Chapter 59
The red spider hanging upside down under the eaves moved its slender curved legs, as if waiting for something.
Wei Ren was stunned when he saw his Ghost Armor Sky Spider, and even the intense pain from his injuries was delayed for an instant by its arrival.
He had thought the Ghost Armor Sky Spider had been influenced by Cang Shu's "Phoenix Bird Sound Summons" and been lured away from him, but unexpectedly, at this critical moment, it had returned on its own.
Though the Ghost Armor Sky Spider had high damage and strong abilities, it was also notoriously difficult to raise. If the master didn't put in effort, even a powerful treasure beast could be raised into waste.
Wei Ren had no time to be moved by the Ghost Armor Sky Spider's return, because the phantom python had also noticed. Before the phantom python could act, Wei Ren flicked his finger and issued a command first.
Slender spider silk whooshed out from all directions, sharp as blades, cutting even invisible wind while simultaneously severing the Five Elements Energy around Wei Ren.
Phantom beasts were beings that could only materialize through Five Elements Energy. At this moment, the phantom python's form swayed as it was entangled and cut by the spider silk, becoming intermittently solid and illusory due to the affected Five Elements Energy. As more spider silk appeared, it was forced to fling Wei Ren away before melting into the darkness.
Wei Ren was already using Wind-Riding Techniques to turn and rise while being flung through the air. Though he only had First Realm strength, he could still use simple Eight Trigrams Living Arts, and his combat experience wasn't limited to First Realm.
He landed on the roof of an uninhabited house. This area seemed like a desolate, remote alley. Ji Shuyan didn't dare make a move in crowded, lively places as that would attract attention.
Wei Ren only needed to run toward crowded areas to block Ji Shuyan's killing moves, then find a way to escape the pursuit.
Fires blazed in the distance.
Though the sky here was thick and dark, ahead it was bright with the light of many fires lit by the crowds, illuminating half the dark sky.
The Ghost Armor Sky Spider clung to Wei Ren's neck, a small red dot visible on his pale skin that would be completely invisible from a few steps away.
Spider silk severed the rear while intercepting pursuit from all directions. Wei Ren also tried to avoid dark places to prevent the phantom python from suddenly rushing out to bite him.
Blood flowed continuously from his bitten shoulder. Wei Ren gritted his teeth as blood loss made his brain dizzy and his footing unsteady, nearly falling from the roof several times.
Master really wasn't going soft on him.
The word "outsider" in his earlier words had been very effective, successfully enraging Ji Shuyan. Anger made him doubly cold and ruthless.
Wei Ren caught a glimpse of the phantom python emerging from behind. Even though what reflected in his eyes was just a black python silhouette, he could feel the fine scraping sounds of its scales, its incredibly realistic hissing and roaring, and the lingering rotting stench on his body.
If he hadn't crippled his cultivation, Wei Ren wouldn't be running now, but would similarly summon phantom beasts to clash with his master.
But if he hadn't crippled his cultivation, he wouldn't have survived until now.
Wei Ren suddenly felt something of Yu Sui's past situation. If she hadn't hidden her abilities since childhood, she wouldn't have lived until now either.
Perhaps he couldn't truly empathize, yet there were some similarities.
Therefore, Wei Ren was even more unwilling to return to Lady Su's faction and become Yu Sui's enemy.
Wei Ren withdrew his peripheral vision and ran desperately, using almost all his Five Elements Energy for Wind-Riding Techniques, seeking only greater speed.
Blood dripped onto roof tiles or the dark ground below, while black shadows swimming on the ground followed the bloody scent in relentless pursuit.
Two figures came from left and right. Transparent spider silk shot toward them, but they used Heavenly Fire to burn the poison on the silk and charged forward.
Though the Heavenly Fire didn't burn through the spider silk, it spread along the silk toward Wei Ren. He was too weak now to resist these Eight Trigrams Living Arts attacks and was forced to sever the silk himself.
Two Agricultural School disciples flanked him from left and right, blocking Wei Ren's path. Wei Ren was forced to stop, and just as he was about to turn and flee in another direction, he saw the phantom python rise from the darkness, looking down at him from above.
Behind him stood Ji Shuyan, filled with murderous intent.
……
While Wei Ren was being pursued, Yu Sui was looking toward the changing room where the attendant lifted the curtain to let Li Jin Shuang, now wearing her second dress, come out.
