Chapter 285: Chapter 282: 【Killing Intent】(Major Chapter)
Chapter 282: Killing Intent
Chen Nuo leaped from the bed, burst through the window, and entered the courtyard.
The moment his feet touched the ground, the whip behind him coiled toward Chen Nuo’s legs as if it had eyes. Chen Nuo’s heart skipped a beat. He countered with a wave of spiritual power, only to have it instantly torn apart by the whip!
Chen Nuo flew out again, but this time he shot straight up into the osmanthus tree, shouting, "Sister-in-law, hold on..."
"Surrender, and we’ll talk after I catch you!"
The woman’s voice was icy cold. Suddenly, in the courtyard, the whip turned into countless shadowy whips, weaving into a net and hurling itself over Chen Nuo!
Chen Nuo, left with no choice, felt his eyes suddenly brighten!
Wherever his gaze landed, the multitude of illusory whip shadows vanished, leaving only one true form!
As the whip approached his face, Chen Nuo reached out to grab it. This time, focusing intently, he was surprised to find that he had, once again, grasped at thin air!
The whip wrapped around Chen Nuo’s right forearm like a snake.
A figure shot out from the row of houses in front, breaking through a window and landing before Chen Nuo. It was the middle-aged woman, who grabbed the end of the whip. "Come down here, little thief!"
As she spoke and pulled hard, Chen Nuo felt as if his forearm had been electrocuted! An intense surge of energy instantly penetrated his skin and spread throughout his body!
At that moment, his control over his body relied solely on spiritual power. Shaken by the woman’s energy, his spiritual power instantly disintegrated. Consequently, Chen Nuo lost control of his body and fell from the tree.
As he was about to hit the ground, Chen Nuo stirred his spiritual power again, wresting back control of his body. He managed to land on one knee and steady himself with a breath. He grasped the whip with his left hand and said in a deep voice, "Sister-in-law, it’s a misunderstanding!"
"Surrender!" the woman shouted sternly.
From the room, Wu Daodao poked his head out. "Stop fighting! It’s a misunder... OW!"
The woman turned and with a swift kick, sent a small stool flying. It slammed the window shut, blocking Wu Daodao inside again.
"No one come out! Wait in your rooms!" The woman focused and shouted. She suddenly stepped forward, her body soaring into the air as if treading on nothingness, and in a few steps, reached Chen Nuo. She launched a kick, her toes aiming straight for Chen Nuo’s face.
Chen Nuo took a deep breath and suddenly shook his arms.
With a buzzing sound, the whip wrapped around Chen Nuo’s forearm was suddenly pulled taut and elongated by him. He somersaulted backward to avoid the woman’s kick.
BANG!!
The kick landed on the trunk of the osmanthus tree!
The large tree shuddered. Even though the woman had instantly retracted ninety-nine percent of her force, the trunk trembled, and a shower of osmanthus blossoms descended like colorful rain!
After rolling away a couple of steps, Chen Nuo got up as the woman landed on the ground. She gave a cold laugh before stomping her right foot on the ground and commanding, "Sit down!"
With her stomp, a strange force spread from the ground. Chen Nuo felt the ground beneath him shake, and he instantly lost his balance, his body wobbling to the side.
At this moment, Chen Nuo also started feeling rather annoyed; this woman was being unreasonable and wouldn’t even let him talk?! A murderous gleam flashed in his eyes! It was wrong of me to use spiritual power to probe in the middle of the night, but I said it was a misunderstanding, and we should be able to talk. You should at least give me a chance to apologize, right? Coming at me with violence, and such ruthless blows? After all, I am Chen Yanluo! Over two lifetimes, aside from submitting to my own wife, to Lu Xixi, to Lu Yiyi, to the Star Sky Empress, who else could make me surrender without a fight?!
As the woman leaped forward, reaching for Chen Nuo’s neck, he clenched his fists, and suddenly, a Spiritual Storm burst forth.
The woman’s eyes widened in shock. She raised her hands in front of her, shouting, "Back off!"
BOOM! Under the force of the Spiritual Storm, the woman was swept away, retreating more than ten steps before she spun around a pillar under the eaves and returned. Her face was stony as she chuckled coldly, "Mind-controlling Technique?!"
Chen Nuo shook his head. "Sister-in-law, I mean no harm..."
