Chapter 571 The Elixir of Life in One Though
Ding Nan had always had an innate fear and feeling of self-abasement toward Zhou Qin. This fear and self-abasement were rooted in the depths of her heart, and even she herself was not willing to admit to it.
At first, this fear and inferiority had stemmed from Zhou Qin's powerful family background. However, as their fates had changed gradually, they had both become cultivators. Even so, Ding Nan was extremely unwilling to admit that in terms of cultivation, Zhou Qin was still superior to her!
Especially after the Taoist assembly, Zhou Qin's fierce and desperate style greatly shocked her, making her subconsciously believe that she could not defeat Zhou Qin, so she had to use despicable means to have even a ghost of a chance of winning.
For the sake of this chance of victory, she would not mind killing a few people, even if these people had once been her classmates.
Therefore, when she saw Zhou Qin suddenly going all out, she was so scared that she immediately took a few steps back. She did not dare to confront her head-on and wanted to escape subconsciously.
However, she had only taken a few steps back when she saw Alba, who was not far away, staring blankly into the dark abyss of the valley. Suddenly, she had thought. She flashed over, and her five hook-like fingers wrapped around Alba's throat.
She shouted, "How dare you try to kill me? I'll kill her right away!"
At this time, Zhou Qin just rushed over to her, and the Vulcan's Whip in her hand almost tore the air apart as she cracked it at Ding Nan's face.
Seeing that Ding Nan had taken Alba hostage, Zhou Qin immediately shook her wrist. The Vulcan's Whip narrowly grazed Ding Nan's cheek and Alba's body. With a bang, it snapped against the cliff wall. The hard rocks were smashed to pieces, and countless bits of rubble flew in all directions.
Zhou Qin was so angry that she was trembling all over. She approached Ding Nan step by step on the rope, saying angrily, "Ding Nan, are you crazy? Have you lost your humanity?"
Ding Nan laughed angrily, grabbing Alba, and moving back step by step. "Lost my humanity? When you pushed me downstairs, did you have humanity, huh?"
Zhou Qin was furious. "When did I ever push you? It was you who lost your footing!"
Ding Nan angrily yelled, "What's the difference between that and a push?" She was riled up and squeezing Alba's neck with her five fingers hard. Instantly, Alba's face turned purple and she desperately tried to struggle, but the stranglehold on her throat was like steel, making it impossible for her to break free.
Zhou Qin slowed down her pace immediately. She took a deep breath and said in a cold voice, "Ding Nan, in that case, even if I jump down on my own, do you think Zhao Yujian will let you go? Even if he does let you go, do you think my family will let you off? If I die, you and your family will perish. If I live, your family will be able to live! Life and death are decided by such simple choices. Tell me, if you were me, what would you choose?"
Ding Nan trembled all over, and she screeched hysterically, "But why should poor people like me die, while rich people like you survive? Why? Who can tell me why?"
Zhou Qin said angrily, "Is poverty the reason you've gone crazy? Li Yundong is much poorer than you. Have you ever seen him behave like this? Ding Nan, put down the butcher's knife and become a Buddha! Hurry up and turn back! It's not too late! Don't let your hands be stained with blood when it's too late to turn back!"
Ding Nan's eyes were full of tears, but she giggled and her voice turned hysterical and creepy. "It's too late! Since you became Li Yundong's disciple and I became Zheng Yuan's disciple, everything has become futile! Can you reverse the flow of time and start again from the beginning? No, no matter how powerful you are!"
As she spoke, she continued dragging Alba and stepped back step by step. Her eyes gradually became cold. She warned Zhou Qin, "If you get any closer, I'll kill her! But you have to remember, you're the cause of her death!"
Zhou Qin knew that if she went forward to stop her, Alba would definitely die. Although she was sometimes harsh, she was not a naturally cold-blooded animal. Otherwise, she would not have been soft-hearted enough to let Ding Nan go when she betrayed her.
Zhou Qin gritted his teeth and watched was Alba was dragged further into the deep night by Ding Nan.
Right now, Kris, who had been trapped in the tree, released a cry that sounded like she was on the verge of despair. "No! Let her go!"
However, as soon as Kris' voice sounded, a streak of golden light flashed through the heavy darkness like lightning, stabbing towards her.
Zhou Qin immediately shook her wrist and intercepted the golden light.
However, this golden light seemed to have been expecting her to do this. In an instant, it turned and bypassed the Vulcan's Whip. With a swoosh, it went straight through the green pine that Kris was holding.
This pine tree had been dragged by John and Kris, and it would break at any time. At this time, it had been penetrated, so it broke with a crack right away.
Kris let out a scream, and her body fell to the ground in an instant.
Zhou Qin's eyes were sharp and her hands were swift. With a shake, the whip wrapped itself around Kris' waist. She glanced at a protruding boulder not far away and said to Kris, "Hold onto that rock!"
Kris felt her body become light, and then she flew over to the giant rock. She immediately hugged it with both hands, then finally tumbled away from the Gates of Hell, narrowly surviving.
After Zhou Qin saved Kris, she roared angrily, "Ding Nan, are you not willing to let these innocent people go?"
Ding Nan laughed and said, "Only if you surrender and let me kill you!"
Zhou Qin sneered through gritted teeth, "Dream on!"
Ding Nan snorted and said, "Then don't blame me for being rude!" As she said this, she sank into the dark night and manipulated the Threaded Hairpin of Soul Traversal, attacking Zhou Qin fiercely.