The pale red skirt hem was soft against her skin, its gold ornaments glittering faintly, even more exquisite and gorgeous than the previous one.
Yu Sui smiled with satisfaction: "Even better than the last one. Try another."
Attendants continuously brought new dresses into the room. Li Jin Shuang tried on one outfit after another, from initially being like a puppet that did nothing, to later silently learning how to put on these complex garments.
Yu Sui didn't just stand outside waiting idly. After selecting jewelry, she went in to explain to Li Jin Shuang what these accessories girls commonly wore were called, what they were made of, how to insert gold hairpins into hair for securing, how jade pins provided decoration, how to choose tasseled ornaments, and so on.
Li Jin Shuang asked quietly: "Are we still going to the Military Formation tonight?"
"Yes." Yu Sui said. "Xue Mushi should be waiting, but I told him we're selecting clothes and it would take some time, asking him to do something else while waiting. He agreed."
Li Jin Shuang hesitated: "These are already very good, no need to try more, and it's almost the hai hour..."
"Xue Mushi already agreed to wait, so you don't need to worry about time. If he falls asleep waiting, then we'll go to the Military Formation tomorrow." Yu Sui gently rejected Li Jin Shuang's suggestion. "Tonight we'll first select ten suitable outfits to take back."
Ten outfits.
Li Jin Shuang couldn't help but perk up.
Yu Sui was seriously dressing up Li Jin Shuang while also watching whether Wei Ren lived or died.
Ji Shuyan not only learned of Lu Hai Ye's final memories from the symbiotic transmission beast, but was also Lady Su's capable assistant. For either reason, Yu Sui wouldn't let him live past tomorrow.
Now it depended on whether Wei Ren and Blackbeard could counter-kill. If not, she'd have to think of other methods.
Wei Ren, surrounded on the rooftop, couldn't suppress his itchy throat and coughed.
Ji Shuyan looked at that injured, vulnerable figure and said flatly: "From childhood to now, you've always been the one most desperate to survive. Unfortunately, today you cannot escape death."
Wei Ren turned around, lowering his voice to laugh: "No one would want to die for no reason, and besides... I've endured so much suffering to get this far. It's just that those who couldn't endure all died."
He looked left and right, seeming to feel there was no escape route and accepting his fate. He let go of his strength, his expression pale as a ghost: "The children brought into the organization were always numerous and frequent, because they had to learn Agricultural School forbidden techniques, and these techniques would indeed backfire if one wasn't careful. Most children couldn't master them and only died at the hands of their own phantom beast illusions."
"Too many people died, and without fresh blood, the organization couldn't develop, so they had to find more children."
Wei Ren's gaze was distant as he stared at Ji Shuyan, asking with a smile: "Master, do you still remember those children who died because they couldn't learn phantom beasts?"
Ji Shuyan's expression was cold and he didn't answer.
Of course he didn't remember.
Children who couldn't survive never had the chance to meet him.
"Hundreds of years ago, those who were hunted as traitors were forced into desperation. They had already learned the forbidden phantom beast techniques and simply didn't want to destroy their hard-earned Nine Schools Arts. After the Agricultural School banned it, far fewer people practiced phantom beasts."
"They didn't need to learn it either. There are so many Nine Schools Arts in the world, and Agricultural School branches are very rich. There are Heavenly Mechanism Arts stronger than phantom beasts. But when did some people start specifically teaching other children to learn phantom beasts, telling them they needed to vindicate phantom beasts and shed the name of traitors?"
Wei Ren coughed as he spoke, raising his hand to wipe blood from the corner of his mouth, but his words remained steady: "Tell me, did these children absolutely have to learn and become Agricultural School traitors?"
Ji Shuyan looked at him mockingly: "They were all helpless, abandoned children wandering the world. I taught them skills and gave them shelter. What's wrong with that?"
"Why don't you dare say they were all helpless, abandoned children wandering in Yan Kingdom?" Wei Ren's smile pulled at his wounds, making him cough twice more. "Why must they be children from Yan Kingdom, not from Zhou Kingdom, Dan Kingdom, Qingyang, Taiyuan, or Nanjing? Is it because those five kingdoms don't have war, haven't been made into places where people can't live peacefully by the other kingdoms, so it's hard to collect orphaned children?"
