Chapter 274

Chapter 274

Wen Qiao and Su Molan looked at Ning Yuzhou in astonishment, thinking they had misheard.

Su Xing also wore a bewildered expression, hesitantly saying, "But if I leave with the Guardian, the Pleiades Continent will be without the Star Map to suppress it, and it would..."

Suddenly, Su Xing abruptly fell silent, staring at Ning Yuzhou with a look of terror.

It seemed to understand Ning Yuzhou's meaning, which was why it felt terrified.

Su Xing's reaction made Su Molan's heart tighten. She vaguely sensed that what the Twenty-Eight Constellations Four Symbols Map suppressed was no trivial matter. If the Pleiades Continent lost it... she couldn't imagine the consequences. Although she resented those who destroyed the Star Valley for the map, she didn't hate them enough to destroy the entire continent.

Cultivators always developed a certain sentiment towards the continent where they were born and grew up. They could resent the cultivators on the continent, but few would bear to see it destroyed due to some reason.

The continent nurtured their growth and provided conditions for them to become stronger. How innocent it was, and what wrong had it committed?

"Hubby, isn't this... not quite right?" Wen Qiao said gently.

Ning Yuzhou glanced at her, his expression extremely gentle. "Yes, it's indeed not quite right! But continuing like this is not a solution. We must make the people of this continent understand the significance of the Star Map to the Pleiades Continent. Otherwise, the struggle will never end, leading to the destruction of the final guardian of the Star Map, and even the Star Map itself might be destroyed in their plundering. What difference would that make from Tianzhiyuan?"

Wen Qiao was taken aback by his words, finding them reasonable.

They had personally experienced how perilous the situation in Tianzhiyuan was, even to the point where Su Wangling, as the guardian family of the Flying Star Continent, disregarded his health to visit Tianzhiyuan...

At this moment, he added casually, "As guardians, the Su family now has only one descendant left. Who knows if this continent might also be destroyed because of these ignorant cultivators?"

If its destruction was inevitable, it was better to give those greedy cultivators a lesson they would never forget, perhaps offering a glimmer of hope.

Understanding his implication, Wen Qiao and Su Molan remained silent.

Su Xing still had tears in its eyes, staring at Ning Yuzhou timidly. "Brother Ning, but if I leave, will the Pleiades Continent be destroyed?"

"There will be an impact, but not to the point of destruction, unless you don't return," Ning Yuzhou said.

Su Xing immediately shook its head. "No, it's my responsibility. I can't abandon it."

Seeing its insistence, Wen Qiao asked curiously, "Su Xing, why do you feel it's your responsibility?"

Even after enduring countless years of loneliness, it never gave up easily. Such persistence puzzled Wen Qiao.

Su Xing was once again stunned, saying somewhat confusedly, "I don't know. It seems someone told me to do this, and I can't disappoint their expectations."

Due to Su Xing's memory loss, they couldn't get much information, but it stirred Su Molan's heart.

She suddenly understood why the Su family chose to remain trapped generation after generation on the Pleiades Continent, even after being betrayed and reduced to a single descendant, yet never gave up.

Regardless of what happened in the past, one must have their own principles. The Su family did, and so did Su Xing.

After getting confirmation from Ning Yuzhou, Su Xing was very happy.

It boldly jumped onto Ning Yuzhou's shoulder, asking in a childlike voice, "Brother Ning, are you sure? Even if I leave, the Pleiades Continent won't be destroyed temporarily?"

"Of course," Ning Yuzhou smiled slightly. "That's what the guardian of the Star Map said."

Huh?

Wen Qiao and Su Xing both looked at Su Molan, full of curiosity.

Su Molan stared back, shaking her head vigorously. She certainly hadn't said anything like that, absolutely not!

"I wasn't talking about you!" Ning Yuzhou explained, seeing their misunderstanding. "I was referring to the Su family's ancestor who established the Star Valley and made the contract with Su Xing."

"The Su family's ancestor?" Su Molan was shocked.

Similarly surprised was Wen Qiao. "Where did you learn this?"

Ning Yuzhou looked at her lovingly. "In the Su family's treasure chamber on Cangyun Peak. There were many records written in ancient script, including information left by the Su family's ancestor who established the Star Valley."

Wen Qiao: "..."

So, Brother Ning had known about Su Xing's existence all along, even knowing where the Twenty-Eight Constellations Four Symbols Map was located, but he kept it to himself.

Perhaps sensing her accusation, Ning Yuzhou cleared his throat and said, "When I saw the eighteen stone pillars in the square, I knew the Star Map must have been damaged, possibly unable to maintain its human form. So, I didn't say anything."

With damage to its core, naturally, the spirit would be affected. If not for Su Xing's appearance, Ning Yuzhou wouldn't have been sure if the spirit of the Star Map was intact. However, the spirit periodically falling into slumber was already the best outcome.

