CHAPTER 268: CHAPTER 268: JOHNNIE ON THE BRINK OF DEATH, PASSION-SEVERING MANTRA

"Johnnie!"

"Master!"

Cecilia and Nalorin Sylvia cried out, faces pale. They broke free of Pitiless’s bindings and rushed to Johnnie.

"Johnnie, don’t scare me!"

Cecilia hugged him tight, her face white as paper. Tears slid down as she cried in silence.

Right now, she couldn’t feel any sign of life from him. No rebirth—this was true death.

Nalorin Sylvia stood there in a daze, staring blankly, at a loss.

For some reason, her heart suddenly felt hollow. A heavy, nameless feeling surged up and clogged her chest.

Cough!

She couldn’t help a light cough. Blood slipped from the corner of her mouth, and a sharp pain stabbed in her heart.

"No, impossible. Master is Heaven’s chosen. He won’t die..." She kept shaking her head, unable to accept it.

Just then, a figure staggered over.

It was Pitiless, badly wounded.

"This is all your fault!" Seeing her, Nalorin Sylvia finally found a target for her grief. She gripped the Stellar Sword and charged.

Clang!

Pitiless still treated it lightly. With a flick of her finger, she knocked the attack aside and forced Nalorin Sylvia back.

Even badly hurt, she wasn’t someone Nalorin Sylvia could handle.

"Stop. Do you want me to save him or not?" Pitiless said coldly.

"You can save Johnnie?" Cecilia snapped her head up and stared straight at Pitiless. Hope flared again in her reddened eyes.

Nalorin Sylvia also stopped, but stayed on guard. She didn’t believe this woman was so kind.

"Of course." Pitiless gave a wicked smile. She said no more, stepped up to Johnnie, and tapped his forehead with one finger.

Hum!

A biting cold power poured into Johnnie’s body, and then waves of life force gathered.

"Frostseal of Life!" Pitiless called in a low voice. She was already badly hurt; her face went even paler, and she coughed up blood again.

Right then, Johnnie’s body began to change. Endless life force poured in. Color returned to his face, and he slowly opened his eyes.

"Huh? I’m not dead?" He looked at Cecilia’s red, tear-filled eyes, a bit dazed.

"Johnnie, you scared me to death!"

Cecilia couldn’t hold it in anymore. She burst into tears and threw herself into his arms.

Seeing this, Nalorin Sylvia let out a breath and finally relaxed. She used her sword to prop herself up so she wouldn’t collapse.

She knew the danger wasn’t over. Her face went cold as she watched Pitiless with wary eyes.

This woman would never be so kind. She had to have some hidden agenda.

Johnnie had woken up, but his stats had changed. His Health points were down to 1. Even the weakest stage 1 monster could kill him with a light hit.

Pitiless glanced at Cecilia crying in Johnnie’s arms. Her brows drew together slightly, and something shifted in her eyes.

"Hmph." She gave a cold snort, her expression turning indifferent again. "Human, I saved you. How will you repay me?"

"Hm?" Johnnie finally noticed Pitiless nearby. His face tightened. She took the Sevenfold Severance head-on, damage multiplied ten million times, and still didn’t die.

Pitiless’s strength was terrifying.

But he could also feel she was badly hurt now.

"You saved me?" Johnnie stared at her, full of doubt.

Pitiless didn’t bother with words. She flicked her hand, and the three of them were pulled through the air, unable to resist.

"Wicked woman, what are you trying to do?" Cecilia struggled hard, but it was useless.

Even badly injured, Pitiless was not someone the three of them could handle right now.

"Go."

Binding all three seemed to take all her strength. She couldn’t fly, so she leaped onto the unicorn’s back.

Sss!

The unicorn let out a sharp neigh. Its huge wings spread, wind howled, and it flew toward the depths of the snowy mountains.

Endless icy wind slammed into them. The bone-chilling cold dealt damage too. Johnnie’s 1 Health point dropped to zero in an instant.

He fell into a coma, but he didn’t die.

"Johnnie!" Cecilia cried out, panic in her eyes.

Pitiless’s cold voice came: "Relax. I’ve sealed his life in ice. He’s only unconscious. He won’t die."

"Wicked woman, what do you want?" Cecilia shouted, angry.

Pitiless let out a cold laugh and didn’t answer.

The icy wind howled as the unicorn flew at full speed. After half a day, a palace appeared on a towering snowy peak.

It was built entirely from solid ice, giving off a bitter, bone-deep chill.

"Get in." Pitiless raised her hand and pulled Cecilia and Johnnie apart.

"Let me go!" Cecilia struggled in rage, but it was useless. She was dragged into the palace against her will and trapped again.

Pitiless waved once more. A deep tunnel opened in the floor, and Johnnie and Nalorin Sylvia were tossed in.

The suppressing force here was even stronger; they still couldn’t fly.

