Jiang Xiaying’s martial skills were not poor, but she was unpracticed in the way of the sword; in terms of the subtlety of her techniques, she was far inferior to me. What was infuriating was that she relied primarily on that azure dragon. Not only did it move with incredible speed, but its strength was terrifyingly reckless. For a time, I was hounded by its massive claws with no recourse but to expend every offensive talisman I possessed to block them, scrambling desperately to evade.
As I rolled beneath the dragon’s body to stab at its belly with my ice sword, I shouted with a laugh, “Senior Sister, I see your skills are still a bit half-baked! You’re no sword-player; your true path must be in soft weaponry!”
She responded with a cold sneer but said nothing. I continued to let my mouth run wild, spouting nonsense while watching for an opportunity to sever a vital point on the dragon’s body. This dragon was no true dragon, merely a manifestation of illusion—both she and I knew this in our hearts. However, illusions could only graft one thing onto another; they could not create something from nothing. For instance, the stone snake summoned by Meng Tingwu years ago had been made from ordinary rocks. As long as I could see through what substance this dragon was made of, I would find a way to break it!
In the water, my Snow-Vanishing Steps were reduced to less than thirty percent of their usual effectiveness. Fortunately, after swimming for so long, I had managed to adapt to the flow of spiritual energy within the illusionary array. Having been swiped by the dragon’s tail over a dozen times, I had grown familiar with its movements. Spotting the moment it raised its tail, I gritted my teeth and pushed both my illusion techniques and movement arts to their absolute limit. I lunged into the reach of the dragon’s claws, thrusting violently toward the center of one palm. I wanted to see exactly what the true form of this dragon was!
A plume of blood mist bloomed beneath the sea. For a moment, I was so startled I almost pulled back and dropped my sword. That sensation of the blade entering flesh... it didn't come from an illusion. It was absolutely real.
“Hehe...” Jiang Xiaying’s delicate laughter rang out, her voice filled with malice and cruelty. “Do you want to know its true form that badly? Fine, then look!”
With one hand, I yanked the sword out; with the other, I summoned the copper mirror unique to our sect for identifying illusions and shone it upon the dragon’s claw. As expected...
It was a boy in a coma, appearing no more than thirteen or fourteen years old. Having been stabbed by my sword, his shoulder blade was nearly pierced through, yet he remained in a deep, unawakening sleep. But he was alive. This was a person—a living, breathing, real human being.
As for the dragon’s claw, it was formed by four children of similar age bound together by spiritual energy to constitute a single foot of the great beast. If the entire dragon was composed of human bodies, had she not ruined over a hundred lives?
“Jiang Xiaying!” I was truly enraged. “Just wait until I take your wretched life!”
I cast a spell to staunch the boy’s wound, then kicked off the dragon’s back, racing along its spine toward Jiang Xiaying atop the dragon’s head. She raised her golden sword, unleashing dozens of sword-qi waves. I used my movement techniques to dodge; those I couldn't avoid, I blocked with my ice sword. Several crisp snapping sounds rang out—it was the sound of me continuously forming swords from frost talismans only for Jiang Xiaying to shatter them. Yet, I still broke through her defensive perimeter. The final crack was the sound of her golden sword clashing directly against my ice blade.
Ice shards sprayed everywhere, cutting my face and neck. I could feel hot beads of blood constantly welling up.
“Junior Sister Su,” she said coldly. “You underestimated your enemy. But that is not your greatest mistake. Your mistake is being born into this world; to cherish the lives of others is to forfeit your own.”
Her golden sword lunged fiercely toward my heart. I had no more talismans to turn ice into shields or swords, so I could only raise my left hand, gripping her blade with my bare palm. Blood surged down the golden edge like a spring, even flowing into her own palm.
Jiang Xiaying was about to let out a mocking laugh when she suddenly felt a soft wind graze the side of her neck. In her shock, she tried to drop her sword and retreat, only to find her palm and the sword hilt welded together as if bitten by something. In her haste, she could only twist her body, and my sword slashed into her left shoulder.
“Hanguang...” she hissed, glaring at me with hatred as she squeezed those two somber words through her teeth.
