Chapter 105: Ancient City as the Foundation, Blood Bulls Crossing the Street

Madam Bai’s words reached many ears.

The City Lord was the first to react with shock and confusion. He immediately said, "That's impossible! I personally supervised the closing of the city gates; they're sealed perfectly. Guards are also stationed on the city walls. How could anyone sneak in?"

Madam Bai replied, "But someone has indeed arrived."

The scholar, dressed in sackcloth and filial mourning, glanced at the flustered City Lord and sneered, "Madam is about to assume the Underworld Monarch's authority. The spirits in this city are immortal. No matter who comes, what can they change? They're simply walking into a trap."

The City Lord scoffed, then angrily retorted, "What do you, a useless, down-and-out scholar, know? Before Fengdu is complete, any minor issue could become a fatal stumbling block. We cannot allow any accidents right now, not even the slightest!"

The scholar turned his head away, knowing Madam Bai was in a bad mood and choosing not to argue with him.

Madam Bai closed her eyes. After a moment, she uttered a shocking statement: "I can't find him."

"What?" Everyone was astonished.

Madam Bai was now truly the ruler of the city; everyone within it was at her mercy, to be extinguished with a flick of her hand. If someone had entered, how could she not find them?

Who exactly had come?

Madam Bai herself was puzzled. In her mind, there were only two possibilities: either the city gates had been disturbed, but the person hadn't actually entered, or that person possessed a breath-concealing technique similar to that of the brother and sister, allowing them to temporarily evade her perception.

She lightly tapped the armrest with her finger bones. A skull flew out like a small sword, instantly piercing the City Lord's glabella.

Madam Bai said, "I'm lending you a Longevity Realm. Search the city and find that person for me."

After the skull entered his body, immense power flowed into his soul. The City Lord felt his mind soar, momentarily unaccustomed to such a terrifying realm.

"Longevity..."

In life, he had regretted not being able to become a cultivator and guard the city for another hundred years. Now, after death, he was neither fully ghost nor fully immortal.

With just a flick of Madam Bai's finger, his long-cherished wish was fulfilled.

The City Lord's expression grew increasingly devout. After kneeling in homage, he accepted the order and departed.

Madam Bai opened her eyes and gave Shubei a faint glance. With a flick of her finger, she threw the young man into the queue of spirits. Shubei couldn't speak, but looking at the male and female ghosts before him, his hair stood on end. He was completely bewildered by the words of the resurrected Sister Bai, and if he could, he would have turned and fled.

Madam Bai looked at the five continually evolving paintings, then gazed up at the crimson moon overhead. The moon was now past its halfway point; it wouldn't be long before it was completely full.

"Sixty-four years, then," Madam Bai sighed softly.

The memories of those sixty-four years, like a nightmare, clung to her, and the terrifying, hateful face could not be banished from her mind.

At that time, she had already cultivated to the peak of the Purple Court realm, just one step away from the Five Paths, yet in front of those four old monsters, she had been utterly defenseless.

Yet, even though that monster was so powerful, it had still miscalculated. Those bones, which should have been utterly lifeless, had re-birthed her.

Not only did she survive, but on a night of heavy snow, she crawled out of that old monster's restraint. She reached the Sand River, broke through the thick ice, and boiled the river water, feeding on herself. From then on, the Sand River never froze again.

She had wondered countless times what realm those four who killed her belonged to. Were they gods from the Hidden Realm, sent to eradicate beings who defied the laws of heaven and earth?

She had diligently cultivated, never consuming human flesh or harming the innocent. Yet, because of a baseless rumor that eating her bones could grant immortality, countless people in Southern Province sought to kill her, causing widespread chaos and casualties.

And that divine being, clad in a kasaya and wearing prayer beads, seemingly full of compassion, resolved the chaos by directly killing her.

How ridiculous, to be condemned to death simply for possessing a treasure?

Madam Bai's red lips parted in a silent laugh. Only after that death did she finally understand that no matter how high one's cultivation realm, survival was impossible against the Hidden Realm's rulers who controlled the laws.

The only way was to possess true power to oppose them: to become the supreme ruler of her own domain, where all laws obeyed her command. She wanted the entire city's inhabitants to be immortal, beyond the reach of even the sharpest blades.

This was the true power of laws.