Johnnie was still unconscious.

The shaft was deep and they fell fast. Worried, Nalorin Sylvia moved under Johnnie without hesitation to cushion him.

Puff, puff...

Withered vines sprang out and slowed their fall.

Nalorin Sylvia landed holding Johnnie and wasn’t hurt.

She didn’t dare relax and looked around with care.

It was a wide secret chamber, sealed for who knew how long, with withered, unknown vines everywhere.

"Master, you’re awake?" Nalorin Sylvia felt him move in her arms, and her pretty face warmed.

Right then, Johnnie’s head was pressed against her chest. Luckily, it was pitch black, and her veil hid her face, so he couldn’t see her blush.

"Where are we?" Johnnie sat up quickly, peered into the darkness, and asked in a weak voice.

Hum!

Power rippled. A ghostly figure appeared—it was Pitiless.

They both tensed at once.

Pitiless ignored them and said calmly, "This is my Divine Sense Realm."

Divine Sense Realm?

They both looked confused. They didn’t know what that was.

"You want to trap us here?" Nalorin Sylvia snapped.

"Heh." Pitiless chuckled, amused. "How is that trapping you? I’m helping you. Little girl, don’t think I can’t tell—you like this human."

"Don’t talk nonsense. He’s my Master." Nalorin Sylvia was flustered and angry. If she could beat Pitiless, she would’ve struck already.

"Is that so?" Pitiless looked at her as if seeing right through her.

"Nalorin Sylvia, the Nalorin Family’s Saintly Lady—don’t think I don’t know. Deep down you’re just a loose woman. Wouldn’t it be even more exciting to sleep with your Master?" Pitiless’s voice was playful, laced with a bewitching pull.

"Bastard, shut up!" Nalorin Sylvia was truly angry. She swung her sword at Pitiless.

But it was only a phantom. The sword light passed through and did no harm at all.

Pitiless’s voice came again: "What, hit a nerve? I told you, I’m helping you."

As she spoke, the phantom flicked a finger. A swirl of mist swept over and sank into Nalorin Sylvia’s body in an instant.

"Hm? What did you do to me?" She frowned, but didn’t feel any danger.

Pitiless chuckled. "Passion-Severing Mantra. It’s a talisman I made myself. It has no effect on someone truly cold and heartless. But for someone who’s fallen in love, it’s a death curse. Only by joining with the one you like can you ease the pain. Little girl, I’m helping you. No need to thank me..."

The phantom faded, her voice drifting away. The closed space fell silent again, with only their breathing left.

Johnnie, worried, asked, "Sylvia, are you okay?"

"Master, don’t come any closer." Nalorin Sylvia cried out in fear, quickly stopping Johnnie from approaching.

The moment she looked at him, pain stabbed her heart. A fire rose from deep in her soul.

It was raw desire, an impulse that threatened to rip her reason apart, to throw herself into Johnnie’s arms and let it all out.

No. I can’t!

She shook her head hard. Johnnie was her Master. Her cultivation family prized honor. If she did this, the family would never accept it.

But the more she resisted, the stronger the desire grew, and the pain in her chest felt like a thousand blades.

She kept backing up, stumbled, and fell. Her hand brushed the vines on the ground—and they burst into life.

The withered vines turned bright green and shot up. In just a few breaths, the small dark space filled with lush growth. Yellow, white, and pink flowers bloomed among the vines, and a light fragrance spread.

Loranthus Mistletoe!

Johnnie recognized the plant. It seemed her feelings had brought it back to life.

"This is bad. I think this stuff works like an aphrodisiac."

His face tightened. Nalorin Sylvia’s eyes were already hazy. She stared at him, dazed, and took step after step toward him, unable to stop herself.

"Master, it hurts. Help me," Nalorin Sylvia pleaded softly, eyes full of pain.

Her hand lifted. Shaking, she took off the thin veil on her face.

A stunning face appeared, cheeks flushed, eyes fixed on Johnnie with longing.

Nalorin Sylvia had sworn long ago: any man who saw her face would face only two ends—marry her, or be killed by her.

Johnnie swallowed. He knew she wasn’t in her right mind. He didn’t want to take advantage of her.

"Hm? The Map of Heaven and Earth can work?" He sensed something. The suppression here was gone; he could open the Map of Heaven and Earth now.

But with Sylvia in this state, he didn’t. Instead, he asked in his heart, "Coco, do you have a way to break the Passion-Severing Mantra?"

"Passion-Severing Mantra? The one Pitiless cast?" Coco’s voice answered. "Easy—be completely cold and heartless."

"Easy?"

Johnnie was speechless. Almost no one can do that. Even the worst villains can’t truly cut off all feelings.

Except that evil Pitiless, maybe.

For Nalorin Sylvias, it was impossible.

Johnnie pressed again, "Any other way?"