Chapter 80 – Sudden Change

Of everyone present, Zhan Changfeng was the least affected — with most of her meridians destroyed, she truly had little qi that could be sent flowing in reverse.

In front of the Bureau of Patrol, Zhan Changfeng was somewhat wary of revealing her Earth-Soul Form, so she relied purely on physical combat. Having once reached Postnatal realm perfection in the martial path, her techniques and skills were more than adequate, and she could hold her own against this cultivation-based practitioner.

The gloomy-faced cultivator noticed that Zhan Changfeng was barely affected by his sonic attack, yet he did not retreat at all — instead, he continuously drove her toward the Heavenward Staircase.

Suspicious of his intentions, Zhan Changfeng swept his talons aside with her long sword and flipped down from the platform. “Move in!”

Several sharp whistles of blades cutting through the air rushed toward the cultivator. At the same time, Figures flickered into motion.

Iron Shield, Baili, and other Prenatal realm cultivators surrounded him completely, each unleashing their signature techniques. Ha — the Heavenward Path truly existed! Once they finished this job, they could take their Arrow Tokens and head to a new world!

Baili’s soft sword vibrated three times, like an invisible whip lashing against his chest. The cultivator’s breath caught, and his piercing shriek was cut short. Seizing the moment, Iron Shield wielded his great shield and slammed it down with reckless force!

Bang!

The gloomy-faced cultivator’s hands trembled slightly, but he absorbed the blow. He possessed a Foundation Establishment body, after all — he would not fall quickly against the attacks of Prenatal realm cultivators.

Yet the gloomy-faced cultivator did not counter. He leaped onto the Heavenward Staircase and let out a sinister laugh. “I’ll be waiting for you in Cangyun Ravine — waiting to grind your bones to dust and scatter them to the wind!”

Yu Zhen and the others finally broke through the gloomy-faced cultivator’s banner formation, but they could no longer catch him. “Who on earth is he?”

The registration officer opened his ledger and looked. “Shi Jiaming.”

“Obviously a fake name.” The Bureau of Patrol had truly failed this time. Yu Zhen was filled with shame. “I never imagined someone would openly make a move at the Heaven-Descending Altar. This is our failure.”

Zhan Changfeng was unsurprised. “Is there also someone guarding the other end of the Heavenward Staircase?”

“This…” Yu Zhen said, “That side is merely a teleportation point in the bustling streets of Luoying City. There are people watching, but only a few cultivators who activate the formation array — after all, those arriving present Arrow Tokens that were applied for in advance at Bureau of Patrol outposts.”

“Rest assured, I will contact the outpost immediately to find out who he is.”

“And if he stole someone else’s Arrow Token to come down here — can you still find out?”

Zhan Changfeng glanced at the sky. “Let’s leave it at that. Farewell.”

Yu Zhen called out to stop her. “Are you not going to Cangyun Ravine?”

He thought again of the gloomy-faced cultivator’s final threat and added, “If you’re worried about them ambushing you outside, I can contact the outpost for you and have their cultivators receive you — consider it the Bureau of Patrol’s apology.”

“That won’t be necessary for now. I’m not planning to leave yet.” The matter of the Gongsun Clan had yet to be resolved, and the reestablishment of the Three Bureaus had only just begun. Though she wanted to venture into Cangyun Ravine, she would not carelessly abandon unfinished business.

Yu Zhen hesitated briefly. Thinking that the other party wasn’t even in a hurry herself, he had no business meddling, and so he said nothing more.

Zhan Changfeng was just about to withdraw her troops and return when she suddenly sensed several auras rushing from deep within the forest — one of them unmistakably reeking with ghostly malice!

Their direction of travel was clearly toward the Heaven-Descending Altar!

“Quite an eventful night.” Zhan Changfeng had no intention of getting involved. “Send the order to return to camp.”

At that moment, a voice cried out from within the forest: “Hold the Heaven-Descending Altar — don’t let it get through!”

“Hehehe, do you think you can stop me?!” The dark mist suddenly accelerated, shooting toward the Heavenward Staircase like an arrow!

This time Yu Zhen reacted quickly. “Form the array!”

“Five Elements Eight Trigrams Formation! Invoke the power of Heavenly Thunder!”

Lightning coiled around the Heaven-Descending Altar, and the rumbling might caused the dark mist to freeze in its tracks.

Heavenly thunder was the bane of evil, and the dark mist felt a bone-deep chill even before drawing close. “Hmph! You self-righteous hypocrites and your parlor tricks!”

Two orbs of ghostly fire shot from its crimson eyes at the cultivators holding the formation. Stunned by the powerful malevolent soul within the ghostly fire, Yu Zhen frantically deployed defensive implements to resist.

At this moment, Yan Weishan cleaved at the dark mist with his sword, and in the midst of the battle, urgently explained to Yu Zhen: “That wicked cultivator and this evil ghost were working together. The wicked cultivator refined cultivators’ blood, while the evil ghost devoured cultivators’ souls. The wicked cultivator has now been slain, and only this evil ghost remains. I suspect it intends to flee to Cangyun Ravine!”

“Ha ha ha! Where can I not go? This is no escape!” The dark mist swept past the edge of the Five Elements Eight Trigrams Formation like the wind, and from within its misty form, a white shape tumbled out — it was the Dream Marten!

“The one controlling you is dead. Bewitch them, or I’ll kill you too!”

The Dream Marten panicked, drawing its front paws to its chest, its fur standing on end. A faint, haunting flute melody drifted out, making people feel drowsy, suspended between wakefulness and sleep.