"I’ll catch you first, then you can talk!"
This woman’s temperament was extremely untamed. With a cold shout, she suddenly flicked her wrist, and the whip coiling around Chen Nuo’s arm automatically loosened and flew back into her sleeve.
Watching as the woman suddenly rose into the air, floating three feet above the ground, her hands rapidly formed a seal.
"Command! Trap!"
HUM!
In the night, within the courtyard of Qingyun Sect, the surrounding walls and buildings suddenly shimmered with a burst of golden light!
It was but a fleeting moment. However, with his sharp eyes, Chen Nuo immediately saw the golden light flash by. Faintly, countless large and small peculiar Runes appeared on the walls and buildings of the courtyard!
In the blink of an eye, countless Runes suddenly flew towards Chen Nuo. He felt invisible pressure coming from all directions, as if being suppressed by an invisible force layer by layer. His body involuntarily bent, no longer able to stand!
Chen Nuo instinctively reacted, his spiritual power spinning rapidly. Layers of Mentality Cocoons quickly formed around his body, forcefully resisting the oppression from all directions!
"You dare to contend with the Qingyun Sect’s Mountain Protection Array!" The woman sneered coldly. "Thief, if you don’t surrender, I’ll call upon the Ancestral Master Sword to behead you!"
Chen Nuo said angrily, "Can’t you let someone speak! I’ve already said I have no ill intentions, I’m just..."
"Call the Ancestral Master Sword!"
The woman’s eyes suddenly intensified, and within her mostly dark pupils, a gleam of sharp light flashed!
She quickly formed another hand seal. With her left palm facing downward and supporting, and her right fingers twisting into a sword gesture, she gently pinched.
Instantly, a commanding presence surged from her, and her eyes even revealed a hint of an aura that seemed inhuman!
"Summon, Immortal-slaying Sword!"
"...Wait, what sword?"
Chen Nuo was taken aback.
You’re seriously not afraid of someone sending you a cease and desist letter!!
Suddenly, a blast of chilling air erupted within the courtyard!
In the air, sword energies intertwined and crisscrossed all around, and the falling osmanthus flowers were instantly shredded by the sword energy!
With her right hand outstretched into the void, the woman watched as the osmanthus tree in the courtyard split into pieces with a thunderous crack!
A streak of golden light flew out and landed in the woman’s palm!
Chen Nuo tried to concentrate and look, but he could only see a mass of golden light in the woman’s palm. Even with Chen Nuo’s keen vision, he couldn’t see through the golden light to make out what lay within!
He knew it was a "sword," but the golden light enveloped it, making it impossible to discern clearly!
With the sword in hand, the woman’s aura changed dramatically!
In an instant, Chen Nuo felt a tremendous surge of vigilance shake his heart!
It was coming from the woman... more precisely, from within the mass of golden light in her hand, which burst forth with an incomparable murderous aura!
The intense killing intent almost caused Chen Nuo to collapse mentally in an instant!
What shocked Chen Nuo was that he immediately came to a judgment!
The sword in the woman’s hand possessed enough power—a level of force that could indeed kill him!
Damn it! This madwoman! She’s playing for such high stakes! Chen Nuo felt a chill run through his body!
This time, he truly sensed a life-threatening crisis!
Moreover, under a flash of golden light, Chen Nuo clearly saw the woman’s gaze!
It was piercing and icy cold!
At that moment, Chen Nuo suddenly had a realization in his heart!
This woman... truly harbored a murderous intent towards him!
She wants to kill me?! It’s not madness, but taking the opportunity to unleash fury! Does she really want to kill me?! Why?! Why??!!
At that moment, Chen Nuo felt the marrow-deep killing intent crisscrossing through the air. Within the courtyard of Qingyun Sect, the murderous intent from all around locked onto him, making Chen Nuo feel as though his spiritual power was exposed under countless swords. Even in his Consciousness Space, he felt a bone-piercing chill!
Seeing the golden light falling from the woman’s hands, Chen Nuo’s pupils suddenly constricted!
Now, Chen Nuo didn’t dare to hold back anymore. In an instant, his Consciousness Space operated at its utmost, and his spiritual power exploded, expanding fiercely!
