For You

Xu Ya was no longer the timid, frail girl she used to be.

Ever since An Jiaze had dragged her into the dungeon and locked her up with Shen Qi and A Xi, Xu Ya had kept a constant eye on Shen Qi’s every move.

She had no choice. She was afraid Shen Qi might steal the male lead—or worse, that she wouldn’t live long enough to finish her part in the story.

It wasn’t that she was shameless enough to think she belonged in the male lead’s circle.

But relationships between people were built over time, through shared struggles and mutual support. Bonds formed quickly under such circumstances.

The male lead was such an outstanding person. It wasn’t strange for him to look after a couple of useless stragglers, right? Besides, Xu Ya had noticed he seemed to really enjoy the fried chicken she made.

Every time he ate it, he gave her the kind of feedback she loved to see.

As fellow fried chicken enthusiasts, Xu Ya felt a kind of unspoken connection with the male lead. Even if that wasn’t the case, their fates were already tied together.

She sat on the ground, facing Shen Qi, with A Xi in her arms. She kept a bit of distance between them, just in case Shen Qi was suddenly activated by Master Xu and launched an attack.

Xu Ya’s posture was defensive in every way, but she wasn’t worried about Shen Qi noticing.

After months of observation, Xu Ya had formed a small suspicion: she believed Shen Qi was a talisman puppet controlled by Master Xu.

According to the fragmented manual, Master Xu had once been a rare talisman prodigy from a sect in the Yunmeng Immortal Marsh. The strange markings on Shen Qi’s hands, along with the way she would occasionally freeze up like a broken machine, had led Xu Ya to piece it all together.

Maybe Master Xu didn’t even care to hide Shen Qi’s identity. After all, he had personally recommended her to Xu Ya, and Xu Ya couldn’t have refused.

Master Xu just wanted to disgust her—and to disgust Shi Yuzhen.

Xu Ya clutched A Xi tightly, her wary and resistant gaze hidden beneath her bangs. A Xi, on the other hand, wasn’t thinking that deeply. His cheeks were flushed as he nestled in Xu Ya’s arms. He didn’t understand what prison was. All he knew was that being with Xu Ya made him feel happy and safe. He simply wrapped his arms around her.

Xu Ya thought A Xi was scared too, and a pang of guilt rose in her heart.

The two of them were practically glued together.

Not good! Master Xu sensed that the two talisman puppets he had sent to eliminate Shi Yuzhen were being scorched by True Fire. He had infused the talismans he gave to Master Chen with a trace of his spiritual energy, so any mishap would be reflected back to him. Now, a rune on his arm was being corroded by an equally powerful True Fire. As he stared at the patch of skin rapidly festering, he was both shocked and confused—how could Shi Yuzhen wield such potent True Fire?

His expression darkened. A twisted smile curled on his lips as his fingers moved without pause. He immediately activated Shen Qi: kill Xu Ya!

Shen Qi responded almost instantly. She suddenly pitched forward, her hair brushing against Xu Ya’s shoes.

Xu Ya was already on high alert. The moment Shen Qi moved, she sprang into action, pulling A Xi back several steps to avoid the strange posture Shen Qi had taken.

Shen Qi crashed to the ground without a sound. Like a puppet controlled by invisible strings, her limbs began to twist unnaturally. In the blink of an eye, Xu Ya watched her arm morph into a blade, slashing straight toward her face!

Xu Ya was no longer as weak as before. Thanks to her fried chicken and the male lead’s nourishing gifts, she could now dodge some cultivators’ basic attacks with ease.

Still, she wasn’t fast enough to completely avoid it. A long, thin gash appeared on her cheek.

Xu Ya didn’t even notice. She flung A Xi aside. “Run! Split up! Don’t get caught!”

A Xi was a smart child. He understood Xu Ya’s instructions and bolted in the opposite direction.

But he was also stubborn. When he saw Xu Ya injured, he turned back and tried to flank Shen Qi from behind, hoping to give Xu Ya a chance to escape.

