Chapter Sixty-Five: Life-saving Sword

These green leaves had a presence completely different from the star fire. One was pure destruction, the other was fresh vitality, like there were countless possibilities. Such a patch of green leaves blocked the path of the star fire. It was like it obscured Zheng Xiu’s gaze and cut off her connection with this stream of star fire.

The cold white star fire fell onto this patch of leaves. The light turned the leaves transparent, yet to the shock of all cultivators, no spark of star fire was able to pass through the leaves. The flowing star fire streamed along the borders of the leaves like a waterfall, falling among the surrounding imperial palace buildings. Many hard stone walls, and even the metal decorating the palaces were silently reduced to ash by the pale white fire, floating like a host of butterflies.

“Why do you betray me?”

For the first time, fury burned in Zheng Xiu’s eyes as she turned to a palace on her left side and spoke.

There were popping sounds and the palace exploded from the inside; the entire building splitting into pieces, green energies expanding out like a large tree growing.

Dozens of furious shouts accompanied the figures dashing out. The cultivators hiding outside the building had not sensed a powerful cultivator hiding in this palace beforehand.

Pan Ruoye’s figure appeared at the center of the green energy. The exploding green energy had not dissipated, but gathered in patches, floating around her like numerous countless patches of pieces, filled with a vast living presence.

Witnessing such a scene and sensing such a presence, even Baili Suxue showed shock and admiration. He knew the strength of every person around Zheng Xiu and Yuanwu. He had sensed Pan Ruoye’s arrival, or rather, she had purposefully released a thread of energy for him to sense. But he was certain not long ago, Pan Ruoye did not have such power.

At this time, Pan Ruoye looked up slightly and answered Zheng Xiu’s question, “You should know where my method comes from.”

“Do not forget, even if your master is Ji Qingqing, I helped you find a master, you even count as an orphan I raised. Everything you have, I gave you.” Zheng Xiu looked at her coldly and said slowly, “Anyone can betray me, but you cannot betray me.”

Pan Ruoye looked at her cold porcelain face and said, “How did I become an orphan?”

Zheng Xiu said coldly, “It has nothing to do with me.”

“But I suspect.” Pan Ruoye looked down at the ground and said, “Even doing all I can to investigate, I cannot learn about my birth at all. Even if it has nothing to do with you, the things you have done to my master is enough for me to suspect you…You should know, my master always treated you as her best friend.”

The corners of Zheng Xiu’s lips raised slightly, and she was about to say something.

But Pan Ruoye continued on. “I do not want to be used by you in the future like my master was.”

“This counts as an explanation for me? But a favor is a favor, even if a betrayal does not need an excuse, and everyone will consider for their own future, even though you have obtained the method that Ji Qingqing and I wanted back then, your mind and sword essence are not perfect today, so you are still not a match for me.”

When Zheng Xiu said this, she reached out with her right hand and pointed at Pan Ruoye. Her hands were cleaner than the whitest porcelain in the world, but when she pointed with a finger, her entire right hand turned black like night, only that finger pointing at Pan Ruoye was still clean and white.

Space rippled in front of her, visible ripples all in the air. A thread of condensed deathly presence came from deep within her body, came from deep within her energy sea. A pale white pillar of light shot out of her finger, and with a boom, it ignited the green leafy energy in front of Pan Ruoye.

A shrill shout came from Pan Ruoye’s mouth. The green leaves in front of her quickly turned to deep yellow dried leaves, and then red leaves like that of maple trees in autumn. In a moment, the energy changed three times, and as they changed, they gave off more power. But this still could not stop this power that seemed to come from deep within Zheng Xiu.

Her body seemed to be hit by an invisible and enormous fist. She was hit out of the burning energy, crashing through several walls. Even more terrifying, a pale white mark was burned on her forehead.

This mark seemed to be a living white candle flame, pulsing on her forehead. With just one blow, Pan Ruoye had many bone fractures. She looked to be in a sorry state. The mark was constantly wearing down the energy in her body. She had to use an astounding amount of energy to fight back. Otherwise, this flame would burn into her head.

At this time, Baili Suxue did not pay one thread of attention to her. People like him knew how to choose in moments like these. He narrowed his eyes slightly. He pulled out his sword and attacked.

When he was pulling out his sword, there was nothing in his hand, but when his body passed through the dozens of feet of space and he arrived in front of Zheng Xiu, there was a clear and pure ice sword in his hand.

Zheng Xiu’s body was immediately covered by a layer of clear and hard ice. Even she was trapped by the power of this sword to the ground, and unable to dodge. Injuring Pan Ruoye seriously had used all her power. This time was Baili Suxue’s best opportunity to kill her, and even Huang Daochen could not stop him.

But at this time, Zheng Xiu’s left fourth finger imperceptibly moved, like she plucked an invisible silk thread. Deep inside her energy sea, there seemed to be an item that was pulled out along this sword, and then flew out along her left hand.

Baili Suxue’s pupils contracted, and he had a strong feeling of danger. His intuition was that this was a sword energy. To give a swordsman like him such a strong feeling of danger, who could do it in this world? He was only sure that this power did not come from Zheng Xiu.

Crack!

This sound was very low, but first appeared on Baili Suxue’s ice sword. When Baili Suxue let go of his sword, it appeared on his sword wielding arm. His sleeve split open. A deep wound appeared on the lower half of his arm, and blood poured out.

Baili Suxue touched his arm and retreated, energy immediately sealing his wound. That sword energy which wounded him was still spreading through the air, light gray and golden color mixed together in a straight line that caused people to be dazed looking at it.

The hard ice wall in front of Zheng Xiu was shattered. A thread of blood appeared between her almost bloodless lips.

“This is his Light Shadow Sword.”

“You wanted to get revenge for him, but you never thought that what saved me and wounded you… is a sword energy that he left me. Do you not find it ironic?”

She looked with disdain at the retreating Baili Suxue and laughed.