35 – Nine is the End
Listening to Hua Tianji"s clear laughter, Xue Qilin"s mood suddenly became complicated.
Although the Heavenly Sword Gate has been plotting against the Merak Temple [1], but when she saw this scene, she couldn"t help but feel ashamed for the Merak Temple.
Despite the threat of death, they still stepped forward to protect their Gate Master.
And what about the Merak Temple?
Xue Qilin recalled Luo Qing"s death. Didn"t Luo Qing use her life to exchange for such a unity?
Xue Qilin felt disconsolate.
For some reason, when she looked at the united Heavenly Sword Gate, she felt inexplicably scared.
She was fighting alone, and Hua Tianji wasn"t. It only took her a moment to realize – do I want to retreat?
Obviously, regardless of everyone"s opposition, I want to avenge Luo Qing. But in the end, will I have to return with the tail between my legs like a stray dog? Not willing! I"m not willing!
Facing the awe-inspiring Heaven Realm master that was her, the nine Earth Realm masters with a common cause as well as the clearly heavily injured but still smiling and confident Hua Tianji… All of this was reflected in her eyes, inscribed in her heart.
Xue Qilin looked towards the sky, feeling an inexplicable coldness in her heart.
But what about my comrades? What about my family sticking together through thick and thin?
The is none! Unwittingly, Xue Qilin clenched her fists, and her fingernails bore deep into in the flesh. Blood oozed out from between her fingers.
Let"s just fling caution to the wind and make a scene! This thought ignited a violent flame inside Xue Qilin, and madness filled her mind.
In the face of a strong enough force, even a bundle of sticks will break!
“Senior Xue, you don"t want to retreat?” Hua Tianji spoke in surprise.
Although Hua Tianji was seriously injured and could display less than 70% of his strength, but he had nine Earth Realm experts at his side.
What"s more, Xue Qilin also wasn"t in a her top form. With the moves she has executed just now, she has already consumed a significant amount of true qi. She currently had less than 60% of her true qi left.
Although she could display 100% of her power, but with only 60% of true qi remaining, could she kill nine Earth Realm experts and a half-dead Heaven Realm expert?
Xue Qilin wasn"t sure, but reason told her – impossible. However…
“Speak less nonsense! Today, I"ll destroy the Heavenly Sword Gate!”
Luo Qing"s pale face streaked across her mind and pierced through her reason.
Like she had told Qi Qiqi – each day Hua Tianji stays alive and kicking, I feel sick to my stomach as if I have eaten s.h.i.t.
Young Ancestor, please avenge me… These words have engraved themselves in her mind, and were impossible to get rid of.
Little Qing, although I said that you were softhearted, and that was why you set up this game full of holes, but you were merciless towards two people – towards you yourself and me.
Have you antic.i.p.ated that I"ll recklessly come here to kill Hua Tianji?
Anyway, you still missed a point…
The Heavenly Sword Gate isn"t the Merak Temple. They don"t waver in the face of danger.
But what about me?
I have, I have no one.
“Good, very good! In my entire life, I only admired three people. The first one is the the Merak Temple"s former Great Ancestor who smashed the void and took off – Senior Qi Guiyuan. The second one is the sole Grandmaster in the Hua Dynasty who reached the Grandmaster Realm as a martial beast – Senior Beiming Youyu. The third one is residing deep inside the palace – His Majesty who unscrupulously seized the throne. Senior Xue, you are the fourth one.”
Hua Tianji"s expressionless eyes were ignited with a strong fighting spirit. All because of the companions at his side willing to brave the calamity together with him.
“Hua Tianji, although we are enemies, but I really envy you.”
“Oh, may I ask what you envy about me, Senior Xue?”
Xue Qilin glanced at the nine people gathered around Hua Tianji. Among these nine people, there were both young and old, male and female mixed together, and they presumably all had different dispositions. But their hearts were united at this time.
As if he had understood what Xue Qilin meant, Hua Tianji released a complicated sigh.
“Why aren"t you part of the Heavenly Sword Gate? I"m also very envious of the Merak Temple, Senior Xue.”
“…” Xue Qilin was silent, but what Hua Tianji said next left her speechless.
“Senior Xue, why don"t you quit the Merak Temple and join the Heavenly Sword Gate?”
