Chapter 125: I Can Only Say, Those Who Understand, Understand
Shangguan Yu stood beside Luo Xue, helped her up, and said with a slight smile,
“Not bad, little girl from the Peerless Summit Sect. You could actually use my Nascent Soul will to this extent and even comprehend the Law of Withering, a sword intent only Nascent Soul sword cultivators can master.”
Luo Xue’s recent sword strikes hadn’t just used the Peerless Summit Sect’s sword intent; they also combined the power of the Mystic Dark Eyes and the True Phoenix inheritance.
More importantly, the will of withering carried by the Eternal Withering Body allowed Luo Xue to create her own unique sword intent.
The Sword of Withering.
One strike, and all things withered.
This was a terrifying sword intent that could sever an enemy’s life force at its root.
Not to mention the Primordial Mother, who was nearing her end, even the other three forbidden area lords had no way to counter the Sword of Withering.
Even with Luo Xue’s weak cultivation, although the amount of life force severed was small, it was unavoidable.
The true strength of the four forbidden area lords and the ancient beings wasn’t just their combat power. Having been at the peak of Soul Transformation for many years, they also possessed countless life-saving methods.
For example, the Primordial Mother’s Soul Transformation flesh and blood embedded within her disciples. At critical moments, she could absorb their flesh and life force, turning the tables.
Besides their deadlines and beings above the Ascension Realm, there was nothing in this world that could directly threaten their lives.
Until now.
Luo Xue’s sword strike made the Ghost King and the Fallen Immortal restless. Seeing the Primordial Mother’s life force being severed, an unprecedented sense of crisis arose within them.
Coupled with the fact that Luo Xue wasn’t a descendant of an ancient divine beast, they finally decided to act.
However, before they could even extend their hands, they were stopped by a mysterious figure.
Standing beside Shangguan Yu was a cold woman shrouded in shadows, slightly shorter than Shangguan Yu, but taller than Luo Xue and Su Yiyao.
She looked like a young woman in her prime, but her indifferent expression seemed to carry the weight of countless years.
“Xiao Yu, you’re still alive?” The cold flames in the Ghost King’s eye sockets flickered. “What happened back then…”
Shangguan Yu had been betrayed by her own sister and died in despair on the battlefield, her resentment even tainting countless Buddhist artifacts of the Silent Temple.
Many had witnessed her death, so how could she be here now?
Resurrecting a deceased Nascent Soul cultivator was unheard of.
“That’s all in the past. Although I’m still called Shangguan Yu, I have nothing to do with the Shangguan clan… or the Demonic Ghost City anymore.”
Shangguan Yu crossed her arms and pouted.
“If you have any business, talk to my boss. I’m just a lowly employee working overtime.”
The cold woman remained silent. She seemed to ignore the four forbidden area lords, walking straight towards Su Yiyao and Luo Xue, and bowing slightly.
“Young Mistresses, I apologize for my tardiness.”
“You are…”
A puzzled expression appeared on Luo Xue’s face.
She knew Shangguan Yu had joined a force called the “Treasure Pavilion.”
In that case, this woman should be the leader of the Treasure Pavilion. Why was she calling herself a “servant”?
“Sister Liu Lian.”
Su Yiyao said with a complicated expression.
“I am here.”
Liu Lian looked up, her emotionless gaze meeting Su Yiyao’s.
“Master, she…”
Su Yiyao shrank back slightly. She seemed to have caused a lot of trouble after coming out and didn’t know if Master was angry.
“Master has instructed me to bring you back,” Liu Lian said faintly. “She has something to tell you.”
“You can’t take them!”
Just then, the Primordial Mother roared, still in her half-monstrous form.
Countless resentful eyes stared at Luo Xue, as if trying to devour her.
The Primordial Mother still had about a hundred years left of her lifespan. Although it was just a blink of an eye compared to her tens of thousands of years, it wasn’t the end yet.
But Luo Xue’s seemingly insignificant sword strike had just taken away fifty years of her life!
If the sword intent of withering had been comprehended earlier, or if Luo Xue had controlled more of the Blood Sea’s power, a single strike could have brought her to her end.
