The Ming Zun spoke with deep concern.
As the owner of this mountain, Qi Yu should not have been suppressed by the mountain's barrier and unable to cast spells, even if she had forgotten it belonged to the Talisman Sect.
However, Qi Yu sensed that the entire formation was no longer under her control, which proved that the Talisman Sect's protective barrier had been thoroughly altered.
If this was not resolved quickly, should this malevolent energy once again control him within the Seven Absolutes Mountain and use him against Qi Yu and the others, Qi Yu would be powerless to resist.
Qi Yu naturally understood this point as well.
She looked at the barrier before her, pondered for a moment, and finally fixed her gaze on the Ming Zun:
"I cannot find the location of the鲛珠 (Jiao Zhu) for now, but I don't feel it's particularly important. The most crucial thing now is the malevolent energy within you. Come here, let me take a look."
Upon hearing this, the Ming Zun leaned closer.
Just as everyone was curious about how Qi Yu intended to extract the malevolent energy entwined with the Ming Zun, they saw Qi Yu's right fingernail suddenly sharpen. With a "keng chi" sound, it pierced through the Ming Zun's heart.
The Ming Zun showed no reaction.
Those nearby couldn't help but instinctively cover their own hearts.
But in the next moment.
A stream of black malevolent energy seeped out from between Qi Yu's fingers, attempting to escape as soon as it left the Ming Zun's body!
Before everyone could react, Qi Yu's body transformed into a black mist and lunged after it.
The Ming Zun lost his strength and slumped onto the couch, the malevolent energy continuously surging out from his wound.
Qi Yu, in the form of black mist, enveloped and devoured the escaping malevolent energy, one stream after another.
The two forces, one benevolent and one malevolent, clashed.
To suppress the malevolent energy on the Ming Zun, Qi Yu directly mobilized her true form, freezing each stream of malevolent energy into ice.
Once the freezing was complete, Qi Yu returned to her human form and stepped on the ice, saying, "Evil Ancestor, you cannot escape. Come out quickly! Don't force me to throw you into the Evil Cold Hell to be my nourishment."
Xiao Ming Lou stood on the ground, roaring at the block of ice.
If it were an adult Winged Tiger, its power would naturally be astonishing. But ever since the matter of the demon seed, Ming Lou had inexplicably shrunk and regressed to his youth, his power now comparable to a kitten's meow.
"Heh, you're quite stubborn, aren't you?" Qi Yu saw the malevolent energy remain unresponsive, rolled up her sleeves, and raised her foot as if to crush it.
Sui You, who had been watching from the side for a while, finally couldn't help but speak, "Qi Yu, you've frozen him. How can he speak?"
Qi Yu paused.
After a moment's thought, she found it made sense.
Sui You conjured a wisp of flame in his palm, enveloping the frozen malevolent energy tightly.
As the flame's temperature rose, the ice naturally melted. In the midst of the icy water covering the floor, the malevolent energy gradually took on a human form, finally restoring the appearance of the Evil Ancestor.
"It really is you!" Yu Zhen stomped on the Evil Ancestor's chest. "You're still alive? How are you still alive?! Then what about my son! My son Feng Mian, what did you do to him?"
Li Yu pulled Yu Zhen back, preventing her from being harmed by Sui You's flames.
"Feng Mian..." The Evil Ancestor repeated the name, a smug and triumphant expression on his face. "What? Have you lost your memories? Forgotten how he turned to dust before your very eyes?"
"You're not dead, how could he possibly be dead? Why should he die!" Yu Zhen grabbed the Evil Ancestor by the throat. "I know I cannot destroy you, but remember this: if you confess everything you did to my son Feng Mian, I will ensure you can never assume human form again, and I will suppress you in the Nine Heavens!"
The Evil Ancestor was unfazed. "I knew I wouldn't fare well in your hands. You can't kill me completely, so what's the point of doing all this? At most, I'll be suppressed in the Nine Heavens, under Buddhist law, but I will return sooner or later."
