Soul Devouring Array - 6
The black energy on the banner churned violently, no longer condensing into ghostly figures or chains, but instead splashing out like uncontrolled ink, carrying corrosive and extremely chaotic evil thoughts, and as he staggered forward, it enveloped Ji Wang from head to toe.
This attack was devoid of any skill; it was solely intended to perish together with Ji Wang.
On the other side, Ling Gu's attack had already arrived silently. In stark contrast to Yin Jun's frenzied agitation, his movements were more restrained and more deadly.
He was searching for any opening Ji Wang might make—his waist, back, or the wrist where he held the sword.
His attack was filling the gaps in the Shadow Falcon's offensive.
Ji Wang's left arm was already moving slowly due to the injury, and blood had soaked half of his body without him noticing. But his right hand, under the approaching overwhelming black mist of the Yin Falcon, tapped the bell tied to his wrist.
A sudden change occurred.
On the alchemy furnace, the talismans maintaining the "soul extraction" array flickered without warning.
Immediately afterwards, a thin beam of light, as thin as a hair, appeared from nowhere and silently pierced the most vulnerable point in that eye.
That moment was precisely when Ling Gu's entire mind was focused on Ji Wang, when Yin Falcon's aura became slightly disordered due to the breaking of the Ghost Hand, and when the entire evil formation was in an unstable state.
"Crack..."
With a cracking sound, the suspended array eye, which connects the entire soul-extraction system of the array, suddenly showed countless fine cracks on its surface, as if a frozen lake had been hit hard.
The light at the core of the formation dimmed instantly, and its internal structure was completely destroyed at its vital points by the sudden attack.
"What—?!" The falcon's attack came to an abrupt halt. He turned his head in horror, looking towards the center of the formation, his face contorted with shock and fear.
The moment Ling Gu reacted, he abandoned Ji Wang, who was within reach, and rushed towards the array's core, whose light flickered uncertainly. He wanted to prevent the core from collapsing completely, or at least to prevent the core from being completely destroyed, even if it meant enduring some of the backlash.
However, another figure had foreseen all of this even earlier than him.
Bu Jiu suddenly appeared directly in front of the alchemy furnace, and his right hand reached out and grabbed at Ji Wang in mid-air.
Ji Wang's sword, summoned by an invisible force, broke free from its master and transformed into a streak of light, flying to Bu Jiu's side.
Once the sword was in his hand, Bu Jiu did not hesitate at all. He didn't even look at Ling Gu who was rushing towards him. Instead, he gripped the hilt tightly, poured his demonic power into the blade, and plunged it fiercely into the ground beneath his feet, which was covered with intricate array patterns!
"puff--!"
The moment the sword pierced through the ground, a dull thud resounded from the tip, and countless dazzling golden cracks spread wildly across the surface array patterns.
Wherever it passed, those dark red, sinister patterns quickly disintegrated.
The Yin-gathering array underground, which supported the entire formation, was pierced by this sword!
Only now did that terrifying energy, suddenly freed from all restraints, erupt like a powder keg that had been ignited!
The explosion swept across the entire array area, the ground churning and cracking like waves. Violent energy turbulence mixed with debris shot into the sky, easily tearing apart the surrounding buildings.
The first to be hit, Yin Falcon, was completely swallowed up by the evil array he himself had set up before he could even let out a scream. His figure flashed away and his fate was unknown.
"I will not punish you!" Ji Wang shouted.
Bu Jiu immediately understood, but the action of pouring out his demonic power aggravated Wu Wangyuan's old injury, and he stopped for a moment due to the intense pain halfway through.
Upon seeing this, Ji Wang disregarded his injuries and swiftly flashed to Bu Jiu's side.
He didn't even have time to speak or create a more complex defensive formation; he simply instinctively held Bu Jiu in his arms and used his back to meet the oncoming impact.