Madam Bai continued to laugh, her chest rising and falling. Her long dress, woven from white bones, was strikingly visible in the night. Perched on her throne, she resembled a gnarled, deathly white willow tree, upon which a beautiful head blossomed.

The throne carried her high into the sky, almost close enough to touch the red moon.

Her eyelids drooped, and her gaze fell upon the city below. The city's large red lanterns had now turned white, and everyone returning home from their flight, upon passing those lanterns, was essentially stepping one foot into the Underworld.

At this moment, the lit lanterns converged to form a giant character, "奠" (diàn).

"Dian" also means to settle or establish.

The entire city was in mourning, silent as death, and thus, it was settled.

Linhai City's foundation was now set, and the five pillars, symbolizing the mythological logic of the Divine Realm of Fengdu, were slowly being erected. Once the five pillars were fully constructed, she would be able to personally paint the firmament and create the sun, moon, and stars.

However, there were still a few annoying bugs in the city.

She grabbed the red moon. With a touch of her fingertip, the image on its surface shifted, revealing Ning Xiaoling relentlessly slashing and hacking at Ning Qinshui's soul within the old mansion.

Madam Bai sneered continuously. If the mythological logic hadn't been incomplete, preventing her from leaving the Bridge of Helplessness—which symbolized the separation of yin and yang—she would have gone herself and torn the brother and sister pair to shreds with her claws!

"Ning Qinshui, I bestowed great power upon you. Is this how you use it?"

Madam Bai's majestic voice, imbued with limitless magic, traveled through the red moon.

Above the courtyard, Madam Bai's voice resounded. The red moon's light intensified, falling upon Ning Xiaoling. Her thoughts seemed to slow, and the speed of her sword strikes decreased slightly.

After that momentary hesitation, she knew something was wrong. She was about to use the most ferocious "Great River Entering the Ditch" style to completely shatter Ning Qinshui's soul. But Ning Qinshui, having received Madam Bai's command, had his cultivation realm climb another notch. His fragmented hand instantly solidified, grabbing the scattered brush from the ground. Disordered characters were instantly written, carrying a terrifying aura that only existed between life and death.

He was the future judge of this city, holding dominion over life and death!

Around him, the accumulated snow also seemed to "die," collapsing and melting. The aura of death, like a rapidly spreading fireline across an autumn plain, instantly surged forth.

Ning Xiaoling barely hesitated. Her snow fox's innate agility allowed her to retreat swiftly. As the death aura spread, she instantly darted to the very back, pressing against the wall. Then, she immediately formed a sword incantation, using a sword domain for protection. When the death aura reached her, it couldn't penetrate the sword domain and, like water meeting a reef, dispersed to either side.

Seeing that the death aura couldn't enter, Ning Xiaoling's fear lessened somewhat. However, once she could no longer continue attacking, Ning Qinshui's soul began to reassemble at an extremely fast rate, forming a blurry humanoid shape, then piecing together limbs, facial features, and other details.

Ning Xiaoling suppressed her fear. Just moments ago, from this very spot, her senior brother—whose cultivation was much lower than hers—had decisively launched his sword attack, shattering Ning Qinshui's soul to the point where it couldn't heal. So why couldn't she do the same?

Though this old relic had transformed into a spirit and gained some cultivation, she herself was vastly different from two months ago!

Outside, on the long street, the sounds of a fight faintly drifted over.

She gripped the sword in her hand. Around her, white snow rolled along the ground like sand, exactly as it had when her senior brother drew his sword moments earlier.

Ning Qinshui's form had coalesced. He gave a faint sneer, "You dare use old sword techniques again?"

Ning Qinshui finally managed to grip his brush. The gloom suppressed in his heart spurted out like ink, transforming the empty space around him into talismans that absorbed the ghostly ink, coalescing into complete characters.

Ning Xiaoling protected herself with her sword domain, starting with the "Sand and Snow" technique. Her figure suddenly darted out, and she angrily retorted, "You're the old one."

However, Ning Qinshui had learned his lesson. He was aware of the sword technique's sharpness and had taken precautions, so he wouldn't be instantly killed again. As Ning Xiaoling drew her sword, three talismans had already been drawn. He lowered his brush to his side, his expression solemn like a judge devoid of all emotion, and declared in a clear voice, "Yin silence, yang extinguishes, life and death as order. Count merits, inflict punishment!"