Yu Zhen knew that what the Evil Ancestor said was true. She slumped to the ground powerlessly, her eyes gradually turning crimson:
"Back then, you were evil, and I was a demon. We were unrelated. Why did you have to target my child?"
"I targeted him because I did. What's with all the 'why'?" the Evil Ancestor's voice was mocking. "If you had paid more attention to Feng Mian back then, you wouldn't be here questioning me."
Yu Zhen clenched her fists tightly.
Can Xue, standing behind, dared not make a sound, lest the Evil Ancestor see her.
Just then, Yue Zhi Yin suddenly spoke, "Everyone, why don't we take him back to the North Sea Dragon Palace and use the Floating Life Mirage to examine the Evil Ancestor's memories?"
They had used that artifact last time.
"Let's go, we'll go now!" Yu Zhen cast a spell to restrain the Evil Ancestor, almost at any cost, imprisoning and sealing it within herself.
Seeing this, Yue Zhi Yin nodded. The group, along with the Ming Zun, left Seven Absolutes Mountain, traversed the cliff directly to the bottom of the South Sea, and headed towards the North Sea Dragon Palace.
On the way, Si Qing, for some unknown reason, had a gloomy expression.
Qi Yu, puzzled, deliberately slowed down and asked Si Qing in a low voice:
"What's wrong?"
"..." Si Qing initially intended to say nothing.
But as the words reached his lips, he looked up and saw Qi Yu staring at him with unblinking eyes. His heart softened, and he relented, saying,
"Sister, I'm just thinking about the future."
"What about the future?" Qi Yu hooked a strand of Si Qing's long hair and tied a knot in it playfully.
When she was young and couldn't do her homework in the Heavenly Realm, she would have Si Qing help her write it while she played with his hair.
"Feng Mian's matter," Si Qing rescued his hair from her hand. "Sister, haven't you considered that Mother might resurrect Feng Mian?"
"Demons possess immortality, so resurrection isn't inherently difficult. But Feng Mian's physical body is completely gone. To resurrect him, one would need the glaciers and soil from the Evil Cold Hell to form a new body."
"But such an act violates the laws. If you agree, you will surely face heavenly retribution. Mother, as a Heavenly Star Righteous God, if she violates the decree and performs a resurrection ritual, she will also endure thirteen thunder tribulations."
Si Qing did not continue speaking.
But Qi Yu understood his meaning.
He felt that she had finally been freed from the torment of the bone-chilling frost and heavenly retribution, only to soon be in a dilemma again because of Mother and Feng Mian.
Qi Yu looked at Si Qing, and after a long while, she suddenly smiled, her voice tinged with melancholy:
"I have thought about it. But Si Qing, if Mother insists on resurrecting him later, what can I do?"
"Stop her? That's certainly possible."
"But she's at the crucial final step. You saw Mother's state just now. If I stop her, she'll go mad."
Hearing this, Si Qing fell silent.
For a moment, he regretted acknowledging his father and mother.
The peaceful life he longed for, a family of four, was gone forever from the moment it was lost.
--- httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
In reality, Qi Yu and her family of four experienced different kinds of pain.
The most profound suffering was Qi Yu's, who endured immense hardship and torment.
The second most painful was Si Qing's. He lost everything and desperately tried to reclaim it. But even if broken things were pieced back together, they could never be the same as before. Therefore, he harbored a clear hatred for the four demon siblings, and even for Yu Zhen and Li Yu.
The third most painful were Yu Zhen and Li Yu.
They were indeed heartbroken and grief-stricken by the loss of their daughter and Si Qing, willing to defy heavenly laws to save their daughter, but both sacrificed themselves.
However, time is a great healer. They found love again in the mortal realm and had the four demon siblings. After regaining their celestial memories, their minds, besides painful recollections, also contained many memories of their reincarnated lives, lives that Si Qing and Qi Yu had never participated in. Thus, while they suffered, their pain was not as intense as Si Qing's and Qi Yu's.
But, don't worry too much!
Later, the female protagonist will receive unexpected great fortune and "new family members" who will dote on her exclusively.
The excitement is yet to come~