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Chapter 57: Demon
"Mind Dividing cultivation?!" Kong Hou thought her ears had a problem. Her master had Projection Stage cultivation and was already an expert of the cultivation world. She had not expected this evil cultivator to have a higher stage of cultivation than her master! She thought for a moment, and put the Water Frost Sword back into her hair.
"Miss Kong Hou, what are you doing?" Lin Hu who had hurried to them with a sword in hand saw Kong Hou"s strange action and was puzzled.
"Master and the shixiong worked hard to raise me." Kong Hou took out a flying message seal from her storage ring. "Before death, I have to at least leave behind some words for them."
Seeing the young girl"s ashen face and her trembling hand holding the flying message seal, Lin Hu did not tell her that even if she wanted to send the flying message seal, the White Evil Sage had the cultivation and means to block this flying message seal. However, this was the first time in his many years he encountered a disciple preparing to leave behind a will before an unwinnable battle.
Kong Hou had never directly experienced how terrifying a person with Mind Dividing cultivation could be. When she saw Old Man Wu Ku cause the flying palace to sway in the air and the sky to change color with a wave of his sleeve, she finally realized how minuscule she was. She realized why cultivators would call other cultivators with Mind Manifestation cultivation or above Forebear.
If she had known that she would die today, she should have bought all of Talented Author"s books, and then found him to tell him that he wrote good storybooks, that he should not give up. Recently, she had not been able to buy his new works. She did not know if he had given up on writing or was delayed by other matters.
She should not have taken so many things out of the sect. Now, once she was dead, her possessions would benefit that evil cultivator. The more she thought, the angrier she got. Kong Hou"s eyes turned red.
"Do not be afraid." Huan Zhong saw Kong Hou crouched on the ground holding the jade seal. Her eyes were rimmed in red, and she appeared exceptionally pitiful. He bent down and looked into her eyes. He gently patted her head. "I am here, and I will not let anything happen to you."
"Huan Zhong." Kong Hou grabbed his sleeve. "Do not risk it. Your injuries have not healed."
"No matter." Huan Zhong smiled at her, very warmly. Kong Hou looked dazedly at him and could not speak. But her hand gripped his sleeve.
"You"ve never seen me wield the sword before—do not miss it today." Huan Zhong looked at Wu Ku who was attacking the flying palace boundary with a talisman. He jumped and flew out of the boundary, his white robes ethereal.
"Huan Zhong."
"Master!" Lin Hu knew he was not a match for Wu Ku. He turned and looked at Kong Hou and the Auspicious Pavilion disciples. He said to them, "Everyone, stay in the flying palace and do not leave. I will go help Master."
Kong Hou watched as Lin Hu chased after Huan Zhong. She put away her flying message seal and took down the phoenix head hairpin in her hair. The hairpin turned into a miniature Phoenix Head Kong Hou. Phoenix Head gave off a sharp phoenix cry.
"A phoenix head instrument. This old man has good luck today to encounter the genius disciples of orthodox sects." Wu Ku heard the phoenix cry. Looking at Kong Hou behind the boundary, he laughed maniacally. "You killed my apprentice, and now I will take the heads of the exceptional disciples of orthodox sects. This is profitable." When he finished speaking, the talisman he held gave off bright light. All of s.p.a.ce seemed to twist. The boundary collapsed and the powerful wind buffeted the flying palace. The Auspicious Pavilion disciples cried out and were almost swept out of the flying palace.
"Vroong!"
Kong Hou plucked the chords on Phoenix Head and the loud sound blocked the gust of wind. She stood on the banister, her hair loose and dancing in the wind, her eyes exceptionally bright.
"A little ability." Wu Ku sneered. His attacks did not stop. A move of mountains of blood and fire carrying the wails of countless souls swept in. All of the world seemed to turn black and red. The attack of a Mind Dividing power was nothing that a Mind Activation cultivator could stop. If not for Phoenix Head, Kong Hou would not have managed to stand firm.
Wu Ku"s murderousness was high and he did not retain anything in attacking Kong Hou. However, he could not get close to Kong Hou because a person blocked him off.
"A hero rescuing the damsel? Today, I will kill you first…"
Huan Zhong did not want to listen to his boast. Dragon Roar Sword left its sheath and immediately brought along a destructive presence.
