Chapter 64: Azure Cloud (42)

Yun Zhi held Yue Qianxun and threatened loudly. Before He Tingzhen could react, Shen Xiyuan’s eyes were already splitting with fury. “Don’t touch him!”

This voice was far too serious, startling Yun Zhi. His hand trembled as he glared at Shen Xiyuan who was rapidly approaching, asking in confusion: “What are you doing? I’m helping you! This person is He Tingzhen’s good friend—perfect for using as a threat…”

Before he could finish, He Tingzhen in the distance had already raised his sword and charged toward Yun Zhi to kill him. In an instant, the sounds of shattering mirrors filled heaven and earth. The sword light was brighter than starlight, the long sword stabbing directly toward Yun Zhi’s eyes. The youth’s pupils constricted sharply. Thinking of that traumatic fight at Yuheng Sect that left psychological scars, even his fingers began to tremble.

He should have been afraid, yet his heart carried a kind of excitement like taking revenge on everything. Without a word, Yun Zhi turned the blade horizontal, determined to slit Yue Qianxun’s throat before He Tingzhen arrived—a life for a life.

But Shen Xiyuan was nearly scared out of his wits. He never imagined Yun Zhi would be this insane, nor that He Tingzhen, seeing a hostage, would have absolutely no intention of holding back. Seeing Yue Qianxun about to be beheaded, Shen Xiyuan immediately threw himself forward from the side. In a flash, he grabbed Yun Zhi’s blade with one hand, seized Yue Qianxun to protect him in his arms, then kicked the seemingly crazed Yun Zhi away. His own back took a sword strike that pierced through his heart meridian. He counterattacked with a blade, sending the approaching He Tingzhen flying, then rolled several times holding the protected Yue Qianxun. When he rose again, golden light flashed from his chest. Countless densely packed immortal inscriptions came devouring. Although he reacted quickly, using demonic energy to dispel the immortal inscriptions, the wound still collapsed into a large hole.

It was a spiritual curse, effective only against demons.

That sword had been aimed at him from the very beginning.

Very carefully smoothing away the sword mark left on Yue Qianxun’s neck, Shen Xiyuan looked up and glanced at Yun Zhi collapsed to the side, then at He Tingzhen who was brushing away the demonic energy and coming forward with his sword. For a moment, he actually felt alarmed and apprehensive.

This person’s cultivation was only at the third realm. His swordsmanship must have been personally taught by Guili Sword Master—it did indeed have the Sword Sect’s shadow. But none of this was the main point. The most terrifying thing was that he was actually unaffected by the Nightmare Dream.

A third realm cultivator, if using spiritual power to protect his body, could at most last a quarter hour here. He had both cast spells and wielded his spiritual sword, yet showed not a trace of decline.

Thinking of the spiritual fire that had emerged from He Tingzhen’s body when he faced him head-on earlier, Shen Xiyuan’s pupils trembled.

Could it be… he really had been possessed by some immortal old monster?

Yun Zhi supported himself with his sword and stood up, staring at Shen Xiyuan from a great distance. Having just gone through such a dangerous life-and-death situation, the other was now holding that unconscious youth and carefully examining him, not sparing him even half a glance.

Yun Zhi looked at Shen Xiyuan treating Yue Qianxun as precious and treasured, then at He Tingzhen not far away holding his sword, raising an eyebrow mockingly with a triumphant expression. Instantly, an immense sense of humiliation struck. He wanted to dig his fingers into his flesh.

He suddenly understood why Shen Xiyuan used to always like to cling to his side, but now was distant and elusive, appearing and disappearing mysteriously. So that was it—he had… fallen in love with someone else.

The anger of betrayal and the shame of having his secrets glimpsed by his mortal enemy made him completely lose his rationality. Yun Zhi raised his sword and shakily stood up. The moon-white hem of his robe was stained with turbid color. He hung his head with a self-mocking smile, then in a flash rushed straight at Shen Xiyuan. Only a crisp slapping sound was heard. Shen Xiyuan’s head jerked back as he covered his face in disbelief. Yun Zhi’s eyes were ringed with red, teeth gritted. And He Tingzhen’s attacking steps paused as he began watching the show from a not-too-distant distance.

“What is the meaning of this?” Yun Zhi’s whole body trembled as he pointed at Shen Xiyuan’s nose, saying sharply: “How long has it been, and you’ve already fallen for someone else? This vixen—he’s even disfigured, not as good-looking as me, not as high in status as me, with a personality both dull and stupid. How long have you even known him?”

“I killed my fellow disciples for you, betrayed my sect for you—I gave you everything!” Yun Zhi grabbed Shen Xiyuan’s collar, his eyes full of the fury of betrayal. “I risked bringing you into Azure Cloud Academy, concealed you—is this how you treat me?”

Shen Xiyuan had a terrible headache. “I didn’t—listen to my explanation!”

Yun Zhi’s tears streamed down his face. “I won’t listen, I won’t listen! Unless you kill this ugly freak!”

