After Rebirth, the Love-Struck Cannon Fodder Woke Up - Chapter 26

Chapter 26: Injury

◎ Love Rivals Fight, Both Severely Injured ◎

Outside the Holy Land, the moment Shen Anlan heard Feng Ruo’s voice transmission, the sudden surge of jealousy in her heart almost consumed her reason.

The nightmare scenes flashed through her mind over and over, and her inner obsession grew stronger and stronger.

Lianxin could only be hers! No one could take her away!

As a mortal enemy in the previous life, Shen Anlan knew Feng Ruo’s nature. She knew the other party was most likely saying that on purpose.

However, affected by the dream, a trace of worry also existed deep in her heart.

The Holy Land was still far from opening. If Lianxin and Feng Ruo stayed inside for a long time, the result was hard to predict.

For Shen Anlan, who had mastered the Law of Time in her previous life, breaking the Heavenly Restrictions was an easy feat. But in this life, her strength was temporarily insufficient.

In her past life, when Shen Anlan reached the Great Vehicle Completion stage and was about to perform the Time Reversal Art, the Heavenly Dao had given a warning.

If she stubbornly proceeded, many things detrimental to her would happen after the time reversal.

Now, she had already guessed that the reason Feng Ruo appeared in the Holy Land was an arrangement by the Heavenly Dao.

Realizing this, she immediately attempted to communicate with the Heavenly Dao.

As the only person in the history of the Grand Profound Realm who had mastered the Law of Time and could contend with the Heavenly Dao, she quickly received a response.

The Heavenly Dao permitted her to enter the Holy Land but proposed a condition: she must never use the power of the Law of Time again in this life.

Once the transaction was made, if violated, all her cultivation and luck would be lost. Even if her cultivation was world-shattering, she would instantly be reduced to a mortal.

Shen Anlan agreed without hesitation.

In the previous life, the reason she comprehended the Law of Time was to save Lianxin.

In this life, as long as Lianxin was safe and well, whether or not she mastered the power of the Law was irrelevant.

After the transaction was completed, Shen Anlan successfully entered the Holy Land, and then heard the conversation between Lianxin and Feng Ruo.

At that moment, her relief overshadowed all other emotions.

Lianxin had not fallen in love with Feng Ruo; she still had a chance.

However, when her gaze fell upon the girl, her usually gentle eyes were momentarily frozen.

She saw a very conspicuous dark lotus imprinted on the girl’s right wrist, hidden by her sleeve.

Others who saw this mark would likely mistake it for a floral decoration, but Shen Anlan knew very well that this was the mark left after a secret technique of the Asura Sect was cast.

Recalling the answer she received when she first sent a voice transmission to the girl, she immediately understood. Her gaze turned to Feng Ruo. The gentleness instantly vanished, replaced by hostility.

“What did Fellow Daoist Feng do to Lianxin?”

Feng Ruo did not hide the matter.

“It’s just a secret technique to prevent Lianxin from harming herself. Fellow Daoist Shen has most likely recovered your past life memories, so you surely wouldn’t want to see Lianxin cast that kind of forbidden technique again?”

“Naturally, I wouldn’t.”

“Since that’s the case, let the secret technique remain. Otherwise, if something unexpected happens to Fellow Daoist Shen in the future, I’m worried this foolish girl will do something foolish again.”

Shen Anlan was silent for a moment. She neither wanted to see Lianxin harm herself nor did she want a secret technique mark from Feng Ruo to appear on Lianxin.

“It’s not just the Asura Sect’s secret technique that can achieve this. The Clear River Sect also possesses similar spells.”

Feng Ruo said meaningfully: “Wouldn’t an extra layer of protection be better? Or is Fellow Daoist Shen not very concerned about Lianxin’s safety, but more about the distinction between Dao and Demon?”

“Of course not!”

Shen Anlan’s tone was icy. “Feng Ruo, stop trying to sow discord. You disguised yourself as a rogue cultivator, deliberately approaching Lianxin and me. Your intentions deserve to be punished. Now that we are in the Holy Land, it’s the perfect time to settle the grudges of both the past and present lives!”

