Chapter 76
When Sheng Ningyu arrived near the East China Sea, she felt no joy or excitement at the prospect of avenging her great enemy; instead, she became sullen.
The puppet miasma attacked the moment she landed, but Sheng Ningyu was not surprised at all. She drew her wooden sword from her waist, blocked it with her backhand, and in an instant, a sword whistled, and the overwhelming puppet barrier was instantly torn open, allowing some light to finally shine in.
"How can there be so many puppet obstacles?"
Even someone as emotionless as Feng Qingxing's tone changed slightly at this moment, and his expression became even colder and more solemn.
The puppet barriers here are simply too dense.
If the puppet barriers they encountered on ordinary days were enough to give cultivators below the Jade Balance Realm a headache, then this dense, intricate network of puppets, almost forming a sky-covering net, was enough to shake the resolve of any cultivator whose will was not strong enough.
But this absolutely does not include Sheng Ningyu.
Seeing Feng Qingxing completely blocking her way, Sheng Ningyu couldn't help but raise the corners of her mouth, finding it amusing.
It was clearly an order given to him by Feng Xiaohong.
Feng Xiaosheng is always like this, especially now that they have reunited. Sheng Ningyu feels as if she has been treated like a fragile porcelain. Even though she tries her best to restrain herself, Feng Xiaosheng's protective instincts for her cannot be hidden and will always show in strange ways.
Fortunately, Feng Xiaohong still remembered the danger of this place, so she didn't make things too difficult for Feng Qingxing. At least the magic arrays and secret treasures around him were clanging and jingling, and they were almost hanging all over his body.
It seems like they intend to use him as a human shield.
But there's absolutely no need for that.
Sheng Ningyu patted Feng Qingxing on the shoulder: "Please make way."
Feng Qingxing didn't move. He remembered Feng Xiaosheng's instructions and continued to defend with his longsword. However, even with the protection of those secret treasures, his hand was a little unsteady, and the spiritual energy on the longsword trembled: "Sword Master is..."
“You’ve already called me the Sword Master, so of course I’m going to draw my sword.”
Although she prevented the bone fragment in her right wrist from fully fusing in order not to get caught up in memories, Sheng Ningyu's swordsmanship was more than enough to carve out a path to survival.
Feng Qingxing met Sheng Ningyu's gaze and finally gave way.
Sheng Ningyu made a hand seal, and the wooden sword could not be suspended in front of her. Without reciting any words or incantations, she simply flipped her wrist, and spiritual power surged into the long sword. It roared past like a dragon and instantly broke through the layers of puppet barriers!
It was just one move, yet it was so easy!
Feng Qingxing's breath hitched slightly.
He had no memories of the past. Even though the Demon Lord had revealed that he had the blood of the Chu family, Feng Qingxing only knew a little about his past as the third son of the Chu family, "Chu Qingshu," through other people's accounts.
But now, the "Sword Master" who supposedly dominated everyone in his past years, the top of the Prodigy Ranking who was completely sealed away by everyone after he left, and the "Bright Moon" who made the person he cherished never forget, suddenly stepped out of the thin story and into the present.
A single sword strike, as striking as the moon's radiance.
Feng Qingxing was completely convinced: "The Sword Master's sword remains as sharp as ever."
Sheng Ningyu accepted the praise without hesitation, and as she tossed her head, her jade pendants jingled: "Of course."
She casually picked up a pebble and threw it into the air. The puppet barrier, which had been restless and testing the waters, suddenly shrank back, as if it had a sense of self.
It's a bit subtle.
Sheng Ningyu casually picked up a lump of puppet barrier and kneaded it in her palm. After a moment, she turned her head and smiled at Feng Qingxing, saying, "I'm afraid we need to hurry."
Although the corners of her mouth were turned up, there was no smile in her eyes.
These puppet barriers are clearly absorbing the life force of living beings, not to mention they also have the ability to control them. If there are ordinary people around who have no spiritual power and they are controlled, it will be extremely troublesome to remove them.
Neither of them were the type to waste words, and they quickly arrived near the Chu family in the East Sea by following the path that had been cleared.
