Chapter 229 Jinling Cannot Cross (A Item of Heavenly Punishment) I'm really, really tired...
It was such a breathtaking sight that Lin Feiran stared at it, speechless for a moment.
Above this brilliant, burning fire, clusters of snow clouds condensed in the sky. They hovered silently and quietly overhead, yet they were not like ordinary cumulus clouds. Even in the darkness of night, their immense size could still be faintly discerned.
However, within this dense snow cloud, countless flocculent ice crystals condensed at the center, slowly extending towards the ground.
From a distance, it looks like an inverted pillar or a giant arm reaching down from the sky, exuding a strange and majestic aura.
It's unknown how long it has been here, or how long it has been extending, but at this moment, it seems to be only a few feet away from the highest snow-capped peak in the northern plains.
The sweeping snow wind suddenly stopped as it approached, the eagles with outstretched wings circled away, the snow on the peak turned gray, and even the snow pines that had stood for many years were reduced to withered branches.
Whatever lies below seems to grow dimmer the closer you get to it.
But what's even more surprising is that around these slowly descending, fluffy ice pillars, two Kun (a mythical fish) were swimming in mid-air.
One large and one small, their spines stretch for thousands of miles.
Even though the surrounding area was ablaze with fire, they seemed oblivious as they hovered around.
It appears to be an inch to the naked eye, but in reality, it is far more than that.
But the next moment, one of the giant Kun cried out silently, swimming and smashing the flakes of ice. The broken ice shards fell down, mixed with the snow, and melted into the flames.
When the giant Kun flipped over, the wounds and bloodstains on its body were clearly visible.
The pieces of flesh rolled down, only to be consumed by the flames.
They are using their own flesh and blood to slowly peel away the downward-spreading glaciers.
Lin Feiran was stunned by the bizarre scene before her.
The esoteric Buddhist followers stationed nearby were equally astonished, all staring blankly, completely unaware that what they were guarding was such a thing.
At the same time, the human guards stationed on the border also witnessed such a raging fire. They all rode their celestial horses to the scene. The leader was dressed in black armor and a military robe, and standing beside him with a sword hanging from his side was none other than Murong Qiudi, who had disappeared not long ago.
Their facial expressions were almost identical.
Surprise, shock, astonishment, confusion, and fear—such a complex range of emotions swirled in everyone's eyes, and almost no one noticed Lin Feiran standing at the very bottom.
A long howl pierced the night sky, and the sharp sound of an arrow echoed across the entire snowfield. The flame on the arrow shimmered, almost illuminating half the sky, as it plummeted straight toward Lin Feiran!
She was already exhausted, but she was just putting on a brave face. A single arrow from a Divine Travel Realm Venerable was something she couldn't possibly handle.
But Lin Feiran did not stay where she was; she turned and ran away.
This move immediately attracted the attention of Murong Qiudi and the others. They looked down and saw a dark figure running in the blazing white snow. She was not fast, so much so that when they looked at her, she seemed like an ant.
But this was no ordinary ant. Faced with such an arrow, she formed hand seals and drew an array. Just as the arrow fell, she instantly appeared dozens of miles away. Although it was a close call, she managed to escape from danger.
The pursuers showed no sign of letting up; as soon as one arrow fell to the ground, another shot through the snow, right at their feet!
At this distance, it was too late for either drawing an array or offering assistance. Even Lin Feiran was prepared to withstand the attack when a gentle breeze blew from the side.
As she sped along, she glanced to the side and saw that the Kun, which had been circling in the sky, had somehow appeared beside her and used its mountain-like body to block the attack for her.
Lin Feiran stared in surprise, only to find that it was the smaller Kun that flipped over, flung the long arrow away, and let out a gentle murmur.
"have a finger in the pie!"
A woman's angry voice rang out, and the purple light that was still in the sky was now right in front of them. Saintess Bi Sheng was the first to arrive.
