Moonlight Mystique

Chapter Thirty

Time in the cave seemed to stand still, yet it was merely a fleeting moment. But in that brief instant, nearly half of Bai Shuo’s blood had poured into Chong Zhao’s body. Chong Zhao gazed at Bai Shuo’s pale face and raised his hand to touch her neck.

“Enough, A-Shuo… Thank you for your blood…”

Chong Zhao’s voice carried an eerie, sinister tone. Suddenly, he struck Bai Shuo’s shoulder with a palm, sending her flying like a broken kite before she crashed heavily onto the ground.

“A-Zhao…” Bai Shuo coughed up mouthfuls of blood, staring at Chong Zhao in shock.

“Junior Brother?!” Er Yun was also stunned, at a loss for what to do.

Chong Zhao burst into wild laughter. He gripped the thorn embedded in his chest and effortlessly pulled it out, tossing it aside. The Bodhi vines binding him swiftly retreated. In a flash of light, Chong Zhao transformed into the sinister Bodhi, cloaked and masked, his entire body surging with malevolent power—far stronger than when he had fought Fan Yue in the forest.

“The Evil Bodhi?!” Er Yun cried out in disbelief. When had Bodhi taken the form of her junior brother? How had she not noticed?

“To think a mere lower realm like this could produce a spirit blood like yours. All these years, I’ve drained the Spiritual Qi of the Eastern Sea, yet I still couldn’t touch the threshold of divinity. But your blood has allowed my Golden Core to reach Major Achievement.” The Bodhi reveled in the immense power within him, laughing maniacally.

Bai Shuo’s face was deathly pale. With her current spiritual power, Bodhi’s strike had nearly severed her life force. Gasping weakly, she asked, “A-Zhao… where is he? What have you done to him?”

“Still worrying about him at death’s door? Well, without him, how could I have tricked you into willingly offering your spirit blood? Since you’ve contributed greatly to my ascension, I’ll grant you this dying wish—so you can rest in peace.”

With a wave of his hand, the surrounding malevolent energy dispersed. Several meters behind him lay the true Bodhi tree heart, where Chong Zhao remained tightly bound by vines, sharp thorns piercing his chest. The Golden Core in his chest flickered faintly, its light nearly extinguished.

Chong Zhao weakly lifted his head, reaching out toward Bai Shuo on the ground. “A-Shuo… run… quickly…”

“Bodhi, you’ve already taken my blood. If you release Chong Zhao, I’ll willingly offer the rest of my blood to you,” Bai Shuo pleaded, looking up.

“I’ve already taken your blood, and I’ll reclaim his Golden Core as well,” Bodhi sneered. “You’re nothing but prey in my hands. What right do you have to bargain with me?”

Bodhi raised his hand, and the vines in the air sharpened into deadly spikes, lunging toward Bai Shuo—

“The Lord of Haoyue Hall has ties to me! If you kill me, aren’t you afraid of provoking him?!” At the critical moment, Bai Shuo shouted with all her strength.

The Lord of Haoyue Hall? The demigod of the Yao Realm?

Chong Zhao froze, while Er Yun was speechless. Had Bai Shuo lost her mind? What nonsense was she spouting?

The attacking vines abruptly halted mid-air. Seeing Bodhi pause, Bai Shuo’s face lit with hope—only to hear a scornful laugh from behind the mask.

“Little girl, the Yao Race knows no mercy. Do you truly believe he would risk himself for a half-immortal like you?”

“Why wouldn’t he? If even you crave my blood, do you think you’re the only one in this world seeking divinity?”

Bodhi’s voice sharpened. “You made a deal with him using your blood?”

“Yes!” Without further hesitation, Bai Shuo shouted toward the light at the cave’s entrance. “Lord!”

But there was no response from the opening."Hall Master! Hall Master Haoyue!"

Bai Shuo's voice grew louder with each call. Chong Zhao and Er Yun followed her shouts, looking upward, but no matter how desperately she cried out, there was no response from the sliver of sky above.

The only reply was Bodhi's triumphant, maniacal laughter. "Hahahaha..."

Beneath that mask hid an unknown face. With a lift of his palm, countless vines suddenly shot up, binding Bai Shuo and lifting her into the air. He strode toward her, his voice eerie.

