Into The Sea

The towering, majestic city walls stood steadfast amidst the blowing sands, silent and solemn, looking like giants eternally guarding the land. At this moment, the side gate in the southeast corner slowly opened, and dozens of streams of light suddenly flew out. The cultivators, their faces showing various emotions, stepped on their flying swords, streaming out of the city gate.

At the head of the group was a man who looked to be in his early forties, his sharp, penetrating gaze only partially hidden by a thick beard covering the lower half of his face. He flew with such speed that the young man in white struggled to keep up, chasing after him with all his strength.

“Father!” Qing Zibai shouted in the howling wind. “Jiang Xu and his group are missing. The disturbance the watchtower detected might have been caused by them!”

Qing Huai frowned, his deep voice muffled by his beard. “Nonsense! I told you they were impulsive and reckless! Didn’t I tell you to keep an eye on them?!”

Qing Zibai guiltily defended himself. “I… only looked away for a second, and they were gone…” He looked at the person on the other side, suddenly gaining confidence. “That’s right, I was with Yu Shanye when we went to meet the elders of the various sects. She can vouch for me!”

Yu Shanye glanced at him, pursing her lips, not saying a word. Her fair face seemed to be covered by a shadow.

A few days ago, the bodies of the cultivators who had been captured during the Immortal Sect Competition suddenly appeared in front of Wangliang City. Their spirit beasts were nowhere to be seen. Whether it was lucky or unlucky, Yu Shanye had helped collect the bodies, and she hadn’t found Ji Lingyue’s body.

At that time, even though it was completely inappropriate, she couldn’t help but feel relieved. Her icy hands and feet had finally warmed.

However, an ominous premonition still lingered in her heart, so when she heard that there was a commotion in the depths of the desert, she had immediately followed.

“Ah,” Qing Zibai exclaimed. “Father, they’re there!”

Sure enough, not far away on the sandy ground lay numerous dark figures. Qing Huai was the first to land, striding forward across the sand, only to suddenly stop. Yu Shanye, who was following closely behind, nearly crashed into his back. She gave him a wary glance before stepping to the side and looking at the scattered dark figures.

In an instant, the woman’s hair stood on end, and she instinctively took a step back.

The dark figures on the ground were corpses, their features unrecognizable.

They looked as if their blood and essence had been sucked dry, leaving behind only twisted, withered husks.

She had never seen corpses in such a gruesome state. She was so horrified that she couldn’t utter a sound. Behind her, a few others gagged in terror.

Someone asked in a trembling voice, “What… what happened here?”

“It’s a demon,” Qing Huai frowned. “But I haven’t seen a demon in a long time. They… they should all be staying in the Flame Lands in the south.” As he spoke, he slowly walked into the carnage, his face grim as he examined each body. Finally, he found a familiar jade pendant on one of the corpses.

“It’s Jiang Xu.” Qing Huai picked up the pendant, looking around, sighing. “To be so ruthless, not even one was spared.”

Everyone felt a chill. Their faces showed a fear that they couldn’t hide. Qing Zibai couldn’t bear to look at the horrific scene in front of him. He turned away, saying, “Dealing with the demon race is already enough of a headache. Now there are demons causing trouble too?”

Qing Huai was silent for a long while before shaking his head, only saying, “Let’s bring back their bodies first.”

At his command, everyone, no matter how uncomfortable they were, had no choice but to steel themselves and began gathering the corpses.

Yu Shanye stepped forward to help, reaching into her robes for some rope.

Suddenly, something cold brushed against her wrist.

She jumped, quickly covering her sleeve, glancing around, and then whispered, “What’s wrong?”

The girl’s anxious voice came through the cloth. “I smell Master’s scent!”

Yu Shanye paused. “Are you sure? Where?”

Her wrist was tugged gently. Yu Shanye carefully looked around, and when she saw that no one was paying attention to her, she quietly left the group. As soon as she was far enough away, she stepped onto her flying sword, quickly flying in the direction that Ah Li was pulling her.

Once she was alone, Yu Shanye rolled up her sleeve, looking at the white bracelet on her wrist. “You’re sure you’re not mistaken?”

