Final Battle - 7

Mi Quan quickly took stock: "Eleven people are seriously injured, with damage to their bones and internal organs, but all have taken medicine to stabilize their lives. More than half are lightly injured, and their spiritual energy has been severely depleted. Fortunately... no one has died."

The authorities remain vigilant. The fact that no one died is good news, but the seriously wounded need time to recover, and the camp's defenses are nearly collapsed; immediate rebuilding is necessary.

Moreover, Ji Wang and Huai Qing have been deep in the icy abyss for some time now, and they don't know what dangers they might encounter...

Just as he was about to speak, arranging for Gui Tiao and Mi Quan to stay put and heal their injuries, while he would take You Hang, who was still in relatively good condition, and a few lightly injured disciples to provide support, a crack suddenly appeared in the void beside him without warning, and a familiar spiritual energy carrying a letter floated in front of him.

"The outer formation has been altered, indicating a powerful enemy intrusion. Their numbers are unknown, but they have already formed an encirclement! The defensive array's core is damaged, and the protective array is operating sluggishly, which may not last long! We urgently need reinforcements!"

The signature was Xun Jing's mark, and the spiritual power was weak, indicating that he was in a difficult situation.

"What?" You Hang exclaimed, his face full of surprise and doubt. "The defensive formation of the Bu Nian Temple was personally reinforced by Sect Leader Ji and Mr. Huai Qing. We checked it repeatedly before we left. How could it have collapsed in less than a day..."

She grabbed the message abruptly: "Who is it? How could they infiltrate and alter the formation so silently in such a short time?"

As if to answer her question, beneath the writing, the light flickered and twisted erratically, then struggled to emerge two new names:

Leaping over the abyss. A thousand machines.

“Qianji?” Mi Juan uttered the name, her instinctive sense of danger making her extremely alert. “I’ve never heard of this name before.”

Bujiu suddenly remembered what Huaiqing had said:

"When you went to Wuwangyuan, a person with an extremely concealed aura also came to the valley. He was suspected to be a specialist in assassination, and his code name was never revealed."

So that's where they were waiting.

Not only should we cut off their connection in the far north, but we should also overturn their views and sever all their foundations and thoughts.

Yueyuan had calculated the timing, their troop distribution, and even the heart-wrenching choices they would face after receiving the message.

No one spoke; the atmosphere was so heavy it was suffocating.

Before them lay the Ice Abyss Formation, where Ji Wang and Huai Qing's fates were uncertain. Behind them lay their homeland destroyed, with the lives of many disciples hanging by a thread. Both were desperate situations, both were urgent, and both were places where people and responsibilities that could not be abandoned were tied.

All eyes were fixed on Bu Jiu, awaiting his next instruction.

Bu Jiu's Adam's apple bobbed. His gaze swept over the desperate words "return to aid" on the jade letter, and then looked in the direction of Ji Wang.

From the moment he began sending messages, they all sank without a trace, receiving no response.

Only then did he realize that no matter how happy he had been with Ji Wang during this time, the pain that had torn his soul apart when Daoist Yun Shen destroyed himself with the innate Dao source three hundred years ago had never truly left him.

He could almost hear the roar of his blood surging through his body, urging him to rush into the depths of that icy abyss immediately, at all costs, to pull Ji Wang out of any possible danger, to protect him behind him, to check the temperature of his breath, and to feel the pulse in his neck.

Ke Yueyuan is in Bu Nian Guan.

The enemy who laid a deadly trap three hundred years ago, and has returned three hundred years later with even more ruthless methods and deeper cunning, is currently in their home.

With Ji Wang and Huai Qing absent, even Xun Jing would likely struggle to withstand Yue Yuan's attack. The only one capable of directly restraining, or even fighting, Yue Yuan is him.

He gripped his forearm tightly, the stinging pain keeping him sane.

“The teleportation array is sufficient to support two fixed-point teleportations.” Bu Jiu spoke, each word clear and steady. “The first time, You Hang and I will take all the lightly injured disciples who are still able to move and have the strength to fight, and immediately return to Bu Nian Temple.”

He looked at Gui Tiao, whose face was pale but who was forcing himself to stand up straight, and at Mi Juan, whose brows were furrowed with worry: "Gui Tiao, Mi Juan, you two stay here. Guard the camp, take care of the seriously wounded, and restore the defenses as soon as possible. Also... if they come out from inside, bring them back immediately. This is your most important task."

You Hang immediately accepted the order: "Yes!" Then she began to quickly gather the disciples who met the requirements.

Bu Jiu said no more, and didn't even dare to look into the depths of the icy abyss again.

He gripped the communication jade pendant at his waist tightly, hoping to receive a response.

Ji Wang's hand was still on his waist.

There should have been a jade pendant there for communication. But now only a broken silk cord and a few pieces of jade, still warm to the touch, remain in my palm.

