Into The Sea

“Cough…”

In the vast snowfields, no other figure remained standing. The dark stains of fresh blood were slowly being buried under the falling snow. Lan Yuan took a tired breath, wiping the blood off her face, and turned to leave.

She had only taken two steps when two whooshing sounds came from behind. Lan Yuan’s body tensed, and she swung her hand back. With a clang, her silver sword knocked away a feather arrow, but the other arrow bypassed her arm and headed straight for her heart.

Lan Yuan’s pupils shrank. She leaned back, barely avoiding a fatal blow, already bracing to take the hit in her shoulder.

However, a black whip suddenly shot out from the swirling snowflakes, wrapping around the arrow and violently flinging it aside.

Lan Yuan paused, frowning as she looked at the person who had come to her aid. Her lashes fluttered. “Ji Xing?”

Ji Xing smiled. “Sister, are you hurt?”

“You,” Lan Yuan’s eyes turned red. “How dare you show your face!”

The woman flew into the air, her sword like a silver snake, charging toward Ji Xing with killing intent.

Ji Xing quickly retreated, rotating her wrist, and swung her whip to entangle Lan Yuan’s sword, intending to use the same trick to fling it away. However, Lan Yuan suddenly released her grip. The silver sword turned into an invisible, colorless stream, reforming back in her palm.

By now, they were very close. Lan Yuan quickly rotated her sword, the tip pointing upwards, stabbing towards Ji Xing’s neck.

Ji Xing seemed surprised, hastily raising her hand, summoning a surge of demonic energy to block the blow.

Two powerful demonic energies collided, releasing a dazzling light.

Their hair flew wildly in the wind. Ji Xing, pressing against the sword tip, stared at Lan Yuan, who was close enough to touch.

Only now did she realize that if the woman hadn’t been fighting for so long and hadn’t been so exhausted, this sword might have pierced her throat.

The freezing chill from the sword tip seeped into Ji Xing’s palm, making it sting painfully. She blinked and murmured in confusion, “You… you really want to kill me?”

“You killed my sister,” Lan Yuan said through gritted teeth, her eyes burning with hatred. “Why shouldn’t I kill you?”

“Sister?” Ji Xing murmured, then suddenly began to tremble and laugh.

“Sister…”

Her laughter grew louder and wilder. The powerful demonic energy in her palm pushed Lan Yuan away. Ji Xing moved in, but instead of attacking, she grabbed her collar, her voice sharp. “Then do you know that I’m also your sister?!”

Lan Yuan, just about to counterattack, froze. “What?”

Ji Xing gritted her teeth, pushing her away with a palm strike. Lan Yuan staggered back a few steps, frowning as she looked up. Ji Xing was staring at her, her face devoid of the madness from before. “Second Princess, if you want to leave, leave quickly. Once the pursuers arrive, you won’t be able to escape.”

Lan Yuan frowned. “What do you mean?!”

“What do I mean? Are you talking about what I said earlier? That was just a joke,” Ji Xing suddenly smiled, her eyes curving with amusement. “What, did Your Highness really want me to be your little sister?”

Lan Yuan stared at her coldly for a moment. “If you let me go now, one day, I will come back and take your life.”

“Then that will depend on your skill, Sister,” Ji Xing said with a smirk. “But as for you merfolk, after killing so many Eagle Guards, do you really think you still have a place in the demon realm?”

Lan Yuan instinctively clenched her sword. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a large group of dark figures approaching.

She cast Ji Xing one last deep look, said nothing more, and turned to leave without a backward glance.

The rest of the journey was smooth. Lan Yuan flew out of the barrier, and the snow disappeared. The gentle evening breeze wrapped around her, taking away the chill.

Lan Yuan out a breath, but noticed a small patch of blood on the ground. Her relaxed body tensed again. She stepped forward, her body turning into a stream of light, quickly flying east. Soon, she saw an area shrouded in thick fog in the distance.

Lan Yuan frowned in confusion. After a moment of hesitation, she descended from the sky, plunging into the fog. She ran through the mist, shouting, “Feng Yi! Chang Geng! Xiao Qi!”

From deep within the fog, a voice responded excitedly, “Your Highness! We’re here!”

Lan Yuan turned around, running towards the sound. The closer she got, the stronger the stench of blood became. Several corpses also appeared by her feet. Strangely, the corpses were all contorted, the skin outside their clothes withered like tree bark. Their wide-open mouths looked like shriveled black holes, as if they had seen something terrifying before they died.

Her unease grew.

She quickened her pace, finally seeing the young woman kneeling on the ground, holding Lan Wu. The remaining merfolk were standing beside her, their faces filled with fear and anxiety.

“Just the few of you left? What happened?” She scanned the area, realizing that someone was missing. “Where’s Ji Lingyue?”

Feng Yi swallowed, pointing behind her cautiously.

“She’s… over there…”

Lan Yuan turned and saw only impenetrable darkness. She frowned, gripping her sword tightly as she walked forward. After a short while, she heard a strange sound.

It sounded like the raspy, dying breath of something clinging desperately to life.

Her back prickled. She stepped on something, and she heard a crack as her foot landed on a broken spear on the ground.

“You’re here,” a hoarse voice suddenly came from ahead.

Lan Yuan stopped, looking carefully. She realized that there was a person standing in the mist, but she was almost completely hidden within the darkness.

The woman turned her head, her red eyes piercing through the darkness. “Perfect timing,” she said, her voice low and strange. “Almost done here.”

Lan Yuan eyes widened in shock as she followed the woman’s gaze.

Following the woman’s raised arms, she saw two cultivators suspended in the air, their necks gripped tightly by an invisible force. They trembled like leaves, their smooth, full faces withering and drying up at a visible rate. Black, ominous energy seeped from their eyes, ears, and mouths.

Her eyes widened in horror. “What are you doing?”

“Can’t you see?” Ji Lingyue said naturally, her tone almost casual. “I’m killing them.”

“You’re absorbing their cultivation!”

“They deserve it.” Ji Lingyue said, releasing her grip. The two unrecognizable bodies fell to the ground.

She chuckled, turning around, staring at Lan Yuan. “Now no one can stop us. Isn’t that great?”

Lan Yuan stared at her in a daze.

After a long moment, she finally realized what was happening. “This is demonic cultivation.”

“You… you’ve fallen to the demonic path.”