Chapter 242: Fish King Enters the City

A white cat presided over the sky. In its hand, it loosely held a fishing rod, from which a fishing line, woven from starlight, dangled. It was like an elder, adorned in fine silk, fishing calmly by a village pond after returning home in glory.

This scene had been recurring like a nightmare for countless forgotten ages. Back then, it was just a kitten, and because it couldn't catch any fish, the great yokai would order it to sit aside, holding a fish basket, sometimes for an entire day. It always remembered their faces; it wouldn't forget them even after a thousand years…

Each ray of starlight served as a fishing line. If the Purple Court realm could summon celestial phenomena, then the Five Paths realm was akin to transforming one's entire body into a part of heaven and earth itself. Wind, rain, thunder, lightning, sun, moon, and starlight—all these natural phenomena could be overturned and controlled at will.

Within the vast space, deep caverns continuously cracked open, and enormous schools of fish swam out in an unending stream. No one could discern their full forms. They were not true living beings but rather products of a spiritual world intertwined with the void.

The Vermilion Bird tattoo on Zhao Xiang'er's body grew dim within this ocean of void. Birds were meant to soar in the sky; how could they be submerged in the sea?

The lines of starlight descended. These lines were less like threads and more like an endless series of nets. Upon touching a fish or a person, their edges would split and expand, entangling the fish within the pond's waters. The entire pond was reflected beneath the starry sky; where could the fish within possibly escape?

Zhao Xiang'er and Lu Jiajia exchanged a glance. Two distinct beams of sword light, like suddenly bursting flames, erupted. They channeled their spiritual energy and moved in opposite directions, sweeping away towards two different points. But they could not outpace light. The starlight pierced through the lake's surface, like a slender sword that spanned heaven and earth. While any sufficiently long object would bend due to high-speed movement, these beams of light did not. They swept through the water like shadows, about to strike the two women in an instant.

Suddenly, a patch of snow appeared before the Fish King's brow. Along with the snowflakes came a lamppost. That lamppost halted a *zhang* away from itself, its fiery tip suppressed. The entire surface of the lamppost quickly softened, melted, and transformed into molten copper, plummeting into the darkness.

"Foolish," sneered Xue Yuan, who had previously been suppressed by Ning Changjiu's staff. She looked at the young man attacking the Fish King and then unleashed her winter blade light again, pressing it against Ning Changjiu's back.

The Fish King's gaze remained fixed on Zhao Xiang'er. It snapped its fingers at Ning Changjiu. Ning Changjiu's white robe at the shoulder, his Asura body, was effortlessly pierced. A gush of blood created a gaping wound. The blade light also reached his back.

Ning Changjiu ignored the killing intent behind him and continued to surge forward. His Asura body, like a collapsing mountain, drew its golden fist back to its shoulder. As power accumulated, a golden light condensed at the tip of his fist, transforming into a torrent-like golden shadow that slammed diagonally towards the Fish King.

Only then did the Fish King notice the massive golden shadow surging towards it. A strange glint flashed in its demonic eyes. It had intended to deliver a killing blow, but then, perhaps realizing something, it sighed. With a mere flick of its palm, it repelled the approaching Asura and pushed the entire space in the direction of Xue Yuan's incoming blade light.

Ning Changjiu, along with the golden Asura, was repelled by the wall-like space. As Xue Yuan's blade light pressed in, Ning Changjiu performed a Daoist incantation of "Mirror in Water, Moon in Sky." His figure vanished from his spot. Xue Yuan paused, slightly stunned, and swiftly scanned her surroundings. He had swapped places with the reflection of himself in her blade light.

The next moment, Xue Yuan's River of Winter was torn apart from the middle. Within the blade light, illusion and reality reversed once more. Though he held no sword, his two fingers came together, and a formidable sword intent instantly thrust towards Xue Yuan's throat. Xue Yuan was momentarily flustered, but as the sword intent struck, ice crystals formed around her throat. The ice crystals transformed into armor. The sword could not pierce the ice armor. The previously dispersed snow re-coalesced.

"Ice Lock…" Xue Yuan began, her voice a chill. Her domain instantly expanded. The golden Asura had not yet fully formed when the divine sparrow in the sky transformed into an ice-blue sword. That sword resembled a massive feather, its surface glimmering like frozen mercury, and its thin blade edge was adorned with scattered, frosty ice crystals. A thousand *li* of ice locked.

