Chapter Forty-Four: Vanished

Slowly, I walked toward Feng Zimo and the others. Feng Zimo’s face grew darker with every step I took.

“What are you trying to do? Brother Chu Yun, I’m Feng Zimo!” Even as he spoke, his voice trembled.

I had no idea what the Crimson-Eyed Demon intended to do with my body—could it be craving hearts again? I shouted inwardly, “What are you planning? Don’t forget the promise you made to me.”

The Crimson-Eyed Demon snorted coldly. “Heh, it’s been ages since I tasted a fresh heart.”

As it drew nearer, I yelled with all my might, “You bastard! Breaking your word, how despicable! I warn you—if you dare act out, I’ll die right here and now. Believe it or not.”

Hearing my threat, the Crimson-Eyed Demon seemed to waver. My body halted, and it said, “Just a little joke—look how scared you are. All right, I’m leaving.”

With those words, my body went limp and collapsed onto the ground.

This time, unlike before, I didn’t lose consciousness. I slowly got back up, feeling as though my whole body had fallen apart, every joint aching.

Step by step, I approached Feng Zimo and the others. Seeing me come closer, Feng Zimo’s expression changed again—he probably thought I was still in a berserk state.

“Brother Feng, it’s me, Chu Yun.”

Only then did Feng Zimo let out a long sigh of relief. “You nearly scared me to death, I thought you were about to dig out our hearts again.”

I helped Lin Weiyan up from the ground; she had regained her human form.

“Are you all right?”

Lin Weiyan’s face was pale as she replied weakly, “I’m fine.”

Xiao Ling had no idea what had just happened, only that I was powerful, and she kept giving me thumbs up.

Naturally, I didn’t explain anything to her. I glanced over at Wu Xin and Fatty; both had only fainted, not died.

Just as I was about to try and wake them, the Azure Dragon suddenly leapt up from the ground, startling me.

Hadn’t it died? How was it alive again?

Watching the Azure Dragon’s body twist in the air, I grew wary. Feng Zimo and the others were equally shocked, unable to believe what they were seeing.

Just as we were about to react, the Azure Dragon spoke.

“Master, how do you like this body?”

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Hearing the voice, it sounded like Black Jiao.

“Are you Black Jiao?” I asked.

The Azure Dragon nodded at me. “Yes, master. What do you think of this body?”

What do I think? You nearly scared me to death. I nodded and said to Black Jiao, “It’ll do.”

Satisfied, Black Jiao nodded and said, “From now on, Black Jiao will use this body. This way, I’ll be even stronger.”

With that, Black Jiao circled around a few times before returning to my pinky finger. The tattoo, once black, was now an Azure Dragon.

Later, we managed to wake Wu Xin and Fatty, and helped each other back to the hotel.

The next day...

In a private room of a small eatery, I sat at the table with Wu Xin, Fatty, Feng Zimo, and the others.

Feng Zimo drank and bragged about his epic battle with the Azure Dragon, exaggerating so much that even I nearly believed him, let alone Wu Xin and Fatty.

Xiao Ling kept rolling her eyes at Feng Zimo, clearly unimpressed. But Feng Zimo didn’t care at all—as long as he was enjoying himself, nothing else mattered.

After the meal, I handed the Azure Cloud Sword to Wu Xin as promised. Wu Xin was so moved he nearly cried, repeatedly thanking me.

I told him not to be so formal—after all, we had agreed beforehand.

Wu Xin patted his chest and vowed to do everything he could to help me find what I was searching for.

Fatty, being from the Dragon Slayer clan, felt his ancestral mission was fulfilled now that the Azure Dragon was dead. He decided to leave Azure Cloud Mountain soon, to pursue the life he wanted.

Their affairs were settled, but my search for the Soul-Stealing Pearl remained unresolved.

The clues from the jade pendant still pointed to the Azure Cloud Mountain scenic area, so I couldn’t leave yet.

I continued to stay at Fatty’s hotel, planning to return to the scenic area in the afternoon.

Since Feng Zimo and Lin Weiyan were still injured, I told them to rest at the hotel, while I went to look for clues alone. Despite searching for hours, I couldn’t find the scene shown on the jade pendant.

Strange—where had I seen it before? Why couldn’t I recall?

As dusk fell, I returned to the hotel, bringing back some food from the street.

We ate together, chatted a bit, and I noticed Feng Zimo and Lin Weiyan looked much better—their self-healing abilities were remarkable, far stronger than humans.

That night, I had a peculiar dream.

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In the dream, I stood at the edge of a cliff—one step forward would plunge me into an abyss.

Lin Weiyan and Feng Zimo stood behind me. Though I couldn’t hear their words, Lin Weiyan’s anxious expression made it clear she was urging me not to go forward.

I knew the abyss lay ahead, yet my body ignored my will and took a step toward the chasm.

In that moment, I felt no fear. Instead, I laughed—my laughter echoed throughout the depths.

Awakening from the dream, I found myself drenched in sweat.

After breakfast, Feng Zimo and Lin Weiyan were much recovered.

Counting the days, I’d been at Azure Cloud Mountain for quite some time, but still hadn’t found the Soul-Stealing Pearl.

It dawned on me that searching for the Pearl was no simple task.

Suddenly, I thought of Wu Xin—it was time to ask for his help.

Following the address Wu Xin had given me, I went to his hotel, but the staff told me he had checked out long ago.

Before I left, the receptionist relayed a message from Wu Xin: he would return in three days.

It seemed Wu Xin had gone back to report to his master, since he was here on assignment.

Since Wu Xin was absent, we couldn’t just sit idle—the search for the Soul-Stealing Pearl had to continue.

So, we ventured once more into Azure Cloud Mountain.

After an exhaustive search, I found a spot in the canyon that closely resembled the scene depicted on the jade pendant.

To be sure, I took out the pendant and compared it carefully.

Sure enough...

The place matched almost perfectly, with only slight differences.

Staring at the odd-shaped stone before me, I wondered if the Soul-Stealing Pearl was hidden inside.

But just then, the jade pendant flashed. The image it had shown disappeared.

At first, I thought the pendant would provide a new clue, but after waiting a long while, nothing happened.

What was going on? Had I reached the end?

But I hadn’t found the Soul-Stealing Pearl.

I asked Lin Weiyan and Feng Zimo to examine the strange stone, to see if anything was hidden inside.

Both assured me it was just an ordinary rock.

“Are you certain it’s just an ordinary stone?” I asked again.

Lin Weiyan nodded, confirming it.

Feng Zimo was equally certain.

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