Xing Rui seemed not to notice his unease, the corner of her lips curving into a cold, mocking smile.
"I have already told my father about Yan'er's situation. Soon, the Seven Star Elder of the Xing family will arrive here. Since you claim everything you do is for Yan'er's sake, then bleed out a bowl of your blood immediately to avenge her!"
Yu Weifeng was stunned.
"Blood?"
Moments later.
A mass of yellow-white radiance flew over. Xing Rui quickly stepped forward, cradling the jade urn in her arms to greet it.
"Seven Star Elder, you are finally here!"
The newcomer wore a robe patterned with stars. His aura was that of an immortal sage, eyes calm and fathomless. Seven Star glanced at the jade urn in Xing Rui's arms. With a flick of his finger, the frosty urn lit up, revealing a frail wisp of soul.
Yu Zhenyan sat huddled in a corner of the urn, hugging her knees, her vacant eyes filled with helplessness. She could not see the world outside the urn, but Xing Rui's eyes reddened at the sight.
"To think the clan's most precious Spirit-Nurturing Urn… this old man sees it for the first time, yet under such circumstances…" Seven Star shook his head and sighed.
Xing Rui's gaze burned with hatred. "It was all that wretched daughter of Yao Yanliu who harmed her. Fortunately, Yan'er's body carries only nine wounds. As long as her vitality is restored and her dantian repaired, she can still return to us!"
Seven Star's eyes flickered briefly toward the silent Yu Weifeng, then he nodded. "Yan'er is of the Xing family. To stand against her is to stand against us."
Xing Rui wiped her tears. "Elder, I have already drawn the blood you requested. I heard you possess the Blood-Seeking Curse. Will what I prepared be enough?"
She stepped aside, revealing the table behind her.
Atop it rested a bowl of crimson blood. Strange runes marked the tabletop, exuding a sinister aura.
Seven Star nodded in satisfaction. "With the clan leader's blood, Yao Ranran will never escape our grasp."
Yu Weifeng's eyes widened. "Elder, you mean to use the Blood-Seeking Curse?"
Seven Star smiled faintly. "Precisely so."
Yu Weifeng's brows furrowed. "But once the curse is cast, if the target perishes, Elder Seven Star will also attract Heaven's retribution, will he not?"
"What are you afraid of? Are you worried Yao Ranran will die just like that?"
Xing Rui's mocking tone was sharp as a blade.
Yu Weifeng's eyes dodged. "Madam, why would you suspect me? How could I harbor such thoughts?"
Seven Star brushed his sleeve and strode forward. "Before the clan, what is Heaven's punishment? Yan'er suffered such calamity. Even if this old life must be burned away, I will avenge her!"
Xing Rui was moved. Her clan elders truly cherished her daughter.
"Seven Star Elder, once Yao Ranran is slain, I will beg my father to grant your descendants the best cultivation resources."
Seven Star only chuckled.
Resources were a triviality. The only reason he had agreed to act was because the Xing patriarch had promised to share a branch of a supreme spiritual vein with him, allowing him one-tenth of the spirit stones it produced.
Still, he accepted her goodwill. "Mn, Rui'er is thoughtful."
A mosquito may be small, but it is still meat.
Yu Weifeng stood nearby, cold sweat soaking his palms. He did not want Yao Ranran to die at their hands, and he feared even more the Xing family gaining control of the supreme spiritual vein.
Xing Rui focused intently on Seven Star. Rays of light surged skyward as seven eerie stars imprinted themselves upon the table.
She retreated a step with the Spirit-Nurturing Urn, leaving room for him to act.
Seven Star waved his hand. The bowl of blood poured over the starlit sigils, the star array glowing with a chilling red light.
…
Gu Ling Mountain.
Yao Ranran had a dream.
She sat before a table carved with seven stars in a row. An old man sat across from her, eyes closed, muttering ceaselessly, holding a half bowl of blood. She stared in surprise, and suddenly, the old man opened his eyes, curving his lips into a sinister smile.
"You have come, Yao Ranran!"
Yao Ranran glanced around. She realized the old man was speaking to her, and behind him stood Yu Weifeng and Xing Rui.
"You… called me here for what purpose?"
She looked at him in confusion.
Seven Star only smiled without answering.
He dipped his fingers into the blood and pressed his palm against the seven-star pattern. A dense net of scarlet threads spread forth, binding Yao Ranran's wrists, ankles, neck, her entire body ensnared.
"What is this supposed to be?"
In the dream, Yao Ranran did not resist, instead curiously examining the red threads wound around her arms.
Xing Rui, clutching the urn, recoiled in alarm as the blood threads spread across the ground.
Through the mist of blood, only Seven Star's smiling face was clear.
"Elder, have you caught Yao Ranran?"
Seven Star nodded calmly. "The Ye ancestor claimed she slew Yu Chihai in one strike, but in my view, that was merely a lie to protect their useless heir."
Xing Rui's lips curved in delight. That meant Yao Ranran was caught!
"Elder, kill her now. I want Yao Ranran to die in agony!"
"Seven Star Elder… perhaps we should spare her life. Wait until the supreme spiritual vein is secured, then strike…" Yu Weifeng's voice was urgent, slipping out before he could stop it.
"Yu Weifeng, you still cannot hold yourself back. At this moment, are you truly unwilling to see Yao Ranran dead?" Xing Rui glared at him in fury.
Yu Weifeng pressed his lips tight, but the tension in his eyes betrayed him.
"Yes! Yao Ranran is my daughter no matter what. I cannot bear for her to perish just like this. Since she was cast down to the Eastern Wilderness, I have not seen her once. Elder Seven Star, spare her life!"
As the curse neared completion, Yu Weifeng could no longer contain his desperation.
The Yu clan's chance to overturn its fate rested here. If the Xing family seized the supreme vein, he would never rise again, and might even be crushed to death under their heel because of Yao Ranran.
Yao Ranran toyed with the blood threads in her dream, tilting her head in puzzlement.
As expected, this was a dream. Otherwise, how could Yu Weifeng suddenly speak like a human being?
"You… you finally admit it! All that talk about doing everything for Yan'er, you have been lying, lying all along!" Xing Rui screamed in rage.
Yu Weifeng ignored her. He lunged forward, casting spiritual light to disrupt Seven Star.
Seven Star only smiled serenely.
Xing Rui had long been prepared. A golden shield flared before her, repelling Yu Weifeng's attack.
She immediately lashed out, cradling the urn as she attacked him.
"Yu Weifeng, you dare betray Yan'er? Then this old woman will peel your skin as the price!"
Yu Weifeng stumbled in panic, his pupils contracting. "You are mad! To strike at me so viciously?"
"The mad one is you!"
Her attacks fell like a storm, each blow full of hatred.
Yao Ranran's eyes widened.
So this is what they mean by day thoughts becoming night dreams.
Could it be her subconscious truly wished for Yu Weifeng and Xing Rui to turn on each other for her sake?
"At the moment of your death, to see Clan Leader Yu fight for you, should that not be enough to close your eyes in peace?"
Seven Star asked with a faint smile.
===
The Author write it as 七星长老 (Qī Xīng Zhǎnglǎo) literally translated as Seven Star Elder. Maybe 'Seven Star' is kind of force inside the Xing family.