Soul Devouring Array - End

Ling Gu wanted to retort immediately, but before she could speak, Ji Wang took a step forward, cutting off Ling Gu's gaze from Bu Jiu: "He doesn't want to talk to you."

Ji Wang took the sword from Gui Tiao, twirling it briefly as if to assess the weight and feel of the unfamiliar weapon: "Save your excuse for the underworld and the King of Hell. I only ask one question: luring and killing the young fox, using its own kind to refine souls, setting up this evil formation... were you involved?"

Ji Wang did not wait for an answer, nor did he need one.

The next moment, the dormant innate Dao source within his body was forcibly activated by his almost tyrannical will, transforming into a vast power carrying the pressure of Dao Venerable Yun Shen, which completely merged with his own remaining spiritual power.

His Taoist robe fluttered in the wind, causing his wounds to bleed even more, but he seemed oblivious.

Ling Gu's expression changed drastically. He dared not underestimate him in the slightest. He retreated rapidly, and a fierce light surged between his fingers.

As if possessed by divine intervention, Ji Wang slightly shifted his body, avoiding the chilling glint aimed at his heart. He narrowly escaped the gust of wind sweeping down on his lower body.

His movements were concise and without any excess; each step was taken precisely during the transitions in the Listening Bone offensive.

Ling Gu was filled with horrified shock. Any of his attacks were easily seen through, not to mention that Bu Jiu was assisting him. The demonic power that was completely different from his own permeated his body, which even interfered with his divine sense.

The feeling that everything is within the other party's calculations is far more unsettling than being brute forcefully defeated.

Just as Ling Gu's mind trembled and his attack faltered, Ji Xiang suddenly changed his footwork. He slashed his long sword upwards, drawing in the surrounding air currents and the remaining righteous energy of the earth's veins, weaving them together into an invisible cage that trapped Ling Gu firmly in place.

Ling Gu felt a sudden heaviness around him. Ji Wang's sword seemed to be aimed at his chest and abdomen, but the sword intent covered all possible dodge directions within a few feet around him, and even subtly locked several key nodes in the circulation of demonic power within his body.

There is nowhere to retreat, nowhere to escape!

A ruthless glint flashed in Ling Gu's eyes. He stopped trying to dodge and instead poured all his demonic power into his right hand, his five fingers together, using a fierce light to attack instead of defend, aiming straight for Ji Wang's exposed throat from swinging his sword.

However, Ji Wang seemed to have anticipated his desperate counterattack.

The trajectory of the longsword, which was slanted upwards, suddenly changed the moment the Bone-Listening Dagger was thrust out. The blade twisted inwards, and the spine of the sword struck the wrist from which the Bone-Listening Dagger was coming.

The timing, force, and even the angle are extremely subtle. It is neither a head-on collision nor a block, but rather like striking a snake at its vital spot, using skill to overcome force.

Ling Gu felt a sharp pain in her wrist, and most of the demonic power she had gathered instantly dissipated. Taking advantage of this moment, Ji Wang's longsword pierced through the gap in Ling Gu's wrist that had been exposed by the blow!

"Pfft—!"

The sword pierced deep into Ling Gu's chest and ribs, penetrating the skin and flesh until it was nearly halfway in.

The spiritual power belonging to Ji Wang on the sword seemed to have found an outlet, surging wildly into Ling Gu's body and wreaking havoc in his meridians and origin.

Ling Gu let out a shrill, distorted scream. The intense pain and the feeling of his demonic power being forcibly torn apart caused his whole body to spasm. He could no longer maintain his posture and was dragged back several steps by the longsword. He only managed to avoid falling completely because he tightly gripped the sword blade that was piercing his body with his left hand.

He raised his head, his pupils contracting violently from the intense pain, staring intently ahead.

Ji Wang had already released his grip on the sword hilt, staggering back several steps, the wound on his left shoulder reopening so deeply that bone was visible. Yet he remained standing, looking down at his kneeling, severely wounded opponent, the blade about to sever Ling Gu's throat—

That's enough.

Along with the sound came a dark glint, which did not attack Ji Wang, but struck the side of his sword.

Ji Wang flicked his wrist, deflecting the longsword and thwarting the killing move. The sword tip grazed Ling Gu's neck, severing only a few strands of hair and leaving a shallow bloodstain on his neck.

Ling Gu endured the excruciating pain of the longsword piercing his chest, and with his last bit of strength, he strode backward, leaving a long trail of blood on the scorched earth, until he crashed into a toppled boulder and stopped, panting heavily, finally managing to temporarily create some distance between himself and Ji Wang.

Almost at the same moment he retreated, a figure in a black robe slowly appeared in the spot where Ling Gu had been standing.

Leaping over the abyss.

He slowly swept his gaze across the chaotic battlefield, his eyes first landing on the nailed corpse of Yin Jun in the distance, lingering for a moment without joy or sorrow.

Then, he looked at Ling Gu, who was leaning against a boulder and coughing up blood.

