Love & Redemption
Chapter 259: Final Volume: I Am Liuli - Eighteen: The Descent of the Gods (Part Five)

Chapter 259: Final Volume: I Am Liuli: Chapter Eighteen: The Descent of the Gods (Part Five)

From a distant temple, the melodious sounds of chime music flowed, soft and beautiful, its melody delighting the soul and instantly diluting the ominous aura of killing that filled the air.

Wuzhiqi smiled lightly, his hand still gripping the Sea Control Hook unmovingly, and spoke softly, "The Heavenly Emperor sure doesn’t make a small impression, descending to the Lower Realm with gods guarding him, and even the sounds of string and woodwind music accompany him. Hm, palace music, balanced and harmonious—it definitely has the style of Heaven."

Behind the door, the gods were all silent, neither speaking nor moving, but countless pairs of eyes were fixed intently on the three individuals. Being stared at by so many was of course not a pleasant feeling. Xuanji’s forehead was covered with a thin layer of sweat as he asked Wuzhiqi in a low voice, "What should we do? Should we really break in and attack?"

Before Wuzhiqi could respond, Tengshe roared in great annoyance, "Staring at what! Don’t know who I am? Am I a criminal?!"

Opposite them, there was still silence; then after a while, a gentle voice spoke out, "Wuzhiqi, it’s been a thousand years, and you’re still as filthy as ever. Last time you killed Xuanwu, and you also caused the deaths of many among the twenty-eight constellations. Coming here so aggressively this time, who are you intending to kill?"

Everyone looked up to see that the speaker was an extremely beautiful and dignified woman, with a gem shaped like a teardrop on her forehead, making her eyes shimmer like water. Upon seeing her, Wuzhiqi felt a warmth all over his body and couldn’t help but smile, softly saying, "White Tiger sister, whoever I kill, I would never bear to kill you."

White Tiger also smiled slightly, and everyone felt a warm comfort enveloping them, as if in an instant the ground everywhere had burst into spring blossoms. Such beauty truly intoxicated them.

She spoke gently, "You won’t kill me, yet I have come to kill you. Do you remember how you killed Xuanwu? His eyes didn’t even close when he died. This time I am here to avenge him, to cut off the flesh from your body slice by slice, adding salt after each slice to preserve your monkey meat. Won’t that delight you?"

Her last few sentences were uttered with intense bitterness, causing Tengshe to shudder as goosebumps raced up his spine. White Tiger was known as the most beautiful woman in Heaven, usually gentle and dignified, and it was rare to hear her speak like this. Tengshe suddenly remembered that Xuanwu and White Tiger were siblings; Xuanwu had been killed by Wuzhiqi, and so White Tiger was certainly harboring resentment and had come to seek revenge for her brother this time.

The mention of ’revenge’ made Tengshe break out in a cold sweat again, glancing at the many colleagues on the opposite side, each one of them looking emotionless, it seemed as Wuzhiqi had said; a grand battle was indeed imminent. Among them were friends killed, and others who had been defeated by Wuzhiqi; a thousand years had passed, and it was indeed time for accounts to be settled.

He took a step back, quite at a loss.

If a fight really broke out, should he join it? Whose side should he take? He couldn’t just watch his colleagues get killed by Wuzhiqi, but he couldn’t stand by and watch these colleagues kill Wuzhiqi and Xuanji either. What should he do?

Wuzhiqi was hardly bothered by White Tiger’s venomous words and chuckled, "My beautiful sister personally cutting my flesh, how could I not be delighted? I only wish you’d cut slowly, don’t hurry, so I might enjoy your closeness a bit longer."

If Zi Hu had survived and seen him joking around with another woman, she might have been angry enough to die all over again. Unfortunately, liking beauties was Wuzhiqi’s nature, and even the Heavenly Emperor could do nothing about him.

White Tiger just smiled and stopped responding entirely. Suddenly, a voice as grating as a broken gong rang out, "Monkey! You’ve gone wild all the way to Kunlun Mountain! You like being cut up, very well! Wait until I tear your flesh off strip by strip to accompany my drink!"

The moment Wuzhiqi heard that voice, he got a headache. He glanced over reluctantly, but did not see the dirty and stinking Azure Dragon he remembered. Instead, there stood a beauty in green, slender and alluring; unfortunately, her eyes, wide like copper bells, ruined her visage.

