Chapter 102: The Stolen Hope

The space above the Azure Water Cold Pool could no longer be called ‘sky’.

It was a boiling, chaotic concoction, a thick soup brewed from fragments of laws, spatial turbulence, and pure destructive energy.

Scarlet demonic flames blossomed like roses, only to be incinerated into nothingness by the sky-scorching golden inferno in an instant.

The cool, emotionless sword intent, like an unbending line of ice, precisely sliced through every node of the pink realm of passion, yet its edge was constantly disturbed by the pervasive, decadent whispers.

The Pure Heart Heavenly Fox was on the verge of madness.

Her proud ‘Boundless Bliss’ domain, originally an unrivaled trump card among peers, now resembled a person being strung up and beaten by three strong men. No sooner was one wound mended than a larger tear ripped open elsewhere.

That madwoman Ling Shuangjue was utterly unreasonable. Her sword intent embodied pure destruction; wherever it passed, be it laws of passion or the mortal coil’s vastness, everything was simply annihilated.

‘You could even say that the little demoness, relying on the Golden Crow bloodline’s true solar fire, was a natural bane to her own soft and alluring charms. That flame didn’t burn spiritual energy; it burned her Dao foundation.’

Most hateful of all was Gu Chang’an, that poker-faced sword cultivator. Though clearly at the end of her rope, she was like an unkillable cockroach. Her sword intent, as fine as a strand of hair, sought no direct damage, but instead focused on piercing the weakest points of the Pure Heart Heavenly Fox’s connection to the Great Dao! Insidious! Vicious!

Under the three-pronged assault, even the Pure Heart Heavenly Fox, despite being at the peak of the Dao Integration Realm, felt a long-forgotten threat of death.

“You… you forced my hand.”

A look of desperate madness flickered across the Pure Heart Heavenly Fox’s alluring face. She bit her tongue sharply, spitting out a mouthful of innate vital blood. This vital blood merged into the pink realm of passion, instantly transforming the entire domain from pink to crimson, becoming as viscous as a sea of blood.

All the laws of passion within the domain were forcibly detonated by her in that moment.

This was a forbidden technique, one that wounded the enemy by a thousand while harming oneself by eight hundred.

Boom—!!!

A colossal roar, indescribable in words, erupted. It was as if the most violent explosion since the dawn of creation had occurred. The mere aftershock leveled everything within several hundred li, including the spectating Nine-Tailed Heavenly Fox clan and other demon cultivators, as well as the Pure Heart Heavenly Fox’s meticulously cultivated lair of countless years.

It was a true annihilation; everything was utterly destroyed, leaving not even a speck of dust.

The first thunderclap burst in everyone’s ears.

The extreme forces of four laws furiously collided and annihilated each other at the epicenter.

Ultimately, they transformed into an energy storm that swept across the heavens and earth.

“Pfft—!”

The Pure Heart Heavenly Fox’s figure was blasted away like a cannonball, leaving a long trail of blood in the air. The nine-tailed phantom behind her completely shattered, and her aura instantly withered to an extreme degree. However, using the explosive force as propulsion, her body flickered, transforming directly into a pink streak of light. She vanished without a backward glance, leaving only a venomous hiss:

“Ling Shuangjue! Gu Chang’an! Yuange! I, the Joyful Union Sect, will remember today’s grudge! You can guard that ruined medicinal ingredient and regret it for the rest of your lives!”

Before her voice faded, she had disappeared without a trace.

****

However, no one gave chase.

The gazes of Gu Chang’an, Ling Shuangjue, and Yuange were fixed, horrified, in another direction.

The world-shattering energy aftershock, like an uncontrolled tsunami, swept towards the shore of the Azure Water Cold Pool with an unstoppable momentum.

That direction was the ‘eye of the storm’ of the entire battlefield.

Bai Zhileng’s Glazed Medicine Cauldron, which she had propped up as a barrier, was like paper before that energy storm. It lasted less than half a breath.

“Crack—!”

A crisp shattering sound.

Spiderweb-like cracks instantly spread across the light barrier, then it exploded into smithereens.

