s eyes reddened, and he lunged at Gu Huaxian.

Yu Xun laughed coldly, then sent him flying with a kick. “You’d best behave yourself, little beast!”

As soon as Yi Chen landed, he struggled to his feet, but just as he was about to risk it all and attack once more...

“Chen’er, don’t be impulsive!” bellowed Lu Qingmei. “Your Grand Master won’t kill me!”

Yi Chen cried out in rage and grief, “Grand Master? Mother, I have no need for a heartless grand master like her!”

Gu Huaxian shook her head. “The kid’s stubborn streak is actually a lot like his father’s.”

As she spoke, her left hand formed a seal, which she pressed on Lu Qingmei’s forehead.

Kcch!

An almost transparent thread shot out of Lu Qingmei’s body, then transformed into a broad-bean-shaped black talisman and fell into Gu Huaxian’s hands.

The talisman was extraordinarily sinister; it wriggled and shifted as if it were alive, and it scattered a rain of cursed light, each “droplet” as fine as an ox hair.

Lu Qingmei froze, stunned. “Is that the... Paired Heart-Guiding Worm that was in my body?”

“That’s right.” Gu Huaxian relaxed her grip, and Lu Qingmei fell to the ground.

“Left in your body, the Paired Heart-Guiding Worm is no longer useful,” said Gu Huaxian. Her gaze shifted to Yi Chen. “It can only display its true worth from inside that boy.”

Lu Qingmei looked stricken. She completely lost control of her emotions. “Master, you mustn’t! You...”

“You have no respect for your elders. Who are you to tell me what I can and cannot do?” Gu Huaxian raised her hand and tapped, sealing Lu Qingmei’s mouth so that she could no longer utter a peep.

She sealed her cultivation base too. No matter how hard Lu Qingmei struggled, she couldn’t get back on her feet.

Panic, horror, and despair were written all over her face. Her eyes bulged as if about to pop.

If Gu Huaxian put the Paired Heart-Guiding Worm in Yi Chen... he’d be finished! He’d spend the rest of his life as a helpless puppet!

Yu Xun couldn’t help but chuckle. “Tch tch, I can see that the little beast is quite important to you, Senior Apprentice Sister.”

Yi Chen watched in a daze, heaving and earth spinning around him. He felt as if his heart had been shattered. Indescribable fury coursed through him. His eyes went bloodshot, and every last inch of him felt as if it might explode with sheer wrath.

“Mother——!” He roared and charged at Lu Qingmei.

But before he’d gotten far, Gu Huaxian grabbed him from afar and held him aloft. He was as helpless as an ant.

“Little fellow, back then, your mother helped me kill Yi Daoxuan. Now, it’s your turn to help me kill Su Yi,” said Gu Huaxian, her expression calm and indifferent. “Succeed, and I’ll let both you and your mother live once all of this is over.”

“You heartless bitch!” roared Yi Chen. “If I survive this, I’ll be sure to rip your corpse into ten thousand pieces and scatter your ashes to the wind!”

But threats like this carried no weight at all. On the contrary, Yu Xun burst into laughter, as if he were looking at an idiot.

Gu Huaxian just ignored him and raised the black talisman formed of the Paired Heart-Guiding Worm.

“No! Don’t do it——!” Lu Qingmei practically broke down. Her hair was disheveled, and she shouted at the top of her longs, her beautiful face hideously contorted.

But Gu Huaxian ignored her and just cautiously placed the black talisman on Yi Chen’s forehead, right between his eyes.

“Don’t be afraid. It won’t hurt a bit,” Gu Huaxian said softly. “This is the fate you must bear. So long as you kill your father, you and your mother can find release.”

Yi Chen stared intently at Gu Huaxian from close quarters, his eyes bloodshot and burning with hatred.

When he saw the black jade talisman draw near, his heart filled with indescribable grief and hatred.

He wasn’t afraid to die, but he didn’t want to become another’s puppet, unable to die even if he wanted to!

Had I known this would happen, I would have listened to my mother...

Yi Chen was full of regret. He finally understood what Li Sanjiu had meant earlier. Living... had never been easy!

And longing to die, yet being unable to do so, was unquestionably the most brutal way to live of all!

If I’d disregarded my pride and dignity and begged my stranger of a father for help... would this never have happened?

But Yi Chen had only just thought this when...

Boom!

Heaven and earth shook violently, and the entire Bamboo Mountain Hidden Realm swayed.

A beam of stingingly bright light descended from the heavens and attacked Gu Huaxian.

Gu Huaxian’s brow furrowed. Just one last inch remained between her fingers and Yi Chen’s forehead, but she had no choice but to give up.

Bang!!

Her right hand struck the air, meeting the attack head-on.

The beam of light rumbled and boomed, then exploded right in front of Gu Huaxian’s face.

A rain of light scattered as a figure appeared in the distant sky. He was dressed in gray, and his features were ordinary and unassuming.

This was none other than Li Sanjiu.

Yi Chen froze, stunned.

Li Sanjiu!?

Lu Qingmei had been on the brink of despair when she saw him. She froze, stunned.

Why... would Li Sanjiu rush to our aid? Don’t tell me...

An unrealistic notion arose amidst the despair threatening to overwhelm her. It seemed so unlikely that she even felt a bit afraid, afraid that she was jumping to conclusions, and that all her hopes would come to naught.

