Chapter 95 (Chapter 95) (Mutual Destruction)
"Senior sister, you underestimate me. What makes you think you can protect this so-called young alliance leader?"
Upon hearing Chai Hu Nan's words, Ni Xiao's eyes flashed with intense resentment. It seemed that Chai Hu Nan's trust in Lin Cheng Ye was more unacceptable to her than anything else. She sneered coldly.
"Senior sister, it's you who should die at Master's hands."
Ni Xiao stopped looking at Chai Hu Nan, narrowed her eyes, and slowly lowered her snake-like gaze to Lin Cheng Ye's face. At the same time, she gripped a long-handled weapon at her waist with her left hand, touched the ground with her toes, and disappeared instantly. When she reappeared, she was only three steps away from Lin Cheng Ye.
Wow, so fast!
Lin Chengye opened his eyes wide, quickly withdrew, and simultaneously drew his swords from both hands, swinging them forward in a cross shape. Wherever they passed, sandstorms arose, and trees were snapped.
Ni Xiao drew her weapon with a backhand motion, and with a gentle turn, the object turned out to be neither a knife nor a sword. Instantly, thirty-two iron bones expanded and dispersed, transforming into a round, pitch-black umbrella that blocked both attacks.
"Dead Man's Umbrella..."
No wonder this person has this name.
Lin Chengye frowned. The situation was extremely difficult for her. Her moves were powerful and unrestrained, but with the cliff behind her, she couldn't make any big moves. The Divine Pivot Heavenly Mystery Sect's formation couldn't be set up immediately, preventing her from utilizing her greatest strengths. This environment, however, was exceptionally advantageous for Ni Xiao, giving her a significant advantage.
Chai Hu Nan had already helped her hold off Ni Luo, and the two were fighting in a completely different manner. Their figures were no longer discernible. Two black winds chased each other in the thick darkness, but one could sense that one of their forces was always trapped near the cliff. They were already at their limit in their maneuvering, let alone thinking about escaping to help her.
She even wanted Chai Hu Nan to leave alive, so she had to kill Ni Xiao and then have a chance to help her.
Lin Chengye took a deep breath. The wound on her back was still bleeding and the pain was unbearable, but her heart became calmer and her mind became clearer.
No, it's not that there's absolutely no chance.
Both she and Ni Xiao had reached the sixth level of internal strength, but in the updated "Book of Amazing Beauty," she was ranked first, ahead of Ni Xiao. However, in terms of actual combat experience, she had very little.
There was only one possibility: Cai Bailing must have ranked them solely based on their internal strength. Lin Chengye realized her only advantage over Ni Xiaoqiang, and at the same time, there was a simple and effective method.
drag!
As long as they can hold out, Ni Xiao will inevitably be the first to run out of internal energy.
"You prestigious sects even have such... boring moves."
With a flick of her finger, Ni Xiao sent the black umbrella landing on her left shoulder. Beneath the canopy, thirty-two sharp, black iron ribs reflected a chilling light. Her entire aura had completely transformed; it was now sinister and viscous as she watched Lin Chengye's every move.
The next moment, the umbrella was reversed, revealing its frame, and the figure disappeared.
Ni Xiao's umbrella transformed into a sharp, long needle, and she vanished into the night as if she had disappeared from the spot, her breath barely audible.
Lin Chengye could only feel the force of the wind it generated. His breath caught in his throat, and he raised his sword in the opposite direction, just as it grazed the incoming umbrella. The metal blades clashed with a loud clang. Lin Chengye tilted his head, and a long needle grazed her cheek, cutting through her flesh.
Lin Chengye's gaze darkened, and he swung his sword forward with his right hand. The blade hummed, and he actually forced the long needle that was thrusting towards him back.
Ni Xiao flew backward, realizing she was no match for Lin Chengye's strength. Her supple body curved in the air in an eerie arc, returning to Lin Chengye's back. The long needle pointed directly at his heart, making almost no sound.
There was no time to turn around!
At the critical moment, Lin Chengye did not hesitate. She combined the hilt mechanisms of the swords in her left and right hands, merging the Yin-Yang Twin Spring Swords into one. She held the center of the sword and, with her hands rotating extremely fast, threw the double-headed sword backhand by instinct alone.
