Chapter 121: Remaining Body as Sword to Slash the Mortal World

As the sword was about to descend, the cry of a phoenix echoed in her ears.

The light in Madam Bai’s eyes was suddenly extinguished. As it flickered out, a sword, like a scimitar, slashed across her throat. The bone armor protecting her neck developed a thin crack and then shattered abruptly. The black shadow, which had transformed into a blade, did not linger. It embraced Ning Changjiu, enveloped him, and submerged into the night.

Madam Bai looked up, her gaze fixed coldly on what lay ahead.

In her mirror-like vision, a figure was reflected: a beautiful youth dressed as a man, with a red umbrella, a long sword, and a ponytail. Dark, massive birds circled beside him. The person in the white dress, appearing to be "Zhao Xianger," had been brought by one of these large birds and pulled to his side.

Madam Bai couldn't immediately ascertain the youth’s identity. Was it... Ning Changjiu?

Madam Bai’s mind was somewhat confused at that moment. She had forgotten most things, retaining only the strong impressions of them that had formed over the past month.

Although she couldn't fully comprehend their identities, the moment she saw them, she marked them as targets to be killed.

Madam Bai raised her sword perfectly, then swung her arm, bringing the blade down with lightning speed.

Zhao Xianger glanced disdainfully at Ning Changjiu, who was dressed in white, and pulled him behind her. At the same instant, she unstrapped the umbrella from her back, opening it with a swift whoosh.

The sword energy struck the umbrella, causing its surface to flex and depress. The energy then grazed the red umbrella’s inclined surface, scraping and rolling along it. The immense force of the sword energy pressed against the shield-like umbrella, pushing Zhao Xianger backward. Behind her, Ning Changjiu pressed both hands against her back, trying to help her stop her backward momentum. Together, they slid a considerable distance.

Madam Bai looked at the ancient umbrella surface, which appeared as if it would shatter at a touch. She tilted her head, a hint of fanaticism surfacing in her expression. Her lips curved into a smile as she raised her sword high, its trajectory precisely aiming for the centerline of the umbrella.

"Sister Bai..."

Behind Madam Bai, Shu Bai had regained consciousness. He stared blankly at his severed right arm and the profusely bleeding wound, his teeth chattering from pain. Looking at the monster covered in white bones before him, he immediately recognized her as Sister Bai. Recalling how he had been manipulated after losing consciousness, a profound sorrow welled up within him.

He had stayed by Madam Bai's side for a month, having believed that she harbored some affection for him. He had often contemplated embracing demonic transformation to become her weapon, clearing her path and remaining by her side after everything concluded.

However, these hopes were ultimately crushed when Madam Bai corrupted his mind with the Red Moon. He realized that, in her eyes, he had always been merely a cold, inanimate weapon, meant only to have his humanity stripped away and be wielded as her coldest sword whenever she had need.

His last shred of hope was shattered, replaced by a surge of anger and resentment.

He grabbed his severed hand from the ground and flung it at Madam Bai’s back.

The sword struck her back but failed to penetrate, sliding instead to the ground with a desperate clang.

After delivering three consecutive sword strikes, Madam Bai finally heard the clang of the sword hitting the ground. She turned around, looked at the boy with the severed arm, and raised the sword in her hand.

Shu Bai half-knelt on the ground, his one remaining hand not bothering to cover his wound, but instead hanging limply as he quietly awaited death.

Madam Bai stared at him, a flicker of struggle passing through her eyes.

"Flesh and blood?" Madam Bai asked mechanically.

Shu Bai listened to her indistinct words, tilting his head slightly as tears welled in his eyes, blurring his vision.

Madam Bai ultimately did not strike. Instead, she turned and slashed directly towards the two individuals sheltered by the red umbrella.

The previous three sword strikes had nearly lifted Zhao Xianger off her feet. She held the umbrella tightly with both hands, shielding herself, as the grating sound of sword energy rubbing against its surface filled her ears.

Ning Changjiu’s arms were also giving way; as they buckled, his body crashed directly into her back. Instinctively, he wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, helping to stabilize her against the impact of the incoming sword energy.

