Estranged - Chapter 100

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Hé Qingmo blinked.

Sweat was dripping down from his trembling eyelashes. It trickled downwards from the corners of his eyes to his chin, like quickly evaporating tears.

He had already been drenched with sweat, and could almost feel the clothes on his back sticking to his skin. He liked to keep himself clean, and could barely endure this. If this were any other day, he would have already taken a bath a dozen times to clean up every cun of his body.

Many cultivators liked keeping things neat and tidy, so Hé Qingmo was not an exception. At this crucial moment of danger, he suddenly thought about cleanliness, just like other people whose minds started to drift away while they were in grave danger. This thought flashed through his head, and he also recalled other things that were not connected to his immediate situation.

The circumstances were indeed so grim now that one push would be enough to end everything.

Almost all the survivors of the You Capital had gathered at the square in front of the Imperial City, and even more were coming. The ghost fires that were attracted to them had covered the earth and the sky, forming a dark, dense mass, so that people almost could not see the sky—it was as if the fires themselves were the sky.

The increasing number of people there did not mean that the situation was getting safer. Most of them were commoners, while only a minority were cultivators. In the eyes of demons, the common people were mere little rabbits, or chicks—they were nothing but prey for those that had no strength to capture a chicken. The cultivators here were not all that powerful either. Most of them had been passing through the You Capital during the Ghost Festival and simply wanted to take a look at the puja. None of them had anticipated that they would be getting involved in something this dangerous.

The Ghost King Linghu You was glued to Hé Qingmo’s back.

His body was cold and stiff like cast iron, and Hé Qingmo could not bear the Ghost King leaning against his drenched back.

But Hé Qingmo did not move in the slightest.

Because he could feel the pressure behind his back getting stronger and heavier.

It meant that the Ghost King’s spiritual powers had been mostly spent. Even Linghu You’s strength was lacking when faced with the ghosts and evil spirits that had been nourished by the Wanlian Buddhist Temple for many years, which now had their stomachs rumbling with hunger.

His ghost-gathering banner was expanding in the wind, covering the heads of the crowd and sheltering them from the ghosts’ attacks. But the wailing on the other side of the barrier was getting louder, and the banner was fluttering more and more wildly, ready to rip apart at any moment.

Meanwhile, Xu Jingxian did not even have a spiritual tool now, so she could only assist them with her bare hands, which restricted her power a great deal.

Hé Qingmo was rather gifted, but he had spent all his time on studying formations closely and had neglected his cultivation. At this moment, his lack of practice had become apparent.

Hè Xiyun’s and Zhang Jie’s cultivation levels were not better than that of other cultivators present, so their help did not amount to much, and expecting them to send coal during this winter was naturally an extravagant hope. At most, they could defend themselves. But the moment the ghost-gathering banner fell apart and the flames broke through, they would only be able to sit obediently and wait for their life to end just like the common people.

Their only hope was the Ghost King.

If someone had told Hé Qingmo that he would be fighting shoulder to shoulder with the Ghost King, and entrusting the Ghost King with his life one day in the future, Hé Qingmo would have never believed it.

The Celestial Abode Shenxiao had positioned themselves as one of the outstanding orthodox sects, and Hé Qingmo had this sort of arrogance in his heart as well. He would not even look at regular cultivators, and never tried to befriend anyone either. He could only throw a glance at someone, doing so only to look for their flaws in order to criticize them and cross them out of his list of possible allies.

For this reason, even though he had visited many places since leaving his sect, he had not made friends with many people. Even some of his fellow disciples could not stand his antisocial behavior. Although they did not dare to oppose him openly, they were always looking for a chance to stay away from him.

Jiufang Changming, Xu Jingxian, and Linghu You were the ones who had stayed with him the longest ever since he had gone down the mountain. Because of this, he had even had an illusion that if they could escape this place alive today, perhaps they would one day gather again to drink wine and chat merrily about their friendship.

But this illusion had quickly disappeared, as a push from behind his back interrupted his thoughts!

Hé Qingmo felt as if a load of a thousand jun had suddenly started to bear down on him. He could hardly endure this pressure, and almost stumbled and fell, stooping forward. He hurriedly supported himself and stabilized his body.

“Linghu You?!”

He turned around with surprise and noticed that Linghu You’s right arm was wet. He looked more carefully and realized that it was blood that kept trickling down, having already formed a small puddle.

