Free Web NovelChapter 43: 43. Betrayal
Rumble... CRACK.
The heavy, sealed doors of the Sovereign Grade Archive groaned in absolute agony. The time dilation matrix that had kept Sector A entirely isolated from the rest of the Heavenly Sovereign Ruins was finally reaching its breaking point.
Standing in the center of the dark archive, I adjusted the dark cuffs of my supreme elder robes.
At six feet and two inches, my shadow stretched across the ruined silk cushions and the shattered jade of the cultivation bed.
My ink black hair cascaded down to my waist, shifting slightly as the ambient spatial energy began to violently warp around my body.
My sapphire blue eyes, as cold as an ancient abyss, locked onto the sealed stone doors.
The three days of unbroken, time accelerated dual cultivation with the Ning twins had served their exact purpose.
The bottleneck that had plagued this body was completely obliterated days ago.
Ding.
[SYSTEM ALERT: CULTIVATION BREAKTHROUGH]
Previous Status: Peak Nascent Soul Realm
Current Status: Early Spirit Severing Realm
Physiological Update: Divine standard anatomy reinforced. Boundless stamina reservoir expanded.
Passive Trait: Indomitable Sovereign Mind fully active.
’Ara ara...’, Lucy’s mature, seductive voice purred directly into my consciousness, her tone dripping with dark satisfaction.
’You actually did it, Jianxiao. A true Spirit Severing master at only one hundred and twenty years of age. Your vitals are completely stabilized, and your heart rate is as calm as a frozen lake. Should we go collect your daughter now?’
’We are already moving,’ I replied mentally.
I glanced over my shoulder. Ning Xi and Ning Xuan stood perfectly at attention behind me.
Their vanguard uniforms were neatly adjusted, hiding the heavy evidence of our extended session, but their underlying auras had skyrocketed.
Thanks to absorbing the sheer, concentrated Yang essence of my breakthrough, the eighty year old twins were radiating a profound strength that far surpassed their original Foundation Realm limits.
More importantly, their absolute devotion anchored them to my every command.
With a single, casual wave of my right hand, I unleashed a fraction of my newly consolidated Spirit Severing power.
BOOOM!
The Sovereign Asura Sword Art channeled flawlessly through my bare fingers.
A terrifying crescent of dark, blood red sword intent smashed into the archive doors, instantly obliterating the spatial isolation array that Ye Chen and Old Ancestor Yin Ghost had laid as a trap.
The stone shattered outward into the labyrinth, clearing the path.
CLANG... Swish... Roar!
Deep within the jagged, high walled canyon, eighty one year old Lu Mushuang was pushed to her absolute limits.
For several days, the spatial isolation array had trapped her in this barren sector, forcing her into endless battles against the corrupted beasts of the Heavenly Sovereign Ruins.
Her heavy silver broadsword hummed violently as she deflected the massive, razor sharp claws of a corrupted Shadowfang Leopard.
The sheer impact sent her skidding backward across the rocky terrain. Her pristine Vanguard Commander uniform was caked in dust and monster blood, and her chest heaved with profound exhaustion.
Her spiritual reserves were dangerously close to running dry.
Despite her fatigue, Mushuang’s crimson eyes burned with immense martial pride. She was a Late Core Formation elite, possessing the rare Supreme Yin constitution.
She gritted her teeth, channeling the last dregs of her icy sword intent into her blade. The surrounding air froze into jagged ice crystals as she lunged forward.
Squelch... Thud.
With a brilliant flash of silver light, her broadsword cleanly decapitated the Shadowfang Leopard.
The massive beast collapsed into a pool of black blood, its corrupted aura finally dissipating. Mushuang fell to one knee, using her heavy sword as a crutch to keep herself from collapsing. Her breath came in ragged, painful gasps.
She was completely isolated, unaware of her father’s terrifying ascension in the distant archive. All she knew was that she had to survive.