“Did you really think I was fighting you with a mere icicle?” I snorted. “It was just wrapped in ice.” By using the substances within the illusionary array to coat the weapon’s true form, I could avoid being hindered and break out the weapon at a critical moment to defeat the enemy—this was a method we had all invented together during the Tianshan Assembly. Hanguang could already conceal itself; it didn't even require additional illusionary disguises, making it impossible for Jiang Xiaying to see through.
“That’s not all.” I reached out and yanked hard, dragging her down from the dragon’s head. “Senior Sister, you’d better hold on tight!”
The blood overflowing from my hand transformed into dozens of feathery petals. Threads of pale purple and light pink quickly swallowed Jiang Xiaying’s golden sword along with her sword-arm. In her agony, Jiang Xiaying let out a shrill cry. Intense flames ignited within the dark, deep sea, finally illuminating this seemingly bottomless, ghostly place.
That hadn't been my blood to begin with; it was the illusionary effect created by the Huanzhen sand, which Yangyang had placed in my palm using a Golden Essence pad. After the Tianshan Assembly, my Cloud-Swallowing stage cultivation had become very stable. Surprisingly, Huanzhen had spontaneously developed a second form: these "Silk Tree Flowers," which were neither mist nor feathers. They were perfect for silent disguises and infiltrations, and their ability to torment an opponent with pain had become even more meticulous and realistic.
As I raised my sword again to end her life, she glared at me and grinned hideously. “You won’t win!”
Before she could finish, I felt a massive force striking toward my sword blade. I hastily retreated, rolling several times to barely dodge it. Even though the attack from the Essence-Consuming realm hadn't hit me directly, it caused me internal injuries. Instead of being dismayed, I smiled. I had finally forced out the person hiding behind Jiang Xiaying!
“Senior Xun.” Jiang Xiaying was hissing in pain, her voice intermittent, yet she remained bloodthirsty and arrogant. “Let us kill her first, then wipe out those dogs from Yingzhao Temple!”
The man named Xun glanced at her and said only, “Ying’er, you were too reckless.”
“Haha!” The flames on her right arm had just been extinguished by Xun, and the limb remained stiff. She gritted her teeth and used her still-bleeding left arm to pull something out. “Once you enter the game, life and death are decided!”
I cried out inwardly that things were bad. Though I couldn't see the object clearly, I knew it was an illusionary artifact of the Essence-Consuming realm. Furthermore, that man named Xun had already summoned his weapon and was flying toward me.
I couldn't possibly dodge the speed of an Essence-Consuming True Person. I hurriedly called for Yangyang, clutching all my life-saving trinkets in my hand, prepared to flee.
At that moment, another massive tremor shook the deep seabed. Compared to this vibration, the commotion stirred up by the dragon’s tail earlier was like a baby’s nighttime fussing. True Person Xun stopped mid-way. Without even glancing at the two of us, he changed course and flew out of sight, vanishing completely. The object Jiang Xiaying held was likely the core used to manage the illusionary array; struck by the world-shaking fluctuations of spiritual energy spreading across the seabed, she was completely unable to control the array’s form, let alone stabilize the entire formation!
It was A-Yun... she had destroyed the protective array against the Demonic Sun according to plan.
The moment Jiang Xiaying appeared, Wei Qingming had sent a voice transmission to me: *“She is provoking you; she must have accomplices. Azhi, stall her for a moment and draw out the person behind her.”*
She loved me more than anything, yet she was willing to let me enter the fray. This meant she was about to do something life-threatening again. I was so anxious I wanted to grab her and stop her from leaving, but I had to pretend nothing was wrong, frantically transmitting back: *“What are you going to do!”*
*“It is only a few drops of blood; it matters not,”* she smiled. *“In half a quarter-hour, I will proactively destroy the array. At that time, there will be a massive spiritual tremor; Azhi, take that chance to escape. This woman’s danger does not lie in her martial strength. If you can kill her, do so; if not, it does not matter. Safety is paramount.”*
“You always...” My chest throbbed with a sharp, twitching pain. “You are always like this.”
*“This concerns the lives of hundreds of thousands in the capital,”* she replied. *“I can only face nine deaths without regret.”*
Recalling this, I reached up to wipe the tears from my eyes and raised Hanguang.
