The Immortal’s "White Moonlight" Reborn - Chapter 51

“Her sword intent has been exposed; how can she possibly explain this to Wen Qiwu?”

“Is your hand injured?” Yu Hengwei cradled Wen Qiwu’s hand in hers, her voice trembling with a panic that made her lose her usual composure.

Wen Qiwu hadn’t actually been hurt; her hand was merely numb from the shock. The one truly injured was Yu Hengwei. A jagged cut had opened on her wrist, and blood was trickling down her porcelain-white skin.

Without a word, Wen Qiwu pulled Yu Hengwei’s injured hand toward her. She retrieved a medicinal salve from her storage ring and began applying it to the wound. Anyone with eyes could see she was fuming, especially Yu Hengwei.

Yu Hengwei opened her mouth to speak, but the sharp glare from Wen Qiwu’s beautiful eyes sent the words dying in her throat. Wen Qiwu was usually the picture of gentle kindness; she only glared when she was truly incensed. To a stranger, Wen Qiwu always maintained a polite distance, but this spark of temper made her seem more vivid, more real, and paradoxically pulled the two of them closer.

“The power within the Phoenix Lord’s Tomb won’t harm me. Next time, don’t be so reckless, and don’t try to block it for me. That power doesn’t recognize you,” Wen Qiwu gritted out, her teeth practically gnashing as she gave the stern warning.

“I understand.” Yu Hengwei’s voice was meek and obedient, as if she had truly taken the lesson to heart. However, the moment danger reappeared, she would likely toss that promise to the wind without a second thought.

“If the tomb refuses to let you in, even a forced entry will result in being repelled. Do you still want to try?” Yu Hengwei asked worriedly.

She had assumed that because Wen Qiwu carried the Phoenix bloodline, the tomb would welcome her. The reality was proving otherwise.

“I’m going to look again.” Wen Qiwu took two steps forward, standing amidst the spatial rifts. She glanced back at Yu Hengwei, who was hovering protectively. “Stand back a bit, Fellow Daoist Yu. Don’t let it hurt you again.”

“But…” Yu Hengwei clearly didn’t want to leave Wen Qiwu so close to the volatile rift, but she couldn’t withstand the “terrifying” look in Wen Qiwu’s eyes.

Yu Hengwei retreated just a fraction. Her brow slumped, and the cold, aloof beauty suddenly looked profoundly dejected, like a pet that had been scolded and feared abandonment.

Wen Qiwu’s heart nearly softened. She scolded herself internally, forcing her gaze away from that pitiful expression and back toward the spatial rift.

This time, she released her immortal essence, the pure power of a Phoenix. When that energy touched the rift, it wasn’t repelled. Heartened, she wrapped herself in that power and tried to step through. But the moment her hand brushed the threshold, the internal force surged once more, shoving her back.

Wen Qiwu stumbled back several steps, landing directly in Yu Hengwei’s arms.

“Hiss…” Wen Qiwu let out a sharp breath. Her hand stung from the heat, though there was no lasting damage.

“Are you okay?” Yu Hengwei checked her over with frantic scrutiny.

Wen Qiwu shook her head, signaling she was fine. “This place seems to reject everyone—Humans, Yaos, Demons alike. I’m no exception.”

She realized her plan was falling through. Her lineage wasn’t granting her the shortcut she had hoped for. She would have to find another way.

How did Yu Hengwei ‘accidentally’ enter back then? Wen Qiwu wondered. It likely wasn’t an accident at all, but a forced intrusion. Seeing the raw power of the rift now, the idea of an “accidental” entry seemed like a fairy tale told to children. Yu Hengwei must have forced it open, only to be overwhelmed by the superior power within and cast out.

I have the Phoenix bloodline, so the backlash against me is mild. But what did she endure back then? A dull ache bloomed in Wen Qiwu’s chest.

“We’ll think of something else. Don’t try again for now,” Yu Hengwei said, her voice thick with heartache as she looked at Wen Qiwu’s reddened hand.

“Yeah. We’ll look for another path.” Unless the ancient Demon Emperor intended for no descendant to ever enter, there had to be a key.

As Wen Qiwu fell into thought, she suddenly caught a scent a damp, rank stench. The concentration of water-attribute demonic qi in the air had spiked to a suffocating level. Her heart began to race; an ominous premonition clawed at her.

“Fellow Daoist Yu, do you smell that?” Since the monster riot, the center of the Sea of Trees had been a mess of tainted energy, but this was different. This smell was so close it felt as if a monster was breathing down their necks.