"You!" Wu Ku hurriedly dodged but was still wounded by the sword energy. The sharp sword energy had cut his jade coronet in half. His long silver hair spread, and his ethereal aura immediately halved.
Huan Zhong did not give him time to respond. Dragon Roar Sword flew through the air, targeting Wu Ku"s core. Wu Ku did not dare to continue with his nonchalant att.i.tude. He took out his lifebond talisman to block the flying sword and managed to dodge the attack. He looked at Huan Zhong with shock and doubt. This person"s bone age was just three hundred—how could he have such powerful cultivation?
From time immemorial, good and evil were opposed to each other. If a disciple of an orthodox sect was so outstanding, where was there room for evil cultivators like him to live? No, he could not let the orthodox sects have such a disciple. Today, he had to kill this person!
Wu Ku decided. He did not want to tease these juniors any longer and took out his true skill. He revealed a talisman shrouded in black energy. Activating it with spirit energy, he threw it into the air. This talisman was called "Charm Allurement". It had a beautiful name but was a great weapon for activating mental demons. He had made this with the cores of almost three thousand evil cultivators in order to defeat the powers of orthodox sects.
He hadn"t expected that a young sword cultivator would be the first to taste its power rather than the strongest of the orthodox sects.
When the Charm Allurement went into the air, it transformed into an enormous umbrella. The evil and fiendish energies within the umbrella almost became tangible, tendrils waving about as though they wanted to swallow all living beings into the umbrella ribs.
"Master!" Lin Hu panicked inside. Master"s mental state was already problematic. If this strange umbrella attracted his soul, would it not worsen the injury? He did not dare to let the evil cultivator see Master"s weakness. His hands moved into a seal, and golden light, blinding and bright, shone off his body.
"Yao energy." Wu Ku sneered. "A remnant bloodline of the yao stays by a human and acts as a servant. How glorious was the yao race five thousand years ago? You have fallen so far until the present. You should follow the evil cultivators; at least, you would not have to live by the whim of others."
This cultivator"s yao energy shone with gold. His ancestor must have been a powerful yao. But after many generations, the yao energy was so faint people could not recognize it.
He could see that Lin Hu was using his bloodline to drive away the fiendish energy. Wu Ku laughed and said, "If it was your ancestor, he might be able to defeat Charm Allurement. But you want to use your weak bloodline inheritance to defeat this divine talisman made out of three thousand evil cultivators? That is a fool"s dream."
Lin Hu ignored him. Looking at Master within the black mist, he channeled even more spirit energy.
"Since you are so stubborn, I can only send you to your death. If you go early, you may be able to welcome your master on the road to the underworld." Wu Ku spread his fingers. The water droplets in the air turned to ice. The ice turned into a sharp-toothed monster that opened its jaws as it bit at Lin Hu, trying to consume him.
Music sounded and pushed back the large jaws of the monster. The sound was shapeless and invisible. Waves of spirit energy burrowed into the ice bones of the monster. The Water Frost flew through the air and cut the monster"s giant head in half.
"Miss Kong Hou?" Lin Hu looked at Kong Hou who was standing among the clouds, panting as she held Phoenix Head. He hadn"t expected the young girl who had been so frightened she shook when holding a flying message seal to stand up at this time.
Kong Hou"s body was covered in all kinds of seals, protective talismans hanging off her belt. She was like a tyc.o.o.n wanting to show off her wealth, putting everything she had on display. Yet no one was laughing at her now.
"I"m fine." Kong Hou"s hand, which had plucked the chords, shook slightly. It had taken more than half of her spirit energy to block one attack from a Mind Dividing power. But at such a crucial time, she could not show weakness. People could lose, but they could not lose the dignity of the orthodox sects.
She looked worriedly at Huan Zhong who was shrouded by black energy and fiendish energy. Taking the Water Frost Sword which flew back, she raised her chin slightly and pointed her sword at Wu Ku. "As an elder, you are not worthy of respect. You bully those younger than yourself—shameless."
"Sharp-tongued brat, has no one ever told you that evil cultivators are always shameless?" Wu Ku turned his head. An enormous monster once again formed in the air. "Children with sharp tongues are not liked by elders."
Kong Hou did not dare to face the other head-on. She pulled a talisman off and threw it over. When the talisman and the monster collided, the talisman cracked and the monster was turned to powder. At this time, she did not care how valuable and expensive the talismans were.
