"Die!"
Fu Sheng roared in anger, brandishing a carving knife and attacking Mian Zhi. However, Huang Tingyu, standing nearby, rammed him hard with his head, sending him into the lake. Huang Tingyu revealed half of his true form and bit fiercely at Fu Sheng's arm. Simultaneously, strands of his life-bound flying swords pierced Fu Sheng's chest with a series of "puff, puff, puff" sounds, exacerbating his injuries. Fu Sheng roared, revealing his own deer demon dharma form, and began to grapple with Huang Tingyu in the lake.
"Mian Zhi!"
Lin Zhao raised his hand and pointed, his flying sword, Xin Huo, leading the way towards Xu Chang You. "Help Sect Leader Wei stall Xu Chang You!"
"Ah?!"
Mian Zhi was slightly taken aback. First, who was Sect Leader Wei? Was it that female Taoist in the green skirt? And who was Xu Chang You, that thirteenth-realm great demon that resembled a giant ape!?
No matter. Killing demons was the task!
She followed Xin Huo, her left hand flinging out ten Demon Soul Swords that shot out like a volley of arrows.
The next moment, Xu Chang You let out a low growl and spread his palm, attempting to grasp Xin Huo. But the instant his hand closed around it, he felt an intense heat. This flying sword was no ordinary one. Xu Chang You could have crushed the flying swords of a fifth-realm sword cultivator with his bare hands, but this one was different. It contained a potent fiery intent and even had a subtle suppressive effect on him. He even vaguely felt that this flying sword had a profound connection with the demon king Man Yuan!
"Ah!"
Xu Chang You quickly retracted his hand, or it would have been pierced by Xin Huo. In the next instant, Mian Zhi's ten Demon Soul Swords rained down with a "crackling" sound. She herself, wielding the flying sword Cheng Xin, fiercely chopped down at Xu Chang You's forehead. The lake water surged, and countless flying swords descended densely. Xu Chang You, naturally unwilling to be suppressed by a twelfth-realm sword cultivator, swept his enormous fist, smashing Mian Zhi into the lakebed. In the depths of the water, Mian Zhi stepped out a sword dao forbidden formation, and her ten Demon Soul Swords attacked fiercely again, leaving bloody wounds on Xu Chang You's body.
...
"..."
Wei Hua Rou's delicate brows furrowed as she watched the retreating figures of Huang Ting Yu and Mian Zhi engaged in bloody combat. She couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion. Under Lin Bai Yi's command, there were indeed no cowards. The four people on this mission, plus Su Qing Jiu who had gone to the East Sea to hunt down Long Zheng, each and every one of them was a backbone of the human race! Thinking of this, Wei Hua Rou's swordsmanship became even more ferocious. The Nine-Tailed Fox was immediately suppressed again, a trickle of blood already seeping from its lips.
"Wei Hua Rou!"
The Nine-Tailed Fox roared, its expression ferocious. "We are both fourteenth-realm cultivators, do you truly believe you can kill me!?"
"We can try."
Wei Hua Rou, her feet treading upon the true meaning of Taoism, unleashed a sword strike that sent myriad sword intents in heaven and earth crashing towards the Nine-Tailed Fox. Simultaneously, Wei Hua Rou suddenly leaped forward, transforming into a wisp of clear wind. Just as the Nine-Tailed Fox was struggling to fend off the sky-filling sword energy, Wei Hua Rou unexpectedly appeared before it. She brought her left index and middle fingers together, pressing them against the Nine-Tailed Fox's forehead.
"You!"
The Nine-Tailed Fox's heart was filled with alarm.
The next moment, Wei Hua Rou's cultivation realm seemed to have ascended by a level. The Huang Ting Sutra's mind technique opened fully, her entire body glowing golden. Her fingers, pressed together, were slowly drawing out the Nine-Tailed Fox's primordial spirit from its forehead. Under the drag of her fingertips, a small golden fox leaped out from the Nine-Tailed Fox's brow. In the battle between the fifth-realm cultivators, the primordial spirit was extinguished before the body; this was the life-and-death struggle between fourteenth-realm beings.
"Wei Hua Rou!"
The Nine-Tailed Fox roared, its expression extremely ferocious, and sneered, "Since you wish to destroy my Great Dao, then you shall not have your Great Dao either!"
Saying this, the Nine-Tailed Fox's body swayed, and one of its tails lashed out violently at Wei Hua Rou's chest, sending the Taoist sect leader flying back dozens of meters. However, her fingertips still trailed the Nine-Tailed Fox's primordial spirit. A smile played on her lips. The moment the primordial spirit was held captive, the Nine-Tailed Fox was doomed. It was worth sustaining some injuries; it was not a loss.
"You think that's all?"
The Nine-Tailed Fox let out a ferocious laugh. The next moment, it raised its hand and plucked out one of its own collarbones. This was a talisman bone from a fourteenth-realm great demon, etched with streaks of golden text. Under the Nine-Tailed Fox's divine abilities, the talisman bone was swiftly carved with a line of text. As Wei Hua Rou watched in astonishment, the Nine-Tailed Fox hurled the talisman bone, which shot towards Wei Hua Rou like an arrow. Da Feng Novel Network
"Ah?!"
Wei Hua Rou was shocked, not by the power of the talisman bone, which a sword strike could easily shatter, but by the text carved upon it. It was Wei Hua Rou's own eight characters of destiny. How venomous were the Nine-Tailed Fox's intentions! It intended to use its soul-divining technique to seal a trace of its consciousness within a temporal rewind, to awaken the deep-seated demons within her heart?
