Estranged Chapter 48

Published at 1st of September 2021 08:31:23 PM

Changming threw two puppets that rushed at Yun Hai in two white rays.

The other slightly moved his sword, and the puppets were cut into halves.

These insignificant skills could only be used to entertain and fool the public, but were nothing in the face of real strength.

Changming did not hope to block Yun Hai’s way with these two puppets either. He only wanted to use this moment to retreat swiftly.

The Chunzhao Sword struck!

Its light was as quick as a falling star, and swift like a thunderbolt. As Changming was retreating under the pressure, it almost reached his hair.

Just as the tip of his white hair was burning with the sword qi, Changming formed a sword technique with his fingers, and the Sifei Sword appeared!

It was not that Changming had never fought against Yun Hai; but he had no spiritual powers before, so he could only fall to the ground and be slaughtered, as the other party was just playing with him like a cat with a mouse. Now that Yun Hai was obsessed, and Changming had absorbed part of the Sifei Sword’s spiritual powers, barely recovering his previous level up to fifty or sixty percent, it could be called a real battle.

But his chances in this battle were still low.

There was no doubt that Yun Weisi was the most talented and accomplished disciple out of those four.

If it was not for the tragic event of that year, he might have surpassed his teacher by now.

Yun Weisi had been cultivating in the Nine Layers of the Abyss for several decades. Although Yun Hai appeared eventually, and his memories were mostly lost, that did not damage his powers. After Yun Hai became obsessed, his seven emotions were cast aside, nothing could stop him, and he could even use all of Yun Weisi’s power. No matter whether his way was obstructed by the Sifei Sword or Jiufang Changming, nothing could obstruct his heart. On meeting a man, he would slay the man; on meeting a Buddha, he would slay the Buddha.

His attack left no room to escape, and he was even more insane than the merciless and unfeeling Yun Weisi.

Since he was not holding back at all, even if Changming fought with all his might, he still would not be able to defeat him.

Even more, if Changming made the slightest mistake, he would lose his life.

“[The sword gathers every spirit, the teaching returning to the divine principle; the rest suffers the great calamity, the beginning had yin and yang, go!]”

As the sword art was used, the night breeze suddenly flourished. The Sifei Sword split into seven, and the swords faced Yun Hai, blocking his way.

Changming used this opportunity to fly far away and gave orders from there.

Yun Hai brandished his sword without even thinking!

But, unexpectedly, his powerful spiritual powers bounced back, ricocheting from the sword barrier.

This formation was slightly more exquisite than the formation that trapped Fang Suihan, although they were similar in essence.

There were only seven swords.

Seven is an odd number, and neither Daoist, nor Buddhist sects attached hidden meanings to it.

But there was an ancient saying: “In its first stroke, seven is the principle of yang” [1].

Fang Suihan was out of breath. He was looking at the seven sword lights cast by Changming nearby, and was fascinated by it.

Suddenly, someone squeezed his shoulder. His heart almost jumped out from his mouth, and he nearly dropped dead.

“Why is the whole Jianxue Clan slaughtered, and only you are fine?” Xu Jingxian said.

Fang Suihan rolled his eyes angrily, and returned to her the same question: “Why is the whole Jianxue Clan slaughtered, and only you are fine?”

Xu Jingxian smiled coldly: “Peak Master Fang, under current circumstances, when the clan master has disappeared, and only we are left together, I advise you to let old matters go and cooperate genuinely.”

Although Fang Suihan usually quarreled with her about every point, he could not deny that her words now were not meaningless. But he still did not trust her.

“The Jianxue Clan was so big, but no one survived? I thought that something happened with Guanhai Peak… And the clan master?”

“The clan master is nowhere to be seen. By the time I arrived, everyone else,” Xu Jingxian’s voice sounded quite grim. “Was already dead.”

Fang Suihan: “Who did it?”

Xu Jingxian: “The Wanjian Immortal Clan’s master, Jiang Li, and perhaps the Wanlian Buddhist Temple.”

Fang Suihan flinched. He knew that many were dissatisfied with their Demonic sect, but he had never heard about any kind of deep friendly feeling between the Wanjian Immortal Clan and the Wanlian Buddhist Temple, so why would they suddenly work together? They were two opposing big sects that had been standing firmly for several centuries.

They had existed for so many generations that no one could tell where the origins of the Wanjian Immortal Clan had stemmed from.