In the next instant, he raised his sword and stabbed down directly. Shen Xiyuan had come to the Nine States to find Yue Qianxun—how could he let Yun Zhi succeed? Feeling extremely troubled, looking at Yun Zhi whose emotions were fluctuating and who was affected by the Nightmare Dream, he felt annoyed. Raising his hand, he planned to directly subdue the person, then concentrate on dealing with He Tingzhen.

Naturally, He Tingzhen wouldn’t let him succeed. Calculating the time, the Marriage Mirror couldn’t hold much longer. Raising his sword to charge forward again, he didn’t forget to add fuel to the fire: “Little junior brother, look—you’ve been abandoned after being used.”

“I told you long ago, the demon clan is cunning and untrustworthy.”

“Don’t believe his provocations!” Shen Xiyuan, seeing the situation spiral out of control, hastily comforted: “My feelings for you, A-Zhi, can be witnessed by heaven—I have absolutely no second thoughts!”

Yun Zhi roared: “Then let go!”

Naturally, Shen Xiyuan couldn’t release Yue Qianxun, much less reveal Yue Qianxun’s identity in this situation. He could only grit his teeth and swallow his grievance.

The three immediately descended into chaotic combat.

Qin Tan kicked open the door. Demonic energy was already obviously pervading the small courtyard. In the room in the left courtyard, He Tingzhen and Fu Fengyan lay head to head on the bed, breathing calmly. Su Tanyi in his mind made a sound of surprise.

In the middle room, Zhang Duixue was sprawled on the desk. It seemed his primordial spirit had suffered considerable damage—his forehead was covered in cold sweat, his lips deathly pale, the corners of his lips trembling as he silently said something.

The rightmost room had its doors and windows tightly closed, covered with restrictions. Qin Tan broke them with one sword strike. Immediately, a surge of demonic energy rushed out. Su Tanyi and the system in his mind cried out in alarm: “It’s over, it’s over! Xiao Yue has fallen into demonhood!”

“This is Azure Cloud Academy—we must conceal it for him! Otherwise, if the situation is exposed, the protagonist will surely die!”

Qin Tan said nothing. He stepped forward, closed the door behind him with one hand, and set up restrictions. The room was in disarray, full of array scrolls. Stacks of books were piled in corners. And Yue Qianxun lay in a pile of books, his whole body curled into a ball. He already showed obvious signs of mutation—his nails had grown long, two pointed horn bumps protruded from his forehead, and his skin was covered in a layer of fine scales.

Dragon and demon characteristics appeared on his body, yet because of the restrictions laid down earlier, his primordial spirit struggled within them. Qin Tan stepped forward and pressed a finger to Yue Qianxun’s forehead. Spiritual power poured into his sea of consciousness but was immediately bounced back.

His brow moved slightly. His gaze lingered on Yue Qianxun’s body for a moment, then he drew out Spirit-Binding Chains, bound the youth’s limbs, tied him to the bed, and raised his hand to peel off a scale. Blood seeped out.

The system shrieked: “What are you doing?”

Qin Tan examined expressionlessly. “If he falls into demonhood, kill him immediately.”

The system shrieked: “You… how can you be so ruthless? Aren’t you afraid the world will collapse?”

“That’s why I’m asking you.” Qin Tan’s tone had not a ripple of emotion. “Didn’t you just say you had a way into the Marriage Mirror? As long as you let me in to kill that demon creature and rescue the disciples’ primordial spirits, I naturally have a way to reseal the demonic energy on Yue Qianxun… as long as he still has his consciousness.”

“So, what methods are there now to send me in? You can speak.”

System: “Your cultivation is too high. You can’t enter.”

Qin Tan: “…”

The white light sphere flickered, finally landing on Su Tanyi, saying carefully: “But you can, host. You’re a person from another world. Entering once more won’t damage the Marriage Mirror. As long as your primordial spirit enters the secret realm and saves Yue Qianxun, awakening him, the protagonist will naturally take control of the situation. Then not only can you save everyone inside, our points will also increase. Moreover, the protagonist is still so young—he’s so well-behaved, so innocent. You can’t bear to watch him die, right?”

Su Tanyi was rather frank. He scratched his head and asked quietly: “How do I save him?”

System: “Care for him! Warm him! Move him!”

Qin Tan coldly added: “Then go in unarmed to die?”

The system sheepishly added: “…I’ll provide a little help, able to enhance your soul strength somewhat…”

Qin Tan gave a cold laugh.

System: “…”

The small light sphere trembled cautiously, vigilantly watching Qin Tan on the side. It tore open a gap, borrowing Yue Qianxun’s sea of consciousness, leading directly to the battlefield. “Host, rest assured—I will definitely preserve your life!”

Su Tanyi rolled up his sleeves, his heart uneasy, but still tried to calm himself down and smiled: “You know I can’t fight. Since you’ve decided to send me, remember to turn up the cheats a bit.”

“Host, rest assured—no one can harm you.” The system urged Su Tanyi to hurry. Only at the last moment, Qin Tan grabbed him and the cold-faced immortal lord drew a sword inscription in his palm with a curved finger. “Can only be used once.”

