Chang Yuan had no time to ponder what kind of feast awaited them—the Wu Fang elders were closing in, and Er Sheng’s left hand was desperately fighting against her right. Seeing the elders’ approaching figures, she grew more anxious, looking helplessly at Chang Yuan.
Just as Chang Yuan was thinking that regardless of Er Sheng’s state, they should first repel these immortals, he looked up to see Er Sheng’s face undergo several strange transformations before she curled her lips in a smile: “Perfect timing.” The Yi Lin Sword trembled in her hand, blood droplets dancing along its blade as she said coolly, “I wasn’t quite satisfied earlier.”
As she stepped forward, clearly intending to engage the elders in fierce combat, Chang Yuan suddenly grabbed her hand from behind. His eyes showed clear disapproval: “Er Sheng, the more you fight now, the deeper your demonic energy will grow. You shouldn’t indulge like this—try to suppress the demonic qi.”
Er Sheng froze, her eyes flickering between black and red, but ultimately she shook off Chang Yuan’s hand, saying: “Even if I don’t kill them today if I escape, they’ll surely kill me another day.”
Looking at his rejected hand, Chang Yuan stood stunned for a moment before his expression darkened. For the first time, he used force against Er Sheng. He grabbed her firmly, forcefully channeling his divine power into her body while restraining her movements. His face was stern as he said: “Your mind is in chaos—you can’t tell what’s good or bad for you. Today we won’t go to the Nine Nethers, nor will we fight the Wu Fang people…”
“Evil one, don’t think of escaping!” Ji Wu, who had caught up, shouted as he hurled his spiritual weapon, imbued with powerful spiritual energy, toward them.
Er Sheng showed no urgency, neither dodging nor evading. She merely laughed coldly: “Chang Yuan, what difference does it make if I don’t fight them? These people are determined to deal with me.”
Chang Yuan was already agitated by Er Sheng’s attitude when Ji Wu’s sudden attack interrupted their conversation, further stoking his anger. He swept his wide sleeve, violently batting away the incoming weapon. However, Er Sheng seized this moment of distraction to break free from his restraint, raising the Yi Lin Sword and charging straight at Ji Wu.
Even though Er Sheng had fallen to demons, Ji Wu never imagined any disciple would dare raise a blade against him. Her sudden attack shocked him, his face changing dramatically as anger at this affront burned layer upon layer within him: “Truly an evil one!” He finally drew the sword at his waist, which clashed crispy against the Yi Lin Sword.
“The old fellow has some skill.”
Ji Wu trembled with rage. Among his peers, he had worked the hardest in cultivation, but due to poor innate talent, he was the last to achieve his true form, making him appear the oldest of all. Naturally, he was most sensitive about being called old.
“People!” After exchanging moves, both landed firmly on the ground. Er Sheng looked at Ji Wu and giggled, “People are always most afraid of others mentioning what they lack. You had no talent, cultivation was bitter and exhausting, yet you were still the last to achieve true form. Your desire for power is excessive—you always wanted to be Wu Fang’s next Immortal Master, but in my view, your Immortal Master likely has someone else in mind for succession, such as—Shen Zui.”
Hearing this, a flash of killing intent crossed Ji Wu’s features.
“Er Sheng!” Chang Yuan called out sternly. He could tell these words were meant to draw out Ji Wu’s dark thoughts—once cultivators harbored such thoughts, falling to demons wasn’t far behind.
At Chang Yuan’s sharp rebuke, Er Sheng’s expression changed several times. She raised one hand with difficulty to cover her mouth. By now, the other elders had arrived, and the killing intent emanating from them caused the last traces of clarity in Er Sheng’s eyes to vanish.
Chang Yuan’s expression darkened as he leaped forward to grab Er Sheng back, but Ji Wu suddenly intervened, blocking him while shouting: “This one’s power exceeds that demon spawn’s—we cannot let them stay together!”
As soon as he finished speaking, several elders flew over to join in blocking Chang Yuan’s path.
“Get out of my way.” Chang Yuan’s rage exploded, golden light flashing through his black eyes as waves of dragon aura burst forth, shocking the crowd.
Though the Wu Fang elders had cultivated for many years and faced numerous dangers in their lives, while momentarily stunned by Chang Yuan’s power, they quickly recovered. Exchanging glances, they shifted their stances continuously, quickly forming a killing formation to surround Chang Yuan.
