Chapter 63
Every word of Lin Wuya's questioning was like a poisoned ice cone, piercing Lin Yibai's heart and freezing her limbs to a bone-chilling chill.
"What happened in the mountains that made you attack your father for this lowly slave?" A strange, almost twisted expression appeared on his face. He looked at her with a cold, emotionless look, but his voice trembled with pain. "Yibai, are you worthy of my kindness in raising you over the years by doing this?"
"The grace of raising me?"
Lin Yibai's body swayed almost imperceptibly, and then he suddenly raised his head, his clear eyes looking straight at Lin Wuya, filled with frost that was even colder than the surrounding gale.
"You sent me as a sacrifice into that man-eating demonic mountain, and manipulated me like a chess piece my entire life. Do you even think you could call that a nurturing gift?" Her voice wasn't loud, but it pierced through the whistling gale. "If it weren't for him, if it weren't for Yan Bujian! By now, I'd be nothing more than a pile of uncollected bones deep in the Cloud Mountain, my flesh and blood transformed into dirt that nourished demons. How could I ever stand before you again and see your hypocritical face? From the moment you sealed me into that cold stone coffin and pushed me into the abyss of despair, the pathetic and ridiculous father-daughter relationship between you and me was severed!"
"You keep saying that I died at the hands of Yan Jian in my previous life; but seeing how crazy you are now, it's not hard to guess that even in your previous life, you must have sent me to Yunshan as well!"
“Zheng——”
The Shuyue Sword in her hand, as if sensing its owner's surging emotions, uttered another long, clear note. Aquamarine spiritual energy surged forth like a surging tide, rapidly condensing and compressing before her, ultimately transforming into a seemingly indestructible shield radiating a shimmering, clear glow.
Today, even if it costs her life, she will definitely protect Yan from being killed!
Seeing how resolute she was, the last bit of disguised tenderness on Lin Wuya's face completely peeled off, leaving only naked and ferocious murderous intent.
He snorted coldly, and the flames of annihilation around him surged. The gray flames were like huge waves crawling out from the depths of the Netherworld, rolling and roaring, with a terrifying power that could burn away the soul and devour everything. It pressed down on Lin Yibai's head: "Since you are stubborn and refuse to change, don't blame your father for being cruel! Today, I will clean up the mess first, then take his Dao Fire and send you on your way together!"
"Bang!"
The gray dead fire fiercely slammed into the aquamarine shield, instantly erupting with a deafening roar. Lin Yibai felt an irresistible force surge through the sword, his entire arm instantly numb, and the seemingly solid surface of the shield was instantly covered with spiderweb-like cracks.
Her face suddenly turned pale and her heart sank: Even though she had refined the Yunshan earth veins, she was only at the Heqi stage now. Facing Lin Wuya who was blessed by the strange flame, she was still powerless!
"Crack..."
At the moment her mind raced, the shield that was on the verge of its limit finally shattered completely under the continuous burning and impact of the Flame of Annihilation, turning into water-blue light spots that scattered all over the sky and were quickly annihilated in the violent gale.
——Seeing that her defense was broken, a fierce look flashed in Lin Wuya's eyes, and then his fingertips stretched out like a ghost, condensing into two particularly condensed gray fire snakes that seemed to have life, and with a whoosh, they wrapped around Lin Yibai's slender wrist!
The next moment, a soul-burning pain far beyond her endurance spread rapidly along her meridians, up her wrist like a plague. It was as if countless tiny, fanged fireflies were frantically gnawing at her bones and tendons, burning her blood, and then drilling deep into her body!
Lin Yibai groaned, loosened her fingers, and completely lost control of the Shuyue Sword that was connected to her mind, falling towards the endless sea of clouds below.
Seeing this, Lin Wuya's smirk grew even wider. He seized the fleeting opportunity and rushed forward like a ghost. A ball of thick, indissoluble gray flame emitting the breath of death had already condensed in his palm. He slammed it down on Lin Yibai's thin chest without mercy!
“Hmm!”
Lin Yibai groaned, her body flying backwards like a kite with a broken string. The flames ignited her white skirt, sending wisps of black smoke billowing out. The gray flames scrambled to penetrate her body, then, like a swarm of insects, rapidly surged towards her sea of consciousness. As soon as the flames entered her sea of consciousness, they transformed into countless tiny, gray fireflies, emitting a teeth-grinding rustling sound. They headed straight for the crystal-clear Yuanying, sitting cross-legged in the center of her sea of consciousness, whose appearance was identical to hers!
The Nascent Soul trembled violently in the flames. Amidst the waves of excruciating pain that were enough to drive a person crazy, Lin Yibai could clearly sense that as the Nascent Soul was attacked, her soul was also being burned bit by bit by the flames!
The next moment, her consciousness suddenly became dizzy, and the scene in front of her eyes began to spin and blur.
"One white!"
Yan Bujian's roar resounded through the sky, causing the surrounding clouds to surge endlessly.
Lin Wuya gripped his throat tightly, pale golden blood dripping from his fingers. His soul was also suffering the mad burning of the annihilation flames, and his body trembled continuously. But looking at Lin Yibai's face twisted in extreme pain, watching the ashes and flames burning on her body, the pain in his heart was a thousand times worse than the burning he himself was experiencing.
The pair of red-gold eyes gradually became stained with a thick blood color, and a liquid, not sure whether it was blood or tears, silently slid down the corners of the eyes and dripped onto the back of Lin Wuya's hand with bulging veins.
