Chapter 62

Within Shen Qing’s dim pupils was reflected a cyan-robed figure descending from the heavens.
If Shen Qing’s earlier strike had been nothing more than a feint, then her true purpose had been to draw the Xisangyao’s attention, so that Liu Jiyue could strike, catching her completely off guard.
Like a god descending from on high, Liu Jiyue arrived wielding his long saber, hacking down hard at the demon’s back.
Pchi,
The blade sank deep into flesh.
The Xisangyao spat out a spray of blood and let out a muffled groan. Already grievously wounded, she suffered yet another injury.
The instigator, however, clearly had no intention of lingering in battle. His gaze went at once to the person who had fallen to the ground, filled with concern, and at the same time he felt a surge of displeasure at her reckless, self-destructive tactic.
Enduring the searing pain wracking her body, Shen Qing shouted, “Senior Brother, hold her back for me!”
Liu Jiyue immediately looked away from her and focused entirely on the Xisangyao.
The signal flare Shen Qing had released earlier was unique to the Xuanji Pavilion. She had long guessed that the Xisangyao would not come alone, so she had taken a flare from home and kept it on her person. The moment the demon appeared, she pulled it, drawing Liu Jiyue over.
With preparations made in advance, the Xisangyao had been caught off guard and severely injured by Shen Qing’s scheme, which in turn drew out the Bai Shuisha. Shen Qing was confident that with her senior brother and Li Daoxuan joining forces, the fearsome fiends would soon be taken down.
To avoid any further complications, and with her senior brother and Li Daoxuan holding the rear, she wasted no more time. Staggering to her feet, she clutched the Autumn Sword and rushed toward the building.
After taking a heavy blow, the Autumn Sword drooped pitifully, hanging its “head” as Shen Qing carried it in her arms.
Perhaps sensing that she was struggling to run while holding it, the sword wriggled on its own and slipped back into its sheath. Shen Qing instantly felt lighter.
Long before this, the staff inside Yuanchun Pavilion had already been quietly evacuated. Disciples from Dongshan Temple pretended to patrol the floors, maintaining the illusion that ordinary people were still inside, waiting for the Xisangyao to infiltrate so they could trap her like a turtle in a jar.
Thus, the moment Zhang Qingcheng saw the maid, he secretly sent out a signal.
As for why Liu Jiyue hadn’t been summoned from the start, it was because great demons were extremely alert. Li Daoxuan’s presence alone was one thing, but if another powerful aura had appeared inside Yuanchun Pavilion, anyone with half a brain would sense something amiss and guess it was a trap. Knowing it was a trap and still jumping in would mean the demon was probably missing a screw.
When Shen Qing burst in, covered in blood, everyone was momentarily stunned. They thought something had gone wrong in the rear courtyard and immediately drew their swords, about to rush back. Amid the chaos, Zhang Qingcheng blocked them and shouted, “Don’t forget what His Highness told you! Guard the exits, don’t let the great demons break out in the confusion! With your level of cultivation, going back there would just be suicide and only cause more trouble!”
Shen Qing looked at the people before her, exhaled a mouthful of stagnant blood, and said, “I ask all Daoist masters to set up a barrier. Do not let the two great demons escape. I need to form an array.”
As soon as she finished speaking, she swiftly laid out yellow talismans and cut her fingertip, drawing blood talismans.
With each talisman completed, Shen Qing’s face grew paler.
The disciples froze. Someone murmured, “She’s drawing blood talismans, and so many of them. How is this possible…?”
One had to know that in Dongshan Temple, drawing blood talismans was strictly forbidden. Though such talismans could amplify a talisman’s power severalfold, they inflicted severe harm on the body, and more importantly, even if you had the stamina, you might not have the ability.
Even Master Qian Zimo of the Xuanji Pavilion could only draw ten blood talismans at once, and afterward had to go into seclusion for a long time to recover.
Watching Shen Qing draw fifteen in one breath, everyone was truly dumbfounded.
“What are you all standing around for? Hurry and set up the barrier, help Young Master Shen!” someone shouted.
They snapped out of it at once. Scrambling to disperse, they slashed their swords into the ground and formed seals with both hands. Threads of golden light like spiderwebs burst apart, spreading along the floor and expanding outward until a golden net enclosed the entire ground of Yuanchun Pavilion.
In an instant, a golden pillar as thick as a thumb shot up from the center of the main hall, then rapidly expanded at lightning speed. Golden light enveloped the entire tower, forming a hemispherical dome. Afterward, the glow on the barrier gradually faded and vanished into the air.
