In the brief moment we spoke, Xiao Guai lunged toward Master Xun. He ignored the ghost entirely, not allowing so much as a corner of his robe to be touched as he flew straight toward the Demonic Sun.
Upon reaching it, he spoke to the demonic cultivator. "Brother Xiang, the time has come."
Master Xiang, who had been chasing the water ghost Da Pang as it clung to Ye Jun, stopped his movements. He cast a lingering, hungry glance at the demonic sigils on Ye Jun’s body and laughed. "Fine! Business first, then I’ll devour these brats."
Without looking back, Master Xun cast a boundary, casually blocking Lu Lingfeng’s attack from behind. He raised his other hand, summoning the Demonic Zither. Master Xiang was also prepared; he cupped his palms together, and wisps of pale, ethereal light drifted up from the ground. At the source of the light, ash billowed—he was forcibly stripping the living souls of the newly deceased before they could leave their bodies, using them as a spiritual conduit to link the Demonic Zither and the Demonic Sun!
The ash was the result of human corpses being incinerated by demonic arts. It carried flickers of green ghost-fire, and the mournful wails of spirits could be heard echoing across the fields. Lives so different—the poor, the wealthy, the virtuous, and the wicked—were all reduced to black ash in an instant like withered grass, scattering into the equally dim and lifeless night sky.
"Before the Temple’s forces arrived, the southern part of the East Market was almost entirely slaughtered," Wei Qingming said. "In the territory of the Dayou Merchant Guild, where the Tenfold Pavilion is located, no one was spared."
"The south of the East Market... that’s the city’s slum district..." I remembered the human bodies Jiang Xiaying had used to construct the dragon’s form and fumed, "To murder defenseless civilians—what a grand display of 'skill'!"
But why go to such lengths, sacrificing the souls of hundreds?
Wei Qingming looked up at the two masters performing the ritual, then turned to me. "How is the jade talisman?"
I took it out and placed it back in her palm. Seeing the overflowing blue light, she frowned—a rare sight. Things were likely not proceeding as she had anticipated. Without a moment’s delay, she tucked the talisman into her robes and glanced to the side. The two Thousand-Commanders, Zhou and Yuan, who had been waiting since she landed, rushed forward and cupped their fists, awaiting her orders.
She removed the Emissary’s jade plaque from her waist and activated it with a specific incantation. The pale, nearly white jade suddenly flared with intricate black-and-gold runes, signaling a high level of authority. She tossed the plaque to them. "We wait no longer. Have the Li family activate the Tenfold Pavilion’s grand array. Within a hundred paces, leave no living thing. Those who defy—"
"Kill."
The two Thousand-Commanders gave a low shout of affirmation and exchanged a look. Commander Yuan took the jade plaque and, braving the heavy miasma of death, led his men in a rapid dash toward the base of the Tenfold Pavilion. Commander Zhou ordered his subordinates to disperse and notify the surrounding people to evacuate immediately. Ye Jun remained unconscious, his fate uncertain, so his subordinate, Commander Zhang, did not stay idle either, joining Commander Zhou in clearing the area.
Emissary Wei’s voice was as calm and cold as usual, but when that word "kill" escaped her lips, her murderous intent flared, decisive and unyielding. For her to make such a decision, she must have invoked the highest authority of an Emissary. Soon, the interior and exterior of the Tenfold Pavilion were cleared out, leaving only the people from Yingzhao Temple on the scene.
Seeing my worried gaze, Wei Qingming gave a faint, almost imperceptible smile just to put me at ease. She rested her hand loosely on my shoulder and said softly, "Let us move back a few steps as well."
I followed her as we retreated. I watched as a red glow gradually lit up the top of the Tenfold Pavilion; clearly, the offensive formations of the protective grand array were charging. Looking back at the Demonic Sun, I was startled to see a flickering silhouette gradually forming within it. A terrifying realization dawned on me, and I blurted out, "They aren't trying to... resurrect the Demonic Zither’s instrument spirit, are they?"