With a buzz, the force of the so-called Mountain Protection Array that suppressed him was instantly broken by a fraction. Chen Nuo’s body rapidly retreated, shooting toward the direction of the distant gate!
"Slay!"
The woman uttered coldly, her sword descending with her motion!
Chen Nuo felt as if he saw a streak of golden light flash in front of him, arriving instantly before his face!
Within the golden light, a speck of cold gleam had already reached mere inches from his eyes!
Chen Nuo took a deep breath. He spurred his spiritual power to its full force and suddenly brought his hands together, forcefully clapping them in front of his chest...
With a buzz, Chen Nuo was seen forcefully clasping the streak of golden light between his hands! Yet, the tip of the golden light had already pricked a little into his chest!
Chen Nuo grunted. In an instant, his upper garments were torn and shattered under the golden aura. The golden light had already pierced a point into the skin of his chest...
Chen Nuo felt a sudden, drilling pain exploding in his brain!
Inside his Consciousness Space, a cluster of golden light suddenly invaded, rampaging and dissolving his condensed spiritual power like melting ice and snow!
This discovery immediately terrified Chen Nuo out of his wits!
Subconsciously, he used layers of spiritual power to resist, attempting to expel the golden aura.
But when his spiritual power encountered the golden light, it instead became like fuel to the fire! The golden light flared up instantly, and his spiritual power burned layer by layer, spreading rapidly in all directions.
And in Chen Nuo’s palms, the sword enveloped in the golden light suddenly seemed to find a vent. A mass of golden light furiously poured into the slit that had been poked open in Chen Nuo’s chest...
In an instant, the golden light between Chen Nuo’s palms vanished without a trace!
Chen Nuo rolled over, burst through the courtyard gate, and flew out of the Qingyun Sect’s main courtyard, landing amidst the slopes.
In the courtyard, the window of one of the houses was pushed open again as Wu Daodao, his face bruised and swollen, screamed out, "No, stop!! Please, cease your attack!!"
From another room’s doorway, a barefoot Erya ran out. "Master’s wife, don’t kill..."
"Get back!"
The middle-aged woman looked down and coldly uttered, "Decree! Retreat!"
SWISH! Two windows closed instantly, blocking both individuals back inside the house.
"Decree! Lock!"
The woman flicked her wrist, and all the doors and windows automatically shut. Under the flicker of the Runes, everyone inside the house was locked in.
"Stay in your rooms; none of you is to step outside!"
Having said that, the woman had already leaped out of the courtyard and stood outside the entryway, looking around.
In the night, amidst the trees on the slope, there were faint sounds of rustling in the distance.
The woman took a deep breath, her gaze carrying a hint of complexity, yet she stepped forward to pursue.
Chen Nuo ran frantically up the slope!
Within the Consciousness Space, the swath of golden light was invincible, sweeping in all directions. It instantly disintegrated any spiritual power Chen Nuo tried to muster for defense. What shocked Chen Nuo even more was that the more spiritual power he poured into it, the more it seemed to fuel the golden light, only causing the golden flames to blaze with increased ferocity!
As the Consciousness Space was swept through, Chen Nuo felt a splitting headache, his vision blurring as if the Consciousness Space was being burned by a great fire, about to collapse!
With only a trace of consciousness remaining, he desperately clung to a sliver of spiritual power, urging control over his body, fleeing down the hillside!
My only thought was to get away from Qingyun Sect, get away from that terrifying crazy woman!
Chen Nuo’s injuries had already healed by about a third.
His strength had also recovered to about thirty percent of what it was before his trip to Brazil.
Though he had fallen from the level of a Controller, with his current strength, he could still hold his own if he encountered a Destroyer.
Yet, this crazy woman, tonight, when she said she would unsheathe her sword to behead him...
In the moments that followed, the energy, murderous intent, and the level of power displayed by this woman...
Chen Yanluo was certain, if he weren’t blind, he could affirm that when the woman released that sword strike, her power definitely reached the level of a Controller!
Furthermore, her murderous intent towards him was utterly genuine!
That unmasked, fully revealed intent to kill, where on earth did it come from?
Chen Nuo was certain, in his two lifetimes as a human, until he arrived at Qingyun Sect yesterday, he had never had any dealings with this crazy woman!
It could be said that there was no enmity between them at all.
All because he used his Mentality Tentacles to probe around in the evening?
