Chapter 295: Chapter 295
Right after saying that, Yin Wanderer stepped straight into the void right in front of Yun Xing’s eyes and vanished in an instant. Neither Li Douliang’s Eight Arts of Sea Suppression nor the Eight Trigrams Formation controlled by Old Tian Yuan posed her the slightest obstacle.
Or rather, Li Douliang and Old Tian Yuan had no intention of picking a fight with her here.
With Yin Wanderer gone, Yun Xing finally shook off the dark, oppressive shadow that had been weighing on his heart. He let out a long, heavy breath, feeling that this day ranked among the most dangerous and bewildering moments he had faced his centuries of cultivation.
At least he was still alive.
The Sect Master’s Ziwei Immortal Sword lay right at his feet. It was this very sword that had descended from the heavens earlier and taken command of the Eight Trigrams Formation, saving his life. Looking up at the sky, he could already make out several people flickering into view. They had to be Old Tian Yuan, Li Douliang, and even seniors like Qingming, grandmaster of the highest rank.
Yun Xing took a deep breath and slid the Greedy Wolf Immortal Sword back into its sheath. Even so, his eyes drifted on their own to the corpse of Bisu on the riverbank. This was a senior brother who might once have risen to the position of sect master, and now he was dead. Worse still, he had died in such a humiliating way.
And then there was Li Xun, who had escaped without a trace. That man was wrapped in layer upon layer of mysteries. So far, the only thing Yun Xing could be certain of was this. Because of him, the Mingxin Sword Sect’s spotless reputation, built over tens of thousands of years, was about to face a tremendous ordeal.
At that thought, Ming Ji naturally came to mind.
It was said that Li Xun was the disciple Ming Ji valued most of all. When she learned what’s happened, her heart was going to break in ways none of them could imagine.
The people in the sky were now clearly visible. Just as he had expected, the three sect masters, led by Old Tian Yuan, were descending slowly.
From this alone, it was clear that the Xingji and Mingxin Sword Sects had already reached some kind of agreement. Ming Ji, too, was likely safe. That was a relief. But before long, nobody was going to feel relieved anymore.
His gaze started with Old Tian Yuan Elder, swept across Li Douliang, then lingered for a moment on Qingming before he lowered his head in a respectful bow to the three sect leaders.
He was already thinking about how to explain what had happened in a way that would not upset the current situation while still staying true to the facts. That was never his strong suit.
When he lifted his head again, intending to read the three sect leaders’ expressions, what met his eyes was this strange look blooming across all three faces at once. In that split second, he couldn’t tell what the hell it meant.
ROAR!
A sudden, ear-splitting bellow exploded right in his ears. The shockwave damn near shattering his skull. In the next instant, it ripped through his entire body.
Yun Xing actually froze. By all rights, he should have instantly drawn the Po Jun Immortal Sword, used the Eight Trigrams Formation that still hadn’t fully dissipated to keep whatever the hell this unknown threat was at a safe distance, then sized up the situation before deciding his next move.
However, he was simply too exhausted, and completely off his guard.
The clash with Yin Wanderer had lasted only a few brief exchanges, but it had drained his mind and spirit to a terrifying degree. And now that the three sect masters had appeared together, he did not believe anyone would still dare to make a move. On top of that, he was protected by the Eight Trigrams Formation.
So he merely rested his hand on the hilt of his sword and shifted his body slightly to the side. And this was the last thing he ever did in the world.
Boundless darkness crashed down on him in an instant!
A blood shadow burst up from the river, transforming into a blinding crimson arc that slashed diagonally across the sky.
Along the path of that blood-red rainbow, nothing could stop it. Not even for the briefest fraction of a second.
At that moment, the terrifying power of “Shattering All Laws Under Heaven” was revealed in full. The Eight Trigrams Formation did absolutely nothing to stop it. The crimson arc brushed past Yun Xing’s body, and what remained was only half a corpse. Every last drop of blood already vaporized.
Mountains and rivers shook!
The three great sect masters, Old Tian Yuan, Li Douliang, and Daoist Qingming, struck at the same time. Their combined power nearly overturned half the Star River, unleashing shockwaves strong enough to tear the starry void apart. And yet, that blinding blood-red arc still hung across the sky, continuing to stretch farther and farther away…
Only after several dozen breaths did the crimson arc finally fade and vanish.
Amid the howling rush of the wind, Li Xun came tumbling down from tens of li up in the sky, spinning helplessly as he fell. If the Yin Wanderer had not intervened in time, bleeding off the immense momentum he’d built up during the fall, Li Xun would never have survived. Even so, when he slammed into the sea, he was left dizzy and disoriented.
Struggling to the surface, Li Xun realized that he had not fallen far from the shore. But his body was completely spent. He did not have the slightest strength left and could only drift with the rise and fall of the waves, slowly being carried farther away from the coastline.
Fortunately, he had only drifted a short distance when Yin Wanderer appeared out of thin air. Grabbing Li Xun by the shoulder, she hauled him up and carried him back to shore.