With a "clang!" sound, Ni Xiao's attack was blocked once again.
Another attack missed its mark, and Ni Xiao's face twisted slightly, revealing her anger.
She had thought she could kill Lin Chengye within ten moves, but his reaction was beyond her expectations, extremely sharp. Although it was supposed to be the simplest form of parrying each move, she didn't dare to confront him head-on and could only avoid his attacks.
But Ni Xiao, being experienced, didn't hesitate at all. She slid down the ground as if she had no bones, and the long needle in her hand drew a strange arc, viciously slashing at Lin Chengye's ankle. Her attack was extremely cruel.
Lin Chengye took a step forward, channeling all his inner strength into his right leg. The ground beneath his feet trembled, and the double-headed blade in his hand slashed down at Ni Xiao's head in the most direct and domineering way.
Hmph. Ni Xiao slightly curled the corners of her mouth. She had already anticipated Lin Chengye's move, and rolled backward to avoid this fatal blow.
Oh no, she's deliberately provoking her to do this! Lin Chengye was startled, but it was too late to change his actions. Five of the thirty-two umbrella ribs in Ni Xiao's hand shot out instantly, grazing the ground and aiming straight for Lin Chengye's right ankle.
Lin Chengye only had time to rotate the blade to form a shield in front of her, but two blades still managed to pass through the gap. One sharp umbrella rib pierced through it, penetrating Lin Chengye's right calf, while the other pierced her thigh.
This is a standard killer's tactic: a mix of deception and reality, all for the purpose of taking a life.
"cough……"
Since no bones were broken, she could continue to delay. Lin Chengye coughed up a mouthful of blood and struggled to her feet. But suddenly, her vision blurred, and her body collapsed like a mountain; she couldn't help but kneel on the ground.
"Hmph... You're quite good for lasting this long. No one has ever been able to outlast me. If my teacher hadn't anticipated this, you would have dragged me out until I ran out of internal energy."
Ni Xiao revealed a mischievous smile. She cautiously stepped through the thin snow on the ground and approached Lin Chengye step by step. The long needle in her hand swept across the ground, as if the King of Hell were taking her life.
"I'm really going to miss you."
"Poison...the short blade that was initially used to stab Wei Jingchen was poisoned..."
Lin Chengye struggled to lift her upper body, but that was all she could do. The poison had probably seeped in through the wound on her back; her mind was beginning to wander, and even her hands had become weak and powerless, making it difficult for her to hold the sword.
She couldn't let it end like this… Lin Chengye could no longer hold on; her head slumped heavily, and an immense sense of resentment surged in her heart, a resentment that seared her chest with pain. She had come this far, so close to the so-called truth…
"……Bye now."
In sight, the silver blade rose, and Ni Xiao's voice came from afar.
Suddenly, Lin Chengye trembled. She raised her head, her eyes now clear and sharp. She grabbed the sword at her feet and, with all her might, instantly knocked the umbrella rib from Ni Xiao's hand!
"Impossible! You're not poisoned?"
Ni Xiao was caught off guard by this turn of events and, unable to dodge in time, lost her balance and fell backward.
Lin Chengye did not overlook her flaws, nor did he give Ni Xiao another chance.
His inner energy surged, flowing through his body's meridians to his fingertips, and the closed lotus flower at the base of his finger instantly bloomed. Three hundred iron scales burst forth, instantly piercing Ni Xiao's body, severing tendons and breaking bones.
Lotus-patterned ring!
Before Ni Xiao could even react, she looked down and saw blood spraying from countless wounds, the sound of bones cracking incessant. Her eyes were filled with disbelief and confusion as she slowly fell backward into the snow like a piece of paper.
Just now...
Lin Chengye swayed for a moment, choking on blood again. She plunged her sword into the ground once more to support her teetering body, and then reached out to clutch her chest.
For some reason, another kind of steady and gentle internal energy in her body suddenly grew wildly, seeping into her wounds, dissolving some of the poison in her blood, and giving her a glimmer of hope.
Her own gradual, gentle influence couldn't achieve that; it was a far more powerful and overwhelming force. Lin Chengye raised his head, looking at the still ever-changing sky in the distance. This was the ten years of internal energy that Bian Yi had left in her body, still protecting her with all his might.