“What nonsense!”
Things have reached this stage, but he still wants to sow dissension? Xue Qilin felt a fire rise inside her. But when she saw the sincere look in Hua Tianji"s eyes, her expression suddenly turned sluggish.
“……You are serious?”
“Of course.”
“Even though there"s enmity between us?”
“Yes.”
Xue Qilin sighed. Solely in terms of breadth of mind, Hua Tianji can be considered as an excellent character.
“… you wouldn"t be considering it?” Said a skeptical voice. Xue Qilin even imagined Qi Qiqi roll her eyes and raising her brows.
Is it my imagination?
If it"s just my imagination, then what"s with the look of surprise on Hua Tianji"s face?
She turned her head rigidly and looked in the direction of the voice.
… red dress swaying in the wind, scarlet eyes staring straight at her.
She was taken aback for a moment. With her hands on her hips, Qi Qiqi was standing on the ground below.
“… why did you come here?” Xue Qilin slowly floated down to the ground and landed beside Qi Qiqi.
How did she appear here without any sound or sign? Did she sneak in while hiding her aura?
“Isn"t it because I was worried about you?”
“Are you stupid? You"re definitely stupid! How much can you help me by yourself?”
Even with Qi Qiqi added into the equation, the disadvantage still won"t be reversed. Even if Qi Qiqi was stronger, she could tie two Earth Realm experts down at most.
“Why are you so worked up?! I didn"t come alone.”
“What? Then…”
“… It seems that the Young Ancestor only has eyes for the Temple Master.” A sweet voice came from behind Qi Qiqi. Xue Qilin looked up and saw Xia Xue with a playful expression on her face, next to whom stood Yang Yuening with a bitter smile on her face and the silent Situ Mutou.
“… why did you all come?”
“Why else would we have come? Our dear Uncle Teacher Ye was worried about the safety the Young Ancestor and the Temple Master.” Xia Xue played with her hair and uttered mischievously.
Ye Zhen has sent them? Xue Qilin stared blankly for a while, and then suddenly smiled wryly.
Little Qing, oh Little Qing, was this also part of your calculations?
No, this is probably just what she hoped for.
“Little Ji, looks like you"re going to die today.” Xue Qilin turned around and looked proudly at Hua Tianji.
She also wasn"t alone. If you weren"t alone, you had the strength to go to the end of the earth.
“…hhha!” Hua Tianji faced upwards and laughed unrestrainedly.
“Senior Xue, you just said that you envy the Heavenly Sword Gate. But in my opinion, the Merak Temple isn"t bad either!”
“I also didn"t expect that these brats would come.”
“Very well. Today, no matter who wins or loses, lets write off the grievances between our two sects. What do you think, Senior Xue?”
“You would like that, wouldn"t you? But…” Xue Qilin glanced at the people of the Heavenly Sword Gate and smiled: “… that"s not a bad idea.”
“Then…” Hua Tianji adopted a stance and pointed at Xue Qilin with his greatsword: “… come! Xue Qilin!”
Xue Qilin grinned, and a strong qi field pressed towards Hua Tianji like billowing waves.
But the other party wasn"t a vegetarian either.
Peng – the qi fields of both parties collided in the middle, and raised a shock wave.
Of the two opposing factions, the Elders of the Heavenly Sword Gate were the first to move. Nine people charged towards Xue Qilin and them from different directions.
Xue Qilin didn"t move. She focused all her attention on Hua Tianji, “… be careful.”
“Don"t look down on me. I am the great-granddaughter of Qi Guiyuan and the daughter of Qi Yixin!” Qi Qiqi smiled confidently, and then jumped up suddenly and confronted Liang Bozhong who had only one arm left. At the same time, she unleashed a ray of sword qi to stop another Elder of the Heavenly Sword Gate. Next, Xia Xue and the others each pined down several Elders of the Heavenly Sword Gate.
Xue Qilin and Hua Tianji were still facing each other.
A protracted battle isn"t favorable for me! I must be quick about it. Xue Qilin knew that although her moves were destructive and varied, but they came at the expense of a large amount of true qi.
Hua Tianji was different. Although his moves were monotonous, but their power was still guaranteed. And most importantly, the consumption of true qi was low.
