194 - Outside Ye Sect (6)
As an officer stationed in the imperial capital, Rao Aimin had been a guest to many of the factions residing within it. Not only that, being the second-in-command of the Purple Plumed General’s army, she had also been a frequent visitor to the imperial palace. Thus, it could be said that she was an experienced individual.
‘But what the hell is this? Why is a no-name sect protected by such a high-end guardian formation? If my guts are not lying to me, it seems to be on par with the guardian formation of the General’s palace? No, the main imperial palace itself?’
To the Leaf City, Ye Sect might have been considered a hegemon, but that was all in the past, and it had been many generations since its heyday. Back when the Ye Sect founded the Leaf City, it was considered a first-r
195 - The Power of Decay (1)“Vice-general, we have escorted the guest.”The soldiers standing behind Rao Aimin parted without a word as one of her subordinates brought in an old man Ye Hua would recognize if he was present. The soldier saluted, while the old man with a lazy expression immediately turned humble as he cupped his fists.“This Old Ma has seen Vice-General Rao Aimin of the Imperial Army’s Third Battalion,” he said in a low, hoarse voice.It was exactly the innkeeper who played middlemen between the underground network composed of the shadow guild, the employers and the hired assassins.“You recognize me?” Rao Aimin said in surprise. And then she laughed it off, &ldquo
196 - The Power of Decay (2)Innkeeper Ma was, of course, informed about the army’s difficulty of entering the Ye Sect. Thus, he was the source of the key information that Rao Aimin received when she sent out a reconnaissance team.He knew that the situation inside was dire, as he had been receiving updates from the assassins that Ye Hua hired. The silver-ranked assassins had entered the Ye Sect, roamed on the outer edge, before passing on what they observed to the assassin left near the guardian formation. He would then breach the array to exit again and pass on the accumulated report to the innkeeper.“Vice-general,” the innkeeper explained, “the secret art that my people can use allows us to pass through a weakened part of the formation, but doing so mostly consumes the entire qi within their bodi
197 - The Power of Decay (3)Despite being unaware of the deteriorating situation of the reinforcements waiting outside the sect, the powerhouses trapped within the Main Peak gradually felt their initial agitation turn into despair.A minute ago…“Huh? Did you feel that?”“It is not just me, right? Wait… my hand passed through! Ah! I stepped past the barrier!”“Yes, we are out! We can finally leave this damned pavillion!” The red-faced crowd cheered when they suddenly felt a violent fluctuation come out from the barrier. “Let’s head down and find our disciples!”“Qiu’er, Mao’er, your master will sa
198 - The Power of Decay (4) As Ye Mo made each swing, he felt like the world gradually slowed down around him, to the point that he felt the people around him stopped—no, it would be more precise to say that his existence seemingly stepped out of the world, in a plane where the concept of time and space held no meaning. There was no sound, no light; it was a space of emptiness that was neither white nor black. In that plane, he was no longer governed by the laws of the original world, and there existed nothing but him and his sword. He even forgot the fact that he was trapped by enemies. He only knew he had to at least accomplish initial mastery of the sword. An ordinary straight slash, yet it felt like each movement of his limb, each stretch of his muscles, each cell of his body, was moving for an infinity and an in
199 - The Power of Decay (5)Little Yin knew she was quickly running out of time.The deterioration of Wu Xuan’er’s injuries was worsening her control of the body. Although Wu Xuan’er gave up her control to Little Yin, since the soul and body were not compatible in the first place, the rejection of the host body to LIttle Yin’s soul grew stronger with each passing minute. The loss of vitality affected the duration of Little Yin’s consciousness’s stay within her, and it also limited what actions she could pull off at this moment.Could she still execute a divine art?Could she successfully unravel all the formation surrounding the Main Peak?As Ye Hua carried Wu Xuan’er’s bod
200 - The Power of Decay (6)As the barrier surrounding the mountain was transparent, the trapped crowd was able to see the situation outside the Main Peak. A majority of them were Nascent Divinity cultivators, and thus they were able to see more things than a normal human being.Hordes of various flying spiritual beasts could be seen swooping down at a distance. Some looked like hybrids of birds of prey, while some looked like fierce giant bats. They ought to be letting out cries and screeches; unfortunately, sound was unable to be delivered inside the formation.There were also a number of four-legged spiritual beasts resembling bears and wolves and tigers lingering near the group of old people, eyeing them like predators eyeing their prey but unable to come near them perhaps due to their animalistic instincts.