Time was money—any moment she could delay was valuable.
Lin Hu had not expected Kong Hou to use high-level talismans as bombs. No wonder Splendid Cloud Sect dared to let Base Building disciples travel outside. With so many talismans, she had enough that she could throw down several kinds and then run away.
If she did not care for the lives of Master and the disciples of Auspicious Pavilion, she had a chance to flee.
Wu Ku was slightly displeased that his attacks had been stopped twice by a young girl. He ignored Huan Zhong and Lin Hu, hitting directly into the air.
Kong Hou was struck face-on by this slap. Before she could make a sound, she fell off the cloud.
"Celestial Kong Hou." Hong Ling and Ge Jin saw this from the flying palace. They flew down from the banister to search for Kong Hou. Yet the powerful Mind Dividing presence suppressed their spirit energy. If not for their shidi and shimei who were quick enough to pull them back to the flying palace with talismans, they may have fainted immediately.
"Shijie, are you all right?"
"I"m fine." Ge Jin shook her head. Looking at the thick clouds before them, her brow furrowed. She had Mind Activation cultivation. Under the presence of this evil cultivator, her spirit energy could not circulate as normal. Would Celestial Kong Hou survive that blow? She looked at the terrifying umbrella in the air. The only one who might be able to rescue Celestial Kong Hou was he.
But this umbrella had not moved for a long time. Maybe…
Many dark thoughts flashed through Ge Jin"s mind. She hurriedly stabilized her mind. This umbrella was not right. She was not a cynical person. For diviners like her, even the worst situation would have a thread of hope. Cultivators with cynical viewpoints were not suited to be diviners.
But the moment she saw the umbrella, her mind was filled with all kinds of b.l.o.o.d.y scenes. She could not think normally.
Such power with just one glance. What would the attack on Spirit Master Huan Zhong who was trapped within be like?
At this time, the floating giant umbrella trembled violently and gave off great howls and cries. Ge Jin"s heart turned cold at the scene. She thought of h.e.l.l, of pa.s.sersby being pulled forward by evil ghosts that wanted others to sink down together with them.
"Do not listen!" Ge Jin covered her ears and said to her dazed shidi and shimei, "Seal your hearing."
After closing herself to the cries, she felt much better. Ge Jin became more worried. The strange umbrella had changed. Was Spirit Master Huan Zhong already…
At this moment, a golden dragon flew out of the roiling black mist. The golden dragon opened its mouth and the dragon roar caused the earth and sky to shake. Ge Jin unconsciously put down her hands from covering her ears. She looked dazedly at the shadow of the golden dragon which coiled around the strange umbrella. Ge Jin finally refocused when the cries of the evil ghosts grew quieter.
This was Spirit Master Huan Zhong?!
The thick mist dissipated. The white-robed man holding a sword slowly walked out, his eyes cold like the unmelting snow at the top of the mountains. He turned to look at the enormous black umbrella. He raised and swung his sword. Accompanied by a dragon"s roar, the black umbrella was cut in half.
"Master…" Lin Hu"s expression was ugly.
The white-robed man glanced coldly at him, the hems of his robes flying in the wind. He looked icily at Old Man Wu Ku, his lips moving slightly. "You want to die."
"How were you able to come out?" Wu Ku looked with anger and hatred at the destroyed Charm Allurement. He hated sword cultivators like this who looked down on all others. They were born with outstanding talent, looked righteous but were nauseating.
Huan Zhong flew and swung his sword. He did not perform an elaborate move but his sword move was exceptionally good-looking. He seemed like an immortal from the heavens about to punish the sinners.
Boom.
Wu Ku"s talisman and the sword collided. An enormous wave of air spread outwards. Lin Hu hurriedly dodged back to the flying palace and created a boundary in front of the Auspicious Pavilion disciples.
The two seemed evenly matched but Wu Ku was inwardly shocked. He looked at the tiny cracks on his lifebond talisman and felt great pain, as though his heart had been cracked. Wu Ku used all his power to push away Huan Zhong"s attack. He did not fight any longer. He threw a talisman behind to explode and wanted to flee.
Yet the sword cultivators were famed for their speed. He hadn"t run far when Huan Zhong appeared in front of him. This was the same person, but Wu Ku felt this sword cultivator who came out of Charm Allurement was a different person.
