“Hey!” Mo Yi raised two fingers and waved them in front of her face. “How many is this?”
Mo Luo Xue regained consciousness from her dizziness. She instinctively released her mouth, and the hot liquid flowed down from the corner of her lips. She raised her hand to wipe it, and what met her eyes was a crimson red.
Mo Luo Xue could clearly see that Mo Yi's face was more refined and handsome than before. But that wasn't the point, the point was that this handsome face, the kind that could make thousands of girls scream, was pale and lifeless, as if it had been covered with thick foundation, snow-white like paper, like a patient with albinism.
“Good thing you're not dead.” Mo Yi retracted his left hand. “Lend me your sleeve.”
Without waiting for Mo Luo Xue to come to her senses, Mo Yi reached out and tore off Mo Luo Xue's sleeve! Her snow-white arm, like a lotus root, was exposed to the air.
“You…” Mo Luo Xue was about to get angry and slap Mo Yi, but her hand stopped halfway.
Mo Yi took the white silk and wrapped it around his wrist. There, a ferocious gash was continuously spurting out blood, the white silk instantly turned blood red, and streaks of liquid dripped from his wrist to the ground.
“…” Mo Luo Xue was stunned. She looked at Mo Yi's profile, a little dazed. If she guessed correctly, the liquid she had swallowed earlier was Mo Yi's blood. Although she didn't know why Mo Yi's blood had the effect of bringing her back to life, the facts were clear – Mo Yi had torn open his wrist to feed his blood to her to save her.
“Will it get infected… I wish I hadn’t used the stone shards.” Mo Yi muttered, looking at the blood-stained silk on his wrist. At the wound hidden by the silk, tiny flesh buds began to appear, mending the gaping wound. The effects of the Marrow Cleansing Pill were still working on Mo Yi.
Mo Yi had come up with this "feeding blood" trick on a whim, but luckily, Mo Luo Xue was successfully saved by his unorthodox method. While the Marrow Cleansing Pill cleansed Mo Yi's body, it also infused his blood with medicinal power. While this power was active, Mo Yi's blood was equivalent to a miracle cure, even a cancer patient could be cured by drinking it!
“The wound shouldn't be bandaged like that, it’s not tight enough.” Mo Luo Xue’s voice sounded softly. Before Mo Yi could react, his injured hand was placed on her lap. Mo Luo Xue lowered her head and unwrapped the silk to re-bandage it. Mo Yi couldn’t see her face, but it must not have been very happy.
“Relax, I'm not that fragile. You think I’m a Pea Princess? This wound is nothing to me.” Mo Yi grinned, but the wound throbbed with pain when it was touched. Anyway, Mo Luo Xue couldn’t see his expression because she was looking down, so let him be cocky for a while.
“I’ll return this favor.” Mo Luo Xue said, her voice devoid of inflection, as if she were talking to a stranger.
Mo Yi smiled silently. He could hear something in Mo Luo Xue’s voice that ordinary people couldn’t perceive, a slight tremor, a crack, and a nameless sense of affection.
“Just be happy.” Mo Yi said softly. “Don’t go running around like an idiot, you’re not worth dying here.”
Mo Luo Xue raised her head and looked at Mo Yi impassively. “What did you call me?”
Mo Yi twitched his lips. “Don't mind the details.”
The two siblings reunited, although not under the most pleasant of circumstances, the outcome was very satisfying.
“Don’t disappear after just two words next time. It’s very worrying. Father told me to take care of you, so I have to fulfill my duty. I’m your brother, you know?” Mo Yi helped Mo Luo Xue to her feet, speaking softly.
Mo Luo Xue didn’t want to be helped, but she was still weak and couldn't move on her own, so she had to let Mo Yi support her.
“Let’s… go.” Mo Yi took Mo Luo Xue’s hand. Mo Luo Xue felt uncomfortable and tried to pull away, but he held it tight, warmth and reassurance radiating from his touch.
The scent of lavender lingered around Mo Luo Xue’s nose. She suddenly looked at Mo Yi beside her. The scent she had smelled while unconscious wasn’t fake, Mo Yi had been with her all along.
“What are you looking at me for? I don’t have a flower on my face.” Mo Yi said with a pout.
Mo Luo Xue tilted her head slightly. “Why are you here? Did the Immortal Path let you in?”
Mo Yi laughed. “Why can’t I be here? Your brother is a brilliant prodigy, a once-in-a-millennia genius, isn’t he?”
Mo Luo Xue wanted to tease Mo Yi, but she inexplicably stopped herself. She didn’t know why, but the reason that made her stop was strange and inexplicable. However, she didn’t say anything, she just bit her lip slightly.
“Let’s go,” Mo Yi said with a faint smile. He took out a double-fish jade pendant from his pocket. The crimson double-fish jade pendant emitted a strange red light, looking incredibly sinister.
“I told you, you have half my immortal destiny.” Mo Yi said softly. He placed the jade pendant in the middle of their clasped hands, their fingers intertwined, with the glowing red double-fish jade pendant nestled between them.
Mo Yi and Mo Luo Xue stepped forward at the same time! They stepped onto the jade steps that symbolized the unknown ahead! This was a checkpoint that only ancient powerhouses had the privilege of passing through. Each person who cleared this checkpoint was a supreme powerhouse, and at this moment, the Mo siblings officially challenged it!
As they stepped onto the jade steps, Mo Luo Xue felt an inexplicable energy descend from above. She looked up to see only blue skies and the scorching sun, occasionally a cloud or two drifted by... yet that intense energy never dissipated!
“Ready?” Mo Yi asked abruptly. Mo Luo Xue looked at him, her eyes full of confusion.
Mo Yi chuckled. “The real challenge is coming up!”
“Boom!” A tangible force slammed down! The entire Immortal Mountain lit up! Dazzling white light enveloped the last hundred meters of the Immortal Path! This time, the pressure blocking Mo Yi and Mo Luo Xue was tangible! It was immense, it was awe-inspiring, it was heavier than the sum of all the pressures they had encountered before on this path. Along with this tangible pressure, a soul-crushing fear invaded their minds. Their hearts felt as if they were weighed down by a towering mountain. Mo Yi and Mo Luo Xue faced the Immortal Mountain’s hostility both mentally and physically!
“Isn't… this interesting?” Mo Yi said, turning his head to look at Mo Luo Xue.
Mo Luo Xue looked at Mo Yi. On his face, she saw excitement and a thirst for battle. This previously kind and lovable panda suddenly revealed its sharp claws, roaring in defiance against the heavens, against fate!
At the two-hundred-meter checkpoint, Xiao Yan stared at the surrounding changes in bewilderment. “This…”
“Someone has reached the final checkpoint… is it him?” The Instrument Elder’s voice rasped.
Xiao Yan was silent. He looked towards the unknown ahead, revealing an expression he never thought he’d see on his face – fear.
At the three-hundred-meter checkpoint.
“Brother Mo Yi, I wish you, a bright… future!” The Apothecary cupped his hands in a salute towards the front. The Confucian scholar next to him also smiled and bowed.
Farther below, even in the middle and lower sections of the path, a ragged boy looked up at the halfway point of the mountain. His pupils were filled with fanaticism and excitement. “I smell it, I smell it!”
“I smell that… intoxicating aroma!”
“The Immortal Path? Destiny?” Mo Yi nodded, looking at the jade steps ahead and smiling, a bright and beautiful smile that made Mo Luo Xue look away.
“These things are destined to be trampled underfoot!” he said.
Then, Mo Yi took Mo Luo Xue's hand and crossed the checkpoint! On the nearly transparent jade steps, two clearly visible footprints were deeply etched.