The vast amounts of resonant power pouring out of her body suddenly halted. At the same time, the black flame chains that were rampaging around the battlefield began to retreat. This gave everyone a bit of breathing space.
Their surprised gazes were directed to Qin Lian's direction, ultimately falling upon Qin Yi.
"Qin Yi!" Qin Beiming's expression changed when he saw that a chain had pierced through her lower abdomen. Clearly, Qin Lian's sudden pause was due in no small part to Qin Yi's actions. However, Qin Yi was heavily injured. Everyone was now looking at this scene with bated breath. They didn't quite understand what Qin Yi had done, but if Qin Lian had been restrained, their dire predicament would be resolved.
"Martial Sister!" Chu Qing looked horrified as he rushed over in an attempt to rescue her.
However, Qin Yi stretched her hand out with much difficulty to signal him to stop. She had consumed a significant amount of her blood essence and fused it with her ninth-grade water resonance with a secret art in order to condense that droplet of Spirit Returning Water. The Spirit Returning Water didn't have much offensive capabilities, but it was an incredible stimulant when it came to revitalizing one's spirit. Qin Yi didn't know if it would be enough to awaken her mother, but she had to try.
Based on what she was seeing, it was at least somewhat effective. That said, she wasn't very strong when compared to her mother and thus didn't dare to let the others like Chu Qing approach, so as not to alarm her.
Qin Yi endured the agonizing pain coming from her body as she lightly called out, "Mother."
As she did so, Qin Lian's black, vortex-like eyes started to change, transforming back into ordinary pupils.
That change was observed by Qin Yi, and Qin Lian's expression changed slightly. In the end, a low, hoarse voice sounded out. "Little Yi, you... you've acted too recklessly."
A forced pale smile surfaced on Qin Yi's face. "Mother, I don't wish to see you ruin yourself. So please, wake up."
Qin Lian let out a screeching laugh. "I've always treated you so harshly and yet you still risked your life to save me, someone sinking further into depravity?"
"You're my mother. How could I give up just like that?" Qin Yi shook her head.
Qin Lian's gaze glumly swept across the chaotic, bloodstained battlefield, falling silent for a moment. "My good daughter, there is but one problem... how would you know if I was even willing to wake up in the first place?"
Qin Yi's delicate body shook as she responded in a trembling voice, "Mother, what are you talking about?"
Qin Lian answered almost robotically, "Perhaps what I truly wished was to take this opportunity to destroy everything?"
A smirk appeared on her face. "Look at how things are. I can use this chance to kill Li Luo. I think if Tan Tailan and Li Taixuan learned of this, they would be absolutely heartbroken."
Tears fell from Qin Yi's eyes as she asked painfully. "Mother, does your hatred run so deep? You've become more and more paranoid throughout the years, and today, you seem even more determined to destroy everything. Is this really worth it?"
Qin Lian's eyes turned gloomy. "My hatred is more than bone deep, especially towards that bitch, Tan Tailan! I hate her with every fiber of my being. You have to know! When I found out I was going to be engaged to Li Taixuan, do you know how happy I was? That man had even rescued me from the hands of the Others! Before Tan Tailan had ever appeared, his face had long been deeply imprinted in my heart. If not for her, I would have become the luckiest and most fortunate lady in the Heavenly Origin Divine Continent! However, Tan Tailan ruined everything! I was the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qin's prized genius and my generation's most outstanding female. However, Tan Tailan just had to pop out from some crappy place. She firmly suppressed me under her feet, and Li Taixuan was willing to break up our engagement to get together with her! Who does she think she is?!"
Qin Lian's face became distorted with rage and hatred and her eyes oozed endless enmity. Qin Yi fell silent. Qin Lian was simply too proud, and Tan Tailan's appearance had caused the most outstanding genius of the Bloodline of Heavenly Emperor Qin to suffer a blow. She was naturally unwilling to accept this result, and furthermore, the issue with Li Taixuan...
"Mother, that happened many years ago. Li Taixuan and Tan Tailan ended up being forced away from the Heavenly Origin Divine Continent. Even if this enmity ran deeper, is it not time to set it down? You are only tormenting yourself if you remain mired in your hatred," Qin Yi said.
"HAHAHAHAHA!" Qin Lian suddenly laughed shrilly and uncontrollably. At this point, black tears started to flow from the corners of her eyes.
"I have wished to set my hatred aside too. However, it is not willing to let me!" After Qin Lian finished speaking, Qin Yi was shocked to see that right between her eyebrows, her flesh began to squirm and a blood-red spider pattern emerged. The spider looked a little bizarre, as it had four heads and numerous figures of intertwined men and women were engraved on its back.
"What is that?!" Qin Yi's voice trailed off at this point. She could sense an incredibly evil aura coming from the blood-red spider tattoo. Furthermore, it seemed to have infiltrated Qin Lian's body to an even greater extent than the Black Pupil Ghostly Curse!
"This is a Devil Seed Stigmata," Qin Lian answered.
