Chapter 19: A Man in White Clothes Enters the City

Peals of thunder erupted over Qifeng Lake.

The Old Fox, controlling the body of the Witch Lord, vanished from the spot in an instant.

The woman in white, whose figure had transformed into a rainbow to escape, was intercepted mid-air. The violent screech of sword against claw erupted, sending a dazzling trail of sparks across the sky.

The woman's figure faltered slightly. Her longsword danced around her, silver light bursting forth and shimmering, blocking the demonic energy encroaching from all directions.

The 'Witch Lord' hovered in the air before her. The aura of his body had completely changed. His eyes, which had originally been rolled back like those of a dead fish, were now completely black. They resembled two abyssal whirlpools; a single prolonged look would cause one to fall into them.

The woman in white guarded her sword heart, trying her best to avoid eye contact with the elder.

She could feel that the Old Fox before her now was immeasurably stronger than he had been moments ago.

The Old Fox's earlier words had stirred a great turmoil in her heart. She knew what the Five Paths signified, and the three realms beyond them were beyond her imagination.

Yet, he had spoken of them so casually.

She had to escape, report this matter to her sect, and inform her master. Otherwise, if he fully recovered, the entire Southern Province would surely fall into catastrophe.

The Old Fox looked at her and smiled faintly: "Actually, at the very beginning, if you had struck with full power, you would have had a chance to severely wound me. What a pity that you were timid from start to finish. With every strike, you thought of a retreat. Was it because you finally embarked on the path of immortality and couldn't bear to lose it over a trivial matter like demon-slaying?"

The woman in white's mind stirred slightly. She believed his words, and a hint of regret arose in her heart.

In that brief moment, she suddenly felt a black seed rapidly spreading within her heart, threatening to take over her mind.

Demonic seed infiltration?

She inwardly cursed. Just this momentary wavering of her mind had allowed the opponent to find a weakness and infiltrate. What kind of terrifying Dao realm was this?

The woman dared not dwell on it. She immediately brought her sword horizontally before her and plucked the blade with her finger. A clear, resonant hum of the sword rang out, crisp and pure, seeming to pull her from her turbulent mental state.

"Little girl, how many years have you cultivated the Dao? Your sword heart is so unstable?" the Old Fox asked with a smile.

The woman in white knew she had to guard her heart, but the Old Fox's words seemed to possess a magical power. She couldn't help but answer in her mind.

The Old Fox scoffed: "So you're just a little girl in your twenties. I suppose I am bullying a junior."

Despite his words, he pointed a finger, and a white rainbow smashed down from the sky.

It was a technique identical to the one the woman in white had used earlier, but executed with more directness. The sword intent contained within it was even purer than hers!

As the white rainbow descended, the woman's reaction was half a beat too slow due to the corruption of her sword heart. She dodged sideways, but the long rainbow still struck her shoulder. With a loud thud, she let out a cry of pain. Her sleeve on that arm ripped, and she plummeted toward the lake surface.

The woman in white had no time to tend to her injuries. She bit her tongue, resisting the demonic seed's infiltration. She also resolved to use the momentum to sink to the bottom of the lake and escape under the cover of the water.

The instant this thought appeared, the lake water instantly froze solid. With a dull thud, she crashed heavily onto the ice.

The Old Fox reappeared. He slammed a fist into her lower abdomen. The woman spat blood and jabbed her sword tip into the ice, trying to steady herself. Yet, she still slid backward for dozens of yards.

The hum of her sword continued without end, sounding like a sorrowful lament.

The Old Fox also joined two fingers and made a few strokes in the air. He mumbled to himself: "Is this the essence of your sect's sword intent?"

The woman in white's mind trembled. Though the strokes he made were not entirely accurate, the sword Dao meaning they displayed was almost identical.

She knew that any thought she had now could be exploited as a weakness, but with the demonic seed infecting her, she couldn't stop her thoughts.

Then, she felt a fire ignite in her heart.