"The formation is destroyed, and Yin Falcon is dead." Yue Yuan's voice rang out again, devoid of emotion, as if stating a fact unrelated to himself. "Ling Gu, you seem to have handled things rather poorly this time."

Upon hearing this, Ling Gu struggled to get up and bow, but the movement aggravated his injuries, causing him to cough up another mouthful of blood. He could only support himself with his hands on the ground: "Your subordinate... failed in his duty and failed to control the situation. Please punish me, Your Majesty."

"Hiss... It's nothing." Ji Wang's words caught Yue Yuan's attention. He didn't continue to respond to Ling Gu, or even look at Ling Gu's difficult-to-maintain submissive posture.

He turned and stared at Ji Wang, who was barely able to stand by leaning on Bu Jiu, not far away.

Upon seeing the gruesome, bloody wound on Ji Wang's left shoulder, from which blood was still seeping, he spoke, asking a question that seemed out of place with the tense atmosphere, even somewhat abrupt: "Does it hurt?"

The two words came out of his mouth without any change in tone. They weren't filled with genuine concern or sarcasm; they were more like an instinctive, conditioned reflex.

It's as if you can see the person in front of you injured and bleeding, and the question "Does it hurt?" will automatically come out of your mouth.

Ji Wang raised his head, and his eyes, which had been somewhat unfocused due to blood loss and intense pain, refocused the moment they met Yue Yuan's gaze.

He stared intently at the person who had suddenly appeared and averted his fatal blow, his chest heaving violently, each breath carrying the stench of blood.

He didn't detect any goodwill in those two words; instead, he felt a strong sense of discomfort and humiliation, as if he were being looked down upon or even treated like some fragile object.

"What's it to you?" Ji Wang spat out four words through gritted teeth. His gaze swept over the corpse of Yin Falcon on the ground, then glanced at the heavily injured and listless Ling Gu. A smile, a mixture of pain and mockery, curled at the corner of his mouth, revealing undisguised disgust: "Your dog bit you, what are you pretending to be a good person for?"

He emphasized the word "good person" with extra force.

Gui Tiao was about to make a move when he heard this, but You Hang grabbed his wrist firmly.

"Don't move." You Hang clenched his fists tighter. "Look closely, it's an illusion. Otherwise, with Sect Leader Ji and Lord Bu Jiu's keen sense of aura, they would have already made a move, instead of just exchanging words."

Youhang's reminder was like a bucket of ice water poured over Guitiao's head, instantly calming him down.

He stared intently and indeed found that although the figure in the black robe was solid and lifelike, with an imposing aura, there was not a speck of dust floating beneath his feet, and the hem of his robe fluttered somewhat stiffly in the night wind. When the moonlight passed through his body, it seemed to have an extremely subtle distortion.

If it weren't for You Hang's reminder, coupled with his own anxiety, he would have almost failed to notice this subtle flaw.

Yueyuan seemed completely unconcerned about the minor commotion, or perhaps his phantom's perception was inherently limited.

After Ji Wang's sarcastic and hostile question, his eyes remained calmly fixed on Ji Wang, as if he was processing the words, "What are you pretending to be a good person for?"

After a moment of silence, Yueyuan said, "If a dog bites someone, it's naturally the dog's problem. If it wasn't leashed properly, it's the owner's negligence."

As he spoke, Ling Gu's body trembled slightly, and his head drooped even lower.

“But you are seriously injured,” Yueyuan stated. “To kill a useless dog, you got yourself into this state… Three lifetimes later, you still don’t value your life.”

Ji Wang clenched his teeth, waves of excruciating pain in his left shoulder and dizziness from blood loss washing over him, almost overwhelming his senses.

He forced a cold laugh, his voice weak but still barbed: "How I use my life is none of your business... I should have fought harder back then, maybe I could have killed you."

These words were undoubtedly a blow to Yueyuan's conscience.

He paused slightly: "Kill me..."

He spoke those three words very slowly. There was no emotional fluctuation; he was simply repeating them, savoring the meaning of the word itself, as if he were confirming, through the young yet blood-stained face before him, a possibility that had long been buried by the passage of time.

His gaze seemed to pierce through Ji Wang, looking towards a more indistinct figure. There, the sea of ​​clouds rolled, there were scriptures and Taoist robes, and there was another figure, equally stubborn but having chosen a different path.

“…It’s a pity.” Yueyuan’s voice was tinged with regret. “You didn’t have such a stubborn idea back then.”

Then, he stopped looking at Ji Wang's body, which was almost unable to support itself, and murmured, "This time, I admit defeat."

This meticulously planned trap, the lost men, and the destroyed formation are all just minor gains and losses in the grand scheme of things.

His gaze fell on Ji Wang one last time: "Next time, your senior brother will come to pick you up."

The moment the words fell, the phantom ceased its presence, enveloping Ling Gu before quickly dissipating.

Above the ruins, the night wind began to flow again.

