When Jiu Hui called herself a female yao, Bu Ting was stunned at first, but then he understood that she was deliberately mocking him for accusing Immortal Lord Fuguang of being moved emotionally in the past.
His master, Mu Qi, and the sect masters of the other nine sects, their deaths had become meaningless, even becoming a death knell for the impending catastrophe.
He was wrong, they were wrong, but Mu Qi was innocent, and the people of the world were innocent.
He hated himself, hated that he had chosen to persist on a wrong path, a path of no return.
He hated fate even more. The lives of hundreds of people in the Jiufang family and the lives of countless creatures in the world were nothing more than a “test question” in its eyes.
He should have died that desperate night, just like the rest of the Jiufang family. If he had, Mu Qi would never have met him, and none of this would have happened.
His life was nothing but a foolish and pathetic joke.
As another bolt of heavenly lightning struck, Bu Ting looked up at it, let go of the Cosmos Sword in his hand, closed his eyes, and calmly awaited the lightning’s arrival.
He waited for a moment, but the heavenly thunder did not descend. He opened his eyes and saw Jiu Hui, who had returned to shield him.
“Ugh!” Jiu Hui pointed at the Cosmos Sword on the ground. “If you wanted to die, couldn’t you have waited a little longer? We need all hands on deck right now. Can’t you be a little more perceptive?”
She had temporarily lifted the seal on him so that he could serve as a beast of burden, not so that he could seek death and oblivion.
“You’re right.” Bu Ting looked up at the sky, his eyes deep and distant. “I can’t die yet, at least not now.”
“Cosmos Sword!“carpreads.pages.dev
The sword flew back into Bu Ting’s hand. He flew forward and swept away countless thunderclouds with a single sword strike, protecting the several flying boats carrying the people of Manxiang City.
“Heaven-Slaying Sword!”
Meanwhile, Qiu Hua attacked from afar, sweeping away the other half of the thunderclouds.
The cultivators were awestruck by the two earth-shattering swords.
One sword could determine heaven and earth, the other could cut through heaven and earth, they were the most stunning and brilliant sword cultivators in the cultivation world.
Each of them guarded one side, but they hated each other and were unwilling to look at each other.
“You just talked to that old fart,” Fuguang approached Jiu Hui gloomily, wearing a mask on his face and exuding grievance all over his body.
“Do you want to know what I said to him?” Jiu Hui pinched her hands together, and countless protective incantations spread through the sky, blocking the sudden downpour.
No, it wasn’t a rainstorm.
Rain, snow, and hail fell from the sky, mercilessly pounding the earth. Crops and vegetation were battered, and animals let out cries of pain.
“Dahuang!” A child lying by the window on the flying boat carrying the people of Tianhe City, pointing at a yellow dog running on the ground and saying to the other children beside him, “That’s my Dahuang!”
The child was young and didn’t know that it was impossible to catch up with the flying boat with the puppy’s four legs. He only knew that he didn’t have to be separated from Dahuang.
Dahuang, who was being watched by several children, suddenly jumped into the turbulent river and rescued two dogs, three pigs, and two sheep that had fallen into the water. Amidst the children’s exclamations, it ran through the wind, snow, and hail to save other animals.
“Wow, your Dahuang is so powerful!”
“Look, there’s a flying squirrel!” A child exclaimed by another window, “That squirrel saved two people who fell off the flying boat. Mother, do squirrels know how to fly?”
The pregnant woman sitting next to the child protected her belly, her eyes falling on the squirrel that was desperately trying to keep its balance in the wind and snow, its tiny paws tightly gripping the person. “Squirrels can’t fly. This is a… very powerful squirrel yao.”
In the stories of the human world, yaos often appeared as ruthless and cruel. They were good at confusing people’s minds and tempting humans to make mistakes, so people always talked about yaos with fear.
“There are big black and white fish in the clouds, and there are many people on their backs!”
The pregnant woman looked at the dark clouds and was shocked by the giant whales with black backs and white bellies flying in the clouds.
The cry of a whale came from the clouds. The whales were arranged in a neat line from top to bottom. The whale at the top blocked the hail falling from the sky, and the whales carrying people below were arranged in a neat line. From a distance, it looked like a tall building interwoven with black and white.
“They’re killer whale yaos…” The cultivators watched as the whale at the top was smashed until its flesh and skin rolled, and its blood dripped, their hearts trembling.
