Chapter 180: A Stage For Blood (6)
Jun Haoxuan’s golden, reptilian eyes snapped open at the sound of Meishan’s shout, narrowing instantly as Lan Yunlai dropped his unconscious form to the ground and turned toward him.
Jun Yongrui rose slowly from where he had been struck, his robes torn, his aura still raging beneath the surface. His gaze dropped briefly to the fallen form of Yan Wuhen before lifting again to Jun Haoxuan.
Jun Haoxuan immediately shifted back into his human form, landing heavily on the ground. His eyes swept over both divine beast kings, who, disturbingly, no longer seemed hostile toward each other.
He didn’t even want to imagine what Jun Yongrui had done to his mother and Shen Taiyu.
He stepped forward, positioning himself directly beneath Ningyan.
Lan Yunlai glanced at him and snorted. "Why haven’t you killed this son of yours, Yongrui?"
Jun Yongrui didn’t answer immediately. He simply stared at Jun Haoxuan with a faintly rueful expression. "I will."
Jun Haoxuan let out a cold scoff. "You stand with the enemy."
"There is no enemy," Jun Yongrui’s expression hardened. "Only interests."
He took a slow step forward. "We both have what we want. So we reached an understanding."
His gaze flicked briefly toward Ningyan. "Help him reclaim his son... and the crystal within the phoenix."
Then back to Haoxuan. "And I remove you. So you can finally stop hovering over my throne."
Jun Haoxuan nodded.
"Unfortunately..." he said, his voice dropping, beast qi surging violently beneath his skin, "I won’t be allowing that."
Lan Yunlai let out a quiet, mocking chuckle. "Bold."
A dense, suffocating mass of black-red energy condensed above his palm, twisting and writhing like something alive. The very air around it warped, trembling under its pressure.
Without hesitation, he threw it straight at Ningyan.
The world seemed to slow. Then lightning tore through it. A violent, blinding arc of pure power crashed into the attack mid-flight, shattering it into nothingness.
Lan Yunlai’s eyes darkened.
Jun Haoxuan was already moving.
In a single step, he vanished and reappeared in front of him.
Their forces collided. But before his strike could land, Jun Yongrui appeared between them like a wall.
Jun Haoxuan’s pupils narrowed. He twisted, dodging the attack, and countered immediately, his strike cutting past Yongrui and driving straight toward Lan Yunlai.
Jun Haoxuan was confident he could end his father right there and then.
After all, they stood on the same stage of cultivation, divine beasts, equal in realm. Yes, Jun Yongrui had centuries behind him, and Lan Yunlai wielded demonic qi like a second lifeblood, making things far more difficult but none of that changed the confidence burning in Haoxuan’s veins.
Lan Yunlai staggered back under the force of the clash, his feet sliding across shattered ground until he came to a stop right beside Yan Wuhen’s unconscious form.
His jaw tightened. Then his gaze snapped upward toward Ningyan.
A vicious light flickered in his eyes.
Without warning, he thrust his hand forward. A burning surge of demonic power tore through the air and struck.
The barrier around Ningyan shattered like glass.
Jun Haoxuan’s heart dropped. "Ningyan!"
He moved but Jun Yongrui was faster.
A brutal strike slammed into him from the side, the force so heavy it bent the air itself. Jun Haoxuan barely raised his guard in time, the impact driving him back with a violent shock that rippled through his entire body.
Lan Yunlai laughed, absolutely delighted.
"Now..." he said, eyes gleaming with hunger, "I can finally take that crystal."
Thick darkness coiled around him. It wrapped his body like a living cloak as his power surged higher, preparing a finishing blow.
Ningyan’s eyes snapped open.
A violent burst of energy burst outward from him, tearing through the air in a storm of pressure and wind. The force alone pushed Lan Yunlai back several steps, his expression flickering in surprise as the atmosphere trembled.
The wind howled.
Ningyan’s wings unfurled, longer, sharper, radiant with a deep, ominous purple glow that wrapped around his entire form like a second skin.
His aura had changed completely.
His gaze dropped.
First... To Lan Meishan who was still unconscious.
Then... To Yan Wuhen.
And beyond them, Jun Haoxuan who was locked in battle with Jun Yongrui, forced back again and again under the beast king’s relentless, brutal assault.
Ningyan froze just for a moment.
His lashes lowered slightly.
...What happened?
He had closed his eyes to ascend. And now... This.
His teeth clenched.
His gaze lifted and locked onto Lan Yunlai.
The serpent king smiled back at him.
"What did you do, phoenix?" Lan Yunlai asked softly. "You are far stronger than you were moments ago."
Ningyan’s eyes narrowed.