At this very moment, Lin Zhao, not far away, ignited a speed talisman. Time around them instantly froze. He dashed forward, crossing his arms over his chest, and blocked the attack for Wei Hua Rou. For players, dying only cost at most one level. He, Lin Zhao, could afford such a price, but Wei Hua Rou could not. He couldn't let the dignified Taoist sect leader die before his eyes. Besides, he had the Golden Armor Immortal Robe protecting him, so whether he would die was another matter entirely.
"Ah?!"
Wei Hua Rou was startled. The Nine-Tailed Fox was also startled. Neither of them had expected that Lin Zhao, a mere Nascent Soul cultivator, would interfere at this moment.
"Shua—"
A brilliant radiance erupted from the talisman bone. Instead of the anticipated scene of his body being smashed or blown apart, Lin Zhao felt everything was incredibly peaceful. The next moment, along with this piece of talisman bone, his soul slowly receded, dragged out of his body. He gently bumped into Wei Hua Rou behind him. Wei Hua Rou, too, had a wisp of her soul struck from her body by the talisman bone, and then both of them plunged into their respective nightmares.
...
"Ah!"
Wei Hua Rou's body plummeted, and the next moment, it landed in a deep mountain. It was already night. Wei Hua Rou transformed into a green-clad girl, not yet ten years old, with a rather heavy bamboo basket on her back containing bamboo slips from sages like Lao Tzu and Zhuang Zhou. At this moment, all of Wei Hua Rou's memories of achieving enlightenment were erased, leaving only those from before the age of ten.
Just a short while ago, she had been scolded by her parents. Her father's scolding had made her very sad. What was wrong with a woman? What was wrong with a woman wanting to cultivate and ascend to immortality? She couldn't understand why her usually doting parents were so opposed to her seeking the Dao. Was her life on this earth merely for marriage and raising children?
She did not want that. She had read the words of the sages; she had her own Great Dao to walk.
Thus, Wei Hua Rou packed her belongings and secretly ran away from home. She came to this mountain, wanting to ascend the mountain to seek immortals, to find those legendary old deities. If she could be accepted as a disciple and focus on seeking the Dao, her life would be complete.
But seeking the Dao was as difficult as climbing to heaven. The mountain path was arduous. She, a frail woman, had already become breathless by the time she reached this point. Moreover, she was tired and hungry. Although tears welled up in her eyes, she gritted her teeth and persevered, even though her feet were already covered in blisters and her shoulders, bearing the bamboo basket, were already red. She had no regrets.
Her pretty face was streaked with tears, but she still tightly gripped her walking stick, climbing step by step.
Not long after, the howls of wild beasts echoed from afar. Her heart turned cold. She turned to look and saw, in the moonlight, a dark shadow following her, and it seemed to be growing in number. Soon, a second and a third appeared.
It was a pack of wolves.
Wei Hua Rou suppressed her sobs. She did not want to be devoured by wolves, nor did she want her Great Dao to be cut short. She quickly stopped moving, took out oiled paper from her bamboo basket, wrapped it around her walking stick, and lit it with a fire starter, making a simple torch. But when she turned, she found that a wolf was already less than two meters away from her.
The little girl let out a piercing scream, desperately driving away the wolf pack with the torch. Behind her, further up the mountain path, several more wolves were lurking. These wolves seemed to have been starving for a long time, their fangs coated with saliva, their eyes fixed on her. Even seeing the firelight, they showed no signs of fear.
Crying, she turned and rushed towards a large tree, then stood with her back against the tree, driving away the wolf pack with the torch. Afterward, she carefully gathered nearby dry branches and started a small bonfire. She leaned against the tree, holding the torch, her face tear-streaked, watching the wolf pack not far away. At this moment, Wei Hua Rou felt overwhelmed with grievances.
If she died like this, would her father regret it? Would her mother regret it?
And should she herself repent for her recklessness? Was seeking the Dao really that important?
For a time, she slowly crouched under the tree, hugging her knees, and wept bitterly.
This day could be called the darkest moment of Wei Hua Rou's life, the time when her state of mind was most vulnerable. And precisely at this moment, the Nine-Tailed Fox guided her consciousness here, its intentions truly venomous.
...
On the mountain path.
A young boy sat there with his knees hugged to his chest. It was the young Lin Zhao, at the age of seven. Under the Nine-Tailed Fox's temporal rewind technique, he had returned to the age of seven, his memories also frozen at seven. At this moment, Lin Zhao hugged his knees, cold and hungry, sitting there blankly. He vaguely remembered that his mother was already emaciated from illness, and he needed to find something to take back for his mother to eat.
Some adults had said that his mother was dying, and the physician predicted she had only one or two months left. Alas, leaving this child behind was so pitiable.
He hugged his knees, his body trembling.
Just then, gray figures walked past him from behind. He vaguely remembered that these people seemed to be the elders from the small town, and they were now discussing in hushed tones.
"Eh, isn't that Lin Zhao?"
"Yes, the poor child. I heard Sister Qin's illness is incurable. The doctor said she only has a month or two left. Sigh, leaving this child is truly pitiful."
"What's pitiful about it?"
A particularly sharp voice said, "Actually, I think it's this child's fault. Do you know how Sister Qin got sick? Half from illness, half from starvation. If she hadn't tried to save a mouthful of food for Lin Zhao, her body wouldn't have failed so quickly. Some people are born to repay kindness, while others are born to take revenge!"
...
The young boy hugged his knees, pressing his entire face against his legs, trembling all over, and sobbing uncontrollably.