Ex-Wife is a Big Villainess
Chapter 632 - 315: Master and Disciple Break Apart!_2

Chapter 632: Chapter 315: Master and Disciple Break Apart!_2

A surge of heat rolled out.

Shang Zhiyu’s eyebrows moved, and she opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something, but then she swallowed her words.

She stared at the sword in Ran Qingchen’s hand, a hint of wariness in her eyes, and thought to herself, "This girl is clearly injured, yet she can still wield such powerful swordsmanship. She’s really something."

Ran Qingchen saw there were no more mechanisms around, and walked towards the stone wall.

Through the faint light, Ran Qingchen gazed intently and was shocked to find that there was a pool of magma behind it.

The magma was fiery red and tumultuous, churning endlessly.

Shang Zhiyu, covering her abdomen, walked over, equally astonished by the scene before her. "Strange, how can there be such a place?" she mused.

The two women walked in, with the heat wave that met their faces scorching their skin painfully.

The small cave held nothing but the magma pool.

Approaching, one could see that this pool of magma seeped out from the cracks in a hidden wall beside it, gradually converging to form the pool.

"Red Candle Flower!?"

Shang Zhiyu suddenly exclaimed.

Ran Qingchen followed her gaze and saw a mysterious flower that resembled a candle growing in the midst of the flickering flames of the magma pool.

The flower was thick and covered with red liquid, like wax tears.

Its ability to grow in such high-temperature magma was extraordinary in itself. Ran Qingchen paused, her confusion evident as she asked, "Master, what is a Red Candle Flower?"

At this moment, Shang Zhiyu’s eyes blazed with excitement and hidden ecstasy.

She patiently explained, "I’ve only come across it before in the ’Heavenly Herb Almanac’ of the Shennong Clan; this flower grows in extremely hot places and has the effects of cleaving bone and cleansing marrow, as well as healing wounds. It can cause a person to be reborn."

As to how effective it really is, I am not certain. However, the ’Heavenly Herb Almanac’ is personally compiled by descendants of the Shennong Clan, who are meticulous about celestial and earthly materials. It is unlikely to be in error."

Healing?

Perhaps it can be picked to treat Master’s injuries.

Ran Qingchen’s eyes locked onto the Red Candle Flower, her toes tapped, and she skimmed over the top of the magma.

Yet, no sooner had she flown half a zhang than the burning waves of air forced her back, feeling as if she would be melted by the heat if she stayed any longer.

"This magma pool is no ordinary place. If you don’t have special protective talismans, it is very easy to get hurt,"

Shang Zhiyu said.

Ran Qingchen raised her sword, intending to use Sword Qi to sever the Red Candle Flower and send it flying out, but Shang Zhiyu stopped her. "The Red Candle Flower is very fragile and cannot withstand Sword Qi; it must be picked by hand."

"But we cannot get close. How can we pick it?" Ran Qingchen frowned deeply.

Shang Zhiyu was at a loss as well.

If her own cultivation were restored, she could easily pick it, but now...

Shang Zhiyu surveyed the surroundings, and when she saw the stone wall that Ran Qingchen had broken with a sword just before, something occurred to her. Pointing to a lower edge of the magma pool, she said, "Dig out some of it here with Sword Qi to let the magma inside flow out."

Ran Qingchen nodded. She wielded her sword to carve out a comparatively deep and rudimentary trench at the edge of the pool.

As the magma continuously flowed out, the level of the pool began to drop, revealing more of the true form of the Red Candle Flower, showing its black roots beneath becoming finer and finer, like strands of hair.

Feeling that the magma had been drained enough, Ran Qingchen once more vaulted toward the center of the pool.

Despite the still scorching waves of fire, she endured the searing heat and plucked the Red Candle Flower into her hands.

The moment she touched it, the flower dimmed slightly.

And inside the pistil, a dense mass of red liquid seeped out, like drops of blood tears.

Ran Qingchen returned to the shore, where Shang Zhiyu hurriedly snatched the Red Candle Flower from her hands.

Feeling the rich vitality within the flower’s stem, the woman’s eyes were aflame, and her face unwittingly revealed a smile.

She turned to Ran Qingchen and said with a smile,

"Qingchen, I really owe you thanks this time. If it weren’t for your arrival, whether I could still be alive would be uncertain. You, girl, truly are my lucky star."

Ran Qingchen’s hair was slightly curled from the heat wave, and her beautiful, lively face was also flushed from the baking heat.

She lowered her head to look at her hand that was burned while picking the Red Candle Flower and said softly, "Master, you heal your wounds here, and I will protect you."

"Mhm, thank you,"

Shang Zhiyu nodded, found a clean spot, and sat down to heal her wounds.

Obtaining the Red Candle Flower was an unexpected joy, a great fortune bestowed by the heavens at a critical moment.

