Chapter 241: Melee
By the time the trio finally breached the summit of Tianqiong Peak, the scene before them was one of utter devastation. More than half of the martial artists gathered in the courtyard had already been drained dry, their bodies slumped lifelessly across the cold stone. At the center of the carnage stood Li Sushang. She was completely unconscious, yet guttural, feral roars continued to tear from her throat as wild energy spiraled violently around her.
"Senior Brother, it has been a long time. I trust you have been well?"
Su Mei stood a short distance away, a faint, chilling smile curling at the corners of her mouth. She looked entirely unbothered by the chaos unfolding around her, her posture relaxed and confident.
Rovel did not waste a single breath on pleasantries. He raised his hand, gathering a concentrated blast of energy, and fired it straight at her chest. Su Mei merely swayed, her movements fluid and ghost-like, dodging the lethal strike with infuriating ease.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Cheng Lingshuang darted forward, pulling the rampaging Li Sushang into her arms. She stared intently at the agonizing state of the young girl, her knuckles turning white as her fists involuntarily clenched. The surrounding temperature plummeted rapidly. Cheng Lingshuang was furious.
"After all these years, is this truly how Senior Brother greets me?" Su Mei placed a hand over her heart, feigning a look of deep, theatrical hurt.
"The five elements generate each other, nurturing through the seasons!" Rovel ignored her mockery. He raised his hand high, unleashing the Liangyi Immortal Art. A massive surge of dual-polarity force tore through the air, striking directly toward Su Mei.
However, the attack felt hollow. Almost all the ambient True Qi in the area had already been violently absorbed by Li Sushang's out-of-control state. This vacuum weakened Rovel's power significantly, forcing him to rely purely on the raw, physical force of his body to deliver the blow.
Before the strike could even reach its target, several martial artists rushed out from the shadows, their eyes glassy and unfocused. They threw their bodies directly into the path of the attack, acting as living meat shields to block the strike for Su Mei. The moment they fell, the remaining True Qi within their shattered bodies was mercilessly sucked into the vortex surrounding Li Sushang.
"What exactly are you trying to do?!" Rovel demanded, his jaw locking as a rare surge of genuine emotion stirred within his chest.
"To let Master truly gain freedom, of course!" Su Mei spread her arms wide, her voice ringing with fanatical devotion. "No longer bound by that wretched rule that the demonized must be executed. I will tear down her pedestal. I will turn the Red Kite Immortal from an unfeeling deity back into a living, breathing human!"
She lowered her arms, her gaze locking onto Rovel with piercing intensity. "Senior Brother, after learning of your miraculous resurrection, I knew I could no longer achieve my original vision."
"Originally, I wanted to obtain the method of true longevity through the Divine Elixir. I wanted to stay by Master's side forever, watching over her."
"But I know that as long as Senior Brother is here, I cannot survive. You would never allow it."
"So... I changed my approach slightly. Right now, I am wholeheartedly working for Master's sake."
The smile on Su Mei's face twisted, becoming increasingly seductive and deeply eerie.
"As long as Master dies just one more time, her Sword Heart will completely shatter. Then, she will no longer need to follow that suffocating voice in her heart to be the flawless Immortal who protects Shenzhou. She will finally live as a human!"
Su Mei paused, tilting her head as if suddenly remembering a trivial detail. "Oh, right. Senior Brother, you still do not know what unique abilities my Wushuang Sword possesses, do you?"
She drew her blade, its surface gleaming with a sinister, hypnotic light. "My Wushuang Sword can amplify certain emotions of the enemies around me. Just like Junior Sister Lingshuang's simmering anger and her desperate determination to protect little Sushang right now... and of course, Master's absolute conviction that the demonized must be executed!"
"During the Master-slaying incident, it was also I who used the Wushuang Sword to amplify the hidden emotions of the others. That is the only reason they ever dared to act against her."
"Senior Sister Chaoyu's fierce determination to protect her junior sisters, Junior Sister Wanxi's desperate desire to protect her own sister, Junior Sister Wanru's overwhelming fear of death..."
Su Mei dropped the bombshell with a casual flick of her wrist.
Seeing the absolute fury contorting Rovel's expression, the smile on her face grew even wider, stretching into a look of pure, unadulterated triumph.
"There is still some time before Master arrives. For now... let us see what Junior Sister Lingshuang will do."
"Ah!!!" A feral shriek ripped through the air as Li Sushang suddenly broke free. She snatched up the heavy Xuanyuan Sword, its blade cleaving through the wind as she slashed violently toward Cheng Lingshuang.
Though Cheng Lingshuang was practically vibrating with anger, she found herself completely helpless. She could not bring herself to strike down her own disciple. Forced onto the back foot, she could only temporarily engage in a defensive battle, parrying the wild, erratic swings.
Meanwhile, Rovel pushed off the ground, charging directly toward Su Mei with murderous intent.
However, countless mind-controlled experts moved at that exact moment, forming a dense human wall that completely blocked Rovel's path.