The three great talismans descended like chiseled monuments, carrying the finality of judging life and death, an absolute resolve, like the sharpest blades in the world, severing all with a single strike!

Before Ning Xiaoling's "White Rainbow Piercing the Sun" sword move was even halfway complete, her figure was forcibly interrupted. One talisman-monument crashed down, forcing her to dodge sideways, while the next talisman-monument brutally forced her "Ink Rain Overflowing Basin" style back into its scabbard.

Ning Qinshui scoffed inwardly. If Ning Changjiu hadn't resorted to that sneaky trick of catching him off guard just now, and instead engaged him in a straightforward duel, how could he possibly have lost?

On the long street, the battle began the moment Ning Changjiu and the butcher met.

The butcher was a fat man, incredibly stout. Standing with his pig-slaughtering knife, he resembled a small mountain of flesh. Yet, his movements possessed an agility that belied his size; when he charged, he could shatter the tiles beneath his feet.

Even before Madam Bai gave her orders, the butcher's frustration from failing to find the mad ox was vented upon Ning Changjiu. Ning Changjiu, for his part, bothered little with identifying him; with the entire city now an enemy, his sword intent spread like sharp needles the instant the butcher appeared.

He and the butcher moved almost simultaneously. The moment sword and cleaver clashed, both caught a flicker of astonishment in the other's eyes.

The other person was human?!

This astonishment didn't last long. The butcher had spent his life slaughtering pigs, capable of ending even the stoutest pig's life with a single cleave. The smooth cut he had just made across the horse's neck filled him with extreme satisfaction, imagining Madam Bai's praise when she saw it.

And this blind young man, not even as sturdy as a pig, dared to block his path.

Cleaver and sword clashed, the ringing of metal echoing through the long street.

After the first clash, neither hesitated. The second strike followed immediately, and amidst the ringing impact, the butcher was astonished to find that this scrawny kid's sword strikes were even faster than his own. While his cleaver was still above his chest, the sword was already hacking towards his shoulder and neck!

The butcher roared, and the stones beneath his feet instantly crumbled to dust. The sudden burst of power repelled the sword for a moment, and his own cleaver simultaneously cut forward.

After another simple collision, both figures recoiled slightly.

The butcher realized with horror that if Madam Bai hadn't granted him such a high cultivation realm, he might have already had his head severed by his opponent during their second exchange.

For him, who had spent his life in slaughter, aiming to kill with a single strike, this was utterly intolerable.

In his original plan, after dispatching the mad ox with a single strike, he would then, with all the mastery he had learned in his life, cleanly and without any hesitation, sever his own head with one final cut!

What a magnificent life that would have been!

But now, he had to expend energy to kill another person.

In his youth, he had killed many. After settling down and establishing his livelihood in the city, his blade had never tasted human blood again. Now, his bloodlust resurfaced. He raised his pig-slaughtering knife and charged forward ferociously.

Ning Changjiu didn't want to get entangled with him. He also intended to quickly kill his opponent and then proceed to the Bridge of Helplessness to disrupt Madam Bai's ritual.

Thus, the clashing of cleaver and sword became even more resounding and fierce. There was almost no embellishment; each strike was a direct, head-on collision between steel.

The butcher had still underestimated the speed of Ning Changjiu's sword.

Although his cleaver techniques were already extremely fast and powerful, capable of piercing a heart or taking a head with just a preemptive strike, he found he couldn't even launch an attack. The opponent's sword was simply too fast, suppressing every one of his attempts, forcing him into hurried defenses based on the incoming sword strikes.

As he continually retreated, the tiles on the ground cracked one by one.

The murderous intent and rage in his heart were like lava accumulating in a volcano, waiting for the opponent's sword moves to run out before erupting as scorching flames, melting everything and severing the opponent's head!

Cleaver and sword clashed again. The butcher took another step back, shaking his numb hand, barely able to hold his cleaver steady.

The sword, however, did not pause. It descended again instantly. He had to roll his body sideways to dodge. A downward slash missed, quickly turning into a horizontal sweep, continuing the pursuit. After a roll, the butcher regained his balance and met the sword again. Simultaneously, he swept his legs fiercely, his body, like a fully swung iron hammer, directly smashing towards his opponent's waist.

Ning Changjiu leaped, evading the opponent's pursuit, and in mid-air, directly struck at the butcher's wrist.

