Even if his constant avoidance and leniency weren't enough to prove Master Xun was an old acquaintance, the way he had just thrown me served as powerful evidence. He seemed to have considered even my relationship with Wei Qingming; unwilling to inflict harm, he had tossed me into her arms. Even then, he had held back significantly; otherwise, the sheer momentum of the impact alone could have sent us both crashing down from the clouds.
In the brief interval while Wei Qingming and I exchanged those few words, Master Xun simply stood suspended in the air, sword in hand, waiting quietly. Though we were his juniors, a certain etiquette was required for a two-on-one fight. I bowed and said, "Senior, please forgive our rudeness."
Master Xun nodded. "Come."
I concealed my form once more, vanishing into the night sky.
At the same time, Wei Qingming likely played her trump card now that I had joined the fray. I saw her left hand condense a spell, forming a seal which she pressed against the center of her brow while holding her sword upright. Instantly, sunlight overflowed. The intricate celestial runes upon the Still Water Blade lit up one by one, and a golden array manifested within a hundred-foot radius, enveloping all three of us!
This time, when she swung her sword, ten thousand blades launched simultaneously within the array.
Arrays, talismans, and divine weapons are all tools that allow one to fight above their level; all three elements here were genuine attacks of the Canxia Realm. The power of the Sun was inherently transcendent among the Five Elements, supreme and peerless. Furthermore, this orthodox sword array of the Wujing Sect was formidable and overbearing, its construction exquisitely precise. Master Xun could no longer afford to be arrogant. He was forced to dodge and parry hurriedly, yet the sword light still managed to pierce through his robes. Meanwhile, I watched for every opportunity to launch sneak attacks with "Falling Rain, Scattering Flowers," occasionally forcing him into a position where he couldn't turn in time, landing a wound or two.
After nearly a hundred more exchanges, Wei Qingming and I had developed a silent rapport. Initially, I had to dodge the sword qi within the array myself, but as our minds became attuned and the flow became second nature, Wei Qingming, as the array controller, was able to let me move freely without worrying about the stray energy. However, the stronger the array's power, the greater the energy consumption. I guessed this array was drawing from the remnants of the previous Spirit-Gathering Burst Array and wouldn't last much longer. Though I still didn't understand Wei Qingming's ultimate goal, since this was her strategy, I would help her force Master Xun to draw his sword!
She suppressed him with raw power while I fought from the shadows. Master Xun’s footing was slightly disordered at first, but he quickly adapted, and the chances for my strikes to reach him grew fewer and farther between. Finally, a horizontal slash from Wei Qingming forced Master Xun back several steps, placing him right under my blade. Xiaolian stabbed silently toward his heart, but as expected, it was blocked by his returning sword. He followed through with a backhand strike, parrying Wei Qingming’s follow-up move.
The chance had come! I used the momentum to leap nimbly, reversing the Hanguang sword I had been holding concealed in my right hand, and stabbed viciously toward the center of his back!
If he didn't draw his sword now, he would certainly be hit by one of us—perhaps even pierced through from front to back. Sure enough, a blast of incredibly fierce sword qi erupted. The night wind was caught in its wake, letting out a sharp, ear-piercing whistle. It turned out his greatsword possessed a grand and pure Metal attribute; even the tail-end of the sword wind was as sharp as a razor.
Yang-yang emerged just in time to block the sword qi for me, and Wei Qingming threw out a defensive treasure to absorb most of the counter-force. Though we were blown back dozens of yards, stopping right at the edge of the array’s boundary, our internal injuries were not small. We looked at each other from a distance and both smiled. Though I didn't know the specifics, her plan had likely succeeded!
The sword was out of its sheath; he had lost his composure. Master Xun sighed and swept his sword upward. The nearly thousand streaks of sword qi in the array converged at once. Just moments ago, they had been unstoppable, making things difficult for him; now, they were like sharp blades cutting paper or a cold wind scattering leaves, easily severed mid-air by his strike. Under the pressure of this sword qi, there was no way for either of us to get close to him again.
