Chapter Twenty-Six: The Evil Cultivator Zhu Rong

"They won't be able to hold out much longer; we must take the initiative," Gu Liuyun whispered to Bai Xiyu behind him.

Previously, the Bai family scouts had detected no signs of evil cultivators within the Zhu estate. It seemed these individuals had used some special method to conceal their presence and lie in ambush. If this dragged on, it was unlikely any of the Bai family members would survive.

"I'm coming with you!" Bai Xiyu wiped the blood from her lips and stood up resolutely.

"You are only at the ninth level of Qi Refining; you are no match for Ye Qingqing," Gu Liuyun stated bluntly.

"Don't underestimate me. I am, after all, the next head of the Bai family." Having said this, Bai Xiyu set the unconscious Bai Jingxiu aside. "Let's go. I will never hold you back!"

Gu Liuyun smiled helplessly. Seeing her determination, he let her be. The two of them dashed out through a gap in the golden light barrier, heading straight toward Ye Qingqing.

When Ye Qingqing saw Gu Liuyun make his move, her heart faltered. She shrieked at her henchmen behind her, "Attack! Attack! Don't let him get through!"

Gu Liuyun’s gaze turned sharp, and a cold smirk played on his lips. Suddenly, his aura shifted drastically; a powerful force erupted from within him like a volcanic explosion, creating an overwhelming momentum. In the next second, he vanished from his spot, moving with the speed of lightning.

Seeing this, Ye Qingqing’s pupils contracted, and the smug smile on her face froze, replaced instantly by profound terror. Gu Liuyun flashed forward, swift as a hunting leopard, and closed in on her instantly.

"Help..." Before Ye Qingqing could finish her cry, Gu Liuyun grabbed her by the face.

"Stop dabbling in evil paths; your grandfather is still at home waiting for you."

He formed a seal with one hand, and a golden light flashed, manifesting into a massive palm that slammed into the evil cultivators behind Ye Qingqing with the force of a landslide. After a chorus of screams, the cultivators were left sprawled across the ground, all coughing up blood and pale as sheets.

"So cool! Brother Yun!" Bai Xiyu’s eyes were filled with adoration. Having seen Gu Liuyun spar with her grandfather, she knew he was strong, but she never imagined he had reached this level—he was on par with her grandfather.

"Don't... don't kill me..." Ye Qingqing broke free from Gu Liuyun’s grip, her legs turning to jelly, and she collapsed to her knees before him.

"What is going on with you?" Gu Liuyun asked, frowning.

Ye Qingqing looked dazed. "I... I don't know. It was all Zhu Rong... He gave me a magical artifact, and my cultivation progressed rapidly, but for some reason, strange thoughts kept filling my mind..."

She had been controlled.

Gu Liuyun frowned. "Greed has no limits. Only through steady, honest cultivation can one achieve true results. By turning to crooked, evil ways, you invite disaster."

Ye Qingqing felt aggrieved, two lines of tears streaming down her cheeks. "I became like this all because of you! You heartless man, if you hadn't lied to me and said I couldn't cultivate, I never would have treated you that way!"

Gu Liuyun’s eyes turned cold. "It was clearly your own greed!"

Ye Qingqing glared at him with hatred. After such a farce, her reputation as the daughter of the Ye family was utterly ruined. If it had to end this way, she might as well die! But before she died...

She gritted her teeth, grabbed hold of Gu Liuyun with all her might, and hissed, "It was you who forced me! You are the one who ruined me! I have no way out, and you won't have it easy either! Die with me!"

Gu Liuyun, caught off guard by her sudden attack, was gripped by her. Just as he was about to shake her off, he felt something strange; the spiritual energy in his meridians surged and was being forcibly absorbed by Ye Qingqing!

Within a few breaths, Gu Liuyun’s spiritual energy was depleted, and he felt a wave of dizziness. "You..."

Bai Xiyu immediately noticed his distress and kicked Ye Qingqing in the shoulder. The immense force sent Ye Qingqing flying backward until she crashed into a tree in the courtyard, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"Brother Yun!" Bai Xiyu nervously checked his condition.

Gu Liuyun caught his breath, cycling his internal energy to restore a sliver of spiritual force to his meridians. "I was almost drained dry by that woman..."

"Brother Yun, are you okay?" Bai Xiyu asked with concern.

Gu Liuyun waved his hand. "I'm fine for now. Be careful; she can absorb one's true energy."

Bai Xiyu nodded.

"Ye Qingqing, you really have fallen," Gu Liuyun said coldly.

Ye Qingqing grinned, her teeth stained bright red with blood. The savage expression on her face made her look like a demon crawled up from hell.

Several veteran warriors of the Bai family stepped forward and seized Ye Qingqing, striking several points on her body in quick succession until her limbs went limp.

"I have sealed her five major meridians with my true energy; she can neither use her power nor move," one reported. "Young Miss, how should we dispose of her?"

Bai Xiyu glanced at Gu Liuyun and said, "Return her to the head of the Ye family."

"Understood!"

Ye Qingqing glared at Gu Liuyun with venomous eyes. If she could move, she would have dug a hole in him with her fingernails alone.

"What are you glaring at? Glare again and I'll dig your eyes out," Bai Xiyu said coldly. The way this woman looked at Gu Liuyun made her deeply uncomfortable.

"Her true energy is impure; she won't have a good end once she returns to the Ye family. Brother Yun, are you really okay with this?" Bai Xiyu asked softly after the Bai family members took Ye Qingqing away.

Gu Liuyun was stunned for a moment, then laughed. "I have nothing to do with her. What happens to her is Ye Xifu’s business."

Bai Xiyu felt a bit better.

"Though this woman is mad, she shouldn't be lying. The mastermind behind this must be Zhu Rong." Gu Liuyun rubbed his chin, trying to recall. "The name Zhu Rong... it feels like I've heard it somewhere..."

"You really are a person of noble stature with a short memory," a man in a white shirt walked out slowly from the shadows. He wore gold-rimmed glasses, carried himself with a scholarly elegance, and wore a harmless smile.

"It's you. You are Zhu Rong?" Seeing the man, Gu Liuyun recalled the Zhu brothers he had encountered in the secret realm.

"It seems you remember me," Zhu Rong adjusted his glasses.

"You two know each other?" Bai Xiyu tilted her head, looking at Gu Liuyun.

Gu Liuyun did not answer, his expression grave as he studied Zhu Rong. In the secret realm, he had personally thrown the severely wounded Zhu Rong into a pack of fierce beasts. By all rights, Zhu Rong should not be alive.

Although the man before him had the appearance of Zhu Rong, his aura was strange and unsettling, feeling vaguely familiar to Gu Liuyun.

"You are not Zhu Rong," Gu Liuyun said with certainty.