"Or is it simply because... taking away children born in Yan Kingdom is easier." Wei Ren took a deep breath from the pain, sweat mixed with blood dampening his clothes. Though his body was fragile as paper, he forced himself to endure, barely managing to smile: "Besides, I did have parents, didn't I?"
Ji Shuyan's cold face showed a trace of cruel smile: "You mean that gambling father who lost everything and spent all day drinking and beating his wife and children, and the mother who personally sold you?"
Wei Ren was quiet for a moment, then laughed with lowered head: "She did sell me."
His mother had cried while selling the young child to wealthy merchants who were about to leave Yan Kingdom.
Mother wanted him to leave the cannibalistic Yan Kingdom, leave his incompetent parents, to live good days without being beaten and scolded, without worrying about not having food or clothes.
Even if not wealthy and noble, he could at least live peacefully and safely.
But these kind-hearted wealthy merchants were intercepted and killed while leaving, unable to leave Yan Kingdom alive.
Wei Ren asked Ji Shuyan: "Master, tell me, if Lady Su hadn't seized the Breath Soil, causing Yan Kingdom's Agricultural Saint to be severely injured, would Yan Kingdom have become like this? Would people living in Yan Kingdom need to sell their children to survive?"
Yan Kingdom's Agricultural Saint was Yan Kingdom's last line of defense. When the imperial nobles were all infiltrated by other countries, high-realm Nine Schools practitioners were the final force maintaining order.
Ji Shuyan said coldly: "Yan Kingdom was already beyond saving. If not her, there would have been others. Countless people were eyeing the Agricultural Saint. What ability do you have to prevent Yan Kingdom from becoming like this? It's the fault of countless people."
He said coldly: "It seems I've raised an ungrateful thing. If I'd known this would happen, I should have let you die in Yan Kingdom."
"If we're really counting, it wasn't you who saved me either." Wei Ren blinked lightly, appearing weak but not lacking in provocation.
If the passing Agricultural Saint hadn't acted, he would have died that night when the wealthy merchants were killed.
Unfortunately, the severely injured Saint, forcing his staggering body to kill off the bandits, was also at his limit. He collapsed into the rushing river water and disappeared into the night.
The former Saint couldn't even protect one small child now.
The child who survived by chance struggled to stand from among the corpses and followed the river until he was taken away by Ji Shuyan's people.
"And how many children have you actually raised? Aren't there more who died in the organization?" Wei Ren wiped the blood constantly flowing from his mouth, gradually becoming calm. "The children who survived had to turn back and kill people from Yan Kingdom, supposedly to clear the traitor reputation, but actually became dogs serving Lady Su."
Wei Ren's eyes flowed with mocking laughter as he stared at Ji Shuyan, watching his expression grow increasingly cold and ugly: "Reclaiming the Breath Soil might clear the Agricultural School traitor reputation, but it can't wash away the fact that we're Yan Kingdom traitors."
Yu Sui was tying a sash for Li Jin Shuang when she heard this, blinking lightly.
Those disappointed in Yan Kingdom were also those who betrayed Yan Kingdom.
Ji Shuyan said angrily: "Outrageous words!"
The phantom python charged at Wei Ren. Spider silk shot out, entangling and stopping it. The python was almost touching Wei Ren's hair but couldn't advance another inch, beginning to flicker between solid and illusory.
As they reached a stalemate, Ji Shuyan asked coldly: "Are these your reasons for helping Nangong Sui?"
"I haven't really helped her much either." Wei Ren looked up, meeting Ji Shuyan's gaze directly. "I just learned from Master and Lady Su that in doing things, you only need to be righteous enough yourself. Whatever reasoning, it's all my most reasonable reasoning, not allowing others to argue. Those who argue are brainless, ignorant people immersed in their own worlds, lacking vision, insufficient understanding and cognition, completely thoughtless fools."
What he said in the latter half were all the "principles" the organization had taught children over the years.
They didn't need to have their own thoughts or think for themselves, only needed to follow orders.
The towering fires in the distance couldn't illuminate the darkness of this rooftop, and moonlight also hid in the clouds. Only his thinking mind could light Wei Ren's path forward.
Wei Ren smiled lazily as usual: "I just got tired of it, don't want to be a fool anymore. Since Lady Su doesn't truly want to vindicate Agricultural School traitors, and all of you insist on killing Nangong Sui, determined that she must die, I refuse. I won't kill her, and I don't want her to die."