He struggled desperately, trying to break free from the damned grip and rush to the side of the shaky figure. However, the soul insect in his body squirmed wildly under Lin Wuya's deliberate control. The excruciating pain of his sea of consciousness burning made his vision black. His limbs felt heavy as if they were filled with lead, and even moving a finger became extremely difficult.
What should he do? What on earth should he do to stop himself from watching her die in front of him?!
His body and soul ached, and he was on the verge of despair. Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind like lightning in the dark night, illuminating his sea of consciousness.
Since Lin Yibai had come from Tanxin Valley, she must have successfully refined the Dream Tan. If what the old vine said was true, she should now be able to control the entire Yunshan Mountain and become the true master of this vast mountain range!
As long as she can return to Yunshan and use the power of the earth veins, she may be able to extinguish the fire of annihilation in her body and fight for a chance of survival!
Yan Bujian stared intently at Lin Wuya's face, twisted with greed, a glint of determination flashing in his eyes. Taking advantage of the moment when Lin Wuya was distracted, suppressing Lin Yibai and controlling the ash fire, he used up the last ounce of his free will and boldly activated the golden Dao Fire suspended between his eyebrows, which contained celestial power!
The next moment, the fire seemed to come to life, turning into a golden meteor, rushing towards Lin Yibai without hesitation!
Lin Yibai seemed to sense something, and suddenly opened his eyes the moment the Dao fire approached.
She looked at the familiar golden flame, felt the tremendous immortal power contained in it, and instantly understood Yan Bujian's intention - he was clearly suffering from the same soul-devouring pain at this moment, but wanted to pass his soul to her, use his immortal power to suppress the flames, in exchange for her a chance of survival!
But the price was his life!
Tears flowed like a river bursting its banks, blurring her vision and rolling down into the cold mist. She used all her strength to cry out at the top of her lungs, "—No! Yan Bujian, no!"
Lin Wuya was startled when he heard this, a sense of foreboding washing over him. He whipped his head around, and when he saw the golden flame, the one that held his lifelong ambition, drifting towards Lin Yibai, his eyes instantly filled with madness. His facial muscles twitched violently, and he let out a wild, animal-like roar: "No! That's mine! It's my path to immortality!"
He suddenly loosened his hand that was strangling Yan Bujian's throat, and rushed towards Lin Yibai like a mad dog, stabbing her eyebrows with two fingers and a knife - he actually wanted to dig out the fire from Lin Yibai's eyebrows at this last moment!
However, he was one step too late after all.
Just as his fingertips were about to touch Lin Yibai's brow, the golden Dao fire, like a young swallow returning to its nest, gently and thoroughly merged into the depths of her sea of consciousness.
"boom--!"
A dazzling golden light suddenly burst out from Lin Yibai's body, shining like the sun, rendering the entire dark sky a pure golden color!
Lin Wuya was violently blown away by this overwhelming and unstoppable force, and his body was thrown backwards like a broken sack. He was only able to stabilize himself after being a hundred feet away.
His face turned ashen, and he looked sinisterly at the center of the golden light: he saw that the girl was surrounded by a thick, insoluble red-gold fairy mist. The flame of annihilation that had originally been wrapped around her body and constantly eroded her vitality, actually began to melt and dissipate gradually under the burning of this pure and yang fairy mist, like spring snow meeting the sun.
Lin Yibai's body was gently supported by a soft yet powerful golden light. When she came to her senses, her first reaction was to struggle and try to fly in the direction where Yan Bujian had disappeared.
The look she gave him was filled with unspeakable eagerness and sadness. She wanted to grab his hand, to force the burning fire in her body out and give it back to him, to tell him that she didn't want any immortality, she just wanted him to be alive, alive and well.
But halfway through her flight, the golden light between her brows suddenly dimmed—her cultivation was still too low, unable to harness the sustained onslaught of the immense immortal energy of the Tongtian Realm. Dao fire surged violently within her, like boiling magma, violently impacting her fragile meridians and shaking her still-fragile sea of consciousness. She instantly lost control of all her powers, and like a bird with broken wings, she fell powerlessly towards the mist-shrouded Yunshan Mountain below.
The cold clouds whistled past her ears like a knife. She tried to open her eyes wide, staring at the gradually blurring, blood-stained figure in the sky, watching the light in his eyes gradually dim. She cried out with her last bit of strength, her voice shattered in the wind: "Yan Bu Jian! Take it back! Take it back quickly--!"
Tears mixed with crimson blood foam continuously slid down her cheeks. She could clearly feel the Dao Fire belonging to Yan Bujian pulsating in her sea of consciousness, and every pulsation was a cruel reminder that the young man who should have had a bright and brilliant immortal path was being shattered and extinguished bit by bit because of her.
——And this shouldn't be his ending! It absolutely can't be his ending!
Yan Bujian lay powerlessly on the cold clouds, lowering her head slowly and with difficulty, looking in the direction she fell, looking at the outline of the rolling, familiar yet unfamiliar clouds and mountains.
His aura grew fainter and fainter, like a candle in the wind. The Dao Fire had left his body as the ash flames raged, taking away nearly all of his vitality. Those red-gold eyes, once as bright as the rising sun, were now gradually losing their last bit of brilliance.
However, at the moment when his life was about to come to an end, his blood-stained lips slowly and gently formed a very faint arc.
That smile was so gentle that it was heartbreaking, like the first bud quietly blooming on the barren frozen soil, carrying with it endless attachment and reluctance.
He could no longer utter a single sound. He could only use the last bit of strength he had left in the world to mouth his last words to her silently:
"Goodbye, Yibai."
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