Into The Sea

As soon as the words left his mouth, several dark figures swiftly flew toward the Chu residence.

Lan Wu pushed Chu Jiangchi away with hatred and glanced at Ji Lingyue’s rapidly receding figure before stepping onto her flying sword and giving chase.

The wind whistled past her ears, and she bit her lip in annoyance, clenching her fists.

No, no, this is too slow!

Suddenly, she remembered something. She bit her fingertip, using her blood as a medium, and quickly drew a counter-spell, then rapidly formed a hand seal and recited a summoning spell.

In the next moment, her figure appeared out of thin air on the stone wall outside the Chu residence, face to face with a snow-white gyrfalcon.

Danqing’s eyes widened in surprise. “Master! When did you get here?” She instinctively leaned toward Lan Wu, puffing out her chest proudly. “I completed all the tasks you gave me, and I listened to you. I stayed here the whole time. I didn’t see anyone come out.”

Lan Wu quickly asked, “Did any birds come out?”

“Birds?”

Danqing blinked and slowly raised a wing, looking confused. “Are you talking about that bird?”

Lan Wu froze, quickly following the direction of her wing and saw a flickering shadow in the sky. In the night, the hawk’s black feathers were a perfect camouflage. If it weren’t for Danqing’s sharp eyes, he might have gotten away.

Lan Wu’s heart leaped into her throat. She abruptly turned her sword towards the sky and flew upward. She pushed herself to the limit. When she was close enough to set up a formation, she formed hand seals quickly, her voice trembling. “Appear!”

With a whoosh, six blue confinement formations appeared around the black shadow, closing in and trapping him in a small cage. Chu Chen seemed to pause, looking around before instantly returning to his human form, striking the buzzing formation core with a palm.

A prolonged creaking sound pierced their ears, and after a few breaths, the formation shattered into tiny points of light, falling like rain. the same time, Lan Wu lunged forward, forming a sword with her spiritual energy and thrusting it fiercely toward Chu Chen’s heart.

Chu Chen turned just in time, grabbing the blade with his bare hands.

Frost covered his withered fingers. Lan Wu stared at his skeletal face, her eyes flickering. “I’ve seen you before…”

Back when she had accidentally entered the Penglai underground palace, the old man who had nearly strangled her had this exact face.

She gritted her teeth. “So it was you.”

Chu Chen glared at her. “Chu…”

Lan Wu yanked her sword back. “I’m not Chu Chunhan!”

She unleashed a sharp water blade, slashing mercilessly at Chu Chen’s neck. A cold, icy aura spread through the air, and Chu Chen shivered, finally snapping out of his daze. With a single palm strike, he shattered Lan Wu’s water-formed sword.

He shook his head, his voice raspy. “I am… your maternal grandfather…”

The shattered water droplets returned to Lan Wu’s hand, reforming into a silver sword. Hearing those words, she laughed incredulously. “You dare… you dare say that to me…”

Uncontrollable rage burned in her heart. The moisture in the air condensed into ice spikes, flying towards Chu Chen with her reckless attacks. “I have no grandfather!”

With a whoosh, Chu Chen swept his sleeve, sending a powerful gust of wind that redirected the icy spikes back at Lan Wu. At the critical moment, a strand of demonic energy wrapped around Lan Wu’s waist, and a woman who had just arrived yanked her aside, stepping forward to deliver a fierce palm strike.

“Boom!”

A violent gust of wind swept through, sending Chu Chen flying several feet away. His robes billowed wildly as he coughed dryly, looking up to stare unblinkingly at the figure shielding Lan Wu.

“Such strength at such a young age,” Chu Chen licked his lips, his voice sinister. “Did she give you a lot of merfolk blood?”

Ji Lingyue said with disgust, “Do you think everyone is like you, willing to harm their loved ones for a bit of blood?”

“Why not?” Chu Chen chuckled hoarsely. “If it weren’t for the merfolk blood, I would have died long ago. What a pity, blood… always runs out. If I had known, I should have taken more merfolk back then.”

Lan Wu couldn’t help but tighten her grip on her sword, her pretty face flushed with anger. Just then, another voice rang out, filled with fury. “Why don’t you just die?!”

A blue figure shot toward Chu Chen like an arrow, followed closely by a nervous Meng Changge. “Lan Yuan!”

Seeing this, Ji Lingyue transformed into black mist and attacked Chu Chen as well. Lan Wu was about to follow when she heard a call from behind., “Lan Wu!”

She instinctively turned to see Yu Shanye riding a white dragon, flying out from the clouds. She shouted, “Chu Jiangchi is dead!”

Lan Wu was shocked. “Dead?”

“The curse backlash damaged his heart!”

“But he wouldn’t die that quickly!”

“Chu Jiao shattered his spiritual core,” Yu Shanye said, landing beside her. “She was too fast. No one could react.”

Under the moonlight, more figures gradually came into view—Qi Yueyao, Wen Shiyu, members of the Qing family, and other familiar and unfamiliar cultivators were all rushing toward them. Lan Wu glanced at them, then looked at the figures fighting in the distance. She cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, “Everyone, listen to me!”

Her clear voice reached everyone’s ears. “Don’t kill him yet. Force him out of the barrier and hand him over to the Demon Queen!”

Everyone understood and moved in, blocking Chu Chen’s path, leaving only one escape route.

“Chu Chen, you old traitor! You are really still alive!”

A rain of swords fell from the sky. Even as he tried to block, his body was cut open in countless places, and blood instantly stained his clothes. Chu Chen panted, turning to flee towards the only place where he could breathe.

Ji Lingyue returned to Lan Wu’s side, pulling her into the sky. Chu Chen was being chased like a rat, looking around desperately, trying to break through. “We’re all cultivators! Are you really going to hand me over to the demons?!”

Qi Yueyao cursed, “When you killed others, why didn’t you remember you’re also human?!”

“That’s right!” Lan Yuan, blending into the crowd, angrily retorted without hesitation. “Being driven to your death by your own kind is your own fault!”

Amidst the clashing swords, Chu Chen staggered to the sandy ground near the barrier, refusing to take another step. “Fine! If you want me dead, then kill me here! You want the demons to kill me, but you want to keep your hands clean? Dream on! My hands are stained with the blood of my kin, but are you any better?!”

Lan Yuan gritted her teeth, raising her sword and flying forward. “Then I’ll kill you myself!”

But two figures moved faster. Ji Lingyue grabbed Chu Chen by the throat and slammed him against the barrier, while Lan Wu pressed her sword against his abdomen, her voice cold. “Lan Zhichuan is still alive, isn’t he?”

Chu Chen’s eyes were bloodshot as he hissed, “You… you are defying your elders… I am your…”

Lan Wu’s expression remained impassive as she thrust the sword in. “Isn’t he?”