Chapter 35: Immortal Sword Arrival

The wind howled past her ears.

For a moment, Ning Xiaoling was powerless against that force, and her body plummeted rapidly.

As she fell, Ning Xiaoling struggled to regain her balance, swinging her sword downwards, aiming directly for his crown.

Ning Changjiu's arm suddenly exerted force, swinging the girl's body down like a sledgehammer. Ning Xiaoling spun, and the descending sword strike veered off course. The crimson sword energy struck the pavilion, shattering its wooden beams, and the tall building began to collapse towards them.

Ning Changjiu released his grip and retreated swiftly, avoiding the collapsing pavilion. However, bothersome threads wrapped around Ning Xiaoling's ankles, connecting to the ground and firmly pinning her body.

The massive shadow of the tall building quickly enveloped her small figure. A tremendous crashing sound accompanied the impact. The girl's clear cry carried a hint of pain. The fox tails behind her spun like a hurricane. As the building crashed into her, countless wooden pillars shattered and cracked under the impact of her tails. A chaotic din erupted. Moments later, a snow-white figure emerged from the ruins of the building.

Ning Xiaoling wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. She raised her arm, and between her drooping fingers, several dim threads were hooked. She sneered, "So these are the invisible fishing lines you spoke of, woven between heaven and earth? Humph… Annoying, yes, but that's all they are."

Ning Xiaoling squeezed her fingers, and the flexible threads made of spiritual energy shattered. She dusted off her Daoist robe, her eyebrows furrowing then relaxing, a faint, unreadable smile on her face.

At the other end of the long street, Ning Changjiu's white robe was torn, and his face was even paler than his clothes. The preceding series of both real and illusory attacks had clearly consumed a vast amount of spiritual energy.

His Zifu Qihai (Purple Palace Sea of Qi) was like a small pool. At first glance, it appeared as dry as a withered well, so much so that even Lu Jiajia had not detected anything unusual.

It remained undetected only because the pool was too deep. The spiritual energy absorbed from Ning Qinshui, though a considerable amount, sank deep into his Qihai, making it almost imperceptible.

Regardless, this pool was ultimately stagnant water. His mortal body's speed in absorbing spiritual energy from heaven and earth was too slow to compensate for the depletion in his Qihai.

Ning Xiaoling, conversely, was continuously assimilating the lingering memory fragments of the old fox and the demonic power contained within the demon seed. Her cultivation realm continued to ascend at a steady, unhurried pace.

With one waning and the other waxing, Ning Changjiu's chances of victory would only become increasingly slim.

Ning Changjiu looked at her and suddenly said, "You actually don't want to kill me."

Ning Xiaoling's gaze sharpened instantly. "Are you dreaming?"

Ning Changjiu replied, "The demonic nature on your demon seed has been temporarily suppressed. You are not the old fox; you are Ning Xiaoling."

Ning Xiaoling sneered, "Do you take me for your foolish junior sister? It seems you truly are dreaming. This idiotic body—it's her fortune that I've taken it over."

Ning Changjiu shook his head. "You can't deceive yourself. You are the malevolence stirred up from the depths of Ning Xiaoling's heart. All evil thoughts, big or small, even fleeting ones, have been infinitely magnified by the demon seed, consuming her original consciousness."

Ning Xiaoling showed no anger, not even a sneer. She was suddenly and unusually calm. "You're right, but I like who I am now. That thought in my body still seems to be urging me to spare you... Ha, doesn't she know that you're not her senior brother at all?"

Ning Changjiu was silent for a moment, then said, "Perhaps you're right, but I believe she is my junior sister."

Ning Xiaoling's vertical pupils constricted. The fox tails behind her, as vast as a tall building, made her body appear exceptionally small by contrast.

She stared coldly at Ning Changjiu. "You never were! Like me, you were possessed after that night, and you've been deceiving yourself, still haven't figured out who you really are! But whoever possessed you isn't an evil person after all. I'm not as lucky as you; what dwells in my body... is a devil. But fortunately, you were indecisive and didn't listen to that fool's words to kill me, otherwise, I wouldn't have had a chance to take root!"

She fixed her gaze on Ning Changjiu's face, hoping to see a hint of annoyance, a trace of regret.

But there was none; only that damned calmness remained.

Ning Xiaoling continued, "Your Daoist arts are incredibly profound. To be able to fight me for so long before even reaching the Profound Realm, you must have been a remarkable person in your past life, right? Who killed you, leaving you to the point of needing to seize a mortal's body?"

Ning Changjiu said, "I've answered that question already."

Ning Xiaoling paused, unable to recall anything at that moment.

Ning Changjiu offered no further explanation, simply stating, "You still have a chance to completely purge the demonic nature now. If the demon seed fully matures in the future, it will devour your consciousness instead. All your efforts now would merely be paving the way for the old demon's reincarnation."

"Don't try to fool me. That old fox is dead, completely annihilated..." While she spoke these words, a flicker of panic crossed her mind. Then, her murderous intent surged. "What are you waiting for? Let me see what other tricks you have up your sleeve. You're not waiting for someone, are you? Zhao Xiang'er and Lu Jiajia are probably still basking in the joy of killing a great demon right now. How could they possibly think of me?"

Ning Changjiu didn't interrupt her. He knew that all her talking was merely a prelude, building momentum.

She was also annoyed by her own erratic movements, so she wanted to create a lock, trap herself, and then, in one fell swoop, destroy him.

Her unhurried words seemed like a spell, making the surrounding air increasingly viscous.

This lock was drawing nearer.

