novelraw Chapter 162 : I'm Not Going Back
Chapter 162 : I'm Not Going Back
In this instant, the red-robed young woman seemed to merge with the black shadow of the sword spirit. Her eyes flashed with a crimson killing intent, flames roiled, lotus flowers bloomed with each step, her robes fluttered, and she became one with the sword.
The sword intent transformed into a fiery dragon, shattering the unyielding chains. With a tremendous crack, the hundred chains shattered into countless pieces and vanished into nothingness.
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Meanwhile, in the sect's dungeon, Ling Yu, half-conscious, seemed to see a great blaze of fire. He felt as if he were immersed in a sea of molten lava, being intensely scorched. Before his eyes appeared the familiar figure in flowing red robes.
She walked on lotus flames, but behind her surged countless enormous, terrifying shadows. From these shadows, thousands of ghosts and monsters leaped out, gnashing their teeth at her. Yet Chu Sang showed no fear, destroying them all with a single sword strike. As the life lock shattered with the surge of sword intent, the chains binding Ling Yu seemed to fall away simultaneously.
The shackles that had bound him for nearly a century vanished under the young woman's single sword strike.
This was a scene he would never forget in his lifetime.
"Second Senior Brother, you're free..."
"You can go now."
At that moment, the dungeon door opened, and the silhouette of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect Leader entered, telling Ling Yu this was not a dream.
Before Chu Sang and the others went to the ghost realm, they had made a Heavenly Dao oath with the Ten Thousand Swords Sect Leader. Just now, the Heavenly Dao oath had disappeared, which meant that the junior disciples had successfully eliminated the evil threat in the ghost realm. Naturally, the Ten Thousand Swords Sect Leader had to fulfill his promise and release Ling Yu.
The Sect Leader removed the seal on this place, his face expressionless. "From today on, you are free. All past transgressions are forgiven."
From darkness to light, even as Ling Yu truly walked out of the dungeon gates, he remained in a daze for a long time.
The Ten Thousand Swords Sect Leader walked up behind him, hands clasped behind his back, his gaze still cold as he looked at Ling Yu. "Normally, traitors like you would be killed without question. This time, it's only for the sake of your Junior Brothers and Sisters. As an elder, I couldn't go back on my oath."
"But remember, you are ultimately a traitor, forever wanted by the cultivation world. From now on, you can never set foot in our cultivation world again. Otherwise, next time we won't let you off so easily."
"Where did my Junior Brothers and Sisters go?"
Ling Yu finally caught the important information in his words, frowning as he asked.
Before they left, they hadn't told him anything at all.
Although Ling Yu had vaguely guessed they were going to the ghost realm, he knew nothing else beyond that. Now it seemed there were other hidden circumstances? His expression immediately became tense. He didn't want his Junior Brothers and Sisters to fall into trouble because of him, which would only make him feel guilty for life.
"You don't know?" The Ten Thousand Swords Sect Leader was somewhat surprised. "Those Junior Brothers and Sisters of yours made a deal with us. If they could eliminate the Chi hidden in the Ghost Xuan Sect, it would atone for your crimes, and we would release you."
A flash of shock passed through Ling Yu's eyes. His junior siblings actually knew about Chi's existence?
But even though that thing was currently only in an immature form, its strength had reached the terrifying half-step Unity stage. How could they risk going after it?
No wonder they had taken the ghost realm map and identity token from him before leaving. So this was how they planned to save him...
Ling Yu's hands clenched inside his sleeves, losing his usual gentleness as he anxiously asked, "Then... they haven't returned yet?"
The Ten Thousand Swords Sect Leader seemed surprised that this spy cared so much about his fellow disciples. It seemed those junior disciples hadn't saved him in vain. He had initially thought those children might have been bewitched by this ghost cultivator, but now it appeared this bond between fellow disciples was indeed precious. Perhaps there really were other hidden circumstances.
His attitude towards Ling Yu softened slightly. "We haven't received news of their return. They should still be in the ghost realm."
Seeing the young man turn to leave, the Sect Leader calmly said, "You're going back to the ghost realm?"
"Yes."
The elder beside the Sect Leader immediately changed expression. Releasing this ghost realm spy was already a great concession on their part. They didn't expect this traitor would dare to return to the ghost realm!
He had stayed in the cultivation world for so many years and must know a lot of intelligence. What if he returned to his old ways and brought people from the ghost realm... The elder's hand moved, intending to eliminate this potential threat. After all, the Heavenly Dao oath only required them to release him. If he met with misfortune after being released, that would have nothing to do with the Heavenly Dao oath.
However, unexpectedly, the Sect Leader stopped his action with a shake of his head.
"This is an internal matter of the Lingqing Sect, and has nothing to do with our Ten Thousand Swords Sect."
⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱⊰⋆⋅⭑⋅⋆⊱
By this time, the Ghost Xuan Sect was in complete chaos. First, the Sect Leader had dispatched a large number of ghost cultivators to kill those human cultivators, leaving the sect's internal defenses weak and vulnerable to outside enemies. The treasure vault had been robbed.
It was too late to recall the ghost cultivators who were away.
Those despicable human cultivators had used some unknown method to pull off a bait-and-switch, even infiltrating the Ghost Xuan Sect's forbidden area. They had even destroyed the sect's prized possession that would have elevated the Ghost Xuan Sect to the top sect in the ghost realm within a hundred years. The sect was now in a state of panic.
Gu Chang'an and the others could barely hold back the Ghost Xuan Sect Leader, but Little Junior Sister had gone completely berserk, or more accurately... she had lost control!
It wasn't that Chu Sang's dao heart wasn't firm, but that her body simultaneously contained spiritual energy and demonic energy. Under normal circumstances, she could balance these two energies in her body, but the sword intent of the Primordial Soul-Chaser would greatly enhance her ferocity. If this continued, the Ghost Xuan Sect's destruction in a day would be a minor issue. The real problem was that Little Junior Sister was very likely to fall into demonic cultivation.
When Ling Yu arrived, this was the scene he saw. His expression immediately darkened as he grasped Chu Sang's hand. "Little Junior Sister, wake up!"
The next second, to the shocked gazes of the others who couldn't stop her in time, the young woman covered in blood and emanating a chaotic black energy unhesitatingly struck his chest with her sword. Ling Yu immediately grasped the blade of the sword, preventing it from piercing him through.
"Let go, get out of my way!" Her killing intent surged.
"......"
Tantai Ming and the others were in a complete panic. Little Junior Sister couldn't go on a killing spree and kill Second Senior Brother, could she?!
Gu Chang'an's expression changed drastically, wanting to step forward to stop her, but saw Ling Yu shake his head. This was exactly his plan.
As he grasped the sword, the fierce sword energy coiling around the black sword instantly tore through the flesh of his palm. Blood flowed copiously along the other side of the blade, dripping onto Chu Sang's hand. The sword, having already acknowledged its master, could no longer absorb the blood of others.
The bloodline of the ancient Ling clan possessed unimaginable special powers, which was precisely why the outside world coveted them.
Chu Sang's reddened eyes gradually returned to clarity, the killing intent on her body completely receding. The frenzied Primordial Soul-Chaser in her hand also stopped moving, becoming as quiet as a chicken.
"Ying'er, you've finally returned. Did those people in the cultivation world do anything to you! When I learned you had been captured by them, I regretted not daring to send you out so rashly. Now that you're back, your father will certainly make it up to you properly!"
When Zong Xun saw Ling Yu return, the anger on his face was quickly replaced by wild joy.
Seeing Chu Sang strike Ling Yu with her sword, he thought the two had completely fallen out, and naturally, Ling Yu should resume his identity as a ghost cultivator and return to his side.
Seeing the blood on Ling Yu's body, he felt an even more perverse excitement. "Quick, your blood, don't waste it, give it all to me!"
Zong Xun rushed towards him like a madman, completely unaware of the bone-chilling coldness in the young man's eyes.
The blood of the ancient Ling clan was precious and miraculous. As long as he could use Ling Yu's blood to nourish Chi's essence that hadn't yet dissipated, all his efforts wouldn't have been in vain!!
Ling Yu expressionlessly cut his wrist, as calmly and routinely as if he had been doing this all his life. However, as Zong Xun staggered closer, he gathered a ball of ghost energy in his hand and thrust it straight through Zong Xun's chest!
Zong Xun had already been greatly weakened by Gu Chang'an and the others, not to mention that his current strength was solely sustained by Chi. Now that Chi's essence had dissipated, his cultivation had plummeted. He was completely unprepared for Ling Yu's attack and was pierced through the chest. A wisp of his primordial spirit tried to escape but was shattered by Ling Yu's palm strike.
In his dying moments, Zong Xun stared at Ling Yu with wide, terrified eyes. Ling Yu merely lowered his head and whispered in his ear, "Sect Leader... Father... how should I address you? The resentful, grief-stricken look on your face as you die is exactly the same as Mother's when she died..."
The wheel of karma had turned, and this vengeance had finally come full circle to Zong Xun himself.
Perhaps earlier, Ling Yu had indeed been deceived by this nominal father of his, but that day in the sect's dungeon, when Chu Sang showed him the blood jade containing a wisp of the Myriad Stars Sect Leader's soul, that one glance revealed the truth of the past. He saw clearly Zong Xun's vicious ambitions and the beastly things he had done to him and his mother.
