Chapter 192 Light Cuts Through the Polar Night.
With the sudden arrival of nine Nascent Soul Realm experts, the battle lines quickly crumbled.
Those once cherished plants and flowers withered and decayed at a visible speed, turning a charred black. The spiritual energy was swallowed up by the black mist, and the sky turned a faint red.
That was the color of countless young cultivators' blood splattered on the ground.
Such a swift attack left the resisting students momentarily at a loss. Defending, aside from the casualties, would likely not last long; fleeing…
Looking back, the great formation was almost completed, but if the demons caught up with it and destroyed it, then everyone's life would be cut off, and even the children they had desperately protected would die in the collapsing formation.
The black-armored soldiers didn't give them a chance to weigh the pros and cons. They coldly and woodenly swung their swords, blood splattering on their armor, dripping down and cooling, making the original blackness shimmer red in the moonlight.
The footprints on the ground were also imbued with the warmth of human life, a shocking sight.
The entangled cause and effect finally materialized, staining the path with blood.
In the blink of an eye, there were very few Golden Core cultivators left.
After meeting with Qiao Yanshen and Tang Huairou, Shen Lixia arrived at the site of the fiercest battle. Along the way, she had witnessed more bloodshed and more horrific scenes than she had imagined. When she finally set foot on this land, she was no longer afraid of the chilling atmosphere that rushed towards her.
Neither of them said anything more, nor did they have anything to say.
Before it was all over, they were no longer able to collect the bodies of their fellow disciples, because they finally realized that every moment of delay could mean the death of even more people.
The divine fire extinguished the dense demonic mist, and a sticky sound suddenly came from beneath her feet. Shen Lixia's body stiffened slightly, and she lowered her head.
As she stepped on the soaked, damp soil, a layer of scarlet liquid seeped out.
How can it be called mud? It is clearly woven from blood.
This land, which bore the weight of young people's lives, ultimately absorbed their blood, as if that were the only way to offer them a brief respite. Many died with their eyes open, some still seemingly in disbelief, their hands bearing the bloody marks of their struggle.
The atmosphere was frozen, save for her cries and the chaotic sounds of clashing weapons. Only she and Qiao Yanshen could hear this viscous sound.
The young man's eyes and brows were unusually devoid of any emotion, making him appear exceptionally cold.
-
"Cough, cough..."
Chu Mingxin bent down, casually spat out the piece of food she was holding in her mouth. A dark figure slowly approached her, carrying a knife.
How to win.
How exactly do we win? There are nine Nascent Soul Realm cultivators, and the one leading them exudes an aura far stronger than the others.
However, this was not something that Chu Mingxin cared about.
Her loose black hair, soaked with blood, obscured most of her face. The young man smiled, but his gaze swept over her ruthlessly, searching for weaknesses. She was severely injured, her internal organs largely damaged; her face was as white as paper, yet she still gripped the spear tightly.
She grew up amidst bloody battles.
The cold, heavy smell of blood did not frighten Chu Mingxin; on the contrary, it excited her.
Just as the demon drew his sword, Chu Mingxin suddenly spun her spear, crashing herself into the tip of his sword. A soft, rustling sound rang out as the sword pierced the young man's body, and at the same time, her spear tip plunged into his heart.
Is the demonic body here?
Isn't that the same as the heart?
The weaknesses of ordinary cultivators are twofold: the heart and the abdomen. The dantian in the abdomen, where cultivation is concentrated, can sometimes be more fatal than damage to the heart if it is destroyed.
However, the demon's vital point was indeed in its heart.
Chu Mingxin opened her mouth, her sharp teeth stained with blood, and a large amount of blood gushed out as if flowing backward. She twisted the tip of the spear, finding that she couldn't pull it out—perhaps due to a loss of strength, but the possibility that the other party wasn't quite dead could not be ruled out.
Then, the young man raised his lips in a strange smile, suddenly grabbed the demon with one hand, lowered his head, and pressed his lips to her throat. Her sharp teeth seeped into the wisps of dissipating black mist, slowly disappearing into the simulated flesh and blood.
This was her only weapon.
It is also the most commonly used.
A chilling tearing sound rang out, barely audible amidst the surrounding noise.
When Lin Yuxian arrived, she witnessed Chu Mingxin tearing out the convulsing, thick black mist from her ripped chest, almost chewing and spitting it out. Blood stained her pale lips and smeared large patches of dark red across Chu Mingxin's face without restraint.