201 - The Power of Decay (7)“Fellow cultivators, a single thread cannot become a cord, and a single tree does not make a forest (1). Why are we believing and relying on a single man? Where is our dignity?” Cuty Lord Tong Fu questioned.Little Yin laughed as she ignored the petty cultivator wasting breath inside the barrier.“Why are you hesitating, Old Fogey?”Ye Mo shook his head. “It is impossible, nothing but a desperate attempt to escape. It is impossible for anyone to learn and master a sword technique within a span of a day or two.”Murmurs of the leaders standing near Ye Mo seemed to generally agree with his statement. They too didn’t believe that a young junior was the key to escape
202 - The Power of Decay (8)‘A falling leaf…‘A sword that already exists in me?’Not only was the crowd in utter disbelief, even Ye Mo himself was not convinced he could destroy such an intricate formation on his own. However, despite the commotion she caused, Little Yin stood firm in her statement.‘Can I really cut this barrier?’Ye Mo was doubtful at first, but seeing the unwavering trust and sincerity in Wu Xuan’er’s eyes—no, in Little Yin’s eyes—he strengthened the grip he had on his sword.‘...is she saying that what she showed me is also my family’s sword? The sword of Ye?’
Scholar Rai held the ancient scroll between two calloused fingers, studying the faded ink with narrowed eyes. The papyrus was brown with age, the content written in a verbose and grand manner, as was usually the case with writings from hundreds of years ago. Its importance could not be translated into words. In fact, it surprised him that his lord father managed to keep these imperial treasures away from the capital.It had taken him twice the usual time to understand the runes. He found himself impressively overwhelmed not only by the sheer historic importance of these documents, but also because the prophecies spoke of the expiration of the bloods of the Old.He feared that the first of the visions written have come into passing.The scrolls he found were written by the last of the true prophets, during a time of historic darkness, the Legaliath Cross, back when magic was free to be harnessed by every man and woman and child. The Legaliath Cross was a devastating war that decimated
"You find this funny, Silver?" This was the first time that Lakas had directly addressed her in a conversation. She could not help but shudder at the slight amusement that colored his normally stern voice. "He could have killed you."Her smile widened.Lakas almost mirrored her expression, but then when he realized that he had spectators in the form of the other three girls inside her cage, he erased any trace of emotion from his face. "The four of you are currently part of the most prized collection of the emperor, but let me warn you. Not all warriors in this camp think the same as I do. You girls are precious, but you are replaceable. Think before you act."As soon as he left, the oldest of the girls, a beauty with curly flaxen hair and foliage green eyes scooted close to her. It was the first time anyone attempted to communicate with her. Most of the time, she was simply left alone in her corner of the cage. "That man just protected you, Silver," Green Eyes laughed excitedly. "He
The survivors were placed in metal cages where the heathens could openly leer at them, appreciating the goods before they were sold. The young warrior called Lakas looked incredibly silly with parchment and quill in his bloody hands, and his annoyed look did not escape her when he was tasked to make an inventory of the slaves."Name?"While the prisoners around her sobbed and wailed for their losses, Enna merely tried to make herself small in a corner. She never spoke. She never raised her head.Lakas snatched her chin. He was scowling. "Name?"When she refused to answer, the bald man behind Lakas growled before backhanding her. "Stupid girl! Tell us your name so that we can be done with this sham and leave!"Elbows shaking, she sat up, gazing at them with tired silvery eyes. Still, she did not open her mouth."You – "Lakas stopped the man with a wave. "Drop it. I will simply write Silver."The man smirked. "Yes, a name befitting a horse."They could call her whatever they want. Why
*She woke up to a strangled sound akin to an injured animal.Crying.Someone was crying.As the sound grew louder, she stirred, slowly, groaning due to the escalating pain at the base of her skull. Opening her eyes, she saw bloody bodies around her. Bile rose, and she emptied the contents of her stomach into the scarlet snow. After a few fuzzy seconds, she realized with relief that most of the bodies around her appeared to be moving. Bloody, but alive. She profusely thanked the good Spirits that there were people who still lived, despite the nagging thought that most of them would have preferred to have died along with their dignity and families.Her arms and feet were bound. Bound with thick ropes. She tried to stretch her legs, grasping too late that she was merely a stride away from the big fire that her captors made.She flinched from the pain.It was the same kind of burning pain that paralyzed her before she blacked out.It was also her first memory. Awakened by a burning pain