But he was just a kid. He barely managed to grab Shen Qi’s waist before she began to shake him off. Enraged, Shen Qi actually went against Master Xu’s command, switching targets. Driven by her own will, she raised her bladed arm to strike A Xi. The next second, it would come down on him!

Xu Ya couldn’t bear to see a child sacrifice himself for her. Panic surged in her chest, and for a moment, she was at a complete loss.

Then she charged at Shen Qi. A sudden idea struck her. She pulled out an endless supply of oil from her treasure pouch and hurled it straight at Shen Qi’s face.

Her aim was decent. The oil drenched Shen Qi from head to toe!

The slick, greasy liquid coated Shen Qi’s senses, wrapping around her entire head.

“A Xi, get down!”

Xu Ya formed a seal and ignited the flames.

In an instant, Shen Qi’s head burst into roaring fire.

But Xu Ya’s fire control technique was just a basic spell, with no special enhancements. Shen Qi’s hair was completely burned off, and her face was starting to melt, but as a low-level cultivator, she still had enough strength to move.

Even through the distortion, Xu Ya could see the fury in her eyes!

Shen Qi, now a blazing figure, charged at Xu Ya with a twisted gait. Xu Ya didn’t hesitate. She poured more oil along Shen Qi’s path.

She watched as the flaming figure slipped comically on the slick floor, trying to get up—only to slide again the moment her hand touched the ground.

Xu Ya quickly formed another set of seals and ignited more flames on Shen Qi!

If she was made of paper, then fire would burn her! If she was made of paper, then fire would burn her!

Suddenly, a streak of fire descended from the sky, piercing through the dungeon and landing squarely on Shen Qi’s twisted, crawling body.

For the first time, Shen Qi screamed and wailed like a living person as she burned in the inferno.

Xu Ya felt a pang of guilt, but she had no choice. Her spells were weak, but if Shen Qi was made of paper, then fire would burn her!

Shi Yuzhen’s Ink Sword split open the dungeon lock. She summoned Nascent Soul-level True Fire and ignited the oil on the ground.

This fire could not be extinguished. It quickly engulfed the entire dungeon.

Xu Ya grabbed A Xi and rushed toward Shi Yuzhen, narrowly avoiding the searing flames.

Shi Yuzhen suddenly opened her arms and pulled them both into an embrace, instantly leaping out of the blast zone.

At that moment, two inextinguishable fires blazed across the Yunmeng Immortal Marsh. The cultivators, sensing something was wrong, began rushing toward both locations.

Meanwhile, having lost his backup plan, Master Xu had no choice but to give up on the juicy prize that was Shi Yuzhen—for now.

He turned his sights on An Jiaze. Just as An Jiaze was breaking through to the peak of his cultivation, Master Xu flicked his sleeve, unleashing a barrage of talismans that shattered the protective barrier An Jiaze had set for himself!

An Jiaze turned around in shock. When he saw that familiar face, he gasped so hard he coughed up a mist of blood and collapsed to his knees.

He shouted for the outer guardians, but no one answered.

They had already been silently slaughtered by Master Xu.

Now, only a row of skeletons lay scattered across the path, no one left to respond to An Jiaze.

Sensing the danger, An Jiaze quickly pulled out a handful of healing pills and shoved them into his mouth, boosting his energy circulation and casting a spell to disrupt Master Xu’s talisman illusions.

Rong Aoqing and Yu Manjing, who had been lying in wait, burst into An Jiaze’s now-ruined cultivation cave after receiving an urgent message from Cai Wenle.

An Jiaze was losing ground under the pressure of Master Xu’s talisman spells. When the others charged in, he looked up in his battered state and met their eyes.

They understood instantly. Rong Aoqing and the others pointed their swords at the frenzied Master Xu to protect An Jiaze.

An Jiaze had no choice but to trust their goodwill for now and began gathering his spiritual energy.

Having already lost to Shi Yuzhen, Master Xu now had nothing left. He let out a strange, low chuckle as a dark, sinister aura spread from his body. His once neatly groomed hair suddenly exploded outward, turning into a wild mane of thick black strands.