The young man was clearly on the verge of death; he wasn't even holding her in his arms anymore, but rather like a ravenous lioness or a bloodthirsty shark hunting its prey, burying itself in her chest and devouring her. The blood on her body was undoubtedly her own, and her hands, supporting her on the ground, were already trembling uncontrollably.
But they continued to bite until the other person completely lost their last breath.
His black hair fell loosely, like a monster from the deep sea that gnaws at one's very marrow. Only after the last bit of black mist was bitten away and dissipated did Chu Mingxin raise his head, his eyes like a pool of water spreading out, rippling, scattered and hazy.
Lin Yuqian's breath hitched.
This person always had a kind of... she didn't even know how to describe it for a moment—an aura of someone who had never experienced human civilization.
Savage, ruthless, eccentric and unpredictable.
As a formation cultivator who highly values rules and evolution, she had been following a set of fixed laws since childhood. Upon seeing Chu Mingxin, she knew almost immediately that Chu Mingxin was someone she disliked intensely.
A complete madman.
But……
Their vitality is just too tenacious.
So, having survived, they still had the strength to slaughter everyone, even when they were almost drained of blood.
Lin Yuxian found it absurd.
In such a tragic scene, there was still someone who could make her feel both amused and saddened. She shouted:
"Hey, you barbarian woman from the sea!"
Chu Mingxin lifted her eyelids and vaguely saw a figure walking towards her. Who? She was not fully conscious and couldn't recognize the voice, but a demon would certainly not call her a barbarian.
Amidst the mingled, bloody sensation, Lin Yuqian scooped her up. She calmly felt the cool blood flowing onto her body, soaking through the fabric, and only then did she realize that Chu Mingxin was very light, as light as if she were about to die.
Lin Yuxian thought about it for a long time before deciding to leave Chi Yueying's side and come to the town.
The formation was almost complete; any further assistance from her would likely have little effect. Her master had said, "Do not betray your own heart."
So she came.
Even the narrowest of roads can be fraught with danger, but there's always a way out.
Even enemies need to live.
Lin Yuxian lowered her head, walking closer to Chu Mingxin's chest. She felt a faint heartbeat, as if it were about to fade away, causing her to frown and raise her voice aggressively at the closed-eyed Chu Mingxin:
"Can you still hear me? Hold on!"
After a long while, Chu Mingxin murmured softly, "So noisy..."
Her gun was slung over Lin Yuqian's back, so she couldn't reach it and could only mutter, "Gouge your eyes out..."
In the midst of his incoherent ramblings, amidst the corpses scattered everywhere, a vibrant color finally emerged.
Then, two more people arrived.
The one leading them was Tang Huairou.
Lin Yuqian breathed a sigh of relief and called out, "Senior Sister, someone here is injured!" Tang Huairou was looking for any wounded people when she heard Lin Yuqian's call. She quickly led two disciples from Guyu Peak to take Chu Mingxin for treatment.
She dared not relax for a moment, fearing that the Nascent Soul Realm soldier would suddenly appear and block her way.
After a fierce battle, the enemy forces were reduced to only half their strength. Most of the sect's elders perished in the fighting, with only a handful remaining. The occasional explosions of spiritual energy signaled that yet another cultivator had sacrificed their soul to inflict damage on the enemy.
Given their current cultivation level... if they were to encounter this situation, they would only have this one path to choose.
Tang Huairou took a deep breath and quickly came up with an arrangement, deciding to send a disciple of Guyu Peak to carry Chu Mingxin back. Before handing him over, she paused slightly, then suddenly said seriously, "Open your divine sense, I need to see your spiritual platform."
The student paused for a moment, then obediently closed his eyes, letting her place her hand on his forehead. A wisp of spiritual sense slowly penetrated her body, carefully examining it before withdrawing.
"I'm sorry, junior sister," Tang Huairou said gently. "I've heard that the demon race can change their appearance at will, but their demonic bodies remain unchanged. Therefore, I'm worried that you might be one of their spies. If you need me, I can open my sea of consciousness to you."
Tu Sheng shook his head. "No need. Since Senior Sister would do such a thing, she must not be a member of the Demon Clan."
"Okay, be careful on your way back."
