Love & Redemption -
Chapter 193: Volume 4: The Fragile Dream Shatters, - 50: Riot (12)
Chapter 193: Volume 4: The Fragile Dream Shatters, Chapter 50: Riot (12)
Time seemed to freeze at that moment, demons overwhelming the sky, and delicate, frail flames that looked like they could wither at any moment. This scene did not instill fear at all, probably because it surpassed everyone’s imagination, boasting a power that should not exist in the mortal world.
Unafraid, the demons had been informed before their departure from Buzhou Mountain by the Right Deputy Hall Master that there was a peculiar young girl from the Shaoyang Sect who could summon the Samadhi True Fire. Though it was a celestial fire, there surely were ways to counter it. Long ago, Emperor Hou Tu had encountered the Candle-Biting Dragon at Yin Mountain and received a gift of a Dragon Scale, impervious to the power of the Five Elements. Emperor Hou Tu had offered this Dragon Scale to the Heavenly Emperor, and at a time when Heaven was fraught with battle, this Element-defying Dragon Scale marked numerous meritorious achievements until the day it mysteriously disappeared from the armory. After searching several times to no avail, the Heavenly Emperor had to give up.
This Dragon Scale, naturally, was stolen from Heaven. Given its resistance to the power of the Five Elements, the people of Lize Palace once thought to fashion it into armor that one could wear to the Netherworld to ensure one’s safety. But one thing led to another, and that giant Dragon Scale was eventually cut into ninety-nine shields. Now, those demons at the forefront each held a shield, plowing forward.
Xuanji lifted the huge Ding Kun Sword, and the Nine Heavens Mysterious Fire blazed fiercely, expanding the circle several times larger than before. The ninety-nine demons that met the azure blue flames were unharmed, all at once pushing back the Profound Fire. Startled, Xuanji took a closer look and saw that each of the demons was protecting themselves with a large, translucent shield, with patterns like clouds on its surface, looking very beautiful.
She immediately recognized them as the Dragon Scales of the Candle-Biting Dragon, the Divine Artifact impervious to the Five Elements, once a treasure used in Heaven but now set against her. Stubbornly, her lips curled, and this expression gave her a childlike obstinacy—she was determined to burn those shields to ash!
Spreading her arms as if embracing gently, Xuanji brought the Ding Kun close to her chest. The waves of Nine Heavens Mysterious Fire began to consolidate, gathering above the Ding Kun. The azure blue flames formed a column of fire that could reach Heaven above and the Nine Nether Realm below.
The crowd that had gathered in front of Mingxia Cave to watch the battle now scurried to avoid it. Just a moment ago, a young disciple, catching the excitement, had moved closer to watch, but then the Profound Fire descended, instantly turning him to ash. The crowd was so shocked that they were lost for words, and Linglong screamed out Xuanji’s name hysterically from below, but Xuanji could not hear her—at least, even if she did hear, she might not have cared.
Emptiness, everything was emptiness. Her heart was utterly silent, as if everything had been hollowed out, leaving her utterly bewildered. The shouting of the crowd in front of Mingxia Cave, the wild cries of the demons, the slight sizzling of the Nine Heavens Mysterious Fire, and the sound of the wind whistling past her ears—she seemed unable to hear any of it.
She needed to calm down... that’s right, she had just said she was going on a patrol, to find something to do, she needed to calm down, her mind was in turmoil. She had been confused for many years, seeking a place that belonged entirely to her, one that no one could take or destroy.
She thought she had found it.
That gloriously supreme beauty, she would use all her strength to protect it, to prevent anyone from destroying it.
But it shattered in an instant.
She had nowhere to go in the end. Everyone had something more important than her, but all she had was them.
Liar! You’re a liar! You horrible liar, you said you’d always be with me...
Suddenly, a voice inside her started sobbing desperately, but she no longer knew, nor wanted to know, whose voice it was.
The giant pillar of the Nine Heavens Mysterious Fire began to stir, resembling a dragon spanning heaven and earth, starting to reveal its grandeur by shaking its head and swinging its tail. The demons wielding shields thought she was about to drive the fire dragon towards them and hurriedly raised their shields high, hiding their entire bodies behind them. Little did they know, the gigantic fire dragon threw its head back and shot straight towards the sky, disappearing almost instantaneously with its azure blue silhouette vanishing without a trace.
