Fallen At A Glance Chapter 16
byIf I die, will you shed a tear for me?
The midday sunlight poured down like molten gold, illuminating the thousand stone steps of the Azure Cloud Sect in a stark, pale light. This was supposed to be a blessed land of ethereal immortal energy, but at this moment, it had become a massive sacrificial altar, with the lives of the entire sect as the offering.
Yun Suiyi stood alone at the very bottom of the stone steps.
His figure was slender, his blue robes billowing in the hot wind. Standing with his hands clasped behind his back, he looked like a casual visitor, yet the stone steps beneath his feet were no longer gray-blue; they were covered by a thick, viscous layer of dark crimson.
That was the blood of the Azure Cloud Sect disciples, paving a path from the mountain gate all the way to the main hall at the summit, like a red carpet leading to hell.
He moved.
He did not use the sword in his hand, but slowly raised his right hand, spreading his five fingers, pointing them toward the towering mountain gate.
“Rise.”
A single word, light as a feather, was scattered by the wind.
The next moment, the corpses lying on the steps, who had just drawn their last breath, suddenly had ghostly blue flames ignite in their eye sockets. They struggled to stand up, their movements stiff yet swift, brandishing their broken weapons and turning to attack their former comrades.
This was not a battle; it was a slaughter, a borrowed knife used for murder, driving wolves to devour tigers.
The resistance of the Azure Cloud Sect became chaotic and desperate at this moment. They had to face not only the harbinger of death, Yun Suiyi, but also their former peers transformed into fierce corpses.
Cries, the sound of snapping weapons, and the crunch of breaking bones intertwined into a cacophony.
Yun Suiyi was deaf to it all. He took a step, then another, walking upward, treading through blood and over corpses.
His steps were steady; every step landed as if crushing the hearts of the Azure Cloud Sect members. A few disciples who had miraculously survived were terrified by the bizarre sight. They screamed “Demon!” and rushed toward him like madmen, swords raised.
Yun Suiyi did not even glance at them.
Just as the sword tips were about to touch the hem of his robe, a protective shield condensed out of thin air three feet around him. The disciples’ swords struck the shield as if hitting diamond, the blades curling and their hands splitting open. Before they could react, the black energy wrapped around their bodies like a living thing.
“Puff, puff, puff.”
With a few muffled sounds, the bodies of those disciples were squeezed by an invisible giant hand, exploding into plumes of blood mist, unable to even let out a scream.
He continued his ascent, his blue robes spotless, as if what he had just crushed were not several human lives, but a few bothersome flying insects.
Chengxiao Hall
Xiao Cheng, who was playing chess with Lian Mu, heard the panicked report from his disciples and instantly vanished from the room.
Lian Mu’s figure also disappeared from the room immediately after.
In front of the main hall at the summit, the Azure Cloud Sect elders led the remaining disciples to form the sect’s strongest “Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Array.” Sword energy crisscrossed and spiritual light flashed as they attempted to block the blue-robed Asura who had climbed out of hell.
Yun Suiyi finally stopped.
He looked up at the so-called “Great Array,” and a faint, disdainful smile touched the corner of his mouth.
“Petty tricks.”
His left hand remained clasped behind his back. He slowly raised his right hand, joining his index and middle fingers, and lightly drew a line.
“Break.”
There was no earth-shattering boom, only a crisp sound, like shattering glass.
The “Nine Palaces Eight Trigrams Array,” which the Azure Cloud Sect relied on, along with the life-bound immortal swords in their hands, instantly snapped. An irresistible, immense force crashed down, pressing everyone to their knees, rendering them immobile.
“Who are you, daring to trespass into the Azure Cloud Sect and slaughter my disciples?” Xiao Cheng’s figure appeared in front of the main hall.
Yun Suiyi looked at the appearing Xiao Cheng. His eyes were cold, devoid of killing intent or hatred, holding only a dead silence of indifference.
“Me?” He chuckled softly, his voice still clear and melodious, yet carrying a bone-chilling coldness. “I’m here to send you to the heavens.”
As his voice fell, he tapped his toe, his figure drifting toward Xiao Cheng like a phantom. Empty-handed, he formed his fingers into a claw and aimed straight for the opponent’s throat.
