Chapter 1078: Unbearable

Yun Che had just arrived in the Darkya Realm—or more accurately, fled to it. He had no powerful backing, not even someone to consult with, and was absolutely unwilling to cause any trouble.

However, while he didn't seek trouble, trouble found him.

He didn't want trouble, but that certainly didn't mean he was afraid of it!

"Now, do you still want me to hand him back?" Yun Che's voice was cold and devoid of mercy. His gaze swept over the black snake mark exposed beneath the black-clothed middle-aged man's torn outer garment.

"You..." The black-clothed middle-aged man spewed a mouthful of bloody foam as he spoke. At that moment, he looked as if he had been nailed to a torture rack in hell, in unbearable pain. "You... will... regret... this..."

"Heh, I don't know if I'll regret it, but you... certainly will!"

*Bang!!*

Yun Che launched a kick, savagely striking the Black Soul Spear piercing the middle-aged man. The man screamed, and as blood splattered, the Black Soul Spear flew out of his body, embedding itself into the stone wall above. The middle-aged man writhed on the ground, wailing, blood gushing like a fountain from the gaping wound in his chest, a truly horrific sight.

On the territory of the Black Feather Merchant Guild, he not only showed no mercy but also acted with such viciousness. Everyone present was inwardly shaken... Such a person was either incredibly well-connected, completely disregarding the Black Feather Merchant Guild and the Soul Sect behind it, or... a complete madman!

Regardless of which category he fell into, he was someone they absolutely dared not meddle with or provoke.

At this moment, Ji Ruyan's voice transmission reached Yun Che's ears once more:

"Young Master Lingyun, hurry and leave! Their people are rushing here, and one of them is a Divine Spirit Realm hall master! I've already opened all the restrictions here. Go quickly, or it will be too late!"

A look of doubt briefly settled on Ji Ruyan's face... The main reason he had been so ruthless towards the black-clothed middle-aged man was to scare Ji Ruyan, allowing him to easily force her to lift the restrictions here. Otherwise, forcibly breaking through them would have taken considerable time.

Yet, he hadn't expected Ji Ruyan to open them voluntarily... He couldn't even think of a single reason why she would help him.

Their people?

Them?

After a deep glance at Ji Ruyan, he instantly appeared beside the wood spirit boy, grabbed him, and shot upwards.

*Boom, boom, boom...*

The profound formation was still active, but he broke through it with a single charge. Ji Ruyan had not deceived him; he passed through the four restrictions here without any hindrance. Activating his Phantom Light Thunder Extremity, his speed soared, and in an instant, he vanished into the vast night sky.

The night in the Darkya Realm was exceptionally deep, naturally making it ideal for concealment. Yun Che traveled south, sweeping past a good portion of Darkya City. After confirming that no one was tracking him, he finally slowed down and stopped in a secluded spot with no aura around, immediately concealing his presence with the Flowing Light Thunder Concealment.

From the moment he fled until he stopped, the wood spirit boy he held in his hand remained exceptionally quiet. He didn't cry out or struggle, eerily silent.

The surroundings were silent. Yun Che carefully recalled Ji Ruyan's voice transmission and the black-clothed middle-aged man's words. The phrase "implicating an upper star realm" made him unable to dismiss it lightly. Perhaps a powerful figure from an upper star realm knew of this Royal Wood Spirit's existence. If so, his actions had undoubtedly stirred up a hornet's nest.

Not only had he completely offended the Black Feather Merchant Guild, but he had also very likely incurred the wrath of that upper star realm.

What followed would undoubtedly be a large-scale search and pursuit... a city lockdown was highly probable.

While acquiring this Royal Wood Spirit, he had also brought upon himself a super-big problem that could potentially involve an upper star realm.

An upper star realm was a transcendent existence one level higher than the Snow Song Realm, meaning that if the situation truly escalated, not even the Snow Song Realm could protect him... let alone the fact that he had now fled Snow Song and was all alone.

However, he had used a fake name at the Black Feather Merchant Guild, and his face was completely unfamiliar. Furthermore, with his perfected Broken Moon Flashing Shadow and extremely high-level disguise art, tracking him down would be far from easy... The only thing that could potentially be traced was the black jade given to him by Huo Rulie.

That Mr. Ji from the Black Feather Merchant Guild knew his black jade came from Huo Rulie! He hoped this wouldn't cause any trouble for the Flame God Realm.

Still, it would be best to immediately flee the Darkya Realm after obtaining the Wood Spirit Orb!

In the darkness, the wood spirit boy's eyes still glowed with a vibrant green light, like flawless crystals shimmering in the night. Yet, within that emerald gaze, there was not much fear or panic. He looked at Yun Che and spoke with a clear voice: "Senior... thank you."

Yun Che was startled, then scoffed coldly: "Thank me? Heh, you're not naive enough to think I spent so many Purple Profound Stones and offended a powerful organization just to rescue you from them, are you?"

"I..." The wood spirit boy's eyes shifted slightly. He looked directly into Yun Che's eyes and suddenly chuckled softly: "Because I know, Senior must be a good person."

"Little brat, you really are laughably naive." Yun Che's voice was low and cold as he gazed directly into the boy's emerald eyes. His heart gave a slight jolt; he had never seen such pure and flawless eyes. They were like a supremely clear mirror, reflecting all the sins deep within his soul, leaving them nowhere to hide.