As I dodged clumsily, I looked up at the Great Sun Array overhead. To my dismay, even I could see the array was collapsing and fading. Its source energy was draining; it was at its wit's end. Conversely, the black speck at the center of the Demon Sun had spread; almost the entire green orb had turned a deep, abyssal black. The aura of destruction was thick and pure—a catastrophe was likely about to descend!
I didn't know how Ye Jun and Lu Lingfeng were faring; I could only vaguely hear some ghostly wailing and demonic roars. But judging by the changes in the Demon Sun, they were barely holding back the demonic cultivator’s offensive and had no leisure to stop the further spread of the destructive aura.
Master Xun’s Metal qi rampaged through the array with the force of a hot knife through butter, peerless and unopposed. The fifteen-minute mark was approaching, and the effects of the medicinal pills were fading. Wei Qingming showed signs of backlash; her movements slowed, and dodging became increasingly difficult. In truth, I didn't have much strength left either, merely scrambling to stay alive. I had exhausted all the spirit crystals I could use to replenish my true qi; in a few moments, even the last piece I held in my hand would be spent...
I screamed inwardly in desperation. *Since you dared to fight so fiercely and wildly, Master Wei, if you have a way, use it now!*
Finally, the Sun Array shattered with a roar. Master Xun’s sword edge was already at Wei Qingming’s side. Amidst the deafening sound of the array breaking, there was a clear, long hum—weak enough to be almost inaudible, yet crisp and incredibly distinct. It sounded like a sharp sword striking jade; it failed to shatter the jade, but instead stirred the sleeping power within it.
In the next instant, an overwhelming blaze erupted, swallowing everything!
I was completely stunned. "Using Fire to melt Metal... ah..."
This fire was certainly no ordinary fire of the Five Elements, nor was it the True Solar Fire associated with Wei Qingming’s cultivation. Instead, it was filled with the aura of the underworld... it was the Nine Heavens Profound Fire from the eighteenth level of hell.
I couldn't see what mysterious artifact Wei Qingming was using, but it had steadily blocked Master Xun’s strike—a strike as heavy as Mount Tai—and ignited this sky-filling inferno. The deep red, almost black flames filled half the sky, momentarily causing even the green glow of the Demon Sun to dim.
From within the surging flames, the sound of clashing blades rang out again, as intense as a torrential downpour.
I was both terrified and anxious, my whole body trembling. Several times I tried to pull out the mysterious jade talisman Wei Qingming had given me, but my hands were too weak to hold it. The talisman was almost entirely lit now; its crystal-blue light was like a pool of cool spring water, flowing quietly in my palm.
I studied it for a long time but couldn't understand how to use the thing. I could only clutch it in my hand, frantic with worry.
At the other end of the battlefield, Ye Jun seemed to have pushed his demonic arts to their limit. He soon peaked and withered like a dying tree, sent flying by a palm strike from the demonic cultivator. Lu Lingfeng’s two Canxia ghosts were barely intact, though they were riddled with large holes and there was no time to repair them. The water ghost, Da Pang, flew out to catch the unconscious Ye Jun, while Xiao Guai swung his ghostly tablet, firing a dense barrage of various underworld weapons at their opponent. The demonic cultivator was truly a monster; he didn't block or dodge at all, letting the weapons pierce his body and draw blood. Laughing loudly, he reached out with a giant palm, intending to snatch Lu Lingfeng.
Clutching the jade talisman, I whispered through tears, "Whichever deity Master Wei has summoned, please, come quickly..."
The deity didn't arrive, but Master Xun’s greatsword swung toward us again, so close it was almost impossible to avoid. That clear hum rang out once more. In the nick of time, Wei Qingming—true to her habit of taking desperate risks—raised her left palm and used that unknown artifact to take the sword strike head-on.
Perhaps because Master Xun couldn't bear it after all, had that strike landed fully, she would have been cleaved from shoulder to waist. At the last moment, he turned the blade, changing the slash into a blunt slap. Even so, the immense force caused the webbing of her left hand to burst instantly, and blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.
Simultaneously, the Still Water Blade flared with light, its tip piercing into Master Xun’s chest.
This time, I finally saw it clearly. The object in her palm was the source of the Nine Heavens Profound Fire!
