Chapter 70: Qian Yi

Chapter 70: A Thousand Intentions

Wang Hui rose, roaring at them. A sudden gale whipped the ashes into a tornado, swirling over the scorched earth. Time was running out; Zhou Xia had to make a decision. But could Sang Xu’s body truly withstand the backlash of divine power? After all, he was flesh and blood—how could he emerge unscathed from lightning? One misstep, and Sang Xu would be reduced to charcoal.

How could someone so cowardly and self-preserving suddenly become fearless?

Was it for Han Rao and Shen Zhitang? Zhou Xia couldn’t understand; the little liar didn’t seem like the type to be so righteous.

Or perhaps… it was for him?

They stood inches apart, eyes locked. Zhou Xia’s feelings were complicated. "Are you truly willing?"

Sang Xu’s gaze remained calm and indifferent, as though the impending life-or-death struggle had nothing to do with him.

He looked at Zhou Xia and said, "I am willing."

Sang Xu closed his eyes. Zhou Xia gripped the back of his head, deepening their kiss. What had been a fleeting touch became an inseparable fusion, blood and saliva mingling. In an instant, Sang Xu felt as though he had sunk into the deep sea, enveloped by icy currents. Wang Hui’s roars and the howling wind faded into the distance, as if he had fallen into a crack in the world, arriving in a vast, unpeopled realm.

Cold, gentle appendages wrapped around his limbs; his soul felt bound, like a puppet on strings.

Was this what it felt like to be possessed? He had imagined it would be suffocating, like a ghost pressing on one's chest, rendering him immobile. But now, it didn’t seem so unbearable.

"Use your divine power," Zhou Xia’s voice whispered in his ear.

Sang Xu frowned. "Why?"

"The backlash from my divine power is too painful; you wouldn’t withstand it." Zhou Xia gave a low laugh. "If I burn you out, who will serve me in the future?"

Sang Xu wanted to say that he was just a Knocking Gate outsider—what little divine power he possessed could never slay Wang Hui.

But Zhou Xia added, "Don’t be afraid. I’ll teach you."

As the words fell, the Nuo Invocation took effect instantly.

Sang Xu’s spirit shuddered as he felt his divine power being summoned. The Guardian Deity descended from the void. Even with his eyes closed, he could "see" his surroundings. His vision stretched for miles: the charred earth and dense forests unfolded beneath him. He saw Wang Hui’s furious, grotesque golden monocular eye, the neatly arranged scales, and the scars from the explosion like trenches across the land. He also saw the distant water pit, the terrified villagers, and the trembling Golden Vase woman in the ancestral hall—all staring fearfully in their direction, like helpless sheep awaiting the slaughterer's blade.

He knew this wasn’t his vision. Zhou Xia had possessed him; he was "seeing" through Zhou Xia’s senses. So this was the world as the Killing Immortal saw it—even in decay, the mountains bowed to him.

He stood up, extending his right hand toward the Guardian Deity like a king commanding his subject. "Come."

The Guardian Deity instantly dispersed, transforming into streaks of light that flew toward Sang Xu. Piece by piece, armor covered his arms, torso, and legs. Finally, the curved blade trembled and slid into his grip.

Sang Xu had never imagined the Guardian Deity could be used this way. He had only known to summon it for battle, never realizing this "helmetless armor" could be worn!

The moment the armor encased him, his body felt crushed by a mountain, the pressure on his shoulders immense, his bones emitting bone-chilling cracks. He gritted his teeth, nearly coughing up blood. But he also felt Zhou Xia’s appendages wrap around him more tightly, supporting the weight of the heavy armor.

Wang Hui charged forward with a piercing shriek, the gale transforming into a raging tide, crashing down like a collapsing mountain, obliterating everything in its path. The beast hadn’t even reached Sang Xu yet, but the storm it brought was enough to crush his flesh-and-blood body.

"Draw the blade," Zhou Xia said.

Sang Xu gripped the hilt and unsheathed the blade. A bleak moonlight spilled from the scabbard, and as the blade fully emerged, its light expanded to dozens of hand-widths, growing immensely heavy. Zhou Xia grasped his hand, helping him lift the weapon brimming with malicious aura. In that moment, Sang Xu’s bloodline seemed to ignite the blade and the armor. Surging killing intent rose, enveloping him of its own accord. The raging wind, upon reaching him, was split apart by this impenetrable energy, flowing past Sang Xu’s fluttering hair.

In the depths of his consciousness, Sang Xu seemed to see something.

"Don’t resist; follow the weapon’s guidance," Zhou Xia murmured. "It was wielded by your ancestors. It can serve as a medium between you."

Underworld Gazing activated silently.

A hundred years ago, before the never-closing gates of the Sang family’s Justice Gate, his ancestor swung the blade, severing a prisoner’s head. The identical black blade dripped with crimson blood. Behind the Justice Gate, the people cheered the Sang family’s name. The ancestor, as if sensing something, looked up toward the distant sky.

