The laughter on the other end of the line suddenly stopped—
as if struck silent by Qu Tong's icy, resolute words.
For a moment, only silence lingered between them.
After a long pause, the voice finally spoke again, carrying deep helplessness:
"Duanmu Ying, I know your hatred runs deep,
but some things truly lie beyond our control."
"The Eight Forbidden Techniques... they originate from demonic forces. If we continue down this path, we'll only bring greater calamity."
Qu Tong curled her lips into a cold smile, her eyes gleaming with disdain.
"Calamity? Hmph. So what?
When they hunted us down and drove us to the brink of death,
did they ever consider that retribution would come?"
"I'm merely giving them a taste of their own medicine.
If you're afraid, then leave—I won't stop you."
She paused, her voice sharpening like a blade:
"And stop calling me by that name. Duanmu Ying is dead.
I am Qu Tong now."
The other person sighed faintly, their voice tinged with sorrow.
"Qu Tong… you've changed.
You once cared for the world and dreamed of curing all illnesses.
But now… you're driven by hatred, walking a path of no return."
"A path of no return?" Qu Tong scoffed.
"So what if it is?
Do you know what I've endured these years?
Every time I close my eyes, I see the faces of my pursuers—
those beasts from the Lu Clan...
I want nothing more than to tear them to shreds!"
Her voice was steeped in hatred, weighed with exhaustion:
"You want me to give up?
Hmph, I can't.
No matter what, they will pay for what they did!"
The line went quiet again—
her overwhelming hatred and unshakable resolve seemed to permeate the silence.
Eventually, the voice returned, soft and resigned:
"If that's your choice… then take care of yourself.
But know this—
once some things are done, there's no going back."
The voice faded again into silence.
After a while, it returned once more, melancholy and distant:
"Ever since the Trinity Gate Gathering,
I haven't been able to see where the future leads."
Then came the cold beep-beep of a call ended.
The fragile thread between them had been cut.
Qu Tong's hand trembled as she held her phone,
emotions surging inside her like a crashing tide.
She knew the other party wasn't wrong.
But for her… there was no turning back.
Her hatred burned like wildfire, pushing her further and further down this blood-stained road of vengeance.
"No matter what… they must pay for what they did!"
She swore it again in her heart,
her eyes blazing with a light more brilliant than ever.
In her mind, an image surfaced—
a girl, faint and distant, yet all too familiar.
Qu Tong's lips curled into a subtle, complex smile.
"Gu Jiting...
you claim to see everything, yet you never knew the truth behind the creation of Feng Baobao, did you?"
She gently shook her head, as if mocking the absurdity of fate itself.
"That child…
she is the demon.
All the secrets lie within her.
The entire puzzle has long been complete."
A flicker of awe passed through her eyes as she murmured:
"Wugen Sheng... you truly are something.
If you hadn't sensed something amiss,
the demon would've already been reborn.
Divine Soul Perception—incredible."
She took a deep breath, her eyes blazing with heat.
"Back then, Wugen Sheng only managed to steal three pieces:
Qi Source Technique, Twin Perfection Hands, and Grand Luo Vision.
As long as I get my hands on that key to the Qi Source Technique,
everything ends."
Suddenly, a flash of unease stirred within her.
She stood and rushed outside, calling her subordinates in a rare display of urgency.
"Double the manpower—we must rescue Ma Hongxian!"
After giving her orders, she muttered silently:
"The Body Refinement Furnace isn't complete—he can't die.
How else am I supposed to claim the demon's power?"
Only after finishing this arrangement did her heart begin to settle.
All her years of endurance, hibernation, and planning had been for two things:
the Body Refinement Furnace and the Qi Source Technique.
Now, both were within reach—
she couldn't afford any slip-ups.
Still, even if something went wrong, it wouldn't matter much.
Her ultimate goal was revenge.
As long as she achieved that,
how she did it didn't matter.
If it came down to it,
she would gladly revive the demon and drag the entire world into ruin.
She had long grown tired of this world of pain and hatred.
Death, to her, would be liberation.
But even then, she understood one thing clearly—
The joy of taking revenge with her own hands
would always be sweeter than dying together.
So unless absolutely necessary—
she wouldn't choose that path.
In short—
she was already mad,
but not yet completely insane.
Meanwhile, Hikaru's plan continued to unfold smoothly.
After Fu Rong and the others located Hikaru and Chen Duo,
they immediately tried to seize them to use as leverage for Ma Hongxian's release.
But reality was cruel—
they were instantly overpowered by Hikaru.
Before they could even move,
he had frozen them in place, unable to lift a finger.
Fu Rong looked at the handsome man before her with a complicated expression.
Somewhere deep in her heart,
an urge to fall in love again flickered to life.
But when she remembered the mountain of bills waiting for her—
and the girl clinging to Hikaru's side—
she dismissed the thought at once.
After all, every guy she'd ever dated turned out to be a scumbag.
She'd learned to stay far away from love.
Unlike Fu Rong, who could still daydream, Zhao Guizhen was drenched in cold sweat.
He stared at Hikaru, visibly trembling—
especially when he felt the murderous aura radiating from him.
He had once thought himself superior,
believing a mere temp worker wasn't worth his attention.
Yet now, he had been completely crushed in a single breath.
What frightened him even more
was the inexplicable sense that Hikaru had singled him out with that killing intent.
It was as if death itself had locked its gaze on him.
Zhao Guizhen forced a shaky smile,
trying to defuse the suffocating tension.
"I… I don't know how I may have offended you, sir…
But if there's any misunderstanding, please… enlighten me."