Chapter 57
A human pushed the very edge of despair held boundless potential. Seeing the ancient demon’s attack about to hit home, Di Jiufeng was filled with a sudden burst of energy. She struggled to her feet on stiff limbs.
She staggered out of Shen City at a run. Though her spiritual energy still could not circulate properly, she gritted her teeth and drew Hong Shang.
The grand demon’s cultivation was extremely high. When its boundless reserves of demonic energy swept past her cheek, a few bloody scratches were left behind. Surrounded by this demonic energy, Di Jiufeng felt as if all the bones in her body were about to break. She was unable to open her eyes before this wind, gravel striking her face so hard it could nearly pierce through to the bone.
Di Jiufeng struggled to turn around and press her back tightly to Shen City.
She forced her arm to raise Hong Shang. Even this small movement took so much effort that her breath grew heavy enough to nearly pierce her eardrums.
She knew that she could not stop this grand demon, but what did she care? She did not have long to live. It would be best if she could help Ning Guang escape and later find a way to return and feed her a Reincarnation Pill.
Di Jiufeng was not afraid. Clenching her teeth, she raised Hong Shang over her head.
Because she was fighting against so large a force, she clenched her teeth so hard her jaw began to hurt. Her face twisted into a sinister expression, and even her arms began to tremble violently. But she did not retreat. Her eyes were closed, but tears scraped from her by the force of the wind still soaked into the hair at her temples, soaring out together with her sword.
A streak of red light tore open the demonic energy covering the entire sky. Piercing light fell from above, instantly blinding Ning Guang.
Her retinas burned, tears pouring down, blood-shot veins engulfing her eyes.
Ning Guang let out a heart-wrenching scream. “A-Feng!”
She reached forwards, but only managed to grab a wisp of red light. The spiritual energy was as warm and soft as Di Jiufeng’s hand, nimbly slipping between her fingers.
Missed by a centimeter, might as well have been a thousand miles. Ning Guang had only missed by an inch, but she could only watch as Di Jiufeng leaped into the demon’s soul.
She wilted to the ground. The power of the strike shook her consciousness loose as Di Jiufeng slipped from her body.
Ning Guang was frozen for a breath or two, or perhaps a whole incense stick’s time, her mind a blank. She was not thinking about anything, and her heart did not hurt, it was all just a bit empty, like everything had disappeared along with that wisp of red light, like her entire soul had scattered. She sprawled on the ground, her head raised woodenly, unshed tears still gleaming in her long and narrow eyes. But slowly, even that gleaming liquid disappeared.
The heavens and earth shined into Ning Guang’s eyes, but nothing showed in reflection. That pair of dark eyes looked very tranquil, but the surging currents beneath the surface showed a hint of sharp teeth.
She slowly crawled to her feet, moving so sluggishly the grand demon didn’t even bother to finish her.
The grand demon looked at its chest. The black smoke there had thinned quite a lot, it was the wound that little insect had just created.
It hurt a little bit, but after careful inspection, it did not sense anything wrong. That little insect might have been sent flying or it might have passed through, either way, it had disappeared. The grand demon looked down at its chest for a while, then slowly looked back up. It might have been an illusion, but its movements seemed to be a bit slower than before.
As an elephant, it was too easy to crush a little insect. It was a bit bored.
It looked at Ning Guang for a while, but in the end, turned away, disinterested.
The grand demon had already laid down the battle flags, and Ning Guang had paused as well. She seemed to have given up, but in the next second, all the ghostly energy in the lost treasure lands surged towards her!
A mass of grey smoke gathered behind Ning Guang, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws. As more and more ghostly energy gathered, a face and limbs began to form in that grey smoke. It was an enormous resentful ghost, tearing pitch-black rifts in space as it twisted and turned.
A giant tree’s roots are secure, and it managed to stay standing straight and tall even under the grand demon’s onslaught.
But after Ning Guang’s ghostly energy swept towards the grand demon, she herself slowly collapsed and the giant tree shattered into smoke with a puff, even the ground beneath its feet disappeared without a trace.
Such an earth-shattering power managed to stop the grand demon in its path as it tore through space.
The soul trembled. It snuck a glance back as its body tilted forwards, preparing to run. But before it could take a single step, Ning Guang disappeared entirely, and in the next second, a pale and slender hand pierced through the soul’s head.
The ancient witch’s ghostly form appeared, and as Ning Guang disappeared, it roared and swallowed down the soul. Within a couple of bites, that tyrannical ancient demon disappeared down to the last limb.
The ghostly form smacked its lips, still not quite satisfied, then slowly retreated to Ning Guang’s side, preparing to suck down more ghostly energy.
But the instant it opened its mouth, it let out an earthshaking belch. With this expulsion of air, the grand demon it had just swallowed was thrown back up in quick succession.
Tears streamed from the ghostly form’s eyes and it curled piteously into a ball, but it still refused to give up, staring and staring at the shattered pieces of the grand demon. Though it had been thrown up, it was still edible, it wasn’t picky. You couldn’t find such a good demonic soul anytime you wanted, it would be a shame to waste it.
The ghostly form opened its mouth and stretched out its tongue, trying to lick the demonic soul back up with its round and plump tongue.
