Chapter 29: The Immortal-Binding Array’s Fury

Gu Chang’an’s sword tip dipped slightly as the sword intent of Frostbright Sword unfurled like a silent tide, spreading imperceptibly. The very ground between her and Ling Shuangjue, so recently stained with blood and littered with corpses, now seemed to transform into an impassable chasm between them.

Ling Shuangjue stood with her arms crossed, a playful smile curving her red lips. Blood-red demonic flames flickered around her, as if responding to the silent sword intent’s provocation.

“This Venerable One’s possession,” she chuckled, each word seeming to carry a barbed hook. “Gu Chang’an, whether things speak or not is one thing, but things certainly run, hide, and even draw others like moths to a flame.”

Her gaze, laden with pointed meaning, swept over the seemingly lifeless young woman cradled in Shen Zhaoqing’s arms. It then returned, lingering, on Shen Zhaoqing’s impassive face.

“See how endearing she is? Before I’ve even taken her back to the Myriad Flower Blood Palace, moths are already throwing themselves into the flame.”

Gu Chang’an’s eyes darkened perceptibly.

“Shut up.”

The two words were dredged from an icy abyss, devoid of any warmth.

“Dare to step foot within Qingyun Sect’s territory again, and I will cut you down.”

“Oh?” Ling Shuangjue’s eyebrow arched, her smile deepening. “With just you? Or with that useless sword of yours, only good for bullying your own?”

These words struck a nerve, precisely hitting Gu Chang’an’s most sensitive spot.

“You court death!”

Gu Chang’an could no longer restrain herself. With a flick of her wrist, Frostbright Sword let out a clear, resonant dragon’s cry.

A fierce beam of sword light, like a bolt of lightning tearing through the night sky, shot straight for Ling Shuangjue’s heart!

However, just as the sword light was about to connect with the crimson robes—

A low hum echoed.

An eerie, low hum emanated from the very heart of the valley.

It wasn’t the clang of clashing weapons, nor the roar of exploding spells. The sound was muffled, oppressive, as if rising from the deepest core of the earth, carrying a heart-stopping tremor within it.

The entire valley swayed faintly in response.

Loose stones rattled down from the mountain walls.

Both figures, locked in their standoff, froze simultaneously.

Gu Chang’an’s sword tip hovered three inches from Ling Shuangjue’s chest. The surging sword qi made Ling Shuangjue’s crimson cloak snap and billow around her.

Ling Shuangjue’s smile receded slightly, and her blood-red pupils narrowed.

The source of the tremor was the Immortal-Binding Array, which Ling Shuangjue had long since breached. Now, with Qu Hanpo’s death, the array’s eye began to vibrate fiercely.

The core of the array, a plate composed of countless runes and spirit stones, was now emitting an intensely dazzling white light.

“This is bad!”

From a distance, Ning Jihe, who had been standing as still as a statue, saw her expression drastically change.

As the Chief of the Enforcement Hall, her understanding of array formations far surpassed that of ordinary cultivators. She recognized it instantly: the array had lost its master, its spirit energy core was unguided, and it was about to go into a catastrophic reverse rampage.

The Immortal-Binding Array, as its name suggested, was a military formation designed to imprison immortals. Once its core energy spiraled out of control and detonated…

The destructive force would be no less than the unreserved self-detonation of a Nascent Soul cultivator. In fact, it would likely be even greater.

A harsh crackle split the air—

An ear-splitting crackle of electricity rang out. The white light on the array plate suddenly swelled, and a destructive wave of energy, like the tide receding before a tsunami, compressed inward to its absolute limit.

Then—

It exploded outwards!

“Retreat quickly!” Ning Jihe bellowed, her voice sharp with urgency. Simultaneously, she recoiled, her Decree Plate shining brightly as it conjured a thick shield of light before her.

She was far enough to retreat.

But Gu Chang’an and Ling Shuangjue were right at the epicenter of the blast!

Even more crucially, Shen Zhaoqing was directly between them!

In that instant, not a single thought registered in Gu Chang’an’s mind.

Her body moved faster than her thoughts.