She was clearly very familiar with the strange sight before her, so she didn't look at it for long, but instead focused all her attention on Lin Feiran.
Before she even landed, she flipped her palm and formed a seal. A magic array quickly spun in her palm, and the next moment, half an inch of the spiritual vein of heaven and earth appeared in her mustard seed bag, as if it was about to be sucked into her hand!
Lin Feiran immediately formed a hand seal to defend herself, but even at her peak, her spiritual power was no match for a Divine Travel Realm Venerable, let alone now that she was exhausted.
She could only resist while holding onto the spiritual vein, constantly calling out to her master in her heart, but there was no response.
Just then, the little Kun swam over again, but instead of flicking its tail, it transformed into a human, forming several Buddhist mudras with its hands, and tried its best to repel Bi Sheng's magic.
Lin Feiran looked over in surprise, and her eyes widened even more when she saw the man's appearance.
This was none other than the Holy Maiden of the Goddess Sect whom they had met in Spring City!
At this moment, not only Lin Feiran, but also the members of the Secret Sect and the human guards were all horrified.
"This...this can't be a sea creature!"
Someone in the crowd exclaimed in surprise, "Among the demon race, only the sea race can change shape so freely!"
Ignoring Lin Feiran's surprise, the Holy Maiden of the Goddess Sect withdrew her gaze, pushed her back, and said calmly without much explanation, "The fire seed has been retrieved. The rest is up to us. You go first, and we will stop her."
The giant Kun beside the ice pillar spun down and transformed into human form. From a distance, it was indeed the Venerable One who had asked her to retrieve the fire seed in the secret chamber.
She glanced at Lin Feiran, her lips moved silently, and then she smiled gently.
At this moment, Murong Qiudi also reacted. She glanced at Lin Feiran from afar, but her appearance had changed, so Murong Qiudi did not recognize her. She looked at the pursuing secret sect members, whispered a few words to the person next to her, and then leaped forward to stop them.
Although I don't know who this female cultivator is, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Despite having countless questions in her mind, Lin Feiran didn't press the matter. After nodding her thanks, she turned and fled without hesitation.
Now that the fire has been obtained and one matter is settled, her next task is to protect the spiritual veins of heaven and earth at all costs.
In an instant, a chaotic battle broke out behind them, and unusual storms swept across the tranquil snowfield, but Lin Feiran did not look back for a moment.
She kept running forward, determined to return to the Path of Rebirth, to take this shortcut back to the Endless Sea, and back to the Demon Capital. Unbeknownst to her, she had come to regard the Demon Capital as her safest haven.
But things didn't go as planned. Before Lin Feiran could run for long, he suddenly heard the silence behind him. This change happened in an instant, which was quite chilling.
After this brief silence came a series of coughs, each one louder than the last, so familiar yet so despairing.
Lin Feiran immediately stopped and stared intently at his movements, while her hands were rapidly forming hand seals.
She remembered that Ru Xian had once taught her how to strike first if she were to confront this person again!
The chilling coughs gradually subsided, and Lin Feiran's hand seals came to an end. The moment the man raised his head and uttered the word "still," five Lin Feirans appeared on the snowfield in an instant.
Asa paused slightly, and the incantation she uttered only froze one of them; the other four she ran away in four different directions without stopping.
He opened his eyes slightly, as if he hadn't expected it, and was about to speak again when Bi Sheng stopped him: "It's not time for you to die yet."
After speaking, she raised her hand, and Qi Chen and the others who had just arrived had no choice but to split up and chase after them. Bi Sheng's eyes narrowed slightly, and she chose one of them to follow.
Lin Feiran strode across the snowfield on her thunderous hooves. She should have been like a swift and agile wolf, leaving her pursuers far behind, but she was simply too exhausted.
Every breath of snow wind felt like a dull knife cutting into my throat, and my legs felt like they were weighed down by two mountains. Each time I lifted or lowered them, it required immense willpower.
At that moment, she was unable to think of anything; only the instinct to escape sustained her.
