Chapter 33
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“Shuangce!” Ying Kai came with his sword, his expression tense as he looked at the junior disciple in Xu Shuangce’s arms. “How is he?”
In theory, Xu Shuangce shouldn’t have come to Dai Mountain, but in the current situation, no one cared about that anymore.
The main hall of Ding Xian Ling had already collapsed halfway, the corpse miasma shrouding the sky like a vast black mist, and groups of startled corpses were wandering out of the ground, converging from all directions of the wilderness, slowly approaching the cultivators with unsteady steps.
Not far away, the corpse of Law Flower Immortal was flying in mid-air, blocked by Changsun Chengfeng, Bai Xian, and Yuchi Xiao, but it seemed they couldn’t hold it for long.
Yuchi Xiao kept a close eye on Law Flower Immortal, while constantly looking over with an anxious and indescribable expression. Xu Shuangce released his tight grip on Gong Wei’s throat. The grim cut had stopped bleeding, but the wound still looked terrifyingly gruesome.
“It’s fine,” he said calmly, finally tearing his gaze away from Gong Wei’s pale face and looking at Ying Kai. For some reason, he also glanced at Yuchi Rui, who was being urgently treated by disciples of the Medical Sect in the distance.
“We can’t let the startled corpses escape,” he suddenly spoke up, then urged, “Leave this to me. You go quickly to chase that puppet.”
Ying Kai, who had traveled the world with him since childhood, naturally knew that Xu Shuangce’s intervention could change the situation. He nodded, “Alright!” But just as he was about to fly away with his sword, he unexpectedly noticed something, “—Where’s No Way Out? Didn’t you bring it?”
“I didn’t bring it,” Xu Shuangce said.
“Then you…”
Without answering, Xu Shuangce casually beckoned to the nearest disciple of the Medical Sect. The young cultivator immediately approached, full of fear and trembling, and before he could even salute, Xu Shuangce took the sword from his waist.
Mu Duozhu’s disciples under Golden Boat Medical Sect, specialized in medicine and had average swordsmanship. Therefore, this sword itself was extremely ordinary. But as soon as Xu Shuangce grasped the hilt, the formidable spiritual power erupted throughout the sword, bursting with intense cold light, frightening the disciple so much that he took several steps back!
“You can go now,” Xu Shuangce said.
With no time to hesitate, Ying Kai gritted his teeth, “Chengfeng, come over here. Stay here to assist Sect Master Xu, and remember not to let any startled corpses escape.” Then he turned to Xu Shuangce again, “Be careful!”
With that, he flew towards the distance, where Law Flower Immortal’s controlled corpse flew towards Dai Mountain. Ying Kai and Yuchi Xiao, along with others, followed closely behind.
Surrounded by swirling black mist, figures swayed within. They were the walking dead, staggering closer. The formidable senior masters in Ding Xian Ling had all been taken down and buried one by one by Ying Kai and Yuchi Rui. Yet, there were still many cultivators whose hands were tied dealing with the walking corpses. As soon as the defensive formation was broken, they seized the opportunity to emerge, even the swaying funeral burial clothes and decaying faces were clearly visible.
The young disciple of the Medical Sect was so overwhelmed by the pressure of the sword that his knees weakened. He managed to muster a trembling voice, “Sect Master… Sect Master, please entrust the patient to us, and we will do our utmost to heal them…”
But Xu Shuangce seemed to have not heard.
Standing firmly with his sword in his right hand, the terrifying oppression emanating from the sword seemed to ignite the air. With his left hand, he pulled Gong Wei closer to him and without looking back, he commanded, “Step back.”
The disciple of the Medical Sect trembled as he took a step back, only to see flashes of light before him. Xu Shuangce lifted his sword, swung it heavily—
The circular sword light swept out like a hurricane in all directions. The walking corpses in the front row were torn apart as soon as they met the blade. More walking corpses, driven by rage, roared and lunged forward, but the cultivators present couldn’t even resist. They were all turned into debris under the raging sword, and countless dismembered limbs surged into the sky!
It was simply a unilateral massacre.
Xu Shuangce advanced steadily into the sea of corpses, leaving countless fragments with each step. When he landed on the seventh step, the final sword light slew the remaining walking corpses, and their bones collapsed into pieces with a thunderous crash. Heads rolled on the ground!