So ghosts have blood as well?

This thought came to his mind, but Hé Qingmo quickly returned to his senses and collected himself.

“Are you alright?”

An “It’s fine” was said in Linghu You’s voice. His voice was still flat, but Hé Qingmo subconsciously felt that it was a bit strange.

Although the Ghost King was a ghost cultivator, he had managed to cultivate a real body for himself a long time ago, and was not even afraid of the sunlight, so his shedding blood was naturally not unexpected. What felt wrong was that if even Linghu You, with his high cultivation, was wounded that heavily, the situation was dangerous indeed.

While Hé Qingmo was thinking about this, a harsh whistling wind surged at him. He raised his head, and saw the ghost-gathering banner wave violently, filled up to the brim. Suddenly, it was torn apart, and black tongues of fire immediately rushed in through the gap!

Everyone was terrified.

Hé Qingmo did not have much time to think. Enduring the stiff pain that had filled his chest with great difficulty, he said aloud a sword technique, and the sword’s glow slashed forwards.

“[Deities manifest in the Three Pure Ones, hearts indifferent to the five elements; deep-purple shells the sword, arranging the balance, move!]”

All in all, spiritual weapons from the Celestial Adobe Shenxiao were exceptional. Paired with Hé Qingmo’s spiritual power, it could protect a narrow area around him.

Unfortunately, the others were not as lucky as him. Anguished wailing was ringing out non-stop, and many people had been thrown to the ground by the ghost fires, with the latter becoming stronger and stronger over time. The flames were thrashing around madly, chewing and devouring everything. One short moment was all it took to suck away the souls of a living person, leaving behind only their withered corpse.

The others had met the same fate.

The ghost flames “ate” one person, and afterwards, they leapt up from the dead body, and threw themselves at the next prey in an instant.

Cries for help were coming from the crowd of people non-stop. Many people had run away amidst the chaos and scattered, but that only gave their enemies more opportunities to attack.

The people who had escaped from the crowd were like plump prey to the evil spirits. Once they were bitten on their necks, the humans fell to the ground, where they would put up a final struggle. However, by that point, nothing could help them anymore, and in the end, they would become a delicious dish for the ghosts.

Hé Qingmo’s heart fell.

He also started to feel he had no strength to continue.

His hand that was controlling his sword with a seal had completely gone numb, but he did not dare to relax in the slightest. As soon as he relaxed, a frenzied counterattack from the spirits eyeing him covetously would bring him down, and thus Linghu You’s back would be left unprotected, which would lead to their end.

But it was getting more and more difficult for him to endure this, and Hé Qingmo did not know how long he would be able to hold on.

He only hoped that someone would come and break the boundless darkness of the deep night, reigniting the hope in humans’ hearts. Even if it was a single spark, it could awaken the strong fighting will in them. When he was little, he had heard many legends about heroes who were surrounded, pushed to a corner with no room for escape, yet they managed to defeat great armies despite only having a few allies. Now, he knew that such exploits happened so rarely that they were almost extraordinary miracles.

But a miracle actually happened.

A golden light ignited at the rim of the clouds, breaking the gloomy night and piercing through the place occupied by ghosts.

Hé Qingmo heard a voice.

“The voice of Buddha evokes Dharma in hearts.”

Although the voice was pleasant to the ear, it sounded foreign to Hé Qingmo, as if he had never heard it before. He could only say that the person’s cultivation was high, on par with the Ghost King’s, or maybe even a bit greater.

As the voice rang out, the ghost flames had mostly dispersed, while the wailing creatures were eradicated. The clouds cleared, and the moon shone through, its light dispersing the haze. A man holding a Buddhist cane was approaching them from a distance.

Hé Qingmo heard another voice.

“Countless evils withdraw, the great qi is imperishable.”

It seemed that there was a tacit, mutual understanding between the two.

It was Jiufang Changming!

His voice was a bit weak, yet steady as Mount Tai. As soon as the golden light cleared a path, a giant eagle dived down from the skies, crushing the ghost fire. It swallowed countless flames, and then turned into black ashes with a clapping sound, falling onto the ground heavily.

It was Jiufang Changming’s Art of Conferring Spirit.

Hé Qingmo turned his head abruptly—

As expected, Jiufang Changming had appeared behind their backs!

