MOF Chapter 42

Chapter 42: Lu Jinnian’s Soul Dies in the Undecided World – Black Robes Dance Wildly, Swords and Blades Have No Eyes…

Gu Ziyan and Shen Wangu, who were still fiercely battling Yan Zhan, vaguely sensed something was amiss. Yan Zhan fought more and more fiercely. His hair, originally tied up high, had now fallen loose.

With each successive attack, the wounds they inflicted on Yan Zhan seemed useless. Even with blood flowing non-stop, Yan Zhan didn’t stop. He seemed possessed, gone mad, not caring how many people or swords were in front of him. He charged headfirst, even managing to evade their attacks with some ease.

Such reckless tactics forced Gu and Shen into a steady retreat.

Gu Ziyan leaned back, thrusting his sword forward, burying it in flesh. Beside him, Shen Wangu unleashed three rapid sword strikes, all of which Yan Zhan endured with his bare body.

“This guy’s a maniac!” Shen Wangu said, panting heavily.

Yan Zhan, gripping the Killing Blade, his face smeared with blood, smiled, his chest heaving with excitement: “Come on! Come on! Kill me if you can!”

Shen Wangu and Gu Ziyan exchanged glances and raised their swords again to meet the attack.

Xie Yiling temporarily fended off Wen Liangchen’s zither music with the Three Realms Taiji Diagram, and Nangong Ci nearly cleaved his zither in two. Unexpectedly, Lu Jinnian forcibly interrupted his fight with the green-robed gentleman and instead attacked Xie Yiling directly.

Seeing this, the green-robed gentleman hurried to help, but Xie Yiling stopped him: “There’s no need for you to come over, sir. My Shizun and I are enough!”

The green-robed gentleman turned to help Shen and Gu. With the three working together, the fight became much easier.

Shen Wangu flicked his sword and moved, his swift movements creating sharp gusts of wind. The Killing Blade wasn’t willing to be outdone, striking out to deflect the attack. The two swords’ momentum was high, each refusing to give way.

Seeing this, the green-robed gentleman touched his sword, which hadn’t left its sheath in a long time, and couldn’t help but feel a pang of bitterness as he recalled past events. His eyes slightly red, he summoned his sword as he had when dancing with his sword for his friend many years ago, shouting, “Emptiness!”

The silver-white sword emerged, shining like snow, and he wielded it to strike at Yan Zhan.

Seeing Lu Jinnian brandishing his sword, Xie Yiling immediately retracted the Three Realms Taiji and conjured a spirit sword, blocking the blow.

Wen Liangchen and Lu Jinnian worked together, using every insidious trick they knew. Xie Yiling flicked his sword, its shadow flashing like lightning.

Wen Liangchen reacted quickly, stopping his hand halfway to dodge. Lu Jinnian wasn’t so lucky, and was stabbed through the left heart. A wave of evil energy surged forth, and Wen Liangchen, taking advantage of Lu Jinnian’s injury and Xie Yiling’s momentary distraction, attempted to seriously injure him.

Azurefall’s imposing aura soared into the sky, forcefully suppressing Wen Liangchen’s evil energy.

The sound of iron chains clattered, and the rune chains Xie Yiling had prepared were ready to be unleashed. He exerted all his strength, making the entire rune chain as straight and unyielding as a peak, irresistibly piercing through Lu Jinnian’s body.

Lu Jinnian felt his internal organs shatter within his chest. The golden core he had cultivated for many years also ruptured, and the spiritual energy within his body gradually dissipated. The rune chains pierced through his body, dripping with blood. With a forceful pull from Xie Yiling, they were drawn back, once again staining bone with blood.

“No—” Lu Jinnian stiffened, daring not to move, as if as long as he stayed still, he could survive.

“What a pity,” Wen Liangchen said softly, seeing that Lu Jinnian had no way to recover, “It wasn’t easy to get such a loyal dog.”

Lu Jinnian’s eyes widened, and he suddenly turned to stare at Wen Liangchen.

“You’ve helped my great cause reach its final step,” Wen Liangchen’s lips curled into a slight smile, and there was even a hint of compassion, “How about I return you a truth? The real culprit who destroyed your Lu family was surnamed Wen. Want to guess who it might be?”