Yun Che involuntarily averted his gaze, actually daring not to look directly into the boy's eyes anymore. His voice, which he tried to keep cold, also showed a hint of unnaturalness: "A good person? I've killed far more people than you've ever seen in your entire life! You should know yourself that I went to such great lengths to get you for the Wood Spirit Orb inside you!"

"Will you hand it over willingly, or do you want me to take it by force?"

Yun Che's body emanated killing intent.

How could a wood spirit boy withstand the killing intent Yun Che unleashed? Fear finally appeared on his face, and his body recoiled in a shiver, but his frightened eyes still looked directly at Yun Che: "I... I... No, it's not like that, Senior is a good person, I... I can feel it, please... please Senior spare me... I will surely repay Senior."

Watching his frightened appearance, Yun Che's hands silently clenched, trembling slightly. His heart felt a suffocating tightness, yet his voice remained grim: "Repay? Your best repayment is to give me the Wood Spirit Orb! Immediately!!"

"No, don't..." The wood spirit boy shook his head as he backed away, then he suddenly dropped heavily to his knees, his eyes welling up with green tears: "Senior, please spare me. Although I am still young, I am not afraid of death, but... I cannot die. Because... because my sister and I are the only remaining bloodline of the Wood Spirit Royal Family. My sister is a girl, and if I... if I die, the bloodline of our Wood Spirit Royal Family, and the hope of the entire Wood Spirit race, will be completely severed... I absolutely cannot die, please Senior, spare me."

Yun Che's brow twitched slightly, but he said coldly: "That's your Wood Spirit race's business. What does it have to do with me? All I want is the Wood Spirit Orb!"

Yun Che's chest heaved, his voice growing even colder and harder: "Little brat, those people must be chasing me all over the city right now. My patience and time are limited. I'll give you ten breaths of time. Either you obediently hand over the Wood Spirit Orb to me, or you can forcefully destroy it yourself, choosing a more dignified death; the result is the same for me either way. Otherwise, if I have to do it myself, I'm afraid you won't die so comfortably!"

"Ten!"

"Nine!"

"Se... Senior! Please... please spare me, I really cannot die." The wood spirit boy knelt on the ground, pleading in terror.

"Eight!" Yun Che remained unmoved, uttering only cold, merciless words.

"Senior, our Wood Spirit race has never harmed any other living beings, nor have we ever committed any unforgivable sins. Even... even though you humans have almost driven our entire race to extinction, we have never, out of hatred or despair, done anything to harm innocent humans..."

Yun Che: "..."

"So many of my kin have died, my parents died at the hands of you humans protecting me, and even my sister... my last remaining family, is also lost, perhaps I'll never see her again in this life... Why? Why... What wrong did we ever commit, for you humans to treat us like this!"

"...Five!" Yun Che tilted his head back and took a deep breath.

"Senior," two clear tear tracks slowly slid down the wood spirit boy's face. "My parents told me before they died that even though humans almost wiped us out, there are actually more good people among humans. I know, Senior is one of those good people. Because those bad people made me afraid, but when I'm with Senior, I don't feel afraid at all..."

"Three!" Yun Che's breathing became slightly chaotic, and his teeth subtly clenched.

"Senior... please spare me... If I die now, I won't have the face to meet my parents... As long as... as long as you spare me, I will definitely repay you... Whatever you want me to do, I... I will try my best to do it."

"One!"

Yun Che's fierce gaze bore down on the wood spirit boy: "I've given you a chance. Since that's the case... then I'll have to do it myself! This is your life, and the fate of your Wood Spirit race! If you want to hate, then hate as much as you like!"

Yun Che suddenly turned, his right arm, filled with profound energy, shot out towards the wood spirit boy's chest. The force of this grab was enough to easily pierce his fragile body.

"Senior!!" The wood spirit boy cried out in despair.

*Hiss!!*

The air was violently torn apart. The surge of savage power he had just gathered suddenly dissipated in chaos. Yun Che's palm stopped inches from the wood spirit boy's chest, as if blocked by an unyielding wall, unable to advance further.

What... what am I doing? What exactly am I doing right now...?

Am I really going to inhumanely slaughter an innocent wood spirit who bears no grudge against me, just for a potential Heaven and Earth Five-Jade Pill?

Moreover, he's just a child...

And he carries the future of the entire Wood Spirit race on his shoulders.

No... In these two lives of mine, haven't enough innocent people died because of me, under the influence of hatred and rage...? If not for me, he would surely die at someone else's hands anyway. Besides, I obtained him by spending a large amount of profound stones and offending a powerful organization. I have every right, completely justified, to decide his fate...

He has the Wood Spirit Orb that I need most... If I miss this chance, I might never find a suitable Wood Spirit Orb before the Profound God Convention, and I'll lose all hope of seeing Jasmine!

"..." His chest heaved violently, his gaze at times fierce, at times conflicted. The palm that was almost touching the wood spirit boy's chest trembled uncontrollably. He tried to convince himself again and again, but his hand, capable of instantly taking the boy's life, simply couldn't gather even a shred of profound energy.

What in the world... am I hesitating about...?

"Haa... Haa..." After a long silence, the entire world fell quiet. The wood spirit boy, pale-faced, stared at him, utterly motionless. A cold night wind blew past, and Yun Che's breathing suddenly grew heavy, as if he had just fought a battle to the death.

Slowly, his hand clenched, then lowered little by little.

"...Go... Hurry and go!" He turned around, looking up at the dark night sky, his eyes filled with bewilderment. His soul, unexpectedly, was filled with an inexplicable sense of relief.

Why is this happening...?

What exactly has changed in me!?