Chapter 36: Cloud's Arrival and Calamity

Two white figures darted through the swirling dust, advancing and retreating, attacking and evading, their movements making the night explode with sound and sending rocks flying into the sky.

Ning Changjiu’s white robe was tattered and covered in grey dust. His spiritual energy was severely depleted, making it difficult for him to maintain his speed. Finally, with a sharp crack, Ning Xiaoling’s fist struck his back.

The sound of bones breaking echoed. Ning Changjiu groaned in pain as his body slammed to the ground. He immediately rolled away, evading another heavy punch that followed.

Ning Xiaoling’s assault was relentless, giving him no chance to breathe. As soon as her fist landed, she transformed her hand into a palm, supporting herself, and swept her leg out like a blade. Ning Changjiu dodged the thunderous sweep by stepping on a wall. After scaling the wall, he leaped down towards Ning Xiaoling.

Ning Xiaoling watched the figure pounce like an eagle and murmured, “You’re asking for death.”

She showed no hesitation, her body surging upward to meet Ning Changjiu.

Ning Changjiu’s finger-sword met the tip of her fist. His finger bent, like a flexible iron sword suddenly snapped. Ning Changjiu pressed his lips together, forced to withdraw his finger, and struck down with his other hand.

With a collision, Ning Changjiu was sent flying by the hidden force of her demonic energy. He crashed into a broken wall, then slid back dozens of feet before finally coming to a halt.

Ning Xiaoling looked at him coldly, declaring arrogantly, “You, a mere possessor, can never compare to me.”

She suddenly glanced at the sky, then touched her chest.

She was just on the verge of reaching the Violet Court realm.

That threshold seemed within reach, yet something was still missing.

Ning Xiaoling had a strong feeling that if she killed the boy before her, she could immediately break through and ascend to the Violet Court realm.

A faint voice in her heart offered weak resistance.

Ning Xiaoling sneered, muttering to herself, “I wonder what magic you possess. She knows you’re not her senior brother, yet she still protects you.”

Ning Changjiu said, “I knew you were infected with the demonic seed, yet I didn’t kill you, did I?”

Ning Xiaoling’s eyes darkened. “That’s your foolishness,” she retorted. “I told you long ago, foxes are the most ungrateful creatures.”

As she spoke, her figure flickered, and she punched towards his forehead. Ning Changjiu hastily drew a talisman in front of him. The tip of her fist touched the talisman, and it shattered. Even though Ning Changjiu tried to dodge, he was still hit squarely in the left shoulder by the punch.

His body flew back like a sandbag.

While airborne, there was no point of leverage.

Ning Xiaoling seized the opportunity, leaping up and bringing a hand-chop down towards his waist. In mid-air, their eyes met. In Ning Xiaoling’s eyes, fury and arrogance ignited simultaneously. Her pale pupils reflected Ning Changjiu’s face like a mirror.

That face remained calm… still calm…

Every fleeting malicious thought in her heart was amplified hundreds of times. The fierce flames around her fingers flared, becoming like curved blades.

Ning Changjiu’s body was slammed to the ground, the stone bricks beneath him slightly denting with the impact.

Ning Xiaoling pounced directly on him.

It was a moment of certainty; in Ning Xiaoling’s eyes, her opponent was already a dead man.

However, the wild joy in her pupils didn't last long, replaced instead by irritation and rage.

Because behind her, that piercing chill returned, like needles on her back. This time it was sharper and more direct, seeming to aim straight through her body. Ning Xiaoling had to retreat temporarily, and the power of her originally fatal blow diminished significantly.

Ning Changjiu’s body slammed down heavily again. He wiped a mouthful of blood, his hand hidden in his sleeve, as if writing something.

Ning Xiaoling looked back to see a woman with a jade crown and silver hairpin, her white robe flowing gracefully. The immortal sword now floated in mid-air, and she stood on its blade, her sleeves swaying as if dancing.

Lu Jiajia?

Ning Xiaoling’s heart filled with resentment. She had still been entangled with Ning Changjiu for too long.

Although her current cultivation realm was higher than Lu Jiajia's, defeating her would be far from easy. Moreover, since she had sensed her presence, Zhao Xiang'er should also be arriving soon.