Wuzhiqi suddenly understood why Liu Yihuan had fallen in love with Azure Dragon at first sight. Well, clean her up, and she indeed counted as a beauty. Unfortunately, his first impression had been too poor; even if she turned into someone more beautiful than White Tiger immediately, he would not be the least interested. He only laughed and said, "I’m afraid monkey meat is rather bitter; you won’t be able to swallow it."

"Whether I can eat it or not is for me to decide!" Azure Dragon shouted, moving like a ghost, and in the blink of an eye, she pounced over, while the gods behind her cried out in alarm, "Azure Dragon, no!" As soon as their words ended, her green figure had already darted in front of Wuzhiqi, her hand transforming into a claw, reaching for his face.

Wuzhiqi easily stepped back and laughed, "Ouch! You didn’t catch me!"

Just when it seemed she wavered slightly, dispersing like blue smoke, he suddenly felt a stabbing pain from behind; her claws had materialized and grasped him. Azure Dragon’s skills were particularly troublesome since she could become invisible, hiding somewhere unknown and suddenly striking coldly like that. Last time, she had ruthlessly gouged out Liu Yihuan’s Heavenly Eye the same way.

Wuzhiqi’s back contracted slightly, but her aim wasn’t to claw him; instead, she reached for the Sea Control Hook. Once her claw touched it, the hook suddenly flew up. Wuzhiqi was startled and rushed forward to firmly clutch the hook, hearing the whistling wind beside his ear as her dragon tail swung by. He turned his head, struck out with his palm, and missed, but fortunately, he had still managed to snatch back the hook.

He laughed, "Giving it back personally is real sincerity. Having it taken from me would surely be an embarrassment!"

Azure Dragon’s claw struck from behind, causing him to lean forward as he laughed, "The same old trick! My face won’t get scratched by you again!" It turned out that the long scar on his face had been inflicted by Azure Dragon in the past. Azure Dragon, extremely cunning and deceitful, specialized in surprise attacks. Hiding behind her victim, she’d suddenly unleash such cold tricks that by the time one dodged, she’d be ready in front, her claws tearing open most people’s bellies. Wuzhiqi was quick enough to dodge the vital areas, and although she clawed his face and didn’t damage his eyeballs, a scar was unavoidable.

In this moment, he knew that if he dodged forward, her claws would be waiting ahead. He gently flicked the Sea Control Hook, guarding in front of him. But suddenly, he felt an excruciating pain from behind. That crafty Azure Dragon hadn’t waited in front; she had firmly grabbed his back, tearing a piece of flesh right off. Even as brave as Wuzhiqi was, the pain drastically changed his complexion.

Facing any formidable foe and not being able to see the enemy was the biggest issue. Wuzhiqi clutched his wound and hurriedly retreated, but Azure Dragon relentlessly pursued, her claws ghostly, quickly leaving many bloody marks on his body.

Tengshe was extremely anxious, jumping up and down, wishing he could rush to help, but he was well aware that once he attacked Azure Dragon, he would immediately be considered a rebel, and staying in Heaven would no longer be an option.

While hesitating, he suddenly saw Xuanji take a skin flask from her waist, drop two pills into it, and shake it. He shouted desperately, "Stinking brat! What are you drinking at a time like this? Hope it chokes you!"

Before she had finished speaking, she lifted her hand and scattered the water from the water bag. With a splash, it poured right around the waist of Azure Dragon. The pill, made of some unknown material, turned the entire bag of water black. Once the black water touched Azure Dragon’s body, she could no longer hide and, shrinking her tail, tried to escape. Wuzhiqi took the opportunity to strike with his palm, hitting the inky blackness squarely. Mid-air, all that could be heard was her piercing scream as a slender figure plummeted down.

Wuzhiqi was about to seize her as a hostage when he sensed something amiss ahead—a dense blood-colored fog surged towards him. Knowing it to be Vermilion Bird’s deadly move, he dared not collide with it and had to flip back. The blood fog split open, pulling Azure Dragon into it, and then gathered motionlessly in front of Kaiming Gate.

The corrosive power of the blood fog was immense; even those with copper heads and iron bones would be instantly dissolved upon entering. Having witnessed its potency before, no one dared to challenge it, only able to guard at the doorway and stare helplessly. Tengshe was anxious, jumping about wildly, the most active among the three. Xuanji knew the difficulty in his heart and said, "Don’t intervene, just watch. If the Heavenly Emperor blames us later, I’ll say I coerced you, it has nothing to do with you."

Tengshe was stunned by her words, speechless, while Wuzhiqi, in pain, was bandaging his wounds and, despite wincing, chuckled, "Yeah, being a Divine Beast of Heaven, you must have many dilemmas. This fight has nothing to do with you."