“Li Sanjiu, does the Qilin Race plan to get mixed up in this, too?” said Yu Xun with seething murderous intent. As a Nine-Tribulation Master God, he naturally knew Li Sanjiu’s origins.

Gu Huaxian, however, seemed to realize something. She frowned. “I’m afraid he couldn’t possibly have entered the Bamboo Hidden Realm by himself.”

Yu Xun froze, and his eyes widened. “Don’t tell me....”

But it was then that a calm voice rang out. “I built this hidden realm with my own two hands. Did you ask for my permission before attacking others here?”

This voice boomed throughout heaven and earth.

Then, beneath the crowd’s disbelieving gazes, two figures appeared beneath the distant skies.

One was a young man in billowing blue robes. He was tall, upright, and he stood out of the crowd. The other was an adorable little boy holding a black umbrella.

These were none other than Su Yi and the River Child!

“He... he actually came!?” Yi Chen’s eyes widened in disbelief. Even if you’d hit him over the head, he would never have guessed that the father he felt no connection to would show up just in time.

It really... is him... I’m sure he came because he was worried about Chen’er...

Lu Qingmei murmured to herself. Tears poured down her deathly pale face.

She hadn’t dared hope that he’d come, yet now, here he was. It was easy to imagine how great her joy was.

But Lu Qingmei understood that Su Yi had in no way come here to save

her.

Still, this was enough to satisfy her. So long as her son escaped disaster today, she could die without regrets!

“Su Yi!?” Yu Xun was flabbergasted. He instantly realized that this didn’t bode well.

“Yi Daoxuan, you’ve really surprised me,” said Gu Huaxian. She was the only person to remain calm. “I thought that after you returned through reincarnation, you’d tempered an unfettered sword heart. I wouldn’t have thought... you’d still show up.”

A hint of mockery tugged at her lips. “What? Don’t tell me my disciple didn’t hurt you badly enough last time? Are you looking to get hurt again?”

Su Yi glanced at the sealed, deathly pale Lu Qingmei, then at the young man Gu Huaxian held in place, before finally looking at Gu Huaxian herself.

“Let them go, and I’ll let you leave this place alive,” Su Yi said flatly. “If you dare say the word ‘no’ in my presence, you and your disciple will both die here today!”

Everyone couldn’t help but take another look at him. His domineering attitude was reminiscent of a sovereign issuing an incontrovertible decree!

Yu Xun grinned. “With just Li Sanjiu and that child of strange origins?”

Su Yi completely disregarded him and just gazed intently at Gu Huaxian.

Yu Xun instantly felt ashamed, and his smile stiffened.

Gu Huaxian wasn’t intimidated. She said flatly, “On my way here, I considered what I’d do on the off chance you chose to get involved on account of this little beast connected to you by blood.”

“So you’re saying you want to die?” asked Su Yi.

Gu Huaxian said with cold indifference, “My life and death aren’t yours to decide.”

She seized Yi Chen by the throat, squeezed, then smiled. “Go ahead, kill me. I’d like to see you try it.”

Yi Chen’s face bulged, red and hideous. He almost couldn’t breathe. He’d never been this close to death before.

But he wasn’t afraid. Becoming someone’s puppet would be a far greater torment than death!

Thus, he didn’t beg for help. He just gazed calmly at Su Yi, as if pondering what this stranger of a father would do in response.

Lu Qingmei’s hearts were on tenterhooks. She was more nervous than ever before.

She wouldn’t mind even if she died, but... she was worried that something would happen to Yi Chen!

More than that, she knew that although Su Yi and Yi Chen were father and son, there was no bond between them. What if Su Yi chose to disregard his son’s life in the name of killing Gu Huaxian?

“Go ahead and kill us! What, are you too afraid to attack?” jeered Yu Xun.

Li Sanjiu stood there in silence.

The River Child furrowed his brow. He hated people like Yu Xun, who just lived to fan the flames. More than that, he loathed Gu Huaxian, the one threatening Yi Chen’s life.

Should the opportunity arise, he’d have loved nothing more than to punch them both to bits!

But Su Yi acted like none of this had anything to do with him. He took out a jug of wine, had a sip, and said, “A clever rabbit has three buildings. That way, it always has an escape route.

“As for you, Gu Huaxian? You’ve got five Grand Dao Clones intended to ensure your survival. Youre so fearless precisely because you have those clones.”

Everyone was flabbergasted.

Five Grand Dao Clones? Does that mean that this Gu Huaxian is just one of the five?

Never mind Li Sanjiu; even Gu Huaxian’s disciples, Yu Xun and Lu Qingmei, were unwittingly stunned.

This had been secret even to them!

Gu Huaxian’s expression remained as calm as ever. “You’re right. I might be able to keep a secret like that from the rest of the world, but I’m not surprised to hear that you’ve figured it out, Yi Daoxuan.”

“Let’s make a deal,” said Su Yi. “I’ll just kill four of your five Grand Dao Clones. I’ll let the one in front of me live to see the descent of the Dark Days of Legend.”

Gu Huaxian’s brow furrowed in realization. “You found my other Grand Dao Clones?”

Su Yi nodded. “That’s right.”

“Oh?” said Gu Huaxian. “Do you really think I’d believe that?”

Su Yi flipped his palm, and a figure tumbled to the ground.

“He’s the one who told me,” said Su Yi. “Now do you believe me?”

Gu Huaxian looked over, and when she saw who it was, the calm look on her face finally shifted!