Bu Jiu took the rough porcelain bottle from Gui Tiao's hands, his fingertips trembling slightly from exhaustion and internal injuries, almost unable to hold it steady.

He gritted his teeth and used all his strength to unscrew the cork, pointing the bottle at the gruesome, gaping wound on Ji's left shoulder. His voice was hoarse and barely audible: "...Bear with it."

"Hiss—!" The moment the powder came into contact with the wound and flesh, Ji Wang's whole body stiffened, and he couldn't help but gasp sharply through his teeth.

The sensation was like being pierced by hundreds of red-hot needles at the same time. The sharp pain shot straight to the top of his head, causing cold sweat to break out on his forehead instantly, and his already pale face suddenly lost all color.

His clenched fist cracked, and his uninjured right side trembled slightly uncontrollably. His fingertips dug deep into his palms, leaving crescent-shaped bloodstains.

Several breaths later, Ji Wang finally recovered. He slowly exhaled a breath of foul air tinged with blood, his eyelashes trembled a few times, and he barely opened his eyes a crack, his eyes still glistening with tears: "How are you?"

Bu Jiu shook his head, indicating that he was alright, but his disordered and weak breathing betrayed him. He tried to avoid Ji Wang's gaze, but his body swayed involuntarily.

Ji Wang's heart tightened. Forgetting that his wound had just been treated, he reached out to pull Bu Jiu back, saying, "Let me see..."

"Don't move!" The two people next to him shouted almost simultaneously.

Gui Tiao quickly helped Ji Wang to his feet, while You Hang stepped forward to support Bu Jiu, saying rapidly, "Lord Bu Jiu's injuries are to his meridians and soul; he needs rest and special care. Sect Leader Ji, please don't worry, Master Huaiqing will surely make arrangements. The most urgent matter is to leave this place immediately!"

Gui Tiao urged again, "The refugees and children have all been settled and are being escorted by special personnel. We must return to the valley immediately! Delay could lead to unforeseen circumstances!"

Upon hearing this, Ji Wang stopped being stubborn and nodded: "...Okay, let's go back together."

As night faded, a sliver of dawn appeared on the horizon, making the outlines of the rolling mountains clearer.

Ji's left shoulder wound has been re-treated and properly bandaged, with a faint trace of blood still visible under the thick bandage.

Bu Jiu's breathing was weak but much more stable, and he was closing his eyes to sort out his disordered meridians.

Huaiqing closed the medicine box and said in a low voice, "Before we set off, who was it that patted their chest and told me, 'Huaiqing, you stay in the rear, we'll take care of things at the front,' huh?"

He poked Ji Wang's head with his finger: "Ling Gu has appeared, the formation is in turmoil, Bian Yue Cliff is in danger... When Bu Jiu used telepathy to ask for help, he also said, 'Huai Qing, do not move, stabilize the valley, we know what to do.'"

With each word he spoke, his tone grew colder: "Now, you know to come to me?"

Ji Wang wobbled from the poking, but instead of crying out in pain, he looked up at Huai Qing with a silly, ingratiating grin: "Hehe... Huai Qing, don't be angry. We're back safe and sound, aren't we..."

He took a breath: "The blow I gave Linggu will keep him out of the game for at least a few months."

At this point, the corners of his mouth drooped slightly, revealing a hint of resentment: "It's just a pity... that guy got away again."

After saying that, he leaned to the side with a bit of a slyness and fell right onto Bu Jiu's lap.

Bu Jiu listened quietly the whole time, and adjusted his posture the moment Ji Wang turned over, making Ji Wang more comfortable.

Looking at the two wounded men in front of him, one acting spoiled and the other indulging them, Huaiqing's anger and fear finally turned into a long sigh.

After Huaiqing left, only the two of them remained in the room, the air filled with the calming scent of medicine and a faint smell of blood.

Ji Wang was still lying on Bu Jiu's lap, listening to the birds chirping outside. After holding back for a long time, he finally blurted out, "I want to go out and play."

After he finished speaking, he seemed to feel that his reasoning was not strong enough, so he blinked and tried to make it more convincing: "Anyway, Ling Gu is definitely hiding to recuperate, and he won't be out for several months. That guy... Yue Yuan, his real body injury hasn't fully healed either, otherwise why would he only use an illusion? We're nearby, going out for some fresh air for half a day... no, just an hour or two, isn't that possible?"

His voice trailed off as he spoke, but his eyes shone brightly as he looked at Bu Jiu, filled with a plea for fresh air after being locked up for so long, and a hint of longing to break free from the battle and return to normalcy.

Bu Jiu looked down at him and placed her finger on the bandage on Ji Wang's left shoulder: "Take care of your injuries."

Ji Wang immediately deflated, obediently burying his head further into Bu Jiu's lap, muttering softly, "Okay, okay. Just focus on healing... why are you being so fierce..."

Despite saying that, there was no real resentment in his tone, only a kind of submissive dependence.