Chapter 95: Save Me

Standing under the century-old ginkgo tree outside the west wall of the City Lord's Mansion, the moonlight leaking through the leaves shimmered in her hair. Baohua transformed into a thumb-sized puppet and hid behind her ear, suddenly tugging at a strand of hair: "Xixi, the Spirit Essence fluctuations in the southwest corner are not right."

Before the words had faded, twelve Bronze Lamps lit up one after another along the base of the wall. Cheng Xi tapped her toes against a branch, her figure sweeping over the treetops like a swallow; when she landed, the bluestone slabs actually rippled like water. Her face showed surprise—this was the long-lost Star-Orbit Maze Array.

"Since an honored guest has arrived, why not enter?" A clear male voice pierced the night.

A young man in a black brocade robe turned out from the moon gate, the Jade Pendant at his waist adorned with seven stars, casting a dark purple, eerie light as he moved.

Cheng Xi smiled faintly, "Young Master Ji has a sharp eye."

Ji Hang lightly stroked the Jade Pendant with his fingertips, and the third star suddenly lit up. The Big Dipper in the night sky suddenly shifted, and the massive star power poured down like a celestial river; the bluestone bricks beneath Cheng Xi's feet suddenly turned into quicksand.

Baohua suddenly leaped into mid-air, the Dragon Scale in her hair erupting with golden light. The moment the starlight filling the sky touched the golden light, it melted away like spring snow meeting the sun.

A trace of astonishment appeared in Ji Hang's eyes, "Dragon Clan Secret Technique?"

"Young Master's ability to perform 'Moving Stars and Changing Dippers' is truly admirable." Cheng Xi pointed her sword-finger at the ground, and as her spiritual power poured into the quicksand, it actually emitted the sound of metal clashing against stone, "It is a pity that the trajectory of the stars most fears being forced; the shifting of the Greedy Wolf star will surely invite disaster."

"Does the young lady know that the Wanxing Sect was originally a passage for defying the heavens?" Ji Hang chuckled suddenly, the seven stars on the Jade Pendant aligning, "Ye Wujin's Altar requires nine hundred and ninety-nine demon corpses, while my Ji Family only needs the blood of seven top-tier cultivators from the Mortal Realm..."

"And so?"

The glazed lamps suddenly extinguished all at once. In the darkness came the sound of chains being dragged across the ground, and a thick, bloody stench seeped from beneath the earth. Baohua suddenly let out a sharp shriek, the golden light of the Dragon Scale around her body illuminating a space of ten zhang, only to reveal eight Bronze Pillars carved with Runes bursting from the ground, with six mummified corpses hanging from the tops of the pillars!

"The seventh one, I originally intended to invite the young lady to serve as." Ji Hang's figure flickered between reality and illusion among the Bronze Pillars, his voice sounding now far, now near, "Since this little person beside you possesses Dragon Clan arts, why not have her take your place?"

Cheng Xi formed complex hand seals with both hands, and Baohua transformed into ten thousand golden threads that submerged into the earth veins; the entire City Lord's Mansion suddenly shook violently. Ji Hang's expression changed abruptly, and the seven stars on the Jade Pendant actually began to rotate in reverse uncontrollably.

"You actually understand the Earth Vein Sealing Technique!"

"Does the Young Master know that true star power is never confined to a fixed position?" The Twenty-Eight Mansions Diagram appeared beneath Cheng Xi's feet, and the Eastern Azure Dragon Seven Mansions shone brightly, "Once the Star Gate opens, the laws of heaven and earth will be rewritten. When that time comes, the first to suffer the backlash will be those of you who tamper with the star trajectories!"

The ground suddenly split open into an abyss, and blood-colored Runes surged out from the cracks.

Cheng Xi grabbed Baohua as she flew back and retreated rapidly. Her last glance saw Ji Hang standing in the surging blood mist, a crazed smile on his lips: "At the hour of the Rat three days from now, let us see whether the young lady's Azure Dragon Mansions break the array first, or my blood sacrifice triggers the Heavenly Gate..."

Cheng Xi was ejected by the restrictions of the City Lord's Mansion. She stared with a dark, heavy expression at the City Lord's Mansion, which was shrouded in a mass of black mist; she had not expected the Ji Family to be so bold.

So, does Ji Tang know about this?

Cheng Xi guessed that she must know; so, did she infiltrate the Academy to coordinate with Ji Hang from the inside?

Then, is there a connection between Ji Hang and Ye Wujin?

If not, how did he know that the Altar required demon sacrifices to be activated? If there is, why did he set up another array in the City Lord's Mansion?

Thinking of this, she could not help but consider another possibility: Ye Wujin and Ji Hang are both colluding and guarding against each other.

Thinking of this, Cheng Xi did not delay any longer and immediately hurried back to the Academy.

She returned extremely quickly. Li Zhi'an had not yet returned from Wanxing Mountain, so she first encountered Jin Wu, who was returning from the mountains.

As soon as Jin Wu saw Cheng Xi, he immediately walked over quickly, "Junior Sister."