Just as the debris and broken wooden beams from the explosion were about to hit Ji Wang, a thin, arc-shaped barrier, as thin as a cicada's wing, suddenly appeared around him.
The barrier appeared at just the right time, perfectly protecting the two of them. Although the area was small, it was exceptionally strong.
The impacts slammed into the barrier at any moment, producing dense and muffled sounds. The barrier trembled violently, as if it would shatter at any moment, yet it stubbornly held on, isolating most of the impacts. Only a few stray objects grazed the edges, leaving shallow bloodstains.
Ji Wang instantly recognized that this was a unique protective barrier of the Changfeng Sect, and it was extremely sophisticated.
As if to confirm his conjecture, just as the aftershocks of the explosion had completely subsided, a strong voice came from the direction of Bianyue Cliff.
"Sect Leader! Everything's settled here—the refugees have all been settled, and those troublemakers have been cleaned up! Do you need any help here—"
From the direction the voice came from, two people could be vaguely seen approaching rapidly; it was Gui Tiao and You Hang.
They have clearly resolved the crisis at Bianyue Cliff and arrived to provide immediate support.
Ling Gu stood amidst the chaos, his gray robe tattered, his cheek wounded, and his breathing noticeably unsteady. He had naturally heard Gui Tiao's shouts, but showed no sign of panic. He slowly turned his gaze to the two of them.
There, Bu Jiu knelt on one knee on the scorched earth, coughing violently, blood constantly seeping from between his fingers and the corner of his lips. But the veins on the back of his hand gripping the sword bulged, and he stubbornly held on, not falling. His eyes were raised, and through his messy, blood-stained black hair, they locked onto Ling Gu.
Bu Jiu raised his hand and fiercely wiped away the blood that kept overflowing from his lips with his sleeve. Then, he supported himself on his knees and stood up inch by inch.
Upon seeing this, Ji Wang quickly reached out to steady him and then stood in front of him.
“You,” Bu Jiu said, his voice hoarse from his injuries, “You murdered your own kind and used a cub to refine your soul. Ling Gu, you have failed your people, and even more so, you have failed those who once called you ‘brother’.”
Ling Gu did not immediately refute or make a move. He simply watched as his once frail younger brother, who had needed his protection, now stood on the opposite side, covered in wounds and filled with hatred, condemning him word by word.
Listening to Bu Jiu's accusations, Ling Gu's eyes remained calm. Even when he heard the word "ashamed," the corners of his mouth curled up as if he had heard some absurd joke.
After Bu Jiu finished speaking, Ling Gu slowly opened his mouth: "What you said is wrong. Have I wronged you?"
He took half a step forward, his movements so composed that it was hard to believe he was surrounded by enemy forces.
“When my father and mother passed away, the clan was in turmoil, resources were scarce, and infighting was rampant.” He spoke calmly of that distant period filled with hunger and danger, as if telling someone else’s story. “Those so-called elders and peers, did they ever share a bite of food with you, or give you a safe place to stay? No.”
“It was me who carried you, this burden, to find a place to live in the treacherous mountains and forests, to avoid even more powerful monsters, and to distinguish which fruits were edible and which waters were drinkable.” His voice remained flat, as if he were stating something unrelated to himself. “It was me who taught you how to sneak, how to ambush, and how to seize the chance to survive in the law of the jungle.”
"And then?" he asked rhetorically. "When you met Ji Wang, you casually said 'we're on different paths' and never saw me again. And to avenge the little Taoist priest you cherished, you risked the excruciating pain of bloodline backlash and personally severed half of my tail."
He finally stopped there, as if waiting for Bu Jiu to be stung by the past, consumed by guilt, or... completely ignited by anger: "This, is it my fault for wronging you?"
Ji Wang could feel the stiffness in the bodies of those around him. It wasn't just simple anger; it was more like the complex emotions of grief, indignation, and grievance that came from having old wounds reopened in the most unbearable way by a loved one.