Just moments before, as he was examining the formation, a thin shadow shot out from the shadow of the ice shards and shattered the jade pendant.

If Huaiqing hadn't reacted faster and used a flower branch to deflect the several poisoned needles that followed, they would probably have been locked in a fierce battle by now.

"Oh dear, I'm so sorry." She toyed with a similar bone needle between her fingertips. "I just didn't like that jade pendant; its jingling noise disturbed the peace of this place. I hope you're not angry, young master?"

Ji Wang slowly closed his five fingers, gripping the broken jade tightly. Then, his arm suddenly trembled, and his clenched right fist snapped open, swinging forward.

Those few pieces of jade, instantly infused with his spiritual power and with sharp edges, shot towards the distant person as if shot from a crossbow, their speed so fast that the smile on Po Suo's face couldn't even be contained.

Posuo narrowly avoided the shards aimed at her throat and heart, but a piece of jade at the most cunning angle still grazed her left cheek, leaving a thin mark about an inch long on her fair skin.

She stopped, raised her hand, her fingertips touching the bead of blood seeping out, a flash of anger in her eyes: "You..."

“Huaiqing,” Ji Wang said, drawing his sword. “The formation is just ahead. Don’t let those bastards blocking the way delay the time.”

Before Posuo could react, Ji Wang had already moved.

He didn't charge straight at Posuo, but instead took a step to the side, his sword light piercing a seemingly ordinary ice stalk three feet to Posuo's side.

Po Suo's expression changed slightly, and she quickly raised the bone staff in her hand. A purple-black energy shot out first and struck the tip of Ji Wang's sword directly.

Ji Wang's sword tip trembled slightly, but its momentum remained unchanged. The sword energy forcefully shattered the qi, and the aftershocks still struck the ice stamen.

The ice bamboo shoot burst open, and out rolled the corpse of a poisonous gu, its body completely purplish-black, already pierced to death.

"Good eye." Po Suo sneered, and swung the bone staff again. A large plume of viscous smoke spewed from the skull at the top of the staff, instantly transforming into dozens of fanged venomous snakes that rushed towards Ji Wang from all directions, sealing off all his space to advance or retreat.

Ji Wang did not retreat; the longsword drew an arc in his hand, and a faint light of Dao Source flowed across its blade.

Wherever the sword light passed, the venomous snakes that pounced at it seemed to have encountered their nemesis, hissing and twisting as they vanished.

Ji Wang frowned slightly. There should be a hidden formation deep within this ice cave that suppresses the flow of spiritual energy. The spiritual energy drained away almost twice as fast as expected during that attack.

Just as his sword strike was about to end, a graceful figure suddenly appeared from a blind spot to the side! The bone staff, accompanied by a sharp whistle, pierced straight at his left rib.

“Xiao Bao, three inches below the left rib.” Huai Qing’s voice rang out at just the right moment, neither hurried nor slow.

At the same time, he lightly tapped the flower branch in his hand, and a beam of spiritual light landed half a foot in front of Ji, transforming into an extremely flexible barrier.

The bone staff struck the barrier with a dull thud, causing the barrier to ripple violently and instantly crack, but it successfully delayed the attack for half a breath.

This half-breath was enough for Ji Wang. He twisted his body and drew his sword back, the blade brushing against the bone staff as it slashed upwards. The source of Dao once again condensed at the tip of the sword, slicing straight at the fingers that were gripping the staff.

She gracefully darted back, dodging the sword's edge, her eyes blazing with even more fury, mixed with a hint of surprise and doubt.

Ji Wang's Dao Source exerted a stronger restraint on her than expected, while the seemingly mild-mannered healer beside her possessed terrifyingly precise eyesight and timing in providing assistance.

"Two against one, what shameless behavior!" she cursed angrily.

Ji Wang slightly raised his sword: "So you dared to attack my rear camp? Have you no shame?"

Posuo choked for a moment, then spat out a mouthful of blood. Without another word, she slammed her bone staff hard onto the ice: "Thump!"

A muffled thud, like striking an empty drum. Where the tip of the staff touched, ripples spread rapidly outward from the ice.

Immediately afterwards, a dense rustling sound came from beneath the ice, and countless strange, venomous insects the size of fingernails surged out of the cracks like a burst dam.

They moved incredibly fast, piling up on top of each other, and in the blink of an eye, they surged towards where Ji Wang and Huai Qing were standing.

At the same time, her lips moved rapidly, chanting a difficult incantation. The voice rose and fell, carrying an unsettling rhythm.

Two eerie purple flames suddenly burst forth from the eye sockets of the skull atop the bone staff in her hand, their flickering light making her face appear even more bizarre.

Ji Wang's eyes narrowed. These poisonous insects were individually fragile, but their numbers were terrifying. Once they got close, the consequences would be unimaginable.

