Chapter 826: Change of the Big Egg
Ye Mo's decisive strike chilled the icy room further. Ji Lie swallowed several pills, regaining some strength. He then addressed Ye Mo gruffly, "Senior Ye, I've never wronged you. If you need these eggs, take them. I'll leave immediately upon hearing your name, and I'll undertake any task you assign."
"Do you beg for your life?" Ye Mo asked coldly.
"Yes, please show mercy, Senior Ye!" Ji Lie pleaded; the prospect of death loomed large.
He stopped mid-plea, however, as Ye Mo produced a vial and released a small insect. Ji Lie recognized it instantly—a pill gu, one of his own creation.
"Recognize this?" Ye Mo asked, placing it on the ground.
Ji Lie, seeing Ye Mo's frigid gaze, knew his life hung in the balance.
Before Ji Lie could respond, Ye Mo declared, "Thirteen years ago, you slaughtered everyone at Emei Mosque, injuring a woman and her child, then implanting this gu in the child. That woman is my wife; the child, my daughter. Ji Lie, tell me—should I let you live?"
Ji Lie's heart froze. He wished he'd chosen any other location than Emei Mosque to harvest essence blood. He considered a desperate gambit, but before he could gather his qi, a ball of fire enveloped him and Wen Gu. It originated from Ye Mo's hands, a rootless fire that plunged Ji Lie into despair.
"Hahahaha!" Wen Gu laughed, seemingly unconcerned about her imminent demise. She pointed at Ji Lie, shrieking, "Rootless fire! True rootless fire! This is karma! Karma! Hahahaha!"
Ji Lie was aghast. He was indeed consumed by rootless fire, a flame without fuel, appearing spontaneously in the air. He felt a strange mix of horror and dark amusement.
Watching them burn, Feng Yanqi murmured, "Karma. Is there truly karma? Then why did heaven abandon me? Why? When I was violated and treated like a dog, where was karma? I don't believe it. This world devours; if I don't devour others, they will devour me. Brother, I'm joining you."
Feng Yanqi fell silent, her life extinguished. Ye Mo perceived a tragic past shaping her actions, and sighed. He incinerated the bodies with further fireballs, then turned his attention to the broken barrier.
Golden Magical Gu Eggs? Ye Mo eyed the ball-sized eggs skeptically. Gu eggs were typically grain-sized. He dispatched several wind blades, shattering the barrier. The stone room grew even colder, the chill emanating undeniably from the eggs. How could two eggs generate such intense cold? He was determined to uncover their nature.
He approached the table and picked one up. A bone-chilling cold invaded him, nearly causing him to drop it. He quickly channeled his cultivation essence to counter the frigid assault. An ordinary person would have instantly frozen solid. He couldn't identify the object, but the power behind the formation was clearly immense.
He studied the egg intently, but to no avail. His spirit sense was immediately repelled upon contact. The second egg yielded the same result.
"What are these?" Ye Mo muttered, shaking his head. He decided to store the eggs in his ring for later examination, only to find he couldn't. The golden page world was equally inaccessible.
He attempted to force them in, but his cultivation essence flowed effortlessly into the eggs. Even without conscious channeling, the absorption continued.
Alarm bells sounded.
He summoned his flying sword, intending to sever the eggs from his hand; the eggs were inconsequential compared to his life. However, he found his spirit sense unable to control the sword, or indeed, anything. His cultivation essence and spirit sense were relentlessly drained.
Half a day passed, and he felt himself freezing, utterly immobile. He cursed his predicament, helpless.
Then, he sensed an explosive energy emanating from the table—a self-destruction formation triggered prematurely. Trapped, he could only hope the formation's energy was depleted enough to mitigate the blast.
A rumble echoed, followed by a massive explosion. The stone room trembled but held. He was alive.
…
Ten kilometers from All Gu Mountain, a woman in her twenties, burdened by a large basket of herbs, paused her gathering. A tremendous explosion drew her gaze to the distance.