Chapter 81: The Crazy Woman Self-Harms, Let Me Stab You Instead!

When Ye Hanyue arrived, she was all smiles, but now her face was darker than the bottom of a pot.

She was filled with rage. Not only did she skip the performance of sisterly affection and calling Ye Qingning her “little sister,” her voice had even turned sharper.

Having lived a second life, Ye Hanyue had heard that the black market had news of the Ziyang Flower. And when she heard a fortune-teller mention someone asking if a box could be opened, the first person she thought of was Ye Qingning.

In her past life, Ye Hanyue had known that Ye Qingning loved to seek fortune readings. The Xizhou black market was also close to Luoyun Sect, a place Ye Qingning often visited.

So when she began to suspect Ye Qingning had also been reborn, it was only natural for her to connect the box and the fortune-telling to Ye Qingning.

She had already anticipated that Ye Qingning would be cautious and wouldn’t easily open the box. Based on her past-life personality, seeking out a fortune-teller to get a reading was exactly what Ye Qingning would do.

The item inside the box could enhance spiritual power for others, but for someone infected by a Gu worm, it would only accelerate the worm’s growth. What a shame Ye Qingning didn’t open it.

Ye Hanyue had also suspected there might be a connection between Ye Qingning and the Ziyang Flower, but what she wanted even more was to get her hands on the flower.

Ever since leaving the Cloud Mountain Secret Realm and returning to Luoyun Sect, Xie Jibai had been ignoring her. After returning, even when she made food for him, he wouldn’t taste it. He looked like he was deep in thought all the time.

In the Secret Realm, she had already noticed that something was off about him and even suspected that he might have remembered something.

Even if he had recalled events from their past lives, she wouldn’t give him back to Ye Qingning. Why should Ye Qingning have gotten Xie Jibai in the previous life and not her in this one? What was she lacking compared to Ye Qingning?

In their past lives, by the time of the Immortal Sect Tournament, Xie Jibai had already reached the Golden Core stage. It was likely he had obtained the Ziyang Flower during this time. The black market, being the closest to the sect, was the most probable place to find it.

She had planned to try her luck there in the next few days anyway, so even though she wasn’t entirely sure, she came that night.

If the flower could help him break through to the Golden Core, she refused to believe he would remain unmoved. And she certainly didn’t believe that a man Ye Qingning could have, she couldn’t take!

Once Penglai Sect was destroyed and Luoyun Sect rose as the number one sect, she would be the sect leader’s wife of the greatest sect!

That night, she had suspected that Ye Qingning was up to something—but she hadn’t expected Ye Qingning to trap her here! Did she forget that the Gu worm was still in Ye Qingning’s body?

“Why aren’t you saying anything, sister? Trapping me with this formation—are you planning to attack me? Then I must remind you, the child Gu is still inside you. If I get hurt, you’re the one who suffers. You can’t do anything to me!”

“Or what, do you need me to jog your memory a little?”

Ye Hanyue truly had a bit of madness in her. As soon as the words left her mouth, a sharp dagger appeared in her hand.

With brutal decisiveness and without the slightest hesitation, she stabbed the dagger into her own abdomen. Blood gushed out instantly.

But the moment she pulled the dagger out, the wound on her stomach miraculously healed—as if she’d never been hurt.

Only the now-heavy black cloak, stained by blood, proved that Ye Hanyue had indeed stabbed herself.

Ye Qingning didn’t feel any pain at first, and the blood didn’t seem significant.

But when Ye Hanyue saw Ye Qingning clutching her abdomen with trembling hands and sweat forming on her forehead, she grinned wickedly, as if finding some twisted satisfaction in her pain.

Her smile was wild. “Look, little sister—when I get hurt, guess who really suffers?”

“You trapped me in here, thinking you’re so clever. Come on then! If you have the guts, try killing me! Let’s see who dies in the end!”

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Ye Hanyue sneered coldly, but perhaps suddenly remembering that Xie Jibai was nearby, she stopped laughing and switched to a pitiful expression, gazing at him with tearful eyes.

“Little Martial Brother, you saw everything. She not only stole our Blue Spirit Spring, but now she’s turning against us. She’s the one who’s gone too far!”

“Our parents planted the Gu worm in her to keep her from hurting me! Don’t be fooled by her delicate, innocent face! I only did this to warn her!”

Ye Hanyue was at the Golden Core stage and hadn’t noticed the three people hiding in the shadows. She assumed the formation was cast by Ye Qingning alone.

Shen Xuanli frowned slightly, his gaze landing on Ye Qingning’s abdomen. But the black cloak obscured the wound beneath, so he didn’t see the grotesque injury.

Lu Linyuan and Wen Xingshu were barely holding back from acting, but Ye Hanyue’s self-inflicted injury made them hesitate.

The Gu curse was still active. If they attacked Ye Hanyue, it was Ye Qingning who would suffer.

Thinking about that—how could they possibly act?

Agonizing pain surged through Ye Qingning’s abdomen. The wound tormented her; the pain surged through her body like a tide. The injury Ye Hanyue inflicted on herself had, thanks to the Gu worm, transferred entirely to Ye Qingning.

And yet, Ye Qingning laughed.

Watching Ye Hanyue go mad and stab herself, she felt no emotion—if anything, she found it amusing.

Again with this trick—same old move from the past life.

Back then, Ye Hanyue had often used this tactic to torment her—hurting herself to make Ye Qingning suffer.

Thankfully, Ye Qingning was a body cultivator. Body cultivators trained by constantly enduring injuries, sometimes even refusing to take healing pills to build natural regeneration. In this life, the crazy woman still wanted to play the same tricks? How boring.

“Finished stabbing? Just one strike? How about I help you with the next one?” Ye Qingning sneered. At some point, a short sword had appeared in her hand.

It gleamed coldly, exuding a chilling aura. She had bought it earlier at a small stall opposite the fortune-teller’s place outside the black market. It was dirt cheap but looked quite reliable.

“You… what are you doing? Are you crazy?!” Ye Hanyue looked at Ye Qingning’s approaching figure, a flicker of fear in her eyes.

If she hadn’t just seen Ye Qingning clutching her abdomen, she might have thought the child Gu had changed hosts! Otherwise, how would Ye Qingning dare charge at her with a sword?

“You’ll know soon enough if I’m crazy,” Ye Qingning smirked. She stepped into her Flowing Cloud footwork, sword in hand, and with a swift twist of her wrist, she thrust it straight at Ye Hanyue’s heart like a sudden storm.

Why settle for blood when what she really needed was heart’s blood?

And she had to be quick, precise, and ruthless—because this sword would, after all, pierce her own heart too.

Fortunately, when Ye Hanyue was injured, the wound would heal instantly—but in that brief moment of injury, it was still possible to extract the heart’s blood.

As long as she could accurately pierce the chest and reach the heart, in that split second before the wound recovered, she could use her magic to draw out the blood she needed.

Even just a few drops would be enough to break the Gu.

As Ye Qingning’s blade closed in on Ye Hanyue’s heart, Ye Hanyue’s pupils shrank. She lunged to grab Ye Qingning’s wrist—but was still a step too slow.

The tip of the sword had already pierced through the fabric over her chest. The cold steel brushing her skin made Ye Hanyue suddenly realize something.

“You… you would rather injure yourself just to attack me—are you trying to take my heart’s blood?!”