Chapter 72: Monsters |
[January 28, 2024]...
The fight started with thousands of monsters surrounding Shěn Lí and the Demon emperor. Fú Shēng looked down coldly as he floated above watching Shěn Lí spraying blood everywhere with her red-tasseled silver spear.
Her spear was searing hot. So much so that after it pierced a monster, the monster would burn and spread the fire amongst the others, until all the monsters were burned to ashes. Fú Shēng wasn’t in a hurry though. He could wait until Shěn Lí, who hadn’t fully recovered her qi, to exhaust herself.
A flame technique like hers consumed a lot of energy and was physically exhausting. Within fifteen minutes, her face was pale, but the monsters still rushed forward in never ending waves.
Seeing this, Shěn Mùyuè wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth and formed an array on the ground. The brutal power blocked the monsters from entering the array. She coughed hard and spoke in a deep voice, blood spraying out as she did so. “Kill Fú Shēng!” Since she couldn’t convince Shěn Lí to leave, she changed tactics and gave Shěn Lí a fighting directive instead. “The monsters have no self awareness; kill Fú Shēng and they’ll be useless.”
Shěn Lí looked up to see Fú Shēng looking down on them from high up. She glanced back at the Demon emperor and gritted her teeth. “Master, please hold on.” The magic array gave Shěn Lí some breathing room. She jumped up and left Shěn Mùyuè behind.
Fú Shēng raised his sword to block the silver spear just as he felt a flash in front of him. He wasn’t weak, but Shěn Lí’s reaction was sharper and faster than before, plus they were fighting in close combat. It took less than four moves for Shěn Lí to pierce his chest with her spear. But his eyes didn’t show any pain, instead, they were frenzied and expectant.
It was strange. Just as Shěn Lí was about to yank her spear back, the light behind her dimmed.
The Demon emperor yelled, “Be careful!” But the words failed to reach Shěn Lí in time. When she turned around, she was faced with a bloody mouth gaping open at her. The dragon had awoken and was about to devour her whole. Her senses filled with the dragon’s blood and Fú Shēng’s maniacal laughter. Her pupils constricted, and a sudden gust of wind blew in. It felt like time froze as a familiar embrace engulfed her, and a barely detectable fragrance magically washed away the stench.
Fú Shēng gritted his teeth, and ignoring the spear still in his chest, jumped backwards. Blood gushed out from the wound, but instead of being red, it was a blue so dark it was nearly black. He stood in the distance with his hand to his chest injecting qi into the wound while he waited for the injury to heal. He looked up to gauge the situation and see what his opponent was doing. Xíng Zhǐ wasn’t even looking at him, and was instead gazing at Shěn Lí with a frown.
Shěn Lí wanted to chase after Fú Shēng when she saw him retreating, but the hand on her waist held her tightly and kept her from moving. Her back stiffened involuntarily when she looked up and saw Xíng Zhǐ’s cold expression. It was a bit like a child who had done something naughty.
Seeing this, a huge fire burned in Xíng Zhǐ’s chest. He sighed and smiled bitterly. “Even the Water-Stop icicles were melted. You’ve become quite skillful.”
Shěn Lí coughed loudly. “High God is praising wrongly.” Shěn Lí was uncomfortable being held so intimately in public. She twisted around trying to get out of his embrace, but Xíng Zhǐ only held her tighter. He lifted her chin with his other hand and forced her to look up at him.
“Shěn Lí, I didn’t try my best to save your life just so you could throw it away.”
Stunned, Shěn Lí looked away awkwardly. “I can protect myself. I’m not as precious as you think I am.”
Xíng Zhǐ’s smile faded and he interrupted Shěn Lí. “You are far more precious than you realize.” Her stunned expression made him pause and he smiled helplessly as he patted her head. “When it's time to hide and let others protect you, can you at least cooperate and give me a chance?”
Shěn Lí, who had been patted on the head repeatedly by him, inadvertently saw that the Demon emperor’s array was shrinking. Her heart tightened and she said, “Not now though.” She called her spear back. Xíng Zhǐ let her go, but he pushed her behind him.
“Starting now.” He smiled leisurely when his eyes fell on Fú Shēng. “I don’t like people who pester, and I don’t like constant complications. Regardless what your intentions are, let’s settle things today.” He smiled and said lightheartedly. “Either you kill yourself, or I can kill you.”
Fú Shēng’s wound had recovered so quickly not a trace was left behind. He laughed. “Who in the three realms doesn’t know of High God’s power. How would I dare move against High God?” He looked at Xíng Zhǐ. “It’s just that High God wants me to kill myself. . . I am unwilling.” The words barely left his lips before the piccolo sounded again. The monster demon horde below looked up and changed their target.
The array broke. The Demon emperor couldn't support the array any longer and she collapsed and fell forward.
Shěn Lí was shocked. “Protect her! Take her to the Celestial realm. I will join you after I take care of matters here.” Shěn Lí gritted her teeth. Although her heart resisted the idea of leaving the Demon realm and its people behind, she had no other choice.
She flashed away, leaving Xíng Zhǐ’s side and approached the Demon emperor. Fú Shēng grinned upon seeing this. “High God, you care so much about Shěn Lí, did you think I wouldn’t expect you to show up?”
An ominous thought flashed in Xíng Zhǐ’s mind. He looked down and saw a black shadow stealthily approaching Shěn Lí from behind. The moment when Shěn Lí was about to help the Demon emperor up, the black shadow reached out and covered her mouth and nose with something. Whatever it was kept Shěn Lí from struggling, and she collapsed unconscious.
Fú Shēng laughed. “Take her away!”
