Phoenix's Requiem

“Zhuo Yifeng, you—” When Yun Ruoyan saw that Zhuo Yifeng was actually able to tear apart the array, she was too shocked for words. Li Mo likewise looked at him with an astonished look on his face.

“I can’t hold this for long. Leave!” Zhuo Yifeng yelled.

Yun Ruoyan and Li Mo glanced at each other, suppressed their curiosity and shock for the time being, and stepped through the opening that Zhuo Yifeng had made. After them, Zhuo Yifeng followed suit.

“How could this be? How could they destroy the illusion array that the silver dragon elder made himself?!” Pi Yan shouted, his eyes almost bulging out of their sockets.

At the same time, Yun Ruoyan, Li Mo, and Zhuo Yifeng looked toward Pi Yan and Pi Batian.

“It looks like our feud ends now,” Yun Ruoyan said.

Pi Batian recovered from his shock and murmured to Pi Yan, “Father, they must have a powerful array-breaking artifact on them.”

Pi Yan had no choice but to accept this explanation. He could see that Zhuo Yifeng was now a sword saint, but even he, a peak third-rank sword saint, was unable to tear space apart, let alone someone like Zhuo Yifeng.

“Try it,” Pi Yan replied leisurely. Both he and his son were skilled cultivators. Although they couldn’t guarantee victory against the trio in front of them, they would at least be able to defend themselves and flee safely.

As soon as Pi Yan spoke, a shadow darted past Yun Ruoyan and Li Mo. Li Mo furrowed his brows slightly, because he could feel a concentrated ice-cold aura coming from Zhuo Yifeng. He drew his pitch-black whip, sleek and dark like a python from the underworld, and pounced toward Pi Yan. Within a few blows, he even managed to force Pi Yan back.

Yun Ruoyan had intended on facing off against Pi Yan with Zhuo Yifeng, allowing Li Mo to crush Pi Batian. Then, the three of them combined would be sufficient to handle Pi Yan. She wouldn’t even have to state the plan outright; based on how well she knew Li Mo and Zhuo Yifeng, they would likely have thought of the same plan already.

However, what actually happened was so different from what she had expected that she stared at the fight in surprise. Zhuo Yifeng was wrapped in a cold, gloomy aura, an aura somewhat familiar, yet foreign, to her. It felt a little like her shade’s aura, but it was far stronger and more eerie. Furthermore, Zhuo Yifeng’s bloodthirst was so heavy it was almost palpable. His eyes were a predator’s, longing for slaughter and the iron tang of blood.

It was hard for Yun Ruoyan to fathom what circumstances he had found himself in to have developed such an appearance.

Li Mo took Yun Ruoyan’s hand, preventing her from her now-usual flights of rashness. The shock that Zhuo Yifeng’s presence and transformation had caused was far less severe to Li Mo; after noticing a pattern in his unusual behavior, he had some inkling of what might have happened.

“Zhuo Yifeng’s been acting quite strangely for a while. Given his current appearance, it’s likely that he’s been influenced by some sort of shade or another.”

As shocked as Yun Ruoyan was Pi Batian. When he saw his father being forced to retreat against Zhuo Yifeng’s onslaught, he had initially thought of jumping in—but now he was scared, quailing against Zhuo Yifeng’s absolute strength.

“Pi Batian’s going to run!” Yun Ruoyan whispered, drawing her blade.

“Let me handle him,” Li Mo said. “Take care of yourself.”

He flashed forward, blocking the entrance to the cave behind Pi Batian.

Pi Batian naturally wasn’t Li Mo’s match. Although he was also a second-rank sword saint, he had remained as an early second-rank sword saint for quite some time. On the other hand, Li Mo had rapidly ascended to the peak of second rank. Given Li Mo’s superior bloodline and the difference in their cultivation, he could suppress Pi Batian completely.

As he did so, Pi Yan finally succumbed to Zhuo Yifeng’s attacks. Zhuo Yifeng’s whip curled around his lightning-summoning sword, but Pi Yan refused to let go. He held onto the hilt as though it were a lifeline. All of a sudden, Zhuo Yifeng’s hands brimmed with black aura as a chilling source of spiritual energy passed from Zhuo Yifeng’s whip to the sword in his hands, then to his spiritual vortex.

As Pi Yan’s spiritual vortex grew distended, he spat out a mouthful of blood.

