Chapter 98: 93 Approaching

93 Approaching

Pointed at by Ku Yi until his nose, the cultist's face gradually turned pale, and he said, "The demonstration you speak of is..."

Hu's expression changed slightly, and he immediately made a choice, shouting, "Did you not hear the Incense Master's orders? Walk forward, quickly, draw that monster out."

The cultist looked conflicted, and Hu urged, "Hurry up. What are you afraid of? Even if that tiger is fierce, the Incense Master possesses great Supernatural Power; do you think he would let you die?"

Ku Yi smiled, his teeth white and flawless.

Seeing his tacit approval, the cultist breathed a sigh of relief and took small, quick steps forward.

Hu found him too slow and wanted to kick him, but Ku Yi looked amiable and signaled that it was fine.

Having reached the entrance of the tunnel, suddenly, as if they had touched some railing, a large red Pixiu suddenly appeared, its face ferocious, and it bit down in one gulp.

Everyone held their breath, just about to turn back to look at Ku Yi, but Ku Yi remained smiling and silent, like a clay Bodhisattva. In an instant, the Pixiu had already bitten through the man's throat.

Thump.

The corpse fell down, and the Pixiu disappeared.

The cultists were silent.

Although they felt sorrow for their own kind, it was inevitable, but no one felt any anger, and even less did anyone blame the Flag Master or the Incense Master.

Actually, it was just... something they were accustomed to.

The Holy Moon Sect itself did not care about human lives, and that naturally included their own cultists. Using human lives to scout the path was just standard procedure; everyone knew he was bound to die, and they only felt lucky it wasn't their turn. It was just that the new Incense Master had such a compassionate and amiable face, which made it hard not to have some expectations—would he really save those in suffering?

In the end, he was still the same as the previous Incense Master.

Hu said cautiously, "What do you think, sir..."

The monk Ku Yi said, "So that's how it is. Just a small beast. Not worth mentioning."

He slowly reached out, took a prayer bead from his neck, rolled it in his hand, and pointed at another person, saying, "Go call that beast out."

That cultist had a look of death on his face, but he didn't run; he pointed at the moon and said, "The Moon God descends." He rushed up in one breath.

Just as he touched the boundary, the Pixiu appeared again and bit down in one gulp.

Just as it bit the man's throat, the monk Ku Yi threw the prayer bead out.

The prayer bead drew an arc in the air; there was no fierce wind, no speed, but instead, it grew larger and larger, until finally—

It was like a ball.

The prayer bead was originally pure wood-colored, but after turning into a ball, its color became bright and colorful, rolling along with a rumble, passing right in front of the Pixiu and rolling into the distance.

The Pixiu's gaze immediately followed the ball, as if glued to it.

Suddenly, it abandoned the cultist and went chasing after the ball. The ball rolled along, and it chased along, always keeping a distance, as if playing a game of chase.

The invisible high wall had already developed a flaw.

Everyone was dumbfounded, and the monk Ku Yi smiled faintly, "The stupid thing has made way, let us enter." He walked forward first.

One could see his gait was steady as he successfully passed through that layer of Array, and everyone was overjoyed, following him in a rush, heading straight for the Demon Cave in the distance.

Leaving behind only the Pixiu chasing the prayer bead, and the bitten cultist lying on the ground, life or death unknown.

———

Guarding Peace!

Making a great vow, willing to turn into a levee to guard a peaceful world!

This Sword Technique requires a powerful inner heart; the more determined the heart, the wider the power of protection, and the more indestructible the levee. As long as the heart does not waver, the barrier continues to exist.

Most of the Sword Art and Sword Technique of the Xiezhi Sword are like this, seeking within the heart, varying from person to person.

Tang Zhao's heart was very determined and very pure, but he was young after all and did not have a great soul like the great vow; on his own, it was difficult to support such a large barrier, so he drew power from the sword.

The Authority Sword is the Yituai of the sword and the Sword Guest; it possesses not only the power of the sword but also the mental power of the Sword Guest from back then. Such powerful Spirit, Qi, and soul only need another strong heart as a ladder to be fully channeled down, releasing a protection no less than a flood.

Behind him, there was a faint shadow that was almost impossible to see. Xing Ji was close at hand, but because his attention was on the flood dragon, he failed to notice it.

It was just that Tang Zhao himself didn't notice either; although he was unwavering, as the waves of the flood attacked, the sword in his hand moved downward inch by inch.

Finally, the water receded.

Although the flood dragon released it in anger, its power was not infinite; after releasing a wave of flood, it eventually lacked the strength to continue and stopped. It looked a bit weak, but the layer of sparks constantly exploding on its body actually became smaller.

The world's suppression and weakening had lessened!

Xing Ji noticed this situation, his expression becoming increasingly severe, and he gritted his teeth slightly.

Without waiting for this side to organize a counterattack, the flood dragon leaped back into the river and quickly sank into the depths of the river, no longer showing a clear outline, only a hazy Shadow. The river water quickly smoothed out the splashes, protecting the giant beast in the water like a barrier.

Tang Zhao put down his sword and suddenly felt a wave of dizziness, nearly falling; even the shadow of the Xiezhi disappeared. Xing Ji caught him from behind and ordered, "Chen, Du, you two go check the direction of the water flow to see if there are signs of flooding. If so, ask the local authorities to organize disaster relief and protect the people. The rest of you, prepare the chains and get ready to form the Iron Net Array."

