Chapter 1018: The Beginning of the End

The wooden carving of a girl was unmistakably An Dong'er!

She was the last surviving bloodline of the An Divine Doctor's family, one of the few survivors of Mo Cun.

And also… Fang Yue's adopted younger sister.

Fang Yue never expected that, when he resolved to kill An Dong'er to save You Sisi, he had inadvertently brought An Dong'er back to life.

"An Dong'er, is it really you? Do you remember me?"

"Of course I remember—in the An Fu, Grandpa made me recognize you as my adoptive older brother. After Mo Cun was destroyed, I followed Captain Wu, traveling all the way to Qingsi County to find your trail, but along the way I was captured by the Phoenix Organization and turned into this monstrous, neither-human-nor-ghost form…"

An Dong'er clenched her fists; memories of the past surged in like a tide, and she quickly understood her current situation.

Seeing Fang Yue still anxiously cradling You Sisi's head, An Dong'er comforted him: "Ye Ge, I don't know your relationship with this woman, but rest assured—she's not in mortal danger."

Almost the moment An Dong'er finished speaking, You Sisi's exploded head sprouted a sapling from the base of her neck, which rapidly grew into a towering Human-Head Tree, hoisting her head high above.

"What is this?!"

Fang Yue's heart jolted—he turned to An Dong'er, who replied succinctly.

"I gave her a body."

The Human-Head Tree grew to roughly human height, then its roots thickened and reshaped like skeletal bones, eventually forming a wooden-carving body identical to An Dong'er's.

After completing this transformation, You Sisi's living head slowly opened her eyes.

"Ye… se?"

"Sisi!"

Fang Yue's heart swelled with overwhelming joy—he cried out in surprise.

You Sisi seemed unaccustomed to her new wooden-carving body; she leaned stiffly against Fang Yue and asked confusedly: "What exactly happened? Didn't I get absorbed by the Spirit Tree…?"

Her memories ended the moment she was absorbed by the Spirit Tree and lost consciousness.

She had no recollection of Fang Yue coming to rescue her, or of the Spirit Tree's destruction.

Fang Yue briefly explained what had happened, then turned to An Dong'er.

"An Dong'er, what exactly is this Mo Xian Array?"

An Dong'er shook her head slightly.

"I don't fully understand it, but I can feel this array is deeply tied to my body—all the underground passageways beneath Jingcheng are overrun with interwoven roots, absorbing nutrients, which are then channeled directly to me."

Underground passageways?!

Fang Yue's heart sank—he realized the Spirit Tree hadn't been destroyed after all; its core power had merely shifted from the surface giant to the vast network of underground passageways beneath Jingcheng. No wonder the emerald glow hadn't faded—it had only grown stronger, intensifying by the moment.

"An Dong'er, can you stop this array?"

"I don't know. I'll try."

An Dong'er closed her eyes—and instantly, her entire body blazed with emerald light. A network of array lines glowed brilliantly around her, as if all of Jingcheng lay prostrate beneath her feet.

The emerald glow that had spread across Jingcheng suddenly retracted, surging violently toward An Dong'er and flooding into her body!

"An Dong'er!"

Fang Yue sensed something was terribly wrong—he lunged to stop her, but it was too late.

His hand touched An Dong'er—and passed straight through her wooden-carving body as if it were smoke.

Simultaneously, an indescribable, ominous aura began pouring relentlessly from An Dong'er—as if her very essence was undergoing a transformation! A metamorphosis!

Boom!!

Thunder cracked—the night sky above the Black Clouds began forming a far more peculiar, far more tyrannical force: Heavenly Tribulation.

"What kind of aura is this?! Even on Grandpa, I've never felt anything so terrifying! This can't be explained by Rain-level cultivators… She's… ascending to Immortality?!"

You Sisi's eyes widened—though she didn't fully understand the situation, this terrifying aura was utterly beyond any Rain-level cultivator's power!

Fang Yue's cultivation level was higher than You Sisi's—he felt it even more acutely.

The surging aura crushed his own presence, and the speed of her power growth was like a rocket launch—unstoppable.

The cost of this rapid power surge? The lives of all beings in Jingcheng—and even Jingcheng's very existence!

This was a massive-scale sacrifice! A cruel, bloodthirsty ritual so evil it would draw universal condemnation!