"It is the work of a Heavenly Emperor Grand Devil King. Those who have been branded will turn into a cauldron for that terrifying existence. Everything I have will become an offering to it. Once I reach the Ninth Duke Stage, it will take everything away from me. This stigmata is capable of changing my mind and will, making it impossible for me to ever purify it."
Qin Yi felt a chill run down her spine, causing her weakened body to shake in fear. She couldn't have ever imagined that there was such a terrifying thing hidden within her mother's body.
"Mother, why didn't you ask the lineage's King Stage experts to help you get rid of it?" Qin Yi asked.
Qin Lian indifferently replied, "Kings are unable to do anything about it. As I said, it can affect even my will, and if not for the interference of this other venomous curse, I wouldn't have been able to tell you about it."
Qin Yi's eyes were now completely filled with tears.
Qin Lian's gaze turned frightening at this point. "This brand has left me incredibly miserable. Do you know how I ended up with it? It's all because of Tan Tailan!" At this point, her expression turned ferocious, almost feral.
"All those years ago, when she fought me in those lost ruins, I fell into a terrifying location as a result of our duel. It was there that I encountered a monstrous existence that was sealed away. It planted this stigmata into me, turning me into its cauldron. Ever since then, my life was no longer under my control. If not for Tan Tailan, would I have fallen so far?" Venomous hatred could be seen in Qin Lian's eyes. She had been tormented by this for all these years, turned into a cauldron and unable to even choose whether to live or die. If she couldn't resent Tan Tailan and Li Taixuan for all this, then what else could she do whilst bearing all this pain and torture?
"So what say you? Do you think you can let Li Luo off after seeing how they've harmed me?"
Qin Yi trembled upon hearing Qin Lian's harsh and vicious words. She collapsed at this point, unable to endure the pain. Her eyes were filled with utter sadness and fresh blood continued to flow from her open wound.
So it turned out that Qin Lian had such an experience.
It was no wonder her character had warped over the years, becoming more and more cruel. In fact, she had even actively sought to kill Li Luo regardless of her status.
As her resentment became more intense, the black vortexes began to resurface in her eyes. This time, the counterattack was even fiercer.
Bang!
Even more terrifying resonant power undulations shrouded in corruption swept out from her body.
The expressions of Qin Beiming and the rest turned more and more pale. Their temporary relief was over and their bodies tensed up. It seemed Qin Yi had failed.
Qin Yi continued to look into Qin Lian's eyes, which had become like black vortexes again. Her heart was full of despair. She understood that her mother's heart had been filled with too much resentment and hatred. Now that those emotions had been ignited, there was no chance the Spirit Returning Water could possibly suppress them.
She had naively assumed that so long as she could awaken a trace of Qin Lian's sanity, her mother would take the initiative to suppress the corruption. Unfortunately, after the secret was unveiled, she knew that her mother never had any intention of saving herself.
She was looking to die!
However, before that happened, she would drag everyone down with her. Li Luo especially.
"Little Yi, you've suffered a lot all these years. However, you can't blame me for this. This road is one that I cannot look back on."
The vortexes in Qin Lian's eyes resurged with greater intensity than before, and just before her eyes were completely filled up by it, she flicked her finger and sent a ball of black light towards Qin Yi. It turned into a layer of feathers that completely enveloped her. "Little Yi, this is your mother's last gift of love towards you. I hope you'll be able to live through this catastrophe," Qin Lian softly said.
When the black feathers covered Qin Yi's entire body, Qin Lian's face regained a sense of serenity and boundless amounts of resonant power rushed out of her.
She stretched her hand out and viciously smacked the air.
The void shattered and a black flame hand that resembled a devil's claw appeared, directly reaching out towards Zhao Xiuyuan. Zhao Xiuyuan was completely taken aback. His five Duke Bergfrieds began to surge with incandescent light as he did his best to retreat. Bang!
Alas, the eye-catching radiance emitted by his Duke Bergfrieds were nothing compared to the black flame hand. With a mere smack, all of his Duke Bergfrieds began to crack.
In the end, he screamed in pain and his Duke Bergfrieds transformed back into motes of light that returned to his body.
Zhao Xiuyuan vomited out a large mouthful of blood as he retreated hastily. However, the black flame hand lunged straight at him, catching him before crushing his flesh and bones in an instant.
“Argh!”
Zhao Xiuyuan let out an anguished cry.
"Save me!" he screamed at Qin Beiming and the rest. Everyone had pale expressions. Zhao Xiuyuan was a fifth-grade Duke and yet he was as powerless as a newborn chick before Qin Lian. In their fright, the black flame hand then clenched into a fist, pulverizing what was left of Zhao Xiuyuan before flinging him away. His blood dyed the skies as he flew.
Before everyone's fearful gazes, Zhao Xiuyuan's pitiful figure fell from the sky, landing right into the open maw of the flower bud.
Crunch, crunch, crunch!
The sharp fangs began to chew and the sounds of crunching bones were heard throughout the battlefield.
Deep despair welled up within everyone's eyes.