Turning around, Xu Shuangce reached out his right hand to shield Gong Wei in his arms. The bones and blood that fell from the sky splattered on his robe sleeves.
The surrounding wilderness had turned into a horrifying h*ll, and everyone fell silent. The cold wind carried the stench of corpses as it howled past. A disciple couldn’t help but tremble and say, “These… these were all seniors…”
Indeed, these fragmented corpses, torn apart by swords, were all respected elders from various prestigious families. If Ying Kai were here, he would never have dared nor been able to handle them so bloodily
Xu Shuangce glanced sharply at the disciple.
Changsun Chengfeng’s heart tightened. Before he could reprimand the disciple, he saw Xu Shuangce’s sword light approaching!
It was too fast, even Changsun Chengfeng couldn’t manipulate the mechanical soldiers to protect them. In an instant, the disciple’s heartbeat stopped, and the cold blade was reflected in his pupils—
But the next moment, the formidable sword aura swept upward from above everyone’s heads, crushing the dense black mist. The corpse miasma within a radius of several feet was forcibly cleared by the spiritual power.
Thump!
Several disciples knelt on the ground with weak legs, sweating coldly, unable to get up for a long time.
Xu Shuangce casually returned the sword to the young Medical Sect disciple who had it before. Then, without looking at anyone else, he pressed his thumb against Gong Wei’s forehead and whispered, “Release.”
His voice carried an irresistible force, causing Gong Wei’s body to spasm uncontrollably. Hearing this, he weakly released the connection to his sea of consciousness.
A thread of spiritual power immediately flowed from Xu Shuangce’s fingertips into Gong Wei’s forehead, spreading from his sea of consciousness to his limbs, tightly locking the puppet threads that continuously surged in his meridians. Even if a member of the Medical Sect were to come, they might not possess the steady hand and precise technique that Xu Shuangce displayed at this moment. Gong Wei’s body stiffened uncontrollably, and Xu Shuangce held him tightly with his left hand, preventing any struggle. With his right hand raised directly, a thread of puppetry, glimmering with light, seemed to be wrapped around Xu Shuangce’s fingertip by spiritual power. As he slowly withdrew this thread from Gong Wei’s body, it grew longer and finer, extending nearly half a meter before it condensed and broke off.
A disciple from the Medical Sect couldn’t help but exclaim, “They… they’re not dead…”
When puppet threads enter a living body, they consume a large amount of the host’s flesh and spiritual veins. The longer the time passes, the longer they extend. Therefore, most cultivators implanted with puppet threads cannot survive for more than a moment. The fact that this junior disciple from Cangyang Sect could endure until now indicates the severity of his suffering.
“Cough cough!” Changsun Chengfeng frowned, signaling to others not to speak recklessly. He said awkwardly, “Young Master Xiang is indeed fortunate, being Sect Master Xu’s favorite disciple.”
Everyone’s first reaction upon hearing this was: Cangyang Sect Master has taken in an heir? How come nobody knew such a big thing?
Under the scrutiny of everyone’s eyes, Xu Shuangce remained indifferent, but he didn’t deny it either. He just said to Gong Wei, “Don’t move.”
Whether it was Gong Wei’s illusion or not, those two words sounded gentle and deep, as if they carried a hint of warmth. He stared blankly, trying to see clearly, but his vision was already blurred. Even though Xu Shuangce was so close, he could only vaguely make out the profile of Xu Shuangce’s face.
Xu Shuangce is still very good-looking, he suddenly had this thought.
Many years ago, in Chengshu Palace, during those afternoons when he was taught to write characters hand in hand, with cicadas chirping outside the window, he would also raise his head to look up at Xu Shuangce’s calm face.
At that time, he was still very young, sitting cross-legged on the soft cushion in front of Xu Shuangce. He could lean back and snuggle into his arms. The cold, crisp scent between Xu Shuangce’s clothes was like the scent of pine trees after snow. Sometimes he couldn’t help but turn his head to smell it, and Xu Shuangce would adjust his head, saying, “Write properly.”
His voice was also low and gentle, making Gong Wei’s ears feel warm.
But that warmth didn’t last long.
Because in the blink of an eye, Gong Wei grew up, and he grew into the appearance that Xu Shuangce disliked the most. Later, when he recalled Xu Shuangce’s voice, the first thing that came to mind was coldness, severity, and merciless reprimands.
A sense of grievance arose in Gong Wei’s dim consciousness. He weakly opened his lips, but only emitted a few sounds.
