Wu Jian could not figure out what happened. It was like Sǐwáng Hou’s inexplicable rage had given him even more power. He swung his axe with enough strength that Wu Jian was slammed into the cavern wall. His vision darkened as pain overrode it, and when he came to, it was to discover their enemy pushing back Hou Jingshu and Huǒ Shuchang with his overwhelmingly dark aura and powerful attacks.

Gritting his teeth as he pulled himself out of the human-shaped dent, Wu Jian dashed forward and tried to attack Sǐwáng Hou from his blindspot. He didn’t get very far. Black tendrils of death chi erupted from the man’s body and attacked. Wu Jian was forced to use Nihility over and over to avoid being skewered. It was hard. The only way to avoid an attack using Nihility was to use more chi than the technique used against him.

Wu Jian had no idea how much chi this man was using. He was forced to use more than he wished because of it. He could already feel his reserves running dry as he dredged out every ounce of chi he possessed.

This isn’t working!

All he could do was dodge this man’s techniques. Meanwhile, Hou Jingshu was struggling as the man swung his axe like a maniac. Each attack she blocked sent her staggering backward.

Huǒ Shuchang tried to help, but Sǐwáng Hou swung his axe and unleashed a wave of death chi that forced him back. He couldn’t even overpower it with his fire techniques. It was simply too strong.

We need to do something soon or all of us are going to die!

Wu Jian racked his brain as he dodged the tendrils, but it was hard to think when he was struggling to avoid being skewered. He barely had enough chi to use Nihility, so he was relying on his reflexes to avoid them. This left him with a greater problem. Being forced to dodge like this made it even harder to get close.

A tendril of death chi appeared before his face. Wu Jian’s eyes widened as he realized there was no time to dodge. Time seemed to slow as he watched his impending doom come closer. Then something leapt from his shadow and slashed the death chi away. He blinked.

Yōuměi?

He had not forgotten about the yāomó panther, but he had not allowed her outside either. Hou Jingshu knew about Yōuměi because he had written about her in his letters. She may connect the dots if she saw him fighting alongside a giant black panther.

“Raaaaaaaaaah!!”

Hou Jingshu’s eyes bulged as the man lifted his axe and swung it down. His blade was covered in death chi. If she tried to dodge, he would simply unleash it in a wave.

She raised her spear to try and block it. The attack was so strong that her knees slammed into the ground, which shattered underneath her. She bit back a scream. The veins in her arms bulged and bruises began appearing on her skin. Just blocking that attack had caused something inside of her to rupture.

“Jingshu!”

Wu Jian shouted as he tried to get closer, but six tendrils suddenly appeared before him as though to block his advance. He tried to slip past them. Several nicked his skin, sapping his strength as the death chi invaded his body. He barely had enough chi to defend himself.

Huǒ Shuchang came at the man again as Sǐwáng Hou kicked Hou Jingshu in the stomach. She flew through the air, bile spewing from her mouth. After striking the ground with enough force to break it, she rolled across it like a ragdoll.

Sword met axe as Huǒ Shuchang attacked. Flames erupted from his blade as he tried to overpower the older man, but it was no use. The difference in their cultivation was just too vast. Death chi covered Huǒ Shuchang’s sword and quickly destroyed his fire technique.

“Back off!” Sǐwáng Hou shouted as he pushed the other man away.

Huǒ Shuchang skidded across the ground, but he quickly raced back toward Sǐwáng Hou—or he tried to. More black tendrils erupted from the ground and attacked him. He tried his best to dodge, but one pierced him through the shoulder.

“Aaaaaagh!”

Huǒ Shuchang fell to his knees. He gnashed his teeth together, blood welling up inside of him, and used the last of his strength to slice the tendril off. The damage had already been done. The area was black and shriveled like a dried out desert.

When Sǐwáng Hou saw that Huǒ Shuchang had no fight left in him, he turned back to Hou Jingshu,  who was struggling to stand back up. She held a hand to her side and stood with a slouch.