The violent surge of air finally slammed unimpeded into the already tottering figure.

Shen Zhaoqing didn’t even let out a muffled grunt.

She was like a fallen leaf caught by a gale, lightly and powerlessly tossed into the air.

She flew upwards, ever upwards, past the weeping willows by the pool, past the horrified gazes of the sect elders. After reaching her apex, she traced a tragically beautiful, powerless parabola, and then… began to fall.

Like a kite with a severed string.

Straight down she plunged.

Time, in this moment, seemed to slow.

“Junior Sister!”

Gu Chang’an wanted to rush over, to catch her with her sword, but the aftereffects of forcibly unleashing the Severing Thoughts Slash erupted completely at this moment. She felt her vision darken, a coppery taste filled her throat, and she could no longer maintain her position in the air, stumbling towards the ground.

She stretched out her hand, futilely reaching for the figure that was growing ever more distant.

‘It was her… she failed to protect her!’

“Scum!”

Ling Shuangjue’s murderous intent in her crimson eyes almost solidified. She didn’t even glance at the fleeing Pure Heart Heavenly Fox, instead slashing her sword backward towards the void!

With Ling Shuangjue’s movement, a white figure stirred.

Fast!

Blindingly fast!

The figure moved like a white bolt of lightning, ignoring the chaotic energy turbulence around them, without stirring the slightest breeze. They appeared purely and precisely in Shen Zhaoqing’s falling trajectory.

Bai Zhileng extended her arms, her movements so gentle it was as if she wasn’t catching a falling person, but rather welcoming a unique, rare treasure that had been lost and found again.

Pfft.

A soft sound.

The warm, rapidly cooling body landed steadily in her embrace.

Bai Zhileng lowered her head.

She saw that face, pale as snow, those tightly closed eyes that had lost all their luster, and the peach blossom tear mole dotted between her brows, as if it had solidified all the sorrow in the world.

She pressed her ear to Shen Zhaoqing’s chest.

Thump.

Thump… thump.

The heartbeat was faint, slow, erratic, as if it could stop at any moment.

Her vitality was like a flickering candle in the wind; that tiny spark was dimming and extinguishing at a visible rate.

“Zhileng, bring her back.”

Her master, Holy Master Yaoguang’s, gentle yet undeniable voice echoed in her divine consciousness.

“The Dao Source Body is the sole main ingredient for refining the ‘Nine Revolutions Soul-Returning Pill’, the only hope for extending the Penglai Immortal Palace’s ten-thousand-year Dao tradition. Spare no expense.

“Penglai’s future rests on your shoulders.”

‘As long as I bring her back and place her into the Longevity Cauldron… all difficulties will be resolved. I will become a hero of the Penglai Immortal Palace, Master’s great wish will be fulfilled, I…’ Bai Zhileng’s gaze fell dreamily upon Shen Zhaoqing’s face.

****

“Bai! Zhi! Leng————!”

Yuange immediately noticed Bai Zhileng’s abnormality. She instantly channeled her spiritual energy, wanting to give chase, but her vision was obscured by an unknown gas.

When she regained her senses, Shen Zhaoqing and Bai Zhileng’s figures had vanished from the shore of the cold pool.

While the three of them were fighting fiercely, Shen Zhaoqing had been stolen by a fox spirit in white robes, in the most disgusting manner imaginable.

“Good, good, very good.” Yuange gazed into the void, a soft laugh escaping her lips.

Penglai Immortal Palace, was it?

Ling Shuangjue slowly lifted her head. The usual playful glint was absent from her crimson pupils, replaced only by an absolute, chilling murderous intent, as if capable of freezing space and time. She gently wiped away a trace of blood that had spilled from the corner of her lips due to her surging rage, her movements as elegant as if polishing a work of art.

“Transmit this Venerable One’s command.”

Her voice pierced through infinite space, resounding directly above the Myriad Flower Blood Palace thousands of li away.

“Within three days, all demons shall heed the call and march upon… the Eastern Sea.”

She intended to transform that so-called overseas immortal island into the newest and most vibrant flower in her crimson garden.

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