Zhao Xianger's waist was extremely sensitive; normally, she would never allow anyone to touch it. During a month of sparring, if Ning Changjiu accidentally made contact, his screams would soon echo through the courtyard. But at that moment, the numbing pain in her arms and the bone-deep agony of the death aura overshadowed the tingling sensation from the touch on her waist. She merely whispered, "Let go!"

Ning Changjiu released his arms and said, "Go!"

With that, he took the umbrella from Zhao Xianger and held it out in front of them. Zhao Xianger nodded, summoned Nine Feathers, intending to envelop them both and vanish into the night.

Madam Bai would never give them such an opportunity.

She once again raised her sword with perfect posture. The moment it descended, her figure had already appeared before them. She slashed down, striking the flexible surface of the red umbrella. With a tearing sound, the umbrella, which had been almost indestructible in previous battles, developed a crack extending from its edge. The impact nearly shattered the bones in Ning Changjiu’s hand as he held it.

Zhao Xianger immediately grabbed his other hand, pulling him to escape in the opposite direction from Madam Bai.

They knew Madam Bai’s divine state couldn't be maintained for long. If they could just delay her for enough time, her body would disintegrate on its own, without them needing to intervene.

After Madam Bai had previously plunged into the Yellow Springs, the Other Shore had begun to destabilize, tilting towards the west, where Zhao Xianger was located. Now that Zhao Xianger had come to this side and shifted the city's orientation, the city itself began to tilt towards the east.

Regardless of the direction, if the city's tilt surpassed a critical point, everything, including the entire city of Fengdu, would cease to exist.

Ning Changjiu urgently said, "Be ready to sever this world at any moment!"

Zhao Xianger gritted her teeth. As the next sword strike descended, she barely managed to block it with the red umbrella, but the umbrella surface vibrated violently, and the handle groaned. She rolled to the ground, dispersing some of the force, and then uttered a low grunt.

This city was the territory of the Zhao Kingdom, with many citizens still alive within it. As their ruler, she would never abandon this city unless absolutely cornered.

She would never take any action that might disappoint her mother.

Madam Bai’s movements were relentless. Each time she raised and brought down her sword, it was like wielding a massive cauldron to pound the earth. Zhao Xianger and Ning Changjiu were relentlessly forced backward. The essence of death transformed into a sweeping hurricane, rising from beneath their feet, and paradoxically, using the umbrella's resistance, it lifted them into the air.

In a moment of their imbalance, Madam Bai found a gap that the red umbrella could not cover and slashed diagonally through it.

Zhao Xianger perceived the direction of the incoming slash. She drew her sword from the umbrella and pressed its edge against the sword energy. Amidst the clanging impact, a circular wave spread out before them.

Although Zhao Xianger suffered no serious injuries, the realm's suppression caused the strong wind to flip the umbrella, and her body staggered backward.

Before Zhao Xianger even landed, Madam Bai’s long tail swept out fiercely, striking both Ning Changjiu and Zhao Xianger hard, sending them crashing together to the opposite bank.

The city tilted west once more.

The boy named Ding Leshi had been hiding and watching from afar. As the hurricane swept through, he was flung from the rooftop where he had been lying. As he tumbled, he shouted, "Big brother and sister-in-law, keep fighting! You must kill that demoness!"

Ning Changjiu landed first, while Zhao Xianger used her sword as a prop against the ground, steadying herself and preventing any further slide.

An extremely long crack had appeared on the surface of the red umbrella in her hand, stretching from the edge almost halfway to the center.

Her chest heaved. The male attire, already a bit tight, now felt particularly constricting around her chest.

Gripping her sword, she stood poised, blade held horizontally, staring at the white phantom, constantly calculating the time in her mind.

Madam Bai’s movements were ceaseless because her own time was running out. The bone spurs on her body were gradually degenerating, and the crown woven from her black hair was beginning to decay. The death aura brought by these changes continuously spurred her on. The bone sword piercing her palm glowed with a viscous light as her figure suddenly moved, dragging the liquid-like sword shadow forward in a fierce charge.