Two hundred years ago, Sang Liyou traveled a thousand miles alone with his blade to battle a lightning-wreathed evil in the wilderness. Back then, the Grand Patriarch was still spirited and sane, an unrestrained and dashing man. Upon encountering the evil, Sang Liyou even took a moment to drink a mouthful of strong liquor. At that very instant, as if sensing something, he turned abruptly, his red eyes blood-red.

Time rewound moment by moment. Sang Xu saw countless members of the Sang family wielding the curved blade—fighting, killing, living, dying.

Finally, as time reached its end, he saw a crumbling ruined city. Warhorses neighed amid yellow dust, charging toward him like a murky tide.

Where was this?

"Qian Yi!"

He saw a disheveled young girl, weeping as she clutched Sang Qianyi’s sleeve. Sang Qianyi, clad in black armor, was covered in blood, her face pale and lifeless. She seemed already badly wounded, yet she still stood protectively before the sobbing girl.

Soldiers roared with booming voices, "Hand over Princess Si, and we’ll spare your life!"

Sang Qianyi pushed the girl into a dilapidated house. The girl, panicked, lifted her skirts to follow, but Sang Qianyi expressionlessly closed the wooden door, shutting out the princess’s grief-stricken face. She bolted the door, turned, and raised her moon-like curved blade, facing the army alone.

"Sang Qianyi," the commander urged his horse forward, pointing his spear at her from a distance, "as long as you hand over Princess Si, your death penalty will be waived! If you refuse, your bones will be ground to dust today!"

Sang Qianyi paid no heed, as if the soldiers were merely annoying flies. She glanced sideways, her gaze directed precisely at Sang Xu.

"Is it you again?" she said softly. "I saw you once, many years ago, in the imperial tomb."

Many years?

It seemed that by this time, Sang Qianyi and Sang Wannian had been caught in the dream for a long time.

Underworld Gazing allowed communication, and Sang Xu had many questions, but there was no time.

After a moment’s thought, he said, "I came to watch you wield the blade."

"Then," Sang Qianyi slowly drew her blade, "watch this cut. This one blade of mine can slay thousands and vanquish a city."

Before her, fear flashed across every face; warhorses grew restless.

The commander gritted his teeth. "Kill!"

Dust clouds rose as warhorses formed a line, charging toward Sang Qianyi. The thunder of hooves shook the mountains and rivers, as if war drums thundered through the desolate city. The army surged forward like an unstoppable tide of iron.

Sang Qianyi showed no fear, not retreating a single step, gripping her blade with both hands.

She declared, "Slay!"

A fierce cry pierced the cold air. Even across millennia, Sang Xu felt his scalp prickle. It was a peerless strike, the blade’s light like a dragon, its force like a collapsing mountain. The woman, once calm and detached as water, now resembled a savage beast. The army shattered before her curved blade, blood spraying, staining her brows and eyes.

The blade’s energy traversed time, pouring into Sang Xu’s hands. All moments connected as one. Sang Xu saw his ancestors swinging the same blade across different eras. The gleaming blade reflected the faces of countless members of the Sang family, finally mirroring his own calm visage.

"Did you learn it?" Zhou Xia asked.

"Yes."

He snapped his eyes open and unleashed the strike.

The blade’s energy struck like thunder, splitting the earth and shattering mountains. Sang Xu felt all his strength instantly drained by the vicious curved blade. The blade’s light, cold as a crescent moon, slammed into the scales on Wang Hui’s forehead. The hard scales shattered. Wang Hui’s golden eye reflected the solitary, cold strike. Its steel-like black head, mid-lunge with jaws agape, was split in two, the halves brushing past Sang Xu on either side.

The remaining eight hydra heads let out agonized screams, turning in unison to charge at Sang Xu in the center. Sang Xu swung the blade again, its light falling like snowflakes. His footwork, light and dance-like, weaved agilely between the enraged hydra heads. Three hydra heads were severed at the neck, four were sliced to fragments. Blood fell like rain, soaking Sang Xu crimson.

Amid the pouring crimson rain, Sang Xu leaped from a hydra head, blade pointing downward, and plunged it into the forehead of the final head. The last hydra head was nailed in place by the blade’s light, its shrieks fading until only Sang Xu remained, standing alone atop Wang Hui’s jagged skull.

Success. Sang Xu, completely drained, let go of the blade and fell from the hydra head.

Wang Hui unwillingly cracked open its blood-gushing lone eye one last time; the light had already vanished from its gaze. Like a toppled stone statue, it could no longer rise.

The Guardian Deity disappeared, and Sang Xu felt Zhou Xia's tentacles withdraw from deep within him. He collapsed to the ground, too drained to even lift his head. Normally, even lifting weights was a struggle for him; now, after wielding such a heavy blade, Sang Xu felt as though his entire body was coming apart at the seams. All he wanted was to sleep right there on the spot.