Only Su Xing still wore a puzzled expression.

Although it was a spirit that had lived for countless years, due to its core being damaged, it spent more time asleep than awake, appearing as a child, timid and simple-minded. It even chose to recognize a mortal as its master just to leave with Wen Qiao, showing its immature mindset.

Fortunately, the guardian it chose had no ulterior motives and remained steadfast in fulfilling their duty. Otherwise, this little spirit might have been deceived by cunning cultivators long ago.

Thankfully, not all cultivators were driven by greed; there were those who upheld their principles and sacrificed for the greater good.

The Su family was an example.

Su Molan was both surprised and delighted, realizing that their ancestor had left messages for future generations.

Unfortunately, with the passage of time, the ancient era was now distant, and the cultivation world had undergone tremendous changes. Even the language had evolved significantly, leaving the descendants of the Star Valley unable to read ancient script and thus unaware of the messages left by their ancestors.

Su Molan felt regretful.

Seeing Su Xing pestering Ning Yuzhou with questions, Wen Qiao walked over to Su Molan and looked at her.

Still lost in thought, Su Molan snapped back to reality and met a pair of clear, unclouded eyes. In a daze, she suddenly recalled the small spirit that had approached her earlier, wanting to make a contract. Its eyes were very similar to these.

They both had very similar eyes.

"Miss Wen, is there something you need?" Su Molan asked.

Wen Qiao glanced at Su Xing, who was talking to Ning Yuzhou, and whispered, "Miss Su, are you disappointed that Su Xing didn't form a master-servant contract with you?"

Su Molan was taken aback. She said, "Too many things happened just now; I haven't had time to think about it. But now..." She thought seriously for a moment, her face open and honest. "I do feel a bit disappointed, but that pales in comparison to the responsibility of the Su family! Although I am saddened by what our lineage has endured, leaving only me, I know these were their choices. I cannot negate everything they did because of my own misfortune. Just as I am now beginning to accept the responsibilities of the Su family."

Wen Qiao looked at her carefully. Seeing that she truly meant what she said, she patted her shoulder and smiled, "Very good, I didn't misjudge you."

A smile appeared on Su Molan's face.

She had grown up in the Xiao family, where Xiao Minxin, who grew up alongside her, harbored resentment towards her, leading her to never make friends or dare to treat others as such.

Wen Qiao and Ning Yuzhou appeared unexpectedly. Her original intention was merely to use them to escape her predicament, but she never expected to reach this point with them, even sharing her heart.

These two were her friends.

She silently told herself that she finally had friends.

"I need to go to Cangyun Peak," Su Molan suddenly said. "When those outside join forces to attack, the protective array of Su Xing Valley will likely only hold for half a month. If they break through, Su Xing Valley will be lost. I can't leave the Su family's treasures here for them to plunder."

"Do you need help?" Wen Qiao asked.

Su Molan said happily, "That would be wonderful."

Seeing her sincerity, Wen Qiao turned to Ning Yuzhou and said, "Husband, I'll help Miss Su. You two continue your conversation."

Ning Yuzhou smiled, "Go ahead. I'll refine more pills for Su Xing so it can stay alert."

Su Xing looked at him happily, realizing that Big Brother Ning was indeed a very, very kind person.

Su Molan and Wen Qiao waved at him before leaving Chuyun Peak together, heading toward Cangyun Peak.

***

Several days later, when they emerged from Cangyun Peak, they found that the number of disciples in Su Xing Valley had decreased even further.

Upon returning to Chuyun Peak, they saw Grandma Tie waiting there.

Grandma Tie still had her disfigured appearance, clearly not wanting the disciples of Su Xing Valley to know she had recovered.

Seeing the two, Grandma Tie's cold face softened with affection as she said to Su Molan, "Molan, the protective array of Su Xing Valley won't last much longer. I've already removed the disciples with ulterior motives; the remaining ones are loyal to Su Xing Valley. Take them all with you."

Since deciding to send Su Molan to another continent for safety, Grandma Tie couldn't bear to let her fight alone and wanted to provide some support.

But Su Molan refused, "Grandma, no need. They should stay with you. I can manage on my own."

Su Xing's existence was too important. In the short term, she couldn't tell Grandma Tie. Perhaps once Su Xing's body is fully restored and no one can harm it, then telling her would be fine.

She had decided to find celestial artifacts to repair Su Xing's body. Once she reached another continent, she would focus on this task. If Grandma Tie knew, she would worry about her safety. Su Molan felt Grandma Tie already had enough concerns and didn't need to know this.

Besides, with Su Xing accompanying her, bringing along those with lower cultivation levels would be inconvenient.

Grandma Tie frowned slightly, wanting to persuade her further, but then heard Su Molan say, "Grandma, since we can't protect Su Xing Valley, let's quickly take everything we can with us. Don't let those people benefit."