She looked down and found that there was no solid ice beneath her feet, only roaring, scorching flames.

The Old Fox looked at her with a half-smile. "Before you die, I'll show you a true sword. Let's see how much you can comprehend."

The Old Fox's two conjoined fingers sliced across his front from left to right.

From his fingertips, electric light seemed to twist and burst forth, coiling into a straight, snow-white line.

"Go."

He lightly uttered a word, and his wrist flicked. The ethereal sword followed his finger's path, cutting down from mid-air.

The woman in white was deeply horrified. The ethereal sword pierced through the air, seemingly fast enough to cut through anything, yet slow enough to discern every pulsating pattern within it. As she involuntarily gazed at the sword, a sword unexpectedly emerged within her own heart. This sword came from the depths of her consciousness, as if someone held a knife and slashed, intending to pierce and tear her heart from the inside out.

It was a profound mix of fear and absurdity.

She couldn't even distinguish if this sword was struck by the Old Fox or if she had drawn her own sword and struck herself.

The Old Fox no longer looked at her. He turned and walked toward the imperial city.

Then, he let out a soft 'Eh?' and looked back.

The woman in white had raised her sword at some unknown moment. Her sword-robe was slashed with many gashes, and blood seeped through them. Yet, the face hidden beneath her pure white mask was utterly serene.

In that instant between life and death, her mind became empty. The sword formed by the demonic seed in her heart failed to shatter her Dao heart. Instead, she used its force and, in doing so, broke through her long-standing mental barriers, ascending to a profound and ethereal realm.

The woman suddenly opened her eyes: "Thank you for your guidance, Senior."

She joined two fingers and drew them across her front, from right to left, going against the previous direction. Yet in a certain sense, it was identical.

The Old Fox's brows furrowed slightly.

As the sword light appeared, the frozen river and flames all vanished. Thick white mist enveloped the surroundings. The line from her fingers advanced like a surging tide.

The Old Fox drifted backward. His fingertips tapped down. His hand lifted gently, but his finger descended swiftly. But that sword was too precise, and each manifestation he formed was shattered by a single sword strike.

Crisp shattering sounds rang out intermittently.

The woman shakily stood up. Her sword-robe was torn and half-soaked in blood. Her pure white mask was also cracked in many places, revealing the soft curve of her cheek.

Drip, drip.

Under the might of this sword strike, a gap was finally cleaved open in the domain created by the Old Fox.

The autumn rain finally began to fall on the lake surface once more.

The Old Fox gripped the sword's edge between two fingers. He floated backward. At the same time, the surrounding solid ice, autumn rain, and flames were all drawn towards his body. He intended to use the power of heaven and earth to completely shatter this sword.

At that moment, the woman in white's eyes shone with an unprecedented brilliance.

She let out a clear cry.

The Old Fox's expression finally changed.

The ice water, rainwater, and illusory flames were all imbued with a subtle sword intent at that moment. Touching his skin, they felt like knife cuts.

"Sword Spirit Integration?" The Old Fox's voice was slightly hoarse. He was clearly in great pain.

This was her final trump card. Under her divine will, all things in heaven and earth became swords. The Old Fox's attempt to use the power of heaven and earth had ironically become like drawing a sword to slit his own throat.

The sword hovering beside her shot through the air.

The Old Fox instinctively parried.

But the sword merely grazed his side.

The woman in white did not press her advantage. Instead, after breaking through his domain, she fled towards the imperial city.

The Old Fox suppressed the pain of countless swords piercing him. He pursued her closely.

An even stronger ethereal sword than before slashed out from his side.

The sword struck the woman's back. As blood sprayed out like arrows, the woman forced herself to stay conscious, resisting the numbness caused by the severe injury to her back. Her figure plummeted towards the city.

The Old Fox ignored the swords formed from all things striking him. His figure, like a rainbow, drilled through them.

By a mere fraction of an inch, the woman in white entered the city first.

The Old Fox crashed violently into the city wall, only to be forcibly repelled.