Jiang Xiaying was still frantically trying to activate the array core. With eyes turned red, I lunged at her. Though I could have used this chance to escape, I was more willing to risk injury to take her life!
“You’re insane!” Jiang Xiaying could no longer maintain her affected facade. She was both anxious and enraged. “If you want to die, then die! Don't drag me with you!”
The tip of my sword was momentarily blocked by the power she released from the array core. This consumed even more of the array’s power, and the seawater illusion could no longer be maintained, beginning to revert to its original appearance as the sky. Ignoring the fact that Jiang Xiaying had exhausted her resources to spray a cloud of strangely fragrant poisonous powder at me, I moved to strike once more, only to be haphazardly grabbed by the belt and rolled away. In an instant, the illusionary array collapsed, adding another wave to the tide of spiritual energy. Jiang Xiaying and the azure dragon she had manifested from others' bodies were both swallowed by it, their fates unknown.
“Su Yuzhi,” Lu Lingfeng said. “Stupid.”
I knew, of course, that she meant the illusionary array was too close to the sinister Demonic Sun and the exploding protective array; failing to withdraw in time would result in severe injury. However, my hatred for Jiang Xiaying’s lot could not vanish so suddenly, and I instinctively stared fixedly at the spot where she had just been. Yet, I immediately thought of Wei Qingming and hurriedly looked around.
Thank goodness—she was there, at the far end of the East Market. Her eyes were slightly closed, her hands forming seals, still controlling the flow of spiritual energy. However, her position was directly opposite the Demonic Sun, adding another layer of unease to my heart.
With my emotions slightly steadied, I turned to ask my elusive Second Senior Sister, “My lover told you to come?” I saw her riding a winged ghost—a new ghost. Needless to say, it must have been the one Master Wei used to compensate Da Zhuang...
She shook her head and pointed at the Demonic Sun. “I saw the aura of the Demonic Zither.”
I was shocked. So the Demonic Sun and the Demonic Zither were so closely linked—perhaps they were originally one...
“Quick!” I grabbed Lu Lingfeng’s hand, not bothering to ask if she was willing, and flipped myself onto the ghost’s back. “Let’s find A-Yun and tell her this!”
Lu Lingfeng frowned. “You’re sitting on my Little Dragon’s sore spot.”
My head throbbed. Of all the names to pick... I had just fought a person and a dragon; hearing that word made me lose my temper...
Regardless of whether the "Little Dragon" was in pain, I slapped the ghost’s head, urging it to move faster. Before we could reach her, that True Person Xun appeared out of nowhere. He clearly understood the root of the situation and was about to use an Essence-Consuming spell to kill Wei Qingming.
As if the situation weren't chaotic enough, another person emerged from the direction of the Demonic Sun—a burly demonic cultivator of the Essence-Consuming realm. It stood to reason that since the Demonic Sun was so eerie and ominous, thick with demonic energy, only a demonic cultivator could withstand it and guard it from nearby. As for the illusion concealing him, it was likely an array set up by Xia Ji and arranged in detail by Jiang Xiaying. Wei Qingming’s use of the array’s destruction to strike the Demonic Sun had finally drawn him out.
The demonic cultivator roared with a thunderous voice, “You seek death!” A pitch-black fist struck out directly toward Wei Qingming.
I was terrified and frantic, only wishing I could fly fast enough to throw myself in front of her.
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
--- | --- | ---
含光 | Hanguang | Su Yuzhi's sword; the name means "Contained Light."
浣真 | Huanzhen | Su Yuzhi's magical sand/artifact.
合欢花 | Silk Tree Flower | Also known as Mimosa; the second form of Su Yuzhi's Huanzhen sand.
餐霞 | Essence-Consuming | A high-level cultivation realm (Canxia), superior to Cloud-Swallowing.
妖琴 | Demonic Zither | A sinister artifact related to the Demonic Sun.
英招寺 | Yingzhao Temple | The temple where the conflict is centered.
阿云 | A-Yun | Wei Qingming's courtesy name or intimate nickname.
央央 | Yangyang | Su Yuzhi's artifact spirit or companion.