“You’re not Zhuo Yifeng! Who are you?” Pi Yan tried to drop his sword, but he found that he was no longer able to overcome that chilling spiritual energy. In shock, he realized that the spiritual energy in his body was slowly being converted to that mysterious presence’s, that he was devouring even Pi Yan’s lifeforce itself...

“Who am I?” The demonic spirit, who had merged completely with Zhuo Yifeng, let out a cold laugh. “You don’t deserve to know my name.” It continued sucking at Pi Yan’s spiritual energy and lifeforce, and Pi Yan’s body was visibly shrinking to skin and bones.

“You’re not Zhuo Yifeng! Who are you?” This time, Yun Ruoyan was the one who asked.

Zhuo Yifeng turned back to look at Yun Ruoyan, his eyes clouded over with black. Yun Ruoyan’s heart suddenly leapt, and her mind seemed to shake. Countless bloody scenes appeared in Yun Ruoyan’s mind.

Surrounded by shadowy aura, silver and demonic dragons whirled around each other, howling and biting. Blood filled the air, raining down and dissipating amidst the ghastly aura.

“I remember, I finally remember!” an ancient voice suddenly shouted from deep within Yun Ruoyan’s mind.

“Mistress, it’s the Feilai Blade! The Feilai Blade’s blade spirit is trying to break through its seal!” Qiuqiu chirped.

“The Feilai Blade!” Yun Ruoyan struggled to bear the shocks that reverberated through her spiritual vortex and her mind. The Feilai Blade was a legendary spiritual weapon she had retrieved from a near-frozen lake, one that the first elder of Kongming Academy had sealed within her body until she became a sword saint. However, the blade spirit was trying to break free of its seal on its own.

Opposite her, Pi Yan seemed about to turn into human jerky when a beam of light suddenly shone from his palm. With the last vestige of his spiritual energy, Pi Yan retrieved the heaven-transcending mirror, which shot into the sky. A pillar of light appeared from the mirror, and a silvery-white elder’s visage appeared within that light.

“Honored Elder, save us!” Pi Yan and Pi Batian begged.

The elder’s gaze, however, was solely on Zhuo Yifeng. His dark eyes, wreathed with ghostly aura, stared into the pale-blue orbs of the silver dragon elder. After a few pregnant moments, the silver dragon elder finally asked, “Demonic spirit, you’re still alive?!” 𝐟𝗿𝚎𝐞𝓌e𝒃𝑛𝒐ѵ𝒆𝑙.c𝚘𝓶

“Hahaha!” Zhuo Yifeng’s laugh was cold, arrogant, and tinged with rage. “If you’re not yet dead, how could I bear to leave the mortal world? It’s been a thousand years, dragon. You’ve aged.” 𝘧𝗿ee𝚠𝙚𝙗𝑛o𝚟𝐞l.𝐜૦𝗺

“Help!” Pi Yan cried out again, his bones showing through his skin.

The silver dragon elder turned to Pi Yan. “Since you’re useless, I might as well get rid of you now.” He waved a hand at him, and a pale blue spark of fire suddenly flew to Pi Yan’s body. With a startlingly quiet blaze, Pi Yan’s body was vaporized into dust.

“Father!” Pi Batian cried out.

“On the other hand, you might still be of some use.” The silver dragon elder’s gaze then landed on Pi Batian. He extended a hand toward Li Mo, who felt a strong suction force emanating from the elder’s hand dragging him and Pi Batian toward the elder.

Li Mo, unable to counteract the force, released Pi Batian and allowed him to be dragged toward the elder. Meanwhile, Li Mo stuck his sword into the ground, stabilizing himself.

Right before Pi Batian landed in the silver dragon’s hand, the demonic spirit cast out its black whip and curled it around one of Pi Batian’s legs.

“This impudent brat has offended one of my friends, and I have to kill it,” the demonic spirit announced. He tugged at the whip, tearing off Pi Batian’s leg and drawing a pained yell from him.

The demonic spirit again struck at Pi Batian with its whip, but, now prepared, the silver dragon elder extended his spiritual membrane to Pi Batian.

The black whip was clearly unable to penetrate the membrane, and the demonic spirit and dragon elder entered an uneasy stalemate.

“Huhut!” Suddenly, another elderly voice cried out. “Allow me to join in the front.”

The demonic spirit and silver dragon both looked toward the source of the voice: a black shadow which had darted out of Yun Ruoyan’s forehead and morphed into the shape of a black, half-moon-shaped spiritual weapon. Sitting on top of the blade was the blade spirit of the Feilai Blade, an old geezer who had lost his memories and been sealed away by the first elder of Kongming Academy.