Chapter Twelve: A Chance Encounter in a Desolate Valley

  It wasn't until about ten minutes later that the Ink Tooth Sword finally stopped emitting its dark, black aura. The entire sword body was dull and devoid of any luster, no longer having anything special about it, becoming just an ordinary broken sword.

  As for the Autumn Cloud Sword, it was entirely different. Two colors of light, black and white, swirled around the sword like ripples on water, merging and blending together. The sword body trembled slightly, and the fluctuations of the entire sword were much stronger than before, as if it had absorbed the essence of the Ink Tooth Sword.

  Finally, the black and white colors merged together, shining brightly, and a brand new Autumn Cloud Sword appeared. It was still gleaming with a soft luster, but its body had changed from milky white to light gray, and that elegant aura now carried a hint of darkness.

  Ru Qiu Sheng had long been leaning against a tree stump to rest, and when he saw Autumn Cloud Sword complete its evolution, he beckoned wearily, and Autumn Cloud Sword returned to his hand in an instant.

  Rujiaosheng held the sword in his right hand, and with his left hand, he slowly drew a line on the grayish-white blade of the sword. The cold light reflected off the blade illuminated his handsome yet disheveled face.

  He took out a white handkerchief from the inside pocket of his clothes, gently wiping the sword body, with a focused and loving expression, as if caressing a lover.

  A sword of this level doesn't need to be maintained by humans, I suppose that's also one of Rujiaosheng's hobbies, but from another perspective it also reflects his fondness for this sword.

  The sword body became increasingly cool, and the reflected moonlight cast on Rujiaosheng's face, clearly illuminating the bridge of his nose, forming a bright and dark contrast on his face in three distinct sections.

  After repeatedly wiping it clean, Rujiaosheng put the handkerchief back into his clothes and lightly plucked the strings of his sword with his left hand.

  "Ding"

  The clear sword hums and opens, startling the birds that had just fallen silent in the forest, chirping and flying towards the sky.

  Ru Qiu Sheng furrowed his brow slightly and said in a low voice, "The grade of that ink-tooth sword is really high. With the power of Autumn Cloud Sword, it can't completely dispel the dark elements within. It seems I'll have to go back and ask Master for help."

  He tried to move, but the pain all over his body immediately twisted his face. He let out a light sigh and stopped moving, his gaze refocusing on the Autumn Cloud Sword: "If I absorb another fourth-generation primal artifact, the Autumn Cloud Sword should be able to evolve into a third-generation primal artifact, right?"

  At this moment, a dazzling red light shot up into the sky, causing Rujiaosheng's face to reveal a joyful expression. The three-generation yuanqi had finally been born.

  The entire sword presented a fiery red color, spewing out scorching flames, illuminating the surrounding area within a radius of one mile with a crimson hue, as dense yuan energy fluctuations spread out.

  "Could it be fire attribute?" Rujiaosheng stared at the scarlet long sword in the arena, somewhat astonished. The Autumn Cloud Sword revolved above his head, casting a soft glow that enveloped Rujiaosheng, defending against this intense heat.

  "It seems that it will take some more twists and turns to subdue this sword." The red flames were reflected in Rujisheng's eyes, and he let out a soft sigh, somewhat helplessly.

  "Huh? Why did it suddenly get so hot?! " Nie Han stopped once again, and his body, wrapped in thick armor, was actually sweating on this autumn night.

  He raised his head and suddenly felt that the desolate valley had brightened up a lot. Upon closer inspection, he found that the red light in the distance was changing the sky.

  Nie Han's youthful face turned solemn, he took off the cumbersome metal helmet and tucked it under his arm. He shook his head, and his jet-black long hair scattered in the darkness of night, with a few strands sticking to his cheek due to sweat.

  "Is it on fire?" Nie Han made a preliminary judgment, then his face changed, "Not good, Third Young Master is in danger!"

  He turned his head and shouted, and the team immediately sped up.