The sword lock Ning Changjiu had quickly set up was instantly severed. Zhao Xianger's battle intent surged like boiling blood. Nine Feathers transformed into a sword in her hand, and she charged directly forward, meeting Madam Bai’s blade.

"Come back!" Ning Changjiu shouted, reaching out to grab her sleeve, but Zhao Xianger was too fast; her sleeve slipped through his fingers, and he couldn't hold on.

Ning Changjiu immediately turned around and shouted into the darkness, "What are you waiting for?"

A mournful sound came from the darkness.

It was the sound of a stringed instrument.

The music was a plaintive lament, like a mournful wind sweeping fallen leaves from the grass, drifting slowly and forlornly across the land.

It was the wailing sound of an erhu.

Black Wuchang played the erhu, walking from one shadowy patch into another.

Amidst the erhu’s melancholic strains, Madam Bai's sword strike inexplicably faltered. Zhao Xianger’s sword, which would have been slightly slower, now matched her speed. The two blades collided, their sword intents proving to be evenly matched.

Zhao Xianger took two steps back, and Madam Bai also leaned slightly backward.

Madam Bai stood holding her sword amidst the music, appearing to hesitate.

Zhao Xianger wanted to continue striking, but Ning Changjiu grabbed her wrist and whispered, "Quickly, leave."

With rationality returning to her mind, Zhao Xianger took a deep breath, knowing that striking now would only awaken her prematurely. Their goal was not to kill Madam Bai, but to delay her for as long as possible.

Nine Feathers was summoned, enveloping them both and causing them to vanish into the night.

Madam Bai reacted only after a brief hesitation. She looked at Black Wuchang drawing the bow in the darkness, and some memories returned to her. "It's you..." she said.

Sixty-four years ago, she crawled out from a pile of bones, having survived by consuming her own flesh. She arrived in this city with a group of refugees and was adopted by a young scholar. When the scholar fell gravely ill, she offered him bone broth from her green earthenware pot. After drinking it, he indeed recovered and asked her what kind of miraculous elixir it was.

At the time, she answered truthfully.

The scholar fled in terror and never returned. When she next saw him, he was already a corpse.

Filled with guilt, she arranged his funeral and conducted a ghost marriage with him. From that day forward, she called herself Madam Bai.

During the funeral rites, Black Wuchang had been the one playing the erhu.

After the funeral, she killed all the other musicians. When it was his turn, he blinded himself, knelt on the ground, and declared his willingness to serve her from that day forward.

And so he survived, becoming the Black Wuchang of today.

As for the deceased White Wuchang, he had always believed Madam Bai favored him for his talent. In reality, it was only because he was a disgraced scholar, just like the benefactor who had adopted Madam Bai when she was a little girl.

Today, Black Wuchang’s face was not covered by a black cloth, revealing his empty eye sockets, which appeared like two vast, incredibly ugly scars.

"Have you come to die?"

Madam Bai, now fully lucid, unleashed a sword strike.

The music died, and the erhu strings snapped.

Black Wuchang’s body was instantly severed in two, decaying like rotten earth and dissipating into dust.

His death was predetermined. He used his demise to secure a single promise: if Ning Changjiu and Zhao Xianger could change everything, then the plain-clothed girl who had become Meng Po would be allowed to live.

That was his adopted daughter. Many stories lay between them, but now, all were severed by that single sword strike.

Madam Bai could no longer detect their hidden traces.

But the city continued to tilt.

Knowing they were still within the city was enough for her.

Madam Bai tilted her head back, her chin and neck almost forming a single, rigid line.

Amidst the piercing wind, Madam Bai ascended like a flood dragon rising from the deep sea, instantly reaching the boundary between the Fengdu world and the outside.

She looked down upon the city.

She intended to unleash a sword strike but discovered that the bone sword had already merged with her palm.

She considered severing her hand, but then felt it was no longer necessary.

Everything would soon decay and be destroyed.

So she inverted her body.

The curved surface at the apex of the Fengdu world resembled a drawn bow.

She used her entire body as an arrow, shooting straight down, accelerating so rapidly that no one would have a chance to cut open this world and escape.

She intended to perish along with everything in Fengdu.