"What!" Yu Yanluo's face turned pale. This mine was the foundation of the Yu family. If it truly collapsed, it would be a devastating blow to them.
Clearing the rubble would require an unknown amount of manpower and resources, but most crucially, it would take time.
It would likely be a decade or more before production could resume.
Could the Yu family, now teetering on the brink, even survive until then?
Zu An quickly said, "We should find a safe place as soon as possible. We don't want to be buried alive here."
Debris was falling everywhere; this place clearly wouldn't hold much longer.
"This way!" Yu Yanluo quickly composed herself. She was more familiar with this underground mine than anyone else.
Zu An followed her for a while but suddenly felt something was wrong. He turned back to see Yan Xuehen motionless, swaying unsteadily before collapsing to the ground.
Startled, Zu An immediately summoned Gale, teleporting to her side and catching her. "What's wrong?" he asked.
Yan Xuehen slightly opened her eyes. Seeing it was him, she pushed him away with a touch of annoyance. "I'm fine, let me go!"
"You can't even stand still, and you say you're fine," Zu An retorted. He naturally wouldn't let go at that moment. Holding her, he quickly ran towards Yu Yanluo, dodging various falling soil and rocks. Several times, debris narrowly missed them, grazing their clothes. If it had been slightly off, they might have been buried alive.
Yan Xuehen looked up at the man holding her. Watching him awkwardly dodge while carrying her, she suddenly felt a sense of disorientation.
Her cultivation had always been peerless; she was always the one protecting others. When had she ever needed someone to protect her?
Now, being protected for the first time, and by a man at that, the feeling was truly peculiar.
As she thought, her cheeks flushed slightly. She awkwardly turned her face away, no longer looking at him.
The group fled for several dozen li before the tremors in the mine shaft gradually subsided.
Seeing the tunnel behind them completely buried by earth and rocks, everyone felt a lingering fear. If they had been any slower, they would likely have been buried alive.
In their prime, Yun Jianyue and Yan Xuehen might have survived, but in their current state, being buried meant certain death.
"Ice Stone Woman, how did you become so frail?" Yun Jianyue asked, noticing that their retreat was completely sealed and uncertain if they could ever return to the surface. Her mood was understandably poor.
Yan Xuehen was about to reply when she opened her mouth, felt a sweet taste in her throat, and then coughed up a mouthful of fresh blood to the side.
Yun Jianyue was initially somewhat gleeful, but then she noticed the blackness in the blood and her expression changed. "You're poisoned?"
"Just a little poison, it's nothing..." Yan Xuehen hadn't finished speaking when Yun Jianyue grabbed her wrist.
Normally, Yan Xuehen would never let her great rival grasp her pulse point, but now she was too weak and powerless to resist.
Yun Jianyue examined her, and her expression immediately darkened. "Nothing? You're already halfway to the gates of hell!"
Zu An and Yu Yanluo were startled. "What exactly happened?"
At this moment, Zu An felt a dampness in his hand. He quickly helped Yan Xuehen sit up and, upon examining his hand, saw it was covered in blood that reflected a strange, dark light.
Yan Xuehen's originally snow-white top was already soaked with blood.
Zu An suddenly recalled the scene where she saved him from the Death Worm. "Were you hit by the black light shot from the Death Worm's mouth?"
Yan Xuehen's lips were already pale. She said faintly, "I just happened to be injured at the time. Normally, no matter how fast that worm attacked, it wouldn't hit me."
Yun Jianyue sneered from the side, "You're almost dead and still putting on airs. Do people from White Jade City always suffer for the sake of their pride?"
Yan Xuehen wanted to retort but no longer had the strength.
"Ah, it's partly my fault. You've acted abnormally several times just now, and I didn't notice it in time," Yun Jianyue's tone suddenly softened, and she stopped bickering with her.
Yan Xuehen was a bit surprised. "Shouldn't you be happy that I'm dying?"