As if the ghost flames had smelled blood, they swiftly scattered, only to surround the two of them.

It was a chance for Hé Qingmo and Linghu You to take a breather, and the crowd of people started to gather around again. They seemed to have realized their foolishness and hastened to return.

The ghost-gathering banner had already been torn, and the Ghost King ripped it to pieces decisively, casting it in front of them. As the pieces fell to the ground, they turned into black flags of command, firmly sticking to the ground. The ghost flames seemed to have entered a labyrinth, and could not move further at all.

Black flags of command: something a worshiper can receive at a temple if they are leaving their homeland. The deities will protect them if they have the flag

However, their enemies were not the ghost flames and demonic qi in front of their eyes, but the Eight Sages of Wanlian.

To break the formation, Sun Buku had not had to fight till death with the eight of them. He had found a gap and teleported directly to the heart of the Wanlian Buddhist Temple and battled with Chunchi there. Although Chunchi was dead now, the Wanlian Buddhist Temple, like a centipede that would not fall even in its death, was guarded heavily by the Eight Sages of Wanlian, who ordered the ghost flames to attack people.

It had already come to the point that the You Capital had turned into a purgatory full of demons, and the Wanlian Buddhist Temple had mostly been destroyed. Naturally, their opponents were determined to fight to the last gasp. Even if they could not kill every intruder, at least they wanted to perish together with them.

But no one in the crowd, including Hé Qingmo, wanted to die.

And this thin thread of the will to survive had been supporting them as they had waited for reinforcement.

The dazzling Golden Glass Beads Staff in Sun Buku’s hands was the only bright source of light in the darkness.

He swung the cane, and the golden light broke through the dark, murky ghost flames even where it was the most concentrated. Sun Buku looked completely determined, overbearing and fierce, like a peal of roaring thunder, all his movements full of vigor. He stood in conspicuous contrast against the ghost flames in this dark place, which could hardly be recognized as a Buddhist temple anymore.

Everyone had been exhausted by what had happened at the Wanlian Buddhist Temple today. Now, when they saw Sun Buku act so confidently, they sobered up, as if only now seeing a Buddhist spirit.

The Eight Sages of Wanlian, standing amidst the flickering ghost fire, looked no different from evil spirits in comparison.

Jiufang Changming had a different aura.

His skill in the Art of Conferring Spirit had reached the pinnacle of perfection. He waved his sleeve, and a black wind turned into countless crows and sparrows that flew towards the ghost flames, fluttering their wings and opening their beaks as if to swallow worms.

Unfortunately, the birds could only devour a few ghost flames. In addition, they were fragile. As soon as the ghost fire wrapped itself around them, they stopped flapping their wings and fell to the ground. However, their numbers were truly vast, and they quickly formed a high wall that was slowly pushing the ghost flames back.

The mere sight of a lone Jiufang Changming standing in front of the wall with his back turned to the crowd, his sleeves fluttering yet his body unmoving like a mountain, was inspiring and calming itself.

Everyone exhaled in relief.

They still could not fully relax, but at least the pressure on them had lifted a bit.

The feeling of holding onto sturdy thighs was truly great.

But Xu Jingxian was still worried.

It had been quite some time since she had started following Jiufang Changming, and together, they had gone all the way from the Jianxue Clan and through the Nine Layers of the Abyss. At the very least, she could guess his current state.

He had a sickly complexion and not a trace of spiritual power.

When she did not know his true identity yet, she did not pester him too much because of his handsome face. Now Xu Jingxian praised her past self for being very wise for leaving her future self such a great supporter.

Afterwards, when they had gone to the Nine Layers of the Abyss, Jiufang Changming had regained his cultivation slowly, and he himself had believed that it had recovered to eight or nine points out of ten. But he had been tortured all the way here, and Xu Jingxian was afraid that even a grandmaster would not have been able to avoid getting injured internally. Moreover, the Wanlian Buddhist Temple had been fraught with all kinds of demons and ghosts, and their enemy had been way more powerful than they had anticipated. Although Xu Jingxian did not know for sure what Jiufang Changming and Yun Weisi had experienced at the heart of this temple, she could imagine that that had been a fierce battle.

“Senior, are you alright?” asked Xu Jingxian in a low voice, as she approached him one step at a time.

