Chapter 907 - 873: Hide and Seek

Cao Mulan felt her body burning, as if a thousand insects were crawling inside her, unbearably itchy. This feeling kept spreading downward, and she instinctively clenched her fists and tightened her legs, struggling desperately against this indescribable sensation.

Xiahou Zun smiled as he looked at Cao Mulan under the light, like a wolf locking onto its prey, knowing that this prey would not escape from his grasp today.

Cao Mulan trembled as she spoke, "What exactly... what exactly did you make me take?" Recalling everything that had happened just now, it must have been the strange red pill her father had given her.

Xiahou Zun said, "The Nine Yang Burning Yin Pill can stimulate the Profound Yin Qi within you. Are you now feeling unbearably hot inside, and the itch is irresistible? In a while, after the Profound Yin Qi is stimulated, you will feel like falling into an ice cave. If the Profound Yin Qi inside you is not released within two hours, your fate will be sealed—only death awaits."

Through his words, Cao Mulan realized the horror of the Nine Yang Burning Yin Pill, and with tears, she said, "Father, you are my father, why do you... want to harm me like this..."

Xiahou Zun said, "I’ve raised you for over twenty years, treated you as a treasure, nurturing you with utmost care. Without me, you wouldn’t have what you have today. Now, my cultivation is on the brink of perfection, and all that’s missing is the east wind. It’s time for you to repay me."

"Father, have you gone mad? Do you even know what you’re saying?"

Xiahou Zun said, "Of course, I do. Mulan, you took the Nine Yang Burning Yin Pill. If no man uses Yin Yang Technique to help you resolve it, today is your death day. Now, I am the only one who can save you. If you cooperate with me, not only will your life be saved, but my divine skill will also be perfected. Such a win-win situation, why resist it?"

Cao Mulan had completely seen through Xiahou Zun’s true colors: "Hongxiu was right, you’re an unforgivable beast. How could you do this to my mother?"

Xiahou Zun said, "It seems there has been a barrier in your heart. There’s something I’ve never told you. I’m not your biological father. That’s why my surname is Xiahou while yours is Cao. There is no blood relation between us, so whatever happens between us, you don’t have to bear any guilt."

Cao Mulan screamed, "Let me go, let me go..." Her scream was not just out of fear, but also in defiance of her increasingly blurred consciousness.

Xiahou Zun approached her step by step with a sinister smile on his face, "Foolish girl, I intend to save you, not to harm you."

Xiahou Zun reached out to Cao Mulan, when suddenly a pellet exploded close to his eyes.

With a "bang!" sound, white smoke rose everywhere. Xiahou Zun secretly thought it was bad. By the time he realized it, it was too late to react. The white smoke enveloped his face, with quite a bit getting into his eyes.

Cao Mulan was also within the range of the smoke, but Xu Chunliang, who had been lying motionless on the ground, immediately covered her eyes, rolling with her away from Xiahou Zun.

Xiahou Zun roared angrily, lifting his foot to stomp where Xu Chunliang had been. His right foot hit the ground, and the green bricks cracked open. This foot could have split stone, and had it landed on someone, it would have surely broken bones and tendons. Unfortunately for Xiahou Zun, he missed, unleashing all his fury onto the green bricks.

Xiahou Zun’s eyes itched and hurt, and the scene before him was blurred. He shouted, "Xu Chunliang, come out to me!"

Xu Chunliang switched to covering Cao Mulan’s mouth and nose. Cao Mulan opened her eyes to see Xiahou Zun, with a lantern in hand, turning around in place, his face covered in white dust, as if he had climbed out of a flour vat. In fact, they were only two meters apart, but Xiahou Zun couldn’t pinpoint their location, his vision clearly heavily impaired.

Xu Chunliang took off a shoe and threw it to the opposite side, the sound of the shoe landing attracting Xiahou Zun’s attention.

Xiahou Zun dashed towards that spot and then struck with a palm. Now completely blinded, he could only rely on sound to judge the opponent’s position.

Generally speaking, a blind person’s hearing is extremely sensitive, but Xiahou Zun had just lost his sight and had not yet adjusted to this state, his first instinct still being to rely on his eyes.

Taking advantage of Xiahou Zun being misled, Xu Chunliang and Cao Mulan rushed into the alley ahead.

Realizing he missed again, Xiahou Zun only then understood that he had fallen for Xu Chunliang’s trick of leading the tiger out of the mountain. Furious, he shouted, "Xu Chunliang, you vile little man, you actually ambushed me!"

Xu Chunliang and Cao Mulan had not yet escaped the Cycle Array. Xu Chunliang, looking at the complex maze ahead, was also at a loss. Last time, he followed the scent on Hongxiu to leave, but this time, the scent wasn’t as strong to guide them. After all, it was designed by the top strategist in history, Guo Jia, and even having walked it once, there was no guarantee of a successful second departure.

Cao Mulan was nearly clinging to him, her breath becoming fiery.

Actually, when Cao Mulan came to Xu Chunliang’s side, he had already woken up, but Xu Chunliang dared not act rashly; he was waiting for the best opportunity.