But before it could succeed, Ning Guang slapped it on the head.
Stunned by this slap, the demonic form’s mouth snapped shut, nearly biting off its own tongue. It was suffering, but not only did its master not comfort it, she even hit it so hard! The ghostly form felt wronged, and couldn’t resist letting out a grumble.
Ning Guang paid no mind to this assistant. She looked away in annoyance, and fixed her gaze on the broken pieces of the grand demon.
Only a brief time had passed, but there was only a small piece left of the grand demon’s soul. In its place was a Di Jiufeng sitting cross-legged on the ground. Her eyes were closed, half her body hidden behind black fog, half her body shrouded by white light.
Her expression was pained, slender brows twisted together like lovers loathe to part, three deep creases in the center of her forehead, cold sweat falling in streams.
She was awake and aware, but she was unable to open her eyes.
The pain of being torn apart and sewn back together again flowed from her soul wave after wave, continuous and unbroken, making groans of pain grind their way out from between her teeth, a suffering so intense it made Ning Guang’s arm break out in goosebumps in sympathy.
She trembled, fell half to her knees, and embraced Di Jiufeng tight.
“A-Feng, A-Feng, what’s wrong?!” Pressing her hand to her back, she used the ghostly form to draw out the demonic energy in her body.
Ning Guang thought she had just been infected with demonic energy in the battle, but only after going deep into her body did she discover that the black fog circling outside her body was only the tip of the iceberg. Inside Di Jiufeng’s body, the demonic energy had even condensed into matter. There were ropes of demonic energy knotted around her soul, more intricate than the roots of a hundred-year-old tree, implanted deep within half her soul.
Ning Guang attempted to peel away the demonic energy, but before she even used any force, Di Jiufeng shuddered in pain.
The cold sweat on her forehead dripped even faster, her lips deathly pale without a hint of red.
Seeing Di Jiufeng unable to even make a sound, Ning Guang hurriedly stopped. She held the person in front of her tight, calling her name again and again.
But Di Jiufeng did not reply. She had not even heard Ning Guang’s voice. All her concentration was focused on her own soul, shaken by that sense of being watched, all the hair on her body standing up in fright.
Who could it be? Who could be watching her so closely? That burning and greedy gaze made her feel as if she was sitting on pins and needles.
Di Jiufeng carefully investigated her soul, but every corner she checked held no signs of a surveillance spell. Her body was very normal, except for these interlocking chains of demonic energy.
Di Jiufeng did another careful search, but ended up empty-handed once again. She finally gave up and opened her eyes to look at Ning Guang.
Di Jiufeng wanted to comfort her disciple. She curled the corner of her lip in a smile and forced her expression to soften, but before she could speak, her gaze froze––
Demonic energy and spiritual energy were equal opponents. Neither could cross the line, and each occupied their own souls. They looked as if they cohabited in harmony, but the border where they connected was endless turbulence and eruption, a few last wisps of smoke tangled together, reluctant to separate.
They were very peaceful, like they would stay in this quiet equilibrium forever.
But the moment Di Jiufeng opened her mouth, a furious roar with the force of a thousand-pound lightning strike pierced through the air, along with a giant dragon of spiritual energy exploding by Di Jiufeng’s ear.
The giant dragon exploded, and at the same time, Di Jiufeng died!
She was affected by this explosion of spiritual energy, or perhaps it was another reason, either way, in the instant the spiritual energy exploded, the demonic energy inside her twisted apart her soul. She didn’t even have the chance to feel pain before she passed away.
[T/N: 香消玉殒, ‘disappearance of fragrance and perishing of jade’, a beauty’s death.]
The words she wanted to say hovered in her mouth, but all collapsed before Ning Guang’s eyes as her body lost its support.
She was frozen in shock. On reflex, she took a few steps, but she was unable to get there in time.
“It really is the ancient witch! Come with me, before the ancient witch reaches her full power, kill her!” The one who spoke was the man who had just released that giant dragon of spiritual energy, some righteous master from who-knows-where, his chin held high, a sanctimonious expression on his face.
With the shock of his voice, Ning Guang finally came to her senses.
Her whole body was as cold as if she had just been dragged out of an icehouse, her fingers shaking, nearly unable to hold on to that Reincarnation Pill.
Even knowing Di Jiufeng had another chance at life, Ning Guang’s tightly-stretched heart did not loosen a bit––
Was the Reincarnation Pill real? Would it work? Would Di Jiufeng wake? Would she turn into a living corpse? Even if she really woke, would she be the same person? Would she forget her? Would she really come to like a black-hearted monster again?
The more tense she was, the more she was unable to control her wild speculations.
Question after question mercilessly burrowed their way out to occupy Ning Guang’s mind, wildly tugging at her nerves. Ning Guang’s head ached so much she was unable to think. Even her heartbeat lost control, crashing at her throat, making her want to throw up.
Cold sweat seeped from her pores, drying her out, her tongue dry and numb. She couldn’t speak. Her entire person gripped by terror, she even started to see double.
Notes
Chapter title: Deceased, Cultivation Scattered [didn’t put it at the top because it’s such a spoiler haha]