That action, even though it was quite rude and disrespectful to the host... surely it wasn’t a capital offense!
Was it necessary to go so far?
And from where arose that stern murderous intent, that naked desire to kill?
As his control over spiritual power weakened, Chen Nuo went from an initial sprint to gradually slowing down. With his spiritual power growing weaker, he gradually lost control over his body and started to hobble through the mountains.
In the end, suddenly, his body relaxed, and he thudded to the ground with a thump. A complete collapse of his spiritual power left him limp. Then, propelled by momentum, he tumbled down more than ten meters before crashing into a large tree.
Chen Nuo finally grunted, cursing in his heart.
Damn it! An unwarranted disaster indeed!!
He closed his eyes.
Within the Consciousness Space, the spiritual power that Chen Nuo had struggled to gather each day after his injuries had healed was finally burnt out by the sweeping golden light.
As if due to the depletion of "fuel," the golden light gradually subsided within the Consciousness Space. It shrank into a ball, no longer blazing with arrogance, but instead began to consolidate and cool down. Eventually, it seemed to become a pool of tranquil golden energy, flowing slowly in Chen Nuo’s Consciousness Space.
CRACKLE. CRACKLE.
When Chen Nuo opened his eyes upon awakening, he found himself in a mountain cavern. He was leaning against the cold cave wall, his hands dangling at his sides, his palms feeling the damp moss.
With a flicker of spiritual power, he gently shifted his body, turning his neck. He saw the cave entrance, where a silhouette was crouching with its back to him, poking at a campfire with a stick in hand.
It was still night; the sky outside remained pitch black.
Under the light of the campfire, Chen Nuo could clearly see the person’s appearance.
A grey robe, a withered figure, an ordinary face, and eyes that had more white than black.
Upon seeing this woman, Chen Nuo’s expression changed abruptly.
"Awake?"
The woman stirred the burning wood in the fire to make it burn brighter before turning her head to give Chen Nuo a cold glance. "Looks like you won’t die."
Chen Nuo couldn’t be bothered to waste words on this inexplicably crazy woman. He took a deep breath and gave her the middle finger.
Now, any polite words were meaningless.
If before Chen Nuo thought this woman was capricious, prone to fighting at the slightest disagreement...
The moment that woman made her move with the sword, Chen Nuo understood!
It was intentional!
She really wanted to kill him!
No matter the reason... In any case, since he was facing an enemy who harbored the intention to kill him, there was no need for further meaningless talk or explanations.
The woman walked up to Chen Nuo, reached out to grab his wrist, and checked his pulse.
Chen Nuo’s spiritual power was weak at the moment, and he couldn’t control most of his body to make any drastic resistance. He could only watch her coldly.
The woman pondered for a moment and said coldly, "Your body is very weak, your heart rate is not strong, and your muscles are somewhat relaxed... The condition of this body is very bad."
Chen Nuo snorted and did not speak.
Isn’t that so? My injuries haven’t healed, which practically makes me a paralyzed patient. I can move on regular days, all thanks to the manipulation through spiritual power. But naturally, my body’s own condition isn’t good. A paralyzed body, lacking exercise, wouldn’t have a strong heartbeat.
Yet the woman grabbed Chen Nuo’s chin abruptly, forcing his mouth open.
Then she popped a pill into Chen Nuo’s mouth and pressed a few times on his throat.
GULP. Chen Nuo swallowed the pill.
"It’s just a simple medicine for injuries. You ran wildly in the mountains and ended up hurt. This medicine can help with those external injuries to some extent. But your body is weak, and your vitality is insufficient. That can only be recovered by yourself," she said coolly.
Hearing the woman’s icy words, Chen Nuo raised an eyebrow. "Weren’t you trying to kill me?"
The woman let out a cold laugh. "You’ve noticed?"
"Before you made that move with the sword, I thought you were crazy and unreasonable, insisting on fighting me.
"But after that move, I saw clearly. You just wanted to kill me!"
With that, Chen Nuo said gravely, "Why? I don’t recall having any grudge against you. Why do you have such intense killing intent towards me?"
The woman didn’t answer Chen Nuo’s question. After staring at him, she suddenly counter-questioned, "Do you know what I do for a living in the village?"