The butcher hastily brought his cleaver back to defend himself. Although he defended, the sword energy still grazed him, cutting a gash.

He grunted in pain, his eyes bloodshot. Disregarding his opponent's offense, he directly thrust out the single strike he had practiced his entire life!

This strike was incredibly simple yet carried monstrous rage and murderous intent. He had practiced this strike hundreds of thousands of times; it was so clean and precise that it was almost flawless.

But his strike still didn't hit the opponent, not because his skill was lacking, but because his pig-slaughtering knife was too short.

Ning Changjiu's body instantly retreated half a step.

The blade passed dangerously close to his chest, tearing a thread of his clothing.

With that strike's momentum spent, the butcher's eyes showed immense unwillingness. Then, he watched as his opponent leaned forward and delivered a strike of their own. Suddenly, the disappointment in his eyes transformed into brilliant awe.

The sword strike his opponent unleashed was identical to the cleaver technique he had practiced his entire life.

He had no time to resent the opponent for mimicking his lifelong cleaver technique with just a glance. This was the first time he had seen this particular strike in someone else's hands, and it was like looking into a mirror, revealing a beauty that almost transcended life and death!

In that moment, he profoundly wished that his opponent would just sever his head.

But the scene he yearned for did not happen.

With an extremely jarring "ding," Ning Changjiu's sword was struck by something, forcibly knocking it off course. That momentary opening allowed the butcher to instinctively withdraw his cleaver and defend.

The butcher had escaped danger, but his heart felt utterly empty.

His gaze went past Ning Changjiu's shoulder, looked over, and he roared in fury, "What are you doing here, old Daoist?!"

As he spoke, he ignored Ning Changjiu and directly flung the pig-slaughtering knife in his hand towards the old Daoist who had saved his life!

That Daoist was Ning Qinshui, who had emerged from the house.

He watched the flying knife, then flicked his judge's brush, directly knocking it to the ground. He looked at the butcher and retorted angrily, "I saved your life, you old fool! Don't be so ungrateful."

"Saved my life?" Veins bulged on the butcher's face, and he roared furiously, "Give me back my life!"

As he spoke, he stretched out his hand, controlling energy through the air, and once again wielded the pig-slaughtering knife to charge forward.

In Ning Qinshui's original plan, after temporarily trapping Ning Xiaoling, he would go out first and, together with the butcher, eliminate the most troublesome Ning Changjiu. However, this unexpected turn of events was something he hadn't foreseen at all.

Of course, this pig-slaughterer was no match for him, but he was incredibly difficult to deal with. The butcher had clearly lost his mind. When his mountain-like figure charged, even though Ning Qinshui used talismans to block, he was still knocked back two steps.

Inside the old mansion, Ning Xiaoling, who had been completely surrounded by death energy and was struggling to defend herself with her sword domain, finally caught a breath.

She quickly cut through the death energy and ran towards the outside. However, the karmic threads in the old mansion still bound her. Unlike her senior brother, who had once transcended life and death, she was simply unable to break free from these karmic ties.

"Senior Brother!"

She pounded on the door and shouted several times with all her might.

Ning Changjiu heard her shouts and felt a sense of relief. The butcher wouldn't be able to hold off Ning Qinshui for long. Just as he was still thinking about how to get Ning Xiaoling out of the house,

The ground suddenly began to shake.

Before shock and bewilderment could fully register, behind them, around the corner of the alley, the wall began to collapse extensively.

By the crumbling wall, a mad ox, covered in bloodstains, its eyes crimson, stomped erratically and charged headlong. The butcher remembered his duty and intended to cleave the mad ox to death. However, as the ox approached, it suddenly spun around, crashing directly into the old mansion's main gate. Its powerful hind hooves delivered a fierce kick, striking the butcher squarely in the chest and knocking him to the ground.

Meanwhile, inside the house, Ning Xiaoling hadn't even registered what was happening. It felt like an earthquake. Her cry of "Senior Brother, help!" was only half-finished when the front door shattered before her eyes. And from the back of the blood-covered black ox, a figure, so utterly black it was almost imperceptible to the naked eye, descended.

From behind the extremely dark curtain, a pale, long, and distinctly jointed finger reached out, grabbing her wrist and pulling her into the black expanse. A familiar, clear, yet authoritative and domineering voice sounded in her ear: "What's all this noise? Come with me!"