Chapter 78
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Chapter 78: Title
Jiang Liufeng faced Tiansui, both their gazes clouded with unspoken sorrow.
“With the Blood Demon joining forces with the Demonic Tribe to attack the Immortal Capital, and the golden seal stolen at this critical moment… If the Immortal Capital falls, not just the Nine Realms but even the Mortal World will suffer.”
Tiansui sighed quietly, tightening her grip on the Wugui sword. “There’s still a chance. When necessary, we’ll use… that method.”
Jiang Liufeng’s eyes widened. “Impossible! You’re the leader of the Immortal Capital. Without you—”
“The Capital doesn’t rely solely on me. There’s Yan Ge, Lingyang—any of the twenty-four immortals can protect it.”
“Fine. Only that person could ever sway your decisions. Does she… know about this?”
Everyone knew the Immortal Capital’s leader maintained cool formality toward others, always keeping them at a distance.
Except for one.
At the mention, Tiansui’s expression softened, her eyes briefly gleaming before shadowing again.
“She doesn’t know.”
“Keep it that way.”
Their figures faded. The weapons stilled as the coffin lid groaned open.
“Liufeng!” Canglong screamed through tears, grasping at the dissolving shadow. Her hands clutched empty air—her Liufeng had disappeared ages ago.
She crumpled to the floor, clutching the Broken Soul Blade, endlessly whispering the name.
*Crash—*
The coffin lid shattered into fragments. The coffin itself split apart.
Canglong stared dumbly at the ruins she’d guarded for a thousand years. “Where’s Liufeng?!” She’d placed Liufeng in this coffin herself—where was the body?
Amid the debris floated a palm-sized Glazed Purification Brush, its jade-green surface carved with glowing runes and barriers.
Xia Shi stared at the brush, then pulled out the fake given by Sect Master Jiang Liu. The imitation looked completely different.
Clearly, Sect Master Jiang Liu had never seen the real artifact. Few in the Nine Realms could recognize it anyway.
Using this unconvincing replica might still serve their purpose.
“Liufeng… Liufeng…”
Canglong searched the hall with blood-red eyes, clutching her blade and nearly tearing up floor tiles to check beneath them.
“Senior,” Xia Shi called, “did Jiang Liufeng perish physically or have her soul dispersed?”
Canglong paused and answered plainly, “Her body died.”
“Then you must know a cultivator isn’t truly gone if only their flesh perishes. Jiang Liufeng wouldn’t use filthy body-snatching to return to the Nine Realms. Her soul should linger where she once walked.” Xia Shi pulled an ancient text from her storage ring as proof.
Canglong took the book, flipping pages faster and faster.
Her hands stilled near the end.
It was true. Every word matched.
When Liufeng died, he’d only said “wait.” So she’d laid him in the white jade coffin, awaiting his awakening.
But… he’d never said where to wait, or for how long.
Tears streamed down Canglong’s smiling face.
“Liufeng, you knew I’d guard you forever, didn’t you? You hid this to make me protect the Glazed Purification Brush?” She caressed her blade tenderly. “I’ll find you now.”
Turning to Xia Shi’s group, all wariness vanished from her gaze. “Since Wugui and Broken Stream acknowledge you, take the Brush.”
Xia Shi bowed. “Our thanks, Senior.”
“No,” Canglong shook her head, “thank you.”
A deafening dragon roar shook the hall. Walls crumbled as Canglong transformed, soaring away with the Broken Soul Blade to chase a phantom breeze.
The Void dissolved.
Endless desert reappeared.
“So Xia Wuwei truly survived.”
Black Mist coalesced before them, revealing Young Master Yu.
His face bore no mask now, the sharp features eerily resembling Lu Ciyou’s.
“How nostalgic,” he smirked at Xia Shi’s calm expression, “meeting old friends.”
Four Hundred Years Ago, sects had vilified Xia Wuwei after the Qinghu Region massacre. Liujin Pavilion besieged Sanqing Realm demanding justice for their young master. Yet Xia Shi showed no emotion seeing Lu Qingyu’s stolen face.
“Grown fond of that stolen skin, demon?” Xia Shi sneered. “Almost believe you’re human?”
Young Master Yu’s spear erupted with black demonic energy. “You’ll die here.”
Xia Shi blocked the spear thrust with her sword. But the Blood Demon in Lu Qingyu’s body neared Great Ascension realm power, this strike fueled by fury.
Too fast. The others froze.
When they moved, Xia Shi had already parried dozens of attacks, blood staining her chin as she strained against overwhelming force.
“Xia Shi!” Suiyin lunged forward with her sword. Lu Ciyou and Yan Li charged behind.
No one knew that a figure stood motionless in place, lips curving with a barely-there smile.
"Who are you?" Lu Ciyou trembled while staring at the face mirroring her own.
Young Master Yu tilted his head down to gaze at her. "Dear sister, can’t you recognize me? I’m your elder sister, Lu Qingyu."
"No! You’re not her!" Lu Ciyou’s teeth ground together. She whirled toward Xia Shi being supported by Suiyin, desperately seeking confirmation.
