Chapter 896: Grim and Bleak

When the Heart Python left Mo Lian, almost all of his memories had been stolen, leaving only a pair of eyes that seemed to have been drained. As Bai Ye's hand moved away from the back of his head, Mo Lian lost consciousness and fell face first into the snow.

Only then did Chen Ling, from a distance, slightly exhale in relief.

This was the first time Chen Ling had directly experienced the terror of a Seventh-Tier Robbing Saint. Previously, Bai Ye had always been a teammate, and Chen Ling hadn't felt much pressure, but only after Mo Lian stole the Heart Python did he truly realize how powerful Bai Ye was.

Chen Ling never wanted to experience having his memories silently stolen again. He was now incredibly grateful that Bai Ye was an ally, not an enemy.

"You'd best take off that hat," Bai Ye warned. "It still bears a demigod's mark, and there's no telling if the Silver King might use it to attack you."

Chen Ling immediately removed the top hat and threw it far into the snow, where it rolled twice on the ground before falling silent.

"Are you alright?" Bai Ye asked, looking at Chen Ling, who was bleeding from his seven orifices and had a pale face.

"...I'm fine," Chen Ling replied, pointing to the other three people in the distance with a strange expression. "But they seem to be on their last legs..."

Jian Changsheng was still impaled on a tree, pinned down and covered in blood. Sun Bumian had a liver removed and his face was no different from a corpse's. Jiang Xiaohua had almost been split open, lying motionless in the snow like a corpse. Mo Lian alone had almost annihilated them all; the scene before them was undoubtedly "tragic."

"I'll go check on Sun Bumian." Bai Ye immediately picked up the liver from the snow and ran towards the fallen Sun Bumian.

Seeing this, Chen Ling ran directly towards Jian Changsheng.

Jian Changsheng was pinned to the tree, and a pool of blood had formed beneath him. He saw Chen Ling running towards him and his eyes lit up, just about to say something... The next moment, he watched Chen Ling change direction and head straight for Jiang Xiaohua. Jian Changsheng: ???

"Chen Ling!! Where are you going??!"

"You're the hardest to kill out of everyone here, and you won't die anyway, so figure out how to save yourself first."

Jian Changsheng watched wistfully as Chen Ling ran to save Jiang Xiaohua, then began to curse under his breath. After taking a deep breath, he gripped the hilt of the sword impaled in his shoulder with both hands, gradually exerting force...

Bai Ye, holding the liver in one hand, looked gravely at Sun Bumian, who was clutching his stomach with a pained expression.

"Senior Bai Ye..." Sun Bumian felt an ominous premonition rise in his heart as he saw the gravity in Bai Ye's eyes. "You can put it back for me... right?"

Bai Ye gave an awkward laugh. "I'm very good at stealing things, but putting them back exactly as they were... that's difficult."

Sun Bumian's face turned ashen.

"It's alright, just a few more tries, it'll work." Bai Ye muttered. A flash of light, and the liver in his hand vanished. At the same time, a muffled groan escaped Sun Bumian's throat, his eyes uncontrollably rolling upward, leaving only the whites trembling.

"No... the angle's wrong." Seeing this, Bai Ye immediately stole the liver back into his own hand, wiping sweat from his forehead.

"Let's try again, from a different angle..."

Sun Bumian: ...

"The blood vessels aren't aligned... again."

"Still not right. Bear with it, I'll try one more time..."

"Almost there, last time, this really is the last time!"

"Hmm... let me see if I can do better..."

Chen Ling stopped in front of Jiang Xiaohua.

Chen Ling's choice was correct; injuries of that severity couldn't be fatal for Jian Changsheng, but Jiang Xiaohua was truly on the verge of death. Although he had no breath to begin with, Chen Ling could feel his life force gradually weakening with the loss of blood.

At this rate, Jiang Xiaohua would surely die from excessive blood loss within a short time.

"What can I do about this..."

Chen Ling's brows were tightly furrowed. Just as he was about to stop Jiang Xiaohua's bleeding, a faint voice came from beneath him.

"Don't touch me..."

"What?"

"Touching me will bring a curse..." Jiang Xiaohua's head was buried in the snow as he spoke muffledly. "Use fire... Burn my wound to form a scab, and it will heal on its own with time..."

"Burn it with fire?" Chen Ling looked at the gruesome wound that ran through Jiang Xiaohua's body, his brows furrowing tighter. "You'll die from the pain."

"It's alright... I'm used to it."

Chen Ling's heart trembled slightly. He watched Jiang Xiaohua's blood gush uncontrollably and knew he couldn't hesitate any longer. He picked up a few oil lamps from the nearby shop ruins, poured their contents onto Jiang Xiaohua's wound, then lit a flame and brought it close to the wound...

Whoosh—! The next moment, raging flames consumed Jiang Xiaohua's body.

The surrounding snow melted under the scorching flames. Jiang Xiaohua's head remained buried in the snow, without a sound. Even Chen Ling, who was closest, heard not the slightest groan or wail. In the agony of his body being consumed by fire, he was as quiet as a corpse.

Chen Ling watched the scene anxiously. In his perception, Jiang Xiaohua's life force continuously weakened in the flames, as if he might burn to death or die from the pain. In the end, it was as faint as a candle flickering in the wind, liable to extinguish at any moment.

Chen Ling's heart leaped into his throat.

He, Jian Changsheng, Sun Bumian, and Bai Ye had all survived because of him. If Jiang Xiaohua were now to be burned to death because of him, this outcome would be too absurd...

Jiang Xiaohua had experienced everything from their memories and likely knew they were from the Twilight Society. However, Chen Ling had no intention of silencing him. His only thought now was that once everything settled, whether by kidnapping or brainwashing, he would definitely bring Jiang Xiaohua into the Twilight Society. After all, they owed Jiang Xiaohua a huge favor this time.

"Jiang Xiaohua, Jiang Xiaohua??" Chen Ling repeatedly called Jiang Xiaohua's name, trying to get a response.

Jiang Xiaohua didn't respond... But in the wind and snow, several grand and immense presences, like unstoppable mountains, crashed down upon them!

Boom—!!! The familiar imperial pressure struck again, and Chen Ling's mind reeled. He sharply looked up.

At some unknown moment, several colossal figures, emanating vast imperial might, materialized from nothingness. Unlike the emperors encountered in "Hidden Dragon in the Abyss," the imperial divine aura from each of these figures was dozens of times stronger than those emperors'! In this ancient tomb, their presence was scorching and domineering, like scorching suns suspended in the sky, like gods descending upon the mortal world!

"This is bad..." Chen Ling looked down at Jiang Xiaohua in the flames, his heart sinking to rock bottom.