Chapter 51 Death and Annihilation (Part 1) Why is that?

Within the snow-capped mountains of Yunxu, rivers of blood flowed.

Qingxing lay on the muddy ground with her eyes half-closed and her face turned to the side, barely alive.

The snow froze the thick blood, and broken weapons and limbs were scattered everywhere. Not far away lay her fellow disciples, the students of this trial, in no better condition than she was, some even on the verge of death.

“…Guda?” Qingxing looked at the water droplet in front of her and shouted its name with all her might.

There was no response.

The spirit of the book had long since turned into a stagnant pool of water, gradually disappearing with the passage of time.

The buzzing in her ears grew louder, and the scene before her eyes became blurry. Qingxing gently exhaled and slowly closed her eyes.

Thump, thump.

In her dying moments, she seemed to hear someone walking towards her step by step.

She felt the person squat down in front of her, speaking with a smile: "How did things turn out like this?"

Qingxing couldn't speak. She struggled to open her heavy eyelids, feeling somewhat dazed.

Yes, how did it turn out like this?

An hour ago, the group was still fighting demons in the snow mountain.

The Yunxu Snow Mountain is bitterly cold all year round and contains many glaciers, where some high-level demons hide.

Qingxing, wielding the Endless Wood Staff, reaped rewards along the way. After defeating five disciples and thirteen high-level demons, she arrived at the final, shrunken survival zone—Ruyi Peak.

This is the original site of the Sword Sect. After Wang Yan went mad, the entire Sword Sect relocated, and Ruyi Peak became a desolate place.

The long steps leading up the mountain from the Sword Sect still remain in the mountains. Qingxing stood in front of the mountain gate, which was inscribed with "The Great Way is Simple," and looked up.

On the long, steep steps stood a man in a black cloak.

Snowflakes pelted him, freezing his cloak with shards of ice. The wind howled, causing his robes to flutter, but the hood covering his face remained motionless.

Qingxing assumed they were disciples participating in the examination, but she was focused on getting on her way and didn't intend to pay them any attention.

She held the endless wood in her hand, trying to walk around the cloaked figure.

The snow on the steps crunched under her feet, and the white expanse of snow made the silence all the more profound.

Just as she brushed past the cloaked figure, the person suddenly attacked. A sharp slender sword grazed Qingxing's arm, which she slightly dodged, twirling the Endless Wood sword in a flourish. Green vines and leaves bloomed along the path the staff had traced. Qingxing said calmly, "A leaf before the eyes, conceal!"

Large green leaves appeared out of thin air, lying between her and the cloaked figure. Qingxing thought that this person probably thought she couldn't win the championship, so she came to drag others down with her. Taking advantage of the gap created by the magic circle, she jumped onto the Endless Tree and quickly flew away.

The cloaked figure didn't chase after them, but instead said something to Qingxing:

"We'll see each other again soon, very soon."

A sudden clap of thunder appeared in the sky. Qingxing frowned slightly, belatedly realizing that something was wrong, but when she turned around, the person was gone.

Even the footprints were covered by the heavy snow.

"Hurry up, we don't even know what you have on you. Those monsters are just trying to attack you, which is slowing us down." Gudako poked her head out of the bag and muttered, "I'm freezing to death."

A cold wind mixed with snow lashed her face, and Qingxing raised her hand to scratch her stinging cheek: "That person is very suspicious."

Gudako scoffed, "Don't worry, the villains aren't that stupid as to come rushing to their deaths."

Qingxing didn't say anything more. She turned the Endless Wood around and began to dive downwards.

As soon as she descended into the air, she sensed an unusual aura—a soaring demonic energy similar to that emanating from Li Xu and the Purple-Clad Demon.

A bad feeling crept into Qingxing's heart. She sensed that the spiritual network was stirring, as if something was about to break through the soil.

She suppressed her agitation, put away the Endless Wood, and leaped down to the top of the Ruyi Peak.

At the top is a celestial pool, long frozen solid by the extreme cold, turning into a clear mirror that reflects everything that happens above.