“Where are we?” Li Xun asked, forcing his fingers into a clenched fist. Just that small effort told him how weak his body had become.
Yin Wanderer kept one hand pressed to his shoulder, sending a thin stream of true breath into him as she checked his condition. Se replied, “On the shore of the Northern Sea, not far from the Star River. The Eight Arts of Sea Suppression really do live up to their reputation.”
The abrupt change of subject did not confuse Li Xun at all. If anything, he nodded in agreement. “Just getting grazed was enough to unleash that kind of power. Li Douliang truly deserves his title as the number one grandmaster of the righteous path…”
A mouthful of blood suddenly burst from his lips, splattering all over Yin Wanderer. Yin Wanderer did not even frown. He just smiled. “That blood yours, or the dead guy’s—”
A slap rang out across her face. It not hard enough to really hurt, but plenty to show just how pissed off Li Xun was right then.
“Shut your mouth!” Li Xun snarled the words under his breath, his face twisting into something ugly. Yin Wanderer’s words inevitably dragged his thoughts back to the banks of the Qingcang River. To that split second when the fight had been decided.
There was no question about it. To kill Yun Xing outright in front of the three great sect masters and still escape unscathed would, if word ever got out, make Li Xun famous overnight. His name would shake the world, and he could stand shoulder to shoulder with any top-tier expert without shame. Yet Li Xun never wanted to think about that moment again.
In truth, his memories of it were already blurred.
He only remembered bones shattering under crushing pressure, flesh seared by scorching heat with a sickening hiss, and bloody vapor nearly filling his entire being. Piercing shrieks and hatred so deep it cut to the bone surged and echoed through a cramped, confined space…
Those sensations were not his own.
They belonged to half of Yun Xing’s body, being “digested” inside him.
Yes. That was not a killing.
It was devouring.
Like a wild beast tearing into a mangled prey, ripping flesh apart and swallowing it whole.
Li Xun knew very well that in this world, swallowing people alive was nothing unusual. Some demons and monsters even preferred that sort of thing. Certain demonic cultivators did it too. Take the disciples of the Succubus Sect, for example. They often ate exotic beasts and other living creatures raw to keep their bodies stimulated and brimming with vitality.
But what Li Xun did was nothing like any of those cases. His “devouring” did not involve his mouth at all. Instead, his Blood-Shadow demon body spread out into a vast curtain, wrapped Yun Xing inside it, tore him apart, crushed him, and then digested him.
This was something no normal human could ever do. Li Xun had never felt the “inhuman” side of himself so clearly as he did now. It went far beyond the limits of what he could accept as a human being. His stomach churned, bile surging up his throat until he felt like he was going to puke his guts out.
After taking a slap to the face, Yin Wanderer showed no reaction at all. The true breath she had guided into Li Xun’s body did not waver in the slightest.
Once she finished going through his meridians, she withdrew her hand and knelt on the beach. Smiling at Li Xun, she said, “Even someone at the True One Realm might not be able to achieve what you did today. Given that, what could you possibly be unhappy about? If you ask me, you should be feeling nothing but exhilaration.”
“Exhilarating?” Li Xun badly wanted to slap her again. Turning himself into something barely human, barely a demon, could that really be called exhilarating?
The words rolled around in his throat, then he swallowed them back down.
Yeah, he couldn’t deny it. From bursting up out of the depths of the Qingcang River, ripping Yun Xing to shreds, then turning into a streak of rainbow light and vanishing into the distance… the whole chain of events was soaked in disgusting demonic brutality. Yet it gave him a rush of accomplishment he’d never felt before in his life.
Those two feelings crashed together inside him, twisting into something so tangled and raw that he wanted nothing more than to throw his head back and scream at the top of his lungs just to let it all out.
In the end, though, he only propped himself halfway up and let out a heavy sigh. Then he spread his hands and studied them with a strange look. This was his body, and inside it lurked power beyond belief.
In that moment, he finally understood. The Jade Bixie’s suppression and shaping of his cultivation was still in effect. But when things pushed beyond what he could consciously handle, the immense power sealed within his heart would break free on its own, choosing the most suitable method and producing the best possible outcome.
This went far beyond the boundaries of the three great methods he had cultivated. It was not the Lingxi Art, not NetherYin Qi, and not the Blood God Child. It’s actually a complete, transparent integration of all of them. Guided by a profound and all-connecting heart method.
It was like digging a canal to link three completely separate river systems… No, even that’s not quite right. More accurately, it was as if, with some profound and mysterious method, he had connected three independent worlds. It made them permeate one another, becoming inseparable parts of a single whole.
Of course, this “fusion” was still far from true perfection. Li Xun could still sense the boundaries between them.
He understood what was happening. Using the Blood Shadow Demon Body as the foundation, taking advantage of its greatest trait, its half-illusory, half-substantial nature and its extreme malleability, he had drawn in the Orthodox Lingxi Art and the NetherYin Fire. What truly fused the three into one was none other than the Bone-Meridian Heartlink!