In this cruel world, everyone's choices made from their own standpoint were correct, while from others' standpoints, everyone's choices were also wrong.
Right and wrong became meaningless.
They couldn't change any results. What Wei Ren wanted was to make his own choices from today forward.
As long as he stood opposite Ji Shuyan and Lady Su, he could righteously answer: You are the ones who are wrong, you are the ones who should die.
Wei Ren sometimes thought that just by switching positions, everyone could be criticized, and no one was right.
The difference was that some people couldn't choose their own position and could only be fixed to one side, while others could switch at will.
He wanted to be someone who could decide his own position and faction.
Ji Shuyan wouldn't deeply contemplate Wei Ren's words. He only needed to determine that the person before him had become a threat to Lady Su and must be eliminated.
Even if this was a child he had some appreciation for, it couldn't outweigh Lady Su's greater importance in his heart.
So Ji Shuyan said indifferently: "Kill him."
The two waiting Agricultural School disciples again deployed Heavenly Fire, flames lighting the darkness with angry burning.
Spider silk broke consecutively. The phantom python charged forward fiercely, once again sweeping Wei Ren from the rooftop to the ground.
Yu Sui stepped back two paces, looked at Li Jin Shuang before her, and said with a raised chin and smile: "Change the hair ornament, let's go kill someone."
Li Jin Shuang was stunned.
Yu Sui had her extend her hand and put on a circle of red cord jade clasps, with dozens of small, crystal-clear golden beads hanging from the red cord that would make pleasant sounds when they collided in movement.
She said with a smile: "After wearing pretty clothes, you have to go out and walk around. I'll kill people, you just hack at them a couple times on the side to practice."
Yu Sui had changed her mind.
Dogs loyal to Lady Su were very rare to encounter. She still wanted to meet them personally.
……
When Blackbeard and his men arrived, they happened to see flames shooting skyward, severed spider silk emitting foul poisonous gas, with both Agricultural School disciples dodging away. The phantom python, however, feared no poison and sent Wei Ren flying, crashing down from the rooftop.
Beams broke and wood and stone scattered. In the dust kicked up by the collapse dancing in the firelight, Wei Ren hit the ground hard, spitting fresh blood. A broken wooden stick pierced straight through his shoulder and back, pinning him to the ground unable to move.
The entire house collapsed. The Ghost Armor Sky Spider's silk shattered the falling rocks, preventing Wei Ren from being buried in the rubble.
Blackbeard reacted quickly, rapidly assessing the situation. He noticed Ji Shuyan and two surviving Agricultural School disciples. As for Wei Ren, already barely alive and being pursued, he decisively didn't pay attention, leaving the decision to the Princess.
As for the others, leave none alive.
Just as an Agricultural School disciple prepared to deliver the final blow to Wei Ren, a low shout rang out: "Sword Weapons!"
Sharp sword blades appearing from nowhere forced back the Agricultural School disciple approaching Wei Ren. Blade after blade targeted his vital points in fierce attack, forcing the disciple to retreat several meters under the urgent and dense assault.
School of Names word speech? Ji Shuyan's heart sank. Looking up, he saw Blackbeard landing on the opposite rooftop with Wind-Riding Techniques.
Wei Ren struggled to see through his blood-filled eyes the suddenly appearing Nangong family practitioners and was stunned.
Come to think of it, those who would first notice Agricultural School movements in the Outer City would definitely be the Nangong clan members protecting Nangong Sui.
Having nearly let Nangong Sui die last time, this group of Nine Schools practitioners had to capture some assassins to take back, or they'd be scolded by Nangong Sui as a bunch of useless fools.
Wei Ren laughed inwardly, his consciousness growing dim. He gritted his teeth and struggled, fingers curling as he tried to remove the wooden stick pinning him down, but couldn't lift his hand.
The Ghost Armor Sky Spider crawled from his neck to his cheek. Wei Ren's mind was dizzy and consciousness unclear, his eyes blinded by blood, but he could sense its presence.
Wei Ren opened his mouth slightly, making a weak sound: "Go."
Go back to Cang Shu.
At least that's better than staying with me.
Anyway, that guy obviously has a face suited for caring for others, his temper isn't bad either, and he promised to take care of the Sky Spider.
Both being from the Agricultural School and not weak in strength, if you follow him, I'll have no regrets.
He was too severely injured to persist and closed his eyes, fainting.