"Little girl, I've lived far longer in this world than you. Did you really think that paper puppet of yours could locate my true form? Or that I truly believed Fan Yue would give up devouring me? Your little tricks can't deceive me. If I allowed you in, no one else can enter. The entire Fire-Ice Island is my Bodhi true form. You are all now sealed within my body. I have reached the Peak of Demi-Godhood. With no true gods left in the Three Realms, no one can break my barrier—not even your Hall Master Haoyue."

At the heart of the peach grove, beneath an ancient tree, Fan Yue stood with his crimson robes billowing. A water cave was just within reach, yet he halted.

"Why are you stopping? She's right down there! Go in!" The golden pig fluttered in midair, shouting.

"I can't." Fan Yue raised his hand, releasing a surge of red demonic energy that forced a black barrier into visibility. The barrier firmly encased the water cave and its surroundings. Closing his eyes, Fan Yue gathered even stronger demonic energy and struck the barrier—yet it remained unshaken.

"No wonder his power far surpasses Long Er's. He's devoured every living thing on this island. Now, the island is him." Fan Yue's eyes darkened. Long Yi Zhu's wings froze mid-flap, his snout gaping.

Inside the water cave, Bodhi's withered hand tightened around Bai Shuo's neck. Behind the mask, his eyes were dark and sinister as he sighed in satisfaction.

"Still, I must thank you for your blood. The path of immortality is fraught with suffering. To die by my hand is not a wasted life for you."

A surge of sinister Qi gathered in Bodhi's palm—

"A-Shuo..." Trapped beneath the Bodhi tree, Chong Zhao, seeing Bai Shuo at death's door, strained with all his might to pull the thorny vines from his chest. Even as blood gushed from the wound, the vines remained unmoved. As Bodhi's hand twisted around Bai Shuo's slender neck, despair finally filled Chong Zhao's eyes. "A-Shuo!"

"I didn't come into this world for the likes of you, you wretched old man." In midair, Bai Shuo, who had been hanging limp, suddenly lifted her head, her gaze clear. "Even if I'm just an ant, dying by your hand isn't my fate... Fan Yue!"

The moment the sinister Qi touched her forehead, a dark red crescent mark appeared between her brows. A surge of powerful demonic energy shot forth from the mark, and crimson spiritual power coalesced like starlight into a red silhouette. The figure struck Bodhi with a single palm, and like a catalyst, countless strands of red demonic energy erupted from Bodhi's body. With a deafening explosion, white light filled the cave, and Bodhi was sent flying like a broken puppet.

Amid the swirling spiritual energy, Fan Yue cradled the weakened Bai Shuo, descending to the ground like a deity.

With a casual wave, he severed the Bodhi vines binding Chong Zhao and Er Yun.

Chong Zhao collapsed weakly. "Junior Brother!" Er Yun rushed to support him but held back Chong Zhao, who yearned to reach Bai Shuo, eyeing Fan Yue warily.Although she didn't recognize the Lord of Haoyue Palace, she could clearly sense the terrifying demonic power emanating from the person before her.

"What are you glaring at? Think your eyes are big? I didn't fall for it the first time, did you think I'd suddenly turn stupid the second time around?"

Despite the sudden reversal of the situation, Bai Shuo didn't dare forget the previous lessons. She quickly scrambled off Fan Yue, casually wiped the blood from her mouth, and grinned at the stunned Evil Bodhi on the ground.

"You... how could Fan Yue's demonic power be inside me? Why?!" Evil Bodhi was enveloped in pure crimson demonic energy. Not far away, the heart of the Bodhi tree burst into red flames. Spitting blood, Evil Bodhi felt his true form being consumed by these flames—Fan Yue was fusing with him!

"Because you're stupid," Fan Yue said coolly, his gaze shifting to Bai Shuo, who stood proudly with hands on hips. He raised an eyebrow, "Or perhaps you're just unlucky—meeting someone who's lived far shorter than you but is still smarter than you, you useless trash."

An hour earlier, by the shores of Fire-Ice Island, Fan Yue didn't even bother turning his head as he spoke indifferently.

"If you want to die, go ahead. This lord won't keep you company. Your Immortal Realm's squabbles with him are entertainment enough for me."