It was originally clean and flawless, but what Qingxing saw at this moment was a blood-stained mirror.

The disciples who had overcome all obstacles arrived at Ruyi Peak, but they did not expect that they would be greeted by a group of high-level demons with self-awareness.

They thought this was the final test, so instead of activating the spirit stones to withdraw, they used their magical artifacts to work together to slay the demon.

In the heat of battle, Shen Wan faced a monster covered in spikes. She swung her hand to cut through the ice on the ground and used her spiritual power to catalyze it into ice spikes, which she then hurled at the monster.

As she was attacking and defending, she caught a glimpse of another disciple standing there in a daze, and lifted him aside with one hand.

She yelled angrily, "What are you doing?! Are you out of your mind?"

The disciple stared blankly at the spirit stone in his hand. Upon hearing this, he slowly raised his head, his lips trembling as he spoke:

"Spirit stones... spirit stones are useless! We can't get out!"

This sentence was like a pebble dropped into a calm lake, instantly creating ripples.

Everyone realized with horror that no one could get them out of here; they would all die here if they couldn't kill all the high-level monsters!

But why? This violates the rules of the examination!

The high-level demons didn't give them time to think. They seemed to sense the commotion in the crowd and became incredibly excited. The spiky demon raised its large hammer and swung it fiercely at Shen Wan.

Shen Wan was already exhausted. Before she could react, Xie Yuzhou picked her up, and the two flew away together. A long trail of blood stretched out, staining the snowdrift where they were buried.

Qingxing picked up the broken willow twig bracelets from the snow. They had been lying in the snow for who knows how long; the willow leaves had long since turned dark yellow, wilted, and even the edges had begun to turn black.

One, two, three, four.

She silently found the bracelet, then silently pulled out the cold body of her fellow disciple, continuously releasing her spiritual power in an attempt to find any signs that they were still alive.

Suddenly, a cold hand gripped her wrist and then moved down with difficulty, clenching her hand into a fist and enveloping it.

Qingxing moved her blurry vision upwards and saw Chen Mo's face.

She had lost an arm, the cross-section of which was frozen solid by the extreme cold. Perhaps due to excessive blood loss, Chen Mo's face was ashen, and through her skin, Qingxing could see the dark purple, frozen blood beneath.

"No." Chen Mo's chapped lips opened and closed. "A waste."

She gently shook her head, her stiff neck creaking with the movement—the last sound she uttered in this world.

Qingxing felt her hand slide down little by little, finally falling into the snow and leaving a deep mark on it.

She paused for a moment, lowered her eyes to avoid looking at Chen Mo's face, and took her hands in her own, rubbing them vigorously.

It won't get warm no matter how much I rub it.

While she was frantically trying to awaken her fellow disciples with her back to the Heavenly Pool, those high-level demons that had been dormant for a short time resurfaced. They suppressed the low buzzing sounds in their throats and walked heavily toward her. The hundred-foot-long ice beneath the Heavenly Pool seemed about to shatter from the commotion.

Qingxing gently placed Chen Mo's hand down and picked up the inexhaustible wood from the ground.

She stood up, her face expressionless as she watched the approaching horde of monsters.

Their faces were contorted with grotesque expressions, making it impossible to tell whether they were human or ghosts. Yet, Qingxing glimpsed a murderous joy in those ugly faces.

This is what they look like when they kill their own kind.

Bloodshot veins popped out of her eyes, and the words she uttered were colder than the Heavenly Pool.

"Go to hell."

After the war between humans and demons, Yunxu Snow Mountain has probably never been this lively again.

The magic array on the tip of the Ruyi scepter continued to circulate, and the azure light, carrying its master's rage, soared into the sky. The filthy blood of the demon stained Qingxing's clothes, but she paid no heed, her eyes fixed only on the shadow of the high-level demon.

"Qingxing! Master!" Gudako struggled through the monster horde, trying to bring Qingxing back to her senses.