"Distracted while facing my sword…" Xue Yuan said coldly, "You're courting death!" The icy sword descended like a divine punishment. Ning Changjiu's vision and figure were frozen by the opponent's authority, rendering him unable to resist. Yet, the descending sword also halted halfway. Xue Yuan realized that she too was unable to move. As Ning Changjiu was frozen, the authority of time silently enveloped her as well, leaving her motionless in its torrent. Both had simultaneously frozen the other! At this moment, whoever could break free from the seal first would gain an absolute advantage!

Meanwhile, Ning Changjiu's attack bought Zhao Xiang'er and Lu Jiajia a brief moment. In that brief moment, fragments of sword intent on Lu Jiajia's body coalesced into a tangible form, like floating mirrors, shrouding her from above like rising dust. Starlight pierced through, reflecting winding paths of light within the sword intent. All the sword intent shattered on contact, and the light rays bounced and pressed towards Lu Jiajia's back.

The Fish King paid her no mind. Its brief moment of distraction upon seeing the Asura was fleeting. It sought to re-lock its gaze on Zhao Xiang'er, but it suddenly discovered that in the darkness of this void, the starlight fishing lines were severed, and Zhao Xiang'er had vanished in an instant. The starlight fell into a dark abyss, swallowed whole by it. Zhao Xiang'er was like a drop of water that had merged into the ocean. She was utterly undetectable at a glance.

"Shadow concealment technique? No, that's not right…" The Fish King paused, slightly bewildered. It wasn't concerned. It could sense Zhao Xiang'er's presence through the massive fish swimming in the void. The Fish King raised its paw. To toy with any authority similar to concealment within its void ocean was almost tantamount to seeking death. It only needed three fish to pinpoint any location in the void.

The Fish King closed its eyes and thought for a moment. Divine sense, too, was a vast net. "Found her." In just three breaths, it had re-locked onto Zhao Xiang'er's position. Three fish confirmed her location and directly locked onto her figure. Beams of starlight shot towards that locked point. But after the light reached a certain spot, it was entirely absorbed by darkness. It was absolute darkness. It was Nine Feathers' body.

In the time Ning Changjiu had bought, Nine Feathers was able to break free and spread its wings, shielding her. Zhao Xiang'er used this to evade the Fish King's sight in the darkness. Beneath the darkness, Nine Feathers converged into a sword, and the fiery phoenix unfurled its wings against the wind. The surrounding schools of fish were instantly illuminated. The girl, drawing her sword and rising, resembled a soaring firework. She charged towards the surface of the void sea.

The Fish King allowed her to draw her longsword, drag her fiery tail to scare off the covetous void fish, and then charge at it with a slash. The Fish King had witnessed such a scene countless times throughout its fishing life: fish, unwilling to accept their fate, would flick their tails, attempting to leap from the water and transform their fins into wings that soared through the sky. But no matter how high they leaped, they would always fall back into the water. From the moment of their birth, water was their inescapable destiny.

The Fish King snapped its fingers again. In the void, all the fish locked onto her. If Zhao Xiang'er had known its thoughts at that moment, she would have found it amusing. She was no fish, and water would not be her destiny. She was, by nature, a divine sparrow soaring through the nine heavens.

The girl wielded her sword like a dancer, and all the incoming starlight was swallowed by Nine Feathers' absolute darkness. This was a place where even the light of the Golden Crow could not penetrate, let alone these firefly-like glimmers? The Fish King, seated alone on its fishing platform, leaned forward to watch Zhao Xiang'er, who was ascending like a sword. They each carried their own convictions.

The colossal fish of the void intertwined to form a net, obstructing Zhao Xiang'er's path. Nine Feathers, now a sword, slashed fiercely, like intricate calligraphy being wielded with ink in the air. The motley array of fish transformed into bursts of fire beneath the sword. Once ignited, the flames were instantly swallowed by Nine Feathers, vanishing into the gloom.

After seeing the wedding dress, her Purple Court realm had reached an entirely new level. Her speed accelerated, and the dark space was sliced open layer by layer. As she neared the point of breaking through the surface of the void, her realm had already ascended to the absolute peak of Purple Court. White mist condensed at the edge of Nine Feathers' blade—these were fragments of torn space.

