The night air was as heavy as dark ink, and the mountain wind was piercingly cold, feeling like invisible blades cutting through. The old trees in the forest bowed their gnarled branches, and the grass rustled as if in fear of some unspeakable presence. The moonlight was as pale as white silk, eroded into fragments by the churning dark clouds at the edge of the sky, dimly spilling onto the rugged stone mountain path and reflecting a few traces of undried blood, which shimmered with a dark luster under the moonlight.
The tree shadows lay low like dancing ghosts, their withered branches knocking against each other in the wind, making crisp sounds like breaking bones. The wind howled past with dust and sand, bringing moisture from the distant deep pool, interweaving with the smell of blood permeating the air into a nauseating scent. Occasionally, a few withered leaves spiraled into the pool, stirring slight ripples before being immediately swallowed by the bottomless darkness.
A sliver of the cold moon suddenly pierced through the broken clouds like a heavenly eye opening, illuminating the disheveled figures of several people lying on the ground. Zhuo Huan slumped against the base of a rock, his Daoist robes in tatters, his breath flickering, and his face as ashen as one long ill. Not far away, Diao Zeyi knelt on one knee, his fingers sunk deep into a wound on his chest, his gasping breath raspy like an old bellows, the venom in his eyes almost solidifying.
At the very front of the forest, Xiang'er crouched on the ground, her once clean clothes stained with dust and blood. Her face was as grey as frost, her lips trembled incessantly, and her breath was so weak it was barely audible. The spirit power around her receded like a tide, and even lifting a fingertip made her tremble as if she were bearing a weight of a thousand pounds.
Xiang'er's cultivation had completely dissipated, no longer possessing the Foundation Establishment Stage power from before. Her forced use of techniques to resist the enemy had damaged her foundation; at this moment, she was not even at Qi Refinement Level 5. If someone were to strike now to take her life, it would be extremely easy.
The mountain wind suddenly swirled, and withered leaves danced like a crowd of demons. Suddenly, a low, cold laugh came from behind a rock, raspy like the cry of a night owl, "Reckless, do you dare to hold on with your last breath?"
Diao Sandai dragged his broken body and stood up staggering, his robes torn and his face covered in crisscrossing bloody scars, yet he still forced a sinister smile. With every step he took, he left deep blood prints on the ground, strikingly vivid under the moonlight. He raised his hand to form a hand seal, and a spirit flame erupted between his fingers, transforming into a ball of crimson fire. The fireball continuously flickered with flames, casting shifting shadows on the surrounding trees and making Xiang'er's pale face look like a ghost's.
"This is the end, I'll take your life first!"
The fireball howled out, bringing a scorching air wave. Before it even reached her, the withered leaves on the ground scorched into ash, and the surface of the rocks actually glowed with a crimson luster.
Just at the moment,
"Qiang!"
A crisp sharp sound like cracking ice or shattering jade cut through the night sky.
An emerald light shadow streaked across the sky like a flowing rainbow from the nine heavens, steadily blocking the way in front of Xiang'er. The fireball collided with the sword blade, booming and exploding into thousands of sparks, the splashing embers dotting the night like day.
Lin Dalu stood behind the light shadow. He still bore deep blood scars on his chest, his lapels torn to shreds, but his gaze was as bright as a torch, burning with an unyielding flame in the night.
Just a moment ago, Lin Dalu saw Xiang'er collapsed on the ground, and his heart suddenly tightened. As if guided by destiny, he glimpsed an ancient sword with a vine handle stuck diagonally in the ground ahead. The sword was the Green Vine Sword, its patterns writhing like a living thing, and it unexpectedly created a mysterious resonance with him. Without time for second thoughts, he reached out to grasp the hilt, feeling a warm current surge from his palm into his entire body. The Green Vine Sword trembled slightly in his hand, its hum like a sob, as if resisting something, yet he still pulled it out with all his might. The moment the sword emerged, emerald light surged, illuminating his determined profile.
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"If you want to hurt her, step over me first!" Lin Dalu held the sword across his chest, his voice sounding like the clashing of metal and stone.
