National Guardian's Gone and We're Done

Chu He’s gaze was also drawn to the huge commotion caused by the bizarre vine.

The middle-aged man struggled to his feet.

He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and chin with the back of his dirt-caked hand, then said, ”This bizarre vine is extremely difficult to deal with. It’s impossible to kill.”

”As long as even a tiny fragment remains, it can resurrect itself, then rapidly expand, growing ever larger and longer.”

”That’s why, back then, I had to rely on my yellow earth’s unique ability to suppress this kind of Mysterious Power, to firmly pin the entire vine down here in Cyan Mountain Cemetery.”

Hope rekindled in the middle-aged man, and he began to open up, telling Chu He everything he knew.

But his eyes remained fixed on the young girl entwined by the thickest vine.

However, the middle-aged man wasn’t in a rush to save her, because he knew very well that the young girl had, in a sense, been accepted by the bizarre vine and become a part of it. Therefore, the vine would never harm her.

”What’s your name?” Chu He asked.

”Nalan Fengshan,” the middle-aged man replied.

”What is your relationship with this girl?” Chu He asked.

Gao Liceng also perked up her ears to listen. Her innate love of gossip naturally piqued her interest in the story between the middle-aged man and the young woman.

”This girl is my fiancée.”

”Years ago, I stumbled upon a chance to learn Folk Secret Techniques. I became obsessed with that magnificent and fantastical world; I couldn’t tear myself away.”

”So I pursued it recklessly, putting my desires into action.”

”My fiancée’s name is Shan Lihui. When her family heard that I had such ideas and wouldn’t marry her at the agreed-upon time, they were naturally furious.”

”They pressured Shan Lihui to break off our engagement and find someone else to marry, to live a stable life.”

”Shan Lihui staunchly refused. Ignoring her family’s objections, she resolutely set out with me on that path of no return.”

”I was young and arrogant back then, shortsighted about many things. I often acted on pure passion, but in reality, I was very selfish.”

”Thinking back now, if it were me today, I probably wouldn’t have been so impulsive about many things.”

”And it was this very choice of mine that reduced Shan Lihui to her current state.”

”It was around that time that an Evil Spirit invasion broke out on this very Cyan Mountain.”

”I discovered that this Evil Spirit had a peculiar trait: it couldn’t be killed, no matter what.”

”Its Mysterious Power contained an astonishing amount of Life Force.”

”So, I came up with a bold idea. At the time, Shan Lihui’s life was hanging by a thread. I had no other choice but to take a desperate gamble.”

”I used the yellow earth on my body to suppress that Mysterious Power, then preserved a portion of it. I placed Shan Lihui on it, allowing her to absorb the abundant Life Force from within the Mysterious Power.”

”Fortunately, it succeeded in the end.”

”But I knew it wasn’t a long-term solution. With no other options, I could only take it one step at a time.”

Nalan Fengshan laid bare the greatest secret he had carried, his expression filled with exhaustion.

On the surface, being a Tomb Guardian at Cyan Mountain Cemetery seemed like a leisurely life, but in reality, he lived in fear every single day.

He wasn’t worried about himself, but that something might happen to the person he loved.

”As she is now, Shan Lihui can’t be separated from this bizarre vine. If she is, I’m afraid she will die instantly and completely.”

”The biggest problem we face right now is that Shan Lihui cannot leave this mountain.”

”And I’m worried the commotion here will attract the Defense Team. That would lead to endless trouble.”

Nalan Fengshan said, his face etched with worry.

”Don’t worry, the Defense Team won’t be coming.”

Chu He shook his head.

Nalan Fengshan had lived on the mountain for so long that he knew nothing of the outside world’s situation.

But Chu He had no intention of explaining just yet.

Chu He abruptly raised his hand. In his palm, it was as if the purest light between heaven and earth had gathered.

A small cluster of golden flame leaped out quietly.

It was like the boundless hope and immense power contained within the first ray of sunlight at dawn.

This flame was by no means an earthly object. It radiated a warm and dazzling light, yet it also concealed a terrifying energy capable of incinerating everything in the world.

At Chu He’s will, the golden flame seemed to gain a life of its own, darting nimbly through the air.

It sped straight toward the wildly spreading gray-brown vines ahead.

The moment the flame touched the vines, it was like a fuse had been lit. The entire space seemed to be torn asunder in an instant as a golden light erupted,

transforming into a sea of incredibly brilliant fire, drowning everything in the vicinity.

This sea of fire was not just a feast of color, but also the ultimate expression of heat.

Every wisp of golden flame seemed to have its own consciousness, weaving nimbly between the vines, devouring the gray-brown branches that were once as hard as iron one by one.

Roasted by the flames, the vines let out shrill, miserable wails. They writhed violently, trying in vain to escape this hellish bondage.

However, all their struggles were in vain.

Every time the vines thrashed and slammed about,

it was like a desperate struggle before death, making all of Cyan Mountain tremble.

Under the rampage of the golden sea of fire, the vines gradually lost their original form.

They began to grow brittle and fragile. Wisps of gray-brown powder drifted away, like weathered sand and stone.

It was also like a sudden gray-brown sandstorm,

staining the surrounding air with an aura of oppression and despair.

The powder swirled and danced in the air before finally, slowly, settling down,

covering every inch of the ground and draping this cursed land in a heavy shroud of gloom.

”Don’t hurt Shan Lihui!”

Nalan Fengshan watched this destructive power with a terrified heart.

’So Chu He hasn’t even been using his full power this whole time. If he were to go all out,’

’he could probably kill me in an instant.’

Standing to the side, Gao Liceng’s eyes also widened. She had never imagined Chu He’s strength had reached such a level.

Such a vast sea of golden fire was likely something no ordinary person could conjure.

’No... it’s not that an ordinary person couldn’t do it, it’s that it’s something fundamentally beyond human capability!’

’Where on earth does this kind of power come from?’

’And how did Chu He come to possess it?’

When the golden sea of fire had burned the gray-brown bizarre vines almost to ashes, leaving only a single section, Chu He simply gave a wave, and the flames vanished without a trace.

The fire had come ferociously, and it left just as quickly,

as if everything that had just happened was nothing more than an illusory dream.

This one section of the bizarre vine was connected to Shan Lihui’s back.

If this bizarre vine were to be completely eradicated by Chu He, Shan Lihui would die on the spot.

So, a section had to be left to sustain her life.

Just as Shan Lihui’s body, now without support, was about to fall, it was enveloped by a gentle ball of light formed from Heaven and Earth Energy.

It was then gently guided over to Nalan Fengshan and set down on the ground.

”I’ll be counting on you for what comes next.”

Witnessing the display of Chu He’s immense power, Nalan Fengshan saw the hope of completely resolving Shan Lihui’s problem.

And so, with a THUD, he knelt directly before Chu He.

”As for acquiring Divine Power, there is a good place to go.”

Chu He said with a faint smile.