In terms of the quant.i.ty of true qi they had left, Hua Tianji should have a considerable advantage.
On the other side, the people from the Merak Temple used the cat and mouse tactic to tie the nine Elders from the Heavenly Sword Sect down. They were far from being evenly matched.
She urgently needed an opportunity to win with a single blow.
At this time, Xue Qilin noticed the nine short spears next to Hua Tianji.
Do I try it? Xue Qilin"s eyes constricted. When she was a wizard, her magical accomplishments have exceeded her capability. Due to the limitations of her apt.i.tude, she couldn"t use many spells.
But now that she had half of Qi Guiyuan"s cultivation base, things were different.
The only thing that worried her was whether she could successfully cast spells that she has never tried before. However…
Qi Qiqi had said that her cultivation method was weird and unheard of. She could use the element of surprise to win!
Xue Qilin unconsciously revealed a sly smile. Driven by its master, true qi accelerated explosively, and true qi patterns sprang up on the skin.
Is it coming? Without thinking, Hua Tianji knew that Xue Qilin wanted to make a big move.
I can"t sit still and await my end! Taking a breath, Hua Tianji guided his true qi along the qi pa.s.sageways and poured it into his greatsword.
The greatsword released an incredible light, which was still growing in intensity. In the blink of an eye, the light swallowed the greatsword and turned into a giant light sword.
Then, Hua Tianji sprinted out and dragged the light sword, which left a deep scar on the ground.
Remaining unmoved, Xue Qilin chanted emotionlessly, “Count one to nine, bestow a name…”
The nine short spears rose into the air, turned around, and shot out. They closed in on Hua Tianji from different directions.
“Parlor tricks!” Hua Tianji barked, but then was forced to stop. He waved his sword and flung the first short spear away.
“One, Qian Palace is in the northwest…”
The short spear that was flung away strangely stopped in the air, and then turned and shot towards the northwest, and its tip pierced deep into the earth.
“Two, Dui Palace is in the west…”
The second flung away short spear stabbed a place to the west.
“Three, Li Palace is in the south…”
The third short spear landed in a place to the east.
“Four, Zhen Palace is in the east; five, Xun Palace is in the southeast; six, Kan Palace is in the north; seven, Ken Palace is in the northeast; eight, Kun Palace is in the southwest!”
After the other five short spears were blown away by Hua Tianji, they listened to Xue Qilin"s command, landed in different places, and formed a circle around Hua Tianji with the previous three short spears.
“… eight gates, close!”
In an instant, more than half of her true qi was pulled away from her and injected into the eight short spears. Filled with true qi, the eight short spears emitted dazzling white light, and white lines extended out, connected, and intertwined. In a split second, a huge totem emerged.
Done! Xue Qilin curved the corners of her mouth.
Looking at the complex, octagonal totem underneath his feet, Hua Tianji was very surprised. In the blink of an eye, a word emerged in his mind – bagua [2].
How does she know Taoist [3] moves? Although Hua Tianji had questions, but the instinctive alarms set off in his mind have driven him to stop thinking about them.
I must break through! Hua Tianji waved his sword in order to break out from the northwest direction. But he has just moved, when the short spear in the northwest direction gave off a dazzling light, and a thunderbolt shot towards him from above.
“…!” Hua Tianji turned around in midair and shot in the south direction.
The short spear in the south gave off a radiant glow and erupted with a river of fire.
“Tsk!” Hua Tianji slashed out two sword rays before being able to make the river of fire disintegrate.
Flame tongues scattered, and Hua Tianji returned to his original position.
How queer! Hua Tianji broke out in a cold sweat, and his thoughts revolved lightning fast.
What Xue Qilin used should be a kind of formation. Hua Tianji didn"t know what its role was, but he knew that if he didn"t stay in the center, the short spears all around him will launch various attacks and force him back.
In other words, the other party wanted to trap him inside.
Then, the only thing he could do was to… break out.
Hua Tianji took a deep breath and shouted, and then moved. He constantly changed directions and attempted to break out, but every time, he was forced back.
Even though he failed again and again, yet Hua Tianji who didn"t give up looked very dazzling at this time. Xue Qilin, however, still remained unmoved.
It"s about time!
