Chapter 86: Total Annihilation (1)
The stairs were too long and dim, making it difficult to see beyond ten steps, but everyone could follow Shen Edai's gaze and clearly see the "girl" on the lower level.
The girl, with her hair tied up in two buns to look cute and wearing a specially modified bright Taoist uniform, and even the small details were exactly the same as Shen Edai, looked up and showed a sweet smile.
"Is this an illusion?" Lu Kewei hesitated. He didn't sense any aura of an illusion.
Shen Edai unleashed her magical power without hesitation, chilling the air as she swiftly pierced the phantom. However, the Guizang Temple's special power of "Separating Dreams and Revealing Demons," which could penetrate illusions, passed right through the girl. The explosive wind ripped through the entire passage wall, shattering clusters of icicles.
The ice and snow melted, and Shen Edai's expression became even more gloomy when she noticed that the spiritual power seemed to be fed back to her through the stone wall.
"No, let's get out of here first! Don't use too much spiritual power!"
The stairs were too narrow. If things were really as Shen Edai imagined, it would definitely be a tough fight. She took the initiative, and her luck transformed into a flying leaf, shooting down in an attempt to force Shen Edai back, and flew directly down to the end of the stairs.
After all, the inner disciples were cultivators who had fought their way through the Great Perfection of the Foundation Establishment Stage or even the early Golden Core Stage. Realizing that something was wrong, they used various means to at least get out of this unfavorable space first.
However, "Shen Edai" moved.
The light yellow long sleeves were swung, revealing a short jade whip above the wrist guard wrapped around the slender wrist. It was pulled out and swept across the front, creating a shadow that completely covered the cross section.
"Tsk, my whip technique!"
She was at the front without slowing down, and with a flick of her hand, she held the Hibiscus Jade Whip in reverse, making a series of "cracking" sounds that immediately connected together. The moment she caught the whip's shadow, she changed from blocking to pulling, and deflected the attack with a single move.
Taking advantage of this missed opportunity, some monks followed Shen Edai and finally rushed out of the stairs, their feet constantly passing through the corridor and entered the underground palace.
The monk behind them wasn't so lucky. Shen Edai's long whip struck them several times, its shadows so thick it made it impossible to discern the true form. Worse still, the whip shadows felt so light upon them that they were completely unaware that the whip had already pierced their heart.
An inner disciple finally reacted, unsheathing his greatsword with a roar and swinging it, hoping to forcibly escape Shen E Dai's attack range. However, he was too naive. Sixteen consecutive strikes on the greatsword, and the cultivator felt an irresistible surge of spiritual power from the mark he had engraved on the sword surge through his body. He immediately severed the link and his right arm, but it was too late.
The hibiscus tree seedling suddenly grew out from the broken arm.
Blood vessels throbbed wildly beneath the skin, bulging and twisting. Eyeballs, along with their nerves, were squeezed from their sockets, revealing the blossoming flowers behind them. As countless pink hibiscus flowers blossomed from the cultivator's body, subtle streams of spiritual energy flickered back to replenish Shen Edai.
Shen Edai, trapped in the underground palace, swept away the fog with a whip. Looking at the phantoms of the surrounding monks, she felt extremely anxious. These phantoms were naturally no match for her. She was most wary of her own phantom, no, it should be said that it was like a mirror image of herself.
Shen Edai's cultivation techniques are so insidious that even Feng Wutong believes she possesses "special abilities for killing." Her mind-set, combined with her whip techniques, seemingly kills with the whip, but in reality, she's laying down a curse. Her swift whipping disguises her long whip as a form of hand seal, leaving her antagonist unaware.
The curse was a powerful technique, especially one she had mastered. Anyone less than two levels above her realm would die. Its only drawback was that the seal took too long to cast, making it easily interrupted. Shen Edai had used this technique to kill countless people before ascending to the position of deacon at Guizang Temple, but she still found it quite a challenge.
The opponent is not a human, but you will fall into his trap.
"There must be some mechanism controlling this. Everyone, split up and look for it!"
She backhandedly killed several injured monks who were unable to move. As the hibiscus blossomed, her spiritual energy refilled her body. Although it was only a drop in the bucket compared to her consumption.
“clang!”
The wristband, suddenly thrown from behind, rubbed frantically against the jade whip, its strange vibrations quietly playing in her heart. Shen Edai quickly flung the wristband away, watching as a magical weapon identical to her own arced back to the hand of "herself" standing behind her.
This is not good. Shen Edai gripped the whip handle tightly, sweat slowly flowing down her temples.