The Ghost Armor Sky Spider guarded its weakly breathing master, transmitting equally weak Five Elements Energy to him.
The two Nangong family practitioners who came with Blackbeard each guarded one Agricultural School disciple. All were School of Names Nine Schools practitioners who used Nine Schools Arts: Word Speech, summoning invisible sword blades that silently pressed from all directions, forcing both disciples to dodge farther and farther away.
Blackbeard stared at Ji Shuyan: "Are you the one who instructed Lu Hai Ye to assassinate?"
Ji Shuyan remained cold-faced and silent, but after a brief silence, he moved with Wind-Riding Techniques. The two figures flashed past each other in pursuit and evasion. During their clash, each other's Five Elements Energy defenses suffered varying degrees of impact, almost immediately recovering after being broken.
Both had very precise control over Five Elements Energy.
Both were Twelfth Realm with comparable strength.
Ji Shuyan raised his arm to block Blackbeard's punch while countless small black poisonous ants climbed all over Blackbeard's sleeve.
Blackbeard reacted extremely quickly, shaking his sleeve as Five Elements Energy flung the dense ants into the air, using Heavenly Fire to burn them all.
The instant the Heavenly Fire burned, Ji Shuyan used poison again. The burned ants exploded, white poisonous gas spreading. Blackbeard was forced to retreat and pull back distance while holding his breath and saying: "Earth Sink."
The ground where Ji Shuyan stood suddenly collapsed entirely. Roof tiles, beams, and stone walls crumbled instantly. Even when Ji Shuyan landed and his toes just touched the ground, he felt the earth tremble. Countless thin cracks appeared in the ground, which suddenly sank.
When Ji Shuyan couldn't maintain footing, Blackbeard pressed his advantage, calling: "Wind Blades!"
School of Names word speech only required calling out the correct name to materialize known things with Five Elements Energy.
It was the simplest yet most difficult Nine Schools Art.
Too many things couldn't be materialized. Even knowing their names, one still couldn't control Five Elements Energy.
"Names" weren't something you could use just by knowing them.
Ji Shuyan, suspended in air by Wind-Riding Techniques, was affected by the pursuing wind blades, his form dodging rapidly while consuming Five Elements Energy faster. He still couldn't land, as his toes touching ground would cause earth sinking and loss of balance.
Wind blades shredded a piece of his clothing. Ji Shuyan widened his distance from Blackbeard during the chase, leaving the Heavenly Fire he had burned earlier to reach a place with deeper shadows.
Blackbeard, who had pursued him, was completely unaware. The phantom python that had been waiting struck suddenly. As Blackbeard's peripheral vision caught it in shock, it bit down.
The phantom python's emergence could even be heard making crisp collision sounds as wind blades struck its scales. It demolished and toppled several buildings with tremendous crashing and shattering sounds. Ji Shuyan landed with Wind-Riding Techniques on a half-collapsed roof and looked forward.
About a hundred meters away, the phantom python rearing on the ground raised its head, looking down condescendingly at Blackbeard standing bloodied on the ground.
The golden Five Elements Energy defense around Blackbeard's body had blocked the phantom python from tearing him to pieces. He also looked up, shocked at the enormous creature that had emerged.
Agricultural School forbidden Heavenly Mechanism Arts, phantom beasts.
He hadn't expected to encounter this here!
Blood flowed from Blackbeard's collision with the wall, half his head bloody. He maintained consciousness, his peripheral vision scanning surroundings. Just as he was about to move, he suddenly froze, his eyes looking down:
Though they were only one or two black shadows, he could truly feel the cold, moist sensation of slender snakes crawling across his skin.
Soon there were three to five, then seven to eight. Blackbeard, standing in the python's shadow, was covered in countless black snakes frantically devouring and gnawing at his Five Elements Energy defense.
Blackbeard steadied his mind, concentrated, and said in a deep voice: "Heavenly Fire."
Scorching flames hot enough to melt everything exploded in the air. Nighttime scenery became blurred in the flames, sparks carried by night wind fell on the phantom python's body, exploding like fireworks in large bursts of flame.
The phantom python burned by Heavenly Fire let out roaring cries. Blackbeard again summoned energy for Wind-Riding, wanting to approach Ji Shuyan and finish him, but was intercepted again by the protected phantom python.
As long as he was in dark places, you couldn't imagine how large and long the phantom python's body was, it was infinitely long. It coiled and wound around Blackbeard, stacking into a high black cage, trapping Blackbeard within.
