Chapter Eighty
In the calm, unrippled sky, a broken golden wing sliced through the air. Yan Shuang flapped her wings, flying onward as blood dripped from her bloodstained feathers, her eyes blurred with unshed tears.
Yan Shuang dared not stop. On her back was the sole survivor of Great Marsh Mountain—a life she had fought for through a mountain soaked in blood. Until she delivered this person to the Heavenly Palace, she could not even afford to die.
The Eagle Clan excelled in flight, and her speed was already the pinnacle among immortals. Even if Yu Feng were here, he would not be faster.
Yet A Jiu, now transformed into a Demigod, effortlessly caught up to her.
A flash of Divine Power struck Yan Shuang, halting her momentum and sending her tumbling onto the clouds. Staggering to her feet, she looked up to see the youth who had ascended to godhood and fallen into demonic ways standing before her, a cold smile on his face.
Yan Shuang shielded Qing Yi behind her, glaring at A Jiu. "Who are you, really?"
A Jiu curled the corner of his mouth. "I am who I am. I was the one who saved you in the North Sea, remember? How could the princess of the Eagle Clan be so forgetful?"
At these words, Yan Shuang’s face drained of all color. Disbelief flickered in her eyes as she murmured, "Impossible. You’re not A Jiu. He would never have killed the Sect Leader and Elder Xian Zhu!"
"Not just them, but also those overconfident little Daoists like Qing Yun." A Jiu glanced at Qing Yi behind Yan Shuang. "Ah, right—there’s still one left here. Killing him will complete this venerable one’s path to ascension."
Yan Shuang shuddered with horror. Gripping her long whip, she stepped toward A Jiu, firmly shielding Qing Yi behind her. "Whoever you are, if you want to kill him today, you’ll have to go through me."
"One more or less among the Immortal Tribe makes little difference. As the princess of the Eagle Clan, dying here would be quite fitting."
A faint ripple of Immortal Power approached from afar—High Immortals from the Heavenly Palace were surely on their way. The Demon Venerable’s eyes turned cold, a sinister glint flashing within. Perfect timing. Killing the Eagle Clan princess and the little Daoist in front of everyone, then stalling the High Immortals until Sen Yu’s Demon Realm army arrived for reinforcements. To protect Hong Yi, Sen Yu would surely go to war with Yu Feng. And in the chaos, if A Jiu were to die at the hands of the Heavenly Palace’s High Immortals...
With the Immortal Realm having lost Great Marsh Mountain and Lan Feng, and the Demon Realm having lost the prince of the Fox race, war between immortals and demons would become inevitable.
The Demon Venerable wasted no more time. In his palm appeared the Nirvana Wheel, flames blazing upon it.
"Since you remain obstinate, I’ll send both of you on your way." As the Demon Venerable’s words fell, flames infused with Divine Light surged toward Yan Shuang, covered in blood, and the unconscious Qing Yi.
Yan Shuang tightened her grip on the whip, golden Divine Power swirling along its length as she met the Nirvana Wheel’s assault. But a feeble star could not contend with the bright moon. The Barrier formed by the golden whip was slowly consumed by the flames. When only the last flicker of golden Immortal Power remained, Yan Shuang felt the scorching, world-destroying heat of the Nirvana Wheel. She spread her bloodstained wings, enveloping Qing Yi within them, and gazed despairingly at the youth who seemed like a demon amidst the inferno.
In that eternal moment, she suddenly remembered the youth in the Ghost Realm who had smiled as he bought her osmanthus cakes.
How could I die by your hand, Hong Yi?
Why must my life, Yan Shuang’s life, end at your hands?
If one day you regain your senses, will you still remember me? Or have you been a demon from the very beginning, and we were wrong to trust you, leading to this ruinous end?
Yan Shuang’s tears finally fell, dropping onto the blazing flames.It was just a single, tiny tear of immortal power, merely the most helpless glance born of utter despair, yet A Jiu, trapped deep within the demonic realm, seemed to sense it all the same. He stared blankly at Yan Shuang, kneeling on the clouds amidst the scorching flames, her wings stained with blood. The demonic fire burning upon the Nirvana Wheel in his palm faltered for an instant—so brief it was almost imperceptible, yet Yan Shuang still felt it.
From the depths of despair, a sliver of hope surged within her, and she cried out with all her strength, "A Jiu!"