Lu Kewei had intended to rush towards the medicinal fields and the depths of the underground palace, but a sword suddenly slashed from his side, severing his hair and jade crown. His red robe fluttered, and Lu Kewei clenched his teeth, glaring at the man who laughed wantonly, practically gritting his teeth. "Qiming!"
The "Qi Ming Zhe" didn't respond to his words. Instead, it folded its sword and swung it back and forth, creating a streak of sword light in front of Lu Kewei. Lu Kewei knew it was an illusion, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't kill it all. He was forced to give up and retract his steps towards the medicine field. Forced by the sword light, he retreated step by step towards the row of alchemy rooms on the left side of the outer perimeter.
Sword beams flashed continuously, each time Lu Kewei attempted a breakthrough, a sudden thrust erupted. To conserve his spiritual energy, Lu Kewei offered minimal resistance, unnoticed as he was gradually forced closer to the door of the final alchemy room. With nowhere to retreat, he held his breath, intending to disperse the "Qi Ming" in one swift move, when he heard a faint, familiar voice from within the room.
"Ahem, come into the room!"
As if enraged by the sound, the "Qi Ming Zhe" muttered something, and the red-robed figure immediately burst into golden flames—could it even imitate my own magical powers?! Lu Kewei no longer hesitated, kicked open the door to the alchemy room, leaped in, and closed the wooden door with his backhand.
He stared fearfully at the seemingly vulnerable wooden door, but after waiting for a long time, no attack came from outside. He finally breathed a sigh of relief, his face filled with worry and gratitude, as he looked at the Qiming player half-lying on the couch.
"Thank you, Senior Brother, for saving me!" Lu Kewei hunched his back slightly, his expression like a lackey returning to normal. He leaned over to Qi Mingzhe's side, looking him up and down. "Senior Brother, are you okay? What's going on here?"
"Ahem." Qi Mingzhe's face was pale and covered in sweat, but he relaxed when he saw Lu Kewei. He had no idea Lu Kewei was testing his current strength. After all, he was a rare disciple in the Zang Yao Sect who truly respected his master. Even if he was suffering, he would still speak up when he heard that his fellow disciples and his followers were in danger.
"I don't know either. When I first came in, it was just an ordinary ruin. I wanted to find the map, but it was nowhere to be found. Even the flower pots were emptied out. Ugh! Seriously. Did you bring other teams with you?"
"Yes, but everyone is trapped outside. Brother, can you still move? I still have healing medicine here."
"Ah, thank you. My Thousand Spirit Fire Phoenix Robe blocked all the killing blows, and it's now useless. My spiritual power is completely depleted... this damned relic." His red robe is dim, stained with dust and blood, and it doesn't look fake. However, Qi Mingzhe disdained to lie. This was one of those rare freaks born among the chosen ones of the Origin.
Having never experienced betrayal or weakness, his powerful strength made him lose his guard. Apart from his dissatisfaction with his eldest brother, he can be said to be a "good guy" in the Zang Yao Sect.
Lu Kewei helped Qi Mingzhe sit up straight, and while taking out the healing pills from the storage bag, he asked in a tone as if he was still worried about what was happening outside, "Brother, are you sure those phantoms won't enter the room?"
"Well, I don't know why, but after my phantom's attack sent me flying and accidentally sent me here, it just lingered at the door even though it was open. I guess I can't get in."
"Really? That's great. It's safe here. I'll let everyone outside in later. Let's work together to figure it out."
"Oh, yes—ahem!"
Under the incredulous gaze of the Qiming people, the gray dagger, engraved with three bloodletting grooves, pierced through his chest from behind, revealing a fragment of the blade in front. Blood gushed out, and spiritual power was released along with the blood through the bloodletting grooves. His already withered body was unable to muster even the slightest resistance.
"You...why...?"
Lu Kewei twisted the handle of the knife, let the knife rotate a circle on Qimingzhe's chest, and then chopped it downwards, directly cutting Qimingzhe's body into two pieces!
Only after confirming that Qi Mingzhe was dead did Lu Kewei breathe a sigh of relief, put away his blade, and planned to destroy the body to prevent fellow disciples who might come from seeing that he had killed him.
"Letting him lure you in was the right decision. Otherwise, if you were so suspicious, I would have to worry about how to hurt you badly."
The voice suddenly sounded from behind, a familiar yet strangely awkward female voice.
The long sword still slashed plainly and skillfully, cutting off Lu Kewei's legs.
"Ah! How could this happen?"
"Qimingzhe" bent down and snapped his fingers a few times to seal the spiritual power on Lu Kewei's body, then carried Qimingzhe and Lu Kewei on his shoulders at the same time, watched the wall mechanism slowly open, and walked up the stairs.
Chapter name spoiler, haha. I like creating cute characters and it doesn't conflict with them dying in the plot~
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