Because Zhou Qin had come out in a hurry, she hadn't brought a powerful magical weapon like the Chiyue, which was obviously a controlled saber. She didn't have the Seven-Treasure Tips like Li Yundong, so she only carried the Vulcan's Whip with her. At this time, when dealing with the attack of the Threaded Hairpin of Soul Traversal, although she was able to protect herself, Ding Nan shamelessly attacked Kris, who was still clinging to the giant stone, from time to time when she found that she was at a disadvantage.
This way, Zhou Qin had no strength to fight back. The longer she fought, the harder it was for her to attack and the angrier she became.
Although Zhou Qin was enraged, she was thinking quickly about possible countermeasures. As she was considering her tactics, she suddenly heard a loud bang ring out from the Capital Heaven Peak not far away. It was as if countless dragons and tigers were roaring in unison. A colorful light rose up and rushed to the sky, piercing through the clouds!
This strange situation immediately made both of them look at the light. They had never seen such a magical scene before, so they were stunned for a moment.
For a moment, Kris also forgot her dangerous situation and the tragedy that had befallen John and Alba. She raised her head and looked up at the colorful, dazzling light column coming from Tiandu Peak that was piercing through the sky.
In Kris's mind, a voice was continuously resounding. "Was this what you wanted? Was this the power you wanted? What exactly could it bring you? How much were you going to pay for it? Everything?"
Just as Kris looked at the colorful light column in a daze, Ding Nan, who had hidden in the night, suddenly felt a powerful Aura rushing over to her in the blink of an eye. She was shocked and wanted to fight back subconsciously, but then she heard a familiar voice shouting, "How dare you! Don't you even know me?"
Ding Nan turned her head and saw Zheng Yuan standing next to her and looking in the direction of Tiandu Peak with her eyes shining.
She immediately stopped, smiled awkwardly, and loosened her grip on Alba's throat. "Master, where are Zi Yuan and the others?"
His face darkened and he said in a cold voice, "Those two little b*tches are playing guerrilla warfare with me! Humph, just ignore them! They won't dare to get close to me!"
As he said this, he glanced at Alba, who was already scared out of her wits, and asked coldly, "Who is she?"
Ding Nan snorted and said, "Some exchange students from Tiannan University. She's Li Yundong's classmate."
"Classmate?" he narrowed his eyes and said in a sinister smile, "In that case, let's take her as a hostage!"
She hesitated for a moment before saying, "But, Master, she seems to have almost nothing to do with him."
At this time, he had other things on his mind. He said impatiently without thinking, "That's because you can't get any more valuable hostages! It's better to have someone than no one at all! What's more, even if there are no hostages, do you still fear that I won't be able to get the Diyuan Jindan with the Hell Wuzhang Enchanting Jade on my side?"
Hearing his unkind tone, she sneered in her heart. "Old fool, you can't catch Zi Yuan and Su Chan, so you're taking your anger out on me?"
Although she thought this in the heart, she didn't dare to openly complain, so she changed the subject. "Master, what happened to the colorful light column just now?"
His eyes shone brightly as he looked at Tiandu Peak. His voice was filled with uncontrollable fanaticism and excitement as he said, "Diyuan Jindan, the Diyuan Jindan has appeared!"
She was shocked. "So fast?"
He stared at the colorful light column and said, "Did you think it would take dozens of days? Humph, let's go!"
As soon as he finished speaking, countless green lights flashed in the sky. It was as if countless cultivators had appeared in the blink of an eye and rushed madly to Tiandu Peak!
He laughed and said, "They're all here! My dear disciple, we can't lag behind! Let's go!" As he said this, he pulled Ding Nan over, and Ding Nan grabbed Alba. The three of them flashed and disappeared on the spot.
At this time, when Su Chan and Zi Yuan saw Zheng Yuan leave, they found the courage to show themselves and approach Zhou Qin.
When Zhou Qin saw the two of them, she immediately exclaimed, "Are you all right? What was that light just now?"
Zi Yuan said with a stern look, "The Diyuan Jindan has appeared! I didn't expect it to come so fast!"
Su Chan saw the constantly flashing green light around her as cultivators flew towards Tiandu Peak one after another. She said anxiously, "Let's hurry up. What are we waiting for?"
Zhou Qin pointed at Kris, who was trapped on the rock, and said, "What about her? Do you want to take her with you?"
Zi Yuan immediately frowned and said decisively, "No, there will definitely be a fight on Tiandu Peak later. It will be extremely fierce. For someone like her, who doesn't have the slightest self-protection ability, it will definitely spell trouble! Why don't we have her stay on the rope for now? At least it will be safe here. Let's come back and find her later. How about that?"
Zhou Qin thought for a moment, then quickly flashed over to the front of Kris, hugged her, and jumped onto the section of rope that had not been cut off by Ding Nan. "Kris, we are going to Capital Heaven Peak to help Li Yundong. Don't move, stay here, and we'll come back to you later. Okay?" she said.
Kris seemed to be dumbfounded this moment. She stared straight at Zhou Qin, not saying a word.
Zhou Qin was burning with anxiety. Seeing that Kris wasn't saying anything, she thought that she had agreed. Then, with the help of the other two, they flew together to Tiandu Peak.
Kris saw the three of them fly away. The Huangshan Cableway, which had been full of murderous intent just now, became extremely quiet. The night wind blew over, the cliff wall was dense, and the dam was cold. The surrounding air gave off a frigid chill.
Kris' eyes stared fixedly at the seven-colored beam of light shining from Tiandu Peak. The sentence John had said to her suddenly echoed in her mind: "Kris, if there is a chance, you must tell me... how cultivation feels?"
These words continuously echoed through her mind, and her eyes gradually began to glitter with a stubborn and persistent gaze.
Suddenly, she jumped up and began crazily running in the direction of Tiandu Peak!