The bracelet sprouted two tiny eyes the size of green beans, blinking once. “I’m not wrong. It’s definitely Master’s scent… and something else. Something like… seawater.”

“Seawater?”

The bright moonlight illuminated the undulating sand dunes, and a dark sword shadow swiftly skimmed across the sandy ground, soon becoming a tiny black dot in the distance.

After an unknown amount of time, Ah Li exclaimed, “There!”

Yu Shanye quickly stopped her sword, making a wide turn in the air, landing lightly on the ground. She frowned, looking around, but no matter which direction she looked, there was only endless desert.

“Are you sure it’s here?”

“I’m sure!”

The bracelet on her wrist transformed into a small dragon the length of a chopstick, flying out of her sleeve. Ah Li circled around, sniffing the air, then raised her head. “Alright, I’ll check this side. You check that side.”

Without waiting for a response, she flew off in one direction. Yu Shanye, unable to stop her, had no choice but to obediently head the other way.

After climbing over a small dune, she suddenly spotted a few small black dots in the distance.

She paused, walking closer, and realized they were black butterflies. They fluttered gracefully under the moonlight, like falling petals. Yu Shanye gradually stopped, instinctively raising her hand, allowing one of the butterflies to land on her fingertip.

The butterfly flapped its wings twice, becoming still, obediently resting on her finger. Just as Yu Shanye relaxed her guard, it suddenly melted into a ball of thick black energy, wrapping around her finger.

A burning pain came instantly. Yu Shanye gasped, quickly shaking off the black energy. Her entire finger was already red and swollen. She quickly pressed on an acupoint, biting her lip as she looked up, seeing that the butterflies, which had been as light as petals, were now flying towards her in droves.

“!”

Yu Shanye quickly formed hand seals, shouting, “Scarlet Flame!”

White flames burst from around her, and the butterflies charged into the fire, being burned to ashes. However, they quickly extinguished the flames.

At that moment, a black sword suddenly emerged from the butterfly wings, piercing through the fire, heading straight for her throat. Yu Shanye reacted quickly, leaping into the air, conjuring a longbow out of thin air. A fire arrow appeared on the bowstring, aiming at the depths of the butterfly swarm.

With a whoosh, a blinding red light shot into the butterflies. The blazing flames illuminated the area as if it was day. The owner of the black sword was no longer hidden. A pale face was covered in a warm glow, but the scarlet eyes didn’t reflect any warmth.

Yu Shanye hovered in the sky, her eyes widening in disbelief. “Ji Lingyue?”

Ji Lingyue looked up at her. “Stay away from us.”

“What are you talking about?” Yu Shanye frowned in confusion, her voice filled with unease. “Where’s Lan Wu? Weren’t you both captured together? What happened? Are you hurt?”

She had too many questions, and her thoughts were too chaotic. In the end, she unintentionally clenched her fist, asking the question that made her heart race. “Why… why do you have demonic energy on you?”

Ji Lingyue said nothing.

But the shadow at her feet seemed to hide something restless, slowly writhing under the moonlight. Yu Shanye stared at her, and after a long moment, finally managed to choke out a few words, “You killed them.”

Her body went numb.

She stared without blinking at Ji Lingyue, as if she suddenly didn’t recognize her. They had only been separated for half a month. Before they had separated, the woman had been full of energy, but in the blink of an eye, her close friend of many years was now standing in a place that she could never reach.

“Why?” Yu Shanye’s eyes were gradually turning red, her voice hoarse. “You told me to protect myself… why did you end up like this?”

Ji Lingyue pursed her lips, repeating, “Stay away from us.”

She clearly had no intention of explaining.

Yu Shanye instinctively chased after her, grabbing her sleeve. “Where are you going! Where’s Lan Wu? If she knew you turned into this…”

In a flash, an iron grip clamped around her throat.

Yu Shanye, who had never guarded herself against Ji Lingyue, choked in shock and pain. Staring into those terrifying, blood-red eyes so close to her, she barely managed to struggle.

Ji Lingyue seemed to suddenly explode in anger, “If she doesn’t want me to become like this, then she better come and stop me herself!”