What she truly valued was not the flower’s healing properties but its effects of bone cleaving and marrow cleansing.

Because of her half-human, half-demon nature, which meant her body was transformed invisibly, it was difficult to sustain her true form without consuming essence-filled blood and flesh.

This Red Candle Flower could help her refashion her own bones and flesh, allowing better control.

"Master, was what Wang Luoyan said true?"

Ran Qingchen suddenly asked.

"What?"

Shang Zhiyu was startled and looked up at her disciple.

Ran Qingchen stood with her back to her, the firelight casting a silhouette, and a faint glimmer edged the cheeks of the young girl.

Shang Zhiyu’s eyes narrowed slightly.

She lightly stroked her blood-stained skirt and asked with a smile, "What does Qingchen think?"

"I don’t want to believe it’s true," Ran Qingchen said faintly.

Unwilling...

These two words explained the woman’s psychological state at the moment.

Shang Zhiyu’s eyes flickered, she wanted to tell some lies to deceive the other party, but heard Ran Qingchen say, "I want to hear the truth from Master, please don’t lie to me."

The master and disciple had been together for so many years and knew each other well.

Every look, every word, every pause in speech, every smile, all were intimately familiar.

Ran Qingchen turned around.

She bit her lip slightly, her delicate body trembling: "I hope Master won’t hide anything."

Shang Zhiyu opened her mouth to speak but fell silent.

After a long time, she looked towards the flowing lava, somewhat distracted, and slowly asked, "In Qingchen’s heart, what kind of person is your Master?"

Ran Qingchen’s lips parted slightly as she said:

"You would love me, scold me, care for me, punish me, but the only thing you wouldn’t... is hate me."

"Hate?"

Shang Zhiyu started to laugh.

She stared at the ethereal sword-wielding girl in front of her, and in a trance, saw that proud woman. The figures of the two seemed to gradually overlap.

Shang Zhiyu said, "I hate your mother."

"Why?"

Ran Qingchen’s eyelashes trembled as she asked.

Shang Zhiyu appeared worn out, wanting to tear off all the pretenses that wearied her, and said indifferently, "Every sword-wielding woman under heaven hates your mother."

Jealousy?

Ran Qingchen seemed to have found the answer in her heart.

Shang Zhiyu spoke in a mournful tone, "To me, it’s not just jealousy, but also anger.

If it weren’t for her, I would have trained in the South Sea Holy Sect. If it weren’t for her, I should have been the foremost expert in Sword Dao. If it weren’t for her, that man wouldn’t have left me!

I gave up so much, so much, and yet I’ve gained nothing!"

Shang Zhiyu’s emotions surged, her skin showing weird black lines like leaf veins.

However, the woman quickly regained her composure, sighed, and said with self-mockery:

"The blossoms on the branches are flourishing, spurred on by the envying storm. Whether it’s jealousy or hatred, what use are they when she’s already dead. I just... just hope to go farther than her."

Ran Qingchen’s eyes reddened, "Then why did you take me as your disciple?"

"Because of the Sword Heart," Shang Zhiyu didn’t hide it and told the truth, "You have a Sword Heart inside you, placed there by Jiang Wan. All these years, I’ve been hoping to take it out from within you for my own use. That’s the reason why I took you as my disciple."

Ran Qingchen staggered as if struck by lightning, her body involuntarily stumbling backward.

Her brain was buzzing, as if a myriad of sharp blades were simultaneously piercing her chest, slicing through her emotions, tearing apart her soul.

With every breath came a heart-piercing pain, an agony like being cut by knives.

"Why... why..."

At that moment, Ran Qingchen felt as if she were in an abyss thousands of feet deep, bone-chilling coldness seeping into her entire body, "Why did you all lie to me... Why did you all have to lie to me!?"

The man she deeply loved, deceived her!

The younger sister she doted on, deceived her!

The master she revered, deceived her!

Why did everyone in this world deceive her?

Anger, grief, pain... countless emotions flooded into the young girl’s already scarred, battered heart, leaving her breathless, darkness flashing before her eyes.

Ran Qingchen’s eyes flickered with tears, but she didn’t let them fall.

She looked at Shang Zhiyu with painful eyes and slowly said:

"Today, Qingchen saved Master, from now on our ties as master and disciple are severed. I will no longer be a disciple of the Xuanji Sword Sect, nor will I be your disciple... Please take care, Master."

Having said that, Ran Qingchen turned and prepared to leave.

However, just as she turned, Ran Qingchen’s face suddenly paled, and then she stumbled and fell to the ground.

All around was deathly silence, only the heavy breathing of the young girl remained.

Ran Qingchen felt her head heavy, her body as if pricked by countless needles, unable to move.

"Qingchen, you might as well stay," Shang Zhiyu’s chilling voice slowly rose, like a night wind in a desolate valley, sharp and bone-piercing.