Chapter 165: Necromancy Resurrection Pill

Qin Chuchu's thought was entirely correct. Those people were all fickle opportunists, and among them was even the Beast Taming Sect, a sworn enemy of the Heavenly Star Sect. If they stayed together, there was no guarantee that Buzhan wouldn't stab them in the back and kick them while they were down.

Therefore, she led Ge Qian and the others away in a streak of escaping light toward another direction.

Buzhan sneered and said, "Fellow cultivators, look at how arrogant she is acting! Just because she has a bit of strength? But they are isolated and helpless; sooner or later, they will suffer a huge loss. Everyone, pay no mind to them. From now on, our Beast Taming Sect will protect everyone's safety!"

Master Six-Brows smiled slightly and said, "Then in the future, we shall have to trouble Fellow Daoist Bu greatly."

"Certainly, certainly. Let us go!" After saying this, Buzhan took the lead, projecting an air of supreme heroism as if none could compare to him.

The others followed closely behind him, stepping into the air and departing.

***

Just as everyone departed, a thousand zhang beneath Scattered Dragon City, a secret chamber was enshrouded by an immensely powerful formation.

The secret chamber was not large, measuring about a hundred mu in circumference. Inside, it was partitioned into several rooms for daily living and cultivation.

In the central chamber, the spiritual Qi was dense. A three-zhang-tall blood-red altar stood there, upon which lay a purely innocent and beautiful woman in white. Her aura flickered between existence and non-existence, appearing extremely eerie.

A tall, robust man with an ugly appearance and a haggard face—though his eyes flashed with brilliant, piercing light—muttered to himself, "After expending my fundamental vital essence, I have finally refined the Necro Soul-Returning Pill. I hope this can awaken Lu Xiaoxue, obtain the True Essence of Artifact Refining, and repair the Demonic Dragon Blade!"

With that, he spread out his palm. In the center of his palm rested a pale black pill, radiating dense soul power fluctuations as if imbued with fresh, vibrant life.

With a flick of his finger, the pill transformed into a fragrant medicinal mist that drilled straight into the woman's nostrils through her nose.

The man's expression grew even more solemn. He sat cross-legged and cast countless incantations.

With a muffled roar, the altar suddenly erupted with a sheet of blood mist that seeped into the woman's body. He immediately increased the output of his Dharmic power to transmit it continuously.

Consuming his Dharmic power endlessly like this for three days and three nights, the altar finally began to calm down. The blood mist vanished, and the woman's complexion turned rosy, hinting at a trace of returning vitality.

The man was drenched in sweat all over, and his face was deeply haggard. Evidently, the continuous casting of spells for three days and three nights had kept him barely hanging on.

Looking at the woman who had regained her vitality, exhausted and weary, he leaned sideways against the stone wall.

At that moment, the woman's hand twitched slightly. She slowly opened her eyes, looked at the man, furrowed her brows, and sat up from the altar with difficulty.

She asked in a soft voice, "Who are you, and what is this place?"

Finally, a dazzling radiance returned to the man's eyes. Excitedly, he said, "Xue'er, you're awake! Two hundred years... I've finally snatched you back from the hands of the Grim Reaper! Do you know who I am?"

As he finished speaking, black Qi rolled across his face, transforming him into a handsome yet eerie young man with a high, straight nose and deep, wicked eyes.

Lu Xiaoxue's gaze turned sharp, and she nearly fainted. Pointing at the eerie young man, she cursed bitterly, "Xie Jiu, you scoundrel! I'm going to kill you and avenge my father!"

Xie Jiu said with a painful expression, "Xue'er, listen to me. I, Xie Jiu, am not the one who murdered the sect master. You didn't understand the situation back then. It was Lu Jie who was exploited by Xing Chenfeng under the pretext that Demonic cultivators were attacking our Heavenly Star Sect, tricking me into deploying a forbidden grand technique. Who could have known that the one who came was the sect master? When I went to confront Xing Chenfeng about it, I had already been framed as a traitor who betrayed his master and destroyed his ancestral lineage. I was hunted down by Xing Chenfeng and Qin Chuchu. In order to clear my name and bring you back to life, I concealed my true appearance and lived like a rat in a cave, enduring a life cut off from the sun."

"You're lying! Big Brother Xing Chenfeng is not that kind of person! You must be trying to frame him to cover up your own crimes!" Lu Xiaoxue said coldly.

