"No!!"
From afar, Mu Jinyu's Divine Sense swept back to Yinlong Mountain, and he saw Jian Ruyan lying on the ground, devoid of any signs of life, prompting him to let out a roar full of anger and regret!
At that moment, he loathed Ye Wushuang and Li Zhexiong to the core, wishing he could immediately flay and debone them, extract their souls and refine their spirits, and reduce their ashes so they would never transcend in eternity!
But now was not the time for revenge, the priority was to see if Jian Ruyan could be saved!
Revenge against those two would come afterward!
Mu Jinyu's figure darted through the air like a dragon, reaching Jian Ruyan's side in an instant.
"Huff..."
A gentle breeze stirred, pushing Yu Linglong, Lin Qiaoxia, and the others to the side.
Mu Jinyu reached out and grabbed Jian Ruyan's wrist to feel her pulse, and when he found that her soul had departed and was no longer within the Sea of Consciousness, his face turned ashen.
"How could this be? Just a few minutes and her soul is gone? It shouldn't have happened so fast!!"
Mu Jinyu's face was distraught and pale, then he started to speak to himself in a flustered manner, "No, Little Yanzi, you can't die, you cannot die..."
After muttering to himself, Mu Jinyu gritted his teeth, pressed his hand on Jian Ruyan's chest, and began channeling the Green Emperor's Wood Emperor Art. A tremendous tide-like Life Source Energy frenziedly poured into Jian Ruyan's heart.
Mu Jinyu multitasked, as he used his Divine Sense to inspect his own heart and then with great care regenerated Jian Ruyan's heart, which had been ravaged by the Leopard Gall Sword's dual penetrations, with Life Source Energy.
He painstakingly pieced Jian Ruyan's shattered heart back together, and with a surge of Life Source Energy, he jump-started the newly-revitalized organ into a strong pulsing beat.
As Jian Ruyan's heart was restored, blood started to flow smoothly throughout her body, and her previously cold body began to warm up gradually!
But...
Mu Jinyu listened to the beating of Jian Ruyan's heart, yet his complexion turned deathly pale.
"How can it be... how can the soul still not return to its place?"
Mu Jinyu was at a loss.
When he first began to try to save Jian Ruyan, he couldn't find her soul, and though he felt a terrible sense of foreboding, he could still convince himself that perhaps it was because Jian Ruyan's injuries were too severe and her life force had ceased, causing her soul to lie dormant within her body. But once he healed Jian Ruyan's injuries, he thought her soul would return...
But now, with Jian Ruyan's body brought to the peak of health by his timely rescue, why was there still no sign of her soul?
A Jian Ruyan saved like this, what was she? Nothing but an empty shell!
How would he explain to Xiang Mantang upon his return?
How could he tell Xiang Mantang that the sister he was entrusted to protect had become nothing more than a vacant shell, barely different from a vegetative state…
No, this situation was even worse than that of a vegetative patient, at least they still had a chance to awaken. Jian Ruyan's current state left no opportunity for her to regain consciousness again.
Furthermore, he could not care for Jian Ruyan's unconscious body the way one would care for a vegetative patient; he had no choice but to freeze her body, as he had done in the past, to prevent the flesh from decaying!
Because a human's Three Souls and Seven Spirits are essential; the soul can leave the body and wander the world beyond, but the spirit cannot leave the body. Once deprived of the Seven Spirits, the flesh would decay like a corpse, with no hope of reversal!
"Young Master Mu, calm down, Sister Ruyan's wounds have healed, right? She'll wake up soon..."
Lin Qiaoxia, seeing Mu Jinyu's efforts in restoring Jian Ruyan's heart and bringing it back to a vibrant, forceful beating, was as excited and joyful as the other women.
But soon after, seeing that Mu Jinyu had healed Jian Ruyan, there was not a trace of joy on his face, but rather it was filled with gloom and despair. His eyes then reddened, his black hair wildly dancing as if he were mad, prompting her to start comforting him with worry in her voice.
At this moment, Mu Jinyu's clothes were tattered, and he was covered in blood. Although the wounds from the fight with Ye Wushuang had long since healed, scabs and dried blood still clung to his skin, making him look like a beggar. He shook his head, muttering, "She won't wake up, she won't wake up..."
"How can that be?!"
Lin Qiaoxia and Su Zijin didn't understand anything about souls and spirits. Hearing Mu Jinyu's words, they asked in confusion.
In their eyes, Jian Ruyan's shattered heart had been restored by Mu Jinyu through almost mythical means, and her body had gone from cold to warm again. How could she not wake up?
That Sword Pill just now clearly hadn't injured Jian Ruyan's brain!
Mu Jinyu felt dejected and didn't want to explain any further. His mind was a complete mess, and he had no idea what to do!
At that moment, Wen Rou, who had been sitting silently to one side, suddenly opened her eyes and said in a strange voice, "Sister Ruyan indeed won't wake up, because her soul is now within me..."
"Huh?!" Upon hearing Wen Rou's words, Mu Jinyu's dull eyes suddenly shot through with a sharp glint, and he turned his head to look at Wen Rou, asking, "What's going on?!"
Without waiting for Wen Rou's response, an impatient Mu Jinyu let out his Divine Sense, forcefully surging into Wen Rou's Sea of Consciousness to verify the truth!
Soon, Mu Jinyu's Divine Sense had rushed into Wen Rou's Sea of Consciousness.
Right away, he saw two faint green orbs within the Sea of Consciousness. These were the manifestations of the spirit body, the embodiment of the soul.
"Little Mu, this is what happened..."
Wen Rou, seeing Mu Jinyu's Divine Sense probing her Sea of Consciousness, was not worried. She communicated with him directly using her mental thoughts, telling him that Jian Ruyan had performed a Soul Seizing on herself just before dying!
"I see, brilliant, just brilliant..."
Mu Jinyu understood the truth, and he was relieved. He felt that his foresight had paid off, as he had insisted they all learn the Soul Snatching Technique. Otherwise, Jian Ruyan wouldn't have lasted until his return, and some of her soul would have dissipated, leaving only a one in ten chance for him to save her.
Now, by letting Jian Ruyan temporarily reside within Wen Rou and then moving her back, Jian Ruyan would suffer almost no harm!
Of course, this was also thanks to Wen Rou. She noticed something was wrong in time and didn't annihilate Jian Ruyan's soul. Instead, she took the initiative to draw her soul into her own body. Otherwise, it was unpredictable how things might have ended.
Mu Jinyu didn't even dare to think about it!
Just as Mu Jinyu was overwhelmed with joy, Wen Rou timidly said, "Little Mu, the situation is a bit strange now..."
"What is it?" Mu Jinyu asked curiously.
Wen Rou said, "After Sister Ruyan's soul seized mine, it stabilized in the Sea of Consciousness, and now... it seems to be rejecting me..."
"Huh?!" Upon hearing Wen Rou's words, Mu Jinyu was immediately startled. He also realized that Jian Ruyan had not used a soul harboring technique, but the Soul Seizing Technique!
Naturally, two tigers cannot share one mountain. It would subconsciously drive Wen Rou out, or even...
Devour her soul!
Just like what Nameless did to Zhen Wuming back in the day, when he seized and devoured her soul!
"Ah!!"
As Mu Jinyu came to his senses, Wen Rou's spirit body suddenly let out a scream of agony!
Mu Jinyu then saw the other orb, which was more subdued and represented Jian Ruyan's spirit body, actively pouncing towards Wen Rou like a fierce tiger baring its fangs, preying on a little lamb!