Chapter 58: The Devil from Beyond the Sky, The Last Zhao

The nine bronze divine statues drifted towards the sea of clouds.

Above the sea of clouds, a gigantic dark shadow suddenly appeared.

It was like seeing a massive, oval shadow beneath a wooden boat while rowing on a lake in broad daylight.

That shadow could evoke one's most primal fear, for its appearance often heralded the arrival of death.

It was what people called a Sky Demon.

The Vermilion Bird had not yet flown through the Three Thousand Worlds, but for some unknown reason, the Sky Demon had already arrived.

The Grand Tutor's expression shifted slightly, then immediately relaxed.

He stood up and took one last look at the immense imperial city. Its crisscrossing streets and markets now seemed tiny and subtly three-dimensional, like a magnificent ancient scroll.

“Her Highness truly is... infallible,” the Grand Tutor sighed heavily, stretching out his hand towards a certain direction.

In the center of the imperial city, the Imperial Seal suddenly broke free from its sword-lock, soaring high into the air and flying towards the Nine Spirits Platform.

The Grand Tutor reached out and grasped the Imperial Seal in his hand.

Many years ago, he had asked Her Highness how she wished to be repaid for all she had done for him.

Her Highness had only told him three words: “Do not betray Zhao.”

A month ago, when the cavalry besieged the Qianyu Hall, for some unknown reason, the nation's destiny, which the Imperial Seal had shown to be in continuous decline, suddenly revived with much vitality, as if a beast had awakened.

For years, his actions had been guided by the nation's destiny as revealed by the Imperial Seal. At one point, he thought he had misread it, but ultimately, he made no unnecessary moves.

Over the past month, he had doubted many times, but it wasn't until today, when the Imperial Seal re-established its connection with him, that he was truly convinced he had never betrayed the State of Zhao.

The old man stroked his grizzled beard and sighed to himself, “In this life, I haven't written many renowned poems or grand essays. Even in my leisure, I've only engaged in trivial matters like explaining characters and annotating scriptures. Today, I, your master, had intended to write one last character for you, but it seems I won't be able to wait that long.”

Above the sea of clouds, a pair of gigantic arms parted the clouds, and a massive, jet-black head emerged from within.

The head's main body resembled a skeletal frame, entirely black and bony. A pair of thick antlers grew from its forehead, and where its eye sockets should have been empty, they suddenly glowed brightly after parting the clouds, like two golden lanterns emitting a sacred light.

The Grand Tutor, who had been composed and had already accepted his impending death, suddenly changed expression upon seeing the head emerge from the clouds.

Lu Jiajia, within the imperial city, also witnessed this scene. Even from a distance, she could feel the immense pressure... She hadn't felt this way even when facing the old fox's remnant soul on the great lake that day.

That... must be at least a peak Purple Court realm, right?

Even if the Sect Master himself came, it wouldn't be much more formidable.

Although she had experienced many unbelievable things these past few days, now, with a peak Purple Court Sky Demon parting the clouds above her, revealing its colossal head and looking down upon the city, an unprecedented sense of extreme absurdity and a fear like a poisonous needle piercing her heart arose within her.

“This is... a Sky Demon?” She gripped her sword hilt tightly, unable to even summon the courage to draw her sword.

On the Nine Spirits Platform, as the Sky Demon gradually revealed its true form, the old man's calm, death-defying expression slowly vanished.

His eyes widened, and his aged body trembled violently. He looked up, his pupils dim, his wrinkled, cracked lips quivering as he asked, bewildered, “A Spirit Devourer... So a Sky Demon is actually such a monster... What realm is this? Why did such a monster come? Could Her Highness have been wrong... How could Her Highness be wrong?”

Legend had it that at the boundary between the mortal realm and the Celestial Court, in a shadowed region beyond the Hidden Kingdom's influence, there was a Sea of Ruins. Within this sea lurked monsters that devoured spiritual energy. These creatures were formed from the souls of deceased great demons, floating in the void without specific consciousness, merely following instinct to consume the wandering spiritual energy in the emptiness.

Every mountain sect had a mountain-protecting formation, precisely to prevent attracting these legendary monsters when breaking through realms and triggering the Heavenly Thunder Tribulation.

The world they floated in had a chasm-like barrier separating it from the mortal realm. Only when truly powerful cultivators broke through the Purple Court realm to enter the Five Paths was it possible to attract them...

Today, Zhao Xiang'er was to form her Innate Spirit on the Nine Spirits Platform, and it had actually attracted such a monster? Or a monster of such a high realm...

Was this fate?

He sighed and slowly raised his hands. The Imperial Seal glowed with a faint green light, and a phoenix flew out from it, swirling around the old man.

He had tried to activate the Imperial Seal countless times, but no matter what method he used, he couldn't unlock the sealed power within.

Today, however, with a mere thought, everything fell into place naturally.