Zhao Xiang'er broke through the surface of the void. The oppressive force on her vanished, and her sword swung in a perfect semi-arc, cutting forward as if pushing through snow. The Fish King's brow furrowed slightly. It looked at the fire phoenix and felt a sense of unreality. It was clearly just a young fire phoenix, yet why did the essence of the flame within it feel capable of destroying heaven and earth?

The Fish King's paw extended, pointing as if in a Daoist gesture. Having only recently emerged from its seal, it was still somewhat unfamiliar with the power of the Five Paths. Thus, its aim was very cautious, lest it inadvertently leave behind mere air where its claws should have struck Zhao Xiang'er. The sword's edge pressed against its fingertip. Simultaneously, Nine Feathers' form swelled, transforming into darkness that eclipsed the starlight.

In the gloomy depths of the sea, Lu Jiajia also gained a moment to breathe. "Spirit Convergence," Lu Jiajia murmured, her sword-like gaze sharp as snow. Her sword domain expanded outwards. It was a semi-circular domain, like an ever-expanding, inverted dome. At its edges, everything it touched was eroded and assimilated into sword qi. The fish swimming in the void were also assimilated into swords, pointing towards the sky. The clang of swords resonated, an endless symphony. All the fish leaped out of the void's surface. Adorned with sword qi, they resembled scaleless silver fish, emitting a pure and brilliant light.

The sight was magnificent. But the Fish King didn't even spare it a glance. It extended a finger and meticulously held Zhao Xiang'er's sword at bay. Zhao Xiang'er's sword was exceptionally powerful, tempered with the qi of shattering void and burning with a dark, lightless flame. It was already subtly poised to surpass the peak of the Purple Court realm. Yet, even the peak of Purple Court still lay beneath the Five Paths.

"A single rod upon autumnal waters, by ten thousand acres of frigid river." The Fish King, feeling inspired, recited the line with an ancient, ponderous air. The world fell silent for a moment. Zhao Xiang'er's afterimage lingered where it had been, but her body had already been violently flung backward, retreating a hundred *zhang*. The colossal fish that had simultaneously surged skyward also froze at its side. Cracks spread everywhere, and thousands of swords shattered into dust. All the sword-fish were instantly annihilated.

Lu Jiajia looked up, gazing at that distant figure. The Purple Court and Five Paths realms were seemingly only a thin line apart, yet why was the disparity so immense? The Fish King withdrew its hand, silently observing the beads of blood welling up between its fingers.

Zhao Xiang'er's figure was not defeated. The instant she was repelled, a pair of fiery wings sprouted from her back. These wings churned up a gale, lifting her body. The Nine Feathers in the girl's hand had already shed its sword form, transforming back into the large black bird that circled her. Despite her repeated setbacks, even after manifesting her full power, she had only managed to draw a single drop of blood from its fingertip. Yet, her gaze toward the Fish King remained calm.

The Fish King's finger twitched, and its wound healed in an instant. "Truthfully, I'm quite curious myself," it said, "What else are you hiding?"

"Why do you ask?" Zhao Xiang'er replied.

The Fish King's voice held a hint of awe. "Because that person told me I could kill you perfectly."

"Perfectly?" Zhao Xiang'er questioned, confused.

The Fish King nodded. "Yes, 'perfectly' means precisely enough—just a sliver stronger than you, but that sliver is the line between life and death… However, the power you've shown so far is far from enough. So I'm very curious, what else are you hiding?"

Zhao Xiang'er, of course, did not answer. She merely said, "The one who told you that is clearly not very astute."

"Oh?" Bai Zang narrowed its eyes. That was a divine envoy from the Silver Snow Palace, and that person's words, in a sense, represented the will of the Divine Lord Bai Zang.

"Because today," Zhao Xiang'er said, "I suddenly remembered something."

"What?" the Fish King asked.

"In Nine Feathers' inherited memories," Zhao Xiang'er explained, "there were four things that would truly complete and renew my Purple Court: the White Spirit Bone, the Everbloom Leaf, the Phantom Snow Lotus… and a great demon's demon core. But for some reason, during my later search for these heavenly treasures, I unknowingly forgot about the great demon's demon core."