"Stop! An Dong'er, stop! Don't resonate with the array anymore!!"

Fang Yue ordered You Sisi to retreat, then reached again for An Dong'er, desperate to snap her back to awareness.

But before his right hand neared her, the skin on his knuckles began writhing like boiling water—rapidly wrinkling, shriveling, turning into the withered arm of an old man, speckled with age spots.

His heart lurched—before he could pull back, his hand near An Dong'er began decaying and rotting; his skin melted like wax, dripping away, leaving only the white bones still extended forward.

Fang Yue immediately recoiled with You Sisi—when he looked back at his right hand, it remained nothing but bone. Yet ahead of him, An Dong'er showed no sign of awareness, utterly absorbed in resonance with the array, completely unresponsive.

His expression darkened; Fang Yue whispered inwardly.

"Parchment, you're awake, aren't you?"

【Huhuh! Caught me!】

【That's right—I woke up before you lost control during your berserk state… But back then, I couldn't help you—I could only maintain the balance between the Flower Bud Shadow and the Millstone Shadow.】

【Same now. An Dong'er is undergoing a fundamental life transformation. Interfering now would be extremely dangerous.】

"Who's in more danger—I am, or An Dong'er?"

【Both are in danger!】

"... I understand. Help me with Time Reversal."

【Fang Yue, no matter what choice you make, I stand with you. But you may not fully grasp the chasm between Immortal-level and Rain-level. Don't compare this to those past cheaters—they were half-baked, still weakened. This being on the verge of true Immortality? A single casual strike from her would obliterate you!】

"I know my limits."

Watching Fang Yue's dismissive attitude, the cute pink-haired girl on the bed in his mind puffed out her cheeks in annoyance.

【Fine! I'm going back to sleep to recharge—call me when you need me!】

Adjusting power… Time Reversal!!

His lifespan burned, and Fang Yue's right hand, which had originally turned to white bone, instantly reversed time, rapidly refilling with flesh and blood, returning to normal.

However, the amount of lifespan consumed was considerable; the power absorbing lifespan around An Dong'er seemed no ordinary thing.

"A qualitative change of life... the Ink Immortal Formation... Could it be that An Dong'er is about to become an immortal? Becoming an immortal in this manner? Is it really feasible?"

Fang Yue's expression turned odd. An Dong'er had a Spirit Root, yet now she was using the Ink Immortal Formation to ascend — wasn't that putting the cart before the horse?

Moreover, would An Dong'er after ascending still be An Dong'er? Would she still possess her own consciousness?

Fang Yue felt things weren't that simple. Not to mention, to let An Dong'er become an immortal, he didn't know how many lives in Jingcheng would need to be absorbed to fill these gaps.

"Sure enough, I still have to stop her."

Fang Yue took a deep breath, about to step forward again...

Hum!!

A sword-humming sound suddenly rang out from high above.

The next instant, the air around An Dong'er rippled slightly, as if it had twisted and dissolved some attack.

But judging from the rippling waves appearing in the air, the power of this strike was no ordinary thing.

Fang Yue frowned, looked up, and saw the First Prince of the Wuyu Tribe hovering in the air, looking down at them from above.

From his hand-sword stance, the sword Qi just now must have been the work of the First Prince of the Wuyu Tribe.

"You two are the Feng Wang and Huang Hou... no! Wait! You bastard, aren't you..."

The First Prince of the Wuyu Tribe, who had just spoken, immediately noticed Fang Yue, and his brow furrowed.

"I didn't expect you bastard to still be alive. That means my younger princes are already dead, killed by your hand."

The First Prince of the Wuyu Tribe removed his black bone helmet, his rotten, hollow eyes like white bone fixed tightly on Fang Yue.

It could sense no aura from the other younger princes; on the way here, even the Second Prince's aura had vanished, fallen here.

As for the dark-green light that later shrouded Jingcheng, and the large swathes of Wuyu Tribe subordinates falling and vanishing in the night sky, the fury in the First Prince's heart had already reached its peak.

Although the King had not given a direct order, his tacit approval of the princes descending to Jingcheng was tantamount to entrusting them with the mission of slaughtering Jingcheng's humans.

As a result, not only had their main force suffered heavy losses, they had failed to even preserve the lives of the younger princes, who died at the hands of human martial artists.

"Humans... deserve death!"