"You thought of it too, Azhi." Wei Qingming nodded. "I fear that is the most likely possibility."
"Of Mingyu’s ten demonic artifacts... the spirits of the first three were all in the Moon-Embracing Realm..." I felt a chill run through my body and couldn't help but wrap my arms around myself. "Aside from the Demonic Sword, which was destroyed long ago, this Demonic Zither is the most powerful..."
Wei Qingming patted my back to comfort me. "They might not succeed. Besides, even if the spirit is resurrected, how much of its power remains is another matter entirely."
Despite her words, everyone knew the situation had spiraled far beyond expectations. It was completely out of control and shouldn't be handled by Yingzhao Temple alone; at the very least, an expert from the Wujing Sect’s capital observatory should have appeared. Wait, could that jade talisman be...
While I was still guessing, a bolt of purple lightning suddenly crashed down from the sky, striking the boundary Master Xun had just erected. In an instant, light flared and fierce winds howled. Before this devastating lightning art, the boundary—which had been utterly impenetrable to those of our cultivation level—was like a flimsy thatched hut, shattering into pieces in the blink of an eye!
The cold, frost-like expression Wei Qingming had worn since giving the order finally gave way to a smile. She looked somewhat relieved and scoffed, "Far too slow."
As the purple lightning dissipated, two figures flew through the night sky, one behind the other. Both wore the black-and-white cloud-patterned Daoist robes of the Wujing Sect. However, the burly one was likely an informal elder of the Hall of Divine Thunder; his robes were loose and disheveled, and a massive sword over a foot wide was haphazardly wrapped in hemp bandages and strapped to his back. The lean one was dressed neatly, holding a lotus whisk, his expression solemn yet kind—an elder of the Hall of Eternal Spring.
"Xiang Tai!" the Master from the Hall of Divine Thunder laughed. "That defeat ten years ago—did it taste good?"
Master Xiang sneered in response. "We shall see today!" Before his voice had even faded, black energy surged. Having fought with only his bare palms until now, he summoned a pair of giant axes and swung them with savage force.
The Master from the Hall of Eternal Spring raised his hand to release a spell that suppressed the toxic miasma and death energy. Amidst the refreshing, tranquil light of Wood-element vitality, he calmly reminded the other elder, "Tanwei, time is short. Do not let the fight drag on."
My eyes widened. There was only one "Master Tanwei" in the Wujing Sect—the man whose combat strength was second only to Cang Jiang, ranked third in the world: Daoist Lu Tanwei!
Throughout this, Wei Qingming watched the sky with a smile; she and this Master Tanwei were clearly long-time acquaintances. I remembered back in the capital when I had pretended to be sick to sneak out and spend the night with her at Cold Spring Mountain. Later, when she performed the Flower Goddess ritual to ward off calamity for me, Hong Lu had mentioned that the "Wind-Flowing God-Revering Dance" had been learned from Master Tanwei.
Unlike Chief Cang Jiang and Master Xingjian of the Tianjun Sect, who lived in seclusion within their sects, Daoist Lu loved traveling, sight-seeing, and performing acts of heroism. Many commoners had received his help, and even small children could enthusiastically recount stories of him slaying demons and ghosts. His most famous feat was the Battle of Mount Guhong thirty years ago, where he single-handedly defeated demonic cultivators from eight directions and killed the descendant of the demonic ancestor Kuai Xun. That person had swallowed a "Demon Seed" refined by the three great demonic sects, which supposedly contained a remnant of Kuai Xun’s divine sense. Had he succeeded in refining it, he would have been hailed as the Lord of All Demons. Thus, it wasn't hard to imagine that Daoist Lu had earned the enmity of every demonic sect; demonic cultivators saw him as their mortal enemy. He and Xiang Tai had likely clashed in such a manner.
Aside from such thrilling and grand events, Daoist Lu accepted all requests, from nobles encountering ghosts to village women possessed by spirits—as long as he was provided with his favorite fine wine and food to fill his belly afterward...