And even more so for the Wanlian Buddhist Temple that had existed since the times the first Buddhist sects were established. During the former dynasty, they took turns ruling over the imperial court with the Qingyun School, were regarded as honorable emperor advisors, and enjoyed glory. After the former dynasty collapsed and the land was divided into three countries, Wanlian Buddhist Temple became You’s state religion, and the Qingyun School was invited by Luo’s monarch.

And so, having both secular political influence and a high cultivation level in Jianghu, if they wanted to defeat the Jianxue Clan, it goes without saying that they could do it.

But—

“Why?” Fang Suihan remained puzzled after much pondering. “Did the clan master rape Jiang Li’s daughter, or did he kill the parents of some old bald donkey of the Wanlian Buddhist Temple?”

“I don’t know. Maybe their target wasn’t the clan master.”

Xu Jingxian was distracted by watching Changming. She noticed that they were locked in a fierce stalemate, and it was hard to tell the victor right now.

Certainly, Yun Hai’s strength was terrifying, but Changming’s spiritual powers were slowly recovering, and the Sifei Sword was supporting him, so for now he could withstand it.

And if he can’t… Xu Jingxian thought about her current cultivation level, then thought about her thin silk which had been rendered completely useless, and could not help sighing with sorrow.

If dashixiong Yun was a bit more gullible, she would have grabbed his thigh. But whom should she choose now?

“If not the clan master, then was it the clan itself?”

Fang Suihan was still standing nearby, asking her boring questions without end.

Xu Jingxian was distracted from watching the battle, so she was impatient: “I’m going to find the clan master with Shifu, you decide what to do yourself!”

Fang Suihan: “When did you get a shifu?”

Xu Jingxian: “Out of those two who are fighting up there, one is the clan master’s shifu, and the other is the clan master’s dashixiong. The honorable clan master’s shifu saved me in the Nine Layers of the Abyss many times; it was like finding a new parent, and he is like my father now, so I decided to—”

Just as she said this, Changming flew to the side like a kite with a broken string right in front of their eyes, hitting against a peak. Yun Hai’s powerful spiritual powers cut off a small piece of the top of the peak.

Changming fell to the ground, his life or death unknown, but Yun Hai did not intend to let him go, and continued chasing him.

Xu Jingxian: …

Did she recognize him as her shifu a bit too early?

Changming knew that Yun Hai really wanted him dead.

Yun Hai’s actions used to be inconsistent, but he stayed with them through the Nine Layers of the Abyss, so Changming inevitably lowered his guard.

He did not expect an Eight Trigrams Sword Formation to make him obsessed ahead of time tonight.

And this possessed Yun Hai, who did not recognise anyone, was way more ruthless than the Yun Weisi who was following the Heartless Dao.

An excruciating pain pierced Changming’s chest, and he could not even see clearly.

He wanted to vomit blood, but endured.

A violent gale blew on his face, reaching him in a split second, and Changming used a sword technique again, making the Sifei Sword block in front of him and getting on his feet.

The Sifei Sword split into seven again, and the sword formation surrounded Yun Hai.

The Guizhou donkey has exhausted its tricks, so it’s playing the same old one again. Yun Hai did not attach importance to it and raised his sleeve to attack the formation he had already figured out.

The Guizhou donkey has exhausted its tricks: nothing much left up in the sleeves. The fable: http://www.china.org.cn/learning_chinese/2005-10/28/content_1145587.htm

But this time it unexpectedly did not crack.

Yun Hai raised his eyebrows.

The seven swords were spinning around him, and a white talisman started glowing lightly, forming circles around Yun Hai and suppressing him.

The talisman was infused with spiritual powers and trapped people inside, shrinking, finally forcing the opponent to lose strength.

Yun Hai lowered his head and looked under his feet.

Unexpectedly, there was another formation with layers of complex talismans.

It turned out that Changming made him come here to fall into this formation. Yun Hai laughed wildly, suddenly stopped, leaped up with overwhelming force, and the Chunzhao Sword flew above his head, bursting into blinding flames. The talismans under his feet cracked, unable to withstand the pressure of his strong spiritual power.

Changming’s expression changed slightly.