This sword strike.
He should have taken his revenge long ago.
Though it came late.
But his mother, whom he had never met, and his fellow disciples could now rest in peace in the underworld.
They had fulfilled the long-cherished wish of the Myriad Stars Sect.
Zong Xun and Chi had been slain, never to have the chance to appear in the mortal world again.
When Chu Sang regained consciousness, all the chaos had already ended.
Second Senior Brother had also returned and was saying something to Big Senior Brother. She vaguely remembered that she had almost run him through without mercy earlier, and felt a bit embarrassed. She kicked the half-dead Primordial Soul-Chaser lying on the ground.
The Primordial Soul-Chaser reluctantly floated back.
Originally, if it had successfully controlled Chu Sang this time, it could have used the host's full power to reconstruct its sword spirit. It hadn't expected to fail.
The little bit of black shadow it had painstakingly gathered dissipated in an instant. Thinking about how all its efforts had been in vain, the Primordial Soul-Chaser dejectedly sprawled on the ground, continuing to play dead.
Chu Sang put it back into her storage bag.
"Little Junior Sister's constitution is very special, actually able to simultaneously contain multiple different types of energy." Ling Yu rubbed his chin, hesitantly saying to Gu Chang'an.
On the surface, she appeared to be just an ordinary cultivator, but unexpectedly, her body contained even more terrifying demonic energy, mixed with a bit of the ghost energy he had given her earlier, and even a trace of Buddha's light... It was known that spiritual energy and demonic energy, ghost energy and Buddha's light couldn't coexist in the same body. Except for this time when the Primordial Soul-Chaser had disrupted the balance of power in her body, she could usually balance so many chaotic energies in this one physical body, which was simply astonishing.
Their ancient Ling clan could also contain multiple types of power simultaneously, but it was fundamentally different from Little Junior Sister. She... was more like an all-accepting vessel, treating all powers equally and inclusively.
"Little Junior Sister, are your parents cultivators or mortals?" In this situation, there was another possibility: Little Junior Sister might be a mixed-blood of several races.
Chu Sang looked bewildered. "Parents?"
She had lived for so many years, equivalent to three lifetimes, yet seemed very unfamiliar with these two words.
After a blank moment of two or three seconds, she shook her head and said, "I don't know."
In her memory, such beings had never appeared.
Tang Yanling also froze for a moment. "Little Junior Sister, you don't know your own background?"
In Chu Sang's earliest memories, she was adopted by the Mo family, but after just a few days, the Mo family was wiped out. Then she was brought back to the Tianyan Sect by Chang Yu, and after that came those unfortunate events... Her life seemed to have no parental involvement, so she didn't know anything about her origins.
The others didn't dwell too much on this issue. The most pressing matter at hand was still the ghost realm.
By now, news of the Ghost Xuan Sect Leader's death had spread throughout the entire ghost realm. As the largest power in the ghost realm, the Ghost Xuan Sect was about to fall into chaos, which also indicated that the ghost realm would enter a period of turmoil. Someone needed to appear to stabilize the situation.
However, this had nothing to do with the Lingqing Sect disciples anymore. They planned to return, but Ling Yu did not intend to leave with them.
"Second Senior Brother, are you really not coming back?" Tantai Ming felt a bit sad. Their Lingqing Sect was a close-knit family and should be together. It was very upsetting to be missing even one person.
Ling Yu shook his head. "The order of the ghost realm affects the balance of the other three realms. The Ghost Xuan Sect, as the largest power in the ghost realm now, is of utmost importance. Someone needs to suppress the turmoil in the ghost realm. For the stability of the cultivation world, it's best if that person is me. Moreover..." He paused, as if sighing but not quite, his gaze still as gentle as usual, indiscernible between joy and sorrow, "I can no longer return to the cultivation world now."
There was silence all around.
"Then, we'll leave the matters of the ghost realm to Second Junior Brother. We should go back and report to Master," Gu Chang'an said.
Staying in the ghost realm for too long was all harm and no benefit to them. Moreover, now that the mission was complete, there was no need to linger any longer.
After bidding farewell to Ling Yu, the group prepared to leave. Ling Yu thought for a moment and still called Little Junior Sister back.
Chu Sang glanced at Big Senior Brother and the others ahead, then turned back to find Ling Yu, only to be met with an embrace. She froze for a moment, then hugged Second Senior Brother back.
"Thank you, Little Junior Sister."
He seemed to have a thousand words to say, but in the end, they all became a light sigh. "If you encounter any difficulties, you're welcome to come find me in the ghost realm. I will always be your Second Senior Brother."
With this, the Corruption Value returned to zero, and Ling Yu's storyline was complete.