“Useless fat-headed fish.” Prime Minister Wu poked his head out from the clouds, blocking the whale at the top. The hailstones hit its turtle shell, making a crackling sound. “At a critical moment like this, your Grandpa Wu has to take action!”
“It’s you?!” Jin Ge looked up for a long time before finally recognizing that this hawksbill turtle was the useless turtle that he had flicked away with his tail hundreds of years ago.
“It’s me, your grandpa!” Prime Minister Wu blinked and suddenly grew several times larger, completely covering the group of fat-headed fish below. “Little brats, let me show you how powerful your grandpa is!”
The icy, hard hailstones fell on the turtle shell like tickles, doing no harm to Prime Minister Wu. While blocking the hailstones for the whales, he chattered on and on about his glorious achievements over the years.
What was it like to be respected by all cultivators and adored by countless children?
Jin Ge: “…”
Back then, he must have kicked this turtle like a ball because he was too annoyed by it. How could there be such a braggart turtle in the world!
The people on the flying boats gradually calmed down as they watched the people who had been saved by the whales. The turtle was acting as an umbrella for the whale, and the largest whale was acting as an umbrella for the whales below. It was a ridiculous sight, but no one could laugh at that moment.
They only made such a ridiculous move for the sake of those people on the fish’s back.
A flying boat approached the whales, and everyone saw the whale at the top sing. The fish sent the people on their backs to the flying boats, then jumped and disappeared into the clouds in a line.
“Mother, where are these fat fishie going?”
“I don’t know, but you have to remember, they’re not called fat fish, they’re called killer whales.”
After the hailstorm, another violent storm followed like a raging dragon. Fuguang Mountain became the eye of the storm. The Fuguang Palace, engraved with countless protective formations, wailed in the gale.
Click.
The sound of the first shattered glazed tile reached Jiu Hui’s ears. She turned her head and watched as the entire Fuguang Palace was engulfed in a howling gale.
The palace that had imprisoned Fuguang for 506 years had vanished in a catastrophe that could have destroyed the heavens and the earth.
All the cultivators spontaneously stood in front of the flying boats, using their bodies as boundaries to support a barrier for the ordinary people behind them.
Veils of different colors rose into the sky, and all the cultivators watched as Fuguang Palace gradually disappeared, eventually dissipating into the gale.
“Fuguang Palace is gone, you are free.” Jiu Hui stood shoulder to shoulder with Fuguang, her tone gentle. “Just now, I told Bu Ting that I was the female yao who moved your heart.”
She pinched a complicated magic technique with both hands, and the Nushen Whip instantly stretched out for dozens of miles long. The whip emitted a faint green light, erecting a high wall for the flying boats.
“Protect!” As the magic formula was completed, a faint green pattern appeared on Jiu Hui’s forehead. She looked into the distance and whispered, “All ten Immortal Cauldrons have been shattered.”
“You’ve got it wrong.” Fuguang placed his hand over Jiu Hui’s. “I was the one who moved your heart.”
A steady stream of spiritual energy surged into Jiu Hui’s body, and the Nushen Whip, which had already stretched for dozens of miles, extended and grew longer once more. The long whip formed a circle, protecting all the flying boats within the circle of light woven by the whip.
How could a Nascent Soul cultivator possibly have such abilities?
But no one asked, and no one questioned. Everyone used their utmost abilities, only hoping to block the strong winds that could destroy everything.
The most secure and stable Fuguang Palace in the world was just a fragile thatched hut in the gale. Could they possibly withstand the howling storm?
No one knew, but they couldn’t retreat, and there was no way out.
“Jiu Hui, I’ll give you a hand.” Nan Feng flew to Jiu Hui’s side and channeled his spiritual energy into the Nushen Whip.
The Nushen Whip, which originally only had a green light wall, now had an extra layer of light blue light on the outside.
Qiu Hua placed her hand on the Nushen Whip and looked at the mountains and rivers below her feet. She smiled faintly. Mu Qi was willing to die to protect the mortal world, so how could she just watch it be destroyed?
Outside the blue light layer, there was an additional tall, red spirit wall.
More and more spiritual power, relying on the circle formed by the Nushen Whip, erected layers of barriers.