Such an existence… couldn’t be allowed to remain in this world!
Liu Lian glanced at the Primordial Mother indifferently, then turned to Luo Xue.
“Young Mistress, do you have any other business with them? I can wait, there’s no rush.”
Shangguan Yu chimed in,
“Anyway, my boss is lost again, hahaha, she always gets lost whenever she comes out… Ow, ow, ow…”
Shangguan Yu narrowly dodged an attack, patting her chest in relief. “Never mind, never mind…”
Liu Lian retracted her dagger, her emotionless gaze fixed on Luo Xue, waiting for her answer.
“Other business…”
Luo Xue’s eyelid twitched as she looked at the four forbidden area lords.
“There… shouldn’t be any more, right?”
“Yes,” Liu Lian nodded and turned back. “Young Mistress said it’s time to go. Apologies, everyone, excuse us.”
The Primordial Mother was both shocked and furious, and the expressions of the other forbidden area lords were also uncertain.
What did she mean?
…Looking down on them?
They could sense that Liu Lian’s strength wasn’t that great, only at the early stage of Soul Transformation, a world apart from the peak of Soul Transformation.
Yet, she spoke to them with such disdain, even ignoring them.
But the forbidden area lords were also pondering.
And who was this mysterious girl’s master?
An early Soul Transformation cultivator’s master… should be at the peak of Soul Transformation, right?
In this world, was there enough fortune and power to accommodate another peak Soul Transformation expert?
Or perhaps, her master wasn’t from this world…
However, regardless of their concerns, the Primordial Mother couldn’t wait any longer.
Seeing Liu Lian’s attitude, she unleashed all her power, using all her trump cards, transforming into the monstrous beast again, roaring above the Blood Sea.
The other three forbidden area lords retreated, keeping their distance.
They knew the Primordial Mother was making her last stand. This was her strongest moment, infinitely close to the Ascension Realm.
But at the same time, death and decay were also catching up to her, her deadline approaching, her flesh and blood withering.
But she couldn’t care less. This was her last gamble.
“Stay… stay…”
The deafening roar almost shattered everyone’s eardrums, and a foul, poisonous aura filled the air.
The monstrous beast opened its maw, even devouring the dim sunlight from the horizon, let alone the weak beings floating on the Blood Sea before her.
Liu Lian frowned slightly, but didn’t draw the dagger at her waist.
“If you do this… He will be angry.” Liu Lian said softly.
She wasn’t angry, from her tone, it seemed like she just found it troublesome.
Before the monstrous beast’s maw could close, the calmed Blood Sea suddenly churned again.
This time, it didn’t condense into sword intent or transform into a phoenix, but into a single feather.
This purplish-red feather was much larger than an ordinary bird feather, but compared to the roaring beast, it was as small as an ant.
But the moment the feather appeared, the expressions of the forbidden area lords, who had retreated dozens of miles, changed drastically, and they instantly teleported hundreds of miles away.
The power of the Blood Sea that Su Yiyao and Luo Xue had wielded before seemed impressive, but compared to the boundless Blood Sea, it was just a ripple.
But now, without anyone borrowing its power, the entire Blood Sea was churning slightly.
As if something was awakening, opening its eyes, and looking at this world.
“Roar…”
The monstrous maw closed, devouring not only Luo Xue and Su Yiyao, but also Liu Lian and Shangguan Yu.
But the Primordial Mother didn’t notice that a small, purplish-red flame had ignited on her twisted body.
Looking closely, it was just an inconspicuous feather burning.
“I… have succeeded…”
Every piece of flesh and blood on the monstrous beast emitted a hoarse cry of ecstasy. She bathed in the Blood Sea, feeling the arrival of new life.
Then, she felt heat, intense heat.
Confusion flashed through the Primordial Mother’s mind.
After forming a Core and having their own small world, ordinary temperatures were no longer enough to make a cultivator uncomfortable, let alone her, at the peak of Soul Transformation, about to ascend.
…Was it an illusion?
Was it an illusion brought about by her new life?
The next moment, the Primordial Mother realized that it wasn’t an illusion.
Every part of the monstrous beast, every piece of flesh and blood, was burning with a purplish-red flame.