The Sifei Sword’s spiritual power was boundless, but his body could not bear too much now. Like a sky-high wave crashing against a dam, it could rebel against him. Yun Hai was about to break free from the sword formation’s talisman, but Changming was unable to absorb more spiritual powers from the Sifei Sword to maintain the sword formation.

Blood was slowly dripping from his mouth and nose, and his hair was dancing fiercely in the wind; the snow-white color seemed to climb up higher.

“You are still not good enough.”

Yun Hai stepped towards him from the light, sneering with contempt.

“All these useless things, like demands and worries, will make you die a graveless death.”

Changming closed his eyes and said nothing as the other party picked him up by his neck, leaving him completely at Yun Hai’s mercy.

Yun Hai was not in a hurry to kill him. On the contrary, he pulled Changming closer, lowered his head to sniff his collarbone. The ice-cold tip of his nose touched Changming’s warm skin, making him shiver.

This fragrant smell was the taste of Changming’s soul.

Demons were not allowed into the world because eating souls was the easiest way for them to raise their cultivation level.

Instead of cultivating painstakingly, it was much better to seize souls, especially the spiritual powers of cultivators, and use them to advance.

Yun Hai raised his head. Black and red colors were flickering through his eyes, as if they were waves of light. He was deciding whether he should start now or not.

Changming, maintaining his composure, moved his finger behind his back, forming a sword technique silently.

Boom!

The light flourished suddenly and exploded, covering the battlefield, and even Xu Jingxian and Fang Suihan could not see them clearly.

Xu Jingxian stood abruptly, watching down there from the cliff, yet she could see nothing but the white light.

After all, should I go or should I not?

Would she turn into a fish in the moat immediately as she approached them?

A fish in the moat: when the town gates are on fire, the fish in the moat suffer: innocent people get hurt (people take water from the pond to quench the fire, and the fish die)

Even if Xu Jingxian’s cultivation had improved, she was still lacking self-confidence, let alone the courage to oppose the clan master’s shixiong.

Since even the clan master’s shifu was not a match for him, she would be of no use, right?

Fang Suihan stubbornly continued to make noise.

“Won’t you go there and check? He has turned obsessed. If you don’t want to go, let’s get out of here quickly. Stop poking your nose into others’ business, or we’ll end up dead here!”

It was not that he did not want to run, but the bones in his legs were all broken, so he had no strength.

“Shut up!”

Xu Jingxian said resolutely, turned towards him, restrained him, tore a piece of his sleeve off, and stuffed it into his mouth.

The world turned silent and calm at once.

Fang Suihan: …

Not waiting for Xu Jingxian to come, the light slowly dissipated.

Yun Hai went out, holding Changming.

It was not the expected draw with both sides wounded, rather Changming…

Xu Jingxian’s heart skipped a beat.

His hair was half-white, scattered all around, and whether he was alive could not be seen clearly since his face was hidden in Yun Hai’s embrace.

And Yun Hai—

He was all covered in bloodstains, but his insane red eyes had changed back.

Xu Jingxian probed: “Daoyou Yun?”

Yun Hai did not answer, but did not give off the impression of being a stranger to her either.

“Bring all the spiritual herbs and pills from the Jianxue Clan here.”

“Our clan master has many treasures, I will go find them!”

In fact, Xu Jingxian also had treasures, since each cultivator, who was even a little bit talented, collected pills and spiritual grasses these years, but she thought that the clan master’s things were definitely better. Actually, she was poor, and she did not want to show her incompetence anymore.

“Ah, right, this person is the Jianxue Clan’s Guanhai Peak’s Master Fang. He is good at refining pills. If you want anything, just ask him.”

Now she is addressing him politely as well

She sold out Fang Suihan easily.

Fang Suihan could not even move, and his mouth was stuffed, so he could only groan non-stop. It was unknown whether he agreed or disagreed.

Xu Jingxian helped him translate his words: “Our Peak Master Fang adores having guests, and he is extremely grateful for you saving his life. If I remember correctly, he has a box of Xiangyang Pills. It was refined with as much care as possible for several decades, and it has great effects on wounded people. I’m sure that he is willing to bring it out.”

Fang Suihan: …

Yun Hai said nothing and went inside the building with Changming in his arms. It looked like Fang Suihan’s alchemy room was temporarily taken from him.

“Daoyou Yun!”

He turned his head to look at Xu Jingxian.

Xu Jingxian said: “Changming, hum, is the clan master’s shifu fine?”

