Chapter Seventeen: Farewell at Sacred Heart Lake—Meng Yiran and Chu Yanxi

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What caught Gu Chen and Zhu Zhuqing’s eyes was the sight of two graceful, curvaceous figures in the center of the lake, their bodies glistening beneath the cleansing waters.

Their appearance immediately drew Gu Chen’s attention.

One wore a long green dress with a deeply plunging V-neck, her figure slender and elegant, her bosom full and rounded.

The other wore a short black skirt. She had long black hair, a sweet face, and an imposing, heroic air. Her figure was perfectly proportioned, with a wild allure about her.

Gu Chen knew both of them, and his impression of them was exceptionally favorable. They were the mature beauty Chu Yanxi and the sweet young girl Meng Yiran.

“How could it be them?” Gu Chen murmured.

“Gu Chen, you know them?”

Gu Chen shook his head. “No. I must have been mistaken.”

“Senior Sister, there’s something wrong with the center of Holy Heart Lake. The people here may be in danger today.”

“What’s wrong with Holy Heart Lake?” Zhu Zhuqing asked, her delicate brows drawing together as she looked at him in surprise.

“There’s no time to explain. Go and prepare some black-dog blood and yellow paper for me. I’ll go get them out of the lake first.”

“But if I leave, you’ll be here alone. What will you do if you run into danger?”

“It’s fine. I shouldn’t be that unlucky, right?”

“Time is pressing, and lives are at stake. Senior Sister, I’m counting on you!”

An anxious expression appeared on Gu Chen’s face.

Zhu Zhuqing no longer hesitated. Activating her Netherworld Spirit Cat martial soul, she hurried toward the market at top speed.

After Zhu Zhuqing left, Gu Chen ran swiftly to the lakeshore. Facing the people bathing in the water with looks of blissful enjoyment, he shouted beneath the drooping willows:

“Get out of the lake at once! There’s an evil spirit in the center. It’s draining your lives!”

The people washing themselves in Holy Heart Lake froze where they stood and turned toward the tall, upright young man beneath the willow trees.

They had no idea what was happening.

“I said get out of the lake! Your life force is fading. If you wait any longer, you’ll all die!”

This time, everyone clearly heard what Gu Chen was shouting.

Some believed him, while others did not. Those who believed him hurried anxiously toward the shore. Whether or not there truly was an evil spirit, getting out of the water first was certainly the safer choice.

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Those who refused to believe him, however, remained unconcerned. They thought themselves powerful enough to deal with any evil spirit that might appear.

Besides, why should they trust the words of a stranger? What if he was merely bored and had decided to stage some ridiculous prank?

Among those who refused to believe him were Meng Yiran and Chu Yanxi.

Seeing the two women remain unmoved, Gu Chen called out anxiously, “You two beauties, there’s danger in the lake! Get ashore quickly. It may be too late if you wait!”

Hearing this, Meng Yiran arched a brow and gave him a flirtatious smile. “Thank you, little brother, but Sister has only just entered the water and hasn’t had enough fun yet. Even if there really is danger, we’re not afraid!”

“That’s right, little brother. Thank you for your concern, but our young lady is extremely powerful. If there truly is an evil spirit, we’ll simply capture it.”

Chu Yanxi covered her mouth and laughed softly, the fullness of her chest trembling with the motion.

Seeing that they refused to heed his warning, Gu Chen was rendered speechless with anger. If these two had not once saved his life and treated him with such care, he truly would not have bothered with them.

“Ladies, I’m not underestimating you. The evil spirit inside Holy Heart Lake is exceptionally fierce. The two of you are no match for it.”

“Take a deep breath now and see whether your chests hurt.”

Gu Chen’s words were so earnest that the two women began to waver. Meng Yiran and Chu Yanxi inhaled deeply at the same time.

Meng Yiran suddenly felt a sharp pain in her chest and spat out a mouthful of black blood with a cry of surprise.

Chu Yanxi’s heart also began to ache, but she did not cough up blood. Instead, she felt a heavy pressure in her chest.

“Young lady, this lake truly is dangerous. Let me help you ashore.”

“Mm.”

Meng Yiran nodded. Together with Chu Yanxi, she swam toward the shore as quickly as they could, both of them visibly frightened.

They had barely gone far when screams rang out behind them.

Looking back, they saw black tentacles dragging the soul masters who had remained in the water toward the center of the lake.

Several had already been pulled beneath the surface, while others were being dragged halfway there, their bodies tightly bound. The tentacles moved far faster than the women could swim.

Just moments earlier, Meng Yiran and Chu Yanxi had tried to circulate their soul power and swim rapidly toward shore, only to discover that more than half of the soul power within their bodies had somehow been drained away.

Fortunately, Gu Chen had warned them in time, allowing them to swim a considerable distance ahead. Otherwise, they too would have been seized by the tentacles and dragged to the bottom of the lake. The result would have been obvious.

Even so, they had not escaped danger. Two tentacles were already racing toward them.

They desperately paddled toward the shore, but the tentacles accelerated faster and faster. They were almost upon the women’s delicate bodies.

The two of them closed their eyes in despair, filled with bitter regret for not listening to Gu Chen and leaving the lake sooner.

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“Grandfather, Grandmother, farewell forever!”

Meng Yiran’s heart was filled with guilt. She was not afraid of death. As a soul master, she had learned from birth to face the possibility of death. What pained her was that she had failed the love and years of care and cultivation given to her by her grandparents.

“Alas... Who would have thought that I, the daughter of a Divine King, would meet my end beside this tiny Holy Heart Lake? I was careless.”

Chu Yanxi was deeply unwilling to accept it. Reaching this continent had cost her dearly. Now she would return empty-handed and even have to sacrifice one of her clones. What a loss...

Just as both women believed they were certain to die, a fierce wind suddenly roared beside their ears. At the same time, they felt their waists tighten.

Then they felt their bodies lifted into the air, as though a powerful arm had swept them up around the waist.

Crack!

A tremendous sound rang out as a huge tentacle struck the surface of the lake.

Meng Yiran and Chu Yanxi opened their eyes simultaneously and saw a column of water four or five meters high erupt from the lake. The force behind that blow was self-evident.

After losing its targets, the black tentacle did not give up at once. It pursued them through the air for several dozen meters before finally retreating helplessly and turning toward another victim.

Meng Yiran and Chu Yanxi were set down upon a broad, flat boulder.

They had just begun to express their gratitude when they realized that their rescuer had already flown away, leaving behind only a figure with owl-like wings.

The owl-winged figure raced constantly across the surface of the lake, saving one person after another from being dragged into the abyss.

He moved with astonishing speed, his gaze sharp and focused. Almost every time, just before a tentacle coiled around someone in the water, he pulled that person back from the gates of death.

In less than ten minutes, the owl-winged figure successfully rescued twenty-six people.

He had spared twenty-six families the tragedy of seeing their homes destroyed. Even so, most of the people in the lake had already been dragged beneath the surface.

There was nothing else he could do. He was only one man, and his strength was limited. At least a hundred people had refused to heed the warning, while the black creature possessed eight tentacles. Saving twenty-six people from among so many was already the absolute limit of his ability.

It seemed that its plan had been ruined.

A gigantic octopus-like monster, as tall as a two-story building, emerged before the crowd.

Its face resembled that of a human being, but its eyes were as vast as enormous black caverns, radiating a cold, sinister light. Fury filled its features, and traces of blood stained the corners of its mouth.

Clearly, it was enraged because someone had disrupted its plan.

“Today’s first update! Everyone who enjoyed this chapter, remember to leave a comment, save it, and follow! Thank you!”

Reading Pavilion

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