"Second Senior Brother." Cheng Xi stopped and looked at him, assessing his complexion, and said with a smile: "It seems Second Senior Brother's cultivation has made great progress. Congratulations."

"If not for you, Junior Sister, I would not be where I am today," Jin Wu said solemnly, "Junior Sister has the grace of a second birth toward me."

Cheng Xi hurriedly waved her hand, "Second Senior Brother, you are too kind; it was merely a coincidence of fate."

Jin Wu, however, did not agree; he was simply convinced that his current state was due to the kindness of his Junior Sister.

"Did you just return from outside, Junior Sister?"

Cheng Xi nodded, "I just returned from the City Lord's Mansion. Second Senior Brother, do you have any understanding of the Ji Family?"

Upon hearing this, Jin Wu said: "The Ji Family has guarded Wanxing Mountain for hundreds of years, and some say it has been over a thousand. However, the people of the Ji Family are very low-key and have little contact with the outside world. Oh, by the way, I heard that someone from the Ji Family entered the Academy this year. This is the first time in one or two hundred years, which is a bit surprising."

Cheng Xi felt a sense of realization upon hearing this, and looking at Jin Wu, she added: "If the Ji Family didn't enter the Academy before, how did they cultivate?"

"I don't know about that, but privately I've heard people say that the Ji Family has its own heritage."

Cheng Xi nodded, "I see. Thank you for clearing that up, Second Senior Brother."

Jin Wu chuckled. This was nothing. Seeing that Cheng Xi had no other business, he left first.

Cheng Xi returned to her own courtyard. No sooner had she stepped inside than Ji Muzhi ran over, shouting from afar: "Eldest Miss, help!"

Cheng Xi turned to look at Ji Muzhi, "What happened?"

"Su Yan is injured. Please go and take a look."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Xi immediately followed Ji Muzhi. All the way to the back mountain, she saw Su Yan lying on the ground with a face as pale as paper. Chi Laicheng was guarding him, and there was no sign of Li Zhi'an or Qin Yu.

She immediately stepped forward and knelt down to check Su Yan's injuries. At a glance, her expression turned grave, "Backlash? What kind of Talisman did he use?"

She condensed spiritual power at her fingertips to probe Su Yan's heart pulse, but was suddenly repelled by a cold, sinister baleful aura. She stared at the frost congealing on her fingertips, her pupils shrinking slightly: "This is not an ordinary backlash... Did he use an ancient Yin Talisman?"

Chi Laicheng pulled a charred fragment of talisman paper from his bosom, "Found it this morning at the breach in the back mountain barrier. Looking at the patterns, it seems to be..."

"Nine Nether Soul-Suppressing Talisman." Cheng Xi took the fragment; the cinnabar-drawn Rune glowed with an eerie blue-purple light in the sunlight, "Using living souls as a sacrifice can summon Yin soldiers to borrow the path. This kind of forbidden technique was sealed by all sects over a hundred years ago. Where did you get it?"

Ji Muzhi said in a deep voice: "After the incident at the Altar last time, we have been tracking Ye Wujin's whereabouts and found half a volume of a broken ancient book at Duanhun Cliff. Su Yan said the incantations recorded on it might be able to draw out the person behind the scenes..." His voice grew lower, "This morning he said he wanted to go to the back mountain alone to investigate, and by the time we discovered him..."

Just as Cheng Xi was about to speak, Su Yan suddenly began to convulse violently. Black, spiderweb-like veins appeared on his neck, and it seemed as if living things were crawling beneath his skin.

Chi Laicheng hurriedly pressed down on his shoulders, but was knocked into a tree by a burst of Yin energy.

"Press his Baihui acupoint!" Cheng Xi joined her fingers like a knife and sliced open Su Yan's wrist pulse; the blood that gushed out was ink-green. She condensed Spirit Essence into needles and pierced them into his Tiantu, Shanzhong, and Qihai acupoints; the needles were instantly covered in ice crystals, "The backlash has entered the marrow; the Yin energy is devouring his soul."

Ji Muzhi tremblingly pulled open Su Yan's collar, and everyone gasped—a blood-red Ghost Face Totem had appeared on his chest. Cheng Xi's fingertips brushed over the edge of the totem; the traces of cinnabar mixed with gold powder had not yet dried: "This is... a Blood Pact?"

A mountain wind suddenly rose, and the shrill cawing of crows echoed through the forest. Cheng Xi suddenly turned to look at the western peak, only to see that the mountain forest, which should have been shrouded in mist, had faint blood-colored mist rising from it.

"He must be soaked in a cold pool." Cheng Xi quickly wrote down a prescription and threw it to Chi Laicheng, "The other medicinal ingredients are available, but we are missing one: the Thousand-Year Blood Begonia. If we don't return before sunset..."

"The Blood Begonia Flower only blooms once every twenty years," Chi Laicheng's face turned deathly pale, "Ji Muzhi had some originally, but it was used at the Altar last time, saying it was to suppress..."

"Suppress what?" Cheng Xi narrowed her eyes, suddenly recalling Li Zhi'an's grave expression these past few days.

She looked at Chi Laicheng, "Find the Blood Begonia Flower as soon as possible. I will go into the mountain to take a look."