Chapter 116: Westward, Ever Westward
“Master Zou can’t hold on any longer. I have to use other puppets.”
Li Guijiao took out more puppets while focusing on the almost-complete refining formation.
Among the puppets she brought out were the Grand Elder of the Law Enforcement Hall, Peak Master Xi Xiaofeng of Cold Edge Cliff, and even her own master, Hei Pao, the Peak Master of Underworld Water Ravine.
If Li Guijiao had ever seen Luo Huaxin, Luo Xue suspected even her convenient mother wouldn’t escape the fate of being turned into a puppet.
The farmer was completely numb to this by now. He narrowed his eyes and looked deeply at Li Guijiao.
Then he turned to Luo Xue, a surprised expression on his face.
“You’re the traitor?”
“If my traitor status was designated by the Grand Elder of the Law Enforcement Hall, then yes.”
Luo Xue said, her calm and composed demeanor surprising the farmer.
Luo Xue’s cultivation was now at the late stage of Spirit Condensation, strong enough that even if she died here, it wouldn’t matter.
It would just be a pity that she couldn’t uncover the truth behind True Person Fengyin’s death, and she couldn’t see Xiao Yao again.
“The Grand Elder holds the authority of the Law Enforcement Hall. Designating traitors is within his purview.”
The farmer’s surprise was fleeting. He drew his sword again.
“Since this is a mission from above, we are the swords of the sword sect, weapons. Carrying out missions is our duty… I hope you understand.”
Whether she understood or not, dying in the line of duty seemed to be Luo Xue’s only fate.
Li Guijiao activated all her puppets, sending them to attack the farmer.
But the farmer was unmoved by these puppets with the appearances of the Peerless Summit Sect’s higher-ups. With a few sword strikes, the puppets were dismembered, their limbs scattered on the ground.
“Juniors should show respect to their elders. What you’re doing is wrong.” The farmer said patiently to Li Guijiao. “Even if you need to disguise your puppets, it’s better to use the appearance of enemies.”
As he spoke, he drew his sword, aiming at Luo Xue.
“Almost… almost there…”
Li Guijiao didn’t know what the farmer was saying. She was fully focused on the refining formation.
The formation was just a hair’s breadth away from condensing the pill, less than ten breaths.
But…
The farmer wouldn’t give Luo Xue ten breaths.
A sword beam flashed.
“No—”
With a heart-wrenching scream, Li Guijiao leaped forward, blocking the sword beam.
Seeing this, the farmer’s pupils constricted, and he tried to retract the sword beam.
He wanted to kill Luo Xue, not another prodigy of the Peerless Summit Sect.
But the spiritual power had already left his body, how could he retract it so easily?
The sword beam pierced directly through Li Guijiao’s body, and she fell into the refining formation like a broken kite, disappearing silently.
Like a withering flower.
“…It was my mistake, my carelessness.”
The farmer looked at the burning refining formation, his expression grave.
“I didn’t expect such a selfless junior among the current generation of Peerless Summit Sect disciples.”
“With such talent, she should have died on the battlefield of the Immortal-Demon War, not at the hands of a fellow disciple.”
The farmer performed a sword salute towards the refining formation, then sheathed his sword and said to Luo Xue,
“You can leave.”
Luo Xue stood there, stunned.
Wait, what was this Senior Brother saying…
What selflessness? This was possible for anyone, but Senior Sister Li would absolutely never do such a thing.
If Luo Xue died here, Senior Sister Li wouldn’t make a meaningless sacrifice. She would hide in the shadows and wait for the right opportunity to avenge Luo Xue.
This actually made Luo Xue feel a little relieved. She wasn’t afraid of death, but she was worried that those close to her would be endangered because of her.
Seeing Luo Xue’s silence, the farmer thought she didn’t understand and explained softly,
“I respect this junior’s wishes. She wanted to save you, even at the cost of her own life. I hope you remember this. She saved you.”
“The mission… has failed.”
Then, before Luo Xue could say anything, the farmer turned and left.
Leaving Luo Xue holding the unconscious Nangong Mengxiang, the pill beside them almost completely condensed.
Only after the farmer left did Luo Xue finally realize that he had truly let her go.
