Indeed, I can live a long, long time!

"Swoosh!"

The flow of the world returned to normal. Du Yu drew out the Demon Soldier Pattern from his sleeve, holding it horizontally before his face, and a shield with flame patterns instantly flared to life.

"Dong!"

The cold branch lashed heavily against the Patterned Shield. Under the tremendous force, Du Yu's direction abruptly changed as he plummeted straight down!

At the same time, the layers of branches below suddenly unfurled and rapidly assembled into a tunnel, as if having calculated the path in advance, guiding Du Yu into unknown territory…

"Hiss!!!" Suddenly, from a great distance, came a furious scream from Water Charm Du Yu.

Bristling with endless rage, it echoed across the whole of Gourd Mountain!

In an instant, the rampaging cold branches suddenly froze.

They stopped dead, leaving everyone baffled.

"Zzt!"

Du Yu's heart skipped a beat. As he plummeted, he jerked his head around in alarm.

Eye of Burning Sun·Hunting Moment!

What he saw was the woman's fingers, piercing through dense branches, her slender knuckles briefly exposed.

Du Yu immediately canceled the Eye of Burning Sun. In that instant, Shu Qinghe tore through the wall of branches and burst through by brute force!

She broke in to block his path, one arm grabbing Du Yu tightly, both feet stomping forcefully onto the opposite wall of branches.

"Crack!"

"Crack!" In Du Yu's hands, the shield and his Demon Breath Battle Robe shattered with a deafening roar!

The woman's body was soft.

But her Demon Breath Battle Robe was hard as steel!

"Hiss..." Du Yu drew in a sharp, cold breath from the pain.

Throughout this out-of-control collision, he'd parried every blow, emerging unscathed.

But getting crashed into by a teammate had him reeling—how was he supposed to keep living like this…

Above his head, Yang Qingqing was swooping swiftly down.

Seeing this scene, the Rose Fire Vine in her hand instantly recoiled. She changed the orientation of her body, pointing both feet downward. After an abrupt stop, she hovered steadily next to the two of them.

"Are you alright?" Yang Qingqing gripped Du Yu's cheeks with one hand, turning his head to examine him carefully.

The always unflappable Master Qing finally lost her composure a bit, since the matter concerned Du Yu.

"You kept your cool in a crisis. Not bad," Shu Qinghe said softly, casually handing Du Yu to Yang Qingqing.

Du Yu: "..."

I did keep my cool, but you nearly squashed me to death, you know that?

Forget it, nothing more to say—thanks to Director Shu for the human cannonball!

Shu Qinghe ignored Du Yu, frowning deeply and peering down below.

This was a passageway. The headlamp couldn't illuminate the end of the tunnel, only highlighting the thickening haze of cold mist.

"I'm fine, Master Qing," Du Yu said stonily.

Although he had achieved his wish—he was finally being held by Master Qing—at this moment, he was in no mood to enjoy it.

Du Yu spoke in a low voice: "Judging by this, does the Tree of Cold Qi want me?"

Shu Qinghe replied coldly: "The sudden halting of the branches must be related to that roar just now."

Yang Qingqing: "This is no place to linger. Let's leave first and plan carefully.

We've already drawn the Ancient Artifact Spirit's attention, and it seems highly interested in the Shadow Gu Tower.

Next time we meet, let's rendezvous at the Gourd Mouth."

"It's coming." Du Yu suddenly spoke. The two Immortals simultaneously looked to the right.

Streams of water began to flow from the side branches.

Water Charm Du Yu appeared again—without a foothold, its lower legs still dissolved into water, connecting to the branch wall, while its upper body retained Du Yu's face.

Shu Qinghe extended her hand. A Red Mud Fire Stove floated out, lighting the surroundings and illuminating Water Charm Du Yu's face as well.

To everyone's surprise, a look of apology actually surfaced on Water Charm Du Yu's face?

This…

Water Charm Du Yu's lower legs finally took shape. It grabbed the tree wall with one hand, slowly sliding down.

After descending three or five meters, Water Charm Du Yu stopped, looked up at the group, and pointed downward, as if gesturing for them to follow?

Yet below was an endless, icy fog.

Even though the trio were all Spirit Masters, capable of dispersing cold qi, if the cold density got high enough, the spiritual qi in their own bodies would be useless.

Which meant that if they descended further, all three would be rendered blind.