But that moment of clarity was fleeting. Demonic Qi once again seized control of A Jiu's body, and the demonic flames on the Nirvana Wheel reignited. The wheel continued its unstoppable advance toward Yan Shuang.
At the same time, within the Nine Nether Purgatory, San Huo roared and spewed demonic fire, biting through the body of one of the God-Slaying Flowers he had been locked in combat with for two days and two nights, tearing out its seed. He crashed heavily to the ground, transforming into human form, revealing wounds so deep they reached the bone.
Truly worthy of being the God-Slaying Flower, invincible beneath the High Gods. If not for the many life-saving Divine Pills Bi Bo had secretly slipped him over the years, he would have long been devoured by the God-Slaying Flower.
The Demonic Beasts that had been circling nearby, watching with predatory eyes, saw San Huo injured and began to drool with greed, as if they would charge forward at any moment to tear him apart. San Huo's eyes darkened. He took out a purple jade seal and tossed it into the air. A violet light enveloped him, isolating him from the Demonic Beasts.
This purple jade seal was Tian Qi's Divine Seal, the key to opening and closing the Nine Nether Purgatory. The moment it appeared, the Demonic Beasts surrounding him were filled with terror and fled without hesitation.
San Huo ignited demonic fire in his palm using Divine Power, the demi-god power within him pure and untainted. He threw the fragments of the failed Divine Transformation Pill refined by Gu Jin and the seed of the God-Slaying Flower into the demonic fire in his palm. Offering half of his Divine Power, he began refining the Divine Transformation Pill anew.
Refining it with Immortal Power would require three months, but as a Demigod, sacrificing half his Divine Power meant the Divine Transformation Pill could be completed in at most three hours.
Having cultivated for tens of thousands of years, on the verge of Divine Attainment, San Huo had never imagined that at this critical juncture, he, the Demon King, would willingly sacrifice half his Divine Power for the sake of an immortal beast.
He let out a bitter laugh, thinking of that lazy, foolish, yet kinder-than-anyone Water Condensation Divine Beast who had accompanied him for a hundred years, and silently closed his eyes.
So be it. This must be my tribulation. I shall follow my heart.
At the very moment San Huo bit through the body of the God-Slaying Flower, high in the clouds of the Immortal Realm, the Demon Venerable, gripping the Nirvana Wheel as he charged toward Yan Shuang, suddenly faltered.
The God-Slaying Flower was connected to his very lifeblood. With its seed taken, his heart meridian was severely damaged. Something must have happened in the Nine Nether Purgatory!
Who could enter the Nine Nether Purgatory? Who could harm the God-Slaying Flower?
A wave of immense pain and fury flashed in the Demon Venerable's eyes. Seizing this opportunity, A Jiu broke free from the Demonic Qi's control, withdrew the Nirvana Wheel that was about to strike Yan Shuang and Qing Yi, and instead swung it fiercely toward himself.
Boom! A full-force strike from the peak of demi-god power landed on his own body. A Jiu spat out a mouthful of blood and half-knelt on the ground.
"Hong Yi! What are you doing?!" The colors in A Jiu's pupils shifted between black and red, his expression alternating between sinister coldness and deep remorse.
"Demon Creature! You have brought ruin to Great Marsh Mountain! I, Hong Yi, would rather die than let you harm Yan Shuang and Qing Yi again!"
All of this happened in the blink of an eye. Yan Shuang stared blankly as A Jiu suddenly withdrew the Nirvana Wheel and smashed it against himself.
"A Shuang! Go! Take Qing Yi and go!" A Jiu's eyes were red as he wrestled with the Demonic Qi for control of his body, striking himself again and again. Blood continuously gushed from his mouth as he fought with all his might to buy time for the two of them."Go!"
With A Jiu's furious roar, Yan Shuang finally snapped back to her senses. She pressed her lips together tightly and carried Qing Yi on her back, flying toward the Heavenly Palace.
Watching Yan Shuang fly farther and farther away, a flash of rage appeared in the demonic qi within A Jiu's eyes. The Demon Venerable abruptly focused his mind, forcibly sealing A Jiu's spiritual soul deep within his consciousness. The nine-tailed mark behind him manifested, and the ancient secret technique of the Fox race finally revealed itself. The demon-possessed A Jiu gazed at Yan Shuang in the distance, and immense Divine Power surged from the nine-tailed mark, hurtling toward Yan Shuang in mid-air and the Qing Yi behind her.