Bu Jiu's clenched knuckles made a soft cracking sound, and the already fluctuating demonic power around him began to overflow uncontrollably, carrying a destructive aura.
Ji Wang was deeply shaken.
He knew Bu Jiu too well. Ling Gu's words touched the deepest part of Bu Jiu's heart about that past, a complex knot in his heart that even he himself might not be able to fully untangle.
We can't let him listen anymore!
Without hesitation, he turned to the side, reached out and cupped Bu Jiubing's cheeks in his hands, and with a little force, forced Bu Jiubing's gaze to turn to him.
"Bu Jiu." Ji Wan's voice reached Bu Jiu's ears, earnest and sincere, "Look at me."
His thumb gently stroked the skin at the corner of Bu Jiu's eye, wiping away the slight dampness that had seeped out, whether from extreme anger or extreme pain.
"Listen to me." Ji Wan spoke calmly, as if trying to share her composure with her lover who was on the verge of losing control. "You can't lay a hand on him."
His gaze swept over the blood seeping from Bu Jiu's lips: "Your injuries are too severe. If you force it, the consequences will be unimaginable. And have you forgotten? When people of the same clan kill each other, the bloodline will turn against each other... If you kill him with your own hands right now, you will be the first to fall."
"Leave it to me, okay?" Ji Wan looked deeply into Bu Jiu's eyes. "Let me do it."
This action is undoubtedly the greatest disregard and provocation towards Linggu.
Ling Gu clicked his tongue at the sight and reached out with his hand, which was hanging by his side, to grab at the air.
Not far away, at the edge of the blasted crater, charred soil slid down, and a limp figure was forcibly dragged out of the crater by an invisible force, hanging in mid-air. It was Yin Jun, whose fate was previously unknown.
At this moment, Yin Falcon looked extremely miserable, his body charred and tattered, his exposed skin covered with burns and cracks, and his breath was as weak as a candle flickering in the wind. He was imprisoned there by the power of Listening Bones, like a broken object.
“If I were to say…” Ling Gu’s gaze remained fixed on Bu Jiu, “luring and killing the young fox, refining the soul and setting up the array were all his doing. I was just careless and borrowed an insignificant ornament from him to play with, but I never expected him to be so audacious as to use it to commit such an evil deed.”
This statement completely absolved him of the crime of harming his own people, placing all the blame and evil deeds on the undeniable Yin Jun.
Bu Jiu did not listen to a single word of Ling Gu's defense or excuse. The moment Ling Gu tried to shirk responsibility, the anger that Bu Jiu had barely suppressed because of Ji Wang's comforting words suddenly flared up again, as if it had been doused with boiling oil.
He abruptly broke free from Ji Wang's grasp and swung his hand fiercely towards Yin Jun!
"Thud—!" The dull thud of a sharp blade piercing flesh and bone sent chills down one's spine.
The sword pierced Yin Jun's chest without any resistance, the blade emerging from his back, bringing with it filthy black blood and fragments of broken internal organs.
Yin Jun straightened his suspended body, and his eyes, which had been dulled by his serious injuries, suddenly widened to their limit. He opened his mouth, and more black blood mixed with bubbles gushed out of his throat.
His body fell heavily downwards, finally crashing onto the scorched earth with a "thud," the sword blade sinking deep into the ground, leaving only the hilt sticking out.
His actions have already provided the answer—the Shadow Falcon is dead. No matter how Ling Gu tries to argue and shirk responsibility, this life, directly stained with the blood of its own kind's cubs, has been ended by his own hands.
Bu Jiu looked at Ling Gu, his disgust undisguised: "If I were to speak before, I would admit that you are a very good older brother. Until yesterday, I believed that you might have had your reasons."
“It’s disgusting that you let your men do such cruel things. If I had the chance, I would kill you with my own hands.”
As for the rest, they all seem unimportant at this moment, or rather, there is no longer any point in arguing about them.
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