…Because he thought he had killed an innocent fellow disciple.
“The problem is, Senior Sister Li isn’t dead, just a puppet destroyed…”
Luo Xue scratched the back of her head, but didn’t say it out loud.
What if the farmer found out and came back to kill her?
“Fortunately, the pill is ready. Let’s wake up Nangong first.”
Luo Xue put away the Super Invincible Powerful Heaven-Shaking Tyrant Explosive Spiritual Pill. Li Guijiao had already told her how to use it, so she wouldn’t just treat it like a firecracker.
Although its maximum effect was probably similar to a firecracker.
Meanwhile, in the ruins outside the protective formation.
The Demon Abyss cultivators and the Peerless Summit Sect spies had been fighting fiercely for a long time. More than five Core Formation cultivators had already died at the hands of the Peerless Summit Sect’s swords.
And the spies weren’t unscathed either. Half of the actor’s mask was broken, revealing half of her delicate face.
The general, who had been fighting the most fiercely, was also seriously injured.
The weakest, the storyteller, had achieved the most. After breaking the protective formation, he used his compass to set up a formation, trapping the strongest among the Demon Abyss cultivators.
Shensuanzi was among them.
When the farmer reappeared, the Peerless Summit Sect spies instantly gathered around him.
The Demon Abyss cultivators finally had a chance to breathe, looking at them with unconcealed fear.
They finally understood why… the sword fanatics were considered the three most untouchable groups in the Immortal Domain.
They fought like madmen…
Trading injuries, even lives, without hesitation.
Fighting against such opponents was like walking on the edge of a cliff.
They didn’t even dare to run.
They were afraid that if they showed their backs, the sword fanatics would be like cheetahs smelling blood, relentlessly pursuing them until death.
“The mission has failed.”
The farmer said softly.
The others were surprised, but they quickly nodded, not asking further.
“Are we leaving?” The general asked.
The farmer glanced at the ruins of the protective formation and nodded.
“Storyteller, let’s go.”
The merchant wiped his short sword and said.
“Alright.”
The storyteller took out his compass again, and the already prepared teleportation formation appeared around them.
A moment later, the Peerless Summit Sect spies vanished in a flash of white light.
It all happened so fast that the Demon Abyss cultivators didn’t even react before the source of their fear disappeared.
“It’s… over?”
Jiao Nu’s chest heaved as she looked at the spot where the Peerless Summit Sect spies had disappeared, muttering in disbelief.
Shensuanzi, who had been trapped and disoriented by the formation, gradually recovered. This battle had sobered him up, his face filled with lingering fear.
Next time he encountered such opponents, he would definitely run…
If he ran, even if the mission failed, and he was stuck at the mid-stage of Core Formation for the rest of his life, he still had a hundred years left. If he didn’t run, he might die instantly.
However…
A question arose in Shensuanzi’s mind. What were these Peerless Summit Sect cultivators doing here?
If they were here to rescue the villainous trio, why didn’t they take anyone with them…
If they were here to slay demons and eliminate evil, why didn’t they kill everyone?
Just as the cultivators were still reeling from the fear, a sudden exclamation snapped them back to reality.
“They’re escaping!”
Shensuanzi was startled and looked forward.
He saw the petite Luo Xue, carrying Nangong Mengxiang on her back, trying to sneak away.
“They’re still here!”
Shensuanzi’s eyes lit up, his heart sinking slightly.
If that was the case… then the mission Blood Lord had given him hadn’t failed yet?
“Capture them!”
Shensuanzi shouted.
But no one responded, the cultivators all hesitating.
The fear from what had just happened was still too strong.
Seeing this, Shensuanzi could only charge forward himself, towards Luo Xue.
Only after Shensuanzi moved did the other cultivators’ hesitation lessen slightly, following him at a distance.
Luo Xue had already given Nangong Mengxiang emergency medicine and treated her wounds.
The Peerless Summit Sect’s sword intent was troublesome for ordinary cultivators. Once struck, the lingering sword intent would last for months, a constant torment.
But Luo Xue had a Falling Flower Peak technique and could easily dispel it.
However… Nangong Mengxiang’s injuries this time were indeed very serious, and it would take some time for her to wake up.