In this specific environment, those who stored their True Qi internally within their dantian held a massive advantage over Rovel, who relied on drawing it from the world around him. Because of Li Sushang's rampant absorption, there was absolutely no ambient True Qi left in the surroundings for Rovel to use.
Clearly, every single detail of this battlefield was perfectly within Su Mei's calculations.
"Remember, Taixu Sword Qi can plunder True Qi from others, so you must not use your own True Qi recklessly," Su Mei reminded her human shields from the safety of the rear, her voice dripping with mock concern.
Looking at the sea of hostile faces surrounding him, Rovel exhaled slowly. He raised his hands, settling into a flawless martial stance. The air around him grew heavy.
Even without a single drop of True Qi, he could still slaughter these puppets using pure, unadulterated martial arts.
Taixu Sword Intent, activate.
In Rovel's eyes, the chaotic battlefield instantly slowed to a crawl. The falling dust, the swinging blades, the shifting footwork of his enemies, everything became perfectly readable.
He moved like a phantom. Every punch he threw shattered ribs; every palm strike he delivered crushed organs, effortlessly taking the life of an enemy with absolute, lethal precision.
On the other side of the courtyard, the demonized Li Sushang was attacking Cheng Lingshuang with frantic, suicidal ferocity, forcing the fifth disciple to retreat step by step.
Although Cheng Lingshuang usually maintained a facade of cold indifference, she simply could not bring herself to strike the girl hard enough to incapacitate her. Every parry was measured, every dodge calculated to avoid harming the rampaging youth.
also, she knew she had to subdue Li Sushang before Red Kite arrived; otherwise, the situation would spiral into an irreversible tragedy.
But the very thing she feared most came to pass. A blinding flash of light erupted at the summit of Tianqiong Peak. Red Kite appeared, her descent silent but heavy with an oppressive, suffocating pressure. Her current demeanor was highly abnormal, her eyes devoid of their usual calm clarity.
The twin swords resting on her back were glowing faintly with a sinister hue. It was undeniably clear that Red Kite was already being heavily affected by the insidious influence of the Wushuang Sword.
Without a single word of hesitation, Red Kite locked onto the corrupted aura of Li Sushang and struck. The power behind this descending blow was terrifying, carrying the full weight of an Immortal's judgment. If Li Sushang were hit, she would undoubtedly be erased from existence on the spot.
Cheng Lingshuang gritted her teeth. Having no other choice, she forcefully circulated her energy and unleashed Eminence, throwing herself into the path of the strike to block the lethal blow meant for Li Sushang.
The impact shook the very foundations of the peak. However, before Cheng Lingshuang could even breathe a sigh of relief, a sickening sound of tearing flesh echoed through the air. Blood dripped onto the stone tiles as a massive, jagged sword wound suddenly opened across Cheng Lingshuang's back.
She stumbled forward, her eyes wide with shock. This was the first time Cheng Lingshuang had ever been genuinely injured in combat, and the blade that struck her belonged to her own beloved disciple.
"Lingshuang!" Rovel's eyes nearly split with sheer rage, his usually calm demeanor shattering as a violent surge of emotion threatened to consume him.
"Hey, Otto! Help restrict Sushang!" Rovel hurriedly shouted over his shoulder, his fists coated in the blood of the puppets he was tearing through.
Otto let out a soft, weary sigh. He raised his hand, and a small, ornate golden cross materialized in his palm.
Immediately, the Oath of Judah activated. The small cross shot out several glowing, ethereal chains that whipped through the air, tightly binding Li Sushang's limbs and pinning her securely to the ground.
"The True Qi in my current body will not last long, so I suggest you hurry up," Otto called out, his voice strained. It was not that the Overseer did not want to help, but rather that his current vessel was simply too weak to sustain such high-level suppression for long.
Although Cheng Lingshuang was bleeding heavily from the treacherous wound, her constitution was monstrous. It was not a major hindrance to her combat ability. Seeing Li Sushang finally restrained by the golden chains, she wiped the blood from her chin and shifted her full, undivided focus toward fighting Red Kite.
Rovel also wasted no time. He kicked off the ground, shattering the stone beneath his boots as he charged toward Su Mei at an even more terrifying speed, leaving a trail of broken bodies in his wake.
Seeing the incoming threat, Su Mei calmly formed a complex sword seal with her fingers. The Wushuang Sword vibrated violently before splitting into two identical, glowing blades that hovered high in the sky.
One blade positioned itself directly above Red Kite, while the other locked onto Cheng Lingshuang. The insidious emotional amplification intensified tenfold.
The battle between the master and disciple became increasingly fierce, their strikes growing heavier and more desperate as their emotions fell completely under Su Mei's twisted control.
The air crackled with devastating energy as the ultimate techniques of Shenzhou were called forth.
"Taixu Sword Qi: God Accumulation!"
"Fenghuang Down: Zeroth Power, release!"
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