Just when Hua Chenglu was about to strike, she suddenly felt a sharp pain in her abdomen. The true qi she had just mobilised immediately dispersed. Her eyes widened. "There's poison in the tea!"
The old man shrouded in daemon qi lunged over with unbelievable speed.
In that moment, the danger of death enveloped Hua Chenglu. No matter how many powerful talismans she possessed, it seemed like she could not use them in time.
A streak of white light illuminated the entire clinic. Yu Zijian's eyes narrowed. She flew up, and the Nine Yang sword pierced through several patients blocking her way like a streak of white light, piercing the old man.
Black smoke sprayed out from the wound, rushing towards Hua Chenglu.
The jade pendant on Hua Chenglu's waist shone with a ring of green light. The black smoke collided with the green light, but it was unable to pass through. It turned around and flew towards the wall.
Although the protective spiritual jade had saved her life, Hua Chenglu still collapsed. Yu Zijian caught her in her arms. At this moment, miserable cries and groans suddenly rang out from behind. Yu Zijian looked back.
Wherever the Nine Yang sword passed by, blood sprayed everywhere. It was a dazzling, bright red color. The patients who had been pierced seemed to awaken from a nightmare, wailing on the ground. Strands of black smoke sprayed out from their gaping mouths, merging with the black smoke on the wall.
They were not zombies or puppets, but living people. Yu Zijian was stunned. I killed them with my own hands!
"Zijian, it hurts so much! There's poison in the tea!"
Before Yu Zijian could accept this reality, Hua Chenglu was already in utter pain. Her body temperature fluctuated, scorching hot in one moment and cold like a corpse in the next.
"Chenglu, use your cultivation to purge the poison!"
"It's not poison. It's my children. "The black smoke buzzed strangely.
Yu Zijian gathered her true qi in her eyes and saw a startling sight. The black smoke was not real smoke, but countless tiny, black insects that had died. She lowered her head and looked at Hua Chenglu again. She was already covered in cold sweat. She shoved a recovery pill into her mouth in a hurry.
"It's useless. Before long, she'll die from crippling all her organs. It's your turn now! "The black smoke buzzed. The eyes of the people controlled by the black insects widened as they pushed their way out of the clinic. It let out an inhuman roar.
Yu Zijian no longer dared to use her sword so easily. She picked up Hua Chenglu and flew towards the top of the wall. Her sword whistled out and stabbed towards the black smoke.
The black smoke churned and dispersed before condensing in the distance. Yu Zijian saw the wall, and her expression changed drastically. When she first arrived, the whole city was dead silent, and there were not many people on the streets. At this moment, countless men and women filled the streets and alleys as if they were attending some grand ceremony. They all raised their heads blankly and looked at her with their white eyes. They were like puppets made of clay or wood.
"I've already let my children swim into every well. I originally wanted to slowly enjoy this city full of blood and flesh, but you actually dared to disturb me. Die!"
The sea of people suddenly came to life and roared in unison. The terrifying sound waves rushed to the horizon. It contained the buzzing of the black insects. The crowd surged like a great tide, lunging towards Yu Zijian.
With a rumble, dust was kicked into the air. The walls directly collapsed from the pressure.
Yu Zijian leapt up with Hua Chenglu in her arms. She looked down at the black mass of people below. She had no idea whether it was several thousand or several tens of thousands. Her body and heart sank together. As she stared at the countless pairs of hollow eyes, she became rather dazed.
Hua Chenglu whispered into her ear with difficulty, "Zijian, go!"
Yu Zijian immediately returned to her senses. Before she had even landed on the ground, the Nine Yang sword thrummed out and hovered over three meters in the air, flying over the sea of people and out of the city.
Countless hands extended out, like a scene from Avici.
A middle-aged woman suddenly leapt up. Even though she was under the control of a daemon, this had completely exceeded her mobility. With a crack, her legs snapped, but her hands managed to touch Yu Zijian's clothes. The other humans under the control leapt up as well, lunging over.
Yu Zijian pursed her lips and stared ahead. She pushed the sword manipulation technique she had learnt in the school of Daoism to the limit. The Nine Yang sword turned into a twisted, white streak of light, sweeping through the sea of people. Daemon qi directly rushed over from behind. Looking back, the black smoke composed of countless tiny insects surged in pursuit.
However, the Nine Yang sword truly was a supreme grade spiritual artifact personally bestowed to her by the leader of the school of Daoism. Although Yu Zijian was unable to unleash its full power, she was still startlingly fast. She gradually shook off the black smoke and shot over the city walls.
The black smoke circled around the city walls a few times, producing a reluctant hiss, but it was afraid to pursue. However, it understood its own strength very well. It was not suited for open battles. The humans had some powerful techniques, so it would be terrible if it was heavily injured. It was better off using the several tens of thousands of food to nurture itself a little stronger first. If two came, it would just kill one. That would be enough.
The daemon qi gradually grew further away. Yu Zijian came to a halt, and the Nine Yang sword beneath her suddenly shifted over a dozen feet before coming to a forceful halt. When she looked back and saw that the daemon did not pursue her, a deep sense of lingering fear immediately filled her heart. Her back became covered in a layer of cold sweat.
Daemons like that were extremely rare. They were actually an amalgamation of countless black insects, yet they possessed such great intelligence. If this continued, the entire city would be massacred. Yu Zijian had always been a kind-hearted person. When she saw the horrific situation, she immediately became filled with sorrow. She even forgot about her fear. She was tempted to kill the daemon right there and then.