Countless spiritual powers formed the most beautiful wall in the world. The people protected by countless layers of spiritual walls couldn’t help but stand up and look at the cultivators who opened their arms and weaved high walls.
The gale was approaching, sounding like a roaring beast, tearing through layers and layers of barriers as if they were dry twigs.
Countless cultivators fell to the ground, coughing up blood. Pairs of arms reached out and caught them as they fell.
Layer after layer of the spiritual wall vanished. Before the furious gale of the divine spirit, the spiritual energy woven by the cultivators was as fragile as thin paper, offering no resistance.
The pitch-black sky seemed to be trying to swallow everything in the world.
“Are you scared?” Jiu Hui asked Fuguang.
Fuguang shook his head. “I have you.”
One hundred layers, fifty layers, twenty layers, ten layers…
The barrier grew thinner and thinner, and even the Nushen Whip began to tremble in the gale.
“Crack…”
The mask on Fuguang’s face cracked. Nan Feng, who was struggling to hold on, looked at this familiar face, his mind went blank.
“Shhh!” Jiu Hui raised a finger at him, and the moment the gale approached them, she took out a new white jade mask and put it on Fuguang’s face.
“The barrier won’t hold!” Qiu Hua’s face was pale. She bit her fingertip and drew a protective spell on the barrier with her heart’s blood.
“You’re courting death!” Bu Ting said expressionlessly as he stepped forward to stop her. “Even if we have to use our lifespans as a catalyst, it’s not your turn.”
He used the Cosmos Sword to cut his wrist, and the bright red blood dripped onto the barrier. The fifth layer of the barrier, which had been on the verge of collapse, instantly became extremely sturdy.
“With my life, the formation is complete!” As he made his vow, Bu Ting’s raven-black hair instantly turned as white as silver snow. He stood with his back to the crowd, facing the incomparably powerful gale.
If it meant trading one life for the safety of many, then that was the best choice, even if that person was himself.
However, the seemingly sturdy barrier only lasted a moment longer. The moment he fell, his heart was filled with an unprecedented sense of peace.
“Caught him, caught him!”
Countless hands reached out to catch him. Some were old and rough, some were strong and powerful, and some were still tender, but each hand was warm.
He opened his eyes with great difficulty, seeing unfamiliar and ordinary faces, as well as Nan Feng falling from the clouds. He moved his fingertips with difficulty in the direction of Nan Feng’s fall, then fell into boundless darkness.
-—–
“It’s just the two of us left.” The hairpins and jade ornaments on Jiu Hui’s head had been blown away by the gale, and her ink-black hair danced wildly in the air. She looked back at the densely packed flying boats behind her and raised her head to the sky. “Above fate is the Heavenly Dao*. Fate is unjust, and I refuse to accept it!”
TN: new readers not familiar with xianxia, the Heavenly Dao is the ultimate order and operating laws of the world, the BOSS
The gale seemed to pause for a moment before it grew even stronger, as if it wanted to swallow Jiu Hui into its eye right away.
“The heavens have their rules, and the mortal realm has its own!” Jiu Hui said in a loud voice. “If all of this is a test from the heavens for the mortal realm, why would the gods descend to the mortal realm, resurrect the dead evil yaos, and attempt to use the Fire Feather to release the evil yao Chi Quan from Zhenyao Prison to wreak havoc on the mortal realm?”
“Could this be the justice of the heavens?!” Jiu Hui took out a blood-red feather from her storage ring and raised it high. “Heavens above, Jiu Hui prays to the heavens, to restore justice to the world…”
The purple heavenly lightning struck Jiu Hui, not giving her a chance to speak.
“No!” Countless cries of anguish and despair erupted from the crowd!
Fuguang flew forward and spread his arms to block Jiu Hui.
“Roar!” A giant dragon flew out of the air, hovering above Jiu Hui and Fuguang’s heads, shielding her from the purple heavenly thunder.
“Heaven above, Fuguang prays to Heaven, to restore justice to the world!”
Fuguang leaped into the air and swung his sword, dispelling the purple lightning that was about to strike the giant dragon again. “If fate is unjust, then what right does it have to decide the life and death of all living beings?”
“Heaven above, the Demon Clan prays to Heaven for justice in the world!”
“The Heavenly Dao above, the Yao Clan prays to the Heavenly Dao, to restore justice to the world!”
