Chapter 56: Waving in the Wind
The air above the lost treasure lands was oppressive, a rot-scented wind blowing all signs of life to dust. The Buddhist cultivator grabbed Ning Guang, but in the next second, Ning Guang had thrown her back a couple of steps.
“What, trying to fight?”
Ning Guang’s eyes were cold, entirely unconcealed impatience showing through her tightly clenched fists. In these short two breaths’ time, her internal scale had already moved from ‘let her go’ to ‘capture her and have her keep Sui Ying company’.
Cold and gloomy grey mist spread undetected to the cultivator’s feet, throwing itself at her in an inescapable net.
But in the second the jaws of death were about to close, the cultivator suddenly spoke. “Please don’t be suspicious, I, I don’t mean anything by it, I just discovered some demonic energy in your body.”
[T/N: Reminder, this is different from the ‘ghostly energy’ which is Ning Guang’s normal cultivation method.]
Ning Guang paused, and the grey mist retreated like the falling tide. “There’s demonic energy in my body?” She did not refute it immediately, but slowly walked closer, furrowed her brows, and said, “You mean I’ve cultivated the demonic path?”
The Buddhist cultivator shook her head. “No, you have not cultivated the demonic path. You picked up this demonic energy from someone else. Have you had close contact with anyone recently?”
Ning Guang did not reply, but rubbed her fingertips pensively.
Then, she shook her head and said, “The human and demon races never got along, how could I have had contact with a demonic cultivator? What, is there something wrong with this demonic energy? Could you have been mistaken?”
The Buddhist cultivator also grew a bit unsure. She raised a finger and sent the ball of golden light collected on her fingertip into Ning Guang’s body. This was a spirit-cleansing spell, no kind of demonic energy could escape its sight.
The golden light orbited Ning Guang twice, then slowly returned to the Buddhist cultivator’s side.
It was very clean except for a bit of ghostly energy, no abnormalities at all. The Buddhist cultivator stared for a while, then said, a bit hesitant, “Could I really have seen wrong? But, but…”
“Alright, is there anything else?” Ning Guang interrupted her.
“No, nothing.”
Ning Guang turned and walked away, gone within a few steps.
This time, the Buddhist cultivator did not chase after her. She stood for a while, perplexed, staring at her own fingertip in doubt. “How could it be? Identifying demonic energy is the first thing we learn after joining the sect, how could I get it wrong? Maybe the lost treasure lands are causing some interference?”
Leaving the Buddhist cultivator to her confusion, as soon as she stepped outside of her line of sight, Ning Guang walked into Shen City.
When she walked in, Di Jiufeng was standing underneath a cotton tree, the eternally-blooming crimson flowers complementing her vibrant robes, a sudden bewitching sight. Di Jiufeng had heard everything. Thinking about it carefully, other than her, the only people Ning Guang had come in contact with recently were the array spirit and lingering desire.
[T/N: Literally “the crimson flowers tangled together with her vibrant robes”.]
Then where did this demonic energy come from? Who out of them could it have been?
Ning Guang met her eyes. Seemingly having guessed what she was thinking, she said steadily, “A-Feng, don’t think about it so much, do you remember what that array spirit said? A descendant of Chi You took away the key. That place was a morgue, very cramped and narrow, it wouldn’t be strange if demonic energy lingered for thousands of years without dissipating. I probably picked up the demonic energy in my body there.”
The more Ning Guang tried to hide it, the more Di Jiufeng thought it strange. She was already sure that this demonic energy came from her, but she was not a demonic cultivator, why would there be demonic energy inside her?
Di Jiufeng kept thinking that she had missed something, some fatal thing which could pierce straight through to the bottom of her heart.
But what could it be? She could not think of anything, so she could only trace back her tracks bit by bit.
A raging blaze burned in the fog, boiling the thick mist into smoke, spiraling away into the atmosphere. The blurry and unclear world finally showed its true form, light piercing down from high above, finally allowing the ferocious beasts hiding in the darkness to bare their fangs.
Di Jiufeng thought she had seen something, but at that moment, Shen City swayed, and then flew off into the distance under no one’s control. She staggered because of the sudden shaking, thrown backwards by inertia and forced to grab onto the tree behind her.
“Ning Guang…”
“It wasn’t me.”
She shook her head and looked out with Di Jiufeng, but other than the grey smoke rapidly sweeping by, nothing could be seen. Di Jiufeng sensed that something was wrong. She poured all her spiritual energy into Shen City, but though it slowed their movement, it did nothing to halt their overall momentum.
Shen City continued to slowly yet resolutely sweep off into the distance.
“Ning Guang, is there anything you can do?” After trying for a while, Di Jiufeng felt her own efforts were in vain, so she turned to look at Ning Guang.
Ning Guang pressed on her Shifu’s hand, still having the heart to run her nails across her palm at this moment.
Di Jiufeng’s face went red, even her heart beginning to tremble. “What are you fooling around for?” Seemingly annoyed, yet not, seemingly angry, yet not. Not only was there no force to be found in the slight upward tilt of her eyes, there was even an indescribable hint of allure.