As soon as she drew near him, she realized that something was wrong with him.

Because she smelled blood.

The heavy scent of blood was emanating from this body, and she could not have been mistaken.

Xu Jingxian raised her hand quickly, erecting a barrier of spiritual powers in front of his body to prevent the ghost flames from breaking through the high wall of paper crows and sparrows.

Changming hummed. His voice sounded calm, and Xu Jingxian could not see a wound that would emit that stench on him, so she exhaled in relief, thinking that he had not been wounded: “Has Senior seen the clan master?”

Originally, they had come here to save Zhou Keyi. Their enemies had used him as bait, so they would not have killed him that easily.

“He died.”

Xu Jingxian thought she had heard wrong and froze.

She could not help looking at Changming.

It was night time. He looked so cold that there even seemed to be an icy glow coming from him. As if made of snow, he was alienated from her, completely unapproachable.

Xu Jingxian was full of doubt, but she could not voice her questions right now because the current situation did not allow her to be distracted.

But her mind had been inevitably perturbed, and in a while, she sighed, just like a fox grieving over a hare. In her heart, she said that this moment would definitely mark the downfall of the Jianxue Clan. After that, she thought of that muslin she was not fated to obtain. Since the day Zhou Keyi promised her the muslin, not a trace of him had ever been seen, so she probably would never be able to lay her hands on it in this life.

A fox grieving over a hare: to sympathize with an ally (here, fox & hare are allies against a hunter)

The sea of her consciousness was in turmoil, so she had diverted her attention from the fight. A sharp scream brought her back to her senses, but the ghost fire had already broken through the sparrows and crows, rushing at them through the gap!

Xu Jingxian raised her hands immediately, but she was half a step too late. The gap became even wider, and the ghost flames had flown over their heads right towards the crowd of people!

…

Linghu You was different from the others. He could hear the voices of the ghosts.

What people thought to be the incoherent wailing of crazy ghosts was heartfelt wishes in Linghu You’s perception.

Here! The souls are tastier here, he’s a cultivator!

I want to eat him! I want to take over his body, I want to be a human again! I never wanted to be a ghost! I’m so pained, so pained!

You all deserve to die! Why am I suffering, while you’re still alive? Go die!

I’m hurt, hurt all over, someone, save me!

…

Countless bizarre voices were assaulting the sea of his consciousness, and all of them sounded insane and erratic. They were full of wrath and murderous intent, voicing out every sinful thought and desire of human beings. Some of them were even pestering Linghu You’s heart, instigating him to defect to their side.

Obviously, you’re a ghost cultivator, why would you help humans? Do you really believe that they will be grateful for your help? Humans and ghosts tread different paths, and they will never lower their guard in your presence!

Come over here! We are your kin!

You’re wavering? Because of that person behind your back? He’s a hypocrite feigning sympathy to save his own life. As soon as we disappear from this world, he’ll abandon you as well. Don’t you ever underestimate the maliciousness in the hearts of humans!

He’s only using you!

Kill him!

We can make you stronger, make you the most powerful ghost once again!

Kill him!

The voices were filling the sea of the Ghost King’s consciousness layer by layer, using every method to sway his mind.

Hé Qingmo’s acute senses led him to notice the person behind his back trembling. He thought that the Ghost King was injured, so he got a bit distracted and turned his head, shouting: “Are you alright!”

Linghu You did not respond.

After all, he was a ghost cultivator. Although the souls of the deceased were babbling sheer nonsense, there was one thing that they had said right. Humans and ghosts tread different paths. Even if he was struggling to maintain his composure, his consciousness had been rattled by the words of his kin. But his cultivation was formidable, and for a while, despite being confused, it was hard to tell whether he had been swayed by them.

Yet Hé Qingmo felt that something was wrong. He turned back just at the right moment to see a wave of ghost flames rush at them, and Linghu You ignored this with no intention of stopping it.

There was no time. Without thinking much, Hé Qingmo pushed Linghu You down abruptly.

In a flash, the ghost flames struck from behind!

Hé Qingmo vomited blood, and it splattered over the face of the person under him.

He was no longer thinking clearly and was completely exhausted. He only felt ice-cold hands holding him firmly, getting him back on his feet and moving somewhere quickly. Hé Qingmo felt sick because of the abrupt movement, as well as the ghost qi entering his body. Hé Qingmo was gradually getting colder, and his lips were turning blue.