Whoosh... BOOM!
Without a single microsecond of warning, a blinding crescent of golden sword qi erupted from the seemingly empty shadows of the canyon wall.
Mushuang’s crimson eyes widened in horror. She forced her exhausted body to move, desperately raising her silver broadsword to block the incoming strike.
The sheer force of the golden blast shattered her hastily formed ice barrier and sent her flying backward.
Crash... Cough.
She slammed violently into the hard stone wall of the canyon, coughing up a mouthful of blood as she collapsed to the ground.
Her grip on her heavy broadsword faltered, the weapon clattering uselessly against the rocks.
"Hahaha! What a magnificent display,
Vanguard Commander Lu!" a manic, echoing voice rang out through the canyon.
Stepping out from behind a cloaking array was Ye Chen. The so called Child of Fate held a thrumming golden sword in his right hand.
A faint, ethereal ring on his finger pulsed softly, revealing exactly how he had managed to hide his presence from a higher level cultivator.
His Ancient Ring Spirit had completely masked his aura, allowing him to wait like a cowardly rat until Mushuang was entirely drained from her days of endless fighting.
Mushuang glared up at him, wiping the blood from her chin. "Ye Chen. You treacherous rat. You are only at the Early Core Formation realm. If I were at my peak, I would freeze your blood in your veins."
"But you are not at your peak, are you?" Ye Chen sneered, his face contorting into a twisted, arrogant grin.
He took a slow, deliberate step forward, his golden sword qi flaring to suppress the weakened Vanguard Commander.
The sheer difference in their current states was undeniable.
Even though Mushuang was a Late Core Formation elite, her days of relentless combat had left her spiritual sea completely empty.
Ye Chen, fully rested and bolstered by his plot armor, easily projected an oppressive weight that pinned her to the cracked earth.
Riiiip.
With a flick of his wrist, Ye Chen sent a precise blade of wind forward, tearing a long gash across the shoulder and chest of Mushuang’s Vanguard uniform.
The dark fabric shredded away, exposing the flawless, porcelain skin of her collarbone and the swell of her cleavage beneath.
"Such pristine skin," Ye Chen laughed, his eyes scanning her exposed form with a mixture of predatory lust and malicious triumph.
"Who will save you now, Mushuang? Your father is currently trapped in a spatial array, completely crippled by Old Ancestor Yin Ghost’s trap."
He leveled his glowing blade directly at her throat.
"Today, I will completely break your martial pride. I am going to ruin your body right here in the dirt.
And after I am done using you, I will drag you by your hair back to your precious mother. Let us see if the Ice Queen Leng Qingxue can maintain her arrogant facade when I threaten to kill her ruined daughter right in front of her."
Mushuang’s eyes burned with unyielding hatred, but her limbs refused to obey her commands. The Supreme Yin energy in her meridians was entirely stagnant.
BOOOM!
Before Ye Chen could take another step toward the weakened Vanguard Commander, a thick, unnatural black fog completely engulfed the canyon floor.
A heavy, suffocating pressure crushed the ambient spiritual energy. Old Ancestor Yin Ghost had arrived, burning his demonic essence to push his Peak Nascent Soul cultivation to its absolute limit.
Without a single word of warning, a massive claw of condensed pink and black demonic qi slammed directly into the canyon floor right between them.
CRASH... Thud!
The sheer concussive force of the blast took Ye Chen completely by surprise, sending him flying backward like a broken kite. His arrogant golden sword qi shattered instantly under the ambush.
He slammed violently into the hard stone wall of the canyon, his spine cracking audibly before he collapsed into the dirt, violently coughing up thick mouthfuls of blood.
Lu Mushuang was caught in the exact same shockwave. Her exhausted, battered body was violently thrown in the opposite direction.
Smash... Cough.
She tumbled through the air and crashed heavily against the thick trunk of an ancient, petrified tree.