Everyone shouted their assent, and the two Centurions stepped out and left; one of them glanced at Si Liyu before leaving. Si Liyu was the youngest and lowest-ranking among everyone besides Tang Zhao. But Xing Ji did not send him to do such peripheral work, instead keeping him in the front-line team. Clearly, he had sent the two who were less useful.

These two naturally felt resentful that they were the most useless, but since Xing Ji had assigned the tasks, it was not their place to object, so they had to leave in a hurry, their backs looking somewhat dejected.

Xing Ji turned back and patted Tang Zhao, his expression amiable, saying, "Tired? Put down the sword and rest for a while. Since you haven't killed anyone yet, putting down the sword doesn't matter."

Tang Zhao planted the sword on the ground, the tip of the sword meeting the grass and wood smoothly without causing the slightest damage. He looked up and said, "Sir, that sword strike just now..."

Xing Ji said, "I know. That you can release such a barrier shows that your coordination with the sword is fine, and your heart has not wavered. But the fact that you couldn't harm it only means..."

Tang Zhao said softly, "It is not guilty."

The Xiezhi Sword is a sword of justice; it only harms those who are guilty. Beyond that, it does not harm innocent creatures, does not harm a single blade of grass or tree, and does not harm the natural world.

That move, 'Eliminating Evil to the End', was the Xiezhi Sword's strongest offensive Sword Technique, yet it still followed this principle. That move could kill a heinous person, even turning them into dust in an instant, body and soul destroyed, but if it encountered a newborn baby, it wouldn't even pierce its tender skin.

However...

Tang Zhao asked, "Didn't you say that as long as they invade our world, they are guilty? Why couldn't I eliminate it?"

Xing Ji was also thinking about this question and said, "A few possibilities. First, it doesn't count as an invasion yet."

He looked up at the river flowing vertically in the sky, "If one considers that river an extension of the outer realm, then that is its own home. It only poked its head out and hasn't left its home yet. After all, it is an Earth-type Demon Cave; it hasn't merged the two worlds but squeezed into this world. The territorial boundaries are hard to define, so it hasn't committed the crime of invasion yet."

Tang Zhao was very skeptical of this explanation. When he killed his way out of the water earlier, he had killed plenty of Phantoms, and it was one strike per kill, Jishi upon contact, which showed they were all guilty. Why should the flood dragon be an exception?

Unless the river hadn't merged at that time, and the rainwater was still considered part of our world, so those water creatures were still invaders, while only this flood dragon came down when the river fully appeared and never left its own world, thus exempt from guilt?

Isn't that a bit far-fetched?

"The second possibility," Xing Ji said, staring at the shadow in the water, "is that it has no heart."

Only with a heart can there be guilt; without a heart, there is no guilt.

Xing Ji furrowed his brows and said, "Even beasts can be judged as guilty because they harbor the desire to hunt and benefit themselves when they kill. But a Heavenly Demon is different from a beast; it might be a more peculiar existence, such as not being of flesh and blood, but a spirit of the mountains and rivers, or perhaps a River God? Such transcendent existences are difficult to judge by crimes, so it is useless."

Tang Zhao pondered along with him, feeling it was possible. Looking at how this flood dragon blended with the water flow as if they were one, perhaps it wasn't some flood dragon at all, but a Manifestation of the river's will?

Xing Ji's expression gradually grew somber, and he said, "There is a third possibility. That is... I was wrong."

Tang Zhao looked at him in surprise.

Xing Ji said softly, "Could it be that I really thought wrong? The invasion is not a crime, it's just that the invaders happen to be guilty people? The Xiezhi Sword is not punishing them for their invasion, but punishing their previous crimes? And this Heavenly Demon just happens to have been pure and good in the first half of its life, so it is not subject to judgment? Lord Judge, do you really think so?"

His expression became increasingly strange, as if he had fallen into some kind of contradiction, but suddenly he steeled his heart, returned to normal, and with a firm and spirited gaze, said to Tang Zhao, "These will all have to be verified slowly later. But regardless, since it has invaded, crime or no crime, today I will make sure it never returns. Hmm, it seems you are of no use against the Heavenly Demon."

Hey, hey, hey, so direct? Are you going to kill the Donkey the moment the millstone is removed?

Xing Ji patted him and said, "You rest first. You just unleashed such a great Sword Technique, your Spirit must be exhausted. Once you've rested, go kill some Phantoms or something; all those shrimp soldiers and crab generals outside are all yours to handle. Let us deal with the Heavenly Demon. For now, the area around the Demon Cave is still calm; the Bi'an hasn't alerted me, which means no one has crossed Yumen Guan. Phantoms pose no threat to you, you'll be fine on your own. If I sense anyone intruding, I will send someone to support you."

Tang Zhao's mouth twitched; he didn't know whether to feel relieved or disappointed. Although fighting Phantoms on the periphery was indeed safe, there was no sense of accomplishment. Could it be that his ambitious first trip to the Demon Cave was going to end so anticlimactically?

Xing Ji let go of him and shouted, "Everyone, bring your chains! We're going into the river to fish out the Heavenly Demon!"

His tone was still relaxed, but his heart was filled with murderous intent.

No one knew better than Xing Ji that time was the greatest enemy in exterminating a Heavenly Demon. Now, lacking a major combat force, once the sparks of that world-suppression were completely extinguished, the Heavenly Demon would be unstoppable!

The opportunity might... be the last one!