"Why look at her? Don’t you hate her most?" Young Master Yu stretched out his hand. "Come. Let’s kill her together."
Lu Ciyou sidestepped to stand firmly before Xia Shi.
Yan Li joined her shoulder-to-shoulder, their weapons raised in unison.
"Hahaha—" Young Master Yu threw back his head in laughter. "Someone once told me ‘Xia Wuwei is the moon of Nine Realms, forever surrounded by stars.’ I doubted this… yet here we stand four hundred years later. Even the Liujin Pavilion’s young master who loathes Xia Wuwei and Sanqing Realm shields you now."
"Seems she spoke truth."
"You mean Pei Jiu," Xia Shi stated flatly.
"Oh? You recall her." Young Master Yu clicked his tongue, spinning his spear idly. "Let’s bargain. Give me the Glazed Purification Brush, and I’ll reveal her whereabouts."
"Her debts to me require no intermediary." Xia Shi swallowed a Spirit Gathering Pill, feeling spiritual power stir within. During their earlier clash, she’d sensed familiar energy protecting her heart meridian – her Master’s power, inexplicably residing in her veins.
The mystery would wait. Young Master Yu had already shattered the Forbidden Area of Canghai’s barrier. Puppets flooded inward as Qing Gui approached bearing a bone whistle. "The Lord of Shura City lives up to his reputation."
"Enough prattle!"
Qing Gui’s jaw tightened before she blew the shrill note.
As puppets lurched forward, Xia Shi hefted the newly awakened Zhuque. The plump bird’s crimson plumage glowed magnificently, though its increased weight strained her shoulder.
Zhuque puffed up with pride, preparing to unleash fiery chaos.
Then stillness.
After frozen moments, the puppets scrambled backward through the breached barrier, fleeing like startled crabs.
Qing Gui’s puppets mirrored their controller’s turmoil.
Young Master Yu’s glacial stare pierced Qing Gui. "What are you doing?"
"That creature…" Qing Gui glared at Zhuque, "…nullifies my control skills. The puppets are worthless."
"One wonders why Ghost Lord deemed you worthy of Six Cities." Young Master Yu sneered, turning toward Xia Shi’s group. "I’ll handle this myself."
The Glazed Purification Brush would be his.
His spear arced, whipping up a sandstorm that blotted the sky.
Amidst the swirling grit, Young Master Yu’s silhouette blurred—spearpoint lunging for Xia Shi’s throat. He’d claimed Lu Qingyu’s body, suppressed its spirit for centuries, and mastered every technique of its cultivation.
Clang—
The spear in his hand was lifted by opposing forces from both sides, barely blocking his strike.
The air filled with the metallic scent of blood.
The juniors were still protecting Xia Wuwei.
“Xia Wuwei, is letting these youths die needlessly worth it for the Glazed Purification Brush?”
“Like in the Qinghu Region Four Hundred Years Ago, countless innocents perished because of your tribulation.”
A Demon General nearing the Great Ascension realm could’ve ended their lives with a mere gesture.
He deliberately let them struggle, deliberately dredged up the past – he knew this memory festered like a deep-rooted thorn in Xia Shi’s heart.
His goal lay bare before them.
He aimed to awaken Xia Wuwei’s heart’s demons, to lure her onto the demonic path.
“Not your fault.” Suiyin gripped Xia Shi’s wrist with urgent strength.
Xia Shi smiled faintly, crimson staining her lips like misplaced rouge.
“The Glazed Purification Brush… I’ll give it to you.”
Young Master Yu froze. This defied all expectations.
He’d envisioned desperate resistance, not this calm surrender. Where was the groveling? Where were the tears as he claimed his prize?
Disappointment soured his triumph.
“Hand it over.”
The sandstorm stilled abruptly. His gaze burned into the jade brush gleaming in Xia Wuwei’s palm.
With this artifact, the demon suppression array could be rewritten. Hordes of blood demons would rise.
Hungry anticipation lit Young Master Yu’s gaze.
He trembled with impatience.
Xia Shi rotated the brush, watching the faint trail left by its tip.
Almost there…
She reconstructed the formation Pei Jiu had etched beneath her feet at the Sixteen Peaks of the Dark Domain, stroke by painstaking stroke.
The cruel irony didn’t escape her – the very array that once doomed her now offered salvation.
No time for bitterness. She sent a voice transmission to her companions: “Gather close. Now.”
As they shifted, Young Master Yu sensed the disturbance. He materialized instantly, seizing Lu Ciyou by the throat.
Xia Shi’s brush slashed downward. Crimson light erupted as the formation activated.
Lu Ciyou stumbled forward from an invisible shove, caught firmly by Yan Li.
Shocked cries rang out – beyond the formation’s glow, Young Master Yu now clutched Wen Zhishu’s throat.
In that split second, Wen Zhishu had taken Lu Ciyou’s place.
“Miss Wen!” Lu Ciyou screamed.
Wen Zhishu’s face turned ashen and blue in the man’s grip, each wheezing breath a struggle.
She turned her head to look at the four people within the formation, revealing a relieved smile.
This became the final scene Xia Shi and the others witnessed.