The tip of the sword pierced his arm. Blood bloomed on Wu Ku"s white robes. Wu Ku ignored his wounds and used his unwounded arm to barely defend against the other"s attack.
He had used the Charm Allurement to release a demon. The most awful part was that this demon did not attack the orthodox sects, but evil cultivators.
"Want to flee?" Huan Zhong threw away his sword and hit Wu Ku"s chest with his hand. The Dragon Roar Sword flew a circle in the air and once again landed in his hand. He pointed with the sword and it pierced Wu Ku"s abdomen.
"You, you…" Wu Ku looked down at the sword in his abdomen with terror on his face.
Who was this?
"A century ago, an evil cultivator called Wu Xi also died by this sword." Huan Zhong pulled out the Dragon Roar Sword from Wu Ku"s abdomen. The blood dripped off the blade. "At that time, you called yourselves the Three Colors Evil Sages?"
"You are Zhong, Zhong…" Wu Ku pressed a hand against his bleeding abdomen, his eyes wide.
How could it be him, how could it be him?!
If he had known this was the person who killed his apprentice, even if everyone in the evil cultivator world laughed at him, he would not have come alone to be killed. Wu Ku felt great regret. Which b.a.s.t.a.r.d had told him it was two young disciples of orthodox sects who killed his apprentice?
He had not come for revenge—he had come to die!
Looking at the expressionless Huan Zhong, Wu Ku was filled with hopelessness. Today, he was going to die. And even if he died, the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds of the evil cultivator world would laugh at him for being one of the stupidest evil sages in the last five centuries.
If he could leave alive, he would go and train disciples skilled in gathering intelligence. He would not come out again and show off for his honor.
He would…
Watching as Huan Zhong raised the Dragon Roar Sword again, Wu Ku looked into the sky and waited for death to arrive.
The moment Huan Zhong prepared to kill Wu Ku, he glanced towards the distant flying palace, but the person he wanted to see wasn"t there.
He had said to the young girl, don"t be afraid, he wouldn"t let anything happen to her. Now that he had managed to do as promised, where was she?
"Where is she?" Huan Zhong stared expressionlessly at Wu Ku. Wu Ku felt as though a cold snake was staring at him.
All for that young brat. If not for the brat, he would not have treated this G.o.d of death as an ordinary sword cultivator. Who in the evil cultivator world did not know that demons who could scare children of the evil cultivator world into stopping their crying at night always lived and moved alone, killing them and leaving. When did one ever have a woman in his company?
Empiricism killed people. Other than looking like a person, the demon who was not at all lively in his conduct was a dog in front of the woman he loved. Which b.a.s.t.a.r.d said the demon was extremely ugly, his eyes like copper bells?
This must be a conspiracy of the orthodox sects!
None of the orthodox sects were good!
"Talk." Seeing Wu Ku remain silent, Huan Zhong stabbed him again briskly, as though he was poking a piece of meat. Wu Ku did not dare to say that he may have killed the young girl with a blow. If he dared to say that, this demon would stab dozens of holes in him in a flash.
While he was near death, he still had the desire to live.
"I, I didn"t pay attention. Maybe, when we were fighting just now, the brat…" Wu Ku bit his tongue and changed his words. "That beautiful miss may have hidden out of fear."
"He is lying!" Ge Jin charged over on her flying talisman, her shoulders shuddering and her voice trembling in fear. "He hit Celestial Kong Hou out of the clouds. I don"t know if she is alive or not!"
My life is finished!
Wu Ku dodged back to avoid Huan Zhong"s next blow. Yet a white light flashed across his eyes and the fiend disappeared. Wu Ku did not hesitate. He jumped onto the flying sword to flee, not even looking back at the destroyed Charm Allurement.
Huan Zhong stepped onto his sword and searched through the woods. The Auspicious Pavilion disciples and Lin Hu also flew down. However, their cultivation was lower than Huan Zhong"s, and he left them far behind.
The woods were large. How could an unconscious young girl be found so easily?
Huan Zhong wanted to destroy all the trees but feared wounding Kong Hou by accident. He could only fly through the woods and even threw out many tracking talismans.
Inside a pond in the mountains, Huan Zhong finally saw the young girl, lying unconscious. Her long hair floated in the wind like a dense patch of seaweed. The woods seemed tinged with the tang of blood.
Translator Ramblings: Poor Wu Ku. He aroused Huan Zhong"s protective instincts.