But what about herself?
...
"Hmm."
Chai Hu Nan raised her hand to wipe the blood from her mouth. She took a step back, but felt half of her foot dangling in the air as gravel rolled down.
Behind them was a sheer cliff; they had been driven to the brink of despair.
Chai Hu Nan felt extremely relieved. She saw Lin Cheng Ye resolve Ni Xiao's situation and get her out of danger, while the child was still sweating profusely and desperately trying to find a way to intervene in their fight.
But there are many things that can't be solved, and besides, the young leader has already done too well.
However… Chai Hu Nan lifted her black robe, revealing three silver needles on her right arm. The skin beneath the needles was black, and the poison was visibly spreading along the meridians.
Chai Hu Nan, however, felt nothing; even she was surprised at how peaceful she was inside.
She accepted her death as it was. After all, she had postponed the fate that should have befallen her long ago for so many years, and she should be content.
"...What a pity, Ni Xiao is the most talented child in Masked River now."
A faint voice drifted from the deep forest, followed by a slender figure gracefully approaching. Ni Luo glanced indifferently at the fight between the two juniors and shook her head regretfully.
"If you were still at Masked River, our strength would be enough to make the entire martial arts world tremble with fear of Masked River, and perhaps it would be time to change the world's number one sect."
No, it won't.
Chai Hu Nan looked at her former master, with whom she had spent every day, and said, word by word.
"I will never be in Masked River, and Masked River will never be the number one sect in the world."
The next moment, Chai Hu Nan raised his hand, the blade of the Secret Butterfly Blade pointing inwards at himself, and without any hesitation, stabbed into that arm. With a backhand flick, he directly severed the meridians in his right hand.
In an instant, the arm fell limply down, like a dead vine hanging by the window, lifeless, with black blood gushing from the wound.
"Then what's the difference between you and a dead person? Why don't you just die? Why do I have to end your life myself?"
Ni Luo was slightly surprised. For people like them, destroying their meridians was no different from death, and it only added to their suffering.
"Forget it, I'll just kill you first and then kill that child."
Ni Luo suddenly found the scene rather boring and lost interest in continuing. She switched the short knife in one hand to the other, and simultaneously rose up, the tip of the knife pointing directly at Chai Hu Nan's heart.
"That won't work."
Chai Hu Nan shook her head. She didn't dodge, but stood still and slowly opened her remaining arm to welcome Ni Luo and her blade.
The moment the blade pierced her body, Chai Hu Nan suddenly used his only remaining arm to tightly embrace Ni Luo, even wrapping his legs around hers and biting her ear with his teeth, using his last strength to imprison her in his arms, while leaning back at the same time.
A breeze stirred in her ears, and Chai Hu Nan felt an unprecedented sense of exhilaration. She whispered.
"We must die together, Master."
This was the second time the master and disciple had embraced, and the last time in their lives.
"Chai Hu Nan!"
Lin Chengye let out a heart-wrenching scream. She saw that Chai Hu Nan's upper body was already hanging in the air. She had left herself no way out. And she ignored Chai Hu Nan's blood-stained screams.
If she were still alive after this night... Lin Chengye suddenly felt a void in her heart, followed by a dense wave of pain and fear. She didn't want to think about it, and she didn't want to experience such pain again.
Just when she was almost in despair, suddenly, a voice that Lin Chengye had never heard before rang in her ears, seemingly coming from a very, very far place.
The voice said:
The Ninth Yellow Springs Formation is still in place; activate it immediately.
Author's Note: Let's celebrate!!! We practically stumbled and crawled past 300 reads!! TT
Ahhh, I'm so happy... Maybe I received too many invalid submissions, the "Enter V" button isn't lit up yet! (Soon, soon!)
I'll add an extra chapter and do a giveaway to celebrate when it goes live (for premium content).
One more thing, thank you to all the readers who have been following and encouraging me, and my best friend!! This article is actually quite immature in many ways, so I am truly flattered to receive your support and praise (deep bow). In addition, I have been under a lot of pressure three times recently, and I have repeatedly thought about stopping updating, but I am glad that I persevered.
Thank you so much everyone. (bows twice)
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