At this, Su Molan's eyes flashed with a murderous intent.

Grandma Tie swallowed her words, planning to discuss it again when they left.

They spent several more days packing everything they could carry from Su Xing Valley into storage bags.

Grandma Tie also enlisted the help of the valley's guards.

After her ruthless purge, only fifty-nine disciples remained in Su Xing Valley. These disciples were extremely loyal, despite their low cultivation levels, making them completely trustworthy. When Su Molan decided to activate the protective array, they could have left but chose to stay, standing with Su Xing Valley.

Su Molan looked at the fifty-nine disciples, her eyes misting over.

Even though Su Xing Valley had fallen to this state, there were still disciples devoted to it.

As time passed, the fluctuations of the protective array's spiritual light became increasingly intense.

Initially, only Shang Yang, the Demon Venerable, attacked the protective array. Later, he realized that a single Emperor Yuan Realm cultivator's attacks had little effect, and attacking alone would take an eternity to breach the array.

No one knows what Shang Yang did, but eventually, the four major families' Emperor Yuan Realm cultivators joined forces.

With five Emperor Yuan Realm cultivators attacking continuously, the protective array of Su Xing Valley was finally on the brink of collapse, unable to hold much longer.

**

True Martial Sect.

"Big Brother, Big Brother, something terrible has happened!"

An anxious voice echoed from afar, reaching the peak of Jiu Xiao Peak.

Jiao Junhao, practicing swordsmanship at the peak, looked at his flustered junior brother running over.

"Junior Brother Ai, what's wrong?" Jiao Junhao frowned. "Cultivators must cultivate both body and mind. They should remain calm and composed in times of crisis. Don't be so hasty; it's detrimental to your cultivation."

Ai Jue exclaimed, "Big Brother, when will you stop lecturing? I just heard news in the market below that the four major families are joining forces with demonic cultivators to attack Su Xing Valley's protective array... They're trying to force Su Molan out!"

Jiao Junhao was slightly startled. "Is this true?"

"It seems to be true; everyone is talking about it," Ai Jue said anxiously. "Big Brother, do you think Little Brother Ning and Sister Wen might be in Su Xing Valley?"

Jiao Junhao didn't speak but felt a strong intuition that Ning Yuzhou and Wen Qiao were indeed hiding in Su Xing Valley.

It had been nearly two years since their parting in Blackwind Desert. Despite the four major families issuing bounties across the continent, no one had discovered their whereabouts, as if they had vanished from the Pleiades Continent.

The disciples of True Martial Sect and Heart Harmony Sect, saved by Ning Yuzhou and Wen Qiao, naturally hoped they would remain hidden forever, preventing the four major families from capturing them.

Jiao Junhao suddenly sheathed his sword and said, "Let's go find Master."

Ai Jue sighed and hurriedly followed his senior brother, the two of them leaving in a rush.

Arriving at their master's cave abode, they heard their master and several elders from Wu Zhen Sect discussing the matter as soon as they arrived.

"…Who would have thought that the four major families would discard all shame and do something like this! They've allied with the Demon Sect—don't they fear the ridicule of the world?"

"What is there to fear? Once they obtain the Su family's Twenty-eight Mansions Four Symbols Map, their power will greatly increase; why should they fear others? By then, our Eight Great Sects might be forced to bow down to them, never to rise again."

"The most despicable thing is the Xiao family. Shang Yang, the Demon Lord, is a traitor to their clan, yet they dare to join forces with him to attack Su Xing Valley. Their intentions are truly heinous."

"What's the big deal? The Xiao family has always been hypocritical. Back then, they claimed they would raise the little Su girl as one of their own and let her inherit Su Xing Valley after she grew up. Look at what they've done over the years—it's utterly disgusting. Do you think the Su girl would have been found hiding in Su Xing Valley if not for the Xiao family's machinations? If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be Chang!"

"You mean..."

"Hmph, I suspect that while the Su girl was living in the Xiao family, they secretly extracted her essence blood and used it to track her whereabouts. That little girl was smart enough to protect herself, but unfortunately, circumstances were stronger than her, and she ultimately failed."

"Indeed..."

The group spoke with great emotion, while the two outside the door listened with chills running down their spines.

As juniors, they knew about the massacre at Su Xing Valley years ago and that the Xiao family had adopted the Su Xing Valley heir. However, they knew little else. After all, the Twenty-eight Mansions Four Symbols Map was rarely shared outside Su Xing Valley, and those who knew about it kept it secret to avoid attracting more covetous eyes.

Younger generations like Jiao Junhao and Ai Jue were unaware of the hidden secrets behind these events.

If not for the current alliance between the four major families and the demon cultivators attacking Su Xing Valley, many might still believe that Su Molan was just as rumored—an unscrupulous person who attracted countless young talents and even betrayed her fiancé.