Tang Huairou turned around, extended her hand to Lin Yuxian, and smiled, "Junior Sister Lin, it's good that you're back. Let's go—they're over there too."
Lin Yuxian almost immediately understood who she was talking about and where they were going. She nodded vigorously, wiped the blood off her face, and smiled.
In any case, she is not alone now...
Even though she knew perfectly well that this time there was a high chance she would not return.
-
"They've almost finished setting up the teleportation array," a soldier beside Luo You said, looking up at the golden light in the sky. "Should we destroy the array first?"
Luo You smiled and said, "Those who escaped are just nobody soldiers. How can they compare to those who are holding the line? Don't push them too far."
These people are like rabbits; they are usually gentle and probably not so afraid of death. However, when others are involved, they can suddenly unleash a ferocity that will bite off a piece of flesh from someone even before they die.
Only by clinging to this sliver of hope can they remain rational; and rationality in battle means making choices.
Once you weigh the pros and cons, you'll hesitate.
She looked around with a hostile expression. The billowing dust had turned the once vibrant land into a desolate wasteland. However, Luo You was not concerned about this. What bothered her was that their scheme was flawed and that they had allowed everyone to perish together.
One of the conditions Si Liuhua exchanged with her was to collect as many cultivators' souls as possible. Now that so many are missing, she doesn't know if she can even explain it away.
Although she didn't care—that person had been delaying going to the Upper Realm and had already suffered a backlash; his cultivation was now slowly dissipating, making him all bark and no bite.
"Don't let them be completely destroyed," Luo You said coldly. "Kill them before they realize anything is wrong."
"Yes." The soldier bowed, then turned to the battlefield before him. Some were fighting, while others were watching them warily, seemingly searching for a way to break the deadlock.
She calmly made a hand seal, seemingly imitating the actions of human spiritual cultivators, and her blood-red eyes suddenly lit up. Before anyone could react to what she was doing, the cultivators who were fighting against the demons were suddenly enveloped by a large cloud of black mist.
The entire battlefield, and even those fleeing, were enveloped by this black mist. At this moment, painful screams rose and fell, but the forest remained silent.
Because those who left or went into hiding were not highly skilled, they were swallowed up before they could even put up a fight.
Finally, a monk cried out in a sorrowful and piercing voice:
"They're all dead... completely dead..."
Soon, someone realized the meaning behind her words—
None of the Golden Core cultivators who had been guarding the outer town from the very beginning survived.
Morale plummeted, and even the most impassioned words fell silent.
Despite their excruciating pain, many still struggled to wield their swords. They were all young women whom Emperor Taihui had painstakingly nurtured, and from the moment they stepped onto this battlefield, they were prepared to sacrifice their lives. At this moment, their eyes were bloodshot, cold sweat poured down their backs, and even blood seeped from between their teeth, yet they did not immediately fall.
How strange. Luo You's gaze swept over these students one by one, and he suddenly felt a little bored.
In a little while, they will realize that this perseverance is meaningless.
Her memory flickered slightly again, as if reminding her that she had forgotten something. Luo You closed her eyes, not intending to make a move for the time being, but instead raised her head and glanced at the Four Spirit Peaks in the distance.
The black fog continues to spread.
"......"
Qiao Yanshen wiped the blood from the corner of her lips, suppressing the surging demonic energy within her. She silently recited the Heart-Cleansing Mantra, but instead felt increasingly cold. An boundless chill flowed through her limbs, and she seemed to hear Luo You's voice in her ears.
Just like her, she was also a spy, an alien to the human race, and she also harmed her own fellow disciples.
Just as her mind wavered, she heard a rustling sound beside her, and then a hand suddenly reached out and grabbed her trouser leg.
Qiao Yanshen did not immediately raise her sword, but instead lowered her eyes to look. What came into view was a young man's face, which made her brow twitch, and a ripple finally appeared in her eyes.
She remembers.
This was one of her students when she taught at Wan Jianfeng. These children grew up very quickly, and she thought the boy must have remembered the sword techniques she taught him, because her sword was now full of cracks, revealing without reservation the fact that its master had given it his all.
She is outstanding; she was able to break through to the Foundation Establishment and Core Formation stages at a speed that is rare.
However, the boy's once spirited face was now stained with large patches of blood, slightly contorted in pain, his eyes glowing a faint red. She saw Qiao Yanshen, paused for a moment, then her lips moved, and she smiled with delight.
