Chapter 62 Where is your unwavering Dao heart?!
Zhuang Jinfu slammed his fist on the heavy palace door, causing it to tremble, but it remained firmly shut. "Open the door and let me out."
Cang Luo stood guard outside the door: "Qing Xi, calm down. The bigger picture is more important."
The door remained closed. Her hand slid down from the palace doorway, hanging at her side, trembling slightly: "You intend to sacrifice her."
Cang Luo: "Nonsense! Ling Shu is a living person, how could I not save her?"
Zhuang Jinfu was extremely anxious: "The Desolate Calamity Array splits too quickly, and cultivators cannot get close. She is alone in the center of many Desolate Calamity Arrays. If she cannot deal with it in time, she can only wait to die."
"Master has erected a protective barrier around the mountain, locking the Desolate Calamity Array within Bitan Mountain. You and I are both here, so who will go to rescue her?!"
Cang Luo was like a teacher and an older sister to Zhuang Jinfu. When they were cultivating, she would give Zhuang Jinfu some pointers whenever she said or did something inappropriate. After all, she was not her real master or senior sister, so she would only touch on the subject: "Qingxi, you know better than me which is more important, a spiritual technique or the people suffering from natural disasters. If something happens to you, what have the innocent people who die because of you done?"
"Your safety is more important than anything else."
Standing in the vast palace, Zhuang Jinfu once again felt utterly alone. The chill of loneliness seeped into her body and soul. What trapped her was not the door, but herself.
Hurried footsteps approached from outside the door. When the person came over, Cang Luo went to the side, and the two deliberately lowered their voices to speak.
No matter how low he lowered his voice, it was no use. Zhuang Jinfu could hear it if he wanted to. The newcomer's short sentence plunged him into despair.
She said, "Ling Shu fell from a height."
Under what circumstances will you fall? When your cultivation is completely drained, your consciousness becomes hazy, and you lose your footing, you will fall.
Ling Shu's words still seemed to echo in my ears: "I'm going to save your people. Wish me luck."
She is clearly the guardian immortal, yet she always makes Ling Shu take risks.
The next instant, the heavy palace doors were cleaved open from the inside, and Zhuang Jinfu, exuding a terrifying chill, stepped out of the palace doors holding a plum blossom.
"Qingxi, you can't go." Canglu resolutely blocked her way, like a high mountain pressing down on her, making it hard to breathe.
"Get out of the way."
The two magical forces were already clashing with each other, and the spiritual energy they emitted was destroying the flowers and trees in front of the hall and shattering the porcelain vases.
Suddenly, a loud explosion rang out, and the evenly matched confrontation was shattered by the ice crystals. She hurried towards the outside of the hall, and just as she reached the hall door, a figure in purple landed on a sword.
Upon seeing the person, Wang Lifu shouted sternly, "What are you doing here?! Go back!"
Zhuang Jinfu ignored her and walked straight past her. His arm was grabbed, and Wang Lifu's questioning voice was grating, every word harsh: "Where has your ruthless cultivation gone?!"
"Where is your unwavering commitment to the Dao?!"
Have you completely forgotten the responsibilities on your shoulders?!
"To sacrifice the lives of countless people for one person, Zhuang Jinfu, is this the ruthless path you've cultivated?!"
Her hasty advance halted, and she stood there, utterly helpless. Who says that possessing supreme power guarantees the protection of those you wish to protect? No one can escape the fact that they are not in control of their own destiny.
"Understood, Master."
Many people seeking refuge ran in from outside the door, looking at her with relieved eyes and faces full of joy at being saved.
Yes, she cannot let her believers down.
Facing them, she tasted again the heart-wrenching pain she felt when she first cultivated the ruthless path, watching those who suffered but being unable to save their lives. It was Ling Shu that stirred up her stagnant heart, and the water that began to flow again also gave her selfish desires.
Her selfishness is blatant, immoral, contrary to morality, and against the will of the people.
Outside the hall, the crowd was noisy. Zhao Chi was escorted into the hall by the executioners and brought before Cang Luo.
The escort said, "Sir, Zhao Chi has been brought here."
Cang Luo scrutinized her: "What did you feed that rabbit demon?"
Zhao Chi lowered his head and dared not look directly at him: "It was the antidote I made."