Protect Junior Sister Shen.

It was an instinct carved into her very sword heart.

Without a moment’s hesitation, she stomped her left foot, launching herself forward like an arrow released from a bowstring. Abandoning all defenses, and heedless of the risks of being caught in the blast, she surged towards Shen Zhaoqing.

Her speed was phenomenal, leaving an azure afterimage streaking through the air.

Yet, another figure was even swifter!

The very instant Gu Chang’an moved, Ling Shuangjue reacted.

She harbored none of Gu Chang’an’s lofty ideals of ‘the righteous path’ or ‘fellow disciples’. Her logic was simple, brutal, almost primal.

She didn’t even spare a glance for the impending explosion of the array plate. In her blood-red pupils, from start to finish, only one person’s reflection remained.

“Boundary Severing Step!”

With a soft cry, Ling Shuangjue’s form instantly blurred, as if merging into a spatial rift.

In the next heartbeat, she appeared ghost-like behind Shen Zhaoqing, outpacing Gu Chang’an’s sword light by that crucial tenth of a second!

Gu Chang’an’s pupils contracted sharply. She watched helplessly as the crimson figure, like a blood-red butterfly spreading its wings, moved first, pulling the one she had sworn to protect into an embrace.

Shen Zhaoqing, still lost in the icy touch of Li Wuxia’s body, suddenly felt a tightening around her lower back. An aura, carrying a faint scent of blood and a chilly floral fragrance, enveloped her completely.

She was held tightly from behind.

A warm chest, yet tinged with a strange coolness, pressed against her back.

She instinctively tried to struggle, but the arms encircling her were like iron clamps, unyielding.

“Don’t move.”

A husky voice, laced with a peculiar satisfaction, whispered in her ear, its warm breath sending a tingle through her earlobe.

And in that very instant.

The world lost its sound.

BOOM—!!!!!

The core of the Immortal-Binding Array detonated completely.

An indescribable, blinding light instantly engulfed the entire valley.

Immediately following, a visible white energy shockwave erupted from the array plate’s center, spreading outwards with crushing, destructive force!

The ground was peeled back layer by layer. The mountain walls, like biscuits struck by a giant’s hammer, instantly fractured into a web of cracks, then collapsed with a thunderous roar!

The corpses that had not yet been cleared away were obliterated, turning to dust in less than a second within this torrent of energy.

Gu Chang’an was violently flung away by the immense force. In mid-air, she forcefully twisted her body, drawing Frostbright Sword to carve a trench several feet deep into the ground before she could barely stabilize herself.

Even so, she felt a sweetness in her throat as a mouthful of rebellious blood surged up, which she forcefully swallowed back down. She lifted her head, looking towards the eye of the storm, and her heart plummeted to the depths of the valley.

The entire valley had transformed into a purgatory.

And at the very center of this purgatory, the original point of the explosion, the crimson figure still stood.

She was like a blood-red reef, unmoving amidst the apocalyptic storm. She held the person in her arms tightly, shielding them with her back, enduring the full force of the array’s power.

A sickening cough erupted.

At the moment the shockwave swept over, Ling Shuangjue’s body trembled violently. The white energy torrent furiously pierced her protective demonic energy.

The demonic energy barrier lasted less than half a breath before it shattered with a crash. Immediately afterward, the destructive power completely poured onto her flesh and blood body without reservation.

The crimson cloak on her back, woven from extraterrestrial blood silkworm threads, impervious to fire and water, and resistant to blades, instantly turned into scattering fragments like butterflies.

Next, her white battle robe tore into shreds. Blood, like a breached dam, gushed from her back.

Shen Zhaoqing could see nothing, hear nothing. She only felt herself being held even tighter, so tight that her bones ached.

A thick, warm liquid, smelling of iron, poured down from above her head, soaking her hair and collar. She smelled that familiar, chillingly fragrant scent of blood, more intense than any time before.

A muffled groan, suppressed to its absolute limit, came from behind her ear. The body holding her trembled violently.

Shen Zhaoqing’s mind, finally, slowly began to regain some focus from its blank state. She… seemed to have been saved again.