In the dead of night, when Desolate Stone Village was quiet and everyone was asleep, Dongfang Meng was still by Ye Tianchen's bedside. Ye Tianchen was already drunk, which was rare for him to be so relaxed. After more than three years without seeing each other, Ye Tianchen competed in drinking with Tian Boguang, Hu Gao, Wuxue, and the strong men from Desolate Stone Village. Nearly everyone was slightly inebriated. Ye Tianchen alone drank five or six jars of wine; if he were an ordinary person, he would have already drunk himself to death. Ye Tianchen didn't use Martial Arts True Qi to resist and dissipate the alcohol; he truly wanted to have a good drink and a hearty drunken experience.

Dongfang Meng helped Ye Tianchen onto the bed, tucked him in, and sat by. Watching the already asleep Ye Tianchen, she couldn't help but smile gently. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, though it was unclear whether it was because of the alcohol or the embarrassment of staring at the one she loved so intently. Dongfang Meng's face was a bit red, making her look even more charming. She involuntarily pursed her sensual lips and pressed them against Ye Tianchen's lips, feeling sweet in her heart at that moment of the kiss!

"Why don't you tell him when you secretly kiss him like this?" Suddenly, a voice echoed in Dongfang Meng's ear. She frowned slightly, glanced outside, tucked Ye Tianchen in, and got up to leave his room.

Dongfang Meng opened the door, walked out of Ye Tianchen's room, and just as she closed the door, she heard a voice: "I'll wait for you at the usual place!"

Swish!

Dongfang Meng's figure vanished from outside Ye Tianchen's door. Who came to find Dongfang Meng so late, saying to wait for her at the usual spot? Did they have some secret business that even Ye Tianchen was not informed of?

Not far from Desolate Stone Village, on a mountain ridge, Dongfang Meng reached the edge of a cliff. She looked at the figure standing in front of her and asked calmly: "Is there something you want to see me about?"

"Junior Sister, it's been such a short time since we last met and you're already so cold to your Senior Sister? How the world has declined!" The figure turned around and looked coldly at Dongfang Meng.

"Li Qiushui, I want no more entanglement with you. You are no longer a disciple of the Ancient Tomb Sect, so I hope you hold yourself accordingly!" Dongfang Meng said coldly.

Unexpectedly, the one who came to see Dongfang Meng was Li Qiushui, who harbored deep hatred for Dongfang Meng, wishing she would become the Sect Leader of the Ancient Tomb Sect and get such a supreme cultivation method as the Jade Maiden Heart Scripture. Meeting Dongfang Meng should have led to a deadly confrontation, yet they were conversing. Could there be some hidden story here?

"Haha, Junior Sister, if it weren't for orders from above, I would have killed you long ago. You're no match for me, but I'm not in a hurry; you'll die sooner or later, and the Jade Maiden Heart Scripture is already in my grasp. It's not a matter of when," Li Qiushui said sinisterly.

"Just say what you have to say, I don't have time to chat with you!" Dongfang Meng said unkindly to Li Qiushui.

"Hmph, you think I want to talk to you? Our master, with divine skills, discovered that Ye Tianchen might possess a fragment of the Ancient Transmission Array and wants you to get it for him!" Li Qiushui coldly snorted, exuding killing intent.

"What if there isn't?" Dongfang Meng frowned and asked.

"Haha, Junior Sister, do you really take us for fools? You and Ye Tianchen have dual cultivated; would you not know his affairs? I suggest you be sensible. Otherwise, the poison in your body will act up soon, and it'll be a terrible death. I don't think you want Ye Tianchen to see you die a gruesomely ulcerated death, right?" Li Qiushui threatened with a cold smile.

"I'm not afraid to die, and I can die, but it's impossible for me to do this!" Dongfang Meng gritted her teeth and said.

"Is that so? You might not care about your life, and I know you're not afraid of death, but what about the lives of others in Desolate Stone Village? Could you just watch them die? I've heard that Ye Tianchen considers everyone in Desolate Stone Village as his family, sparing no effort to protect them. If they all die, what would happen to Ye Tianchen? And you can save them now, but you don't. Would Ye Tianchen hate you?" Li Qiushui said with a wicked smile.

"You... what exactly do you want?" Dongfang Meng clenched her fists tightly. She wanted to act but knew she couldn't. If she did, all of Desolate Stone Village could be in mortal danger instantly.