The Five Elements Eight Trigrams Formation loosened, and the dark mist seized the opening to charge toward the Heaven-Descending Altar. Yan Weishan let out a great shout to steel his mind, dragged his black sword across his own palm to draw a line of blood, and cried out: “Blood Sword Formation, go!”

Eighteen phantom swords of blood-red light, carrying a righteously unyielding energy, fell upon the dark mist from all sides like a downpour, their sword light tearing the dark mist apart!

After a wretched cry, the dark mist dispersed like smoke and rain caught in a gust of wind.

Yan Weishan aimed his phantom swords at the Dream Marten. The Dream Marten was utterly timid — it immediately raised its paws above its head, eyes misted over with tears, looking utterly pitiful.

“I do not kill those who are unarmed. Yet you aided an evildoer — that fact stands. Cooperate fully with the Bureau of Patrol’s investigation, and you may yet keep your life!”

The Dream Marten clasped its paws together in a bow and allowed the now-lucid Bureau of Patrol cultivators to take it into custody.

Yu Zhen said, “Many thanks to Fellow Daoist Yan for your assistance this time, and for bringing justice to the missing cultivators.”

Yan Weishan did not take credit. “It was your bureau’s cultivators who planned all of this — I merely lent a hand. For the specific details of this case, you may ask Deputy Hall Master Liu Zhao. The wicked cultivator and evil ghost have been eliminated; there should be no further trouble. I cannot linger long. Farewell.”

The Heavenward Path had only a moment left before it would close. Yu Zhen did not try to detain him. “Safe travels, Fellow Daoist!”

The aurora in the sky gradually dimmed until it vanished, and the Heavenward Path disappeared along with it.

In the cold and gloomy forest, a wisp of dark qi crept out from between the leaves. Moments later, several more strands of dark qi flew in and merged into one. Two crimson eyes slowly reopened. “Hehehe… hatred… such hatred!”

Yan Weishan’s phantom swords had shaved away more than half of its soul — half a year’s worth of devouring cultivators’ souls had nearly been undone in an instant!

“So hungry, so hungry.” The dark mist howled frantically. It seemed that with part of its soul lost, its sanity had begun to slip, making it ever more extreme and vicious.

It swept past branches and undergrowth, and they withered in its wake. Zhang Zhao’s malice reduced the forest, teeming with insects and frogs and beasts, to a silence as deathly as a grave.

A dragon of torches moved along the mountain road as the troops marched in retreat, their flames flickering wildly as a sudden commotion broke out.

Zhan Changfeng looked back toward the tail of the procession. The dark mist sensed her gaze at once, immediately fixed its eyes on her, and in an instant, two different kinds of cold, sinister auras clashed against each other.

“A soul… I’m hungry.” The dark mist had found a target that satisfied it. Chewing on the soul of a soldier, it came streaking toward Zhan Changfeng!

How familiar — was this not the very evil ghost that had ravaged her physical body?

Zhan Changfeng curled the corner of her mouth. Her eyes transformed into a color of crimson blood, and pure-yin power surged forth from her very marrow, pouring into her blade.

A single slash cut away a corner of the dark mist. The dark mist instantly felt a tearing pain, and the severed fragment of black qi vanished without a sound.

“Impossible!” A shred of reason returned to the dark mist. “You have no righteous energy, no thunder arts — how could you wound me so easily?!”

“Those who harm others shall themselves be harmed.” Zhan Changfeng wielded her pure-yin sword. “I’ve been searching for you for so long, and here you’ve delivered yourself to my door.”

Under the pressure of her sword technique, the dark mist found itself strangely at a loss. There was something wrong with her power!

This… this was a death-force capable of annihilating souls!

“How can you possibly wield such power with a mortal body — no!” The dark mist muttered to itself, slipping further into madness at the end. Like one gone completely insane, it squeezed out every last bit of its strength and attacked Zhan Changfeng — it absolutely could not let her live!

Now that Zhan Changfeng’s Earth-Soul Form no longer harmed her physical body, she no longer needed to hold back at every moment. Seeing it come at her with full force, she stopped holding back as well.

A yin wind swept in, sending people and horses tumbling. Every torch was snuffed out, clouds veiled the moon, and blood-light flared!

“Come out!” The dark mist spread wide, and dozens of undead remnant souls screamed and crashed about within it. Freed from their bonds as the dark mist unraveled its restraints, they rushed at Zhan Changfeng like wild horses broken free — a tearing, devouring frenzy.

The pressure on Zhan Changfeng surged sharply. In an instant she channeled her soul-force to protect her sea of consciousness, blocking any chance for the remnant souls to possess her, while simultaneously directing her sword technique at the dark mist itself — abandoning the remnant souls entirely, going straight for the evil ghost!

The evil ghost seething with hatred at her ruthlessness — she simply disregarded the assault of the remnant souls on her own sea of consciousness. It should have killed her from the very beginning! Killed her!

“Ahh!!! I’ll remember you!!!” It had actually been forced back to the Nine Underworlds by a mortal!

Seeing the ghost’s form begin to fade as though being dragged away by some force, Zhan Changfeng immediately flung out her Fireball Talisman and Gold Spike Talisman.

The firelight and golden swords crashed into the dark mist with a bang. The fading slowed to a halt, and before the ghost-fog could recite its return incantation, the pure-yin sword was already before its eye, piercing straight through its right eye in an instant!

Zhan Changfeng did not wait for it to finish its enraged howl — her sword had already cleaved it in two!

The soldiers felt the icy cold that had been coiled around their hearts vanish. Moonlight cast its clear, pale glow over the rolling mountain ranges, and all was once again serene and bright.

The figure seated atop a fine horse at the head of the column seemed not to have moved at all, and only gave a casual command: “Keep moving.”