Everyone was stunned, staring blankly at Xuanji standing alone in the air. Her slender and frail figure seemed as if it would melt into the sky, without flames or wild killing intent, looking as though she could be blown down by the wind at any moment.
"Xuanji!" Chu Lei was the first to come to his senses, pushing all the scattered people outside Mingxia Cave back, and then he shouted out to her. As to why he called her, he did not understand himself. For the first time in his life, he felt a deep fear and sorrow, as if he was about to lose something precious.
She slightly moved, as if to turn back, but the next moment, the sky suddenly filled with faint thunderous noises, as if to split the heavens apart, the booming sound growing louder and louder. Suddenly, the clear blue sky was twisted into wrinkles and split open in the middle, revealing a giant eyeball which turned twice before fixingly staring at Xuanji.
The sky had opened its eye! People cried out in terror, Chu Lei could no longer bear it, and leapt forward intending to bring Xuanji back, but his sleeve was tightly grasped by Chu Yinghong. She trembled as she said, "You must not go! Sect Leader! This is not something mortals can meddle in!"
He found himself unable to speak, feeling his body tremble slightly. If he did not bring her back, he would regret it for the rest of his life. He tore away from Chu Yinghong’s grasp and sprinted forward, only to hear Xuanji faintly speak, "Do not spy on me... you useless things..."
She thrust her palm upwards, and the Ding Kun Sword soared into the sky with a whoosh, piercing straight towards the Heavenly Eye. The crack in the sky quickly closed up, and as Ding Kun Sword reached halfway, it lost its target, turned, and fell, landing back in her palm with a slight heaviness.
"Fire rain!" She flicked the Ding Kun Sword, and there was silence for a while. Chu Lei stood in a daze for a long moment, suddenly feeling an unusual pain on his shoulder, hastily slapped it, only to see a small black hole burned into his shoulder by something. The wind suddenly turned extremely hot, he looked up only to see the fire dragon that had previously shot into the sky, now transformed into countless dense azure blue fire sparks, raining down like rain.
The demons had never expected her to use such a tactic. Those with shields fared better, able to withstand it, but those without were almost instantly swallowed by the fire rain, their screams unending. The shattered Nine Heavens Mysterious Fire did not allow for a painless death; it eroded the flesh bit by bit, and each inch of pain was vividly felt.
The tiny azure blue flames covered the entire sky, flickering and drifting, beautiful like a dream. They left no place to hide, no strength to resist. The previously fierce demon army lost its momentum in an instant, some burned to death, others severely burned, and many demons, initially frozen with fear from the strange phenomena, had already fled without a trace.
Xuanji stood quietly in the fire rain. Suddenly, she caught a glimpse of those demons shielding themselves with shields and coldly said, "Do I need fire to kill you?" She tightened her grip on Ding Kun Sword, and the huge sword instantly retracted to its original size, radiating silver light. Xuanji was about to rush forward to slay them all when she suddenly felt a tug from behind. Chu Lei’s voice rang out, "Xuanji! Stop killing! Come back!"
She abruptly paused, slowly turned around, only to see Chu Lei’s body covered in black and white from the Nine Heavens Mysterious Fire burns, not a single spot was unharmed. Yet his hand stubbornly held onto her wrist, he spoke heavily, "Come back! Don’t go!"
Xuanji was taken aback for a long time, seemingly unable to recall the cause and consequences, staring blankly at him. Finally, an expression appeared on her face, her lips quivering slightly as she whispered, "Dad..."
Chu Lei tightly embraced her, flipping off the sword, and the two harshly fell to the ground. He Danping and the others no longer cared about the fire rain, they all rushed out, helping them up off the ground.
"Silly child! Silly child!" He Danping hugged her husband with one arm and Xuanji with the other, crying breathlessly, repeating these three words over and over. Linglong clung to Xuanji’s arm, choking up, "Sister! Look at me, sister! Do you still recognize me?"
Seeing them burned by the fire rain, their hair and eyebrows scorched, and many burns on their faces, yet stubbornly unwilling to go inside, Xuanji’s heart suddenly ached, followed by various voices crowding in. For a moment, she understood everything.
"Let’s go in first..." she murmured, but before she could finish, many people had already run out of the cave, dragging them all into Mingxia Cave.
Chu Lei’s burns were the most severe, and the disciples were busy applying medicine to him, yet he whispered, "Xuanji, your mom and dad are here, this is your home. There’s no need to despair over anything."