Ji Shuyan glanced toward the distance. The two Agricultural School disciples weren't strong enough and were being beaten farther away, but Wei Ren still hadn't been dealt with.
His eyes darkened as he had the phantom python hold back Blackbeard first while he returned to kill Wei Ren.
……
The Five Elements Energy the Ghost Armor Sky Spider transmitted to Wei Ren was what Wei Ren had previously left for it, but breaking Cang Shu's seal to leave the dormitory and find Wei Ren had already cost it considerably. After giving everything to Wei Ren, it didn't even have strength to stand and rolled down from his face.
Ji Shuyan's figure approached from far to near.
Wei Ren was awakened by severe pain, his brow tightly furrowed. Even breathing pulled at his nerves, pain spreading throughout his body, reminding him time was running short.
He could sense the Ghost Armor Sky Spider that had lost its strength, but could only slowly blink once. He couldn't save it or himself.
In the ruins, dust particles still fell slowly.
This was an abandoned wasteland. Even with fighting sounds here, it couldn't disturb those indulging in wine and pleasure in prosperous areas.
Ji Shuyan walked leisurely into the ruins, bending to pick up another broken wooden stick beside Wei Ren, looking down condescendingly at his dying disciple.
"You made the wrong choice and must die for it." Ji Shuyan said. "Even if you choose to become Nangong Sui's dog, there's only a dead end."
Wei Ren showed no expression or response. He knew he couldn't escape. At this moment he was only thinking: calling me Nangong Sui's dog, how rude.
As Ji Shuyan raised his hand, wood chips fell. Wei Ren gently closed his eyes.
The wooden stick infused with Five Elements Energy fell straight down toward Wei Ren's heart, but just before touching his clothes, it was severed by a sword. Clear, pleasant sword song rang out, full of intimidation. Invisible sword energy swept out, silver-white blade light cutting across Ji Shuyan's vision.
Ji Shuyan was surprised and forced back several steps by the long sword.
In the sword song, Wei Ren heard delicate, crisp sounds, thin and brittle, very pleasant but not sounds that should appear here.
His heart stirred slightly as he struggled to open one eye. What entered his vision was flowing light brilliant as gentle moonlight. The woman's water-blue dress had golden flower branches that flickered with faint light in the night, like hanging long tassels or strung with extended gold, silver, and jade ornaments.
Wei Ren didn't understand women's accessories well, only feeling the light was lustrous and gentle at first glance. The delicate, crisp sounds he heard came from the fine collisions of these clothing and ornaments.
Night wind suddenly grew fierce, stirring the sword-wielding woman's clothing and hair. She turned her head to look at Wei Ren behind her, her calm black eyes reflecting his dying appearance.
Though Wei Ren's eyes still had blood in them, it didn't prevent him from seeing this glance, cold as the moon yet lustrous and clear.
Wei Ren's nerves throbbed as he thought: Which family's beautiful young lady has come to muddy these waters?
Until he heard a familiar voice say: "Since you call him my dog, shouldn't you consider the master before beating the dog?"
Both Wei Ren and Ji Shuyan's hearts shook in disbelief.
How could Nangong Sui be here?
Ji Shuyan's eyes darkened as he spun around to see Yu Sui standing in the middle of the road. Night wind lifted her orange-gold dress, her wide sleeves dancing like butterflies and swallows. She stood bathed in moonlight, smiling slightly at the turning Ji Shuyan with elegant bearing.
Yu Sui blinked lightly, seriously examining Ji Shuyan while speaking with casual disdain: "I heard you're in love with my mother."
"But your skin is rough, your form withered, you look ten years older than your actual age, you have no fashion sense, you're ugly, and you're inferior to my father in every way. No wonder my mother can only stay at the manor instead of by your side."
Yu Sui's gaze and judgmental words cut Ji Shuyan's self-esteem piece by piece. Ji Shuyan's expression grew increasingly gloomy, but her smile became more and more obvious.
She said: "I won't comment on my father's character, but he's extremely handsome. You can't compare to him in family background or strength, and you lose completely in looks too. Why do you still have the face to compete with him for my mother?"