The heathens burned the temples. They attacked the farms. They destroyed everything from tiny peasant homes to historical monuments more than hundreds of years old. People who resisted died. People who surrendered died. The snow-clad village of Cardia was stained red. Blood of men. Blood of women. Blood of children.The enemy's arrival was silent; their attack sudden. The sleepy spell brought by winter on the border village was broken by animalistic screams of pain. Cries of people burning were everywhere. There were shrieks of villagers dying. By midnight, half of Cardian population was slain mercilessly by the bronze-skinned men covered in wolf pelts.The invaders relished the sight of the pale people bleeding, enjoying every slash of sword and arrow released as the village burned. They meant to annihilate every Northerner. They were humans on bloodlust — hungry predators on the hunt.They proudly called themselves the sons of Summer. The Cardians called them heathens from the Sout
Even if the Mind Forgets, the Soul Remembers (3)A fair-skinned human girl no taller than the height of his waist, wearing a satin robe that was neither stained by blood or mud. Big eyes on a small face, perfectly arranged black hair in a style of braided bun, delicately balanced features that indicated she would surely grow into a gorgeous young lady given a few years.Her adorable appearance made one have an urge to pinch her chubby cheeks, and if there were any females around, Ye Mo felt that they would fawn over how the little girl looked like a beautiful living, breathing doll.‘And it’s not a sight that should be seen in the middle of a battlefield.’Ye Mo tried to open his mouth to say something, but he remained unable to utter even a single word.‘Dangerous.’It didn’t make sense, but that was what his intuition was telling Ye Mo. His body wasn’t responding—there was no flight impulse, no, there wasn’t even an attempt to fight against the girl, even if it’s a last act of survi
265 - The Girl Who Cannot be Remembered (2)“This body is truly inconvenient.”Little Yin sighed as she sat on the eaves of the roof, looking like a tomboy leisurely camping when in fact she’s trying to reconstruct her soul with the help of moonlight.At first, she thought of leaving the Ye Clan while Ye Mo was unconscious. She felt like staying would give her a huge headache, but she was tied up by all the connections she made in this city.The Qing Blessed Lands had officially entered the state of war.Though communication was crippled, Little Yin was able to overhear the intelligence gathered by the hidden experts brought by the Purple Plumed General.Immortal Wuwei’s timely arrival managed to save Ye Sect and the entire Leaf City, but that wasn’t the same with the other cities. Even the news about the situation in the imperial capital could not be found.That little pretty boy, Qing Wu You, wanted to return to check on his family. Just last night, he came to visit her, asking if i
264 - The Girl Who Cannot be Remembered (1) “Uncle, are you all right?” It was Ye Hua who first noticed that Ye Mo was acting strange. The man’s eyes were looking at the people in the room as if they were people he had not seen for a long time. There was recognition in his gaze, as well as a kind of dissonance. “Huh? Yeah…yeah…” After staying unconscious for days and almost crossing the fine line of life and death, it was reasonable for Ye Mo to be in a daze, and everyone thought so as well. But Ye Hua’s intuition was telling him that his uncle was not just confused, but actually not in a normal state of mind. However, he decided to stay quiet. Because he felt that Little Yin had something to do with this. The young man’s eyes glanced in the direction of the little girl, who brought them all towards the room saying that Ye Mo should be waking up soon. Ye Hua remembered that incident several days ago, that eerie darkness that made his soul tremble. A power that could oppose n
263 – Even if the Mind Forgets, the Soul Remembers (5)‘I died?’Ye Mo tried to remember the last thing that happened to him, but only fragmented pieces of images appeared in his mind. Confusion was the only thing he could feel aside from the head-splitting pain, though he was trying to calm himself and follow the words of the little girl to embrace his memories.‘Since I died, shouldn’t I undergo samsara? Why am I seeing the memories of my former reincarnations?’What happened to him before he appeared and walked around that endless darkness?No, wait, what was he doing before the little girl appeared?He was swinging his sword against—The little girl frowned when she saw the images swimming inside his mind.“Outers.”Gaaaasp!She reached out her small chubby hands and touched the crown of his head, and she channeled her spiritual energy inside his body, focusing it on erasing those images that did not belong to him or to this era.“You are in so much pain because you took a peek at