He was about to swing his sword to sweep away the enemy when Huaiqing made her move first.

"Don't rush." ​​Countless delicate green vine phantoms spread out from the flower branch in Huaiqing's hand, quickly weaving around the two of them into a dense, impenetrable green vine net that bloomed with tiny white flowers.

The poisonous insects crashed into the vine net, but instead of being bounced off, they were attracted by the small white flowers. Their speed slowed down abruptly, and then hissing white smoke rose from their bodies. Their movements became chaotic, and they even began to bite each other.

“The Purifying Incense can disturb its mind and delay it for a moment,” Huai Qing said quickly, while flicking several pills from his fingertips and shooting them at several inconspicuous depressions on the top of the ice cave. “The ice vein structure here is unstable, and Posuo has already caused some minor cracks.”

Ji Wang instantly understood.

He ignored the poisonous insects that had slowed his pace considerably, sheathed his longsword, quickly formed hand seals, and channeled his spiritual energy into the ice beneath his feet.

Centered on him, pale golden ripples spread rapidly, and wherever they passed, the tremors and cracks inside the ice layer caused by the incantation and bone staff were forcibly smoothed and reinforced.

The chanting of the incantation came to an abrupt halt, the backlash causing her to groan and a trickle of blood to escape from the corner of her mouth.

She used the dual trap of the environment and poisonous insects to kill, but her opponent easily neutralized it by using a stable terrain and a disruptive insect swarm.

Ji Wang gave her no chance to catch her breath, and once again drew his longsword with a clang.

"Posuo, your master has been waiting for too long." Ji took a step forward, his aura rising sharply, forcing back the surrounding poisonous gas by three points. "Or—should I send you on your way?"

It wasn't a dazzling sword move, nor a grand Taoist technique; it was simply the most direct and fastest thrust.

The sword tip was imbued with the power of the Dao Source, ignoring the several layers of purple-black mist that Po Suo hastily set up with her staff, moving faster than her reaction limit.

In Po Suo's eyes, there was only time to catch a glimpse of the rapidly enlarging cold light and Ji Wang's swiftly approaching figure.

She tried to dodge, but the backlash from before caused her internal energy to surge chaotically. In addition, the vines that Huaiqing had summoned at some point wrapped around her ankles, leaving her unable to move for a moment.

"Pfft." Ji Wang's sword tip pierced through Po Suo's throat, and the Dao Source instantly destroyed the meridians in her body along the sword. Her body stiffened, and a hint of satisfaction appeared in her pupils.

Just as Ji Wang was about to draw his sword, a sudden change occurred.

That alluring face instantly drew close. A hoarse, breathy voice, almost touching Ji Wang's ear, squeezed out a few words: "So handsome... young master..."

Those lips, carrying the scent of blood and a cloying sweetness, pressed against Ji Wang's cheek with a flirtatious and utterly unrestrained gesture as she spoke. Then, the light in her eyes vanished completely, her body went limp, hanging on the sword's edge, and she fell silent.

Ji Wang's brows furrowed instantly, and the Dao Source burst forth from the sword, violently blasting the swaying corpse away, where it crashed to the ground and remained motionless.

Huaiqing moved to his side, examined him carefully, and concluded: "No poison, purely... an act of madness."

Ji Wang's chest heaved slightly as he took a deep breath: "What if Bu Jiu smells it!"

Huaiqing, who was concentrating on surveying her surroundings to guard against possible backup plans, paused for a moment upon hearing this.

He slowly turned his head and looked at Ji Wang's face, which was red from wiping it too hard: "So that's what you were worried about?"

Ji Wang stiffened his neck, his tone becoming even more urgent: "Nonsense! His nose is as sensitive as a needle, you have to vouch for me! She was the one who suddenly came up to me, I didn't get involved at all!"

The more he talked, the more important the matter seemed to him. He even rubbed his cheek hard, as if Bu Jiu's slightly twitching nose was already in front of him.

Looking at his demeanor, so different from his decisive and ruthless self just now, Huaiqing gently shook her head: "Alright, alright. If Bujiu asks, I will tell you the truth—it was Posuo who went mad before her death and acted in a presumptuous manner. You, being a person of integrity, avoided her at all costs, and afterwards you deeply resented it, wiping yourself cleanly over and over again."

He spoke with a straight face, but Ji Wang could hear the hint of teasing in his voice, though his tense expression eventually relaxed a little.

"Let's go." Ji Wang stopped dwelling on the problem that was bothering him and forcibly pulled his attention back to the core of the formation in front of him.

Huaiqing followed with a smile, a faint scent of herbs flicking from her fingertips, silently lingering and completely dispelling the last trace of the cloying sweetness of the previous fragrance.

While testifying is one thing, it's best to destroy anything that can be destroyed beforehand. Doctors always act with thoroughness in mind.