The Nine Spirits Platform was empty.

Therefore, no one saw that after the phoenix emerged, the old man's cultivation realm rapidly ascended at a visible rate. In the blink of an eye, he broke through the Longevity Realm and entered the Purple Court. This scene mirrored Zhao Xiang'er's forced ascent using the Vermilion Bird Fire Staff above the imperial city that day.

The old man's decades of accumulated power, now with the national destiny transforming into a phoenix empowering him, manifested a realm that was even more profound and weighty.

Only now was he perfectly aligned with the Imperial Seal. If he could have reached this stage earlier, he would have been confident fighting the old fox even if its four wisps of divine soul had merged.

But at this moment, he had no confidence whatsoever in defeating this Spirit Devourer, none at all.

Within the sea of clouds, the jet-black head gradually pressed downwards, its two golden-yellow pupils like great boats floating within the clouds.

And when the nine spirits flew into the air, that golden gaze locked onto them.

It was these nine spirits, about to merge into one, that had attracted this Spirit Devourer.

Zhao Xiang'er's current cultivation realm was too low; flying through the Three Thousand Worlds would take far longer than expected.

The Grand Tutor had originally hoped for one last meeting, but now, it seemed he wouldn't be able to wait.

He sighed, “I only hope the young phoenix's cry will be clearer than the old phoenix's.”

Amidst his aged sigh, the phoenix's shadow that had encircled him flew towards the sky.

He would write one last character.

He pulled back his sleeve, raised his hand as if holding a brush, and drew in the air before him.

First, a left-falling stroke and a right-falling stroke, forming a cross-like symbol.

This was an extremely simple symbol. The moment it was drawn, two river-like white veins flowed before him, intertwining like two vast currents of sword energy appearing out of thin air.

Within the sea of clouds, the dark skull's antlers rotated, pointing in the Grand Tutor's direction.

It had no concrete consciousness, but an extremely acute perception of danger.

The sword energy of the cross-like symbol slashed forth.

It was the tangible essence of the national destiny. The entire vast sea of clouds slowly split apart, like white paper cut by a knife, forming a gigantic cross-like symbol that enveloped the imperial city.

The head in the sea of clouds was precisely at the intersection of the strokes.

The tips of its antlers were severed, turning into tangible spiritual energy that slowly dissipated.

The Spirit Devourer let out a low roar of fury. Its body was still at the boundary between two worlds, but in its sudden rage, it accelerated the twisting of its colossal body, like a fetus leaving its mother's womb, attempting to enter this world.

The Grand Tutor sighed deeply.

More troublesome than he had imagined...

Even with all his might, he could only buy Zhao Xiang'er a little time. He wondered if she would be able to withstand it when she returned on the Vermilion Bird later.

But that would be a matter for after his death.

He began to write the second character.

The strokes of that character were originally neat and square, except for the last two, which were also extremely flowing left- and right-falling strokes.

It was the character for 'walk'.

The character for 'walk' combined with the cross-like symbol to form 'Zhao'.

A 'Zhao' with inverted strokes.

This was the single character that his Dao Heart truly resonated with only at the very end of his life, which was why the national destiny of the entire state now rested upon him.

“Unfortunately, it's still not perfect. I hope Xiang'er, in the future, can write even grander and more magnificent characters...”

The old man's sigh echoed through the city.

When the character for 'walk' appeared, there was no surging water formed by national destiny, nor was there radiant light solidified from sharp sword energy. It was like a gentle wisp of wind, a plain and elegant cloud, or even a simple gesture from a displeased host telling a guest to leave.

The Spirit Devourer let out a series of pained wails. It continuously stirred the sea of clouds, yet its body slowly retreated backward, its wails seemingly filled with unwillingness and rage.

The jet-black head slowly vanished, and the sea of clouds gradually closed. But if one were to look through the clouds, they would see that in the cracked void, even as the Spirit Devourer's body receded, its hands still clung desperately to the edges of the裂缝. As soon as the character for 'walk', imbued with the true meaning of heaven and earth, dissipated, it would be able to return.

On the Nine Spirits Platform, the old man, sitting withered, began to smoke from his seven orifices and died instantly.

That character 'Zhao' had consumed all his life's strength.

Even so, he couldn't truly repel the Spirit Devourer. All he did was buy time, to protect the nine spirits before Zhao Xiang'er returned, for they were the Innate Spirits that would soon merge into Zhao Xiang'er's Dao Heart.

A flame ignited from the old man's body.

That was true phoenix fire.

After the old man wrote the final character, phoenix fire consumed his body. Unfortunately, it wasn't for nirvana, but merely a farewell.

In the sea of clouds, with the temporary retreat of the Spirit Devourer, the roaming nine spirits finally settled down for a while.

They sensed the Grand Tutor's death and let out weak cries of sorrow.

The heavenly clouds parted, and the cry of a Vermilion Bird drowned out everything else.