Thinking of this, I turned my gaze to the one from the Hall of Eternal Spring. Stories often featured several of Daoist Lu’s fellow disciples; this should be Master Zheng Tancun, one of the four "Tan" generation masters of the Wujing Sect. I had even taken medicine he formulated while I was sick in the sect, though as a junior, I never had the chance to meet him.
Hearing me unable to suppress a small laugh, Wei Qingming turned to look at me. I covered my mouth and pointed at the sky. "So the one who taught Little Daoist Wei that elegant God-Revering dance is such a grand and boisterous man!"
"The elegance was entirely my own style," Wei Qingming said, also amused. She glanced at Daoist Lu, who was shouting and swinging his massive sword in the night sky. "His dancing is hideous."
"Oh! Is that so?" I teased, nudging her gently with my elbow.
"Yes," she said. "However, the Daoist is originally from Jianfu Palace, so he is most proficient in such things. It is just that he is bellicose by nature, so after ascending to the Cloud-Eating Realm, he joined the Hall of Divine Thunder."
"How did you two become so well-acquainted?"
Wei Qingming smiled, a nostalgic look appearing in her eyes. "It sounds hard to believe, but there was a time when the Daoist’s new and old injuries were so severe that Masters Tancun and Tancheng had to work together to seal his internal organs and meridians. He couldn't stand a single day of idleness and actually snuck out of the sect in that state. He wandered leisurely all the way to Wu Province, where he happened to run into enemies seeking revenge. He was chased and fell down a deep cliff. At the time, I happened to be on a mission nearby and was unfortunately caught up in the mess, ending up trapped at the bottom of the cliff with him for nearly three months."
Startled, I grabbed her hand. "And then?"
"Aside from barely being able to use a few high-grade artifacts that didn't require spiritual power, he couldn't mobilize the true qi in his body. He was practically a mortal, wounded all over by his opponents, paralyzed at the bottom of the cliff and unable to move an inch," the little Daoist Wei continued. "I was only at the early Cloud-Swallowing stage then and couldn't fly yet. Fortunately, my injuries weren't too heavy—I had only broken one arm. On the first day, both of us could only lie there honestly waiting for our wounds to heal. Bored out of our minds, only our tongues could move. He actually had the nerve to say that a junior like me was just loitering nearby and getting in his way. I shot back, cursing him for getting me trapped in a wasteland and delaying the court’s important business. We traded insults for a whole day. That night, we unfortunately encountered a pack of beasts and then some vengeful ghosts. I had no choice but to drag my still-useless right arm and carry him on my back as I fled."
"That old man even mocked me for being too slow," Wei Qingming shook her head with a laugh. "In truth, it was because he ate too much worldly food and was full of foul fat. If I had to choose, I’d rather carry Mount Wangwu like the Foolish Old Man than carry that fat villager."
I laughed as well. She continued, "A month later, we had finished all the medicinal pills between us, and he still couldn't move. He had to rely on me to find a way out. That’s when the old fox got clever and started sweet-talking me. I squeezed a huge amount of wealth and artifacts out of him, forced him to sign a contract, and got that jade talisman. It means he has to serve me three times. The brightness of the talisman represents the time it takes for him to arrive."
"A Cloud-Eating Master listening to you three times!" I clapped and laughed. "That’s quite a profit."
"Who told him to ramble on at first about how his life was much more precious than mine?" Wei Qingming smiled. "Since that’s the case, saving his life once ought to be worth him saving mine three times."
As we spoke, countless moves had been exchanged in the sky. The clanging of Daoist Lu’s greatsword against Xiang Tai’s twin axes was incessant, like a blacksmith’s shop had been opened in mid-air. Looking up, I was almost afraid a stray, red-hot spark would fall into my eye...
Wei Qingming, meanwhile, was slightly moving her wrist, which had regained some mobility, while continuing to apply healing spells to the broken bone in her left arm. Her eyes remained coldly fixed on Master Xun. The Still Water Blade was a divine weapon, after all; the puncture wound in his chest was quite deep and was still bleeding steadily. The Demonic Zither, driven by a thirst for blood, greedily swallowed every drop.
