Chapter 21

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Chapter 21

He really did chew through it.

They hadn’t expected that spiritual energy could be applied to teeth, enabling even a torn cloth to be bitten through.

With Tu Xuixin’s shout for help, Moonfire Valley immediately gained the upper hand, sending the nearest disciples to tear apart the prison and rescue the three individuals inside.

Du Ren, usually fierce, looked with red eyes as she checked the wounds on her Master and junior brothers after they were rescued.

Hua Tingxiao stamped his foot in frustration, “They melted my sword!”

“Just reforge it, reforge it,” Du Ren chuckled. “We still have some money in our palace; we’ll get you a better one later.”

Meanwhile, Gong Wu and Ji Yang also brought back Tu Xuixin, who was wiping away tears.

“The frost flower deer from our palace had its antlers cut off, and its meat was cooked…”

“Never mind,” Ji Yang said softly, “It wouldn’t have survived even if we brought it back.”

Tu Xuixin didn’t understand the meaning behind his words but smiled happily upon seeing Ji Yang’s spiritual aura.

“Congratulations! Your complexion looks revitalized.”

As they had suspected, Jin Yan Tuo had detained the three to extort them.

Now, with one shout, the situation had completely turned around. He Zhao Li’s expression became dangerous, filled with killing intent.

“Come easily,” he transmitted his voice over a distance, “If you want to leave, you must either join my forces or hand over your Golden Core.”

Before Yan Fangji, who was leading, could speak, the people from Zhi Bai Guan revealed looks of offense.

“He Zhao Li!” the Daoist said angrily, “You betray your master and ancestors, and you have no rightful position! Do you really think of yourself as the master of the immortal sect?!”

“I don’t just want to be the master of the immortal sect,” He Zhao Li grinned. “I also want to be the leader of all six factions, placing myself above all of you.”

“Oh no,” Tu Xuixin, hidden among the ranks of Moonfire Valley, figured out, “The Yuan Xian Immortal Assembly takes place every sixty years, and it’s happening in June next year!”

His words were so arrogant that even Yan Fangji frowned deeply.

“Be careful; you might get expelled from the sect! No immortal sect will accept traitors!”

“If you do not allow it, I will take my army and fight my way through,” He Zhao Li said with a smile, “What does a small border sect dare to boast about?”

Both armies stood off against each other in the air, busily shouting challenges and insults, ready for a potential fight at any moment.

Ji Yang, a skilled warrior, had already entered the military formation, standing by for action.

Hua Tingxiao and Tu Xuixin had depleted their spiritual energy and were stationed at the back for a brief rest.

At this moment, Gong Wu, hidden deep in the ranks, abruptly spotted a flash of white a hundred meters away.

The silhouette was delicate and small, and everyone else was too preoccupied with watching He Zhao Li and the movements of his troops to notice it.

—It was a Paper Person!

Seeing this Paper Person for the first time, Gong Wu didn’t have time to fully grasp its connection to Senior Sister Lin’s death. Her feet moved faster than her thoughts, weaving through dozens of senior brothers and sisters to chase after the Paper Person that was quietly drifting toward Yan Fangji.

In terms of material, it was even lighter than rice paper, flitting around the edges of robes and getting closer and closer to Yan Fangji.

Gong Wu couldn’t imagine what kind of disaster would occur if it touched Yan Fangji. Seeing she was about to be a moment too late, she lunged forward, slapping her palms together as if swatting a mosquito to capture it!

“Smack!”

The two high-ranking individuals were still arguing when they suddenly heard a disciple clapping loudly and turned to look.

Yan Fangji’s expression shifted uncertainly: “What are you doing?”

Gong Wu didn’t have time to explain; she opened her hands to see what had become of the Paper Person.

But at the moment she clapped her hands together, the Paper Person dispersed like a wisp of mist, vanishing into thin air.

Countless paper scraps flew out from between her fingers, and with a gust of wind, they disappeared without a trace.

At that moment, He Zhao Li spotted her and raised an eyebrow, saying, “Aren’t you dead?”

Yan Fangji was taken aback, “What?”

“I chose her because her roots were excellent, and I planned to kill her sooner rather than later,” He Zhao Li observed Gong Wu intently. “The sword formation didn’t kill you, and I sent a Torrential Rain of Poison Needles, which clearly cut through your skin.”

“How are you still alive?”

“Her?” Yan Fangji sounded as if he had heard a dreamlike tale, “Her roots were excellent before?”