Master Xu had finally succumbed to his inner demons, merging completely with his true body, releasing waves of black sand with a hiss.

“So it really was you, Master Xu.” Cai Wenle could no longer deceive himself at the sight of that all-too-familiar black sand. “Why did you slaughter cultivators so wantonly?! Why did you secretly plot to body snatch Senior Brother Shi?! Answer me! Master Xu!!”

Master Xu’s face was twisted, as if he could no longer comprehend who was speaking to him. He simply let out a chilling laugh. “Hahahahahahahaha… hehehehehehe!!!”

An Jiaze was stunned. “What? He… he was trying to body snatch?”

Rong Aoqing explained coldly, “There’s no time to explain now. First, we subdue this deranged Master Xu, then we interrogate him!”

An Jiaze, still shaken, nodded in agreement.

In the next moment, An Jiaze, Cai Wenle, Rong Aoqing, and Yu Manjing all channeled the qi from their dantians and launched it straight at Master Xu’s vital points.

Master Xu giggled eerily, showing no fear at all. His hair slowly extended throughout the entire cave residence, growing increasingly grotesque and sinister.

The strands of hair grew at an unnatural speed, like wild weeds sprouting from the ground—denser and longer by the second—gradually wrapping around the four of them.

Suddenly, they all felt short of breath. A powerful suction force seemed to be drawing out the spiritual energy that had gathered around their bodies!

Something was wrong with that black hair!

An Jiaze made a snap decision, just about to voice his conclusion, when he was caught off guard. The strands of hair wrapped around him completely, forming a tight cocoon, and he vanished without a sound.

Cai Wenle and the others cried out in alarm. “No! An Jiaze!! Damn it…”

Rong Aoqing remained calm, wielding her sword to slash at the strange strands of hair one after another. But the hair was like flowing water—impossible to sever completely. Even when cut, it regenerated instantly from the break, endlessly and inexhaustibly!

Shi Yuzhen and Xu Ya arrived just in time. Without pausing for even a second, Shi Yuzhen channeled her spiritual energy and enveloped the entire cave.

She summoned her True Fire to burn through the cave’s interior. A warm yet powerful protective barrier immediately formed around Xu Ya, shielding both her and A Xi from the scorching flames.

Seeing that she could move freely within the barrier, Xu Ya quickly made her way to the black cocoon that appeared to be An Jiaze. Yu Manjing, noticing this, immediately stopped her attacks and rushed to help Xu Ya free him.

The hair had wrapped around An Jiaze in an instant, but even with Yu Manjing using nearly all her strength, it was incredibly difficult to cut through the entanglement. Finally, with the combined efforts of the two women and A Xi’s tiny hands pulling at the strands, An Jiaze’s pale face slowly emerged from the tangled mess.

When An Jiaze saw Xu Ya, he was surprised at first. But the hair was wrapped so tightly that he couldn’t breathe, let alone ask, “What are you doing here?”

Xu Ya didn’t hesitate. She took out some Fried Chicken, quickly tearing it into pieces and feeding them to An Jiaze.

If An Jiaze had been in his right mind, he would never have eaten food of unknown origin from Xu Ya.

But now, so weak he was barely clinging to life, all his former pride and vigor gone, he could only accept the shredded Fried Chicken piece by piece as she fed it to him.

Thanks to Xu Ya’s well-nourished constitution, the Fried Chicken’s effects were even more potent.

An Jiaze immediately felt warmth spreading through his entire body, a strange yet comforting heat flowing from his limbs and bones into his dantian.

The internal injuries inflicted by Master Xu’s attack were gradually neutralized by this mysterious power. In less than a moment, he had recovered seventy percent of his strength.

He broke free from the suffocating entanglement on his own.

Seeing Shi Yuzhen, Master Xu nearly lost his mind. His hair, as if sensing its master’s emotions, began to float wildly through the air, spreading like some kind of contaminant.

For you! To obtain you!!! All of this was a necessary sacrifice!!

Hahahahahahaha!!