As she ran, her movements slowed down. She looked down at the snow on the ground, pure white with a touch of purple light, and couldn't help but chuckle.
This is how it is when people are down on their luck. Including her, she had a total of five clones, but it was her real self who was chosen by that saintess.
How can I escape from her clutches?
Exhausted, Lin Feiran tried to find a way out of this dead end, but her reaction was much slower than usual, and she couldn't come up with a better solution. So she couldn't help but wonder if what Ru Xian had drawn for her could subdue a cultivator in the Divine Travel Realm.
In the brief moment of her wandering thoughts, Lin Feiran placed her hand on the mustard seed pouch at her waist, made a small opening, and said in a hoarse voice, "I heard that you seem to be able to burrow underground. If anything unexpected happens, you can escape underground."
Despite saying that, Lin Feiran still hadn't given up on escaping. With a change of heart, she turned and ran into the sparse pine forest beside her, stepping on the branches and leaves to move forward. Her speed was indeed much faster than that of Treading Snow.
She has very little spiritual power left and can no longer control her sword. Perhaps she can escape with a glimmer of hope by using this lightning magic and pine branches.
Just as they were exhausted, a voice like whistling wind suddenly rang in their ears: "How is the situation? You're in the heart of the Northern Plains, aren't you?"
Lin Feiran's breathing was already quite heavy, but because it was transmitted through his mind, there was no trace of hesitation: "Yes..."
Ru Xian paused, then immediately asked, "Are you alright?"
Lin Feiran did not answer, but asked directly, "Ru Xian, can the magic array you left behind withstand an attack from a cultivator at the Divine Travel Realm?"
"Yes." Ru Xian's brows furrowed slightly. "I'll be there soon."
"That's good."
Lin Feiran was already somewhat delirious at this point, and didn't even hear his last words. She pulled off the corner of her sleeve that had been caught on a branch, her eyebrows and eyes lowered, and her breathing became slower and heavier.
"I'm really, really tired, I want to rest for a bit..."
"Lin Feiran, Lin Feiran?"
Amidst the urgent cries like falling snowflakes, the heartbeat abruptly broke, the lightning beneath Lin Feiran's feet vanished, and in the midst of her ascent, her entire body swayed, and she fell from the tree.
As she fell, her eyes closed and opened again, her warm breaths exhaling and forming a thin white mist in front of her eyes before quickly dissipating.
In the corner of his eye, a figure flashed by. She did not fall heavily into the snow, but was gently lifted up and held in someone's arms, and floated down gracefully.
In her tired and blurry state, she saw the smooth lines of his jawline beneath the sword spirit's mask. She put her arm around Lin Feiran's shoulder and said softly, "If you're tired, just rest. You've done a great job."
The sword spirit held Lin Feiran for a moment, brushed away the strands of hair stuck to her face, and as Bi Sheng's arrow fell, she raised her fingers and the Golden Wave Sword shot out like a streak of light, knocking the arrow away several meters.
Bi Sheng dodged to the side. What was initially a casual glance turned into a shock when he saw the deep-set longsword. His pupils constricted sharply, and his face paled in horror: "The Golden Wave Sword..."
She looked at the sword spirit, her expression suddenly becoming chaotic, a mixture of fear and resentment, her usual arrogance and composure completely gone.
In her dazed state, Lin Feiran seemed to hear the roar of the esoteric Buddhist saintess, but she felt as if she were trapped inside a giant bell, and all she could hear was a buzzing sound.
The next moment, she felt the sword spirit withdraw, seemingly to counterattack. Leaning against the tree trunk, her vision was already very blurry. Just as she was about to fall asleep, she saw a pale blue figure approaching in her peripheral vision.
She could no longer hold on, her body swayed and she fell to the side, but she did not fall into the snow. Instead, she was vaguely supported by someone.
A note from the author:
The inspiration for this icicle came from a documentary I watched before, featuring dead icicles in the ocean. Those interested can search for it.
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