207 - At Least, That was the Plan
Nobody dared to question why Ye Wuqing was the one giving orders—everyone knew that his decision was the optimal move to make at this moment. The Ye Sect Patriarch and Number One had the highest cultivation bases. It was for the best for the others to disperse as planned.
Qing Chuntao understood this too, and since she calmly accepted his words, none of the others dared to contradict it. “Number Three and Four, stay with Number One. The rest, escort me towards the Tenth Peak.”
“As per your orders, General!” they saluted.
The Plumed General had five white-robed subordinates with her, numbered One to Five. They were her strongest subordinates whose existences were not known to the public. On the surface, she had
208 - My Army, Arise (1)“Hyaap!”The moment Ye Wuqing swung his blade against the barbaric-looking giant, the people used that chance to run.Everyone dispersed in a hurry, prioritizing escape in different directions in order to improve the survival rate of the people.It was common sense that demonic practitioners were more powerful than ordinary cultivators of the same realm—and that in comparison, these traitorous humans were chickens compared to true demons.Demons were much more difficult to handle not only because they were far more ruthless in their ways, with little to no moral bottomline, but also due to them attaining Dao on their own, each demon had special skills and abilities that wer
209 - My Army, Arise (2)The One-Eyed Berserker licked his lips as he watched the pathetic humans panic upon his arrival. He had no idea how they were able to escape, but contrary to his junior sister who created the broken formation, he was happy to have a valid reason to have some fun.He pulled out a saber and pointed it against the human in a white robe standing at the very front.“Puhahahahah!”He was really happy these humans destroyed that formation, not knowing it was protecting them from being toyed by him!If the One-Eyed Berserker were given a chance, he would have preferred to play with them for a couple of days before swallowing them whole. It had been a long time since he tasted a Nascent Soul fr
210 - Breakthrough! (1)“T-The corpses are moving?!”“Wah! We are surrounded!”“Do not panic! It’s useless to cut off the head! Aim for destroying the limbs so they can’t crawl!”After barely leaving the Main Peak, Ye Mo and Zhi Ruo, who were escorting the Third Elder and her disciples, were forced to stop. It was a group of fifteen cultivators, with three early-stage Nascent Divinity Realm cultivators, one in the Core Formation Realm while the rest were in the Foundational Spirit Realm.It should have been considered a group with superior battle prowess—if it weren’t for the fact that they were carrying the unconscious and severely injured Wu Xuan’er, that one of the
211 - Breakthrough! (2)As she eyed the blockade of the moving corpses, the handle of Zhi Ruo’s sword felt especially warm in her grip.If one were to ask what the female cultivator was feeling at the moment, it wasn’t despair nor fear despite the possibility of annihilation. No, the danger wasn’t even something she considered.With her fighting in the frontlines for the first time, her blood was calling for enemy blood to be shed, and her sword was crying in delight—what she was feeling now was pure battle intent.Surrounded by undying enemies?Falling into a desperate situation?Fighting with one’s life in the line?
212 - Breakthrough! (3) Although everyone was having difficulty moving forward, the speed of their progress was gradually increasing due to Zhi Ruo’s performance. Especially when compared to Third Elder Ye Beixua, a fellow Nascent Divinity cultivator, the young woman shone. The old woman had been part of the jianghu before, and in fact she was only relatively weaker in comparison to the Ye Sect Patriarch and the other elders. However, she wasn’t weak. Still, for every one monster that Ye Beixua cut down, Zhi Ruo had defeated three in the same time span. Her efficiency had greatly reduced the burden on those following behind them. In fact, Zhi Ruo did not seem to pale in comparison to Number One, who Ye Mo had once witnessed fight before in his residence. Back when the Ghost
213 - Sacrifice (1)Outside the residence of the Ye Clan’s Second Lineage, Wu Anjian effortlessly sliced a Giant Poison-Sickle Mantis in half with a sword emitting a type of dense red fire that could easily harm a Core Formation Realm cultivator, let alone an insect-type spiritual beast that was known to be weak to fire attacks.Such an action would normally invite cheers from the onlookers. After all, it was rare for nameless low-level no-name cultivators to witness cultivators with prestigious status like the Patriarch of the Wu Family perform their signature moves unless they were lucky enough to be part of the same sect or group. It was even rarer for ordinary humans to have the chance to see high-level cultivators move.However, no admiration was thrown Wu Anjian’s way, despite the hundreds of p
214 - Sacrifice (2)“How is it? Is there still no response?”“Nothing here.”“Nothing here as well. But don’t worry Little Brother Wu You, I will keep on trying! Maybe one message will be sent out by luck!”Those who were grumbling inside the front courtyard of Ye Mo’s manor were exactly the little crippled prince from the Qing Imperial Clan, the bottomfeeder from the outer sect of the Ye Sect, and the youngest daughter of the Wu Family Patriarch.These three children might have different backgrounds and personalities, but they quickly bonded with each other due to their mutual respect for Little Yin.Ye Zhihao held a thousand-mile communica
215 - Sacrifice (3)Upon seeing Ye Mo’s group arrive at the foot of the mountain, the disciples of the Ye Sect holding fort within his residence cheered, thinking that the situation was finally settled. Even though they had the Wu Family Patriarch and the old servant of the imperial prince with them, they were still somewhat agitated without a senior from their own sect overlooking the situation.“Tenth Elder is here!”“He brought with him the Third Elder! We can now have someone see the injured people!”“I’m sure the fighting is now over and they have killed the leader of the enemies!”Even though the spiritual beasts were still attacking the formation protecting the Tenth Peak,
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