Xiahou Zun absorbed most of the Inner Strength that Xu Chunliang had painstakingly cultivated. At first, Xu Chunliang tried to resist Xiahou Zun, but the more he resisted, the faster the Inner Strength drained. After grasping the pattern, Xu Chunliang decided to let it flow freely.

In a short period, Xiahou Zun’s siphoning of his Inner Strength left Xu Chunliang’s meridians vacant. Initially, Xu Chunliang thought he was finished, but unexpectedly, Xiahou Zun inadvertently played a role in helping him clear his meridians.

Xu Chunliang originally needed to clear his meridians and refine his essence according to the Book of Changes to recreate his Innate state.

Xiahou Zun directly took away most of his Inner Strength, accelerating the refinement process of the Book of Changes for Xu Chunliang.

After losing the True Essence, Xu Chunliang did not lose consciousness. He knew that in this situation of shifting balance, choosing a head-on confrontation with Xiahou Zun brought no chance of victory, so he decided to play along; he was aware of everything that happened in between.

When Xiahou Zun was unwilling to spare even Yan Hong, Xu Chunliang concluded that this scoundrel would be ruined by greed. Sure enough, Xiahou Zun absorbed the Autumn Death Needle from Yan Hong’s body into his own meridians.

Yet, Xu Chunliang never calculated that Xiahou Zun would be shameless enough to lay hands on his own daughter.

Now everything was clear; Cao Mulan was merely a furnace that Xiahou Zun meticulously cultivated. This martial art Xiahou Zun practiced, for the sake of quick success, used the absorption of others’ internal energy as a means. Although both energies were Inner Strength, the cultivation methods were different, making it a foreign True Qi when absorbed internally.

It resembled organ transplantation in medicine; no matter how healthy the donor is, there will always be some rejection reaction when transplanted into your body. To suppress this rejection, one must take a large amount of anti-rejection medication.

Xiahou Zun’s cultivation method was similar; he had to use a special method to suppress the foreign True Qi within his body. The one-time solution to this problem was to obtain Profound Yin Qi through the Yang and Yin Technique.

To gain Profound Yin Qi, one first needs to find a Profound Yin body. So Xiahou Zun, upon discovering Cao Mulan’s unique constitution, began cultivating her as a furnace from childhood, spending immense effort and cost to nurture her into a Profound Yin body.

In Xiahou Zun’s mind, Cao Mulan belonged to him alone. Once the time was right, he would enjoy the fruits without hesitation, achieving perfect mastery of his divine skill. Before Cao Mulan, Hongxiu was also one of the furnaces.

Xu Chunliang saw Cao Mulan’s consciousness becoming increasingly blurred and pressed her Fengchi acupoint. Her muddled consciousness momentarily cleared, and she pointed ahead: "There!"

Her voice was also captured by Xiahou Zun, who quickly pursued it, but he accidentally collided with the wall of a passageway. In frustration, Xiahou Zun threw the lamp in his hand to the ground forcefully; he had lost his vision, making the lamp cumbersome.

Xiahou Zun thought to himself, this is a recursion formation; these two are taking advantage of my blindness, thinking they can evade my pursuit. I have lived underground for so many years; I know its structure even with my eyes closed. He reminded himself not to be hasty; given the circumstances, grabbing Cao Mulan first was imperative. Once he seized her and obtained the Profound Yin Qi inside her, he would certainly recover.

In Xiahou Zun’s mind was the layout of the supply route. Relying on his memory, he confirmed his location and groped toward the exit.

Xu Chunliang whispered in Cao Mulan’s ear, "Is there somewhere to hide?" Xu Chunliang’s combat power was greatly reduced after Xiahou Zun absorbed most of his Inner Strength, and Cao Mulan was in no condition for a quick escape. The best approach was to use the period of Xiahou Zun’s blindness to find a place to hide, make some adjustments, and look for an opportunity to escape from the tunnel.

Cao Mulan quietly guided him, trying hard to control herself, but her legs continued to weaken. Fortunately, Xu Chunliang’s arm offered support, otherwise she might not have been able to walk.

Xiahou Zun’s voice sounded behind them: "Mulan, don’t trust him; this guy is despicable, intent on your beauty. Think carefully, it’s him who got us into this situation; without him, we’d be fine, how would this conflict exist?"

Cao Mulan’s breathing became intense, her steps unsteady. Xu Chunliang saw her condition, knowing the drug was acting, and quickly held her tight.

Cao Mulan wrapped her arms around Xu Chunliang’s neck, her burning face pressed against his shoulder, and whispered, "Go ahead, turn left, second hole..."

Following her directions, Xu Chunliang reached there and indeed saw the holes in the wall, seven in total, all looking identical. Xu Chunliang pushed Cao Mulan inside and then crawled in himself.

Cao Mulan struggled to crawl six or seven meters but could go no further. Xu Chunliang had no choice but to crawl next to her, allowing her to lie on him as he crawled forward.

After crawling more than ten meters, a small door appeared ahead. They pushed it open, revealing a square storage room. Xu Chunliang brought Cao Mulan down, and as their feet touched the ground, they heard Xiahou Zun’s voice outside: "Mulan, you’re being naughty again, playing hide and seek with me, aren’t you?"