Cang Luo didn't believe it: "You, a mere cultivator who hasn't even reached the Golden Core stage, could possibly concoct an antidote? Speak! Did you take advantage of the situation to poison the rabbit demon in malicious revenge?"
Zhao Chi, fearing authority, immediately knelt down, his knees buckling in terror: "My lord, please understand. My mother was Zhao Xian, a renowned physician. This antidote pill is a modified version of a formula left by my mother. It can cure all poisons. Although I don't know if it will work, in this desperate situation, I can only try this as a last resort to buy time."
Cang Luo: "It's actually the world-renowned Zhao Xian. There's some truth to that."
Cang Luo summoned his men to check if "Li Xinzhi" was still alive. Wang Lifu stopped the errand boy: "Wait, I've brought the rabbit demon."
Then he looked at Zhao Chi and said, "I know you won't harm anyone, I trust you."
With a wave of her hand, the rabbit demon imprisoned in the Meridian Killing Formation appeared before everyone, regaining its human form, but still displaying Li Xinzhi's face.
"Zhao Chi, come and see if there's any hope?" Wang Lifu walked to the side of the killing formation.
Zhao Chi checked the rabbit demon's status.
Wang Lifu seemed to have high hopes for her: "Whether you live or die depends on you."
On the other side, Ling Shu lost her footing and fell from the sky.
Li Chang called to her from above and immediately flew down to try to reach her. However, her magical power was weak, and no matter how hard she tried, she was still some distance away from Ling Shu.
Ling Shu had no sword and could not fly on it. Falling from such a height, the wind brushed against her face, and she recalled the moment she fell from the sky when she first met Zhuang Jinfu.
She longed for that warm, cool embrace to hold her again.
As she fell, a pair of arms suddenly caught her. The embrace wasn't cold; it was warm, soft, and reassuring.
It wasn't Zhuang Jinfu; she didn't come.
"Oh my little aunt, you scared me to death." A bitter ginseng root was stuffed into Ling Shu's mouth.
Ling Shu opened her mouth and bit down, mumbling, "Sea Maiden?"
"Unexpected, isn't it?"
After swallowing a ginseng root, his spirits immediately lifted. Ling Shu said, "You... how did you get here? It's dangerous here, go back quickly."
"Sect Leader Wang sent me; the Desolate Calamity Formation can't harm me."
Ling Shu gaped, unable to believe it: "You are... a demon?"
Hai Gu laughed and said, "It's a genuine thousand-year-old ginseng."
Hai Gu is a demon, and Wang Lifu and Zhuang Jinfu must both know that. She has been in the Shangqing Sect for many years. If word gets out, both of them will be disgraced.
Hai Gu smiled kindly: "Miss Ling, if you don't close your mouth soon, your jaw will drop to the ground."
Li Chang rushed over in a panic, wiping her sweat as she said, "I thought you were going to die, you scared me to death."
"Huh? Hai Gu?" Li Chang's mouth dropped open.
Hai Gu had expected their reaction and urged, "Hurry up, getting down to business is the priority."
Ling Shu was about to continue with the array-destroying pestle when Hai Gu stopped her, saying, "Give it to Li Chang. Although she's a bit useless, she's still a proper cultivator."
Li Chang exclaimed in dissatisfaction, "Oh, Hai Gu!"
Ling Shu didn't force her, and handed the Destroying Array Pestle to Li Chang. Li Chang flew off immediately. Hai Gu took out a sword with superior spiritual energy. It was silver all over, carved with cloud patterns, and the scabbard was inlaid with a ruby, the same ruby she had seen before, the one on Zhuang Jin Fu's table.
Was it a sword given to Hai Gu?
The sea maiden asked her, "Does Miss Ling know how to fly on a sword?"
Ling Shu: "?" Hai Gu can't fly on a sword? Yet she can fly on the wind. However, Hai Gu doesn't seem to use a sword much. Even Hai Gu, who doesn't use a sword much, has a sword, but she doesn't. She pouted sourly, "I can't."
Hai Gu said regretfully, "That's a pity. Before I came here, the Immortal Venerable asked me to pass it on to you. Since you can't fly on a sword, it's useless."
Ling Shu snatched it and hugged it to her arms, saying happily, "Is this for me?"
"Yeah."