"If you don't help me, I'll run back right now and give him my blood! Let him succeed in ascending to whatever godhood he's after. Then we'll see which of you two demons ends up devouring the other!" Bai Shuo shouted. Seeing Fan Yue turn to look at her, she hastily jumped back two steps and lifted her chin. "Barefoot folks aren't afraid of shoes! My life's worthless anyway—if I die, so be it! But you're the mighty Lord of Haoyue Palace of the Yao Race—your life's way more valuable than mine!"

Seeing Bai Shuo's shameless, unyielding expression, Fan Yue actually laughed in exasperation. "You know its weakness? You think it's really some evil spirit? It's an ancient divine Bodhi tree—enlightened with nine spiritual apertures. It's already consumed this entire island. What we encountered earlier was just a clone formed from its divine wood. Even I can't locate its true form. What can a mere half-immortal like you possibly do?"

"It wants to eat me—that's its weakness." Bai Shuo grinned slyly and blinked. "Lord, let's work together on this, eh?"

Back in the water cave, Bai Shuo had been smug until Fan Yue called her "useless trash." Her face fell immediately. "Hey hey hey, demon, do you even know how to compliment people—" Meeting Fan Yue's icy gaze, she shuddered and quickly shut up, turning to Evil Bodhi instead. "Old geezer, for people—no, immortals—bah! For evil spirits like you, living longer doesn't make you smarter. I figured it out long ago—if I came back to save A-Zhao, you'd definitely try to trick me again. But my blood only works if I offer it willingly. If I were you, how could I make someone willingly offer their blood?"

Bai Shuo's smile vanished. "A-Zhao's life. But if you threatened me with his life—well, offering my blood means death, and not offering it means death too. You know I'm smart, so that method wouldn't work on me. Only if I found A-Zhao myself and saw him at death's door would I throw everything away to save him."Bai Shuo paced a couple of steps in place, then lowered her head to meet the masked face of the Evil Bodhi. "Even the Lord of Haoyue Hall couldn’t find your hideout, yet my little paper figure—one that could be blown apart by a gust of wind—managed to locate it. So... the moment I stepped into this water cave, I knew the one trapped beneath the Bodhi wood wasn’t the real A-Zhao. But it doesn’t matter. Even if he isn’t A-Zhao, he is still your true Bodhi wood form. Weren’t you puzzled about why you had the demonic power of the Haoyue Hall Lord inside you? Because I channeled his Origin demonic power into my inner core. When you sucked my blood, you also swallowed your own death warrant."

As Bai Shuo spoke slowly, the Bodhi tree heart not far away burned until only a flicker remained. The Evil Bodhi’s body, now enveloped in Fan Yue’s demonic power, gradually turned translucent. He glared at Bai Shuo with venomous hatred. "What a ruthless girl, such a cunning scheme. I, who hunt eagles daily, have now been pecked by one. I underestimated you."

"Flattery won’t help you now." Bai Shuo clapped her hands and walked toward Chong Zhao, waving dismissively behind her. "Lord, this rotten wood is all yours. A deal’s a deal—let’s go, A-Zhao, time to go home!"

Bai Shuo cheerfully strode toward Chong Zhao—

"A-Shuo! Dodge!" Chong Zhao was right in front of her, but Bai Shuo saw inexplicable terror in his eyes. Before she could react, a blinding white light surged from behind her. Every strand of her hair stood on end as she sensed the terrifyingly potent immortal power in that attack, paralyzing her with fear.

Chong Zhao broke free from Er Yun and sprinted toward Bai Shuo.

The instant the white light flared, Fan Yue’s silver chain shot from his palm. Both the chain and Chong Zhao reached Bai Shuo at the same time. Chong Zhao scooped her up and leaped aside just in time to evade the light. But the attack didn’t stop after missing its mark—it instead coiled around the still-dazed Er Yun, dragging him to the nearly extinguished embers of the Bodhi tree heart. Under the white light’s glow, the tree heart reignited, its eerie black radiance flickering back to life.

The silver chain, having missed its target, sulkily returned to Fan Yue’s hand. Fan Yue gave the useless chain a cold glance and snorted. The chain trembled in grievance before going limp, pretending to be dead.

Bai Shuo and Chong Zhao turned their gaze toward the Bodhi tree heart. As the white light dissipated, they saw the Evil Bodhi—who had been on the brink of death—now clutching Er Yun’s throat with one hand while gripping a luminous jade slip in the other. That terrifying immortal power from earlier had clearly emanated from the slip.