Su Tanyi: “?”

Before he could ask clearly, in the next second, someone kicked him down, pushing him directly into that sky full of demonic energy, into the bottomless depths of the secret realm.

He Tingzhen blocked Yun Zhi with one sword. His left hand formed seals, dots of star patterns flickering. Spiritual power transformed into a shield, deflecting the charging Shen Xiyuan. He flew into mid-air. Just as he opened up space, he saw Yun Zhi draw his sword and crash into Shen Xiyuan’s embrace, beginning a wild beating.

Besides the sounds of clashing blades, there were several voices of accusation and cursing mixed in.

Seeing Yue Qianxun’s condition becoming increasingly wrong, Shen Xiyuan’s head ached terribly. “A-Zhi, let’s discuss anything later. Let’s deal with He Tingzhen first!”

“Everyone must die!” Yun Zhi’s eyes were completely red—he had fallen into demonic obsession.

Between heaven and earth was complete chaos, cracks everywhere. Seeing this realm about to collapse, Shen Xiyuan also lost his patience. With one palm he seized Yun Zhi’s wrist. With two cracking sounds, amid the youth’s miserable screams, demonic energy melted his wrist and then transformed into iron chains, wrapping him into a circle and binding him straight to the ground.

Yun Zhi rolled on the ground. Shen Xiyuan finally had a moment free. He stared at He Tingzhen, his eyes fierce. “This lord killed you once—naturally I can kill you again! Whatever abilities you have, use them all!”

The demonic energy from all directions instantly surged, transforming into a cage, descending over He Tingzhen’s head. Primordial spirits had no physical form. He Tingzhen floated in mid-air. For some unknown reason, his clothes fluttered as if one could hear them snapping in the wind.

The overwhelming demonic energy wrapped and submerged him—enough to corrode that youth with meager spiritual power until not even dregs remained.

Shen Xiyuan no longer looked at He Tingzhen’s fate. He turned to find Yun Zhi, planning to explain things clearly and incidentally warn him to hide himself well at Azure Cloud Academy—there would always be a future reunion.

But when landing, his body suddenly stiffened.

He seemed to hear long winds howling, endless yellow sand blowing. Beneath it white bones piled up—that was the first scene he’d witnessed at his birth.

He slowly lowered his head and saw on the smooth mirror surface a reflection of his life. A pile of charred bones, feeding on evil thoughts, meeting a wise lord, going through fire and water, and then… dying without a burial place.

Shen Xiyuan jerked his head up, pupils constricting, only to see that between heaven and earth was only an ancient mirror. White clouds drifted upon it. He Tingzhen’s figure floated in mid-air, small as an ant. He shook his wrist. The last bit of demonic energy dissipated, falling from his fingertips like a grain of dust.

“What did you do? How did you manage it… who exactly are you!” Shen Xiyuan rose from the ground. Demonic energy gathered and transformed into a blade like a mountain range, slashing toward He Tingzhen. Only in an instant, another person suddenly fell from mid-air, screaming loudly, struggling and tumbling in the air, crashing headfirst into He Tingzhen.

“Xiao He, it’s me!” Su Tanyi shouted. A head of bizarre pink hair danced wildly in the air. “Are you okay?”

He Tingzhen grabbed his arm and retreated. “Stop talking, run quickly! If we don’t run now, something will happen!”

“Huh?” Su Tanyi looked up in the howling wind and saw the blade like a mountain, and beneath the blade, He Tingzhen and himself—just that tiny.

“Cheat! Cheat! System, quickly give me cheats!”

There was no response. Just as that demonic energy like mountains collapsing and earth splitting pressed down, he instinctively raised both hands to block. Mid-air suddenly erupted with intense spiritual energy. Protective winds pervaded, followed by a crisp cracking sound.

An invisible sword qi immediately filled heaven and earth. Whether demonic energy or Shen Xiyuan, all were cut into fragments.

Su Tanyi looked at his own hands, extremely shocked. “System, this cheat is too outrageous…”

Before he could react, He Tingzhen pulled him down to the ground. Staggering two steps, his delicate old fellow who couldn’t take care of himself knelt on the ground, pointing in one direction urgently: “Brother Tan, Xiao Yue has fallen into demonhood—his life or death is uncertain! Go check on him quickly!”

Su Tanyi still remembered his real business. With trembling hands, he nodded repeatedly. “You lie here for a bit. I’ll be right back to save you!”

With that, he quickly ran toward Yue Qianxun. Soon only a small back remained.

He Tingzhen supported himself with his sword and stood up. Amid countless cracking sounds, he found a figure crawling on the ground. Yun Zhi’s primordial spirit had no feet and couldn’t walk. His eyes full of tears, he was crawling toward the corner where Shen Xiyuan had disappeared. His primordial spirit was dim and dark, full of turbid demonic energy.

One sword fell, beheading him.

He Tingzhen was expressionless. He looked at the youth with wide, furious eyes and slowly sheathed his sword. “I told you—if we met again, I would kill you.”

Yun Zhi collapsed softly, his breath ceased.