He suddenly remembered that he had already swallowed the ancient scroll representing the fate of the city. Anyone could breach this imperial city now, except for him. If he forced his way in, the backlash he would suffer would be a hundredfold, even a thousandfold.

He stopped at the city gate. Looking at the spot where the woman in white had disappeared, he felt no anger; instead, he couldn't help but laugh: "Now this is getting interesting."

"Great Immortal, Great Immortal, Great Immortal!"

The Old Fox heard the flapping of wings behind him. He turned his head to look.

He saw a bird the size of a small eagle. It was carrying an ancient umbrella in its beak and flapping its wings strenuously to stay aloft, calling out to him telepathically.

The Old Fox's brows furrowed. He naturally recognized the umbrella, but hadn't expected to obtain it so easily.

"Did Zhao Xianger tell you to give it to me?"

The vermilion falcon repeatedly said: "Yes, Your Highness instructed me to deliver it to Great Immortal."

The Old Fox raised a hand, and the umbrella flew to him. He scanned it with his demonic power and only swallowed it whole after confirming there was nothing unusual.

Another lock in the underground palace broke. His three souls merged into one. Behind the Old Fox, three illusory giant tails faintly appeared.

"This umbrella actually represents the common people of Zhao State?" After swallowing the umbrella, the Old Fox found that the imperial city held no barriers for him. It was as if he himself were a Zhao native who had lived there for a long time.

However, now, even if he killed the most ordinary person in Zhao State, he would suffer a backlash, because this umbrella protected the common people of Zhao State.

"I cannot destroy the city, nor can I kill people?" The Old Fox chuckled: "That little girl is remarkably clever. Could it be that she's truly destined to become a Sage Seed?"

However, these were only temporary restrictions. Once he had completely refined these city-guarding treasures, these limitations would no longer exist.

The Old Fox's thoughts stirred slightly. He looked at the demonic bird and asked: "Are you a demonic bird of Zhao State?"

In the Old Fox's smile, the Crimson Feather Lord felt an extremely deadly killing intent. It quickly said: "I have lived with Your Highness in Zhao State for decades, so I am naturally considered a... messenger pigeon of Zhao State. Moreover, Your Highness promised me you wouldn't kill me when you saw me."

"Oh?" The Old Fox glanced at it again. The color in his eyes deepened abruptly. A moment later, he chuckled softly: "So that's how it is. Years ago, when that immortal and I battled in the Southern Province, our blood drenched the lands far and wide. Many demonic beasts drank it, but almost none survived. For you to live until today, you can be considered my disciple. I will not kill you."

The Crimson Feather Lord immediately understood. Its mind trembled. "So, what I drank back then was Senior's blood?"

The Old Fox nodded gently, pointed a finger at it, and then walked towards the city, saying: "Though I won't kill you, as my disciple, you must never again live under someone else's wing, scrambling like a worm."

The Crimson Feather Lord felt the restriction, which had been like a maggot in its bone, disappear without a trace. Its heart was filled with wild joy. It prostrated itself on the ground, its body trembling with excitement: "This junior will only follow Senior's lead."

Wind and rain entered the city.

In a deserted narrow alley, faint shadows suddenly appeared on the wall. An extremely thin sword shadow pierced through the rain. The woman in white stumbled and fell to the ground. She slightly loosened her mask, and in the puddles on the ground, blood quickly spread.

The sword, too, was at the end of its strength and fell beside her, as if completely drained of spiritual energy.

The rain completely soaked her sword-robe. Her wounds had not stopped bleeding. Through the torn fabric, the flesh shredded by demonic energy was faintly visible.

Every drop of autumn rain on her back felt like a drumbeat. It slowly, bit by bit, forced her struggling body back to the ground.

The woman lay prostrate on the ground, coughing incessantly. She desperately gripped the sword hilt, trying to prop herself up.

Fortunately, the fox demon had not immediately entered the city to pursue her.