“This is the end for you!”

 Sǐwáng Hou dragged his axe along the ground, creating sparks in his wake. Wu Jian finally managed to break through the death chi attacks. He raced forward and swung his sword. It was no use. The man blocked his attack with one hand, then kicked him hard enough in the chest that he could feel his ribs snap.

With Wu Jian and Huǒ Shuchang out of the way,  Sǐwáng Hou made his way toward Hou Jingshu.

“We need to help her highness!” Yin Wuhan shouted.

“You three will remain here,” Shā Ying Yue said. “If you try to assist them, I will kill you all.”

Her words did not stop Wu Yong and Zheng Yawen from attacking her in sync. Wu Yong lashed out with his sash, which wrapped around Shā Ying Yue and bound her tightly. Zheng Yawen dashed forward, knife in hand, and tried to slice through the woman’s throat.

Shā Ying Yue broke her shackles with ease, dodged left, then struck Zheng Yawen’s forearm. The attack forced her to drop the knife. Shā Ying Yue then delivered several powerful palm strikes that slammed into the woman with unrelenting force. Zheng Yawen jerked around like a ragdoll.

She was soon forced to stop her attacks as Wu Yong arrived and unleashed a barrage of punches and kicks. They were just a distraction while his sash came in from behind her, but Shā Ying Yue had a much greater spatial awareness than him. She spun around and sliced apart the sash, which fluttered to the ground in several pieces.

As Wu Yong and Zheng Yawen tag-teamed Shā Ying Yue, Yin Wuhan raced toward Hou Jingshu as Sǐwáng Hou swung his axe down.

“YOUR HIGHNESS!”

Yin Wuhan intercepted the attack. The axe sliced into him, then hit the necklace he wore. It was the same necklace he had gotten from the temple.

The necklace began glowing brightly enough to blind everyone present. The bright light soon turned into a beam that struck Sǐwáng Hou. He managed to dodge most of it, but the beam was large, and it tore through much of his left torso. His arm, shoulder, and even some of his torso were completely annihilated, leaving behind charred flesh.

Yin Wuhan swayed back and forth before he fell backward.

“Wuhan!!”

Hou Jingshu caught the man before he hit the ground. She lacked the strength to properly stand, however, and she soon fell onto her knees again.

“Haaah… haaaah… damn you… all… I’ll kill you…”

Sǐwáng Hou was still alive and even standing. It looked like he was still ready to continue fighting. He glared at Hou Jingshu as she called out Yin Wuhan’s name.

“Not on my watch!”

Wu Jian finally saw his opening. He stood up and raced forward. He lacked the strength to properly lift his blade and swing, so instead, he thrust it forward as he ran.

Sǐwáng Hou saw him attack and prepared to fight back, but black shadows suddenly sprouted from the ground and wrapped around him. He grimaced and tried to break free. Yet before he could, Wu Jian was there, thrusting his sword forward. The blade plunged through the man’s chest and erupted out of his back in a spray of gore.

Wu Jian glared at his foe, who stared back at him with an expression of pure hatred, even as the light slowly faded from his eyes.

“Damn you… I should have… killed you… when I had… the…”

The light soon died from the man’s eyes, though his expression remained unchanged. Wu Jian struggled as the man slumped forward. His body was tired and sore. He lacked the strength to hold this man up. Just tossing the corpse off his blade took everything he had and then some.

“Wuhan! Wuhan! Come on! You can’t… you can’t die on me like this! Wake up! Open your eyes!”

Wu Jian gasped for breath as he wandered over to Hou Jingshu as she cried and shouted at the man she was holding to wake up. Yin Wuhan’s eyes were sightless. There was a gaping hole in his chest and dark blood leaked from it like a broken fountain. A puddle had already begun forming underneath them, but Hou Jingshu didn’t seem to notice the blood staining her clothes.

“Jingshu… he’s already dead,” Wu Jian said softly.