  Not far from Rujiaosheng, in a pile of trees, Yang Yuxi was still unconscious.

  The high temperature is scorching, and the leaves of the trees are slightly scorched, with their edges curled up.

  "It's so hot..."

  Yang Yu Xi was covered in sweat, subconsciously tugging at his clothes, but unfortunately touched the wound on his chest, and the pain and heat rushed over him, immediately rousing him from his daze!

  "Ah...... it hurts so much!! Ah, why is it so hot?!"

  Yang Yu Xi patted his dizzy head and forced himself to look around, but the red glow everywhere gave him a fright.

  "Has it caught fire?!"

  Yang Yu Xi endured the pain in his brain, struggled to get up, and looked through the severely dehydrated leaves towards Rong Qiusheng's direction. The heavily injured Rong Qiusheng appeared in his line of sight, but the next moment his gaze was drawn to the sword on the ground.

  "What is it? A sword?"

  Yang Yu Xi's little face was photographed red and sweaty, with beads of sweat forming.

  Yang Yu Xi was so hot that he took off his autumn clothes, leaving only his undergarments on. His gaze was deeply attracted and involuntarily moved forward, wanting to get closer.

  "Wow..."

  But he didn't want to take a step back, Yang Yu Xi rolled out from between the trees, and his body had several more fine scratches, instantly hurting so much that he gritted his teeth.

  "What bad luck! So unlucky!"

  Yang Yu Xi sat up straight, blowing hard on the new wound on her arm.

  He suddenly stopped moving because he felt a strong oppressive gaze concentrated on him.

  "Uh..." Yang Yu Xi was stunned for a moment, awkwardly turned his head, and forced a smile at Ru Qiu Sheng. The eight-year-old child was in the process of losing teeth, with only a few good teeth left in his mouth. "Hello!"

  Rujiaosheng was originally very vigilant, but seeing that it was just an eight-year-old child, his vigilance relaxed a bit. Then, looking at Yang Yuxi's disheveled appearance, he couldn't help but feel amused for no reason.

  Suddenly, he recalled that unusual feeling he had during their previous battle, it must have been this bear child.

  Rú Qiūshēng stared at Yáng Yǔxī, making Yáng Yǔxī's hair stand on end. Before Rú Qiūshēng could even speak, Yáng Yǔxī hastily opened his mouth: "Ah, senior please forgive me! I was just curious and came to take a look, now I don't want to fight for that sword at all, really!"

  A moment later he felt that something was wrong again, and hastily waved his hand: "No no no, I've never thought of snatching that sword, never have!"

  Ru Qiu looked at Yang Yu Xi's tense face and shook his head with a faint smile. Although he was seriously injured, a mid-level spirit awakener like him posed no threat to Ru Qiu.

  Yang Yu Xi saw that Ru Qiu Sheng had been silent and staring at him, so he kept his head down, feeling very tense, only using the corner of his eye to sneak a glance at Ru Qiu Sheng. However, after seeing Ru Qiu Sheng smile lightly, he felt more at ease, it seemed this senior didn't intend to blame him!

  "What's your name?" At this time, Yang Yu Xi heard Ru Qiu Sheng's inquiry.

  Yang Yu Xi suddenly stood up straight, like a little soldier being called out by his superior: "My name is Yang Yu Xi. The 'Yang' in Yang Yu Xi is my 'Yang', the 'Yu' in Yang Yu Xi is my 'Yu', and the 'Xi' in Yang Yu Xi is still my 'Xi'!"

  Rujiaosheng smiled and adjusted his sitting posture, saying: "Alright. Yang Yuxi, how did you end up here?"

  Yang Yu Xi hesitated for a moment before saying: "I'm here looking for Red Root Green Leaf Grass."

  "Oh? You came alone? This place is quite dangerous."

  Yang Yu Xi nodded: "It's just me, I know it's very dangerous here, but someone important to me is injured, so I have to come and find the Red Root Green Leaf Grass for her."