After the black shadow dragged Shěn Lí away and disappeared, Fú Shēng looked up to the sky and laughed even more manically. “My thousand-year wish, my thousand-year wish is finally coming true! Hahaha!” His frenzied appearance was like madness transformed into joy. But just as his laughter reached its peak, he stopped abruptly. Looking down, he saw a sharp blade of ice piercing through his chest to his heart. At some point, he didn’t know when, Xíng Zhǐ had moved and was now standing in front of him with an expressionless face. In a voice like ice, he said, “Where did he take Shěn Lí?”
Black blood gushed out of Fú Shēng’s mouth and landed on the clear ice. He looked at Xíng Zhǐ and grinned. “With High God’s abilities, how could you not guess?” He continued in a hoarse voice. “I want her to replace the fire seal, and I want her to be the funeral pyre when the ruins collapse! How does it feel to watch as the woman you love die in the seal you made?! Hahaha!”
Xíng Zhǐ’s eyes were cold, and several icicles as thin as silver needles pierced through Fú Shēng’s body.
Fú Shēng twitched uncontrollably, but the corners of his mouth still quirked in a crazed smile. Xing Zhi turned around, intending to leave. With his speed, he’d be able to reach the Ruins before the black shadow. But something held him back. The demonic energy around Fú Shēng overflowed and wrapped around his ankles. “I won’t let you go. You won’t be able to reach Shěn Lí before she turns into a seal.” The monster demons surrounded Xíng Zhǐ and attacked him in wheel formation.
Murderous intent flashed in Xíng Zhǐ’s eyes. His wrath made the heaven and earth wail in sorrow. The wind howled, blowing his voice forward as if coming from hell. “Asking for death.”
The Water-Stop technique swept across and cleared the field.
Shěn Lí was unaware what was happening in the Demon palace, all she knew was that the poison currently spreading through her body was the same one Fú Shēng used on her in Yángzhōu. Back then, Xíng Zhǐ had healed her. . . but the poison had been refined and was now even more potent.
She gritted her teeth and glanced at the person holding her out of the corner of her eye. His pace was fast and his eyes were blank. Red stripes lined his entire face and his canine teeth protruded far out, almost like a beast’s. Despite this, Shěn Lí still recognized him. . .
“Mò Fāng. . . ” She squeezed out his name from her lips, and his figure slowed down a moment before speeding back up. He carried Shěn Lí to the Ruins without an expression on his face. It was just like the other monster demons who had no self awareness and only lived to follow orders.
Shěn Lí was sad when she thought about the last time Mò Fāng carried her out of the dungeon. “Why did you willingly become like this?”
His red eyes moved and glanced down at Shěn Lí, but he didn’t stop. Their speed was so fast, Shěn Lí could hardly believe it. His power increased after becoming a monster demon. . .
“Your Highness. . . ” Mò Fāng’s lips moved with difficulty, as though he had a hard time controlling his mouth. “Bloodletting. . . and escape.”
Shěn Lí was stunned for a moment, unsure how to describe the feeling in her heart. This person, who had betrayed her and the Demon realm, was still trying to help her. Shěn Lí’s world was very simple: there were friends, enemies, and unimportant people. But now, she wasn’t sure where to place Mò Fāng. Perhaps the human heart was too complicated, and it couldn’t distinguish between these simple things.
Shěn Lí bit her lip and exerted force internally. Blood overflowed from the cut, and sure enough, the strength in her body returned a little after letting some blood out.
But Mò Fāng was moving too fast, and Shěn Lí could already make out the mountain range that made the boundary between the Demon realm and the Ruins. She exerted more force and bit her lip harder. As blood flowed out, strength poured to her limbs. She jumped up abruptly and pushed Mò Fāng away. Then she spun around and landed on the ground.
They had reached the gates of the Ruins, and miasma filled the air even more thickly then when the Scorpion-tailed fox escaped.
Mò Fāng’s red eyes as he stood on the other side of the miasma were incredibly striking. But when he saw Shěn Lí escaping, he rushed forward as if he had no self-awareness. He didn’t draw his sword, and instead fought Shěn Lí barehanded with clenched teeth, as though he was trying hard to control something. “Go. . . ” He squeezed out two more words. “Go quickly!”
A long sword appeared in his hand after he said that. He held the hilt backhanded and stabbed the blade directly into his stomach.
Shěn Lí was stunned as she watched Mò Fāng vomit a mouthful of black blood. He knelt down and the red tint in this yes faded a little. He spoke with difficulty. “Your Highness, leave quickly. I can’t control it for long. . . ”
“Why. . . ”
Mò Fāng closed his eyes tightly. “Fate gave me no choice but to betray you, but then these feelings formed, and I unexpectedly could not harm you.”
The corners of Shěn Lí’s mouth moved just as Mò Fāng suddenly opened his eyes and shouted sternly, “Go! Quickly!” But before he could finish what he wanted to say, a strange laughter erupted from the Ruins.
“My son is unfilial.” The voice was carried out by the miasma.
Shěn Lí was shocked by the voice. It. . . it was the same voice she heard the last time she was in the Ruins. At that time it had shouted, “I will kill god!” crazily, and now. . .
Shěn Lí was still thinking about it when something like a sticky lizard tongue shot out from the Ruins trying to snag her. Mò Fāng bolted in front of her and sliced it in half. The black blood from his stomach continued to ooze out. He turned slightly and glanced at her, just like he had in the Demon realm. The look he gave her was the same secret look he would have on his face when he watched her from behind. Only when Shěn Lí wasn’t looking would he dare let his emotions show on his face. Being able to look at her openly like this now. . . nothing could be better.
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