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Diao Sandai's eyes were filled with rage like a wild beast, and he let out a low growl, "A Mortal? Humph, how dare you block a Dao Cultivator, you seek death!" He had already cast the Iron Law of the Cultivation World to the back of his mind. As his palms flipped, flames surged out like a tide. The scorching spirit flames warped the air, and the rubble on the ground even began to melt.
Lin Dalu did not retreat but advanced, treading the Seven-Star Step and executing the Seven-Path Ornate Sword in one breath. Sword shadows whistled like a downpour, each style secretly aligning with the supreme principles of heaven and earth: Plum Blooms Five Blessings aimed directly at the throat, Orchid Breathes Hidden Fragrance slashed at the feet, Bamboo Sways Pure Shadow swept across the waist. Amidst the whistling wind of his fists, the Eight-Path Long Fist was used in combination, the Stone-Splitting Strike, Mountain-Cleaving Strike, and Current-Severing Strike styles following in succession. The surging energy sounded like a dragon's roar, kicking up dust from the ground and forming small whirlwinds.
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Diao Sandai retreated three steps hurriedly, the flames forced to scatter by the sword light. He roared repeatedly, his figure flashing like a ghost, and three streaks of dark light suddenly shot from his sleeve. Although Lin Dalu had no spirit power, he used his mortal body and exquisite martial arts to clash head-on with the cultivator, using both fists and sword to force the opponent back repeatedly. A strike of Chrysanthemum Proud of Autumn Frost stabbed directly at the heart, forcing Diao Sandai to pivot in panic, the sword blade grazing his ribs and bringing a trail of blood droplets.
Seeing Lin Dalu holding his own Green Vine Sword, Diao Zeyi wanted to use a technique to call it back, but to no avail. The flying sword seemed to be held captive, emitting a low hum and not daring to act out, which greatly puzzled Diao Zeyi.
The rock wall trembled violently, and rubble fell like rain. In the wind, the firelight, sword light, and dust interwoven into brilliant light and shadows, illuminating the night forest as if sparks had fallen to the mortal world. Their figures shifted rapidly amidst the interplay of light and dark, and every collision erupted with blinding sparks.
"Duo," Diao Sandai suddenly gave a great shout, the flames in his palms suddenly growing three times stronger. He leaped thirty feet, dodging a fatal sword strike, and instantly flashed behind Lin Dalu, the spirit light on his fingertips surging like the rising sun. A fireball compressed to the extreme suddenly took shape, its scorching high temperature igniting the surrounding air, aimed straight at Lin Dalu's back!
"Die!"
Boom!
The fireball shot out, the flames howling as they tore through the night sky. Just at the moment the firelight reached his body,
The lapels on Lin Dalu's chest suddenly moved without wind, and a circle of golden light flew out from within. The light ring was extremely ancient, its seal script flowing like the movement of a galaxy, and the "Fu" character reflected in the center erupted with light comparable to a scorching sun.
The fireball crashed into the light ring, and the world shook!
The giant noise was like a thunderclap from the nine heavens, and the air wave was like a raging sea tide, spreading in all directions. All the old trees within a sixty-foot radius were snapped in half, and the ground cracked with deep fissures like a spider web.
Diao Sandai let out a miserable scream and was sent flying a hundred and eighty feet away, slamming heavily into a mountain rock. A human-shaped indentation immediately appeared on the rock surface, and dark blood overflowed from his mouth, reflecting a strange shimmer under the moonlight before he fell unconscious.
"He, he has cultivation..." Before he could finish his sentence, he fainted.
Only the smell of scorching and scattered spirit power remained in the air, mixed with a faint scent of blood.
Lin Dalu knelt on one knee, his chest heaving like a war drum, and the Green Vine Sword in his hand was still trembling slightly. The luster of the sword blade flickered, as if in fear of some unknown existence.
Not far away, Diao Zeyi's pupils shrank, and he murmured, "A Defensive Array? This boy possesses an array for body protection?" He calculated with his fingertips, his face growing increasingly dark.
Zhuo Huan slowly opened his eyes, and seeing the terrifying scene of Lin Dalu blasting Diao Sandai away, his heart tightened, and his back was instantly drenched in cold sweat.
