The Divine Nine-Dragon Cauldron
chapter-136

Su Yu continued to peacefully read the Five Dragon Blaze manual in the hall.

Yun Yan bit her lips, her steps silent.

A fragrance spread to Su Yu, causing him to put down the manual and look to his side. It was Yun Yan.

Her hair was propped up by a green band and she wore a butterfly hairpin. A strip of green silk fell to her chest. She was as pretty as a painting.

Her beautiful face had a thin film of makeup, her cheeks had traces of pink like the delicate petals of a flower. She had a noble aura, her beauty could not be corrupted.

"Su Yu, congratulations on taking Xianer back." Yun Yan sat down, her eyes filled with admiration.

The Outer Sanctum had received news of Su Yu crashing Cao Xuan's wedding ceremony and taking Xianer back, followed by battling Cao Xuan in a grand battle. Yun Yan had ease of access to information and had long since known about these events.

She knew better than anyone else how Su Yu had made it to today, one step at a time. He had created many miracles and broken through many hopeless situations in his journey. He had created many legends.

In the Outer Sanctum, Su Yu was a legendary figure many chased after. He was an inspiration.

People especially remembered his final words, 'If heaven is going to forget me, I would rather become a demon,; which he had screamed at the Fallen Star Contest. That had become the motto etched in the hearts of many Outer Sanctum disciples.

Su Yu was an unsurpassable legend.

As the person who had witnessed Su Yu's every step, Yun Yan was incredibly proud.

Xianer? Su Yu's expression was a little serious.

He only had half of Xianer, the other half had not returned to him yet—not until she was safe.

"Thank you." Su Yu forced a smile.

After some chatter, Yun Yan clenched her fist and her heart wavered.

The more Yun Yan understood, the more she respected and admired Su Yu. In her heart, she wished that she could continue to be friends with him.

If she let him consume the love potion, if she forced Su Yu to hand over the Five Dragon Blaze, there would be an irreconcilable split between her and Su Yu.

Who could still trust a friendship that had been corrupted by blackmail?

Yun Yan's heart ached as she looked over at the Five Dragon Blaze that Su Yu had nonchalantly placed on the table.

On one hand, she wanted to preserve the precious friendship. On the other hand, it was most important to solve her family's crisis and gain her freedom from her future husband.

She had no choice.

Su Yu grabbed the Five Dragon Blaze. "Yun Yan, you are going to leave tomorrow, I…"

Seeing Su Yu grab the Five Dragon Blaze with the intention of leaving, Yun Yan panicked.

Yun Yan clenched her teeth, smiling. "You are leaving so quickly? We have not finished the wine."

Su Yu could only think about Xianer and the issue of breaking through to the next cultivation level, which he could not wrap his head around. How could he continue drinking?

"Forget the wine, I…" Su Yu wanted to hand the Five Dragon Blaze over, but he was interrupted by the flustered Yun Yan. "How… how is that fine? I am leaving the faction tomorrow and it might be hard for us to meet again in the future—if we do not drink at least a cup today, there might not be another chance in the future." Yun Yan poured a cup in a hurry.

She deftly pinched the cover of the flask and gently twisted it to the right. This way, the love potion would not fall and the wine would be safe.

After that, she turned it to the left and poured a cup for Su Yu. This wine was laced full with the love potion.

Hearing Yun Yan's parting words, Su Yu's heart was filled with emotion.

When he first stepped into the Zhenlong continent, this lady was his only friend. She had helped him a considerable amount. Today, she was about to leave and there was no telling when they might meet again.

"Alright, when you return to your family I hope that you continue cultivating. Do not stop in your martial path." With a light sigh, he received Yun Yan's wine.

When he was about to taste the wine, he saw traces of pink. He paused.

Yun Yan's heart skipped a beat. "That's the plum blossom wine that the Yun family makes, there may be some pink residue."

She downed her entire cup, proving that there is no poison.

This dispelled Su Yu's suspicion and he emptied his cup.

Yun Yan's heart was uneasy as she witnessed Su Yu finish his wine. She did not feel relaxed. Instead, she felt terrible. She had tricked him after all, just for the Five Dragon Blaze. She had forsaken the friendship between her and Su Yu.

Yun Yan felt despicable. How was she any different from Li Hao?

She had used underhanded means to threaten others…

But, thinking back to the situation with her family, Yun Yan was bitter. She had to get her hands on the Five Dragon Blaze!

When Su Yu felt the effects of the drug she could threaten him, thereby obtaining the precious Five Dragon Blaze!

"Alright, I've finished the drink. You'll be leaving the faction tomorrow. I have just joined the faction and have nothing to my name, so I can only give you this. I hope it will be of use." Su Yu passed the Five Dragon Blaze to her with a smile.

Rumble—

As if lightning struck her brain, Yun Yan froze on the spot. She was unable to believe what she just heard.

It was after a moment that she stuttered. "You… are giving… this to me?"

Seeing her shocked expression, Su Yu smiled. "I wanted to give this to you during the Fallen Star Contest, but there were too many people present. So it was dragged around all the way to today, I'm sorry."

Once again lightning struck Yun Yan's brain. She suddenly remembered that Su Yu had asked her to stay for a moment after the Fallen Star Contest, for he said he wanted to give her something.

Had he wanted to give her the Fire Dragon Blaze?