Even without the enhancement of the Vermillion Bird Burning Fire Array, Zhao Xiang'er’s realm was merely Transcendent Immortal. Yet, she had killed the Old Fox with just one sword. The demonic seed within Ning Xiaoling inherently feared that little girl, who was unmatched in the city.

Lu Jiajia looked at the four tails floating behind Ning Xiaoling, her sword-like gaze mirroring coldness. “Have you fallen to the demonic path?” she asked icily.

Ning Xiaoling retorted angrily, “Are you here to die too?”

Lu Jiajia glanced at Ning Changjiu, who was in extremely poor condition. His spiritual energy was almost completely depleted, and he was half-covered in blood, looking utterly dishevelled.

Ning Changjiu explained, “My junior sister’s innate spirit is a fox, and it has now been corrupted by the Old Fox’s demonic seed, which has taken over her consciousness.”

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier?” Lu Jiajia asked.

Ning Changjiu countered, “Do you have any other way besides killing her?”

Lu Jiajia fell silent, then pondered. “Her innate spirit and the demonic seed have merged,” she said. “Even if we only separate the innate spirit, she’s certain to die. What else can be done?”

“First, help me stop her,” Ning Changjiu said.

Lu Jiajia looked at the demonic energy-surging girl, sighed, and nodded gently.

Earlier, when Ning Changjiu was controlling his sword to attack, he made it hum to alert her and make her come quickly.

So she arrived without delay.

“You… are so annoying.” Ning Xiaoling closed her eyes for a moment, her breath like arrows. She clenched her fists, and her demonic energy instantly soared to its peak.

Before the Imperial Palace, Lu Jiajia had already hurried away on the wind. Zhao Xiang'er and Tang Yu's cultivation realms were insufficient for long-distance wind travel, and they couldn't pinpoint the demonic seed's exact location. They could only wait for Lu Jiajia’s sword light as a signal.

Tang Yu knelt on the ground, remorsefully saying, “It’s all my fault for not informing Your Highness about this beforehand.”

Zhao Xiang'er quickly helped her up. Her features returned to their tranquil beauty, but a hint of unerasable bewilderment lingered in the depths of her eyes. “How can everything in this world be within our expectations?” she mused. “There will always be unforeseen variables… Perhaps this is the true grand test Mother prepared for me.”

“Your Majesty…” Tang Yu’s expression shook. “Your Majesty is still alive?”

Zhao Xiang'er shook her head. “I don’t know,” she said, “but I always feel that she’s watching me from somewhere in the world.”

Tang Yu lowered her head, her voice strained. “Your Majesty is, of course, immensely powerful,” she said. “It’s even possible that my substituting for you to activate the array today was part of her calculations from over a decade ago.”

Zhao Xiang'er’s delicate brows furrowed, her clear eyes flickering. After a moment of silence, she asked, “You know everything now?”

Tang Yu nodded gently. “So, you’ve known all along too, haven’t you?” she asked.

Zhao Xiang'er sighed, her voice tinged with apology. “A year ago, I saw these details in the secret scrolls of the Qianyue Palace,” she said. “At the time, I hesitated whether to tell you, but the scrolls stated that when they wanted to kill you as an infant, Zhao Shisong implicitly approved it… Now, if you were to kill him and never know about this, perhaps that would be the best outcome. But due to unforeseen circumstances, this scene ultimately didn’t happen. That’s fine too.”

“Zhao Shisong always treated me very well… like his own daughter,” Tang Yu said, her expression dazed. Tears suddenly streamed down her cheeks, and she looked as if her soul had left her body, letting out a miserable laugh. “I don’t know whether to thank that young Daoist or blame him.”

“Young Daoist…” Zhao Xiang'er’s exquisite head tilted slightly. She squinted, thinking for a moment, and then recalled the young man she had met briefly at the Little General's Mansion that day.

About that young man, she only remembered that he was very handsome and seemed a bit ill-mannered…

She never expected that his junior sister possessed an innate fox spirit, becoming the vessel for the Old Fox’s reincarnation after its death.

