Chapter 493: Chapter 59: Yue Jinghua’s Death
Huo Fengyan sized up Yue Jinghua, the young mercenary before her, noticing his exceptionally clear eyes.
The three Holy Beasts that had entered the Opportunity Transmission Array each had their own targets to capture.
When Huo Fengyan volunteered to capture the July Team, Tu Sanbian meaningfully warned her to be particularly cautious of that young team leader mercenary.
According to Tu Sanbian, that young mercenary had the eyes of an eagle and the cunning heart of a fox.
Indeed, just as Tu Sanbian mentioned, when the young mercenary was trapped in the illusion, his clear eyes showed not the slightest hint of confusion.
"Did you realize early on that we tampered with the Transmission Array?" When the Sky Dragon Palace first appeared, the Four Great Holy Beasts of the Five Saints Mountain had already entered the Sky Dragon Palace ahead of everyone else.
As the king of the avian clan, Huo Fengyan was the first to reach the Dragon Palace.
Unfortunately, no matter how they searched, they could not find any trace of the Dragon Transformation Pond. After considering the prophecy of the Water Mermaid Pearl, they believed that among the forces about to enter the Sky Dragon Palace, there had to be one person carrying the secret to unlocking the Dragon Transformation Pond.
"Su Xi, if the one from the Five Holy Beasts, Su Xi, has also entered the Sky Dragon Palace, then I have every reason to believe that the rest of the Four Great Holy Beasts have also entered. Where have my companions gone?" Facing one of the Five Holy Beasts, Huo Fengyan, Yue Jinghua had to be cautious.
Right now, she was more concerned about the whereabouts of her other companions who entered the Opportunity Transmission Array and people like Xie Yu.
The illusion just now was perilously dangerous – a slight misstep could spell doom.
"Giggle giggle," Huo Fengyan laughed merrily, her body’s Dark Power surging wave after wave.
Yue Jinghua felt an unbearable heat all over her body, and the surrounding soil was baked into scorched earth.
Strong, Huo Fengyan was very strong.
Yue Jinghua took a furtive glance around, already planning at least three or four escape routes in her mind.
Plan one: Slip into Mo Xi’s Sea of Consciousness.
Plan two: Use the Small Cloud Trace Steps to escape.
Plan three: Summon all of the Little Xuan Beasts and fight to the death.
Plan four...
There was no plan four. The appearance of several individuals before her instantly overturned all of Yue Jinghua’s plans.
"Companions? Aren’t they right before your eyes?" Huo Fengyan flicked her wrist delicately, producing a sharp sound.
Suddenly, several people appeared before her eyes; Weiwei, Shalman, Chi Xi, Feng Buhui, and Qin Dongting were all tied up within several fiercely burning Nirvana Fire Arrays.
With each inhalation and exhalation of the Nirvana Fire, everyone’s faces showed expressions of agony.
The members of the July Team were all bound, unable to see through the illusion, and had fallen into the hands of Huo Fengyan.
"Brother Yue."
"Jinghua."
"Captain."
"Bloodstained White Lotus, Holy Beasts emerge together, blood flows into rivers, the Dragon Transformation Pond reveals itself. A few lines of Ancient Beast Race script carved on the Opportunity Transmission Array clearly indicate that to open the Dragon Transformation Pond, a river of blood must flow. I’m not usually fond of killing, but for the Dragon Transformation Pond to see the light of day again, I must begin a massacre. From the illusion earlier, I can tell you are a person with loyalty and righteousness. Given that, I will give you two choices," Huo Fengyan plucked a phoenix feather, which instantly transformed into a flaming Nirvana Fire Array.
"Before you are six Nirvana Fire Arrays; if you live, they die, if you die, they live," Huo Fengyan looked at Yue Jinghua with a mocking expression.
The latter’s eyes remained clear and undisturbed, but when they turned towards the newly ignited Nirvana Fire Array, the only thing left in his gaze was a blaze of firelight.