Moreover, having just survived a deadly encounter, the group knew little of the relationship between the Tree of Cold Qi and Water Charm Du Yu—how could they just follow it down?

Yang Qingqing said to the Artifact Spirit, "Let's go discuss at the upper exit."

Shu Qinghe was very much in favor of Yang Qingqing's suggestion. If it were just she and Yang Qingqing, then so be it.

Previously, she and Yang Qingqing had delved deep into Gourd Mountain, fighting their way through several times.

But now it was different—there was a child with them.

At this point, Du Yu was most likely the key to unlocking Gourd Mountain's secrets. She couldn't let Du Yu go deeper into danger.

As facts showed, she wasn't doing a very good job as a bodyguard.

If, as in previous expeditions, the threats were only from Cold Beasts, Shu Qinghe was absolutely confident that she and Yang Qingqing could keep Du Yu safe.

But ever since Du Yu entered the mountain, not only had the Ancient Artifact Spirit appeared, even the Cold Tree had "come alive."

Nobody had anticipated developments like these.

Upon hearing Master Qing's words, Water Charm Du Yu climbed up the tree wall, using both hands and feet.

Under the trio's watchful eyes, Water Charm Du Yu cautiously reached out a hand toward Du Yu.

The scene looked like it was about to yank Du Yu down.

Yang Qingqing instinctively stepped sideways, keeping Du Yu sheltered behind her with one arm.

But Shu Qinghe froze in shock, sweeping a few stray strands of hair from her forehead as she looked at Yang Qingqing's arms…

Where was Du Yu?

Endless black mist swirled, twisting and gathering—suddenly, a woman shrouded in black mist appeared!

Yang Qingqing frowned slightly and looked at the woman in her arms.

The black-misted woman spoke softly, but it was Du Yu's voice coming out: "Give me one minute, Master Qing. I want to talk with it here."

Water Charm Du Yu's eyes sparkled with joy. Its left hand gripped the tree wall while its right hand reached desperately forward.

The black-misted woman (Du Yu) also extended her palm, grasping the other's hand tightly…

The whole tableau was utterly bizarre.

Not just Yang Qingqing and Shu Qinghe, but even the soldiers watching this scene via camera on the monitors—all fell silent, a solemn hush descending on the camp!

Commander Liu Neng clenched his fist. For Du Yu, he had endless hopes.

He wished the boy who had conquered the Shadow Gu Tower could work another miracle.

Yet Du Yu had barely been in the mountain for ten-odd minutes, and he was already communicating with this elusive Ancient Artifact Spirit!

On the monitor, the black-misted woman (Du Yu) suddenly spoke:

"Magical Artifact, named Jade. Jade Gourd."

"It was born near the end of the 3rd century, at the height of the war between Human and Beast Races."

"The Jade Gourd was forged by Spirit Masters to imprison and refine powerful Demon Beasts."

"The creator pinned great hopes on the Jade Gourd, going so far as to fuse the spiritual po of all four family members into it to forge this artifact.

They hoped it could hunt the greatest powers of each beast tribe and become the war's turning point, bringing the Human Race ultimate victory."

"Driven by the lusts of the spiritual po, the Jade Gourd's sole purpose was to refine all Demon Beasts in existence, particularly those of supreme power…"

Yang Qingqing and Shu Qinghe exchanged a glance, their hearts chilled.

With just a few words, Du Yu transported them back to that age of endless warfare, when two races battled as the heavens dimmed with blood and fire.

Society now was very different; today, the profession of Demon Tamer was respected, and humans lived in harmony with Demon Pets.

But in ancient times, the two races fought desperate, heroic wars for survival, and untold, tragic tales abounded.

"Record it—all of it, record every word!" In the camp, Liu Neng barked orders. Even with video and audio recording, he felt compelled to shout instructions.

Du Yu abruptly paused, turning his head—his misty, shadowy eyes fixed on the tree wall to the left.

Yang Qingqing tightened her embrace on Du Yu and asked softly, "What is it?"

Du Yu stretched out a hand of black mist, gently caressing the branches: "This is not the Tree of Cold Qi."

Shu Qinghe: "Hm?"

Du Yu: "This is a Wood-type Demon Beast. At the very bottom of Gourd Mountain, a Demon Saint is still imprisoned!"

"A Demon Saint!?"

At those words, Yang Qingqing and Shu Qinghe finally lost their composure.

By contrast, in the army tent, all the soldiers froze, staring at the surveillance screen as if the picture itself had turned to stone…

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