Since that young girl had already become a demon, presumably the young man had by now become a soul lost beneath his junior sister’s claws.

For some reason, even though she had no interaction with the young man, a sense of inexplicable loss arose in her heart.

Tang Yu suddenly asked, “Miss, while there’s still time, should we go to the Jiazi Hall to retrieve the immortal sword?”

Zhao Xiang'er shook her head, her expression solemn. “With my current realm, that immortal sword is difficult to wield,” she said. “I was able to use it to kill the Old Fox only because it was trapped in a cage. If we were to fight in the open, I wouldn't even be able to hit him once with the sword. Precisely because of this, he wasn't too wary, which gave me the opportunity to secretly send someone to retrieve the sword.”

Tang Yu anxiously asked, “Then what should we do? Who else in the city can deal with that demon now?”

Zhao Xiang'er smiled faintly, the soft moonlight falling on her lips. Her white robe appeared thin and lonely in the moonlight. She looked in a certain direction and said, “Punish heaven and uphold earth, sacrifice with the city-state… I never took it seriously, but now it seems today is the day.”

“Miss… what are you saying?”

Zhao Xiang'er didn't explain further. She simply smiled, patted Tang Yu's shoulder, and said, “Heal well. I will not abandon Zhao.”

Sword light illuminated the long street.

Lu Jiajia and Ning Xiaoling’s figures were like two colliding and separating projectiles. Two snowy white shadows rapidly rose and fell. Demonic radiance and sword light intertwined, dazzling the white moon until its brilliance faded.

Both were in the Longevity realm, and even with intense fighting, it would be difficult to achieve a decisive outcome in a short time.

Ning Changjiu had used his sword's hum to alert Lu Jiajia and draw her here, not to have her defeat or kill Ning Xiaoling, but because he only needed a little time.

He exhaled slowly. Between his fingers, a firefly-like glow formed a delicate small array in the air.

The array was beautiful, like a flower carved from pale jade, fragile enough to shatter and wither with a light touch. Yet, from this fragile beauty, a clear and sacred ancient aura burst forth.

“Sword Lock!” Ning Changjiu suddenly roared.

Lu Jiajia's heart stirred. She was already prepared. Her narrow, sword-like eyes suddenly brightened, and the power of her sword spirit infused her body. From the broken stones and tiles on the ground to the faint moonlight descending from the heavens, everything seemed imbued with an unshakeable sword intent.

Ning Xiaoling’s heart tightened. She used her fox tails to shield herself, pulled back, and rushed towards Ning Changjiu.

Ning Changjiu had anticipated this. He thrust the exquisite small array from his hand outwards.

Within that small array was the last bit of Ning Qinshui’s lifetime cultivation. This cultivation had been purified by him multiple times, making it crystal clear, just like that tiny flower.

Ning Xiaoling sensed no destructive power from the array.

Indeed, this array was not meant for killing.

Many elderly cultivators, when nearing the end of their lives, would pass on their lifetime’s cultivation to their descendants using this type of array.

This was a small array for transferring cultivation.

Ning Xiaoling collided with it. Because the array's spiritual energy was exceptionally pure and flawless, it was absorbed into Ning Xiaoling's body with almost no resistance.

Seeing this, Lu Jiajia was greatly alarmed. She shouted furiously, “What are you doing?!”

That spiritual energy carried profound insights into Daoist magic. As soon as it entered her body, it directly merged with her demonic seed. Thus, the bottleneck of the Longevity realm was broken, and Ning Xiaoling directly advanced to the Violet Court realm!

The Longevity realm was already so troublesome. If she advanced to the first floor of the Violet Court, no one would be able to stop her…

Was Ning Changjiu insane?

Lu Jiajia forced herself to calm down. She took a deep breath, intending to unleash her full sword power.

But then, she noticed Ning Xiaoling standing still, like a wooden block, unmoving. At the same time, dark clouds suddenly rolled in from the distance, like waves pushed along by a river. The faint moonlight quickly dimmed, and the imperial city became shrouded in gloom. Thunder rumbled in the distance, as if a heavy rain was approaching.

Lu Jiajia looked up and instantly understood.

This was the Tribulation Lightning.