"Hmph, if I had killed you fair and square, I would naturally be happy. What's there to be happy about this kind of death?" Yun Jianyue pulled out a pill and put it to her mouth. "This is an antidote, but the Death Worm's venom has already infiltrated all your meridians and organs. This pill can only buy you a little more time."
Yan Xuehen shook her head. "What joy is there in life, what fear in death? I've long seen through life and death. Why should I owe you a favor when I'm about to die?"
"Ice Stone Woman, why are you so stubborn?" Yun Jianyue felt an itch in her teeth, now having an urge to push Yan Xuehen's head to the ground.
At this moment, Zu An's faint voice came from the side, "Actually... I can cure it."
Hearing this, Yan Xuehen found some unknown strength and instantly refused, "No!"
Yun Jianyue was first stunned, then clapped her hands and laughed. "Excellent, this is very good, very good!"
Didn't this Ice Stone Woman usually pretend to be an iceberg, showing no interest in men? The key was that men all over the world fell for it.
If they found out that their goddess, the iceberg, had been defiled by another man, and that a master and disciple were sharing a husband!
Once word got out, she would truly be disgraced, and White Jade City's millennia-old reputation would be ruined.
Thinking of that scene, Yun Jianyue almost burst out laughing.
This Ice Stone Woman had fought with her for so many years, and finally, she had won!
Huh, but why wasn't she suddenly as happy as she thought she'd be?
Seeing Yun Jianyue's strange expression, Yan Xuehen immediately guessed her thoughts and felt so humiliated she wanted to die. If she were truly saved by Zu An in that manner, she would rather die than live.
"I don't want you to save me, let me go quickly." Yan Xuehen panicked and struggled urgently. Unfortunately, her limbs were weak, and her struggles looked more like lovers' playful bickering.
Zu An quickly said, "Don't get agitated, be careful the poison doesn't attack your heart."
"It's better if the poison attacks my heart!" Yan Xuehen now only wished to die immediately. Otherwise, if Zu An saved her in that way, she wouldn't have the face to live.
Zu An: "..."
At this moment, Yu Yanluo's expression was strange. "A'Zu, are you... are you still up to it?"
They had been together for so long just now, and she was truly worried about his physical condition.
She always felt that the whole situation was strange, as if her man was going to be shared with other women.
Yet, she found no reason to object. After all, it was to save someone, and Yan Xuehen had suffered such severe injuries precisely to save Zu An.
"No problem at all," Zu An replied, puzzled by her question.
Hearing their conversation, Yan Xuehen wished there was a crack in the ground she could crawl into.
Yun Jianyue patted his shoulder. "You're lucky, boy. Take good care of our beautiful Miss Yan."
Normally, she should have been enjoying the show, but for some reason, she found herself not as happy as she expected.
Yan Xuehen's face was beet red, feeling like smoke was about to rise from her head. Unfortunately, with her blood qi surging, her vision blurred, and she couldn't utter a word of refusal.
Her heart turned cold. Was she truly unable to escape this fate?
At this moment, Yun Jianyue said with considerable displeasure, "Ice Stone Woman, do you really need to make that expression? Weren't you willing just now?"
This woman seemed to be enjoying the benefit while still acting innocent.
Yan Xuehen felt bitter. Just now, she had believed she was going to die anyway, and wanted to save Zu An before her death, preventing the man who had saved her and all living beings from dying silently.
But the problem now was that Zu An knew a strange cultivation method that could heal her after "it" was done.
Her willingness was based on the fact that she would die soon anyway, putting an end to everything.
But now, thinking about having to face societal judgment afterward, she shuddered.
At this moment, Zu An's peculiar voice rang out, "Have you two misunderstood something? The way I save people doesn't require physical intimacy."
[4 seconds from now] Chapter 1876: The Power of the Elixir
[2 minutes ago] Chapter 2322: Mist Unveiled
[6 minutes ago] Chapter 313: Waiting for a Social Beating
[7 minutes ago] Chapter 1875: Mo Xiao Wants to Compete
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