Chronicles of Heaven's Chosen - Chapter 46

“Fall back!” Dongfang Xiu’s expression changed as he shouted.

The three retreated at once, but to their surprise, the formation totem beneath their feet continued to spread.

Until—

The formation enveloped the entire forest.

Dongfang Xiu swept his gaze over their surroundings. In the next instant, the scene before him was replaced by an entirely different landscape.

An illusion!

At the same time, Man Yue and Fu Qianli were also pulled into illusions of their own.

Using the formation had consumed too much of Yuan Yao’s spiritual power. Beneath her mask, her face grew paler by the moment.

She looked toward the dozens of cultivators who had also been caught in the Illusion Formation.

Ten of them had already reached an Awakening Value of 50.

She had to make the rest awaken as quickly as possible.

Otherwise, once Dongfang Xiu and the others broke free, it would be too late.

But the trio proved even stronger than she had imagined.

Dongfang Xiu removed the heavy sword from his back and stripped away the cloth wrapped around it, revealing a black-and-gold blade. He drew the sword from its sheath.

Then he slashed!

Boom!

The Illusion Formation shattered like a mirror, exploding into fragments in an instant.

The backlash struck Yuan Yao at once, and blood welled from the corner of her mouth.

Dongfang Xiu moved at the same moment, bringing his sword down toward her.

Yuan Yao’s expression changed sharply. She summoned the Phantom Spirit Sword and raised it to block.

Clang!

Their sword qi collided with tremendous force, making the surrounding trees shudder violently. Yuan Yao could not withstand his attack at all. She was hurled backward and slammed hard into a tree trunk.

The wound across her back tore open yet again, and blood seeped through her robes.

Agony washed over her. Cold sweat broke out across her skin, and every trace of color drained from her lips.

Dongfang Xiu’s sword qi also split her mask apart. Its broken pieces struck the ground with a clatter, exposing her face to everyone present.

A middle-aged cultivator in the crowd pointed at Yuan Yao, his features twisted with rage.

“It was you! A little girl like you dared force us to repent? What right do you have to make us repent?!”

“You wanted us to reflect on ourselves?” another cultivator jeered. “Why don’t you reflect on yourself first?”

“Kill her!”

“Kill her!”

The crowd erupted. The Awakening Values of those who had not yet reached 50 began falling again, dropping all the way back to 0.

A rapid succession of System announcements rang through Yuan Yao’s sea of consciousness.

【Target Yang Jiang’s Awakening Value has fallen to 0. Target so-and-so’s Awakening Value has fallen to 0…】

Their Awakening Values plummeted so quickly that Yuan Yao was caught completely off guard.

Several cultivators were already attacking her.

Her expression shifted. Forcing herself upright, she raised her sword to fend them off.

But as more and more cultivators surrounded her, she began to falter.

They truly meant to kill her!

Wounds multiplied across Yuan Yao’s body until blood had dyed almost all her white robes red.

Man Yue’s brows drew tight at the sight. Unable to bear it any longer, she shouted, “Enough!”

Her words had no effect. The cultivators had been driven mad by bloodlust.

Man Yue was about to intervene when a bright yellow talisman suddenly appeared in Yuan Yao’s left hand.

“A high-grade talisman!” Surprise flashed across Fu Qianli’s face. He had not expected the girl to possess anything of the sort.

Yuan Yao raised her blood-smeared face and hurled the high-grade talisman without hesitation.

“Get out of the way!” the crowd cried in alarm.

Fighting through her injuries and weakness, Yuan Yao retreated as fast as she could. At the same time, the high-grade talisman detonated.

Boom!

The explosion shook heaven and earth. Some of the cultivators were killed outright, while others were left gravely wounded. Nine escaped the blast entirely by sheer luck.

The shock wave threw Yuan Yao to the ground as well. She coughed up a mouthful of blood.

She tried to rise, but no matter how hard she struggled, her body would not obey.

The nine uninjured cultivators exchanged uncertain looks. Then their eyes hardened as they turned toward Yuan Yao.

They charged at her where she lay.

Man Yue had never expected matters to reach this point. She was just about to stop them when—

A terrifying pressure descended like a tidal wave.

Dongfang Xiu’s and Fu Qianli’s hearts jolted. Both looked up at once, their eyes locking onto a point not far ahead.

A figure was approaching like a specter, moving with inconceivable speed.

As the dark silhouette drew nearer, they saw the newcomer’s rare pink-white hair, striking enough to be unmistakable.

Only one person on the Ninth Continent had hair that color!

“Xue Jin!” Fu Qianli recognized him immediately.

At the sound of that name, Yuan Yao also turned her head.

The nine cultivators rushing toward her were met by a savage slash of sword qi.

Boom!

All nine were blasted off their feet. Those with weaker cultivation stopped breathing on the spot.

The ringing of the sword faded.

The youth approached, his pink-white hair half tied behind his head. His face was so beautiful it seemed neither masculine nor feminine, but a dark, brooding chill radiated from his entire body.

He did not spare Man Yue and the others a single glance. Instead, he crouched beside Yuan Yao and looked over her battered body, his eyes growing darker and darker.

“I thought I had mistaken you for someone else.”

At the sight of that familiar face, Yuan Yao’s lower lip trembled as she desperately tried to hold back her emotions. She lasted all of two seconds before bursting into tears.

“Xue Jin, it hurts so much! Waaah…”

She had still underestimated everything about the cultivation world.

She had thought she could simply trap these targets, make them reflect, and awaken them to complete her mission.

But she had failed to account for human nature.

Xue Jin asked no questions. He took the highest-grade healing pill in his storage space and held it to her lips.

Yuan Yao reached for it.

“Dirty,” Xue Jin said.

Yuan Yao looked at her blood-caked hand and cried even harder.

Xue Jin flicked the pill straight into her mouth, then turned his back to her.

“Climb on.”

Yuan Yao struggled to contain her tears and painfully clambered onto his back. The blood covering her body stained his white robes red.

Though only sixteen, the youth was already very tall. He carried Yuan Yao just as he had carried her up the Heavenly Stairway when they were children.

Xue Jin looked at the cultivators who were still alive. Not a trace of warmth remained in his long, narrow eyes.

They clearly recognized him. Fearfully wondering who Yuan Yao could possibly be, they turned to flee.

“Were they the ones who hurt you?” Xue Jin asked. He could feel that the girl’s breathing was much weaker than before.

Yuan Yao had reached her limit long ago. The moment she climbed onto his back, she lost consciousness.

When Xue Jin realized she had fainted, he pressed his lips together.

He raised his eyes to the fleeing cultivators.

His gaze was glacial as he slowly spoke.

“Jiuying. Kill them.”