Qingxing was already bloodthirsty. Her spiritual network was exhausted, and her limbs felt like they were on fire, as if they were about to disintegrate at any moment.

Gudako used the Water of No Life to knock away the spiked demon that was coming at him. Just as he was about to pull Qingxing away, he was suddenly startled by the strange movement in the sky.

A rumble of thunder sounded, and red clouds appeared. A hand inscribed with a talisman was slowly reaching towards the Heavenly Pool.

Its five fingers are spread out, and in the palm is a mouth with a red tongue sticking out.

"Green apricot!" Gudako shouted.

Qingxing turned around and saw Guda with her hands behind her back, rushing straight and fast toward the giant hand.

She kicked the monster away, stepped onto the Endless Wood, and flew upwards.

"Come back!" Qingxing shouted, "I don't want you to go!"

Guda glanced back at her, then reached out and scooped up some Lifeless Water, which he then slammed onto her shoulder.

"The Heavenly Book can be reborn with me, but you still have to help me find the villain!"

Qingxing was struck on the shoulder, and she felt all her strength drained away. The Endless Wood instantly stopped its upward momentum and plummeted downwards.

Driven by inertia, she stretched her arms upwards. Her blue hair ribbon came undone along the way, pulling her long hair upwards and occasionally obscuring her vision.

With each wisp of hair she lifted, she could see Gudako getting a little closer to the giant hand, until finally, she touched it.

In that instant, everything slowed down, and Qingxing could even see the exact shape of each snowflake and the trajectory of their drift.

Bang!

The Book Spirit collided with the giant hand, and the immense power of the Lifeless Water generated waves of energy. White light enveloped the heavens and the earth, and Qingxing was swept away by the turbulent currents and smashed into the snow.

Bang!

The Endless Wood broke into two pieces and fell beside her, while the Spirit-Locking Pearl above it was shattered.

Tick-tock, tick-tock.

Sticky water droplets replaced the wind and snow, mingling with the blood of the demonic hand as they fell, landing on the demons of Tianchi and causing them to faint.

Qingxing watched helplessly as the rainwater gathered into a puddle, which clearly exuded the same old scent as Guda, but could no longer bicker and quarrel with her as before.

It's so quiet, she thought.

It turns out that the people I used to talk to are all gone.

How could it have turned out like this?

"Yes, they came here to participate in the examination, so why are they all dead?" The cheerful voice was right in front of Qingxing, and the tone of the voice was very familiar to her.

“It’s all your fault,” she heard him say. “It’s your fault for being ungrateful and ignoring our warnings. It’s your fault for being arrogant and conceited, thinking you can save the world on your own and drag everyone down with you.”

"But the most to blame is your ignorance; you never knew who you were."

The tinnitus intensified, and Qingxing felt as if her eyelids had been sewn shut. She activated the last layer of protection attached to her spiritual network, stubbornly trying to see the person in front of her clearly.

"I won't let you die," the man said again.

The spiritual net crackled and sputtered, as if it were breaking apart inch by inch.

"I need your help to solve some big trouble," he said.

Her eyes were finally able to move. Qingxing could barely see a sliver of light. She moved her neck slightly, and all she could see was a black robe.

It was the area I saw at the Sword Sect's mountain gate.

She had a vague idea in her mind, but Qingxing, who had been so persistent just moments before, now seemed unwilling to know the truth. She stalled for time, fixing her gaze on that spot and remaining still.

"Hmm?" The man had already noticed Qingxing's movements. Seeing Qingxing standing there frozen in place, he couldn't help but find it amusing. He tilted his head down and barged into Qingxing's line of sight without warning, teasingly asking, "What's wrong, my dear junior sister?"

Qingxing couldn't speak; her throat felt choked by emotions, but her lifeless eyes betrayed all her thoughts.

There was no sorrow over the death of a fellow disciple, no anger over the betrayal of a close friend, only a desolate sense of bewilderment.

She also wanted to ask: Senior Brother Wenren, why is that?