She forced a few cycles of True Qi, wanting to return to the blue-and-white sedan chair to rest and recover. But she suddenly found that her connection to the blue-and-white sedan chair had been severed by something.

"Could something have happened in the imperial palace?"

This thought flashed through her mind. She coughed up another mouthful of blood. The suppressed internal injuries within her erupted in waves. Her internal organs felt as if they were being scraped by small knives, and the pain caused her limbs to convulse continuously. She could barely maintain many basic movements.

The woman took only a few steps before collapsing to the ground again.

The bells within the imperial city began to toll.

A sense of alarm once again arose in her sword heart. She knew this meant the Old Fox had already entered the city.

At this moment, she was too weak to conceal her aura. She would be found before long.

Now that her connection to the blue-and-white sedan chair was severed and she couldn't return to the imperial palace, where could she go in this unfamiliar imperial city?

Suddenly, the sound of soldiers marching in formation rang out behind her.

She forced herself to stand, mustering her last bit of strength. Leaning against the wall, she stumbled forward with difficulty.

Beyond the corner, the soldiers' voices drifted over: "There are bloodstains here. Rebels might have escaped this way. Search!"

"His Majesty is still alive and well. What we're doing is so ruthless, won't it be too disheartening for people?"

"Now, Her Highness presides over the imperial palace. As long as she wishes to rule, no one can depose her. More than twenty days ago, we all participated in besieging the palace. That's a capital offense, enough to wipe out our clans. We must make amends now if we can. If Her Highness shows mercy, perhaps our families, old and young, can be spared."

"They were our comrades! Can you really bring yourself to do this?"

"Sigh, who would want to turn on their comrades if not forced to? Who knows when this will end? This nation might as well perish."

"Shhh... Don't speak such nonsense."

The woman in white leaned against the wall, listening to their faint voices. She was too weak to discern what shocking changes had occurred in the imperial palace.

She unconsciously walked forward along the wall.

The footsteps behind her grew sometimes distant, sometimes near. The blood she dripped was diluted and washed away by the heavy rain. The last bit of fire within her body was also chilled and extinguished by the rain.

She wondered if it was an illusion, but she suddenly saw the courtyard gate ahead seemed to be open.

Without further thought, she dragged her severely injured body and stumbled into the courtyard.

Inside the house, Ning Xiaoling rested her chin in her hand, listening to her senior brother tell several dry and tedious stories. If not for the unusual noises often coming from outside, Ning Xiaoling would have probably fallen asleep long ago.

Now, her senior brother began telling a story about a rescued fox demon who cultivated into human form to repay kindness.

Ning Xiaoling pressed her index finger to her palm, interrupting him: "Senior brother, how do you manage to tell such boring stories with such relish?"

Ning Changjiu paused slightly, then laughed wryly: "These are stories I really like... Are they truly that boring?"

Ning Xiaoling nodded seriously: "They're very cliché. Besides, foxes are ungrateful creatures; how could they repay kindness? It would be considered kind if they didn't just take the scholar's money while they were at it."

Ning Changjiu chuckled self-deprecatingly and said: "Then I'll tell you a story about a poor scholar whose engagement was broken off by his fiancée."

Ning Xiaoling's nostrils twitched, and she covered her ears, saying: "I don't want to hear anything right now. It's thundering and exploding outside; I'm so scared... Could it be that monster my senior brother mentioned has escaped from underground?"

Ning Changjiu said: "If that's the case, we can only pray he doesn't come knocking."

Ning Xiaoling nodded, comforting herself: "Though we are Daoists, we only ever helped Master feign things in the past. We shouldn't have made any enemies; no grudges, no grievances. Unless that monster is bloodthirsty by nature, we should be fine. Oh, senior brother, remember to close the courtyard gate..."

Before her words could finish, a sudden thud sounded from outside the house.

It was the sound of someone colliding with the door.

The two exchanged glances.

Ning Changjiu was silent for a moment, then said: "Shall we go see?"

Ning Xiaoling picked up the umbrella beside her and tossed it to him, with an expression of utter resignation.