Yu Hengwei had noticed it too. Strangely, the scent seemed to come from every direction at once, as if it saturated every corner of the forest, making it impossible to pin down a single source.

Wen Qiwu drew her Nine Tribulations Bow, standing ready. Yu Hengwei scanned the perimeter, her hand on her sword, searching for whatever she had overlooked.

Drip… drip…

A light “rain” began to patter on the ground. Yu Hengwei looked up, her pupils shrinking. Her hand tightened on her hilt.

“Ugh!” Wen Qiwu suddenly clutched her head, staggering. Yu Hengwei instantly forgot the sky and reached out to steady her.

“Fellow Daoist Wen!” Her heart nearly stopped.

“Something… something happened!” Wen Qiwu’s face was deathly pale. In her mind, she could hear the agonized, echoing screams of countless birds.

The trial grounds had been compromised.

Wen Qiwu was right. The ancestral trial grounds of the avian races had been turned into a living hell. Only moments ago, the younger generation had leaped into the trial space under the guidance of their elders. Before the Kings could even sigh in relief, a black shadow had manifested within the trial.

Before anyone could see what it was, several young birds fell, their blood staining the air. Before they even hit the ground, the shadow flickered, and the bodies vanished, leaving only a few stray feathers behind.

These youths were the pride of their clans, the future pillars of the bird tribes. To see them slaughtered was like having a knife twisted in the hearts of the Kings.

“Quick! Reopen the gates! Bring the children back!” one King roared.

In their frantic rush to save their own, they nearly doomed every bird in the forest.

Vroom…

The gates swung open, and panicked survivors flew out. But just as they reached the safety of their tribal camps, a thick, black, viscous liquid lashed out and snared them. Before anyone could move to save them, their life force was snuffed out. They were absorbed into the black sludge, which then turned to attack their former comrades.

The Kings charged into the trial space to tear the sludge apart, but no sooner had they finished than a black rain began to fall. Each droplet that hit the ground swelled rapidly, transforming into the very thing they had just destroyed.

There were millions of droplets. The Kings couldn’t kill them fast enough. Finally, one bird looked up at the sky.

The sight turned even the most veteran warriors’ faces white.

“That is”

Directly above them, a massive phantom loomed, blanketing the entire region. It looked like an amorphous pile of sludge, as if dredged from some foul sewer. But a long, long time ago, this thing had nearly destroyed the entire Cangwang Realm.

“A True Demon?” It looked exactly like the True Demon the Phoenix Lord had slain ages ago.

This was the creature that had cost the Phoenix Lord her life. The hatred for it was etched into the very bloodline of the bird tribes.

That was a Divine Realm entity! Even the Phoenix Lord had paid the ultimate price to kill it. Even if this was just a remnant soul with a fraction of its former power, a group of Golden Immortals might not be its match, especially since they were now unknowingly trapped inside the remnant’s body.

Before the fight had even truly begun, the spirits of the Kings began to falter.

“Heh…” Hidden in the distance, the culprit, the Bone-Eroding Demon Lord, concealed his presence, letting the remnant soul of the True Demon go berserk.

To digest the “food” within its body, the remnant attacked everything that moved. Yu Hengwei used every artifact at her disposal, but against a True Demon’s soul, they were barely holding the line. Eventually, the monster realized they were the toughest nuts to crack and concentrated its power on them.

Between Yu Hengwei and Wen Qiwu, the latter was clearly the weaker link. The monster, acting on pure instinct, targeted Wen Qiwu as the breakthrough point.

Whiz!

Wen Qiwu heard the faint whistle of something cutting the air, but by the time she registered the sound, it was too late. A venomous black spike was inches from her back!

Clang!

A crimson light flared in Yu Hengwei’s eyes. She drew her sword. A single wave of sword intent swept forth, pulverizing the black spike instantly.

She breathed heavily, her body still trembling. Her sword intent was so potent that the very sky and earth seemed to crack under its weight, and the soul-body of the True Demon was pierced through. The monster shrieked in agony, its tide of attacks faltering.

In her moment of terror for Wen Qiwu, she had acted purely on instinct, forgetting everything else.

As she came to her senses, Yu Hengwei realized with a jolt of horror: her sword intent was exposed. In all the world, no two sword intents were identical. How could she possibly explain this?

She lowered her eyes, not daring to look at Wen Qiwu’s face. She knew how brilliant Wen Qiwu was—surely, she would realize the truth now.

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