Located in the East China Sea, this place is famous for the Chu family, but it is not only inhabited by members of the Chu family. Many retainers who depend on the Chu family for their livelihood, as well as a few scattered small sects, are densely packed in this town.
However, things went much better than Sheng Ningyu had expected.
When they arrived in the city, ghostly fires lit up the ground, creating a hazy, gray scene, and the merchants' shops were in disarray, destroyed by something unknown.
Fortunately, the casualties were not as severe as expected.
Sheng Ningyu leaped forward, swiftly stopping a swaying puppet barrier, and picked up the little girl who was too frightened to move, handing her to her grandfather.
The little girl didn't see anything clearly, but she felt as if a sliver of moonlight was drifting in. The next second, she was rescued from the "monster's" mouth.
Is she a fairy? The little girl tilted her head back, trying hard to make out the appearance of the person in front of her, and even reached out her hand.
The grandfather beside her was so frightened that he grabbed her fingers, fearing that his granddaughter had offended the immortal.
"It's alright." Sheng Ningyu smiled and patted the little girl's head. "Is the old lady still able to hold on? If possible, go and take shelter behind us."
She pointed to the area she had just cleaned, and at the same time, Feng Qingxing slipped a talisman into the arms of the grandmother and grandson.
As the two figures disappeared into the distance, the little girl nestled in her grandfather's arms and whispered, "Grandpa, were those two immortals?"
Grandpa immediately said, "Don't say anything more! Those two are clearly extraordinary immortals."
The little girl hesitated for a moment, then whispered, "But didn't you say that immortals wouldn't care about us, and that if we encountered them, we should stay far away from them?"
They lived near the East Sea, under the rule of a renowned immortal family, but usually, those immortals paid them no heed.
It's said that ignoring them is a good thing. If you see them blocking the way or getting in your way, even a casual wave of your hand can keep them in bed for ten days or half a month.
Isn't that Erniu from next door? He still walks with a limp!
And Father and Mother too...
This time, Grandpa was silent for a moment, opened his mouth, and finally uttered only one sentence: "In the past, he also took care of things."
"Before? How long ago?"
"A long time ago, when Grandpa was the same age as you," the elderly man said softly, comforting his daughter as he recalled his childhood. "Back then, there was a very powerful Sword Master who ruled over the Fourteen Continents. She was a good person, and all the other cultivators were afraid of her. They dared not disobey her, much less bully us..."
He was just one man with a sword, and he kept all those petty scoundrels from daring to show their faces.
As everyone knows, this Sword Master is a towering figure, full of heroic spirit! She is not afraid of any powerful families or clans, and she never lets anyone who does bad things go unpunished.
The little girl, her eyelids drooping, huddled under the eaves with her grandfather, and mumbled sleepily, "Where has this immortal gone now?"
"The immortal has gone to a very far place."
Will she come back?
"Yes, it will. It definitely will."
The old man had no idea that the immortal he had glimpsed in his childhood was now standing right in front of him.
...
Sheng Ningyu leaped to the highest point in the city and finally caught up with an acquaintance.
The leading demonic cultivator was startled and almost threw away the woman he had just rescued to retaliate, but was intercepted by a sword light.
"Shang Shuang." Sheng Ningyu landed silently behind Shang Shuang and asked, "Where are Xie Qianjing and my senior brother?"
Upon seeing that it was Sheng Ningyu, Shang Shuang breathed a sigh of relief.
She released the embroiderer, received a grateful bow from her, and then placed a ghostly pattern drawn by Gui Canglou on her body before approaching Sheng Ningyu.
Shang Shuang looked around before leaning closer to Sheng Ningyu and whispering, "Your Excellency and the Lord of Gui Cang Lou are both at the Chu family right now. The two of you have made very good arrangements, but the Chu family lord has used some kind of secret formation, and all we can see outside are these endless streams of puppet barriers. We finally managed to drive them away, and then so many more came."
The demonic energy surged, almost uncontrollable, and Feng Qingxing, who was destroying the Chu family's development, almost turned back to attack.
But Sheng Ningyu was faster than him.
