Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 89: Resurrection Failure
The palace door, standing fifteen feet high, twenty feet wide, and two inches thick, slowly creaked open. Ji Zichen could not see anyone, but he could hear the sound of the door opening and the footsteps of Three Seats approaching the hall. Leaning on his sword, Kiko's gaze became unfocused as he lost himself in thought. Though he could not see, he was not afraid; it was all a deception. Yet Kiko gritted his teeth and shouted, "I won't allow you to enter!"
Three Seats halted, slightly tilting his head to glance at Kiko with a cold smile. "I may not know what your situation is, but I can see that there is something wrong with your eyes. I initially planned to let you live a little longer, but seeing how stubborn you are, I cannot leave you alive."
With a flick of his wrist, the Soul Summoning Bracelet chimed, and an Insect-Faced Human Body Monster appeared behind Ji Zichen. Three Seats sneered, "Let's see if your soul is sour or sweet."
The Monster opened its mouth and lunged for Kiko's neck. Pain shot through Kiko as the Monster's teeth pierced his skin. However, just as the Monster tasted Kiko's blood, it let out a pained shriek. Its entire body withered instantly, turning into a dried-up husk that collapsed to the ground.
Three Seats was taken aback, exclaiming in shock, "How could this happen!"
Kiko's blood was toxic to the Monster. Although Three Seats knew of Ji Zichen, there were still some secrets about him that she had yet to uncover. Yuxuan noticed Three Seats' astonishment as she stared at Ji Zichen and thought to herself, "This is an opportunity."
Lying on the ground were numerous corpses, many of which clutched swords in their hands. One sword lay not far from Yuxuan; she only needed to reach out to grasp it. Seizing the moment while Three Seats was distracted by Ji Zichen, Yuxuan swiftly grabbed the long sword and lunged toward Three Seats. Sensing the cold aura of the sword approaching from her side, Three Seats turned her attention just in time to see Yuxuan wielding the long sword, its blade flashing as it came for her.
Before Three Seats stood a flurry of sword shadows as Yuxuan attacked from the side aiming for her ribs. If she failed to evade in time, the sword would surely pierce through her. Although Yuxuan's assault was sudden, Three Seats smiled slightly, seemingly confident in her ability to dodge this deadly strike.
Yuxuan urged her sword forward with determination, unleashing a series of attacks that were both deceptive and unpredictable. While others might have been intimidated by such an onslaught, Three Seats was not like them. With a swift movement of her body and a flash of her own sword’s cold light, she countered.
A beam of sword light shot past Three Seats' face like fireworks bursting in front of Yuxuan. The explosion of sword shadows converged with astonishing sharpness against Yuxuan's long sword. Impressed by Three Seats' ability to react even in such a tense moment, Yuxuan felt both admiration and panic rise within her. Nevertheless, she quickly withdrew her sword and raised it defensively to protect her vital points.
As Yuxuan retreated a few steps, Three Seats pressed forward with relentless strikes aimed at Yuxuan’s brow. With no openings found for escape, Yuxuan had no choice but to continue retreating while keeping her sword raised to guard against incoming attacks.
Three Seats closed in step by step, making it difficult for Yuxuan to catch her breath as she continued to back away under the relentless pressure of Three Seats’ strikes.
With a resounding clang that echoed throughout the Moon Viewing Pavilion, Yuxuan stumbled back like a floating leaf on water for more than ten steps before dropping her sword to the ground.
Yuxuan's body swayed, her face pale and devoid of color. A light laugh emerged from the black veil of Three Seats, "Do you still want to fight?"
Although Three Seats was facing Yuxuan, her words were directed at Shen Bifan on the other side. Shen Bifan understood that Three Seats was asking her, but she bit her lip and remained motionless.
Inside the hall, Yukang was drenched in cold sweat, the blue light in his hand growing weaker by the moment. He felt a surge of panic. "The moonlight is fading. Lin Chuyu, if you continue to reject your body, I will be powerless to help you."
Hearing Yukang's words, Three Seats hurriedly stepped into the hall. Just as she crossed the threshold, Yukang shouted, "Don't come any closer! Your Soul Summoning Bracelet carries dark energy; the nearer you get, the more she will resist!"
Three Seats approached Yukang step by step. "I see you can't pull back the soul. If you stop, I will take her away."
Yukang's expression turned anxious. "No! If I let go, the soul will escape, and then you won't be able to retrieve it!"
Three Seats smiled. "As long as she can come back to life, it doesn't matter whether it's her own soul returning or not."
Ji Zichen could not see anything, but he still sensed his surroundings in his mind. He stumbled toward the hall's entrance but tripped over the threshold and fell behind Three Seats, dropping his Demon-Slaying Sword beside him.
Ji Zichen fell to the ground and groped around nearby to retrieve his Demon-Slaying Sword. However, it had bounced away three yards out of reach. As he struggled to find it, a sudden pain shot through his head; Three Seats had grabbed him by the hair, pulling his head back at an unnatural angle.