But the ghost fire had not finished its attack yet, and madly surged back at them again. However, this time the Ghost King raised his hand swiftly, his gaze icy. The snared flags of command seemed to have reacted to his gesture as they rose into the air altogether, rushing at the ghost flames like a clamorous meteor shower!

The ghost flames scattered away with screeches, breaking free from the control of the Eight Sages of Wanlian.

This was a chance!

Sun Buku and Jiufang Changming would have never missed it!

They had already taken separate paths in the past, but now they had met again, even joining forces against a common enemy after so many years.

“Each matter has no law, I’m the law!”

“[The Great Dao leads to gods, following the sun and the moon; what I demand, the world must obey!]”

They voiced their techniques almost simultaneously.

Xu Jingxian had never heard Changming recite this technique. He voiced it quickly, even a bit inaudibly.

She felt that this skill was very powerful, but she had never seen Jiufang Changming or anyone else use it.

As this thought surfaced in her mind, the ground shook, and golden and purple lights burst out with a bang!

When Changming had put this technique into action, the night sky began to glitter with numerous stars. Very soon, the bits of light gathered in one place, and like falling stars, they plummeted to the human world, falling all over the place where the Eight Sages of Wanlian were, smashing their formation into smithereens.

A golden statue had appeared behind Sun Buku’s back. Its lips moved in accordance with Sun Buku’s, as if they were reciting a prayer simultaneously.

The golden light was getting brighter and brighter, so the people even had to cover their eyes, unable to look at him. The light had engulfed the black fire completely, eradicating every evil spirit that tried to escape the place frantically. They turned into glowing lumps and then dispersed without a trace.

Utter chaos.

Xu Jingxian found no other words to describe this scene.

Her spiritual power had been drained after the great battle, and she was wounded severely. But, in the end, her cultivation base was strong enough to protect her life, so she was not suffering from any grave injuries. However, others were not as fortunate as her. Hé Qingmo was lying in the Ghost King’s arms, having lost consciousness, while Hè Xiyun and some others had disappeared somewhere. Xu Jingxian ran towards Jiufang Changming, stumbling along the way.

Changming, who was standing steadily just a moment ago, suddenly started falling forward!

Xu Jingxian was startled. She stretched out her arms to him, but someone was quicker than her.

Sun Buku carried him on his back, throwing Xu Jingxian a glance.

Xu Jingxian did not care about anything else. Seeing that Sun Buku did not mind her following him, she quickly came over to look at Jiufang Changming.

After looking at him closely, she was shocked.

At first, only the tips of his hair had been white, yet now his hair was almost half-white.

“School Master Sun, may I ask about the whereabouts of Yun Weisi… Daoxiong Yun?”

Xu Jingxian was playing a small trick.

She knew that Daoists and Buddhists disliked Demonic sects. Sun Buku would have hardly answered her direct questions about Zhou Keyi, but she could start a conversation by mentioning Yun Weisi, someone who used to have a good relationship with Sun Buku.

“He has been possessed,” Sun Buku was indeed delighted to answer, but his words were too surprising.

“He… has gone mad?” Xu Jingxian frowned.

“Demonic qi has entered his body, so he is already half a demon.”

“Then, Senior Jiufang’s wounds?”

“His fault.”

Xu Jingxian’s expression changed slightly as she thought to herself, Do the two of them have to go through the falling-out act again if it has already happened in the Nine Layers of the Abyss?

Everything Yun Weisi did or said afterwards was imbued with his adamant infatuation with his teacher. He had been slowly restoring his mind and was already not much different from a common human. Why would he suddenly change?

Sun Buku seemed to have guessed her thoughts. He described to her what had happened there in a few words.

“Zhou Keyi is already dead. One wanted to save him, and the other wanted to kill him, so Yun Weisi turned possessed.”

Xu Jingxian asked immediately: “Why did Yun Weisi want to kill Clan Master Zhou?”

Sun Buku sighed quietly: “It was a trap.”

It was obviously a deadly trap, yet they could not avoid it.

They had been wandering around in circles inside the trap, unable to see the whole picture.

There was only one person who dared to take a great risk, trying to break free from the trap.

That person was Yun Weisi.

And the one who was willing to sacrifice his life to help him was Jiufang Changming.