On the back of the Vermilion Bird, the black-clad girl remained seated cross-legged, but she seemed like an empty shell.

Her appearance hadn't changed, but her Purple Mansion and Qi Sea were now riddled with holes.

These were the marks left by three thousand streams washing over her body.

To construct a taller edifice, one must first dismantle the original smaller building.

Once she fully formed her spirit and spent several years in recovery, her Purple Mansion and Qi Sea would undoubtedly be a magnificent sight. But for now, her heart was as fragile as a piece of thinly polished glass, liable to shatter with any carelessness.

Fiery currents rolled over the Nine Spirits Platform, the Vermilion Bird divine image dissipated into the sky, and Zhao Xiang'er's figure landed lightly. The Grand Tutor, meanwhile, had long since turned to ash and scattered in the divine fire.

Teacher and student were ultimately unable to meet one last time.

Zhao Xiang'er stood for a long time, bowed deeply, then raised her head and looked at the sea of clouds.

At this moment, only the last few pages of the ancient scroll in her hand remained unburnt.

With her arrival, the nine spirits wandering in the sea of clouds began to gather. They merged together, forming a complete living being.

The reishi mushroom-like spirit became its neck, the sharp, elongated conch-like one its beak, the pointed halberd-like one its claws, the kite-like one its wings, and the feather-serpent-like ones became its long tail feathers...

As the nine spirits merged, all their brilliance faded, and they became completely black.

It was a large bird completely devoid of color, as if all light falling upon it was absorbed.

Circling in the sky now, it resembled a vivid shadow cast from a shadow puppet play.

That was her Innate Spirit.

With the last few pages of the ancient scroll about to be destroyed, Zhao Xiang'er placed it before her, took three steps back, and waited intently.

Within the ancient scroll, Ning Changjiu and Ning Xiaoling pressed their foreheads together. Ning Xiaoling's demonic nature gradually receded, and the sharp claws that had pierced his chest slowly retracted, leaving only a few unhealed blood holes.

The blood at the corners of Ning Changjiu's mouth had dried. His eyes were slightly unfocused, yet he stared intently ahead, his arms so stiff and numb he could barely exert any strength.

More than half of the snow fox's body had already been pulled out by Ning Changjiu.

Its teeth were clamped tightly onto Ning Changjiu's arm. Beneath two rows of deep tooth marks, muscles were torn and blood flowed continuously, but without Ning Xiaoling's body as a base, its strength was significantly weakened.

Ning Changjiu had once said that he was skilled at fishing.

What is fishing?

His Second Senior Brother had told him that no matter how powerful a fish was, once pulled ashore, unable to exert its strength, it would be at anyone's mercy. Even if no one butchered it, a day of sun-drying would turn it into delicious dried fish.

Now, this snow fox, without the Purple Mansion and Qi Sea as its foundation, and with much of its body mangled by the unknown tree branch, had lost most of its divine abilities. It couldn't even bite Ning Changjiu's arm clean off.

Yet, even so, it still had one tail firmly wrapped around Ning Xiaoling's body. No matter how Ning Changjiu pulled and tore, he couldn't separate them.

This inherently ethereal city was already engulfed by gray mist.

At its furthest edge, the last remaining building collapsed.

The snow fox suddenly released its teeth and erupted into uncontrollable laughter.

“You... still failed.”

The snow fox opened its mouth, its teeth covered in blood. As this world was about to collapse, Ning Xiaoling also sensed it, her body trembling uncontrollably as if plunged into an ice cellar.

With the collapse of this world, the restrictions of the 'Unseeable Three Characters' would naturally shatter as well. Then, their roles would reverse: she would become the butcher, and Ning Changjiu the meat.

The last page of the ancient scroll burned away.

It vanished like smoke and clouds.

A sinister smile appeared on the snow fox's lips.

After the ancient scroll dissipated, its eyes were blind and couldn't see, only perceiving everything around it through spiritual vision.

It found itself on a massive high platform, with the sea of clouds above. Both the boy and girl had fallen unconscious, but Ning Changjiu was still clinging desperately to its body.

But even with the scroll shattered, he ultimately didn't get his wish.

It even felt a little pity for him.

Even if he had only been in the Initial Profound Realm, it should have been separated from Ning Xiaoling's body today.

Human effort ultimately has its limits.

Just as it was about to tear off the boy's head with a claw, a chilling sensation ran down the snow fox's back.

Behind it, the black-clad girl stood just three steps away.

Beside her, a giant, jet-black divine bird spiraled and hovered. As the girl raised her hand, countless extremely fine particles condensed, forming the nascent shape of a black longsword, almost without thickness. By the time the girl's hand reached its highest point, the longsword was fully formed.

And as the ancient scroll shattered and the figures of Ning Changjiu, Ning Xiaoling, and the snow fox appeared, the longsword had already swung down.