“Heaven above, Taolin City prays to Heaven for justice to be restored to the world!”
The howling gale suddenly fell silent.
Jiu Hui let go of her hand, and the blood-red feather slowly rose. Everyone watched the feather as it fluttered and floated until it flew so high into the sky that it was no longer visible.
Jiu Hui looked at the flickering thunderclouds in the sky with mockery, saying that they were testing living beings, but they were actually manipulating things in private.
An examination where the examinees did not cheat, but the examiner secretly tampered with the results, just to prevent the examinees from passing the test. What kind of fairness was this?
On the flying boat, Tao Xiangyi recalled the incident related to the blood-red feather. That day, Immortal Jiu Hui’s incense suddenly snapped. He asked her the reason, but she only gazed at the sky without saying anything.
Perhaps at that time, Immortal Jiu Hui had guessed that that one Crooked-Mouth Liu with his manipulating words and actions was a god. A god had descended to the mortal realm, and that was why the incense for inviting gods made from the wood of the Jian tree had broken.
If gods have personal feelings and desires, how were they any different from them? And by what right did they judge them from on high?
The gale ceased, and the Nushen Whip flickered with green light. After an unknown amount of time, lightning suddenly flashed in the sky, and dark clouds rolled, as if something was wailing in the clouds.
“The wind has stopped…”
“It’s the hour of Zi.”
“Will the heavenly tribulation descend again?”
Jiu Hui spat out a mouthful of blood and reached out to stroke the wound on the giant dragon’s body that had been struck by the purple lightning. Her eyes were filled with tears. “Didn’t we agree that you wouldn’t show yourself?”
“I can’t help it, I’m just spoiling my child.” The giant dragon raised its head. “It’s just a minor injury. I’ll wait for you to come home in Shanghuang Village.”
After speaking, without waiting for Jiu Hui to speak, he transformed into a stream of light and disappeared.
Jiu Hui wiped away the tears on her face, turned around to look at the people behind the barrier, reached out to put away the Nushen Whip, and whispered to Fuguang, “The heavenly tribulation is over.”
“Mm.” Fuguang looked at the bare Fuguang Mountain. “It’s over.”
Suddenly, a divine light descended from the sky and shone upon Jiu Hui.
The divine light was warm and gentle, and the purple clouds of merit and virtue filled the air, as if it were a bright path leading to the divine realm.
Fuguang abruptly reached out and grabbed Jiu Hui’s sleeve. He gazed at the divine light descending from the sky, and slowly released his hand, forcing a smile at her.
“I have no power to save the world. Everyone here, every cultivator, every living being, is fighting to survive.” Jiu Hui took a step back, flying out of the place where the divine light shone. “All living beings in the world only seek justice.”
She looked at each person, and everyone looked at her.
Divine light flickered, transforming into countless fluorescent lights that dissipated between heaven and earth.
Wherever the fluorescence passed, the crops and vegetation that had been destroyed by the hail and snowstorm slowly regained their vitality.
The night wind blew, the dark clouds dispersed, and a full moon hung high in the sky, emitting a clear and bright light.
“The moonlight tonight is truly beautiful…”
An old man looked up, watching the moon after the dark clouds dispersed, and his old tears flowed down his face.
When the sky turned bright, the flying boats began to return to its own city. No one knew when Immortal Lord Fuguang had disappeared. By the time they realized it, Immortal Lord Fuguang had already vanished without a trace.
Nan Feng stood on Fuguang Mountain, where the snow had just melted, and watched as Jiu Hui and Zhi You held hands and boarded the flying boat of Wangshu Pavilion.
“Jiu Hui, Zhi You…”
Jiu Hui turned her head and smiled at him, gently raising her index finger to her lips.
[Hush, you will keep our secret, won’t you?]
Nan Feng looked at the pair standing hand-in-hand, slightly startled, and nodded.
“Senior Brother, don’t worry. The Immortal Venerable is not in danger. Manxiang City has already taken him back.” Shiyi ran to Nan Feng’s side. “What are you looking at?”
Nan Feng glanced at his robe, which was covered in yellow dog hair, and pretended not to know that he had secretly taken the opportunity to reunite with his family: “Looking at the sunrise.”
As the morning sun rose, the sky was awash in crimson light.
Author Note:
Little Garlic Chive: I am not the savior, because every living being is a hero.