“Ahhh!!” Lu Jinnian roared in grief and anger, each word filled with hatred squeezed from between his teeth: “Wen, Wen Liangchen! You schemed against me!”

Wen Liangchen sneered, showing no remorse: “Only by killing the dog’s master can one become the dog’s new master. Blame only your own stupidity for hating the Southern Return after only a slight provocation.”

Xie Yiling looked at Lu Jinnian, who was dying on the ground.

“No! My golden core! My spiritual power!” Lu Jinnian covered his chest, as if that could prevent his death, “I’m going to kill you, Wen Liangchen! I won’t let you go even as a ghost. I’ll be waiting for you in the Yellow Springs!”

He tried to grip Po Bing, but with his golden core shattered, the spirit sword he had once lifted so easily now felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

“Wake up,” Xie Yiling’s voice seemed to be coated in ice, “Lu Jinnian, you’ve been arrogant your whole life. Even as you face death, you still can’t face the truth?”

He waved the rune chains again, heavily striking Lu Jinnian’s body, destroying his last chance of survival.

Until his last breath, Lu Jinnian still couldn’t understand. He tried his best, ignoring the blood constantly gushing from his mouth, and asked with a trembling voice: “Although immortals and demons are opposed, I can feel that your hatred for me is too strong… Who exactly, who exactly are you?”

Xie Yiling gripped the rune chains, his eyes looking down on him: “You don’t need to know who I am. You only need to understand that all of this is your own just desserts.”

In his previous life, Lu Jinnian had repeatedly framed and harmed Xie Yiling. He had hated him, but not to the point of actually killing a fellow disciple. But when Lu Jinnian caused Nangong Ci to be injured and blinded for half a year, that was the only time he had the intention to kill.

Moreover, Lu Jinnian had committed countless evils in the past ten years, harming countless lives, and deserved to die.

Xie Yiling coldly watched Lu Jinnian take his last breath with unwillingness in his eyes. While a sense of relief arose in his heart, there was also an indescribable sense of loss.

With Lu Jinnian dead, Wen Liangchen no longer leisurely continued to play the zither. He put away the instrument behind his back, and when he saw Xie Yiling focusing his gaze on him, he suddenly smiled and drew his sword, Thousand Bones.

Wen Liangchen held the sword in his hand, but didn’t draw it. Instead, he fought with Xie Yiling and Nangong Ci in a carefree manner.

Black robes danced wildly, and swords and blades had no eyes. Wen Liangchen didn’t draw his sword, and before long, he was covered in blood from the two of them.

Seeing his fighting style, Xie Yiling felt puzzled.

Suddenly, Wen Liangchen waved his sleeve, releasing a black mist puppet.

Xie Yiling quickly chanted a few spells and used the Puppet Technique again. Soon, the puppet was subdued.

“You actually know the Puppet Technique?” Wen Liangchen ignored Nangong Ci, who was attacking him and trying to take his life, and just looked at Xie Yiling, a hint of interest flashing in his eyes. He blocked the two’s attacks with his sword, and when he raised the sword, a bright light flashed at the hilt.

Xie Yiling was about to take a closer look to see what it was when he heard a scream.

The sound didn’t cause Xie Yiling’s sword to deviate, but instead struck Wen Liangchen’s collarbone.

Wen Liangchen smiled faintly as he took the blow, spitting out blood. His hand moved swiftly, striking out with a palm towards Xie Yiling.

Xie Yiling didn’t expect Wen Liangchen to be able to focus on dealing with him even while being stabbed, and was slightly slow to react, nearly being hit in the right shoulder.

Nangong Ci forcefully retracted the sword that was halfway through its thrust, and blocked the blow for Xie Yiling. A sharp pain came, and he couldn’t help but reveal a trace of pain. Before the pain could subside, he quickly counterattacked.

The two exchanged blows.

Xie Yiling saw Nangong Ci’s expression, and his heart tightened. He also remembered the scream he had just heard, which clearly belonged to Gu Huanzhi, and didn’t know what had happened there.

Yin Fengyue saw Gu Huanzhi clutching his arm and crying out in pain, his face full of pain, and quickly checked his injury.

It turned out that Luo Huaiji had suddenly unleashed a burst of yin energy, seriously injuring Gu Huanzhi, who had gotten too close due to his eagerness to kill the enemy, hitting him in the shoulder with the evil energy.