"Nothing much. We know you'd rather die than kill Ye Tianchen, and our master doesn't need you to kill him. In our master's eyes, Ye Tianchen is just a minor character. What he wants are the Transmission Array Fragments. Now that the landscape of the Martial Arts World has changed dramatically, many once-sealed items have surfaced. Who knows what might happen? Although there's been significant change in the three ancient martial worlds on Earth, they remain enclosed. It's only by gathering all the Transmission Array Fragments that we can see the truth..." Li Qiushui said coldly.

"Not only are you ruthless, but you've betrayed your sect and joined the Nine Netherworld's evil legacy. Even if you obtain the Transmission Array Fragments, so what? From what I know, one fragment is in the hands of the Blood Killing Organization. Can you retrieve it?" Dongfang Meng asked disdainfully.

"That's none of your concern. You just need to bring Ye Tianchen's fragment. I'll be waiting here at sunset tomorrow. If you fail to obtain it, I believe all the villagers of Desolate Stone Village will die, and Ye Tianchen won't be able to save them!" Li Qiushui said with a cold-blooded smile.

"Despicable!" Dongfang Meng gritted her teeth in frustration but was helpless.

"This isn't despicable; it's a method. The Martial Arts World is cruel, and Junior Sister, you're too naive. Remember my words; I think you wouldn't want to watch everyone in Desolate Stone Village perish!" After finishing, Li Qiushui's figure disappeared in front of Dongfang Meng.

Dongfang Meng frowned, a hint of helplessness in her eyes. She was the only one who knew about this. Li Qiushui wasn't joking; if they acted, everyone in Desolate Stone Village would die, and no one could save them. Even if Ye Tianchen knew, there was absolutely nothing he could do because the villagers were poisoned with something from ancient times. This poison couldn't be neutralized, no matter how high one's Martial Arts Cultivation was. It was controlled by some secret technique, and only the caster could lift it. There was no other way.

It turns out, during the three years Ye Tianchen was missing, Li Qiushui had secretly joined the sinister legacy of the Nine Netherworld. The leader on Earth had already awakened, and the first thing he sought was the Transmission Array Fragments. Li Qiushui learned that Dongfang Meng, Ye Tianchen, and Tianshuang'er had once entered the forbidden "Sunlit" mountain range and brought back an Ancient Transmission Array Fragment. However, Ye Tianchen had disappeared for so long, probably perished in Flame Valley. So, the Nine Netherworld leader came up with the idea of subtly poisoning the entire population of Desolate Stone Village with an ancient poison. Once Ye Tianchen reappeared, they could force him to hand over the fragment. The leader of Nine Netherworld saw Ye Tianchen as nothing more than a small role, and the villagers were expendable, irrelevant. Figures like them were concerned with the broader picture and structure of the Martial Arts World, wondering what unexpected gains they might achieve. Other matters were insignificant.

Naturally, tasked with this mission, Li Qiushui sought out Dongfang Meng, aiming to make Dongfang Meng endure this pain and pressure. She hated Dongfang Meng, wishing her dead, blaming her for not becoming the Sect Leader of the Ancient Tomb Sect and getting the 'Jade Maiden Heart Scripture'—that honor should have been hers. So, Li Qiushui hated Dongfang Meng to the core.

Over the years, Dongfang Meng was the only one who knew that everyone was poisoned with an ancient poison of extreme tyranny and harshness that no one could neutralize. Before the caster triggered it, the poisoned felt nothing, which was mysterious and unpredictable. Moreover, everyone in Desolate Stone Village was poisoned, over a hundred people suffered from this ancient poison. Even Ye Tianchen, no matter how powerful, couldn't detoxify a hundred people simultaneously. Dongfang Meng understood this, hence why she hadn't informed Ye Tianchen. She didn't want him to bear even more burden or begin another tiring struggle when he just had a moment of respite.

Dongfang Meng's suffering and mental pressure over the years were unimaginable. While Ye Tianchen was away from Desolate Stone Village, he was always protecting the villagers. She was the only one aware of the poisoning, but eventually, inevitable events caught up. The sinister and powerful legacy of the Nine Netherworld was undeniable. Li Qiushui was not joking. If the fragment wasn't handed over by sunset tomorrow, all villagers of Desolate Stone Village would perish instantly. What could she do to save the villagers? She wasn't afraid to die; she just didn't want to see Ye Tianchen's pain and helplessness. She wanted to bear all of this quietly. (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations, monthly votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)

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