Blood spilled past her lips, staining her pale chin as her vision blurred into a dizzying, painful haze. Her heavy silver broadsword lay abandoned several yards away.
Miles away, but closing the distance with terrifying, heaven defying speed, my sapphire eyes pierced through the crumbling spatial barriers of the canyon.
As I locked onto the dense demonic aura polluting the area where ye chen & my daughter was, a brilliant golden interface flared to life across my vision.
[TARGET EVALUATION: EYE OF DESTINY]
Name: Old Ancestor Yin Ghost (True Identity Hidden)
Role: Protagonist / Evil Path Child of Fate (Peak Nascent Soul)
Karmic Luck Value: 30,000 [HIGH THREAT ANOMALY DETECTED]
Current State: Plotting Ambush / Driven by Intense, Depraved Desires
Hidden Cheat: Nine Heavens Forbidden Bliss Scripture (Taboo Demonic Art)
Current Plot Armor Status: ACTIVE (Bypasses standard elemental defenses via primal lust based laws)
"So instead of targeting me, he changed his target to my daughter," I murmured coldly, my Nine Shadows Void Step blurring my form into a streak of primordial darkness. "
Back in the canyon, Ye Chen struggled to push himself up from the rubble. His eyes were wide with shock, fury, and absolute disbelief.
He glared at the descending figure of the grotesque demonic cultivator, the Ancient Ring Spirit on his finger pulsing frantically in warning.
"Yin Ghost!" Ye Chen screamed, his voice laced with furious vengeance and betrayal.
"We had a deal! You were supposed to trap Lu Jianxiao in the spatial array while I handled the daughter. Why are you attacking me?"
The old daoist landed softly on the cracked earth, his decaying face twisting into a vile, mocking grin.
"Hahaha, I do not care about any deal," Yin Ghost cackled, his raspy voice echoing through the suffocating fog.
The demonic cultivator ignored the original protagonist entirely, turning his sunken, greedy eyes toward the base of the petrified tree. His gaze locked onto Lu Mushuang.
He slowly took in the sight of her half torn Vanguard uniform, his eyes lingering hungrily on the exposed, flawless skin of her long legs and the deep swell of her cleavage laid bare by Ye Chen’s earlier wind blade.
The heavy scent of her Supreme Yin constitution made his dark meridians thrum with intense anticipation.
"I take what I want," Yin Ghost hissed, licking his dry, cracked lips.
Despite his arrogant words and depraved desires, Yin Ghost’s mind was racing with extreme caution and absolute panic.
He had felt the terrifying, earth shattering shockwave from Sector A just moments ago. He knew exactly what it meant.
The Supreme Elder, Lu Jianxiao, had somehow completely shattered the spatial trap and successfully broken through to the Early Spirit Severing Realm.
Yin Ghost was only at the Peak Nascent Soul realm. The gap between them was now an insurmountable chasm.
He was not about to take any risks by playing with his food. If he lingered to humiliate Ye Chen or slowly break the girl’s mind, a true Spirit Severing master would descend upon the canyon and obliterate him.
He needed to capture the girl, harvest her Supreme Yin constitution to fuel his own complete breakthrough later, and flee the Heavenly Sovereign Ruins immediately.
"Sleep, little Vanguard Commander," Yin Ghost muttered darkly.
Swoosh!
His withered hands flashed in a complex seal. A dense, suffocating wave of pink and black demonic smoke erupted from his palms, forming a massive, spectral hand designed to knock her entirely unconscious and bind her meridians.
He charged forward with terrifying speed, launching the final attack intended to completely subdue her so he could snatch her ruined body and disappear into the void.
Mushuang watched the descending spectral hand through half closed eyes.
Her body was completely paralyzed, entirely unable to summon even a fraction of defensive qi.
’Dad, I’m sorry. I wasn’t able to make you proud and couldn’t meet your expectations’, Lu Mushang thought before closing her eyes waiting for the impact of that attack.