However, Xu Shuangce noticed it. While one hand’s fingertips were still entangled with the shining puppet thread, he lowered his head and gently touched Gong Wei’s sweaty forehead, saying, “It’s better now.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly raised his hand and flicked it. The puppet thread was completely pulled out from Gong Wei’s brow, and its end snapped abruptly!
“Ah!”
Gong Wei let out a sharp, hoarse cry, the intense pain making him struggle on the brink of death. He was firmly held by Xu Shuangce’s strong arm. At the same time, the puppet thread erupted with a frantic light, still wanting to explore Gong Wei’s meridians along his blood vessels. Xu Shuangce’s expression turned solemn, and a pure golden true fire suddenly burst out from his fingertips, quickly burning!
The entire puppet thread was burned by the golden fire, finally collapsing weakly to the ground with a crackling sound, losing its last trace of spiritual power.
The tense disciples of the Medical Sect around all breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.
However, before they could fully exhale, someone questioned suspiciously, “Huh, what’s going on?”
They saw the flames gradually dissipating, but the puppet thread, burned through, didn’t disintegrate into ashes. Instead, it remained motionless, hanging there, but now it had turned into a terrifying blood red, reflecting a sinister light in the surrounding grayish air.
That blood-red gloss reflected in Xu Shuangce’s eyes, and Cangyang’s Sect Master’s face finally changed.
At the same time, a thin stream of bright red blood slowly oozed out from Gong Wei’s nostrils, then suddenly gushed out, spraying out a mouthful of blood!
“Changsun Chengfeng—!” Xu Shuangce stood up suddenly.
Changsun Chengfeng, a few steps away, looked blank, almost unable to believe his eyes. In the next moment, they saw Xu Shuangce raise his hand into the air. The veins on the back of his hand bulged, and the Iron Sect Master flew uncontrollably towards him. He grabbed his collar, and was dragged in front of him!
Xu Shuangce said word by word, his eyes cold and filled with obvious killing intent, “This is not an ordinary puppet thread, it’s a soldier’s thread.”
—Its toxicity is a thousand times greater than that of ordinary puppet threads, the ultimate killing tool passed down through generations by the Changsun Family, the Dual Primordial Spirit Soldier Thread!
Changsun Chengfeng was forced to stare closely at the long bloodline in front of him. If he observed carefully, he could see that even his pupils were trembling violently.
“Iron Sect Mater,” Xu Shuangce’s icy eyes contained a strong killing intent, he said, “Give me an explanation.”
“Cough—”
Another surge of hot blood spurted out from Gong Wei’s throat. The weak little demon’s body finally couldn’t withstand such a huge injury, rapidly deteriorating, and closed his eyes.
The people around were in a panic, shouting and screaming incessantly, and Iron Sect Master seemed to be shouting something in a state of panic, but Gong Wei actually couldn’t hear anything. All he could feel was Xu Shuangce’s hand pressing against his forehead, and the vast and surging spiritual power pouring into his body, forcibly maintaining his weakening heartbeat at all costs.
“You won’t die,” Xu Shuangce whispered close to his ear.
The situation was so chaotic, but his voice was still stable and powerful, each word accompanied by a breath that brushed his temples. In a trance, Gong Wei felt as if he had touched Xu Shuangce’s slightly cool lips.
Did you kiss me? He wondered.
Xu Shuangce said, “Go to sleep.”
The last word took away Gong Wei’s consciousness.
Everything around him was spinning rapidly, moving away from him, and his soul plummeted like weightlessness towards the abyss, where a faint and distant light was flickering—
Immediately afterwards, the wind from the end of time came rushing over him. The spring sunlight in Chengshu Palace at the end of spring passed through the tree shadows and shone into the open carved window.
The youth curiously leaned over the window sill, reaching out to catch a falling peach blossom petal. Just as he was about to put it in his mouth, another figure appeared beside the desk and brushed it away, frowning, “Why are you eating again?”
Gong Wei, naturally good-tempered, wasn’t annoyed at all. He smiled and happily crawled back to Xu Shuangce’s side. At this time, he hadn’t fully learned to speak yet, and he said vaguely, “Kiss… kiss.”
Xu Shuangce tilted his chin back slightly, “What?”
Gong Wei stared at his thin and handsome lips, firmly repeating the new word he had just learned not long ago, “Kiss… want kiss.”
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