The Fish King's eyes narrowed, uncertain if she spoke the truth. For the inheritance of Nine Feathers most likely represented the will of the Vermilion Bird Divine Kingdom. Even a demon of its Five Paths realm was merely a wildcat crouching beneath a fierce tiger before those twelve divine kingdoms. They were the true heavens. But now, even the will of the heavens was in conflict, and it was uncertain which side would prevail.

"There is a Daoist technique in this world called the Art of Illusionary Forgetfulness," Zhao Xiang'er said. "Once you've seen something, it becomes veiled and completely forgotten, only to be recalled when you see it again. I consumed the White Spirit Bone, the Everbloom Leaf, and the Phantom Snow Lotus, yet I still didn't recall this matter," Zhao Xiang'er said. "But today, when I saw you, I remembered."

The meaning of her words was now clear. The Fish King was exactly what Nine Feathers had referred to. Back then, she had even wondered how large a "great demon" truly was. Now, it seemed, not too big after all.

"How does the Lord Vermilion Bird intend to kill me?" A cat's paw swiped past its eyes.

"Autumn and winter have arrived; frost kills all vegetation." The Fish King spoke slowly. Its words were demonic enchantments.

Beneath the starry sky, everything took on a desolate, deadly aura. Yet, that deadly intent did not draw close to Zhao Xiang'er. The wings on her back erupted into fierce flames, and the Vermilion Bird tattoo seemed to almost merge with her body. She wouldn't normally have had the chance to summon the Vermilion Bird's shadow. But the Fish King's demonic incantation had not yet fully left its lips. The lingering echo of "grass" from "frost kills all vegetation" still trembled in the wind. Its perception of time was stretched.

Behind it, Ning Changjiu had already broken free. He chose not to severely injure Xue Yuan but instead activated his recently recovered authority, enveloping the Fish King. This brief moment was critically important. Zhao Xiang'er and Lu Jiajia acted almost simultaneously. Three swords, some illusory, some real, thrust forth from different angles.

With a whoosh. As their swords drew near, the void cracked open. The schools of fish around the white cat reappeared, swirling like a hurricane. They roared around in a circle, dissolving all the pursuing sword intent. At the same moment, the Fish King's demonic incantation "frost kills all vegetation" became reality. This hurricane-like swarm of fish spread out explosively, like steel shards spinning in a gale.

It was at this moment that something broke through the violent schools of fish in the void and pierced inside. It was the sword formed by Nine Feathers.

"Xiang'er!" Ning Changjiu instantly realized something was wrong. At that moment, all the phoenix fire on Zhao Xiang'er's body ignited completely. The flames pierced through the void, carrying a resolute, all-consuming determination, as they stabbed towards the Fish King.

The Fish King's brow furrowed slightly. It extended its hand, reaching to grasp the incoming sword. The sword sliced through its fingers and pierced its palm. Ning Changjiu and Lu Jiajia were instantly flung back. The currents formed by the fragments, carrying power beyond the Purple Court realm, instantly left them covered in wounds. The red umbrella also whirled out of the hurricane.

Zhao Xiang'er's decision was so sudden that even the Fish King didn't react in time. Without warning, she mobilized all her power, burning like someone defying destiny. Her pupils, hair, body—every inch of her being, and all the realms contained within, erupted like scattering sparks. A magnificent and scorching light engulfed everything. Both her hands held blades in a backhand grip: the left, the umbrella-sword; the right, the Blade of Nine Feathers. These two extraordinary and renowned swords, imbued with skyfire capable of piercing the cosmos, continued to press forward with all their might after puncturing the Fish King's palm. From her back, fiery wings surged forth and spread wide, and burning feathers, like swarming ants, attached themselves to the Fish King's body.

The sword pierced its palm but failed to penetrate its chest. However, the fiery feathers' sharp talons gripped its shoulders. Zhao Xiang'er roared in defiance, dragging it downwards. The city walls collapsed. Dust billowed dozens of *zhang* high.

The girl burned her life force, confronting a formidable enemy with peerless sword moves. Such a scene should have erupted with the splendor of a decisive battle. Unfortunately, the disparity in their realms was too vast. In a mere flick of a finger, the dust obscuring them vanished.

The Fish King sat upright on the ground. Its shoulders were pierced and bled, the blood staining its pure white fur, a strikingly vivid sight. Zhao Xiang'er, however, was near death. Her face was ashen, blood flowed from her seven orifices, and the dripping blood from the hem of her wedding dress formed thin crimson lines. She looked at the Fish King with a look of regret. She had wanted to force it into the Imperial City. But the Fish King's paw rested precisely outside the Imperial City's boundary line. The Fish King knew she must have hidden a trick within the Imperial City. It even felt a hint of pity for the girl.