Yu Sui's words completely enraged Ji Shuyan. He instantly moved forward but was blocked by Li Jin Shuang's sword. Seeing his offensive blocked, Ji Shuyan looked coldly at Li Jin Shuang. A second phantom beast illusion materialized. A giant spider shadow descended from above, its slender spider legs sharp as blades striking at Li Jin Shuang, hitting her long sword with hard, crisp collision sounds.
Li Jin Shuang was forced back by the phantom giant spider. Looking at Ji Shuyan who flashed toward her, Yu Sui only symbolically raised her hand to summon thunder snakes. Small thunder snakes flickered, blocking her front. Ji Shuyan disdained the power of First Realm, his hand passing through the thunder snakes. Letting them bite his hand, he grabbed his target's delicate neck before their very eyes and slammed her heavily against a wall that hadn't collapsed yet.
Yu Sui, who hit the wall, frowned slightly. The force gripping her neck tightened, forcing her to raise her chin. She looked at Ji Shuyan with one eye open and one closed.
Seeing Yu Sui reminded Ji Shuyan of Nangong Ming, not to mention Yu Sui's recent words. Every word stirred violent, uncontrollable rage in his heart, truths he was unwilling to acknowledge yet had to acknowledge. This made him even more furious.
Both Yu Sui and Wei Ren knew what words to say to precisely and easily provoke Ji Shuyan's anger.
At this moment, Ji Shuyan looked at Yu Sui with burning fury, temple veins bulging and throbbing. The ugly face of a man who couldn't have what he desired was exposed before Yu Sui's clear eyes: "What do you think you are? Her child? You're the child she finds worthless, even utterly detestable!"
"Your position in her heart is less than an ant's!"
Ji Shuyan angrily increased his force, almost lifting Yu Sui so her feet dangled, his gaze fixed on her increasingly pained face: "What is Nangong Ming? The chief culprit who harmed her. If not for you, this burden, why would she be reduced to this! You shouldn't have been born in this world, bringing her so much pain, making her subject to others, making her suffer daily!"
Yu Sui wasn't angered by these words at this moment, looking at him with eyes full of mockery.
Such a gaze made Ji Shuyan's killing intent stronger: "If you die, everyone can be free."
"Lu Hai Ye said my fate is thin, I acknowledge it." Yu Sui looked down contemptuously at Ji Shuyan, her words gentle: "I say you'll die today, you should acknowledge it too."
Ji Shuyan sneered. Yu Sui also smiled: "If you hadn't attacked me, I wouldn't have grounds to summon Master."
To kill Twelfth Realm Ji Shuyan without using Strange Fire, Yu Sui only had this one method.
Ji Shuyan's pupils contracted. In his anger, he had forgotten something important.
But it was already too late.
Tremendous Five Elements power descended from the sky, oppressing this entire area. Even Blackbeard, still trapped by the phantom python, felt it, and both he and the phantom python froze momentarily from this oppressive force.
People in the Outer City who originally didn't know about fighting in the wasteland now all looked toward the wasteland.
Mei Liangyu, who was playing with his Wind-Listening Ruler in the Ghost Way Saint Hall while chatting with Master, was suddenly stunned when Master dropped the line about going to save your Junior Sister and got up to walk outside.
When Yu Sui's master saw her pinned against the wall with someone gripping her neck, he would only think it was a life-or-death crisis. His attack would be merciless, and invisible Five Elements Energy sent Ji Shuyan flying.
As Ji Shuyan was flung away, gravitational force bent and compressed his body. The continuous sounds of breaking bones rang in his ears. His defenses were instantly shattered, his organs crushed, spitting fresh blood with no power to fight back.
He met Yu Sui's gaze in shock.
Yu Sui leaned against the wall, calmly watching him crash into the ruins.
The phantom beast illusions became unstable, flickering between solid and illusory before gradually disappearing.
Yu Sui raised her hand to lightly wipe her neck, full of red marks from being gripped, and walked toward Ji Shuyan's direction.
She passed Wei Ren without stopping, only glancing at him peripherally before looking ahead.
Fresh blood flowed endlessly from Ji Shuyan's mouth. Ghost Way Life Symbols had drained his vitality, making death certain.
Yu Sui watched Ji Shuyan die in agony, his unpeaceful death reflected only Yu Sui in his eyes at the end.
After vitality was completely drained, Ji Shuyan became a twisted human skin curse pattern resembling some kind of symbol. Yu Sui moved her eyes, saw the symbiotic transmission beast that had fallen from his body, and smiled as she crushed it.