With that, her figure flashed. She raised her sword and attacked the woman in red.

Feng Ruo was not afraid in the slightest. She took out a dark long whip and quickly engaged in battle with Shen Anlan.

To prevent the aftermath of their fight from hurting the girl, the two moved positions as they fought, going a hundred li away in less than an instant.

Du Lianxin had wanted to stop them, but when the words reached her mouth, she didn’t know where to start.

In the previous life, Feng Ruo set a trap and harmed Senior Sister Shen first. According to Feng Ruo, Senior Sister Shen later killed her and destroyed the entire Demon Sect. The hatred between them could not be small.

Judging solely from their expressions and actions after seeing each other just now, they indeed did not seem to have any romantic feelings.

Could it be… that the world in a book she sensed during her final moments in the previous life was indeed not the truth?

Then why did she have that sensation?

Did some mysterious entity manage to force it upon her, misleading her judgment?

But at that time, her vitality was cut off, and she was on the verge of death. She couldn’t do anything else. Why would that mysterious entity bother with this?

Or did the other party assert that she would be reborn?

This raises a new question.

Before being reborn, she was merely a mediocre Four Spiritual Root cultivator, without a heaven-defying cultivation method or any great fortune. Why would the other party try to construct a so-called world in a book to mislead her?

Is there some crucial truth here that she has yet to learn?

In the distance, the sound of rumbling, accompanied by the clash of weapons, occasionally reached Du Lianxin’s ears, temporarily interrupting her thoughts.

Shen Anlan and Feng Ruo were both at the Core Formation Completion stage now. It was difficult to determine the victor in a short time.

The two were already past life enemies. In this life, they had the added layer of being love rivals. Both fought with killing intent, unleashing fatal moves without holding back in the slightest.

The area covered by their fight was reduced to dust and ash.

Feng Ruo had brought many treasures with her. Seeing the stalemate with Shen Anlan, she waved her sleeve and took out a Heavenly Thunder Pellet with immense power, acquired from the remains of an ancient cultivator.

This item was made by collecting heavenly thunder during a cultivator’s tribulation using a special secret technique. Once deployed, it could severely injure not only Core Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators but also Soul Transformation cultivators.

In the previous life, she lured Shen Anlan to the Nine-Layered Ice Domain, using the Heavenly Thunder Pellet to instantly destroy two of her protective treasures. Coupled with the assistance of multiple traps, she ultimately succeeded in crippling her cultivation.

In this life, Shen Anlan had recovered her past life memories, and the original plan was no longer viable. Since the two were fighting now, the Heavenly Thunder Pellet was used ahead of time.

Due to the distance, Du Lianxin could only sense the general commotion of the battle, unable to see the specifics. Knowing her current strength was insufficient, she did not attempt to approach.

She had originally thought the two would slowly stop after fighting to a certain extent, but a sudden earth-shattering explosion reached her ears.

The terrifying aftermath instantly spread outward, affecting a radius of a hundred li.

Du Lianxin was startled by this sudden change, her face turning slightly pale.

In an instant, the aftermath dissipated.

She quickly flew on her sword toward the center of the battle zone. Within her sight, a giant sinkhole appeared.

Shen Anlan, holding her sword in one hand, was half-kneeling on the ground, spitting out large mouthfuls of fresh bl00d. Seeing the girl approach, she forced a smile toward her. Then, her body tilted, and she fell to the ground.

Not far away, Feng Ruo lay on her back, also unconscious. The long whip artifact she used as a weapon was now broken into several pieces.

Du Lianxin rushed to their sides and checked their condition with her divine sense. Her tightly wound nerves slightly relaxed.

Both were still alive, their lives not in danger. However, their injuries were severe, and their meridians were heavily damaged. Until they recovered, they could no longer use spiritual energy.

Du Lianxin took out a healing elixir for each of them and fed it to Shen Anlan and Feng Ruo, respectively.

Looking at their quiet faces, she didn’t feel much worry. Instead, she thought, They can finally be quiet now.

Both of their storage artifacts were destroyed in the explosion. All their elixirs and talismans were gone. Only a few artifacts remained.