It gently raised its paw, just as it was about to strike down the girl and allow Xue Yuan to deliver the fatal blow… From behind, a subtle sound, like a blooming flower, seemed to emerge. The red umbrella, previously swept away by the hurricane, opened in mid-air and slowly drifted downward. The moment the dust cleared, it happened to align perfectly with both the Fish King and Zhao Xiang'er.

The umbrella-sword issued a summons. The red umbrella, serving as a scabbard, naturally sought its blade. It flew straight towards them. The Fish King activated its psychic power. The umbrella and the cat collided, unleashing a dull, massive boom. From their epicenter, a violent wave of energy erupted. The red umbrella was flung away by the energy wave, and the city walls on both sides, previously damaged but still standing, were utterly pulverized. The impact was heavy, yet its destructive power was not great. However, the surging energy wave was like a hand pushing from behind. The Fish King's paw involuntarily shifted forward an inch. An inch…

Nine Feathers was instantly reabsorbed into Zhao Xiang'er's sea of consciousness. Zhao Xiang'er's divine sense surged. The next moment, firelight descended and engulfed the sky. Before the Fish King's eyes was no longer the shattered state of Zhao, but an endless sea of flames. It had been drawn into Zhao Xiang'er's world.

On the other side, Xue Yuan's temporal prison had also shattered. The frozen moments had coalesced into real ice shards, rustling as they drifted down. Xue Yuan watched the vanishing figures of the Fish King and Zhao Xiang'er and finally felt fear. Zhao Xiang'er's earlier, wordless act of burning her life force in defiance of fate also astonished her. *Is it because of mother that you're so reckless with your life, fighting without fear?* Xue Yuan thought furiously.

Although the young man and the woman were severely injured, the authority of time superseded her Ice River authority. Moreover, the white-robed woman's sword body was terrifying. She would struggle to face either of them alone. But Zhao Xiang'er was directly confronting a great demon of the Five Paths realm. Should she, then, retreat from two heavily injured Purple Court cultivators? Xue Yuan's mind wrestled with the decision. The divine sparrow circled around her, its long cries piercing her heart.

*No! I cannot be inferior to Zhao Xiang'er! I forged my realm and path in the harsh, frigid lands, carving it out blade by blade, slaying countless enemies and ferocious beasts. Why should I be inferior to this pampered person from Southern Province? The Imperial City as a boundary… what a terrifying authority! If I had that power, I could definitely do better than her!* Xue Yuan thought angrily. But at this moment, she also desperately told herself to calm down. *Only by killing Zhao Xiang'er could she truly crush this injustice and show Mother who her strongest daughter was. As for the Fish King's aid, the divine envoys of the Divine Lord Bai Zang would surely help her erase any evidence. Although she had promised certain conditions to the Silver Snow Palace's envoy, once she truly returned to the Divine Kingdom, why would she need to care about them? Therefore, she had to survive, wait for the Fish King to emerge, and absolutely not take any more risks.*

She convinced herself, so she didn't see this as cowardice; rather, she could accept it with a clear conscience. Just as Grand Master Guangci had walked out of the Buddhist hall back then. This kind of emotion was a true plague. At that moment, Xue Yuan herself did not realize that the instant she chose to retreat, an ineffaceable shadow was cast upon her Dao Heart. Master Yu, at least, had faced death with a clear conscience. But Xue Yuan could not.

She had no time to ponder these thoughts either. The authority of the Ice River manifested like birds flying from their nests, some transforming into vast, hovering ice crystals. The Frozen Realm, the Coffin of Shattered Frost, Snow Blossom Feathers… the primeval, snow-covered ice currents, like swords piercing the pages of time, roared past, leaving jagged ice fangs in their wake. She had dragged this world back to that era of ten thousand *li* of ice and extinct life. This was the Ice River that would engulf the world every million years.

Ning Changjiu exhaled a breath. His breath turned to frost. He looked up and exchanged a glance with Lu Jiajia. Without many words, the two clasped hands. They transformed into white shadows and ascended together, just as they had fought side-by-side against the Nine Infants in the Southern Wilderness years ago.