While several elders were earnestly engaging Chang Yuan, the others refused to be outdone, exchanging moves with Er Sheng while gradually luring her deeper into the forest, attempting to separate her from Chang Yuan.
Er Sheng followed their lead into the forest, and before long, their figures completely disappeared among the dense trees.
A white light suddenly cut across everyone’s vision, pursuing Er Sheng—Chang Yuan saw clearly that it was Immortal Master Chang Wu! A sense of foreboding suddenly rose in his heart. He wanted to give chase, but these people still stubbornly prevented him from leaving.
Chang Yuan’s gaze swept coldly over the elders’ faces. He had always been reluctant to use full force against mortals, which had led to his defeat by those ritualists before, but this time…
His black hair moved without wind as divine power rose from his feet, wrapping around him as he soared rapidly into the sky. Soon, what appeared to be a true qi-formed black dragon burst from his body. Its roar shook the heavens as the earth trembled, its majestic form coiling around him. With a raise of his hand, powerful divine energy surged forth. Several crisp cracking sounds rang out as the formation the elders had painstakingly created instantly shattered.
Chang Yuan walked slowly, each step causing the earth to quake, causing several elders to lose their balance and fall. As they looked at him in terror, he merely gave Ji Wu a calm look and said: “Talent is heaven-given and can only be focused in one direction, creating absolute skill in a specific area. Diligence is cultivated afterward—everything can be improved through diligence. When one is diligent in all things, that is the way to achieve complete talent. Do not believe Er Sheng’s earlier words.”
Having spoken, he ignored their stunned expressions and headed straight into the forest.
Though Chang Yuan’s pace seemed slow, each step covered ten li. In an instant, he caught up with Chang Wu. The two moved parallel without looking at each other until they reached the field of white cotton flowers, where both stopped short at the sight before them.
Red blood was scattered sparsely across the white cotton flowers, with the broken bodies of several Wu Fang elders strewn among the blooms. Er Sheng stood there holding her sword, covered in fresh blood.
A butterfly rested on her lips as if drinking the blood on her face—a grotesque sight that held a shocking, decadent beauty.
Er Sheng slowly turned her head. As she parted her lips, the butterfly on them was startled away. Her expression was dreamy as if enchanted. One moment she would giggle, saying, “Chang Yuan, look how powerful I’ve become now.” The next moment, she would say hollowly, “I tried to control it, but I ended up digging out the elder’s heart.”
“I think now…” she smiled while bloody tears rolled from her eyes, “…I must have gone mad.”
The wind rose, scattering cotton flowers through the air.
Finally, Er Sheng just stood there alone holding the Yi Lin Sword, repeating over and over: “I must have gone mad.”
Chang Yuan’s heart shook violently. Though Er Sheng stood rigidly before him, he seemed to see her curled up in darkness, crying herself raw. She was calling desperately for help, but no one could help her.
She must have gone mad…
Chang Wu’s hand gripped the Flame-Rising Sword until it turned white. The scene from many years ago when Chang An burned Liu Bo seemed to appear before his eyes again. His heart filled with indescribable grief as he let out a low shout, leaping forward and channeling all his immortal power into the Flame-Rising Sword. The sword blazed brilliantly as it struck down at Er Sheng with thunderous force.
Er Sheng neither dodged nor evaded, remaining still.
However, when the Flame-Rising Sword was just a chi from Er Sheng’s head, a turbid barrier suddenly shot out from her heart, somehow managing to block Chang Wu’s full-force strike.
The sword’s light and barrier fought intensely, creating dazzling friction.
The Immortal Master was prepared to die together with Er Sheng if necessary to strike her down with his sword. He had even mobilized his internal energy, but who could have imagined Er Sheng’s power would be so overwhelming? The barrier didn’t budge an inch, instead forcing him to cough up a mouthful of fresh blood.
The Immortal Master had cultivated for many years, and his blood contained purifying power. This mouthful of blood immediately weakened the barrier significantly. Seeing his chance, the Immortal Master disregarded the damage to his vital energy and forcefully channeled more immortal power into the Flame-Rising Sword, making it blaze even brighter.
With a “slash,” the turbid barrier broke.
The Flame-Rising Sword continued its momentum, cutting into Er Sheng’s shoulder…