Only when stray demonic qi from the two demons’ clashes shot upward and struck the barrier did a corner of that golden light briefly appear, forcing the demonic energy back. To the naked eye, it was otherwise invisible.
With the barrier in place, the disciples sat cross-legged, scattered around the hall like immovable mountains.
At the same time, Shen Qing finished drawing sixteen talismans. She counted the disciples stationed at the corners and felt her breath catch, there were only seven.
The array she intended to form required eight Daoist practitioners. With only seven present, it meant that Gu Yun, whom she had sent someone to summon, had not yet arrived.
She herself had been born in a yin year, yin month, and yin day, a pure yin constitution with overwhelming yin energy. She simply could not serve as the array’s core to suppress the entire formation.
Liu Jiyue and Li Daoxuan were tied down in the rear courtyard. If she pulled one person away to anchor the array, the remaining fighters might not hold out for long.
Just as despair set in, a half-grown figure suddenly burst into Shen Qing’s field of vision.
Gu Rangchen, wearing a cyan disciple’s robe, came limping toward her. “Senior Sister!”
Originally, today had been Liu Jiyue’s day off. For reasons unknown, however, he had been busy for days on end, as if investigating something.
When he finally had a free day, Gu Rangchen twisted his foot while practicing swordsmanship. Liu Jiyue had no choice but to set aside his work and personally take him to the apothecary.
After having his bones set and needles applied, Gu Rangchen cried his eyes out. Once bandaged, his foot was unfit for walking, so Liu Jiyue carried him the entire way.
Halfway there, something hanging at Liu Jiyue’s waist suddenly began to tremble violently. From afar, they could even see a golden flower exploding above a tall building. Without a word, Liu Jiyue took off running with Gu Rangchen on his back, only setting him down at the entrance of Yuanchun Pavilion before charging inside alone.
Gu Rangchen had no idea what was happening. He could only wipe away his tears and limp inside with great effort.
The moment he entered, he didn’t see his senior brother, instead, he saw Shen Qing, covered in blood, hair disheveled. Thinking something had happened to Liu Jiyue, tears welled in his eyes as he cried out, “Senior Sister! Senior Brother is gone!” Ignoring the pain in his foot, he lunged toward her.
The half-grown boy had been well protected by his elder brother and had never experienced anything like this. At that moment, he was utterly panicked.
Shen Qing had no time to investigate what had happened on Gu Yun’s side. She crouched down to catch him and patted his head. “Senior Brother is fine. It’s just that we’ve run into a little trouble. Can Rangchen help Senior Sister, okay?” She couldn’t explain much and could only keep it brief.
Fortunately, Gu Rangchen was extremely cooperative. “Okay!” he said.
Shen Qing immediately carried him to the corner by the wall. “You only need to hold these two talismans, sit cross-legged, and empty your spiritual platform. Don’t think about anything. Senior Sister will take care of everything.”
Her voice, like a gentle stream, miraculously soothed the panic in Gu Rangchen’s heart. He reached out and took the talismans she handed him.
Still uneasy, Shen Qing added, “No matter what you see later, don’t be afraid. Those things can’t hurt you. You absolutely must not move, not even one step. Do you understand?”
“Yes!” The small boy sniffed and nodded vigorously.
A smile bloomed on Shen Qing’s exhausted face. “Rangchen is amazing. At the lantern festival next month, Senior Sister will take you to watch the puppet show.” With that, the girl turned and distributed the remaining talismans to the seven disciples.
Yuanchun Pavilion was octagonal in shape. Viewed from above, it resembled a mirror, and the height of the central hall pierced through the entire building. It was practically a natural vessel for capturing demons.
On this basis, Shen Qing had the eight people each guard one of the eight corners, distributing blood talismans to every person, both for protection and to sustain the operation of the array.
Finally, she lifted her wrist and slashed down hard with the Autumn Sword.
Only a pale mark appeared on her wrist, and even that vanished in moments.
Shen Qing was instantly dumbfounded.
Someone called out, “Young Master Shen, A-Man’s spiritual sword won’t hurt you. Use mine instead!”
Once again she heard someone say that the Autumn Sword would not harm its wielder, only this time, the subject had shifted from Li Daoxuan to herself.
She stared blankly at the Autumn Sword, recalling Li Daoxuan’s earlier words: ‘Autumn Sword won’t hurt me.’
Could it be that he had been telling the truth, that this spiritual sword simply would not harm ordinary people?