  A flash of surprise flickered in Ruzhao Sheng's eyes, and he stared at Yang Yuxi, enunciating each word: "Someone very important to you?"

  "Yes, she is important to me." Yang Yu Xi nodded in response, although he didn't understand why Rong Qiu Sheng was like this.

  Ru Qiu's eyes gently closed, and a figure appeared in his mind, dancing gracefully amidst the lake's ripples and mountain scenery.

  After a long time, he finally came back to his senses. His gaze at Yang Yuxi softened a lot, just like an older brother looking at his younger brother. He opened his mouth: "So have you found it now?"

  Yang Yu Xi smiled complacently, took out the red-rooted green-leafed grass from his bosom, but was shocked to find that the grass had been crushed in his fall and scramble, leaving a crystal clear juice on his undergarments, sticky and nauseating.

  。

  Yang Yu Xi's expression suddenly froze, and Ru Qiu Sheng saw sorrow and self-blame flooding over the little boy like a tidal wave.

  Yang Yu Xi's eyes turned red and she suddenly burst into tears.

  "Ru Qiu Sheng was slightly taken aback, then hastily opened his mouth and said: "Yu Xi Yu Xi, don't cry."

  Yang Yu Xi didn't care about the mud all over her hands, and with a heart full of sorrow, she rubbed her red and swollen eyes, choking back tears: "I... I promised Xiao Yan Er that I would definitely find the Chi Gen Bi Ye Cao, but now... now... Waaahhh... it's all my fault..."

  Ru Qiu Sheng looked at his sorrowful appearance and couldn't bear it, looking around he said: "Is this place only has one stalk of Red Root Green Leaf Grass?"

  Yang Yu Xi suddenly froze, then burst into tears and laughed: "Right! I can go find another one, thank you, big brother!"

  "Big brother?" Rujisheng was taken aback by this sudden address for a moment, before saying, "No need to thank me."

  Yang Yu Xi turned around and was about to leave, but after taking a few steps, he turned back again and rushed towards Ru Qiu Sheng.

  "Huh? Why are you back again?" Ruzhisheng opened his eyes, which had just closed, and thought that this kid should be busy finding that red-rooted green-leaf grass instead of coming back.

  Yang Yu Xi stopped in front of Ru Qiu Sheng, took out the remaining Yunnan Baiyao and said: "Big brother, I still have some Yunnan Baiyao left, let me help you apply it to your wound first."

  Ru Qiu looked at the child in front of him, who was still teething, and the silver-white moonlight and fiery red glow shone on him, making him look very lovely and handsome.

  "Aren't you in a hurry to find the Red Root Green Leaf Grass?" asked Rujiaosheng, unable to help himself.

  Yang Yu Xi crouched down beside Ru Qiu Sheng, opening the Yunnan Baiyao as he replied, "It's very urgent, but big brother you're also heavily injured. These Yunnan Baiyao are extra anyway, and I'm not in a hurry for the time being." As he spoke, he carefully applied the Yunnan Baiyao to Ru Qiu Sheng's sword wound.

  "Thank you, Yu Xi," said Ru Qiu Sheng. "By the way, Yu Xi, where do you live? I can send you home."

  Yang Yu Xi immediately looked up at the moon's direction upon hearing the two words "go home", her small face suddenly turned sour.

  "What's wrong?"

  Yang Yu Xi smiled bitterly: "I promised Father last time I went back, now it's already past the hour of Ox..."

  "Is your dad very fierce?"

  Yang Yu Xi shook her head and then nodded.

  "What does it mean?" Rujisheng didn't understand.

  Yang Yu Xi rubbed her head and said: "Not fierce to others, but very fierce to me."

  Then Yang Yu Xi felt a bit embarrassed and said, "Because I like to cause trouble too much, last time I removed Uncle Liu's car tire, the time before that I blocked Grandma Wu's chimney, and this time I burned down Uncle Wang's grain warehouse..."

  Ru Qiu Sheng: "......" You can search it on Baidu;