“Overestimating yourself!” Xiao Cheng roared, his long sword executing a beautiful flourish. The sword energy was like a rainbow, carrying the momentum to split mountains and rocks, slashing directly at Yun Suiyi’s face.
This sword strike contained the essence of the Azure Cloud Sect’s ultimate technique, the “Seven Azure Cloud Swords”—swift and fierce.
“Clang!”
A tremendous sound of metal striking stone erupted.
Yun Suiyi’s fingertips collided violently with Xiao Cheng’s sword edge. Sparks flew, and a violent wave of air swept out from the center of the two figures.
Yun Suiyi felt a massive, unstoppable force transmit through his fingertips, numbing half of his body. He let out a muffled groan, using the force to drift backward like a kite with a broken string. He flipped in the air and landed lightly on a bluestone slab.
Yun Suiyi quickly deployed a spiritual shield around himself using Spiritual Power.
“Let me see who is beneath that mask,” Xiao Cheng said, though he already had an idea about Yun Suiyi’s identity.
Earlier, his disciples reported that a woman had attacked the Azure Cloud Sect. Based on the description, he knew it was Yun Ai, who had escaped the sect previously. He had thought she wouldn’t cause much trouble, but now another masked youth had appeared.
Since that was the case, he would capture this youth first, then turn to deal with the good-for-nothing Yun Ai.
Having quickly made his decision, Xiao Cheng attacked with full force, aiming to take down Yun Suiyi as quickly as possible.
Xiao Cheng let out a furious shout, the sound wave rolling out. His long sword erupted with dazzling blue light, the sword energy surging three feet high. One slash shattered Yun Suiyi’s outermost spiritual shield.
The fragments turned into black smoke and dissipated in the air, the momentum undiminished, shattering the second and third spiritual shields as well.
Yun Suiyi felt a tightness in his chest, his blood and Qi churning. He could feel that his boasted defense was so vulnerable before Xiao Cheng.
The opponent’s sword energy was supremely Yang and rigid, carrying a purifying force. Every collision caused the spiritual energy within him to shake violently.
He couldn’t let this continue!
He stopped defending passively and met Xiao Cheng’s long sword with his own.
“Cling-clang! Cling-clang!”
The sound of clashing metal was incessant, sparks flying. The two figures intertwined, moving so fast that only afterimages remained. Yun Suiyi’s moves were treacherous and unpredictable, often launching attacks from impossible angles, cunning and ruthless, forcing Xiao Cheng to retreat repeatedly.
Xiao Cheng’s sword technique, however, was grand and open, filled with righteous energy. Every strike sealed off Yun Suiyi’s retreat, the crisscrossing sword energy carving deep, bottomless trenches into the ground.
“Hiss—!”
A fierce sword energy grazed Yun Suiyi’s arm. The blue sleeve was instantly sliced open, revealing the pale skin beneath.
A bloody gash quickly appeared, deep enough to show bone. Fresh blood immediately welled up, dripping down his fingertips and blooming into dazzling blood flowers on the bluestone slab.
Yun Suiyi frowned, his internal alarm bells ringing loudly. The intense pain made him even more clear-headed; he realized he had underestimated Xiao Cheng. This man had cultivated for many years, his cultivation having long reached the pinnacle, far surpassing those insignificant disciples of the Immortal Sects.
The opponent’s sword energy seemed to possess a tracking quality; no matter how he dodged, it always locked onto his vital points.
Yun Suiyi took a deep breath, a flicker of determination and madness flashing in his eyes. If that was the case, then they would die together.
“Yiyi,” Lian Mu’s voice sounded in Yun Suiyi’s ear.
Yun Suiyi, who was about to burn his Spiritual Power and use himself as bait, stopped his movement.
Hearing Lian Mu’s voice so suddenly, only satisfaction remained in Yun Suiyi’s heart.
This was enough. To hear Lian Mu’s voice before death—a smile touched Yun Suiyi’s lips.
He was so tired… truly exhausted. This body should never have been born. For all these years, he had only survived by clinging to hatred.
He was weary of the devastation everywhere, weary of the endless pursuit, and even more weary of this face, filled with malice, that he himself barely recognized.