"This person, could it be he is not of mortal birth?" he thought to himself, cold sweat pouring down. If that light had fallen on his Qi Refinement Level 6 body, he feared not even a shred of him would remain; this thought made him so terrified he could barely breathe.
The mountain wind rose again, swirling away the thick scent of blood, but it could not take away the killing intent permeating the air.
Ignoring his injuries and fatigue, Lin Dalu stumbled and rushed toward Xiang'er. The rubble under his feet splashed as he stepped on it, tracing messy paths under the moonlight.
"Xiang'er!" He picked up Xiang'er in his arms, only to feel the person in his embrace was as light as willow down, her once heart-refreshing fragrance now barely perceptible, and her skin as cold as jade. Upon closer inspection, her face had aged, with a hint of dark azure Qi appearing like ink-stained plain silk; her hair had entirely turned to frost and snow, and her eyes were filled with an indelible exhaustion.
"What happened to you? Why have you become like this?" Lin Dalu's voice trembled, his fingertips lightly touching the fine lines at the corners of Xiang'er's eyes, each line feeling like a knife carving into his heart.
Xiang'er's eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings, and her lips moved like a silkworm spitting silk.
"I'm sorry, Lu Lang. I had to accelerate the nourishment of the Sacred Relic, borrowing its Qi to increase my cultivation to fight these people, but unfortunately my spirit power is exhausted. Looking like this, I fear I will disappoint you." Her voice was extremely faint, yet it felt like a cold winter wind brushing over a heart lake, freezing all hope.
Lin Dalu's chest felt a pang of bitterness, and he said hoarsely, "How could I be disappointed? It's all my incompetence! If I hadn't been trapped, why would you need to exhaust all your spirit power? Xiang'er, blame me, it's all because I held you back." Tears fell uncontrollably, hitting her withered hand and blooming into small water marks.
Xiang'er shook her head slightly, her smile as bitter as coptis. The smile was extremely light, yet it was like a remnant flower in the wind, about to fall into the mud in an instant.
"Don't blame yourself. If this is karma, then it is destiny. As long as you can live, I will be at peace."
Before she could finish her sentence, she had a fit of coughing, and a thin trail of blood flowed from her lips, bearing a strange shimmer and splashing onto Lin Dalu's lapels in dots. The light flickered slightly like a firefly before fading, as if it were the last embers of life.
Lin Dalu's mind was thrown into chaos, and he called out repeatedly, "Xiang'er! Xiang'er, wake up! Don't scare me!" His frantic calls, however, could only watch helplessly as her breath grew weaker and weaker.
The mountain forest returned to a dead silence, with only the sound of the wind like sobbing.
The moonlight reflected on Xiang'er's profile; her once clear and beautiful face was now like evening mist shrouded in smoke, and time had carved traces of vicissitudes in an instant. In the distance, the pool water shimmered with a faint phosphorescence, as if countless shadows were silently watching this human tragedy.
The wind blew through the grass, sounding like low weeping. A few withered leaves spiraled down onto Xiang'er's frost-like hair, like a funeral crown placed on her by heaven and earth.
Lin Dalu held Xiang'er tightly, his figure reflecting lonely under the cold moonlight. Amidst the flying dust, the embers of the firelight were still drifting in the air like remnant shadows of meteors, scattering beside the two of them. He looked up at the sky, red light flickering in his eyes like a volcano about to erupt, and murmured in a low voice, "If the heavens have a soul, I am willing to use my mortal body to exchange for her safety." Every word carried heartache and tears, drifting away in the night wind.
The night wind swirled from the valley, lifting the tattered corners of Lin Dalu's clothes and also causing the Green Vine Sword to tremble slightly. The sword's hum was like a low sob, as if it had spirit awareness and was hesitant to speak; the vine patterns on the hilt actually writhed like living things, as if responding to something.
The moon shadows slanted, and the stars were silent. The thick clouds in the sky closed again, swallowing the last sliver of moonlight completely.
On this night, above the windy forest, the scent of blood dissipated, leaving only that one heartbroken, pained call:
"Xiang'er!"
There was no response in the silence.
——(To be continued)