"I can't, but Li Chang can!" Ling Shu shouted. "Li Chang, come here! Teach me how to fly on a sword!"
Li Chang flew back to teach her sword control. Before long, Ling Shu was able to fly freely in the air. Hai Gu used her demonic power to create a protective shield for her. Ling Shu, who had just learned sword control, laughed loudly in the air and sped along with the wind. The wind rushed past her ears, and several swirling tornadoes were beneath her feet. She went up and down, rushing into the tornadoes and flying out quickly.
He cheered, "I can fly! I can fly!"
"I finally have a sword!!!"
Hai Gu called out to her loudly, "Stop playing around, Miss Ling, we have important business to attend to!"
Ling Shu made a sharp turn and came back, and saw that Hai Gu was holding two golden array-destroying pestles, and her whole body was radiating a strong aura, which were high-grade magic weapons.
"Sect Leader Wang's private treasure, a Heaven-level Array Destroyer Pestle."
"That bastard can be useful sometimes."
"You are not allowed to scold your mother."
Ling Shu clicked her tongue and said, "I know, I know."
The sky was already a deep red, making it impossible to distinguish one side from the other. The devastating array changed its formation after the self-destruction, rising from the ground to the sky. The sky covered a wider area and drifted with the wind, making it more dangerous than the one on the ground.
"This is purely a matter of physical strength," Ling Shu sighed. "There's no other way. This is an ancient technique, and the formation is vicious. Our magic power isn't high enough, so we can only use the Destruction Pestle to break it." Then Hai Gu and Ling Shu took the Destruction Pestle and began to strike the Desolate Calamity Formation.
The three of them tried to outrun the splitting formation, but they couldn't outrun it. Two hours of fighting the formation seemed like a waste of time.
Ling Shu wanted to consult Hai Gu for a solution, so she turned around and flew back on her sword. But she saw a swift arrow coming straight at her. She quickly leaned back, and the arrow grazed her chest. Its momentum was like that of a fierce tiger.
They dodged it.
Unexpectedly, the arrow seemed to have a brain; it flew a long way, then circled back and shot straight at her heart.
He immediately fled on his sword, looking in the direction from which the arrow had come, and saw Li Chang!
Li Chang drew her longbow from her sword, three arrows were nocked, she released the bow, and the arrows were released!
Ling Shu immediately replaced the sword she held with a scabbard, took the sword in her hand, and used it to meet the arrows. Three arrows came from the opposite side at the same time, piercing through the protective barrier that Hai Gu had given her.
In an instant, the immense suction force of the Desolate Calamity Array sucked away all of Ling Shu's remaining cultivation, leaving only half of his demonic magic originating from a thousand-year-old demon core.
He forcibly withdrew half of his cultivation, and his face instantly turned pale, regaining the dizziness and unsteadiness he had been in before.
The clanging sound of metal striking metal rang out four times in a row.
The four arrows pursued fiercely, and Li Chang still had three arrows ready to be fired from her bow!
We must stop Li Chang from firing the arrow.
Ling Shu used his demonic power to fly swiftly towards Li Chang on his sword, firing three arrows simultaneously, aiming straight for her face.
Four arrows pursued fiercely from behind; even the thirty percent of Ling Shu's demonic power he had just used was insufficient to shatter them.
A pinkish-white figure flashed by, leaving several afterimages in the air.
The three arrows were extremely powerful. Just as they were about to hit Ling Shu, she turned the scabbard under her feet, shifted her body, and one of the arrows pierced through the red hair ribbon, causing half of her tied-up black hair to fall down. The hair ribbon was caught on the arrow and carried far away.
Seven arrows were chasing after her, and Li Chang was right in front of her!
The sword sliced through the longbow, which flew from her hand and fell downwards. Like a ghost, Ling Shu circled behind Li Chang, and seven arrows came toward her.
Ling Shu grabbed Li Chang and fled with her.
Hai Gu quickly noticed the danger and stood in front of the two men, whereupon the seven arrows struck her body and finally stopped.
The chasing arrow disappeared, and Ling Shu pulled Li Chang to a stop. He tore off the puppet talisman from her back, and Li Chang finally regained her senses.
Li Chang was completely bewildered: "Wasn't I destroying the formation? Ah! How come Hai Gu is hit by seven arrows!"
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