Unexpectedly, this strongest attack did not strike Yan Shuang but instead slowly dissipated. He looked up in disbelief, only to discover that the immortal net which had once appeared atop Great Marsh Mountain now spread across the sky, descending upon him. And the eleven strongest High Immortals of the Immortal Realm stood atop the net, their Immortal Power merging into one, the might of a High God suddenly descending!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The immortal net descended inch by inch, the Divine Power righteous and vast. The Demon Venerable, already severely wounded by the Nirvana Wheel, had no time to evade. Struck by the Divine Power, he fell to his knees in agony.
The Demon Venerable was furious. If not for the incident in the Nine Nether Purgatory and the theft of the God-Slaying Flower seeds, it would not have suddenly injured its heart meridian, allowing its physical body and Divine Power to be reclaimed by A Jiu. This caused it to miss the best opportunity to kill Yan Shuang. Now, not only had it failed to wait for Sen Yu's Demon Tribe army, but it was also trapped within the immortal net by the Heavenly Palace's High Immortals!
A century of meticulous planning, every step carefully calculated, yet everything was ruined at the final moment!
No, it could not give up like this. As long as it lived, there would always be another chance! A flicker of resentment and malice ignited in the Demon Venerable's eyes. It summoned the nine-tailed mark and the Nirvana Wheel once more, charging toward the weakest corner of the immortal net.
After all, this was a Demigod's all-out strike. Under the Demon Venerable's desperate assault, the immortal net was finally torn open at one corner. Demonic Qi slipped through the gap amidst the chaos, vanishing silently into the air. However, A Jiu within the net, having suddenly lost control of his spiritual soul, was firmly restrained by Yu Feng and the other High Immortals. Under the combined Immortal Power attacks of the immortals, he was left battered and bruised, falling unconscious toward the clouds below.
"Immortal Locking Pagoda!" Seeing A Jiu severely wounded and unconscious, Yu Feng summoned the Immortal Locking Pagoda left by Celestial Emperor Mu Guang and sealed A Jiu inside.
He had rushed from the Heavenly Palace and encountered the Fox race prince pursuing Yan Shuang and Qing Yi along the way, still unaware of what had transpired within Great Marsh Mountain.
Yu Feng led the eleven High Immortals to the severely injured Yan Shuang and the unconscious Qing Yi. Just as he was about to inquire about the situation at Great Marsh Mountain, Yan Shuang suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed without warning.
Jing Lei stepped forward to examine her and gasped in shock. Only then did the immortals realize that Yan Shuang's golden wings were already mangled and bloodied. Her entire body was covered in wounds, her Inner Core shattered, and her Immortal Power completely depleted. If Yu Feng and the others had not arrived in time, she would likely have perished under the nine-tailed fox's final strike.
Yu Feng quickly administered immortal medicine to Yan Shuang and Qing Yi, but their injuries were too severe, and they could not regain consciousness anytime soon.
"Yu Feng, Princess Yan Shuang and Little Daoist Qing Yi are too gravely injured. I fear they won't wake up for some time. What about Great Marsh Mountain..."
"Given the urgency, we must take them with us and head to Great Marsh Mountain immediately," Yu Feng said with a heavy expression, not hiding his concern in the slightest.
Yan Shuang and Qing Yi had been pursued for thousands of miles by Hong Yi. Could it be that Great Marsh Mountain had already...
Impossible. With Xian Shan, Xian Zhu, and the Nine Star Lantern there, how could Great Marsh Mountain easily meet with misfortune?A group of High Immortals journeyed in grand procession toward Great Marsh Mountain. An hour later, they stood before the mountain gate, scarcely able to believe what lay before their eyes.
At the foot of Great Marsh Mountain, immortal veins lay shattered, dark smoke coiled, and blood stained the slopes far and wide.
This once most prosperous and enduring Immortal Sect of the Immortal Realm now stretched into the distance, devoid of even a trace of life.
Upon the bluestone platform outside the Hall of Eternal Life, familiar figures remained, yet now, all disciples of Great Marsh Mountain had closed their eyes, leaving behind only cold, lifeless forms.
Anyone could sense the heroic and unyielding spirit with which they had faced their end.
The High Immortals, having lived for tens of thousands of years, gazed upon this scene of indescribable tragedy, none daring to step forward.
After a long while, someone finally broke the silence, uttering a brief sentence that encapsulated sixty thousand years of worldly vicissitudes, filled with sighs and lament.
"Our Great Marsh Mountain of the Immortal Realm... is gone."
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