In truth, she was a little afraid of Yun Hai now because of his deep murderous intent and the strong pressure he had been emitting up until now, and she felt as if he could turn against her any moment.

The red was still flashing through his eyes in winding streams, as if blood was dripping from the corners of his eyes, which was beautiful yet frightening.

“Your eyes are bleeding.”

“It’s not my blood, it’s his,” Yun Hai wiped it off, “He is not in grave danger.”

He said nothing more and entered the room, holding Changming.

Not in grave danger. In other words, wounded heavily.

Xu Jingxian wanted to say more, but the alchemy room doors were already closed.

She and the silenced Fang Suihan looked at each other helplessly.

“Where are your Xiangyang Pills?” Xu Jingxian asked.

Fang Suihan: …

He did not answer, but his eyes said, I won’t tell you even if I die.

“If you don’t tell me, I’ll find it myself. Anyways, you can’t even move now, and everyone on your Guanhai Peak is dead, so you won’t be able to stop me. When I find something, I will just take it as I please. Don’t blame me for disregarding our co-sect feelings!” Xu Jingxian grinned maliciously. She had long since coveted Fang Suihan’s possessions, and if she was not afraid of him scheming against her, she would have already attacked him, not even trying fair means before resorting to force.

Fang Suihan was so angered that his eyes almost fell from the eye sockets. He groaned twice, expressing his strong will to start a conversation.

“I can let you speak, but if you start blabbering that nonsense, I will use the situation. Just wait till I beat you up!”

Xu Jingxian warned him first, and then removed the silencing technique from him.

Fang Suihan blurted out: “Don’t even think about using the Xiangyang Pills!”

Xu Jingxian looked at him as if he was an idiot: “The clan master’s shifu’s wounds need to be treated, and you don’t want to give the medicine?”

Fang Suihan was gnashing his teeth, fuming with rage. If not for her loose tongue, would these people even know about the existence of the Xiangyang Pills?

Since he started cultivating, he had used up all his efforts, rising early in the morning and sleeping late, to finally refine those thirty six Xiangyang Pills. Originally, he wanted to use them to break through in a moment of need.

Xu Jingxian could roughly guess his thoughts. She sneered: “With your cultivation level, you won’t be able to get near me even in eight hundred years. This time, everything in the Jianxue Clan has changed. If it wasn’t for the clan master’s shifu and dashixiong, we would have had no chance to get revenge. Use your head and consider your options carefully! If we hadn’t arrived in time, even your bones would have disappeared! You would have been in the nether world already, and even if you had your Xiangyang pills, you could do nothing but cry!”

Fang Suihan was silent for a moment: “Come with me!”

He could not stand on his legs now, and needed Xu Jingxian’s support. Yet Xu Jingxian did not carry him on her back, but gave him a princess carry, making him so angry he could hardly refrain from cursing.

Fortunately, he endured.

They never got along, and he knew for sure that if he started cursing, Xu Jingxian could directly throw him down the peak.

Wherever they went, they saw no one alive in the Jianxue Clan. Those who had already died now had no spiritual powers sustaining them, so they started to putrefy.

Back then, after Changming broke the skull, the puppets outside started falling one after another. Now, except for Changming and Yun Hai, there were only two living people in the Jianxue Clan.

Xu Jingxian had already seen it, so she was not surprised, but Fang Suihan would have never imagined the Jianxue Clan turning like this, and was greatly shocked.

“I haven’t been here for three years. Did anything happen outside?” She asked Fang Suihan.

Fang Suihan shook his head vacantly: “I don’t know either…”

He was obsessed with alchemy, and frequently entered two-weeks retreats in his alchemy room. He did not even care about new maids, whether they were pretty or ugly.

“I went out once, and heard them say something about the Zhenling Clan and the Twenty Four Mountain Slopes’s Yuan family being exterminated over two nights, and the murderer nowhere to be found. But I was in a rush to go back to alchemy, so I didn’t ask… Stop, let me down.”

Fang Suihan pointed to a well in front of them.

“I hid the Xiangyang Pills there together with some other random medicines. Bring them all here.”

Xu Jingxian: “Me?”

Fang Suihan was amused: “Who else, me? How am I supposed to go down there when I’m like this?”

After some time, he found out how he was supposed to go down.

Fang Suihan was picked up and thrown down the well.

Chapter end