Xie Jiu shook his head and said, "We were all deceived by Xing Chenfeng's benevolent exterior. He and Qin Chuchu joined forces in villainy, seizing control of the Heavenly Star Sect and proclaiming to the entire world that I betrayed my master and ancestors. I will produce evidence to prove my innocence!"

Lu Xiaoxue bit her lip and said, "I still don't believe it. I must ask him face-to-face to determine who is right and who is wrong."

Tears welled up in Xie Jiu's eyes, streaming down his cheeks as he produced a weathered spirit tablet. Inscribed upon it were the words: *Spirit Tablet of My Benevolent Teacher, Lu Bin.*

Though the tablet was old, it was wiped as clean as new, showing that it was frequently tended to.

Xie Jiu placed the spirit tablet upon the altar, dropped heavily to his knees, and burst into a torrent of tears. He cried out, "Master, your spirit in heaven must bless this disciple to uncover the truth and avenge you! Rest assured, Junior Sister Xue'er, I have brought her back to life; you can finally let go of one of your worries!"

With that, he kowtowed respectfully three times, making heavy thudding sounds.

Tears instantly gushed from Lu Xiaoxue's eyes. She abruptly collapsed to her knees, embraced the spirit tablet, and wept aloud, saying, "Your daughter has been unfilial and failed to avenge you. Even your spirit in heaven cannot rest in peace. Rest assured, no matter the price, I will personally execute the enemy to avenge you!"

Xie Jiu suddenly asked, "If it turns out to be Xing Chenfeng, would you kill him to avenge Master?"

"I would! But back then, all I saw was the gigantic claw of the Demonic Dragon descending from the heavens; I didn't see him..." Lu Xiaoxue said, her face covered in tears.

Xie Jiu gave a bitter smile and said, "I know you suspect me, Xie Jiu. If I were the murderer who killed Master, I wouldn't have carried you—while you were on the verge of death—to flee into the Kingdom of Benevolence, surrender to the Benevolent Sect, and allow He Changqi to extract my Evil Dragon bloodline for all sorts of experiments, all just to beg him to save you. He told me that unless I obtained the Necro Grass and refined the Necro Soul-Returning Pill, you could not be saved. Yet the Necro Grass only exists in the Netherworld Realm. To obtain it, I mated with a member of the demon race whom I did not love and bore a child possessing the Evil Dragon bloodline.

I traded my very own flesh and blood with Yinmeng Qianqing of the Netherworld to exchange for the Necro Grass just to save you. For these past two hundred years, I have lived tormented by worry and guilt—worry that you would never wake up, and guilt that I was exploited and indirectly caused Master's death. Even if I, Xie Jiu, were to harm everyone in the world, I would never harm you, Xue'er! Because I cannot live without you. I love you, and I would never harm the family of the person I cherish most in this world!"

Lu Xiaoxue was deeply moved. For a man to persist in saving her under such circumstances—and to do so for two hundred years, even sacrificing his own flesh and blood—made her sobbing subside.

She threw herself into Xie Jiu's arms, as he was her only reliance now, and said, "Senior Brother, why didn't I realize before that you harbored such true feelings for me? Back then, I actually thought you were utterly devoted to Qin Chuchu!"

Xie Jiu held Lu Xiaoxue tightly, his expression shifting before he said, "That was all for your sake. I knew you liked Xing Chenfeng, and to fulfill your wish, I only feigned closeness to Qin Chuchu to disrupt her relationship with Xing Chenfeng. You have no idea how much my heart ached back then!"

Deeply moved, Lu Xiaoxue embraced Xie Jiu even tighter and said, "It truly must have been hard on you. What do you think our next step should be?"

Xie Jiu said with unswerving determination, "To help you recover your strength as quickly as possible, and then go to Heavenly Star Mountain to exact revenge on Xing Chenfeng! Although I have been hiding in the shadows all these years, I have also cultivated my own forces. Scattered Dragon City and the Rogue Cultivators Alliance were created precisely for me to deal with Xing Chenfeng!"

Lu Xiaoxue pulled back from Xie Jiu's embrace and said, "Xing Chenfeng possesses the Heavenly Star Sword; you and I are simply no match for him. We had better plan this carefully and thoroughly."

Xie Jiu sighed and said, "If the Demonic Dragon Blade weren't shattered, I would indeed have the confidence to fight Xing Chenfeng."