All the puppets Li Guijiao had placed outside were gone, only her real body, still in the capital, remained.
Looking at the approaching Shensuanzi, Luo Xue sighed softly.
“It seems… I have to use this pill…”
She hadn’t even warmed it in her hand yet, and she already had to use it.
As Luo Xue held the pill, ready to use it, Shensuanzi had also approached.
He was already condensing a divine ability, about to unleash it on Luo Xue.
But just then, a sharp sword beam flashed.
“Get out of the way!”
“What!”
Sensing the sword beam, Shensuanzi was shocked and immediately stopped, using all his strength to activate his protective spiritual energy.
Still traumatized from earlier, Shensuanzi was like a startled bird, instinctively wanting to flee upon encountering a sword cultivator.
But…
The sword beam struck, only shaving off a layer of his protective spiritual energy.
It hadn’t even broken through his defenses.
“Hmm?”
This power wasn’t right…
Shensuanzi looked up and saw a familiar Core Formation cultivator.
“Zhou Jieshi?” Shensuanzi frowned slightly. “Why are you here?”
The Zhou Jieshi he knew was indeed a sword cultivator, but he should be in the Demonic Ghost City’s territory…
Why was he in the Nether Spirit forbidden area?
“You, Shensuanzi,” Zhou Jieshi sneered, “You were trying to take all the loot for yourself?”
“What loot?”
Shensuanzi was dumbfounded. Hadn’t he already distributed the benefits?
Besides, this was a matter within the Northern Zhou Dynasty, in the Nether Spirit forbidden area. What was someone from the Demonic Ghost City doing here?
“Don’t tell me… you didn’t know?” Zhou Jieshi sneered, looking at Luo Xue in the distance, greed and desire flashing through his eyes. “I didn’t expect her to be here. I thought it was another false alarm…”
Shensuanzi was still confused, but when he looked at Luo Xue again, his eyes widened, finally understanding what Zhou Jieshi meant by “taking all the loot.”
“Luo… Luo Xue?”
Luo Xue had removed her disguise. Her waist-length white hair shimmered faintly in the dim light of the setting sun, her delicate profile looking youthful.
She looked exactly like the Luo Xue on the wanted notice!
“Capture Luo Xue!”
“The huge bounty…”
Countless cultivators, from Spirit Condensation to Core Formation, had appeared, all rushing towards Luo Xue.
They even attacked the cultivators in front of them, the scene turning chaotic.
Zhou Jieshi also ignored Shensuanzi and rushed towards Luo Xue with the other frenzied cultivators.
However, because of the chaos, and because no one wanted others to get there first, their pursuit wasn’t as aggressive as before.
Luo Xue was startled by this crazy scene, but she also knew that this was giving her a chance to breathe.
She had been wondering why so many cultivators had suddenly appeared, then she looked down and saw her current appearance.
“Exposed…”
Luo Xue felt a headache coming on. Why did her Thousand Faces Cultivation Art fail at this time? Was it because she wasn’t proficient enough?
But she didn’t have time to think about this now. She just had to hold on until Nangong Mengxiang woke up.
With Nangong Mengxiang’s exceptional escape skills, escaping this situation wouldn’t be a problem.
However…
As time passed, the news about Luo Xue spread, and more and more cultivators joined the hunt.
Luo Xue had already left the Northern Zhou Dynasty, heading straight for the nameless swamp.
Although these cultivators were still pursuing her relentlessly, they didn’t want others to succeed first, so they kept a certain distance from Luo Xue.
They had seen her strength and were confident in capturing her. The only problem was the other competitors.
Luo Xue knew this very well. If not for them hindering each other, they would have captured her long ago.
As night fell, Luo Xue had already reached the borderlands.
And at this moment, Nangong Mengxiang finally recovered slightly.
She slowly opened her eyes and said weakly,
“Little Martial Aunt, go west…”
“Nangong? Are you alright?”
Hearing Nangong Mengxiang’s voice, Luo Xue was worried.
She had taken a sword strike from Wu Hai before and had recovered after just a nap.
But now, she couldn’t even open her eyes.
It seemed that her injuries this time were very serious.
“Don’t worry about me… Little Martial Aunt, go west…”
“Keep going west…”
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