"Huh?" Chen Nuo was taken aback.
Pointing at her own nose, the woman said, "I am the village butcher. Within dozens of miles, I’m known to have the best skill and reputation of any butcher!!
"Whenever someone’s pigs or sheep are ready for slaughter, they come to find me.
"I charge very little. Other butchers take money for slaughtering pigs and even claim part of the offal afterward.
"But not me!
"When I slaughter pigs, I don’t charge a penny. I work efficiently and neatly. After slaying the pigs, I only take a little, sometimes merely a symbolic half a pig’s tail.
"In fact, if I wasn’t worried about raising suspicions, I wouldn’t want even half a pig’s tail.
"I could slaughter pigs for them completely free of charge.
"But if I did that, it would seem too strange to others.
"Despite that, over the years, the other pig slaughterers and butchers in the vicinity have gradually been put out of business by me.
"In the surrounding ten miles, the last butcher aside from me changed professions seven years ago."
Chen Nuo widened his eyes at the woman who spoke so illogically.
Slaughtering pigs? Butcher? What does that mean?
"You asked me, we have no grudges, yet why do I harbor killing intent toward you...
"Then tell me, those pigs I’ve killed over the years, what grudges did they have with me?"
The woman sneered.
Chen Nuo swallowed and, after a moment of thought, couldn’t help but whisper, "...do I get the feeling you’re calling me a pig?"
The woman stared at Chen Nuo for a while, then shook her head.
"I am forty-three this year.
"Since the day when I was thirteen and my master had me start cultivating the Ancestral Master Sword of our sect...
"For these thirty years, every day, every night, every minute, every second!
"I have been tormented by the killing desire filling my heart!
"Everything that moves and breathes, the moment I lay eyes upon it, my mind fills with countless thoughts, urging me to kill them!
"The stronger the creature I face, the less I can control the killing intent in my heart!
"Chen Nuo, oh Chen Nuo...
"You are the strongest person I have encountered in recent years!
"Your aura, your strength, they are all the strongest I’ve faced.
"Standing before me, you are like a delicious feast placed before someone who has been starving for thirty years.
"How could I possibly resist?"
Chen Nuo: "..."
Dammit, are you insane!!! Wait, wait a minute... Thirty years? Starting at thirteen... Practicing the Ancestral Master Sword?
Chen Nuo’s eyes suddenly widened as he caught on to a crucial piece of information.
"You... have you suffered a cultivation deviation, driven to madness by your training?"
"Maybe, maybe not," she said, shaking her head.
"At first, my killing intent was not so strong. I could forcibly suppress it and keep it under control.
"Later, when I could no longer contain it, I couldn’t help but destroy the flora in the mountains.
"When I was young, my master thought of me as industrious because I would regularly clear out the weeds in the backyard of the sect.
"Every time I leveled the wild plants and flowers in the sect’s backyard, the killing intent within me would vent, and I’d be calm for a few days.
"But as time passed, as my strength increased, simply destroying those plants had less and less effect.
"Until one day, after I cleared a large area of flora, I found that the killing desire in my heart couldn’t be vented, not even a bit...
"That day, I ran to the back mountain and shot a wild sparrow. Only then was I finally able to calm down."
Chen Nuo was stunned.
"But nowadays, given the state of the ecological environment, even in the wilderness, how many birds or wild animals are there?
"In those years, whenever my killing intent was out of control, I would run into the mountains.
"Killing rabbits, catching snakes, fishing, eating shrimps...
"My strength kept growing, and with it, the targets for venting my murderous thoughts required higher standards.
"Until one day, as I looked at the master of our sect, I realized I couldn’t restrain the urge to kill even him...
"I desperately tried to control myself, even stabbing my own legs with a knife, hiding in bed at night and piercing my legs until they were dripping with blood!
"But no matter what, I couldn’t suppress that terrible murderous intent!
"So, the next day, I ran into the mountains. After wandering for three days and nights, I finally caught a wolf!
"Killing that wolf was the only thing that relieved my condition!
"From that day on, I took it upon myself to learn from the butchers.
"I followed others and learned to kill chickens, ducks, butcher pigs, and slaughter sheep!
"Afterward, the master was gone, and Wu Daodao and I were together.
"I also adopted the four little ones at home...
"Over the years, my temper became even more peculiar.