As Sheng Ningyu stopped her, a stream of spiritual energy flowed into Shang Shuang's brow. Shang Shuang relaxed, the demonic markings that had been repaired gradually faded, the demonic energy swirling around her body became lighter, and her pupils gradually returned to normal.
She immediately realized that she was in the puppet barrier and had been affected by it. She knelt down on one knee and bowed to Sheng Ningyu: "Thank you for your help, Sword Master!"
Sheng Ningyu, of course, wouldn't mind this. She felt there was no need for such a grand ceremony. After helping Shang Shuang up, she turned to leave, but the few demonic and ghost cultivators who had gathered around bowed deeply and said, "Respectfully seeing off Sword Master."
Only one person was different.
The high-level demonic cultivator, whose illusion had just been broken by Sheng Ningyu, bowed deeply and spoke.
"Congratulations, Sword Master, your sword is even better than before."
Sheng Ningyu had already turned around, but upon hearing these words, her heart stirred.
What she just used was not a calming technique, but the fourth level of the Ninefold Sword, "Quiet".
In this world, there are probably very few people who understand this method, unless...
Sheng Ningyu glanced at Shang Shuang a few times. The female demon cultivator openly allowed her to look her over, but after thinking for a while, Sheng Ningyu still couldn't remember having any interaction with her. In the end, it was the female demon cultivator who laughed.
Shang Shuang bowed to Sheng Ningyu again. For the first time, the usually exaggerated and unreliable female demon cultivator straightened her face and looked more like a shy mortal woman than a demon.
"In the eleventh continent, south of the Wei River, a celestial lord once saved a little fisherwoman."
Sheng Ningyu paused, vaguely recalling the past, but she had always been out and about unpredictably back then, and it had been so long that she couldn't remember clearly.
That's what Sheng Ningyu thought, and that's what she said.
“That happened a hundred years ago, you don’t need to dwell on it.”
But Shang Shuang smiled.
Her gaze drifted away, slowly lowering until it landed on the embroiderer rushing through the city to put out the fire, and she seemed to see many other things as well.
Her tone was low and slightly demonic: "It just happened, Sword Master."
If it weren't for that little immortal lord from back then, she probably wouldn't have been able to avoid being burdened by demonic energy and having her mind controlled after experiencing such misfortunes.
Before becoming a demon, Shang Shuang experienced many hardships in the world. After becoming a demon, she turned the world's moral order upside down and almost took evil as commonplace.
"quiet."
The little fisherwoman clearly remembers that there was a moon here.
...There is a moon here.
The high-level demonic cultivator Shang Shuang entered the demonic path through slaughter, but he never carried out large-scale massacres of the innocent. He would only fight against demonic cultivators who loved to torture and kill mortals.
"I have already forcibly opened a corner of the formation." Feng Qingxing hovered in mid-air, with his own bloodline forming the formation behind him, having forcibly opened a corner of the Chu family's formation. He looked down at everyone and said succinctly to Sheng Ningyu, "I can only take one person with me."
Sheng Ningyu had already floated to his side and said to those below, "I have made contact with him. Shangshuang, I trouble you and everyone else to protect this place."
Shang Shuang stood before the assembled cultivators and respectfully said, "I will heed the words of the Sword Master."
She has always been like this.
...
The Chu family was once renowned. Located on the shores of the East China Sea, their carved buildings and painted beams exuded an ethereal aura. Those who frequented the family were all powerful cultivators whose names were known throughout the cultivation world. Many cultivators considered it an honor to be associated with the Chu family.
At this moment, the lotus pond was stained with blood, and the ground was covered with white bones.
Yan Ruchao put away the Ghost Canglou Ring. As he entered the hall, he scanned the surroundings with his spiritual sense and sensed a faint life force. He sneered, "Throughout history, many have slaughtered their enemies, but few have slaughtered their own clansmen like Patriarch Chu."
Sitting at the head of the table, Chu Jiye held a severed head in his arms, his eyes lowered and he remained silent.
Bloodstains were everywhere, and the scene was eerie and bizarre, but Yan Ruchao didn't care at all.
He strode into the hall, the magic ring of the Ghost Canglou floating above Chu Jiye's head.