After holding back for a long time, Tengshe suddenly burst out, "What do you mean it has nothing to do with me! Don’t underestimate me! Damn it, let’s fight! Who’s afraid! If all else fails, we die together!"

Wuzhiqi teased him, "That’s not good, right? You are a Divine Beast with a promising future, hanging out with us rebels, it’s just holding you back. You’d better hurry back to the right path."

Tengshe, unable to resist such teasing, turned red with anger and repeatedly shouted, "Are you looking down on me?!"

Xuanji, after tightly wrapping Wuzhiqi’s wound to prevent it from splitting, said, "Tengshe, we know this is difficult for you. Really, don’t get involved. Striking your comrades, you’ll feel terrible inside."

Tengshe, biting his lip in silence, finally resolved himself and declared, "Enough! Besides death, nothing is serious. Let’s go together!"

Tengshe had his advantages—never overthinking to the point of dilemma. Once he made a decision, there was no turning back. Now that he decided to support Xuanji’s side, he instantly felt relaxed, squatting and saying, "This blood fog seems impeccable, but it’s actually easy to break. Just get some strong wind to blow it away. If not, I’ll use fire to burn it for three days and nights. I don’t believe it can’t be dissipated!"

Wuzhiqi shook his head and said, "This isn’t urgent... Ah, that damn woman’s claws are really fierce, it hurts like hell! Hey, what did you just throw on her?"

Xuanji took out a few black pills, resembling ink, and laughed, "These things, the Shaoyang Sect makes them. They are very effective for diarrhea and stomach discomfort. Normally, we swallow them directly, but dissolved in water, they’re like ink, nasty in color and taste. I just thought of it; although she can be invisible, she doesn’t really disappear—she’s just unseen by us. If you throw colored water on her, won’t she reappear immediately?"

Although Wuzhiqi grimaced in pain, he couldn’t help but extend his thumb and compliment, "Impressive! You are quite clever; I thought you had become a blockhead in your reincarnation!"

Meanwhile, inside the temple, celestial music continued nonstop, melodious and enchanting. Wuzhiqi sighed, "The Heavenly Emperor old man is enjoying who knows what pleasures inside, and here we are in such a sorry state."

Suddenly, the melody sharply rose, becoming passionate and mournful; everyone was stunned, feeling as if the chime bells were striking right at their hearts, the ancient zither ringing piercingly with several notes, turning into the mournful and vast sounds of variable zither, capable of bringing tears to one’s eyes.

Wuzhiqi murmured, "Variable zither is a killing sound. With such intensity, I fear it won’t rise to the feather tone before breaking! Ominous indeed."

He then turned to look at the blood fog, his expression slightly changing, "Not good; it truly is the killing sound!"

The surrounding blood fog writhed, slowly creeping towards them on the edge of the cliff. If they did not act now, there were only two outcomes: either jump off the cliff or be corroded by the blood fog into a pool of blood.

Wuzhiqi clenched his teeth and stood up, gripping the Sea Control Hook tightly in his sweaty palm.

With this swing, the Kaiming Gate would shatter, not to mention the gods behind it. Even if they managed to break through the blood fog, it would mean a full-scale confrontation with Heaven. Xuanji’s hopes of appealing to the Heavenly Emperor were slim. Success or failure lay in the swing of the Sea Control Hook.

Just as the blood fog enveloped them, less than ten feet away, Wuzhiqi clenched his teeth and raised his hand to swing the Sea Control Hook—it was going to be an earth-shattering swing.

Just then, his wrist was suddenly grabbed. Turning around, he saw Xuanji slowly shaking her head.

She stepped forward and announced loudly, "I am Chu Xuanji! I request an audience with the Heavenly Emperor! I harbor no intentions of rebellion or disrespect; please be accommodating!"

The blood fog continued to advance, no response came, and the mournful sound of the variable zither resonated from the temple, as if tumultuous clouds were engulfing them.

*****

Note: The five ancient tones are gong, shang, jiao, zhi, and yu, with variable zhi being one of the refined notes in elegant music, equivalent to an augmented fourth today. The sound of variable zhi is a heroic and tragic tone, originating from "Historical Records: The Biography of Assassins" which mentions: "When Gao Jianli played the instrument, Jing Ke sang to the sounds of variable zhi, moving all warriors to tears." (To be continued, to find out what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com, where there are more Chapters available. Support the author by reading the authorized versions!)