Xuanji nodded blankly. She was still clinging to a voice in her heart, a voice that seemed to be telling her something, things she had never considered, things she should understand...
He Danping hugged her tightly without letting go, tremblingly said, "Forget about becoming an immortal or a demon, I just want you safe by my side, everything will be fine... that’s better than anything!"
Linglong was so agitated that she couldn’t speak clearly; her tears soaked her entire sleeve as she kept repeating her name. Xuanji was stunned for a long time and then suddenly softly said, "Am I... am I also important?"
"What are you talking about!" Chu Yinghong hammered her on the head hard, causing her to cry out in pain, "What do you mean ’also important’? Everyone is important! No one can just die or leave casually! You, girl! I don’t recall ever teaching you such lack of confidence!"
Xuanji touched her head, yet her thoughts were, if that’s so, why did he leave?
Linglong seemed to understand what she was thinking, and she whispered, "Xuanji, look, we are all a whole here, each person is very important. But there will always be someone most important in our hearts, even more important than ourselves. Si Feng left... because you haven’t figured out who is the most important person to you. You have to understand, loving someone and loving everyone here doesn’t conflict. It doesn’t mean you’ll lose us by loving him... you won’t lose anyone, we will always be together."
Xuanji quietly watched her, and a voice in her heart began to clear up.
Yes, yes! She finally understood why Si Feng had left; he was waiting for her to understand, waiting for her to grow up. If he had always stayed by her side, treating her tenderly, she would never know what it meant to cherish. Those she always wanted to protect, those she insisted on, were probably just her selfishness.
Nobody leaves anyone, everyone stays together forever, that was a child’s dream.
Everyone must grow up, but she had always been indulging in the past, not understanding this, refusing to accept that.
The wrong person had always been her.
Xuanji took a deep breath, a smile finally appeared on her face, and she softly said, "I understand now... but I still have to confront those demons. I can’t let them bully us right to our door."
He Danping grabbed her hand anxiously, urgently saying, "You, don’t go there! The way it was before..."
Xuanji softly said, "Mother, don’t worry. I’ve understood everything now. I will not leave you all."
He Danping was still a bit worried, but ultimately, she slowly let go. Xuanji stood up, walked to the cave entrance, and saw those demons gathering again, hesitantly looking around outside the cave. She said, "Tengshe, how about we have a big fight together?"
Tengshe had been silent until now, finally grunted, and said, "Whatever you want! Stinky girl, you scared me earlier..."
"What did you say?" Xuanji moved close to his nose, but he pushed her away disdainfully, then suddenly smiled and said, "It’s much better to look at you when you’re like this."
Xuanji didn’t argue with him, and, carrying her sword, walked to the cave entrance. As soon as the demons saw her, they immediately retreated, showing great wariness. She formed a sword technique without using the Profound Fire Samadhi True Fire; the War God General’s specialty was not in setting fires. She was going to teach these demons a lesson they would not forget.
Her figure was like lightning, stabbing into the demon group in an instant. The Ding Kun Sword danced like a silver dragon, rustling loudly, and the demons initially tried to withstand but soon were forced to retreat step by step by the momentum of her sword. Her whole body seemed enshrouded in sword light, completely unapproachable, and instantly she cleared a large space in the crowd.
Those demons holding Dragon Scale Shields really had no tricks left. Without her setting fires, the shields were useless, those fragile things could be kicked apart too; she wildly chopped them, and several shields instantly shattered into pieces.
"Tengshe, fire!" she shouted loudly, but before she had finished commanding, Tengshe had already spread his Fire Wings, engulfing all the demons under the massive wings like a hen her chicks. The battle was fought beautifully, Xuanji was about to praise this sullen spiritual beast when she suddenly saw a figure flicker on the rock wall beside her; thinking it was a demon, she raised her hand to release a Sword Qi, but then she saw that the person was pale, clutching his abdomen tightly, staring blankly at her—it was Zhong Minyan.
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On one side, she is just an ordinary girl; on the other, she is the most famous person across the continent;
On one side, she runs a nondescript Taobao store; on the other, she owns the largest Ya Hall.
All because of every full moon’s transformation.
Err, she’s not a werewolf, but, wow—wow—
See the only Eastern girl in the Western world, with a pair of ridiculously brainless pets, living a BH life outside the law.
A new work by Liu Anhua, book number 1030687. It’s a fun read, please throw your PK tickets at it. (To be continued, if you wish to know what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com, more Chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)
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