"That is a legacy level technique… Why would you give it to me?" Yun Yan's throat was raw.

"You are my only friend in the Liuxian faction, and you helped me multiple times. What's the harm in giving you a Legacy level technique that I would have difficulty cultivating myself? Take it, hopefully it will be of use to you."

Only friend?

Yun Yan's soul shook. She had never been this moved.

Only friend… Yun Yan muttered repeatedly in her heart. Everytime she repeated the phrase, her soul shook.

Tears started to form in her eyes. She cried thanks to Su Yu, a true friend, and his act of supreme generosity. But her tears were full of deep, bitter shame.

Su Yu had treated her as his only friend, but what did she do in return?

Compared to Su Yu, Yun Yan was ugly and evil. She had no right to be Su Yu's friend.

"What's… wrong with you?" Su Yu was shocked. He stepped forward in concern, patting her shoulder.

Reacting to Su Yu's sincere concern, Yun Yan bitterly closed her eyes and two lines of tears fell across her face.

Whoosh—

Yun Yan buckled, kneeling with tears in her eyes. "Su Yu… I'm sorry!"

How could Su Yu not realize what had happened? Thinking back to the pink wine, an idea formed in his head. Could that wine be…

Gravely looking at the kneeling and weeping Yun Yan, Su Yu's expression was of disbelief. How could a noble, kind lady do something like that to him?

After some time, his gaze became cold. "There's poison in the wine?"

"No! I… I would never poison you. That was not a poisonous substance, it will only make you unable to control yourself…" Yun Yan said in a hurry, but she bit her lips. She did not make excuses for herself.

It was not poisoned wine? Su Yu let out a sigh of relief in his heart. But the gaze he used to look at Yun Yan gradually grew colder. "Can you tell me why?"

Yun Yan was full of guilt. She naturally would not hide it from Su Yu, telling him the situation between herself and Li Hao.

After listening to her, Su Yu did not know how to react.

The drug was from Li Hao, meant to frame Su Yu.

Yun Yan had accepted it with intention of telling Su Yu, and the intention to remind him to be careful of any assassination attempts or sneak attacks.

But she saw the Five Dragon Blaze and had other thoughts.

"If I refused to give it to you, what would you have done?" Su Yu slowly pushed the Five Dragon Blaze back into his sleeve.

Seeing him hide the manual, Yun Yan felt bitter but was surprisingly relaxed.

The Fice Dragon Blaze carried too much guilt; she did not have the will to accept it any longer. Perhaps it was for the best that Su Yu kept it.

She had committed a sin and had deserved what she got. The Five Dragon Blaze that was supposed to be hers was abandoned by her.

She could only return to the mortal world and obediently marry Li Hao in exchange for the weaker Fire Dragon Mantra, this was her own doing. She had brought this upon herself.

"I would never frame you, even if you refused to give into the threats…" Yun Yan choked, "Please believe me for the last time. I was despicable, but I would definitely not frame you, Su Yu." Yun Yan lifted her head, her teary eyes hiding a plea.

She did not hope that Su Yu would forgive her, she only wished that Su Yu's impression of her in his heart would not stay evil and dirty.

She did not understand when Su Yu whipped out the Five Dragon Blaze again and threw it beside her.

Su Yu wore a lonely look. "Let's end things with this. Take care of yourself."

He had severed the friendship between himself and Yun Yan.

After this incident, an irreconcilable crack had formed between them. They could no longer be friends like that had once been.

A shred of loneliness floated into Su Yu's heart. He thought he had met a kind friend in the faction. But, in the face of temptation, Yun Yan had ultimately forsaken their friendship.

He recalled the day on the vast ocean when he had been alone on the island after being heavily injured by the beasts of the ocean.

Wu Pangyun and Liu Guang had disregarded him, only Yun Yan had handed him rejuvenating elixirs out of concern to aid in his recovery.

Her beautiful, kind figure was one Su Yu could not forget.

But today… a pain formed in Su Yu's heart.

Yun Yan's heart was sour, she had lost something deep within her soul.

The friendship between her and Su Yu could never be salvaged.

"Sorry…" Regret encircled her soul, bringing about a heart-wrenching pain. She let out a voiceless cry. She felt a deep, heartbreaking shame and grief.

The elegant, noble Yun Yan cried out for the friendship she had lost.

Su Yu remained silent, turning to leave.

Seeing that Su Yu was about to leave, Yun Yan hurriedly got up and grabbed Su Yu. "Don't go out! Li Hao is outside, you'll fall into a trap!"

Su Yu hesitated. "Is there an antidote?"

"There's no antidote, but if you slowly circulate your spirit energy you'll be fine." Yun Yan rubbed her swollen red eyes remorsefully. "You can stay here, I'll set up a protection spell."

Su Yu coldly glanced at her, sitting down cross-legged without saying another word.

The important thing now was to remove the effects of the drug from his body. He did not have the time to care about anything else.

Su Yu began circulating his spirit energy throughout his body, forcing most of the drug out of through his pores. But the process was oddly tiring. His spirit energy had run dry, yet traces of the drug remained in his body.

"I need a bit of rest, help me set up a barrier." Su Yu took a deep breath, closing his eyes to slowly recover his spirit energy.

Yun Yan did not answer. Instead, Su Yu only caught a whiff of a fragrance before entering a state of meditation.