The blade advanced millimeter by millimeter; though slow, it was a steady progression. Master Xun showed no expression, merely looking at her silently, his thoughts unknown. Only when the tip had entered three inches—any further and it might pierce through his body—did he raise his left hand and firmly grasp the back of the blade.
Thus, no matter how hard Wei Qingming struggled or exhausted herself, she could not move the tip of the blade another fraction.
The Still Water Blade was slowly pushed back by Master Xun’s strength. Blood gushed down, charred by the scorching heat of the hellfire. Wei Qingming must have been near total exhaustion, yet she still looked up, staring at him with fierce determination. At the end of a battle, people often find it hard to maintain their reason; at this moment, she likely saw red, thinking of nothing but a life-or-death conclusion.
Or perhaps even she had lost all her strength and all her options, and could only watch as her opponent pushed her blade out and prepared to end her life with a single strike.
"Sigh..." In the end, Master Xun merely let out another long sigh. Like brushing away a leaf, he swept her and her blade aside.
The Metal qi on his sword had been completely consumed by the Nine Heavens Profound Fire. For the moment, he couldn't gather sword qi and could only use the weapon like ordinary iron; this was why Wei Qingming had found the chance to get close and stab him. Flames surrounded him, charring his robes black and singeing the edges.
Once free, he didn't look back but left immediately, heading straight for the place where the demonic cultivator and Lu Lingfeng were fighting.
Before he could fully arrive, Lu Lingfeng stopped shaking the bone staff used to control the two ghosts. He turned abruptly and shouted, "The Demon Lute is on him!"
I rushed forward to catch Master Wei. She gasped violently for a while, then managed to curl her fingers, extinguishing the flames of the mysterious object in her palm. She even managed a slight curl of her lips, spitting out: "I really... need to advance my stage soon..." As she spoke, she slowly raised a hand to touch my face, her gaze softening. "How is A-Zhi? You aren't seriously hurt, are you?"
"You... I'm fine." I hurriedly wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, caught between tears and laughter. Only she could be this competitive. "He's been cultivating for hundreds of years longer than you!"
"No," she said. "Not that long. He is likely... about the same age as my father's generation."
"So you do know each other."
"I don't know him." She narrowed her eyes and gave a mocking smile. "To be so reluctant to kill me, he must be an old acquaintance of the Wei family."
I wanted to take her hand to apply medicine and treat her wounds, but I touched the object in her palm. Taking it out to look, I saw it was a dark, dull piece of ore. Having spent several years at the Nie family and the Dream-Seeker Pavilion, I prided myself on knowing many rarities, yet I had no idea what this was.
"Heavenly Marrow Stone," Master Wei said as she took some medicine and began wrapping a bandage around her left hand and arm. She smiled. "It can freely control the generation, restraint, overwhelming, and insulting cycles of the Five Elements. It is said to be extracted from a certain meteorite from beyond the heavens. It's an item from the treasure vault I helped Mr. Agawa recover. When I heard news of the Demon Sun's chaos today, I borrowed it from Ughli."
"Generation and Restraint" refers to the natural cycles of the Five Elements. "Overwhelming and Insulting" are abnormal states. "Overwhelming" occurs when one element's restraint over another becomes excessive; what Wei Qingming used just now was Fire overwhelming Metal. "Insulting" occurs when an element is so strong that it turns back to attack the element that should restrain it—for example, while Water normally restrains Fire, a small amount of water being dried up by a great fire is a case of "Water deficiency and Fire insulting." Currently, over eighty percent of cultivators in the world still practice ordinary Five Element techniques. With this item in hand and used correctly, one is essentially invincible among those of the same rank.
My eyes widened as I listened, turning the unremarkable stone over and over. "No wonder you could use Fire to restrain Metal..."
"Mhm," she continued. "However, it only has the power of counter-control; it grows stronger only when facing strength. If Senior Xun had maintained his initial conservative stance, the Heavenly Marrow Stone would have been useless against him."
I coughed and stared longingly at the stone. "Since it's so useful, can we... just not give it back?"
She let out a soft laugh and gently stroked my head. "We still have to return it. If you like it that much, I'll go find another one for you."
"Well, that's not really necessary..."
