Chapter 62: A Reckless Rescue and a Cynical Stand

His scheme was meticulously crafted, every calculation precise.

Allowing Bi Fang to kill Yuange, then seizing the human ‘key’ amidst the chaos—it was truly killing two birds with one stone, a flawless plan.

As if granted a great pardon, the Black Feather Army immediately receded like a tide. They formed a distant encirclement, trapping Gu Chang’an, Shen Zhaoqing, and Yuange, who was moments from being consumed by flames, at its core.

They dared not provoke Bi Fang, but restraining a human sword cultivator who was already incapacitated was well within their capabilities.

Witnessing the impending engulfment of Yuange by the cerulean sea of fire, Shen Zhaoqing’s heart leaped into her throat.

True, that avian creature had constantly captured and imprisoned her, even branding her with some wretched mark. They were an undeniable nuisance.

But…

‘The one thing I despise is owing favors!’

Shen Zhaoqing’s shock lasted only a fleeting moment. Without a second thought, she sprang to her feet, pulling out an assortment of life-saving provisions as she charged towards Yuange.

‘In this situation, dying sooner or later amounts to the same thing,’ Shen Zhaoqing mused.

At the instant Shen Zhaoqing moved, Gu Chang’an moved too. She swept her sleeve, using a burst of qi to knock Shen Zhaoqing to the ground, and without turning back, declared, “Stay put. I’ll save her.”

Her longsword had already been drawn. Yet, even from Gu Chang’an’s instantly furrowed brow, Shen Zhaoqing could discern a hint of… displeasure.

‘Save her?’

This Bi Fang was clearly targeting the Golden Crow bloodline, filled with an unhinged fanaticism that rendered communication impossible. Once Yuange died, who could guarantee it wouldn’t lash out at others out of displaced anger, or simply because it ‘found them displeasing’?

No one wished to face a Soul Transformation Realm madman.

Keeping Yuange alive would at least draw Bi Fang’s full attention, buying them precious time to maneuver.

In a flash of insight, Gu Chang’an had grasped the crucial point.

Moreover…

She no longer hesitated.

Saving Yuange was not for the sake of the demon race, nor for any sense of righteousness.

It was simply for… the safety of the person behind her.

“Heavenly Frost, Ten Thousand Miles!”

Gu Chang’an let out a clear cry. The Frostbright Sword shot from her hand, transforming into a streak of light that instantly appeared before Yuange.

A domain of extreme cold, a sword realm, erupted with a thunderous roar!

The cerulean sea of fire, potent enough to melt all things, collided with this frosty white domain, producing a hissing sound, like boiling water poured onto solid ice.

Vast plumes of steam billowed upwards, obscuring everyone’s vision.

Under the impact of the fiery sea, the sword domain trembled violently, its area rapidly compressing. Its edges even showed signs of melting.

A Void Refinement Realm Great Perfection sword domain was, astonishingly… unable to withstand a single fiery breath from a Soul Transformation Realm expert.

“Pfft—!”

Gu Chang’an’s face turned ashen. She abruptly spat a mouthful of fresh blood, her body swaying. Forcefully resisting an attack that surpassed her own realm had inflicted severe internal injuries upon her.

But she had, in the end, held it back.

The sea of fire was completely extinguished by the chilling frost, less than three feet from Yuange.

The smoke dissipated.

Yuange lay on the ground, unharmed. Her amber-gold eyes were filled with the terror of a narrow escape and a trace of… incredulous bewilderment.

She gazed at the pale-faced, blood-flecked woman in green who stood before her, still as straight and unyielding as a sword, then glanced at the anxious Shen Zhaoqing in the distance.

Gu Chang’an… had saved her?

“Oh?”

In the sky above, a flicker of surprise crossed Bi Fang Fen Yu’s single eye.

She had not expected such an ant to dare impede her vengeance.

Her gaze finally shifted, a sliver of it detaching from Yuange to fall upon Gu Chang’an.

“A human sword cultivator…”

“Meddling where you don’t belong.”

“Since you wish to die alongside that mongrel…”

Fen Yu slowly raised her sole, sharp claw.

“Then I shall grant your wish!”

In that instant, the entire sky was illuminated in cerulean blue.

Flames, ten times more ferocious than before, converged in her palm, forming a colossal fireball… seemingly capable of incinerating the very heavens!

Doomsday had arrived.

****

The sky was utterly ablaze with the cerulean fireball.

This was no ordinary flame.

It lacked the ferocity and clamor of mundane fire, instead radiating a frigid, all-consuming stillness. Light distorted upon approaching it, and spiritual energy was annihilated upon contact, as if it did not originate from this world, but was a shard of death gouged from the Eye of the Abyss.

Doomsday Heavenly Fire.

The name, it was truly apt.

Shen Zhaoqing felt as if an invisible giant hand had pressed her firmly in place. Forget moving; even breathing became a luxury. The tremor originating from the deepest part of her divine soul made the blood in her limbs feel as if it had frozen into ice shards.

She could distinctly feel that the terrifying fireball, capable of burning mountains and boiling seas, was targeting none other than herself.

The destructive aura, like countless searing steel needles, pierced into her divine soul from all directions, locking onto her securely.

Shen Zhaoqing subconsciously glanced at Gu Chang’an, not far away.

The Qingyun Sect’s foremost Sword Immortal was in no better state.

Her face was ashen, a striking streak of crimson staining the corner of her lips, and the hand gripping the Frostbright Sword trembled slightly. Clearly, having just forcefully endured Bi Fang’s ‘phlegm’ had left her with significant internal injuries.

Now, she stared fixedly at the sky, her eyes burning with a desperate resolve.

The Frostbright Sword’s blade once again condensed cold qi, even more chilling and… unstable than before.

Gu Chang’an was preparing to fight with her life.

Using her already injured body to directly confront a Soul Transformation Realm great demon’s innate divine ability.

What would be the outcome?

Anyone could guess.

‘No!’

‘Absolutely not!’

Shen Zhaoqing could be cunning, lazy, and carefree, but she could not stand by and watch this stubborn, soft-hearted, control-freak senior sister die in vain to save her.

It happened at Black Wind Fortress, and now again.

‘How much money did you owe me in your past life?’

“Gu Chang’an! You—”

Above, the cerulean star of death had begun its slow descent.

Its speed was not fast; in fact, it was remarkably slow.

Yet, it was precisely this slowness that delivered the most profound despair.

It seemed to savor the sight of its prey trembling under the shadow of death, as if proclaiming an irreversible judgment.

Time, in this moment, stretched infinitely.

All surrounding sounds vanished.

Shen Zhaoqing’s vision narrowed to only the cerulean fireball, growing larger and closer.

A figure, stumbling slightly, suddenly rushed from the side, recklessly shielding her.

Yuange was covered in blood, her golden-red feathered robe tattered, her aura as faint as a flickering candle in the wind, as if it might extinguish any second.

But she stood there, her back, not particularly tall and even somewhat slender, completely shielding Shen Zhaoqing from the apocalyptic scene.

“…What are you doing?”

Shen Zhaoqing was stunned, abruptly yanked from the suffocating grip of impending death by this unexpected sight.

Yuange did not turn back.

Her body trembled violently, a primal fear of the Soul Transformation Realm’s heavenly might.

But her voice still carried that familiar, damnable, cynical tone.

“What am I doing?”

She scoffed, as if she had heard the greatest joke, her voice hoarse and weak.

“My prey… when did it become someone else’s turn to touch?”