“What… is this…”
Terror filled the eyes on the Primordial Mother’s body. She tried to retract her body, but the purplish-red flames were severing her source of power.
This twisted body, formed from countless cultivators, countless powerful beings, began to collapse uncontrollably, and countless fragmented consciousnesses directly attacked the Primordial Mother’s soul.
At the same time, the pain of the purplish-red flames burning her flesh also assaulted her consciousness without any reduction.
This strange flame’s pain seemed to penetrate everything, and the Primordial Mother had no way to resist, only to endure.
“It hurts… it hurts so much… it hurts…”
Sharp cries of pain echoed from every piece of flesh and every nerve. The monstrous beast was experiencing an unparalleled pain.
Such pain… even made the Primordial Mother forget the fear of her approaching deadline, only wanting to be released from this torment.
“Primordial Mother, you really are…”
Shangguan Yu said lazily, looking at the once untouchable being before her in such a pathetic state. She didn’t feel anything, only finding the screams a bit jarring.
Liu Lian was similar. She was carefully packing Luo Xue and Su Yiyao’s belongings, like a true servant.
When the purplish-red flames ignited on the Primordial Mother’s body, they had already escaped from her maw. The Primordial Mother didn’t even have time to touch them, let alone merge with their power.
“This is…”
Luo Xue stared at the burning flames and instinctively shrank back, as if by instinct.
“The Infinite Fire, the inextinguishable flame, the flame that belongs solely to the ancient divine beast, the Phoenix.” Liu Lian said faintly.
“I told you He would be angry. Even the deceased Phoenix wouldn’t allow such filth to taint its remains. He loves cleanliness.”
“So, the Blood Sea really is… the remains of a divine Phoenix?” Luo Xue blinked. “An Ascension Realm Phoenix? Or…”
She hadn’t seen how the Infinite Fire ignited, but she was certain that the Blood Sea hadn’t unleashed its true power, not even stirring.
“Ascension Realm… One of His feathers is about at that level.”
Liu Lian shook her head, but didn’t continue.
She turned to Shangguan Yu and asked,
“Yu, are you coming back with us this time?”
“No, no, I’m not going to see that old hag.” Shangguan Yu shook her head repeatedly, glancing at the depths of the Blood Sea with reverence. “You go ahead… I’ll go back and continue managing my boss’s business. Farewell, farewell…”
“Okay.”
Liu Lian didn’t insist, nodded, then turned to Luo Xue and Su Yiyao.
As Luo Xue watched in shock, Liu Lian picked them up, put them in the coffin, and closed the lid.
Su Yiyao seemed accustomed to this, snuggling up to Luo Xue without changing her expression, a sweet smile on her lips.
Then, Liu Lian took the coffin and headed towards the depths of the Blood Sea.
Shangguan Yu stayed behind, watching the Primordial Mother’s agony, waiting for something.
A moment later, those she was waiting for arrived.
The three forbidden area lords.
“Xiao Yu, what’s going on?”
The Ghost King asked first, glancing at the Primordial Mother and the Infinite Fire with apprehension.
If that fire landed on him…
He would probably be in the same miserable state as the Primordial Mother.
“Don’t ask. I can only say, those who understand, understand. I won’t explain too much, after all, it’s better to know for yourself, savor it slowly. And don’t ask me what’s wrong. The stakes are too high, it won’t do either of us any good to talk about it. Just pretend you don’t know. All I can say is, there’s more to this than meets the eye, it involves many things.”
Shangguan Yu, as if prepared, rattled off these words, leaving the forbidden area lords stunned.
They were silent for a moment, only the Primordial Mother’s screams echoing around them.
“Do… you know something, about this cage?” The Holy Master asked in a deep voice.
Only peak Soul Transformation cultivators knew about the caged world, but they assumed Shangguan Yu knew about it.
“So, you old ancestors call this place a cage.” Shangguan Yu nodded thoughtfully. “Oh right… it does resemble one.”
She pondered for a moment, then her expression turned serious.
As the forbidden area lords held their breath, their gazes tense, she slowly said,
“I can only say, those who understand, understand…”
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