However, she gritted her teeth and lowered her head. "Chenglu, we've escaped. We're going back right now. Hold on!"
Hua Chenglu forced a smile. Just when she opened her mouth to say something, she vomited a mouthful of blood. Her face was completely pale as she said feebly, "Zijian, I can't hold on much longer."
Her cultivation as a Qi Practitioner was already impressive, but the organs were the weakest parts of a person. Countless black insects wreaked havoc in there. If her control over true qi was as meticulous as Li Qingshan's, she could still kill the black insects. However, that was impossible for her right now.
When she said that, Yu Zijian's heart ached as much as it could be. Tears streamed down her face. "Chenglu, don't talk nonsense. You wouldn't …"
"I never thought I'd die on my first mission. How … embarrassing. Tell my elder brother, I …"
"Don't say it! I won't listen!" Yu Zijian covered her ears.
The black mist let out a sharp hum and sneered, "Children, eat her heart and liver!"
Hua Chenglu said, "It hurts! It hurts!"
Yu Zijian was filled with despair. She raised her head instinctively, wanting to find someone to help her. No matter who it was, a tall, sturdy figure would appear in her mind instinctively. However, there was only desolation around her. Only her best friend moaned painfully in her arms, on the brink of death.
Under such circumstances, there would be people who would wail, and there would be people who would be at a loss for what to do. However, her gaze gradually became firm and determined under the unendurable pressure.
"Chenglu, hold on. I won't let you die. I will definitely kill the daemon and save you, save everyone!" Yu Zijian placed Hua Chenglu on the ground and removed her hundred treasures pouch. She leapt onto the Nine Yang sword and flew towards the city resolutely.
Hua Chenglu extended her hand, but she was unable to say anything. All she could do was watch the violet figure vanish from her vision before completely fainting from the pain.
After who knew how long, rain began to fall from the gloomy sky. Droplets of rain fell from the clouds high above, forming thin strands that landed on Hua Chenglu's face. Her expression that had been twisted from pain had settled down before she knew it.
Hua Chenglu felt the hint of coldness on her face and slowly opened her eyes. The pain in her body had already vanished. The black insects had calmed down for some reason. They no longer tore at her madly. Instead, they lurked silently like regular insects. Even their daemon qi had become extremely faint, almost vanishing.
"Did Zijian succeed?"
Yu Zijian was filled with joy from surviving a disaster. She immediately circulated her true qi and purged the insects that had lost their intelligence and only acted on instinct from her body. She looked in the direction of the city gates and frowned again. She propped herself up and made her way towards the city.
The rain became even heavier, forming a curtain of rain in front of the city gates. Hua Chenglu lifted the curtain and entered. She passed through the pitch-black gate and entered the city that had almost claimed her life once again.
The sight in the city surprised her. A large swathe of structures before her had been flattened as if they had been scorched by fire. This was the power of the supreme grade talisman that Hwa Seung-zan had given her for protection. She could vaguely make out countless greyish-black figures on the ground before being diluted by the rain.
As she walked forward, corpses after corpses appeared in front of her. They had either been turned into charred wood by the Lightning Guiding Talismans or frozen into ice shards by the Cold Ice Talismans. However, most of them had been pierced through, cut in half, or killed by swords.
"Zijian, Zijian!" Hua Chenglu panicked inside. She called out her name loudly. Her voice imbued with true qi echoed through the quiet city, but there was no response at all.
The sky grew darker and darker. It was probably dusk already. Finally, Hua Chenglu found her in front of an old ancestral hall that had not been destroyed.
She hugged the Nine Yang Sword and sat on the bluestone steps with her head lowered. The rainwater caused her messy hair to stick to her cheeks, and then slid down her smooth cheeks, suddenly turning blood red. Her entire body was bathed in blood, and under the washing of the rainwater, blood began to spread. Only the Nine Yang Sword shone like snow.
She stared at the stone steps before her. Suddenly, a pair of feet appeared on the stone steps, and a gentle call rang out from above, "Zijian, Zijian, are you fine?"
"Chenglu, I've won … But, I've only saved you …" Yu Zijian seemed to wake up. She raised her head slowly and smiled with difficulty. Her face was moist, perhaps from the rain or her tears.
Hua Chenglu looked at her smiling face and felt a stabbing pain in her heart. It was even more painful than having black insects gnawing at her insides. She was unable to say anything.
Several streaks of light shot through the sky. One of them was Hwa Seung-zan's flash.
Afterwards, Hua Chenglu heard from the knowledgeable Hwa Seung-zan that the daemons they had encountered were extremely rare. They were called "miasma daemons".
Among carapaced daemons, there were some that were far too simple and tiny, lacking even the slightest bit of intelligence. They were not even as great as ants. It was basically impossible for them to become daemons. However, if they gathered in spiritual veins and spiritual lands, over time, there was an extremely small chance that they would develop intelligence, turning into something similar to miasma. Destroying them was very easy. All she had to do was kill most of them.
If she had been a little later, she would have died. Fortunately, Yu Zijian had found a way in time, which saved her. However, there were certain times when Hua Chenglu would rather not be saved, such as right now.
PS: I'm finally back. I'll start updating tomorrow! ^ _ ^ (To be continued)!
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