At the same time, the red light at the top of the Tenfold Pavilion’s grand array had fully ignited. In terms of simplicity, using the grand array to eliminate rebels was the first choice—once activated, even a cultivator in the Star-Plucking Realm would find it hard to escape with their life—but the drawback was its massive consumption of spiritual power. Even daily maintenance of such an array required vast amounts of spiritual energy, which was why it was built over a spiritual vein or even a spiritual eye. Using it on this scale today would likely drain the spiritual energy of nearly half the capital, and it wouldn't recover for ten days. This meant the East Market would have to close immediately, and the wealthy residents of the Yongjia and Yongxing Wards would have to spend the New Year in freezing homes as their heating arrays failed. Although no one would dare criticize the court openly, it would certainly breed public resentment. Clearly, it was best to avoid using the array if possible.
Just as I was about to ask Wei Qingming if the array still needed to be activated, another person appeared out of thin air. Jiang Xiaying was indeed not dead. She thrust out a palm to cast a healing spell, hurriedly applying medicine to Master Xun’s wound. Her expression was somewhat agitated as she glared at him, her face full of disbelief, as if silently questioning why he hadn't dealt with the two of us.
Master Xun said nothing. He tossed the Demonic Zither back to her and turned to rejoin the battle between Daoist Lu and Xiang Tai.
Seeing Jiang Xiaying forming hand seals to cast spells on the Demonic Zither, I was angrily rolling up my sleeves to fly up and fight her again, but Wei Qingming grabbed me. With a leap, she used the eaves of the thirty-zhang-high Tenfold Pavilion as leverage, reaching the roof like a gust of wind. She threw out a cold command: "Activate the array. Kill that woman!"
At this moment, only the Li family steward responsible for controlling the array was present. Commander Yuan and several subordinates stood by, hands on their sword hilts and expressions solemn, prepared in case the Li family proved uncooperative. In truth, there was no need for a blade at his throat; the steward trembled at Wei Qingming’s voice, freezing for a moment before pressing the Array Heart Stone.
The world went silent for a heartbeat. Then, a sound like a mountain collapsing erupted, and even the roof of the Tenfold Pavilion beneath our feet shook as if it might crumble instantly. The resulting air currents nearly knocked me over. A hurricane swirled, and though I couldn't keep my eyes open, I could feel thousands of blade-like rays of light enveloping everyone.
The offensive array of the "Impregnable Bastion of the Mortal Realm" unleashed a violent, destructive beam of red light. It first pierced through the Demonic Zither, then surged toward the Demonic Sun behind it.
The tremors lasted for twenty full seconds before gradually subsiding. My heart pounded wildly. I lifted my head from Wei Qingming’s embrace, ignoring the light that still made my eyes water, and frantically looked ahead. Jiang Xiaying, holding the Demonic Zither, surely couldn't have escaped this time. Master Tancun had already pulled his junior brother away to a safe distance, while the half-dead Xiang Tai had been carried hundreds of feet in the opposite direction by Master Xun.
As the strike from the grand array flared and roared, I stood at the highest point in the east of the city and watched as the entire East Market, along with the surrounding area for several miles, saw its myriad of spirit-powered lights extinguished all at once, as if struck by a massive wave. Silence fell.
I was still trying to process the situation when I heard Wei Qingming’s breathing and heartbeat growing clearer in my ear. They were unusually rapid. I looked up to see her expression was complex, her eyelashes trembling as she stared fixedly toward the Demonic Sun.
A ghastly white hand—so pale that an ominous, corpse-like blue-grey hue showed through the skin—steadily withstood the attack launched by the Tenfold Pavilion’s grand array for the first time in nearly five hundred years. Jiang Xiaying and the Demonic Zither in her arms were shielded behind another arm.
Xian Su, the instrument spirit of the Mingyu Demonic Zither, had finally been resurrected...
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