“Chu Jiye,” Yan Ruchao said, “If you tell me honestly where you put my junior sister’s spirit bones, I will give you a quick death.”
Chu Jiye's body seemed to tremble slightly, but just as Yan Ruchao was about to take another step forward, he slowly raised his head and gave Yan Ruchao a strange smile.
The face on that face was no longer that of "Chu Jiye," but rather that of "Chu Yuandao"!
His fingers transformed into sharp claws, about to grab Yan Ruchao. If others were here, they would probably be terrified, but Yan Ruchao, as the master of Gui Canglou, was no longer afraid of these demons and monsters.
His reaction was equally swift. The black mist from the Ghost Canglou sacred object hovering above "Chu Jiye's" head suddenly burst forth and wrapped around "Chu Jiye's" fingers. The object seemed to be somewhat wary and immediately reverted to Chu Jiye's appearance.
"This substitution technique is quite interesting." Yan Ruchao held the magic ring and said to the people in the hall, "Whether you are Chu Yuandao or Chu Jiye now, you should know that these things alone cannot hurt me."
"But even Junior Nephew Yan can't get into this formation, can he?"
The man bearing Chu Jiye's appearance suddenly twitched his lips, and the laughter that followed was old and hoarse, like a venomous snake hissing.
Chu Yuandao's face appeared on his body.
"Master Yan, ah, and now the Demon Lord." Chu Yuan sighed, walked into the formation, his gaze falling on a certain spot, and said, "You and I are both people tormented by fate, and both are 'rebellious' people who are not tolerated by the righteous path. Shouldn't we join hands to resist this unjust fate? Why do we have to kill each other?"
Yan Ruchao turned his head and saw a cloud of blood mist, and Xie Qianjing's figure appeared silently.
Xie Qianjing said in an icy tone, "The former head of the Chu family ate my flesh and blood, and now you talk about killing each other. Don't you find that laughable?"
Chu Yuandao laughed loudly, but the laughter did not bring joy, for it contained endless malice.
"Yes, the Xie family of Bodhi was famous throughout the world back then, and the name of Immortal Lord Bodhi was even more renowned... But who could have imagined that what would be more useful than the Bodhi Lotus of your Xie family is the flesh and blood of Immortal Lord Bodhi?"
As Chu Yuandao spoke, thick puppet threads suddenly began to rise outside the patriarch's house. Xie Qianjing turned his head and, with just a glance, made them dissipate.
"As expected of the former Bodhi Lord."
“My clans of the East Sea number over a thousand, each with cultivation levels like mine. Do you really think you can kill them all?”
Xie Qianjing remained unmoved: "Patriarch Chu is welcome to give it a try."
"Indeed." Chu Yuandao tilted his head back, his hands behind his back as if talking to himself, "I used Chu Qing as a test, but I didn't expect the Demon Lord to be so unappreciative. Now he's probably one of the pieces of evidence against the Chu family, isn't he? What a pity..."
Xie Qianjing looked at him, his expression indifferent as ice and jade, his emotions remaining completely calm: "I have already broken the vast array that is operating within the Chu family. It is only a matter of time before I break the array beneath your feet. There is no need to delay any longer."
These words finally struck a nerve with Chu Yuandao!
He was about to say something when another struggle appeared on his face.
But this time, it was Chu Jiye's face that appeared in the end.
No matter what he did, Xie Qianjing remained standing quietly in place.
Yan Ruchao felt a strange, subtle feeling in his heart.
He glanced at Xie Qianjing's expression and his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
When they arrived, even with prior planning, the number of puppet barriers exceeded what they had anticipated. Xie Qianjing absorbed all of them.
After entering the Chu family, demonic energy surged forth... but that shouldn't be the case!
Yan Ruchao wondered, isn't Xie Qianjing the Demon Lord? He should be the most powerful figure among demonic cultivators. This demonic energy should be something that greatly enhances his cultivation. So why is it like this?
Yan Ruchao was stunned for a moment, then turned around abruptly and looked at Xie Qianjing with disbelief.
Xie Qianjing finally spoke, but only said in a calm voice, "Why not?"
