Chapter Sixty-Four: No Solution in Sight

"Are you alright?" Xie Yingying looked at the gash on his arm, asking in surprise.

"I'm fine." Huo Tianqing smiled broadly, though his gaze was as cold as frost. He wiped his hand across the wound, and the electric serpents at the site instantly lost their vitality. The injury began to scab over.

Then his eyes turned to the arrogant electric serpents and iron thorns, but out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a purple-gold bell on Xie Yingying's ankle. His carefree expression vanished at once, replaced by solemn coldness. "Yingying, these things are connected to the purple-gold bell on your foot, aren't they?"

His words were not a question, but a statement.

Seeing he was unharmed, Xie Yingying nearly believed she had almost gotten someone killed, and breathed out in relief. Still, her answer was subdued. "Yes."

Huo Tianqing had steeled himself for this, but hearing her confirmation set alarm bells ringing in his heart, anxiety rising within him. His expression grew fierce, murderous intent blazing in his eyes.

It was the first time in days that Xie Yingying had seen him like this. Startled, she fell into thought, furrowing her brow and murmuring, "How can this be... Nothing happened when others approached me before. Besides, hasn't the purple-gold bell already acknowledged me as its master?"

Huo Tianqing's face darkened at her words, and he hurriedly asked, "What did you say? The purple-gold bell acknowledged you as its master?"

"Yes." Xie Yingying was puzzled by his strong reaction. "Master, is something wrong?"

His hands clenched into tight fists, anger surging within him. Now, he desperately wanted to scold Xie Yingying, but seeing her confusion, he remembered she had only been in the cultivation world for less than a century, ignorant of many things. For the moment, he refrained from reproach, suppressing his temper.

He took several deep breaths to quell his agitation, careful not to frighten her. Keeping three feet of distance, he raised his hand and laid down a shielding array.

His expression was grave. "The purple-gold bell was crafted centuries ago by a mighty cultivator of the immortal sects. He loved someone dearly, but she did not return his affection. So he created the purple-gold bell, gifting it to her on her birthday, coaxing her to publicly accept it as her own. Yet the bell is unique—it is not like other spirit tools, which can only serve one master at a time."

He pressed his lips together, and Xie Yingying's face grew pale as she listened.

"It is the only dual-master artifact in existence. Outwardly, it protects both its masters, but deep within, its true loyalty lies with the stronger one. Later, when the woman he loved gave her heart to another, he activated the bell's secret function, killing her beloved cultivator outright. Now that the bell has attacked me, I suspect Bai Shengyun has forced it to acknowledge him as master as well." Huo Tianqing sighed as he finished.

"This..." Xie Yingying's face was filled with terror and disbelief. "I never thought Bai Shengyun was telling the truth."

"Bai Shengyun's cultivation is on par with mine. Last time we crossed swords briefly, I gauged his current strength. If we truly fought, the outcome would likely be a draw. If I forcibly make the bell recognize another master, it may end up affecting your own spiritual consciousness." The more Huo Tianqing spoke, the colder his expression became.

Seeing Xie Yingying's anxious face, Huo Tianqing felt a pang of compassion and decided to address another matter, lifting his gaze. "How is the primordial power of the celestial fox within you lately?"

"It's been quiet recently, seems a lot better," Xie Yingying answered gloomily.

"Good." Huo Tianqing nodded, then drew a golden, perfectly round bead from the pouch at his waist.

When Xie Yingying saw the bead, she felt a strange sense of familiarity, the vast demon energy connecting directly to the celestial fox power within her.

In an instant, her whole body was wracked with pain as if shattered to dust, the dormant primordial force surging violently, agitating the spiritual energy she had just calmed. Her spiritual power raged—part of it tried to break through her core, causing sharp pain in her abdomen; another part sought to return to the cosmos, injuring her internal organs; the rest battled between the two, seeking to suppress their ambitions.

Xie Yingying felt her once-strong meridians abruptly rupture, countless streams of spiritual energy stalling and clogging right at her heart.

Her heartbeat slowed, blood flowing to her brain became scarce, and soon her vision began to darken.

Seeing her wracked with pain and about to faint, Huo Tianqing immediately withdrew the bead, returning it to his pouch and placing a restriction upon it.

Only then did Xie Yingying feel her blood begin to flow again, surging to her limbs and mind, her icy body gradually warming.

But her shattered meridians would not recover for some time. Though she possessed her former cultivation, she was still a novice in the ways of cultivation, unable to clear the blocked spiritual energy, forced to let it surge back and forth, ravaging her organs.

She lowered her head and vomited a mouthful of blood, rich in spiritual energy, which instantly dissipated into the air.

"It seems the primordial power within you is growing ever more unruly," Huo Tianqing's brows knit tightly.

Hearing this, Xie Yingying, already troubled, grew even more anxious. She couldn't help but recall her eventual fate—destroyed by the primordial power, Bai Shengyun, and his harem. She shuddered.

Though this world of cultivation was cruel and merciless, she had still met many warm, flesh-and-blood people, like the old servant and her fellow disciples. She had lived through this, though barely a hundred years, and many wonders remained unseen. She did not wish to die yet; she still wanted to live.

Thinking of her ultimate demise, Xie Yingying felt only injustice.

She refused to believe that anyone was doomed to die, or in the so-called destiny of the heavens.

Just like the countless cultivators in this world, most pursuing the elusive Dao or aspiring to become true Buddhas or immortals, yet no one considered that this too was a rebellion against fate. Still, none halted their steps, always striving to change themselves.

The light in her eyes grew brighter and brighter, finally blazing with heat, her aura rising steadily.

Huo Tianqing watched her with a complicated expression.

She had always been gifted, he knew, but hadn't expected such a small event to trigger her enlightenment, advancing her state of mind and raising her cultivation.

Then Xie Yingying spoke, asking him, "Master, is there any way to rid myself of this primordial power?"

Huo Tianqing shook his head. "There is not. The primordial power cannot be resolved."

Unwilling to accept this, she declared steadfastly, "I refuse to believe that in a world so vast, there is no way to deal with a single primordial power!"

Though Huo Tianqing didn't wish to discourage her, as far as he knew, all who bore the primordial power ultimately ended up in the underworld, without exception.