He could feel the power in his veins. He had stepped into the divine beast stage. And still, Lan Yunlai looked at him as though he were prey.
"...You want the crystal, don’t you?" Ningyan asked quietly.
He descended slowly. His feet touched the ground, wings settling behind him, the purple aura still burning steadily around his body.
But he did not look at Lan Yunlai again. Instead, he turned toward Jun Yongrui, raised his hand and released it without hesitation.
A blast of pure, raging energy erupted from him, raw, violent, absolute and struck directly.
Jun Yongrui’s body jerked. His eyes widening as a scream tore from him.
And then, light consumed him. His form burned, crumbled until there was nothing left.
Jun Haoxuan, who had been watching, froze, his eyes widening in disbelief.
Lan Yunlai, on the other hand, stood completely still, his eyes wide.
Ningyan tilted his head slightly, seemingly unfazed by the fact that he had just wiped out a divine beast king without even flinching. His gaze shifted to Jun Haoxuan, who was staring at him in shock.
For a moment, Ningyan’s heart skipped. A strange fear clawed up his throat.
Would Haoxuan see him differently now?
Then, Jun Haoxuan gasped. "Ningyan!"
At the same time, a flash of lightning blasted Lan Yunlai’s attack away.
Ningyan turned toward the serpent beast king, his eyes darkening as the glow around him flickered. A heavy wave of raging purple energy flared from his body.
Lan Yunlai gritted his teeth. "You have the aura of a Beast God."
He cracked his neck and in the next instant, black serpents burst from the ground, coiling around Meishan. A burning blackish-red portal opened beneath them, already pulling them away.
They were almost gone. When a streak of red-gold light slammed into Meishan, blasting him out of the portal and sending him crashing to the ground.
"No—!" Ningyan gasped, immediately wrapping his essence around Meishan’s unconscious form, lifting him into the air.
Lan Yunlai was gone.
Ningyan’s gaze snapped toward Wuhen.
The nine tailed fox prince was barely conscious, his nine tails swaying weakly, his body flickering with red-gold flames.
Relief hit Ningyan so hard it almost made him dizzy. "Wuhen..."
"We’re still going to get married, right... Yan’er?" Wuhen asked softly, a faint smile tugging at his lips despite the weakness in his eyes.
Ningyan hurried to his side, his wings vanishing as the light drew back into his body. He dropped to his knees and gently lifted Wuhen’s head onto his lap.
Then he saw it. The open trail of blood across his chest.
His eyes widened.
"I don’t think we should be talking about that right now," Ningyan said, pressing his hand against the wound.
Wuhen’s ears twitched faintly. "I’ll live, Yan’er..." His eyes fluttered shut. "...It’s just a stab."
Ningyan immediately checked his pulse. He was still alive. Still breathing.
Ningyan let out a deep breath of relief.
When he looked back, Jun Haoxuan was holding Meishan up by the arm. Meishan was still unconscious. Lan Yunlai was gone.
Jun Haoxuan lowered Meishan gently to the ground beside Wuhen.
Ningyan looked at him, lips pressing together. He hesitated before asking, "Are you...?"
Jun Haoxuan smiled at him. "Thank you."
Ningyan’s eyes widened at the sudden gratitude. He returned the smile faintly before looking away, back at Wuhen.
"I should have killed Lan Yunlai first."
Jun Haoxuan placed a hand on his shoulder, his grip careful but firm. "He’s suffered enough losses tonight. And he knows how powerful you are. I don’t think he’d be foolish enough to try this again."
It didn’t make Ningyan feel much better.
But it helped. A little.
After all... he hadn’t lost anyone tonight.
Suddenly, Shen Taiyu and Liu Ruobing arrived, both bearing scratches and streaks of blood across their faces and robes. Guards rushed in behind them, including Shenzhen and Bai Ziru.
"Haoxuan!"
"A-Xuan!"
"Oh heavens!"
"Ningyan!"
Everything became a blur.
They were surrounded. Wuhen and Meishan were taken away. Ningyan was separated from them, led off by Shenzhen and Bai Ziru while matters were discussed with Haoxuan.
He was escorted out of the palace and into the city, to a manor.
Now, he sat alone in the bathing chamber, submerged in the pool, trying to piece together everything that had happened that night.
He had killed a divine beast king so easily.
He should have been celebrating.
But instead... He had almost lost everything. It was terrifying.
More than anything, he realized one thing, he didn’t want to lose them.
They belonged to him. And somehow... he had come to accept that he belonged to them too.
So he would protect them. Just as they would protect him.
***
A/N: My health hasn’t been great this month, but a mass release is coming soon (´-﹏-`;) Thank you for your patience and support