Within the demon miasma, the wind remained still, and the airflow stagnant. Wisps of pink mist drifted down like cherry blossom petals from a pile of rotting corpses, a beautiful illusion masking the damp, chilling poison.
Liu Jiang Fusheng’s breathing grew shallow as the side effects of the demon miasma began to accumulate.
He vaguely heard the wails and cries of specters, each more high-pitched and sharp than the last, relentlessly assaulting his eardrums.
"Ahhh—"
So noisy!
So vexing!
He closed his eyes, his brow furrowed, his lips tightly pressed together. Yet, he couldn't quell the turmoil raging within, his head feeling as though it would explode.
His fingertips dug into his temples, gripping tightly, desperately.
*Puchī, puchī, puchī—*
Ahead, the sound of something sharp piercing flesh and then being withdrawn reached his ears.
He suddenly opened his eyes.
Before him stood a slender, tall figure clad in flowing azure robes embroidered with immortal motifs.
He watched as "he" wielded a sword identical to his own, killing "Gu Yi" with a blank expression, blow after blow.
"He" then turned his head, meeting his stunned gaze. On that pale face, as enchanting as a demonic flower, were splattered drops of blood. Tears streamed down "his" cheeks, yet "he" smiled, his lips curled in a bizarre, unreadable grin.
"Unforgivable—"
Then, a cacophony of ghostly shrieks erupted around him, piercing his eardrums as they clamored to shout.
"Unforgivable—"
"Unforgivable—"
Sudden terror and a chaotic mind consumed Liu Jiang Fusheng’s entire consciousness. Red veins spread across the whites of his eyes. His long, slender fingers clenched, the veins on the back of his hands bulging.
"No…"
Seeing Liu Jiang Fusheng succumbing to the demon miasma, his eyes unfocused and vacant, Fei Jiang stood before him nonchalantly. He tilted his head in thought, then unhesitatingly lunged his sharp claws towards his heart. At that moment, caught in the auditory and visual hallucinations of the ghost cry demon miasma, Liu Jiang Fusheng suddenly heard a child’s voice, tinged with tears, cry out to him.
"Master Fusheng, be careful!"
His immortal sword blocked the path between Fei Jiang's claw and Liu Jiang Fusheng's heart. The corpse claw still managed to wound him; blood flowed from the left side of his chest, soaking through his robes.
But he could not advance further. Fei Jiang's claws could not break the immortal sword, no matter how hard he tried. Thus, Fei Jiang violently kicked him away.
Liu Jiang Fusheng, like a kite with a broken string, slammed against a jagged rock face with a *bang*, gouging out flesh that tumbled to the ground.
Blood dripped from his forehead into his eyes. The impact to his head caused the scenery before him to sway violently, and fragmented memories flashed intermittently.
“A dream within a dream must eventually awaken, and a life like a dream is all emptiness… Liu Jiang, how long will you continue to slumber?”
A faint, familiar female voice sighed softly in his ear.
“I am waiting for you…”
“Remember… please remember…”
Who was calling him?
What had he forgotten?
A life like a dream, a life like a dream…
Suddenly, something restrained within him shattered and crumbled in an instant. Following this, a boundless surge of spiritual energy, unfettered by the surrounding demon miasma, gathered entirely upon Liu Jiang Fusheng with fierce power.
Then, a translucent jade-green light shot forth from his "Na Jie." The radiant green glow coiled around him, revealing the mysterious green jade he had obtained with the help of the treasure-seeking rat in Laishan Ravine.
Within the hollow ring of the jade pendant flowed a substance resembling liquid light. Those who had lived for centuries and possessed knowledge might have recognized it as jade marrow.
Jade marrow was immeasurably valuable, with distinctions between thousand-year, ten-thousand-year, and hundred-thousand-year varieties. Each tier possessed different efficacies.
The jade marrow Liu Jiang Fusheng possessed was ten-thousand-year jade marrow. A drop of this jade marrow squeezed from the green jade seeped into his forehead, colliding with the red mark he had concealed with a concealment technique.
*Ding—*
Instantly, a cool, cleansing energy flowed into his body, repairing the fiery pain of his fractured bones, his depleted spiritual energy, his divine consciousness damaged by the demon miasma, and his internal organs…
A single drop of ten-thousand-year jade marrow could restore a severely injured cultivator to their peak condition in an instant.
Such a heaven-defying efficacy; a single drop was worth another life.
Concurrently, a colossal sword formation materialized beneath him. It was a brand-new sword array, gradually replicating itself according to his will. This sword disk, ten feet wide, condensed an ancient, profound meaning and bore a killing aura that transcended the cycle of reincarnation.
He floated into the air, his eyes, as clear and dark as those of a spiritual deer, suddenly veiled by an icy, world-annihilating aura.
Gu Er, inadvertently meeting his gaze, felt an boundless terror surge through him, far exceeding that of the previous Xuanxing Sword Rain formation.
He immediately decided not to wait any longer and strike first.
He absorbed the surrounding demon miasma, condensing it into sharp points on his palm. If these scale-like barbs touched a person, they would strip the flesh from the bone.
He joined his five palms together. His long black claws, adorned with hooked barbs, could destroy and overturn even a small mountain, yet this palm strike was nonetheless met head-on by Liu Jiang Fusheng.
As they struggled with all their might, Gu Er felt the opposing force return with the weight of a mountain. His own robust physique felt as though it were being torn apart.
Liu Jiang Fusheng was not unscathed either. The arm of the hand he used to block instantly bled profusely, exposing stark white bone. He spat out another mouthful of blood, but his clear, frosty eyes grew brighter and brighter, an unsettling sight.
With his one good arm, he recalled his immortal sword. He swung his sleeve, stroking the long sword, his bone-bare fingertips, stained with blood, meticulously applying it. Blossoms of seductive blood lotuses bloomed on the sword's body, and its spiritual power climbed incrementally to an astonishing, compressed limit.
That potent force caused Gu Er’s complexion to change drastically.
He’s going to die. Could this level of spiritual pressure belong to a Golden Core stage cultivator?
This was impossible!
Even a Nascent Soul cultivator couldn’t muster such dense, terrifying spiritual energy. This was outright deception!
The sword formation was complete, extinguishing the starlight. An ancient, vast, and primordial greatsword materialized above Liu Jiang Fusheng's head. It was magnificent and towering, and upon its appearance, it dispersed the ghost cry demon miasma, leaving the world clear and pristine.
“Eight Desolations Six Harmonies Art—Slay Karma!”
Standing as an impenetrable barrier, the greatsword descended, cleaving directly towards Gu Er with formidable sharpness.
Clouds rolled, scales of blue dragons cracked, and sand dragons parted ways—
Gu Er’s eyes widened. His already lifeless body felt a chill, his scalp tingling. Could he dodge this sword strike?
Fear, like a rampaging rhinoceros, assaulted his rationality.
He couldn't dodge that for shit!
“Sis—”
—
Under the cover of the ghost cry demon miasma, Gu Junshi stealthily approached Elder Jiuli and his group from the Dayyan Sect. Gu Er had previously scattered them like a wolf herding sheep, while she had accurately positioned herself behind an elite disciple.
He hadn’t sensed any abnormality until… a pale hand, exuding a chilling coldness, rested upon his shoulder.
He froze abruptly, then began to tremble uncontrollably.
It wasn’t from fear, but because, from the moment of contact, a powerful, sharp, impact force had instantly inflicted excruciating pain upon his soul.