She quickly rejected the thought, remembering how, in the Bai Shuisha’s underground palace, Li Daoxuan had unhesitatingly used Autumn Sword to carve a deep gash into his own hand.
Though he had sent medicine afterward, the ruthlessness and decisiveness of that strike were still etched in Shen Qing’s mind.
She snorted heavily, stopped thinking about it, and caught the sword that was tossed to her. She cut her wrist, blood dripping steadily into the center of the hall, where she traced a circle the size of a human head.
After letting enough blood, she casually tore off a strip of cloth and bound the wound. Soon, the dark blood seeping out soaked the cloth through.
Shen Qing didn’t bother with it. She took a brocade pouch from her waist, removed the strand of hair inside, and placed it into the blood circle. Then she lifted Autumn Sword and gave it a light pat. “Autumn Sword, hurry and spit out her blood.”
By “her blood,” she meant the blood of the Xisangyao that the sword had absorbed earlier when she slashed the demon’s arm.
If Autumn Sword could drink blood, then it should be able to spit it out as well.
Sure enough, the sword body flashed with waves of red light. Drops of blood gradually condensed along the blade, like sweat seeping from the skin of someone parched for years. The droplets slid downward, gathering at the tip before dripping off one by one.
The Xisangyao’s blood fell onto the Bai Shuisha’s dark hair, the two coming together.
When the red light on the sword finally faded, the blood had been fully expelled. There wasn’t much, but it was enough. Shen Qing immediately activated her technique, burning the hair and blood together.
The array was triggered. In an instant, dazzling azure light shot skyward. The ceiling of Yuanchun Pavilion’s main hall transformed into another sky, dark clouds pressing down as thunder rumbled.
“The Eight Gates Annihilation Array!” someone cried out in shock.
True to its name, the Eight Gates Annihilation Array was an extremely dangerous killing formation. Within the array were eight directions corresponding to eight gates: the Gate of Rest, the Gate of Life, the Gate of Injury, the Gate of Obstruction, the Gate of Scenery, the Gate of Death, the Gate of Fear, and the Gate of Opening.
Behind each gate lay a crisis. To escape whole and alive, one would need extraordinary luck to find the Gate of Life. Otherwise, one could only watch helplessly as they were trapped and killed within the array.
Moreover, the formation was in constant motion and change. The positions of the eight gates shifted periodically, so even if you stood perfectly still, it wouldn’t stop those gates from coming to find you.
No wonder Shen Qing repeatedly warned the others not to act rashly and to stay far away from her position.
Once someone left their spot, they would be instantly dragged into the formation, dangerous beyond measure.
This was a formation Shen Qing had specially tailored for the two demons. She had tampered with it: as long as the Red and White Fiends entered the array, no matter which gate they stepped through, it would never be the Gate of Life.
Her plan was to use the killing intent within the formation to constantly wear down the resentment inside their bodies, using violence to suppress violence. Once their resentment had been reduced to a certain degree, she would then pierce their Fengchi acupoints with a spiritual sword, and the two demons would be wiped out in an instant.
That would mean Shen Qing would no longer need to expend great effort searching for their physical remains in the future. As for what Madam Liu’s family had done together with Yuanchun Pavilion, she would no longer need to rack her brains investigating it.
A cold smile slowly curved at her lips, triumph for an imminent revenge blazing in her eyes.
After setting up the formation, Shen Qing immediately ran toward the outside of the tower and shouted at the two locked in fierce combat, “Senior Brother, Li Daoxuan, over here!”
Without needing further explanation, both had already sensed the disturbance inside the tower and immediately forced the two demons back toward it.
The fiends were no fools. Realizing Shen Qing must have prepared something for them, they grew wary and refused to advance further.
Blades and swords could only inflict superficial wounds on the Xisangyao, so within moments, most of the injury on her back had already healed.
She attacked Liu Jiyue like a madwoman, seeking an opportunity to escape. But having been calculated against beforehand by Shen Qing, her injuries had yet to fully recover. Even if Liu Jiyue could not immediately suppress her, she likewise could not overpower him, she did not even have the strength to flee.
Liu Jiyue frowned, swung his blade horizontally, and chopped down. The Xisangyao raised her arm to block, only to discover that Liu Jiyue had long since affixed a talisman to the blade’s edge. Her arm instantly went numb. Seizing the opening, Liu Jiyue swept his blade again, and the Xisangyao was sent flying into the tower like a kite with its string cut.