Chu Jiye's eyes were bloodshot, but a compassionate smile appeared on his face, which merged with his overwhelming jealousy into a strange arc.
"What 'unfinished engagement'?"
Chu Jiye's expression suddenly froze on his face, and his face turned deathly pale.
Outside the door, blood was everywhere, making it almost impossible to recognize the original appearance of the Chu family. Chu Jiye did not have the ability of the Nine Heavens Pavilion to recognize voices, but he inexplicably knew who the person who came was.
He murmured, "Mingyue... Sister Mingyue..."
Sheng Ningyu entered, sword in hand.
Although she was filled with doubts, she still prioritized the important matter and did not press Chu Jiye further. Instead, she walked to Yan Ruchao's side and pointed to Feng Qingxing behind him: "He is also of Chu family blood."
Feng Qingxing did not go over; he stood across the array, gazing at Chu Jiye from afar.
He hadn't noticed it during the trials of the Thousand Mountains, but upon seeing him again, Chu Jiye was inexplicably stunned.
In the past, he had been scolded and disciplined. Now that he was the head of the family, he also knew that his three older brothers were not as kind and gentle as they seemed.
But upon suddenly seeing it, those unpleasant memories were pushed to the back of my mind.
"Who are you……"
Feng Qingxing didn't look at him, but nodded slightly to Xie Qianjing and Yan Ruchao, revealing his identity: "Chu Qingshu".
"So it was Shu'er."
This time, it was the head in Chu Jiye's arms that spoke. He sighed, seemingly with genuine emotion, and said, "Shu'er... it's been a long time."
Feng Qingxing gave him a strange look, but remained unmoved. Sheng Ningyu coughed lightly and explained to the somewhat puzzled Yan Ruchao, "Although they are father and son by blood, Feng Qingxing does not know Chu Yuandao."
Yan Ruchao: "..."
A soft laugh rang out, and the scene of blood relatives reuniting that had been deliberately created vanished instantly.
Xie Qianjing stood beside Sheng Ningyu, released the demonic energy swirling around his fingertips, turned around and took her hand, gently stroking her fingertips: "Cultivators of demonic arts are adept at seeing the evil in others and are most skilled at bewitching people's hearts."
Sheng Ningyu understood Xie Qianjing's implication and asked, "Were all the demonic seeds in the Fourteen Continents truly created by you back then? Why did the Chu family create demonic seeds?"
Chu Yuandao, his thoughts exposed, scoffed, "What path in the world is unacceptable? Sheng Ningyu, you were once so free-spirited and unconventional, how have you become so pedantic and incompetent now?"
Sheng Ningyu ignored his seductive words and asked again, "Back then, when I was trapped in the Mitian Realm, was it you who plotted to kill me and dissect my spiritual bones?"
Chu Yuandao seemed to pause for a moment, but it was so brief that no one noticed.
He laughed loudly, "Yes! The renowned Bright Moon Sword Master... just a little bit more, just a little bit more, and you would have been my perfect demon seed!!!"
Feng Qingxing, swearing an oath by blood, nodded upon hearing this: "What you said is true."
Yan Ruchao thought for a moment: "I have already recorded it with the recording stone. Since that's the case, there's no need to go through all the trouble of catching this thing."
A sword pierces the sky!
As early as after joining the Chu family, Feng Qingxing smeared his own blood on Sheng Ningyu's sword.
Because of his past painful experiences, he was not implanted with the puppet barrier in his body. Instead, he benefited from the misfortune, which allowed him to break the Chu family's magic array with his spiritual blood.
Sheng Ningyu had long been fed up with this old man.
She closed her eyes briefly, then suddenly opened them. Her eyes seemed to sparkle with starlight, and in an instant, spiritual energy enveloped her, unleashing countless sword shadows that hurtled towards the head from all directions!
"Sheng Ningyu!!!"
The long sword piercing through the top of Chu Yuandao's head was clearly causing him extreme pain. He struggled and roared desperately, but to no avail.
For some reason, he didn't take Chu Jiye's body. Xie Qianjing glanced at Chu Jiye and then casually looked away.
With Sheng Ningyu's sword strike, the room was filled with wind and frost, and in an instant, the earth shook and the formation was suddenly broken!