“No… no… he can’t be dead. I… I promised him that I would see him safely returned home. I made him a promise…”

Wu Jian knew very little about Yin Wuhan, so he didn’t know what kind of promise Hou Jingshu had made with him, but there was little that could be done now.

The others were beginning to come over. Wu Jian spotted Shā Ying Yue grabbing Sǐwáng Hou’s corpse and lifting it over her shoulder. He didn’t know why she wasn’t fighting them, but he wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

He knelt beside Hou Jingshu and removed her grip from Yin Wuhan. She looked at him with a helpless expression, tears in her eyes. Wu Jian grabbed her head and pulled her down until her ear was pressed against his chest. He didn’t say anything. Soon enough, Hou Jingshu began crying even louder, bawling her eyes out as she clung to him.

“Yin Wuhan… really gave everything he had for Her Highness,” Zheng Yawen said with a sad frown. “He was truly loyal to the crown. His loss will be hard to accept.”

“I can’t believe he died. I always thought I would be the first to die,” Wu Yong muttered.

“Do not say that,” Zheng Yawen said with a sharp frown. “You know Her Highness cannot stand the thought of anyone dying. Yin Wuhan’s death is already going to be hard for her to accept. Do not make her burdens worse with your callous words.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry,” Wu Yong said.

Hou Jingshu’s tears had already subsided. She thanked Wu Jian with a smile before pushing him away and standing to her feet. Her eyes were still red, but the look within them contained nothing of the weakness she had just shown. Only strength and the determination to continue remained.

She looked at Yin Wuhan and bit her lip for a moment, then looked at Zheng Yawen and Wu Yong. “I’m sorry to ask this of you two, but can you take his body out of here? I do not want to leave him in this place.”

“Your Highness…” Zheng Yawen started, but she stopped when Wu Yong placed a hand on her shoulder. She sighed and said, “Very well. We shall leave here first then.”

“Thank you,” Hou Jingshu said with a smile.

Wu Yong and Zheng Yawen lifted Yin Wuhan by the legs and shoulders. They were much more careful than Shā Ying Yue, who had tossed her vice-commander over her shoulder like a ragdoll. Wu Jian kept his eyes on them as they left, but he also looked at Hou Jingshu out of concern.

“I’m sorry,” Huǒ Shuchang said to her. “If I had been a little stronger, I could have prevented his death.”

“Maybe,” Hou Jingshu shook her head and smiled, “but you cannot be blamed for what you lack. We are all cultivators. Everyone who becomes a cultivator understands they are walking alongside death. Yin Wuhan was prepared to die just like all of us. I… regret that he gave his life up for me, but blaming what happened to him on personal weakness or someone else would make a mockery of his sacrifice. I’m going to get stronger so something like this can’t happen again. You should too.”

“Heh. You really are something,” Huǒ Shuchang said with a chuckle. “You’re right, though. We all accepted the possibility that we would die on the path to strength. Guess I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

Wu Jian was impressed by Hou Jingshu’s resolve and words, but he also knew she only half-believed what she was saying. She would surely blame herself when she thought no one was looking. This woman was the sort who took on everyone’s burdens. She felt a huge responsibility toward her people, so not being able to protect one of them would surely weigh on her conscience.

“I think that, for now, we should use this cultivation zone to increase our strength,” Wu Jian said. “You said it yourself. We need to grow stronger to prevent this from happening.”

“You’re right.” Hou Jingshu nodded. “Now that there are just three of us, we should be able to use it. However, I think you should use it first. Our cultivation is higher than yours, and I think you’re close to breaking through, aren’t you?”

“I am. How could you tell?”

“I’m pretty perceptive. Anyway, take these pills before you enter. You used up almost all of your chi. You need to restore it before you can use a cultivation zone.”

Hou Jingshu handed Wu Jian several pills, which he swallowed one by one before sitting down. He would enter the cultivation zone once he had replenished the chi he lost.

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