He had lived a miserable seventeen years. His birth was unblessed, unwanted by his kin. Everywhere he went, he was met with resentment. To receive Lian Mu’s love before death made this life worthwhile.
If he killed Xiao Cheng, his mother could also be liberated.
If he died, no one would suffer any loss… this was enough.
But Lian Mu, if I die, will you shed a single tear for me? Even just one tear would satisfy me.
You are such a good person; don’t grieve for me. Death might be the best destination for me.
From now on, there would be no more Yun Suiyi in the world, and his mother would no longer have to look at him and be reminded of her hateful past.
Yun Suiyi’s Spiritual Power instantly erupted. Black light, like a miniature sun exploding at midday, swallowed everything in the main hall plaza.
Yun Suiyi’s body had become the core of that destructive energy. His consciousness was being torn apart bit by bit amidst the burning Spiritual Power and the collapsing soul.
Give up… let it end like this…
This was his final thought, devoid of fear, containing only a sense of near-relief fatigue.
However, at this critical moment, just as the black light was about to completely lose control and raze the entire Azure Cloud Sect main hall to the ground—
A beam of white light, pure as ice and snow, yet heavy as a mountain, descended from the sky.
The white light was not blinding, but it carried an unquestionable, supreme majesty. It was like a piece of cold ice falling from the Ninth Heaven, or like the first snow covering the entire world.
“Condense.”
A cold, indifferent voice, devoid of any worldly smoke or fire, pierced through the roaring and screaming in Yun Suiyi’s ears, clearly reaching him.
Immediately after, Yun Suiyi felt his burning body being—fixed—by an irresistible force.
It was an indescribable sensation, as if time had stopped flowing at that moment, and space had been completely frozen. The violent, destructive power within him, like a surging flood hitting an insurmountable iceberg, was forcibly suppressed inside his body.
Yun Suiyi’s pupils, filled with blood and fire, struggled to focus.
He saw Lian Mu, who had appeared silently, standing in front of him.
His posture was tall and straight, like snow on a solitary peak, like the moon among pines. He held a long sword, entirely pure white, as if carved from a single piece of jade. The sword tip lightly touched the void, and profound silver runes flowed out from the blade, like chains, or a precise net, firmly binding Yun Suiyi’s about-to-explode body and the raging black light within a confined space.
“You…” Yun Suiyi tried to speak, but could only manage a hoarse gasp.
Lian Mu did not look at him. His gaze remained fixed on the black light, which was being forcibly compressed and constantly emitting crackling sounds. His expression was focused and stern, as if he were performing a trivial yet necessary task.
“Using your body as a sacrifice, your soul as a guide, to perish together?” Lian Mu’s voice sounded again, carrying anger and a hint of imperceptible… heartache. “Is your life truly so worthless?”
Yun Suiyi’s heart violently trembled.
This sentence was like a fine needle, piercing the shell he had constructed from resentment and despair.
Yes, is my life truly so worthless?
He looked at this unfamiliar “self” before him, looking into those clear and resolute eyes. Suddenly, a sense of confusion and grievance he had never felt before welled up in his heart.
He wasn’t afraid of death; he just… didn’t want to live like this anymore.
“Let go of me…” Yun Suiyi squeezed out a few words through gritted teeth, using all his strength. “Let me… die…”
Lian Mu finally turned his head and glanced at him coolly.
“Yun Suiyi, if I hear you talk about death again, or see such self-destructive behavior,” Lian Mu’s voice was low and dangerous, “you will see how I punish you.”
Yun Suiyi’s body instantly stiffened.
In the instant his mind faltered, the jade sword in Lian Mu’s hand erupted with a brilliant light.
“Seal!”
The silver runes instantly tightened, like a perfect jade cocoon, sealing the chaotic power within Yun Suiyi, along with his heart that desired destruction, inside his own body.
“Pfft—!”
Yun Suiyi spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. The strength supporting him instantly vanished. His body went limp and he fell forward.
The expected cold ground did not materialize.
He fell into an embrace that was cool yet carried immense warmth.
Lian Mu had caught him.
“You…” Yun Suiyi wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Xiao Cheng’s words.