Ning Changjiu suddenly closed his eyes, pressing his finger against his glabella.

Ning Xiaoling jolted. Before she could understand what he was doing, a sharp murderous intent pressed against her back.

Ning Xiaoling didn't have time to turn around. She propelled her massive tails, slamming them towards the source of the murderous intent. On the long street, a sudden, resounding crash erupted. The green bricks on the ground shattered and heaved like surging waves. The girl spun around, reaching out towards the incoming white light that had ambushed her. Then she let out a pained cry, her abdomen contracting and her back arching, as if something had pierced through her.

It was a sword, a sudden sword.

It was Lu Jiajia's personal sword.

Earlier, Lu Jiajia and the old fox had battled on this very street. After Lu Jiajia left, Ning Changjiu used this sword to entangle the old fox. When he departed using the body-swapping talisman, he did not take the sword with him. Such an immortal sword naturally clashed with demonic qi, so the old fox, after deliberation, also left it behind.

Thus, the sword remained at the other end of the long street.

Now, under Ning Changjiu's command, the sword silently traversed the long street, aiming directly for her back.

That sword was incredibly fast, horrifyingly fast, so fast it felt as if speed alone could bridge the chasm in cultivation realms!

And so, the sword truly pierced Ning Xiaoling.

The girl's pained cry rang out. She clutched the sword blade, her hands covered in blood, but half of the sword tip still remained embedded in her lower abdomen.

Ning Xiaoling was half-bent, her demonic blood coating the sword's edge and burning like flames.

The shattered stones around them, kicked up by the impact, were quickly ground into fine powder and scattered explosively in the surging demonic wind. Centered on Ning Xiaoling and the sword, it was as if a separate domain had been carved out!

She desperately resisted the sword, utterly bewildered. How could Ning Changjiu possess such pure sword intent? Even if Lu Jiajia herself had wielded the sword, it might not have been more formidable than this.

Ning Changjiu was still pressing hard against his glabella, his fingers almost sinking into his forehead.

His profound Daoist arts stemmed from cultivating the Dao for twelve full years in his previous life, and for another twelve years, he had cultivated the sword.

If he had sufficient spiritual energy, he could control qi as a sword, control all things as a sword—how much more so a real sword?

In his Qihai, his spiritual energy was burning wildly, like water boiling over a fierce fire.

During this stalemate, time seemed to slow to a standstill.

Ning Changjiu's spiritual energy was finite after all; he released his finger from his glabella.

Ning Xiaoling seemed to feel no pain. She gripped the blade, forcibly pulling the immortal sword from her body. Indifferently, she turned back and gazed at the culprit several yards away, the murderous intent in her eyes almost devouring.

Wind and thunder suddenly erupted on the long street. Ning Xiaoling grabbed the sword and hurled it directly at Ning Changjiu. At the same time, her figure vanished from her spot, darting forward like an arrow, even faster than the sword's flight.

With a sharp hiss, the sword slammed into the spot where Ning Changjiu had just been. Ning Xiaoling stepped on the sword's hilt and pursued Ning Changjiu in the direction he had fled.

The distance of several yards was instantly closed. Ning Xiaoling struck a palm at Ning Changjiu's back. The wound on her palm, cut by the immortal sword, had not yet healed, and blood splattered out, transforming into tiny fiery butterflies that clung to his back.

Ning Changjiu no longer held anything back either. Ning Xiaoling's attacks were too vicious and wild; even a slight misstep would quickly see him become another soul lost to her claws.

The demon seed seemed to have been completely activated. Between her three illusory tails, another one grew and began to rapidly expand.

Although the immortal sword had severely wounded her, the activation of the demon seed's ferocity allowed her to assimilate even more demonic power. She was actually on the verge of breaking through the bottleneck of the Longevity Realm and ascending to the first floor of the Purple Court!

Ning Xiaoling herself was stunned, then overwhelmed with joy. The demon seed pulsed incessantly, providing a virtually endless supply of demonic power, healing the wounds on her body.

Ning Changjiu dodged left and right, desperately trying to avoid her attacks. Ning Xiaoling's movements became increasingly swift, like a true spirit fox, only a fleeting white blur visible.

In their brief chase, moving one behind the other, they had utterly destroyed the surfaces of two entire streets.

Ning Xiaoling continued her relentless pursuit while attempting to break through the bottleneck of the Longevity Realm. She intended to eliminate Ning Changjiu before the imperial palace became aware of her presence.

In her eyes, this nominal senior brother, despite having the lowest cultivation realm, posed a greater threat to her than either Zhao Xiang'er or Lu Jiajia.

This battle had already lasted for half an hour.

She truly dared not prolong it any further.

Meanwhile, Tang Yu had just entered the palace hall and informed Zhao Xiang'er about the possibility of the old fox still being alive, and about the senior and junior siblings.

Zhao Xiang'er quickly rushed out of the grand hall and looked up. She suddenly realized what she had overlooked.

For a great demon like Old Monarch Red Tail, after dissipating from the world, their spiritual energy should disperse back into heaven and earth, forming spectacular demon clouds and bringing forth a torrential downpour.

Yet, after the old fox's death tonight, the sky was clear and bright, with a crescent moon like an eyebrow. Where had the demon clouds that should have appeared gone?

It was at this very moment that Lu Jiajia, standing gracefully in white, suddenly felt a stir in her mind. Her eyes widened in alarm as she looked towards a certain direction in the imperial city. "Minglan..."

Minglan was the name of her personal sword.

It had been lost during her battle with the old fox that day and had not yet been recovered.

And in her heart, a sword's hum suddenly resonated.