The healing elixirs Du Lianxin carried were of relatively low quality. To fully recover, Shen Anlan and Feng Ruo would have to slowly meditate and recuperate after waking up. This meant they would be unable to fight for a long time.

About half a zhancha later, Shen Anlan woke up first.

As her consciousness gradually returned, she tried to get up but aggravated her injuries, immediately coughing violently.

Du Lianxin heard the commotion and was about to step forward. However, in the next instant, she realized something. She immediately stopped, fixed her gaze on the woman in purple, and said flatly: “Senior Sister Shen, your injuries are severe. It is not advisable to move around. You need to rest quietly for a while.”

Seeing the girl’s demeanor, which suggested a desire to keep her distance, a pang of bitterness surged in Shen Anlan’s heart. Just as she was about to speak, another cough sounded.

Feng Ruo had woken up from her coma.

Seeing Shen Anlan’s extremely fragile appearance, she coughed and laughed: “Ha… haha, Shen Anlan, I won… cough… cough cough… this fight! Your injuries are no… cough cough… no less severe than mine!”

Hearing these words, Du Lianxin’s beautiful brows slightly furrowed.

“The primary task for both of you now is to heal your injuries. Please temporarily set aside personal grievances and refrain from further disputes.”

Feng Ruo turned her head with difficulty, looking at the girl, a smile blooming on her face.

“Lianxin is still the best… cough… cough cough… Lianxin, are you really not coming back to the Asura Sect with me?”

Hearing this, Shen Anlan immediately spoke: “Lianxin is my Junior Sister. As a Daoist cultivator, she will never associate with the Demon Faction. Fellow Daoist Feng should give up as soon as possible!”

Feng Ruo became angry. “Surname Shen, if you… cough… cough cough… have the guts, let’s fight again!”

Beside them, Du Lianxin said coldly: “Both of you are currently severely injured and cannot use spiritual energy. Everything is up to me now. Please rest assured and heal. Coexist peacefully in the Holy Land for now. The spiritual energy here is dense, and this precious time for cultivation should not be wasted.”

As soon as the girl spoke, both Shen Anlan and Feng Ruo were very obedient and quickly quieted down.

Night fell, and the temperature inside the Holy Land dropped sharply.

Du Lianxin gathered some firewood, piled it up, and created a bonfire.

During this time, Shen Anlan and Feng Ruo both watched her without blinking.

After the bonfire was lit, Du Lianxin spread a layer of dry grass around it. At the same time, she cast a simple restriction to block the cold wind blowing from outside.

“Senior Sister Shen, Senior Feng, sitting on the hay will be warmer.”

After saying this, Du Lianxin slightly adjusted her skirt and sat cross-legged on the spot.

Almost simultaneously, Shen Anlan and Feng Ruo got up, quickly came to her side, and sat down in the hay, one on the left and one on the right, pressed against her.

Feeling the temperatures not belonging to herself on both sides, Du Lianxin’s expression slightly stiffened.

“Senior Sister Shen, Senior Feng, plenty of hay has been spread. You don’t necessarily have to lean on me.”

Feng Ruo pressed tightly against her left arm. “Lianxin, I’m cold~ Can I lean on you?”

The girl was soft-hearted. Thinking that neither of them could use spiritual energy to ward off the cold now, and they were injured, she ultimately did not try to push the woman away.

Beside them, Shen Anlan was displeased. She forcefully put her arm around Lianxin’s waist, pressing her entire body against her, almost half-lying in the girl’s arms.

Although she had agreed to peacefully coexist with Feng Ruo in the Holy Land for Lianxin’s sake, whenever she saw the other party getting close to her beloved, the intense possessiveness in her heart would quickly sprout.

If possible, she didn’t want anyone but her to get close to Lianxin.

But she couldn’t risk making Lianxin angry again.

In the last life, she didn’t cherish her, foolishly missing the opportunity to be with her beloved. In this life, she wanted to make up for it properly.

Shen Anlan knew Lianxin was unwilling to accept her now, but she believed that time could prove everything…