However, at this moment, the head suddenly burst into laughter.
He suddenly flew up from the tip of Sheng Ningyu's sword. Under the wary gazes of the surrounding cultivators, Chu Yuandao remained calm and said loudly, "Chu Le, boy, come out quickly!"
This was Chu Yuandao's backup plan.
On the surface, he seemed to have implanted a puppet barrier within Chu Jiye's body, controlling Chu Jiye's mind, but in reality, he valued Chu Le's body more.
They are of the same Chu family bloodline, but are much younger and have no karmic ties.
Especially now that demonic energy is rampant within the Chu family and puppet barriers still exist throughout the city, so-called sinister and evil creatures are most likely to breed at this time.
Whether they were cultivators who came to help or ghost and demon cultivators, they were already exhausted. When they suddenly heard the piercing sound, their faces turned pale and their minds were shaken.
As Chu Yuandao spoke, a blue figure appeared not far away.
Chu Yuandao shouted, "Chu Le! Make your move!"
He became a demon, and his greatest skill was manipulating people's hearts.
He knew that Sheng Ningyu, though seemingly reckless, was actually incredibly soft-hearted. He alone couldn't possibly restrain her, but as they had seen in the Thousand Mountains Secret Realm, her loyalty and her old friends could hold her captive…
There is no one in the world who can imprison her, yet there is nothing that cannot imprison her.
Chu Yuandao thought that if Chu Le were controlled by demonic forces and acted recklessly towards those ants, Sheng Ningyu would probably stop him. Moreover, Chu Yuandao was just thinking about when to order all the puppets to make a move when he suddenly froze and looked up at the sky in disbelief.
Chu Le's face was deathly pale, and he trembled, but he still stubbornly spoke: "I... I can't lay a hand on them, I can't do that!"
He had been to Moon Chaser City.
He... he couldn't be as open-minded and upright as Feng Jiutian, but he was absolutely unwilling to become part of the mire.
Long before, Chu Le had stained the tip of his sword with his own blood, the blood of the Chu family, so that he could kill that person.
Chu Le, panting heavily, turned his head impatiently, his eyes shining brightly in one direction: "Sword Master!"
Sheng Ningyu gave a thumbs up: "Well done!"
Until his head turned to ashes, Chu Yuandao couldn't figure this out.
As he vanished, the surrounding barrier of puppets disappeared instantly.
Sheng Ningyu crossed her arms, raised her eyebrows, and looked at Xie Qianjing beside her: "Is this why you came early?"
Xie Qianjing nodded: "He has a puppet barrier inside his body. If it is not removed, he will probably be crippled."
Sheng Ningyu looked straight ahead, hooked her arm around Xie Qianjing's, and shook it slightly, jokingly asking, "When did you two become so close?"
Xie Qianjing: "I don't get along with him."
Sheng Ningyu was taken aback.
Xie Qianjing... is trembling?
"Chu Jiye".
Yan Ruchao had drawn his Peerless Sword at some point and was now facing the Chu family patriarch, who was covered in blood and whose face was no longer as beautiful as before: "If I remember correctly, Venerable Xie eliminated all the demonic puppets, but you were the only one in the formation whose puppet barrier within your body was not eliminated?"
This means that Chu Yuandao can reappear anytime, anywhere, using Chu Jiye's body.
This is clearly just an excuse.
But Yan Ruchao didn't care.
As for Chu Jiye... he didn't seem to care.
At this critical moment, with his life hanging in the balance and no longer affected by others' emotions, Chu Jiye could only see one person.
But Sheng Ningyu didn't look at him.
All she wanted to know at that moment was what was going on with Xie Qianjing, to retrieve the spirit bone from the Bright Moon Pavilion at sea, and to destroy that damned marriage contract.
Seeing her turn to leave, Chu Jiye disregarded everything else and shouted, "Mingyue! This man is deceiving you! He hasn't fallen into demonic possession at all!"
Sheng Ningyu ignored him and turned around, pulling Xie Qianjing's hand.
Sheng Ningyu suddenly turned around.
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Still leaving a message for a 24-hour red envelope [sunglasses]
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