“You wicked creature!” Yin Fengyue glared over with hatred, “Again and again you injure people of my immortal sect, I will definitely make you repay it a hundredfold!” With that, Duan E passed like a gust of wind, striking Luo Huaiji as if a thunderbolt had sounded in the clear sky.

The blood flowing from Luo Huaiji’s severed arm gathered into a pool on the ground. He tilted his head. His once handsome face was now completely disfigured, with a green face and fangs, extremely frightening.

Yin Fengyue and Gui Wenxin exchanged a look. With a tacit understanding, they used the Undecided World’s immortal technique—the Absolute Life Immobilization Curse.

Once this curse was cast, the person cursed would be unable to move, which was called immobilization. The meaning of “absolute life” was that the person’s flesh would rapidly rot and turn into a puddle of pus while immobilized.

This spell was specifically targeted at yin and evil objects, and required a large amount of spiritual power to cast. Normally, it would be impossible for Yin Fengyue or Gui Wenxin alone to complete it, but now, with their lives on the line, they had to try it.

The two spoke at the same time: “All things return to dust, sever evil deeds,Kill all evil! The Heavenly Dao is three thousand, cultivate kindness,Positive Yin and Yang!”

After the spirit incantation was completed, a chain formed by the incantation bound Luo Huaiji from head to toe, and no matter how he struggled, he couldn’t escape.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!” Luo Huaiji opened his bloody mouth and roared repeatedly, probably driven mad by the stimulation of his corpse rotting.

Yan Zhan was already riddled with holes, but he seemed to have lost the sense of pain, and struck out with a ferocious smile, displaying a formidable aura.

Seeing that Luo Huaiji no longer had any value, Wen Liangchen glanced at Yan Zhan, who received that meaningful look, and instantly stopped his madness.

The two had already made their next plan, and almost simultaneously threw out a few smoke pellets into the crowd, then turned and fled.

Seeing this, Xie Yiling was about to chase after them when Wen Liangchen flicked his sleeve, and several Rainstorm Plum Blossom Darts shot out with a whizzing sound.

He quickly did a somersault, dodging the hidden weapons. By the time he stood firm, the figures of Wen Liangchen and Yan Zhan were gone.

Two of the four villains who colluded with each other had escaped. One who was left behind had already become a yin corpse after death, and turned into a puddle of corpse water as he roared. The other’s bones were gradually cooling, and his soul died in the Undecided World.

With Luo Huaiji dead, the pain in Gu Huanzhi’s shoulder lessened somewhat. He quickly circulated his spiritual power, dissolving the remaining evil energy himself.

Just when they thought the matter was over, Nangong Ci’s expression suddenly changed: “Not good, Azurefall is acting strangely.” He saw the spirit sword in his hand shaking, seemingly greatly affected by evil energy.

“What happened?” Xie Yiling asked quickly.

Nangong Ci let go of his hand, and Azurefall flew straight out, spinning in mid-air.

The sword tip swayed left and right, discerning direction.

Finally, it stilled, pointing to the side of the crowd.

Xie Yiling followed the sword tip and saw the boundless sky dyed with twilight.

No! It wasn’t twilight, it was a wave of evil energy about to engulf the heavens and earth!

“That’s the location of Dingyuan,” Gui Wenxin said with a serious expression, “The Rebirth Bridge connected to the Yin Division Spring Mansion. Someone is tampering with the Dingyuan Barrier!”

Xie Yiling looked at the suddenly appearing green-robed gentleman, and finally had a chance to ask, “I don’t yet know how to address this gentleman?”

The man cupped his fist and said, “My surname is Ji, and my given name is another word for ‘farewell’.”

“So it’s Young Master Ji,” Xie Yiling returned the gesture with the same cupped-fist salute, “My name is Xie Ci, and my courtesy name is Yiling. May I ask why Young Master Ji appeared here?”

Ji Bie glanced at the crowd and confessed, “To be honest, I secretly followed you Immortal Lords all the way here. I have a personal feud with Wen Liangchen and Yan Zhan. Although I am not a member of the immortal sects, I am willing to contribute a small amount of help if you need it!”

Xie Yiling looked at Nangong Ci, and when he saw him nod, he said, “Good! Then let’s hurry to Dingyuan!”