novelraw Chapter 450: See you in the next life
Chapter 450: See you in the next life
“Flatten that mountain!” Ancestor Sui Bian bellowed, slapped his waist, and sent a massive Purple Skinned Gourd hurtling out. With a flick of his finger the stopper popped free, and black, ink-thick slurry cascaded like a waterfall onto the White Bone Mountain below.
The remaining Cultivators produced their various Magical Treasures. Lights of every hue flared; thunderous booms rolled. Riddled with fractures already, the White Bone Mountain convulsed under the onslaught; in mere breaths it began to come apart.
Spurred on, they pressed the attack. At last, with a sky-splitting crash, the mountain shattered; boulders rained down in a roaring landslide. At the same instant, torrents of scarlet liquid geysered from within, flooding the jumbled rocks in the blink of an eye. The mountain vanished, replaced by a blood-red sea.
“Did we do it?” one Cultivator blurted, stunned.
“Don’t count on it. Stay sharp,” Ancestor Sui Bian snapped, eyes shadowed by growing dread.
A familiar thud rippled outward. The crowd’s hearts seemed to jump in forced unison; a swelling ache flooded every limb.
Ancestor Sui Bian was about to ask if Yu Zhao could still hold on when his pupils shrank and he looked down sharply. The corpses that the blood had washed over were wobbling to their feet. The liquid dripped away in rivulets, yet a film of it still clung to faces and limbs, making the dead look even more sinister.
Under their horrified stares, the risen dead lifted their heads, revealing pallid faces and eyes gone a feral crimson.
“R-rising from the dead?” Huo Shao Yan’s voice broke on the words. The scene was so ghastly it nearly shattered his composure.
The earth heaved again. A vast fissure yawned open, and from it surged an ancient, secret aura that swept the continent in a single breath. Minds reeled as the deepest desires in their hearts were teased awake; eyes burned as every gaze fixed on the chasm below.Soon, a strange flower quietly bloomed within the rift. Its petals looked carved from chilling white bone, thin as cicada wings and sharp as blades, as if a light flick would slice the very void. Its heart was a half-transparent pearl, faintly aglow, from which curled thin wisps of black qi that slithered like living snakes along the petals.
The instant the White Bone Flower opened, every Cultivator—and every corpse—went mad.
“Mine, it’s mine.”
“Out of my way.”
“I’ll kill you all. I’ll kill you.”
In a frenzy for sole possession of the White Bone Flower, they turned on those beside them, even if they had fought shoulder to shoulder moments before. Curses and screams tore the sky.
The change came in a breath. By the time Yu Zhao reacted, those around her were already locked in slaughter. Even Ancestor Sui Bian’s eyes had gone red; he backhanded aside anyone in his way as he barreled for the White Bone Flower.
Dread crawled over Yu Zhao’s skin. Everyone had fallen to madness. Only she remained untouched. No—she felt a force trying to tug her heart askew, but under the layered discipline of the Ruthless Dao, the Path of Reincarnation, Formation Arts, and the Illusion Dao, its influence on her was faint, and she held to her core.
One clear mind alone could not change what was happening. Thinking fast, she tossed the Floating Life Mirror into the air, both hands flowing through Hand Seal Casting as sigils laden with her intent sank one after another into the mirror’s face. Cold radiance spilled down. Every Cultivator touched by that light faltered; confusion and struggle flickered across their faces.
By the time she finished the sequence, most of her Soul Force was gone; her limbs trembled with fatigue. She stopped at once, gathered the Soul Force that remained into a single, massive sigil, and thrust her palm forward. The sigil howled through the air toward Ancestor Sui Bian.
Even blood-maddened, he sensed it and half-turned to smash it aside. Then his gaze met Yu Zhao’s across the chaos. Seeing the urgent plea in her face, his motion hitched. The sigil struck him square in the chest. His broad frame shuddered; the murk cleared from his eyes.
“Ancestor, destroy it!” Yu Zhao shouted, pointing at the White Bone Flower.
He snapped to full awareness, gave her a hard nod, and wheeled back toward the flower at a sprint.
The strongest Cultivators were clustered closest to the target; with her current strength Yu Zhao could not have withstood a single slap from them, let alone destroyed the flower. She could only pin her hopes on Ancestor Sui Bian.
As his figure dwindled ahead, she shifted her gaze and scoured the melee for Tu Xiao. The crowd was dense, spiritual lights flared everywhere; it took a moment to find him—and just then a cold gleam flashed at his back.
Yu Zhao’s face tightened and she darted forward. The mirror’s light eased the craze only for those with firm hearts and strong conviction; most remained deranged, lashing out at any threat. Tu Xiao was among the latter. Yet his nearby companions—Feng Jiu Si, Shui Qiu Bai, and the others—were no more affected than he was and were at least his equals in skill; his strikes would not trouble them.
But among them stood one with a steadier heart. While her comrades brawled each other, she lifted a finger-blade and, with no effort at all, pierced Tu Xiao’s dantian, then churned his Nascent Soul to pulp.
The mortal blow jolted Tu Xiao to clarity. Terror and disbelief filled his eyes as he stared at the familiar face behind him and spat a mouthful of blood.
Jin Yuan’s lips curved in a flat, cold smile as she said: “See you in the next life.”
She drew out the finger-blade and, by reflex, reached for the Storage Bracelet at Tu Xiao’s wrist—only for a storm of arrows to lash toward her like a gale. The killing intent was razor keen. She had to drop his arm and spring back, eyes sweeping the battlefield in alarm.
Just as the arrows were about to skewer Tu Xiao, the rain vanished, replaced by the graceful silhouette of a woman. She unhurriedly slipped off Tu Xiao’s Storage Bracelet, turned, and flashed Jin Yuan a taunting smile.
Jin Yuan’s face went black.