Three Seats' gaze swept over Ji Zichen through the veil as she sneered, "You are quite amusing. You were so furious before; now it seems you've become blind. It would be too boring to just kill you."
With a heavy push, Three Seats slammed Ji Zichen's face into the ground. Pain shot through his nose as blood began to flow from it. The headache faded as Three Seats released her grip, but Ji Zichen still felt a lingering pain on his scalp and a sharp sting in his nose. He truly felt like a blind man with no strength to fight back.
Shen Bifan burst out of the hall with a fierce shout, "Get out of my way!"
She struck at Three Seats with her palm. Not wanting to get entangled with them any longer, Three Seats kicked at Ji Zichen as if he were a sandbag meant to propel both of them out of the hall. However, this time she miscalculated; as her foot swung toward Ji Zichen, he heard the sound of her kick and quickly grabbed her ankle.
"Get out of here!" Ji Zichen shouted as he flung Three Seats outward. Caught off guard, Three Seats had no time to react as her body flew out of the hall like a kite caught in the wind. At that moment, Shen Bifan was right in line with her trajectory; without any warning from Ji Zichen about what was happening, she had to dodge to avoid being hit by Three Seats' flying form as it whizzed past her.
In the corridor outside the palace doors, Three Seats fell hard, landing in a heap. She clumsily got to her feet, her black veil having already fallen to the ground. Three Seats had a fair, oval face, with delicate eyebrows that trembled slightly. Her charming cheeks seemed to be dusted with rouge. Biting her lip, she suddenly laughed despite her disheveled state, "I can't believe I was outsmarted by a blind person."
Yuxuan's cold voice came from behind her. "You're dead!"
Startled, Three Seats completely forgot that Yuxuan was still in the corridor. Yuxuan's sword had already pierced into Three Seats' slender waist. She cried out in pain as Yuxuan mercilessly kicked her away from the corridor's pillar. The force of the kick was tremendous; Three Seats tried to grab hold of the pillar but lost her grip due to the sheer power of the blow and fell into the abyss below.
Yuxuan peered out into the corridor and saw Three Seats lying in a broken heap. With a stern expression, she said, "She's dead."
Ji Zichen heard the sound of Three Seats hitting the ground and quickly asked, "Is she really dead?"
Yuxuan approached Ji Zichen and helped him up. "Dead. She's not even recognizable."
Ji Zichen let out a heavy sigh of relief. Noticing something unusual in Ji Zichen's gaze, Yuxuan realized this wasn't the first time she had seen such a reaction from him. The first time they encountered each other outside Juggernaut Forest, he had also fluctuated between strength and weakness, which puzzled her. Remembering what Three Seats had said earlier, Yuxuan fixed her gaze on Ji Zichen's eyes.
Though Ji Zichen's eyes were open, they lacked focus. Yuxuan asked, "What's wrong with your eyes...?"
Ji Zichen shook his head. He was already aware that this intermittent blindness was quite troublesome. "I'm fine; it will pass soon."
The three of them stood near the palace doors when Yukang withdrew his hands from Lin Chuyu's chest and forehead. Suddenly, the light inside the hall dissipated. As it faded, Shen Bifan looked over but saw Lin Chuyu still lying there without any signs of revival. A sense of unease began to rise within him.
Yukang's old face wrinkled like crumpled paper as he walked heavily toward the three of them, his voice weighed down with sorrow. "Yuxuan..."
Hearing Yukang's voice so close confirmed that the ritual had ended, but something felt very wrong in his tone. Ji Zichen's heart raced as he urgently asked, "What... what happened to her...?"
Yukang sighed regretfully. "She missed her chance."
Ji Zichen's body trembled suddenly, his heart sinking as he recalled all their twists and turns together—searching desperately through dangers and uncertainties—only for it to end like this for her...
Ji Zichen knelt beside the stone platform where Lin Chuyu lay sleeping, the first light of dawn creeping in from outside. Overwhelmed with emotion, Kiko's voice trembled as he whispered, "I'm sorry... I'm sorry... It's my fault... I'm useless..."
Yukang sighed deeply and approached Kiko's side. "This isn't your fault; she made her choice," he said gently.
Yuxuan, tears brimming in her eyes, silently gazed at Kiko. She had never seen him so vulnerable before. Suddenly, she spoke up, "Pull yourself together. Maybe we can think of another way."
Yuxuan looked hopefully at Yukang, but he shook his head. "There is no other way."
Lin Chuyu's face was as pale as a dead fish, devoid of any color. Shen Bifan, seeing Kiko so dejected, felt a pang of pain in his heart. He bit his lip and said, "Brother Zichen, you might think I'm heartless for saying this, but right now our priority is to find a way to leave here."
Yuxuan nodded in agreement. "That's right; we need to figure out how to escape the Holy City."
Kiko's emotions were a tangled mess—despair, anger, sorrow, and reluctance—all negative feelings had taken over his heart.
"Where do we go?" Kiko asked, but no one could provide an answer.
At that moment, Great Seat led the Cult toward the corridor outside. He shouted, "Charge in! Leave no one alive! Kill them all!"
Comment 0 Comment Count