Don’t sleep, don’t sleep. First, make sure Wang Hui was dead for good.

He warned himself.

He tried with all his might to get up, but his body wouldn’t obey. Executing that ancestral strike had drained him completely. If it weren’t for Zhou Xia supporting him from within, he wouldn’t have been able to swing that blade at all. He was so spent, he gritted his teeth and strained, but still couldn’t rise. He called out to Zhou Xia, but there was no response—probably just as drained as he was.

"Dude! Hey dude!"

Han Rao, shaking like a leaf, ran over, and first fired additional shots into Wang Hui, blasting its several heads into pulp. He had considered running earlier, but a guy's gotta have his crew's back. Though he couldn’t be of much help, at the very least, he could help retrieve Mr. Zhou and the dude’s body.

Once he felt certain Wang Hui was dead, he hurried to check on the handsome guy—thankfully, he was still breathing.

"Me and the girl found the boundary stone! It’s in this hollow, just wade through the water and you’ll reach it!"

Nearby lay Zhou Xia’s charred husk. Han Rao didn’t know how he was doing but dragged both Zhou Xia and himself away from Wang Hui’s corpse and into the water.

Ahead, the boundary stone of the human world stood at the far end of the water, about two hundred meters away from them.

Just as they waded into the water, one of Wang Hui’s heads behind them suddenly began to gag violently. Han Rao was terrified, quickly turning around and raising his gun to aim at Wang Hui. Though they were some distance away, given Wang Hui’s speed, it could easily catch up to them. They’d never make it to the boundary stone in time.

Not dead yet? Sang Xu forced his eyes open.

Wang Hui hacked up a gold-lacquered coffin, then its head tilted to the side, finally dead. The coffin looked extraordinary at a glance. Sang Xu’s eyes narrowed, realizing it might be the princess’s coffin.

Han Rao, seeing Wang Hui was dead, turned to run, but the coffin suddenly shifted—a pair of withered hands pushed it open.

"Again?"

Han Rao steeled himself, raised his gun to shoot. He couldn’t handle Wang Hui, but he refused to believe a zombie wouldn’t fear bullets. Black fur, white fur—he’d blow it to hell.

Suddenly, a pair of hands reached out from the water, dragging Han Rao and Sang Xu beneath the surface. Han Rao was startled, turning to meet the murky white eyes of a dead floater. Sang Xu, however, immediately recognized it—it was the corpse retriever. Besides this corpse retriever, the water was filled with other dead floaters, all lying face-down, stiff and motionless.

Looking back at Wang Hui, the gilded coffin was now fully open, and something clad in silk robes crawled out.

Was it really the princess?

After thousands of years, she was still alive?

"Brother Han, get in the water, lie down! Don’t look over there—that’s most likely the princess!" Shen Zhitang lifted her head from the water, hissed.

Shen Zhitang hadn’t left either? Sang Xu sighed inwardly. Back at the Ghost Gate, the two of them had only been looking out for themselves—how had they both become so loyal now?

Han Rao, seeing her face covered in mud, immediately understood. Water was the domain of the corpse vipers; to hide from the princess, who worshipped the rampant deity, entering the water might offer a slim chance of survival. Even these dead floaters didn’t dare make a move—imagine how fearsome the princess was. He quickly pushed aside two dead floaters, dragged Sang Xu and Zhou Xia into the water, and lay down himself, pretending to be dead.

No one dared to look up, afraid of seeing something they shouldn’t. Sang Xu’s vision started to go black, and he fought to stay conscious. Ever since he saw the princess crawl out, Sang Xu hadn’t heard a single sound. At first, he thought he’d gone deaf, but a few seconds later, he felt a chilling, rancid breeze on his back.

The princess was approaching.

A foot stepped on his back, and Sang Xu nearly coughed up blood, clenching his jaw tightly to swallow it back. He felt something pass by, but there was no distinct sound. He opened his eyes and saw Han Rao opposite him also had his eyes open. They glanced back secretly and saw a pair of withered feet standing by the boundary stone.

"Is it trying to go to our world?" Han Rao whispered. "I thought locals couldn’t cross over?"

No... locals can’t cross, but a complete "Immortal" can. Sang Xu remembered how the Impermanent Immortal had tried to send her child to their world, the method being to become complete.

Sure enough, the next moment, the princess crossed the boundary stone, her distorted figure disappearing into the darkness.

"Better there than here," Han Rao comforted himself. He had no desire to share space with something like that.

Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, a few seconds later, the boundary stone shattered into pieces with a thunderous crash.

Han Rao stared in disbelief.

Shen Zhitang also sat up abruptly, staring blankly at the spot.

Usually, exits were marked by a boundary stone inscribed with "Human World." Crossing it meant returning to reality. Now that the boundary stone was destroyed, could they still return?

Sang Xu could hold on no longer. His eyes closed, and he blacked out.