"Even towards my own husband, to my own disciples, I was nothing but cold and terse, never speaking a kind word.
"You think I wanted this?
"Every day I looked at my husband, who shared my bed, at the children I raised with my own hands.
"Yet, the thoughts filling my head were of imagining how to snap his neck, how to use a sharp blade to cut their throats...
"With such murderous intent, how could I be affectionate with my loved ones, or watch my disciples play at my knees?"
Damn! This is beyond twisted!!
"I didn’t want this!" the woman shook her head, speaking coldly. "I wasn’t like this at all before I turned thirteen.
"Master always said I was well-behaved and adorable, gentle and sensible...
"But ever since I started cultivating the Heart Sword Technique passed down from the ancestors of our sect... I’ve completely changed!"
"You... You from the Qingyun Sect, this sword passed down by the ancestors, it must have something wicked about it!" Chen Nuo blurted out.
"I have also considered that possibility."
The woman sighed and picked up a stick from beside her, stirring the campfire.
"Our sect’s supreme sword technique is vast and profound. It is said that in ancient times, an ancestor of our sect cultivated to an extremely high realm, becoming Invincible!
"The sect’s secret records note that this ancestor wielded this sword to slay a rampaging demon.
"Legend says the demon was incredibly powerful. Although slain by the ancestor, its soul did not perish.
"Using the supreme sword technique, the ancestor sealed it within the sect’s treasured sword.
"Over the generations, however, because no one had the necessary talent, no one was able to cultivate the miraculous sword technique of the ancestors.
"Until thirty years ago, after my master taught me the sect’s most profound Ancestral Heart Sword Technique..."
"You mastered it?"
"I mastered it, but it turned out to be more like a curse," the woman said with a bitter smile.
Chen Nuo said nothing.
However, the woman’s next words caused Chen Nuo’s face to change!
"But luckily, now that I’ve met you, I’m finally relieved."
The woman exhaled, looking at Chen Nuo and slowly said, "Now, this curse... is no longer my problem... Junior Brother Chen Nuo!
"I must say, I am very grateful to you!"
"????"
Chen Nuo was taken aback, then exclaimed, "What??"
"At the moment I stabbed you with that sword...
"All of my murderous intent rushed out with that thrust, leaving not a trace behind!
"The most eerie thing is, even the sword personally passed down from the ancestor shattered on the spot.
"Chen Nuo... at this moment, my mind is clear, utterly free from any trace of murderous thoughts.
"And just now, while you were asleep, I peered into your sea of consciousness and sensed that familiar presence..."
Damn!
Chen Nuo sat up abruptly, his eyes wide as he stared at the woman in front of him.
He immediately closed his eyes and entered his own Consciousness Space!
Within the vast expanse of the Consciousness Space,
there were cracks in the void, and yet another one had been completely healed!
7/17!!
What shocked Chen Nuo even more was...
That something had been stored in his Consciousness Space.
The sapling of the Tree of Misfortune had been wrapped up by his spiritual power, concealed inside his Consciousness Space.
But after the bizarre battle, the golden sword qi invaded his Consciousness Space, sweeping away all the spiritual power!
Naturally, the spiritual power that had been enveloping the Tree of Misfortune also completely melted away!
Now, looking at it, the Tree of Misfortune was exposed in the Consciousness Space without any obstruction!
Strands of black negative aura wafted around it, seemingly ready to disperse and contaminate his Consciousness Space at any moment!
But!
Next to the Tree of Misfortune, a beam of golden light stood tall and floated there!
It was like a tiny Golden Light Sword!
A faint aura of slaughter emanated from the golden light!
And then, something strange happened!
When the black negative aura around the Tree of Misfortune seemed ready to spread, the Golden Light Sword would immediately shoot out a beam of golden light. This beam completely dissolved the blackness!
On the Golden Light Sword, golden flames representing the will to kill kept emerging, trying to scatter. However, black aura from the Tree of Misfortune would then appear and disperse the golden light!
Both entities stood side by side in the Consciousness Space, like two prisoners monitoring each other.
A bizarre balance was established.
They constrained each other, controlling each other, not allowing even a hint of their power to leak out!!
The Golden Light Sword... Murderous thoughts... The Tree of Slaughter?
Chen Nuo was stupefied.