“It doesn’t matter,” He Zhao Li said as he took the Incense Tea offered by a disciple, his tone lazy. “Anyway, you all are going to die today.”

Before his words faded, thousands of archer soldiers suddenly revealed themselves, releasing a volley of Destroying Spirit Arrows all at once!

The kill order came unexpectedly, and with nearly a hundred fighting against thousands, the situation was dire and desperate.

Yan Fangji focused on protecting his disciples and shouted the prearranged command: “Retreat!! Enter the Whale’s Belly!!”

In the depths of the abyss, the whale’s mouth opened wide, and the three rescued individuals were the first to be sent into its belly. But Tu Xuixin, being tugged by his sleeve, refused to go down, anxiously calling out, “Gong Wu!! Get down!!”

The Sword Rain came along with the Destroying Spirit Arrows, and barriers from different Techniques expanded in all directions, trying their best to block all attacks.

Yan Fangji gathered his long sleeves and personally led Gong Wu back into the Whale’s Belly.

He Zhao Li slowly raised his dark bow, aiming it at them with Three Arrows drawn.

When Gong Wu saw the long arrows flying toward them, her pupils contracted, and she shouted for her Uncle to get out of the way.

Yan Fangji, with his back to the incoming arrows, didn’t have time to react before she pushed him aside with all her strength.

In just a split second, Yan Fangji was shifted a few inches off course, and all Three Arrows struck him, piercing through his heart and lungs in an instant!!

It was worth it.

In immense pain, Gong Wu’s consciousness began to dissipate, leaving her unable to think of anything else.

At least… she could still live again and didn’t let her Uncle sacrifice himself for her.

Her world dissolved into a bright white, slowly fading away until she could hear no sound at all.

Her divine consciousness seemed to find a comfortable place in the void to curl up and sleep, half-asleep but vaguely realizing something.

Oh no.

Did she… die in front of a crowd??

Hadn’t Master warned her to never let others mistake her for a monster???

A small fragment of her divine consciousness jolted awake in her sleep, too afraid to fully rouse itself.

This is a disaster.

How will she explain herself when she wakes up??

Maybe she should just stay dead for good?!

She tried to linger in sleep a little longer, hoping to come up with a plan, but her five senses were slowly returning.

Each time her heart and lungs recovered, it felt quicker than before, as if a few more deaths would render her impervious to blades and arrows.

Don’t wake up… don’t!

Gong Wu kept her eyes tightly shut, feigning sleep, relying solely on her hearing to assess her surroundings.

She could hear disciples murmuring, but their conversation wasn’t about her.

“Is Ji Subei out of his mind?!”

“Is the Opening Sun Realm really that horrifying…?”

“Did you see the expressions on Master Tu and Master Yan’s faces??”

Brother? What happened to him?

Gong Wu wanted to sit up and demand answers, but any movement now would make it seem like she was rising from the dead.

Until she figured out what to say, it was best to keep pretending to be dead.

The disciples continued whispering: “It’s hard to believe, no wonder he reached the Opening Sun Realm at just twenty.”

“He killed so many today—could he leap straight to Jade Balance?”

“No way, he hasn’t even descended into madness yet.”

Suddenly, footsteps echoed from a distance, and the disciples beside her immediately fell silent.

“Step back,” Tu Xuixin commanded.

“Yes.”

Once the others had left, Tu Xuixin checked Gong Wu’s pulse and sighed, “If you’re awake, get up.”

Gong Wu sat up hesitantly, shielding her eyes from the harsh light with the back of her hand.

She… was actually lying in the palace of Jin Yan Tuo.

“Earlier,” Gong Wu blurted out anxiously, “they—”

“He Zhao Li is dead.”

“What?!”

Tu Xuixin took a deep breath, covering his face with his hand.

He had never imagined things would spiral this far out of control.

She immediately pieced together what she had just overheard and suppressed her emotions, asking, “So those thousands of pursuers… are all dead?”

“When your brother saw you die, he stood there without moving.”

“Everyone was running for their lives, but he just didn’t leave.”

Gong Wu stared blankly at her Master, realizing that the current Jin Yan Tuo was so quiet it sent chills down her spine.

Tu Xuixin’s expression darkened, and after a long pause, he continued speaking.

“I knew I couldn’t stop him in that moment, so I just shouted.”

“Ji Yang, you are a Daoist of the Path of Emotionless, do not get angry!!”

Gong Wu clutched his sleeve tightly, anxious, “And then? What happened next?”

Tu Xuixin shook his head with a bitter smile.

“And then… he summoned a thousand-layer sword formation with just his own power.”