With a single glance, Ning Guang felt her heart was beating so hard it was about to jump out of her chest. “A-Feng…”
Her voice was hoarse yet suppressed, but soon after, she forced it back down with a deep inhale. The time was not right, the place was not right either. Here and now, she could only push that surging agitation back with all her strength. “Don’t worry. Just now, I saw that the ghostly energy outside is of the same origin as me. If I am not wrong, some remnant left by the witch tribe has probably sensed my power and is calling me there.”
Di Jiufeng nodded. Seeing her confident visage, she slowly retracted the spiritual energy in her hand.
Pulled by the grey smoke, Shen City unswervingly sped off in one direction. After about a stick of incense’s time, it finally slowed to a stop. The grey smoke enveloping them was blown away by the wind, their field of view clearing in a second to reveal a field covered with white bones, nearly piled into a mountain. At the very tip of the mountain of bones stood a pitch-black skeleton, skull-tipped staff in hand.
“This is… a demon?” A pitch-black skeleton and a depression in the forehead, these were the signs of an extraordinarily powerful demon cultivator. A person like this should stand at the very top even in the demonic realm, why would one die in this place?
Di Jiufeng looked at the demonic cultivator’s bones and said, a bit unsure, “Ning Guang, there do not seem to be any traces of the witch tribe here.”
Ning Guang swept her gaze over their surroundings, then sent a wisp of grey smoke out from Shen City. It was as thin as a strand of hair, but it was very tenacious, piercing through Shen City, through the cold wind, before floating leisurely to the mountain of white bones, then exploding open with a bang.
Ning Guang furrowed her brow, moved back two steps, then said in disgust, “Deceased soul refusing to scatter.” As she spoke, the entirety of Shen City shook fiercely, eternal cotton flowers fluttering down to carpet the ground.
Di Jiufeng swayed a bit, her legs unsteady, and right afterwards, she saw a transparent soul dart out from that demonic cultivator’s skull.
The soul was black all the way through, its features already unclear, leaving only a pair of bottomless black eyes flashing with a terrible gloom. After Ning Guang shocked it awake, it threw itself out from the skull, five fingers in a claw, slashing towards Shen City.
It was like it could see this spatial spiritual treasure. No matter how Di Jiufeng tried to dodge, its attacks followed like the shadow after the shape.
After all, it was an ancient grand demon. No matter how sturdy Shen City was, the space still started to ripple after a few of its attacks.
The grand demon roared, a sound loud enough to deafen, the resulting quavers making even one’s mind go blurry. “Come out! Any who disturb my peace shall die!” With this, it once again lifted its claws up into the air.
This strike alone was already fierce. Roiling demonic energy gathered in its palms, surging amounts of power raising up mad swirls of cold wind, sand and stones flying in all directions, an enormous whirlpool of demonic energy tearing a rupture in midair!
If this strike hit true, Di Jiufeng didn’t need to wonder, Shen City and they two would definitely perish under its claws.
At such a moment of crisis, she had no time to think. She bit down on her lower lip, and began to form a hand seal with her fingers.
––Di Jiufeng wanted to merge into the axis of space and leave this place. But, she never thought that this ancient grand demon’s cultivation could be so high that the surrounding five kilometers of space were all sealed shut, time itself even beginning to drag. Di Jiufeng clenched her teeth, cold sweat seeping from her forehead. As that claw grew closer and closer, the pressure grew so much that even her breaths could not escape her chest.
All the blood drained from her face in a split second, her brow creased into a resolute arc like she was planning to burn her bridges behind her.
Di Jiufeng suddenly gathered up her spirit, planning to meld it with Shen City. Spiritual devices inhabited by a spirit were always much stronger than spiritual devices without. Perhaps they would have a chance of escaping from this grand demon. But before she could do it, Ning Guang pushed her aside and jumped out.
Interrupted midway through a spell, Di Jiufeng’s entire body immediately grew numb. She collapsed to the ground, unable to regain her senses for a long time. She could only look on and watch as Ning Guang jumped out, bloodshot veins appearing in her staring eyes!
“S-stop…” Even her tongue was numb, choking her lungs full of words in her throat, rendering them unable to be spoken.
Ning Guang was only at Nascent Soul Grand Completion. Even with her demonic cultivation, she could only count as Late-stage Deity Transformation, how could she hold up against a powerful cultivator at the very peak?! This wasn’t bravery, she was just looking for death!
Di Jiufeng knew that the only reason Ning Guang would go looking for death was so that she could escape with her life.
This knowledge made her entire heart clench into a knot, her lungs twisting, as painful as if her organs were being burned by fire. She wanted to cry. She couldn’t keep the tears from rolling out of her eyes, dripping along the hair at her temples to disappear into the dust, blurring her sight.
In a haze, Di Jiufeng saw Ning Guang raise her sword to meet the attack. After only a single strike, her blade shattered into pieces. After a pause, Ning Guang suddenly flew backwards.
She spat blood in pain.
Scarlet splatters of blood feel to the ground, some spilling onto her face, scalding-hot and heavy, rendering her unable to speak. She could only lie on the ground, her whole strength spent in trembling, clenching her fists.
Di Jiufeng began to cry, her mouth opening in soundless sobs.
She was like a little beast, curled up in a ball in despair in a world of ice and snow, trembling in heart-rending helplessness from head to toe.