"No, Brother Yue," Weiwei had just begun to speak when Huo Fengyan raised an eyebrow. In the Nirvana Fire Array where Weiwei was, flames shot up high, and Weiwei let out a pained cry.
"It seems your bond is much deeper than I imagined," Huo Fengyan hadn’t expected that it would take her so much time just to deal with the July Mercenary Team. She pointed at Qin Dongting and her beautiful eyes filled with a hint of mockery: "Do you know what he saw in his illusion?"
"Shut up," Qin Dongting, usually the epitome of calm, disregarded the threat of the Nirvana Fire Array and let out a roar of anger.
Yue Jinghua took a deep breath, "Self-immolation?"
"No," the members of the July Team exclaimed in shock.
"One for five, I’m not at a loss. Have you forgotten? Your captain never makes a losing deal," Yue Jinghua joked, her mind already made up. In the worst-case scenario, she still had her Second Primordial Spirit.
After all, Qing Pu also existed with just his Second Primordial Spirit after his physical body was destroyed. She thought she could do the same.
Huo Fengyan’s power was too formidable; a head-on collision would likely end with her rage burning all the other members of the July Team to death.
In her past life, she was utterly alone, without even half a loyal teammate. This life, she was determined to protect the lives of her comrades.
Yue Jinghua gritted her teeth and thought to herself: I’ll take this gamble.
Paying no mind to the cries from Shalman, Weiwei, Chi Xi, and others, nor the angry hisses from Feng Buhui and Qin Dongting, she walked with heavy steps towards the Nirvana Fire Array.
A flicker of disbelief passed through Huo Fengyan’s eyes, astonished that within the Human Race, too, there were those willing to sacrifice themselves for others.
Not until Yue Jinghua stepped into the Nirvana Fire Array did the Nirvana Fire suddenly surge up several zhang high, completely enveloping Yue Jinghua.
The scent of burning flesh and bone lingered, and throughout it all, Yue Jinghua never took a step back.
Huo Fengyan stood frozen for a moment, then with a long sigh and fluttering phoenix feathers, she vanished.
The members of the July Mercenary Team stumbled and fell to the ground.
Shalman covered his mouth, looking at the charred body standing unyielded in the Nirvana Fire Array, tears swirling in his eyes.
Feng Buhui knelt on the ground, angrily striking the earth.
Qin Dongting bit his lip hard, biting down tightly, oblivious to the pain until he tasted blood.
Not until the Nirvana Fire Array extinguished did Chi Xi pull out the charred corpse of Yue Jinghua.
"Let’s take the captain back," Chi Xi sobbed, wanting to step forward to extinguish the Nirvana Fire Array.
"No, you go forward," the speaker was Weiwei, though her eyes were as red as two peaches, her tone was firmer than ever before.
"Go forward?" Chi Xi looked at Weiwei, puzzled.
As the only reserve team member, Weiwei seldom spoke up. Most of the time, she just quietly listened to Yue Jinghua’s words. It was clear that she was very fond of the captain.
The captain’s death was undoubtedly a huge blow to her.
"The captain did not like giving up halfway," Weiwei hugged the charred corpse of Yue Jinghua and enunciated each word: "I will stay here with the captain, you all continue forward to find the Dragon Transformation Pond. Our goal for this journey is to find the Dragon Transformation Pond. As long as one of you finds it and successfully ascends to the Dan Realm, you can avenge the captain."
"Avenge!" Remembering the moment Yue Jinghua stepped into the Nirvana Fire Array, remembering Huo Fengyan’s mockery, the flames of vengeance were once again ignited in their hearts.
After discussing, they decided to leave Weiwei behind and proceed together.
After watching her teammates leave, Weiwei gazed dazedly at the unrecognizable corpse of Yue Jinghua, and whispered softly, "Brother Yue, last time you were injured for me, this time, it’s my turn to repay you."
She slowly stood up, faced the position of the Nirvana Fire Array, and bowed deeply.