Although the power of Qimen Dunjia [4] was great, but at the same time, it also consumed a lot of true qi. Xue Qilin has already expended a greater part of her true qi. The remaining true qi was probably only enough for her to launch a full strength attack once again.
“…Hua Tianji, I don"t know if you should die or not, but since she wants you to die, then that"s reason enough.” Xue Qilin lowered her eyes and muttered to herself.
… please avenge me.
Yes, that"s reason enough.
She raised her eyes resolutely. Electric arcs danced and made noise around her, and a short spear floated in front of her eyes.
“… this spear is nine.” Xue Qilin extended her right hand and grasped the short spear. As if drawn to it, electric arcs around her poured into the short spear. Sparks flew about, and Xue Qilin drew one circle in midair after another with the index and middle fingers of her left hand.
As if echoing her movements, one electric ring after another, for a total of 10 rings, appeared in front of her.
She took a step forward with her left foot, turned her hips to the right, drew the hand gripping the short spear backwards, and pointed the spear tip into the air.
… Xue Qilin a.s.sumed a throwing stance.
“Nine is the end!” Along with a fierce shout, the short spear was thrown violently.
The short spear pa.s.sed through the 10 electric rings and erupted with an explosive speed in an instant. Just the shock wave set off by the spear blew down several big trees.
“… hit the target!”
The short spear drew a blue-white stream of light trailing behind it, and electric arcs winding around it smashed everything in its wake. This scene shocked everyone present.
In the blink of an eye, the spear tip has arrived before Hua Tianji"s eyes. Then…
As if a beam of light, the short spear"s bright trajectory was engraved in everyone"s eyes.
It felt like the time has gone still.
Everyone stopped whatever they were doing and focused their attention on Hua Tianji.
Hua Tianji took a step and stooped forward, and then vomited mouthfuls of blood.
As if he was p.r.i.c.ked by 1,000 needles, acute pain was transmitted from the left side of his waist. Hua Tianji took a look. As if he was pierced by a scalding-red iron pillar, the left side of his waist was gone, and the resulting wound was charred by the high temperature.
Even though he has noticed that Xue Qilin"s attack was unusual and tried to avoid it in the nick of time by turning his body, but it still ended like this.
Hua Tianji shook his head and smiled bitterly. With this as the cue, the time that seemed to stop started to flow once more.
“Gate Master!” Hua Tianjin who was falling backwards was held by someone in time. Liang Bozhong"s old face was reflected in his eyes.
“I, I leave you the Gate, Gate Master position.”
Just after he spoke, Hua Tianji had a coughing fit. Liang Bozhong spoke with grief: “Little Ji, don"t talk anymore!”
“Liang Bo… You haven"t called me Little Ji for a long time…” Hua Tianji coughed twice, “Did… you all heard… what I just said?”
The eight Elders of the Heavenly Sword Gate were silent, and just nodded heavily. Their faces expressed an array of emotions – unease, sorrow, but even more so desolation.
“I want to fight them!” Suddenly, a younger Elder who looked like he couldn"t bear it, turned around.
“Stop!” Liang Bozhong snapped, “Have you forgotten the agreement between the Gate Master and the Merak Temple"s Young Ancestor? Do you want to dishonor Gate Master Hua?”
“But…” The Elder still wanted to say something, but in the end, he just threw his greatsword aside and clenched his teeth.
Liang Bozhong handed Hua Tianji to a female Elder, and then stood up and said to Xue Qilin: “Our Gate Master is no longer able to fight. Senior Xue, I presume that you won"t pursue this any further.”
Xue Qilin looked at Hua Tianji who was at his last gasp, and then uttered after a long time: “I will keep my word.”
“Thank you, Senior Xue.” Liang Bozhong thanked her.
Xue Qilin nodded, then turned and looked towards Qi Qiqi and them standing aside and released a long sigh: “Let"s go.”
At this moment, a snow flake fluttered past her eyes.
It was snowing large snowflakes.
Is this joss paper that the heavens are sending Hua Tianji? She looked up at the sky.
… Little Qing, have I avenged your hatred?
At this moment, she felt like a gentle smile appeared in the sky.
[1] – Merak Palace was changed to Merak Temple [2] – Bagua
[3] – Taoism [4] – Qimen Dunjia