Tears rolled down her bloodshot eyes as she said, "Thank goodness, Senior Sister Qiao is here... She's alright, that's wonderful."
In her memory, Qiao Yanshen was incredibly powerful, like a vast ocean or a towering snow-capped mountain, possessing an unyielding strength. In this way, many more lives would surely be saved.
Qiao Yanshen's heart pounded once more. She bent down and grasped the boy's hand, which was covered in blood and mud. A wave of sorrow washed over her, and she couldn't utter a single word. The boy gazed into her dark eyes, as if finally at peace and content, and let out a soft, muffled sigh.
"Senior sister, please end my life," she whispered. "I'm too weak... I can't bring myself to kill myself, but I don't want to become a demonic cultivator either."
Qiao Yanshen heard his own voice was low, hoarse, and trembling.
"You are not weak, you are very brave..."
There should still be a chance...
Qiao Yanshen attempted to draw the demonic energy from her body to his own side, but found that it had already penetrated deep into her spiritual platform, almost burying her entire sea of consciousness. No matter where it was, it was already beyond redemption.
She bit her lip and squeezed the boy's hand tightly once more, her fingers covered in dark red dirt, as if grasping the last warmth of his hand.
After a long silence, the air suddenly turned cold. A wisp of sword intent flashed with a cold light, bathed in moonlight, and entered the boy's body.
She was no longer in pain, quietly closed her eyes, and collapsed to the ground.
Just then, Shen Lixia returned from elsewhere. She had searched around hoping for the best, but found nothing. Seeing the thick black fog, her heart tightened, and she quickly ran back. Behind her, Tang Huairou and Lin Yuxian were also there—they had gathered here together once again.
"Simmons sent me a message saying that she's doing well here. She just encountered a seriously injured student in the bushes and has already taken him to Aunt Chi."
After Shen Lixia finished speaking, she clenched her fist. She seemed hesitant, then quickly made a decision. As Qiao Yanshen turned around, she took a deep breath and said:
"Senior Sister—"
"Just do what you want to do." Qiao Yanshen seemed to have already guessed what she was going to say. "But I hope you are safe, Li Xia."
She took a few steps forward, her gaze gentle as water, and raised her hand to lightly rub Shen Lixia's cheek with her knuckles.
Shen Lixia nodded, her voice unconsciously rising a little, "Okay! I hope Senior Sister stays safe too."
Seeing this, Lin Yuxian no longer hesitated, lightly touching the array plate with her fingertips and summoning an array. Shen Lixia bent down, placing her palm on the center of the array, and spiritual energy flowed into it continuously. Tang Huairou also placed her hand on the back of Shen Yuxia's hand, providing her with more spiritual energy.
The voice in her heart also resounded throughout the consciousness of every disciple:
"Please, all of you students, persevere. If you are seriously injured, do not push yourselves."
"You are all the bravest warriors of the Taihui Sect. At this moment, you and I are not fighting alone, but together with the entire cultivation world, for all cultivators—our relatives, teachers, and comrades. At the same time, we are also fighting for our fallen sisters. From now on, please continue to fight alongside me—and each other. Do not be discouraged."
Vibrant wings slowly materialized from the flames behind the boy, almost fully extended, so broad and heavy that they seemed capable of soaring through the heavens.
Shen Lixia raised her eyes, and countless golden rays intertwined in them, converging into an inextinguishable flame.
"I will illuminate the heavens and dispel the demonic fog for you all—"
"Let us work together to dispel the clouds and see the sun!"
No longer fearing that the divine fire would be discovered by the enemy, nor worrying about any future troubles, she resolutely spread her wings and felt the divine fire merging with her more intensely than ever before, transforming into a dazzling crimson meteor, but its target was not the ground, but the vast sky!
The sound of the bowstring whipping through the air suddenly swept past the ears of all the students.
An arrow pierced the sky, shattering the dark clouds in an instant. A strong wind, carrying the heat of a raging fire, made everything on earth tremble.
At mid-air, the arrow, woven from gold and red hues, split into countless streaks of fire, raining down on all directions and turning everything into a sea of flames.
In the long, dark night, everything was suddenly as bright as day. The black mist dissipated, and all the students on the field felt their minds clear in an instant.
Although they did not die in the fire, fear finally crept into their hearts belatedly.
Luo You laughed in anger, staring at the almost blinding daylight, knowing that Shen Lixia had finally stopped hiding—Ling Guangjun, she really was Ling Guangjun.
That was the supreme god who led the various tribes in the ancient times to annihilate the ferocious beast Qiongqi with divine fire!
Unfortunately, she hasn't grown up yet—she will surely be strangled in her weakest period.
Luo You waved to a soldier.
"Go, since she has already revealed her location, then go and intercept her."
So what if Ling Guangjun is the reincarnation? She won't live past this night.
-
Yue Qifeng raised his eyes and looked at the bursting flames in the sky.
The raging fire burned away the distracting thoughts in her mind, rapidly restoring her meridians, which had been nearly destroyed by demonic energy. And a determination slowly became clear.
She was completely calm at this moment, even though there was a peak Nascent Soul Realm enemy not far away, and his sword would soon be pointed at her.
Those around her had already died in the demonic energy that had just erupted, and the few who survived were not expected to be met with the arrival of even more powerful soldiers, who fell one after another before her eyes.
Yue Qifeng did try to save them, but how could she protect others when she herself was in dire need of help?
Many of those people were people she had watched grow up. Some were her classmates, or at least people she had met before—Yue Qifeng had a very good memory; she remembered everyone's name.
Write down their birth date and preferences in a notebook. If all else fails, and they can't remember their birth date, they can write down the date they entered the sect. Many of these disciples had no living relatives. If they did, the Wuji Sword Sect would allow them to go back and visit, fulfilling the young people's wish to bring generous gifts home to repay the kindness of their mothers, aunts, and sisters who raised them.
As time passed and worldly ties were severed, the bond between comrades grew stronger day by day. No one celebrated the children's birthdays or remembered how much they had grown, so Yue Qifeng took it upon himself to do so, at least taking them out to play and to eat some warm meals.
Yun Zhixiao remained silent beside her for a long time. Her flute was broken, her lips were chafed and bleeding, bright blood gushed from the strings, and her fingertips showed a hint of white bone amidst the dripping red.
Yue Qifeng lowered his eyes. "Ah Xiao, do you remember? That person just now... used to be my junior sister. She admired you so much. When she heard that I knew you, she even asked me to bring you new zither strings..."
The student who was replaced by the demons and disappeared long ago, she had hoped to live a quiet, unknown life somewhere, but it would have been better if she had left the monastic life...
"I remember, I remember everything. Later, I gave her a pen made of a blue phoenix feather. Did she like it?" Yun Zhixiao leaned closer and took her hand. The warmth of blood spread, and pain came, but she seemed oblivious, only gripping it tighter and tighter.
“I like them, of course I like them to the extreme. But my junior sister is dead now... So many people are dead, yet their faces are still being used to deceive and harm others... Let us go and give them peace.”
Yun Zhixiao's eyes dimmed, and a hint of mourning flashed deep within her soft peach-pink eyes.
She could sense that they had made the same decision, because the surging spiritual energy fluctuations between them had already spread out, causing the demon to warily bypass the dying cultivator in front of him and quickly turn towards them.
"Ah Feng..."
I want you to know that even though I can never return, I feel joy in being able to protect humanity alongside you. Don't be afraid... don't be sad.
If she were alone, she would definitely make the same decision; but now that Yue Qifeng is by her side, even death would not seem so lonely and desolate.
Yue Qifeng's hand trembled slightly. She pursed her lips and smiled faintly.
“I’m not afraid…we made a vow when we formed our pact.”
The covenant says: "My lord, even in death you will have no regrets; though the cycle of reincarnation continues, my heart will find peace."
Though not born on the same day, they may die on the same day, accompanying each other into the River Styx.
However, I will still be sad.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Okay, if you read it all in one go, you might find that the sentences I wrote about Xia's archery are similar to those from when we first met Ba. Just a little callback.
These chapters were difficult to write in terms of pacing, so I struggled for a long time. They were basically a mix of highs and lows, very intense, and then I just couldn't write them well... I even found them boring myself.
Thank you to the readers who were patient. I was planning to update yesterday, but something came up...
*Update: Reader pointed out a bug. Then, Teacher Ying also took a screenshot and told me that she felt there was a problem with the reading, so she revised that paragraph.
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