His eyes hardened, his hand-sword swept, and sword Qi flew from his hand, slashing straight down at Fang Yue below!

Fang Yue hurriedly raised the Heavenly Sword to block...

Clang!!

The moment the two collided, shockwaves instantly rippled through the air. The Heavenly Sword, having taken this strike, trembled violently, and Fang Yue's right wrist went numb, feeling an oncoming loss of strength.

This bastard... is on a completely different level from the other Wuyu Tribe princes!

Fang Yue's expression grew solemn. Shielding You Sisi behind him, he faced off against the First Prince of the Wuyu Tribe in the air from afar.

"Yese, is it very strong?" You Sisi, hiding behind him, asked in a small voice.

"... More troublesome than I thought."

"Then don't bother with me. Run on your own."

"How could I possibly leave you behind..."

Fang Yue had just said this when he turned to look, and his expression instantly froze.

He saw that You Sisi, who had just had a wooden-carved body, had now reverted back to the form of a Human-Head Tree, with only a single head hanging from the tree like a fruit, giving Fang Yue a bitter smile.

"I'm sorry, it seems... I'm already beyond saving."

"How could this be..."

Fang Yue's face darkened. He gripped his sword tightly, but his gaze shifted to An Dong'er ahead.

Could it be that An Dong'er's absorption of energy had also drained the energy from You Sisi's body?

Originally, this kind of body was An Dong'er's creation, so it seemed reasonable for it to be reclaimed.

But... Fang Yue absolutely would not let You Sisi die just like this!

Now, before Fang Yue, there were two paths to choose.

One: stop An Dong'er, make her regain clarity, and keep You Sisi's body safe.

Two: stay away from An Dong'er, and get You Sisi somewhere beyond An Dong'er's influence.

He had already tried the former, but his hand couldn't even touch An Dong'er. Trying to make her regain clarity through external force would likely be quite difficult.

As for the second method, currently, within all of Jingcheng, the only place unaffected by the Ink Immortal Formation was just one... that was, the Imperial Palace!

Just as Fang Yue was thinking this, the First Prince of the Wuyu Tribe above had already fired several more hand-sword sword Qi.

Fang Yue's mind moved, and with a leap, he shifted to behind An Dong'er.

Several sword Qi, like tracking missiles, curved mid-flight and came attacking toward An Dong'er's front.

Hum! Hum!

Yet the moment the sword Qi rushed into An Dong'er's vicinity, it was immediately absorbed by a strange force field, and the attack dissolved into nothing.

"What?! It can even block this move of mine. Could this woman's strength be on par with mine?!"

The First Prince of the Wuyu Tribe widened his eyes, staring in disbelief at An Dong'er, who was resonating with closed eyes.

Meanwhile, Fang Yue was thinking about something else.

"Even the First Prince of the Wuyu Tribe's attack can't break through An Dong'er's defense and make her regain clarity..."

Fang Yue grew ever more acutely aware of just how powerful the protection around An Dong'er, currently undergoing qualitative change, truly was.

If even the First Prince of the Wuyu Tribe couldn't do it, then his attacks likely couldn't either.

Still, he had to try!

Sword rises!

Black shadows coiled around the blade, and two great phantoms manifested at once.

The sword shot forth!

The Heavenly Sword stabbed toward An Dong'er's shoulder.

Fang Yue had no intention of seriously wounding An Dong'er—just a small cut would do, enough to make her stop resonating.

But the Heavenly Sword, carrying its violent power, had only just thrust toward An Dong'er.

That strange protective force instantly caused the Heavenly Sword to shudder violently, as if the entire blade might shatter apart at any moment.

The intense sense of crisis made the Heavenly Sword frantically reach out to Fang Yue, pleading with him; at the same time, its once-bellowing momentum was greatly diminished by its own resistance.

Seeing the attempt was futile, Fang Yue sighed inwardly and recalled the Heavenly Sword.

The moment Fang Yue withdrew the Heavenly Sword, he saw the First Prince of the Crow Rain Tribe drop from the sky with a whoosh, landing on the ground and charging straight to An Dong'er's face, a black claw swiping directly at her.

As the black claw was unleashed, it conjured a massive phantom claw that clawed toward An Dong'er's face.

But the moment the claw shadow entered the protective force around An Dong'er, it instantly vaporized on the spot, vanishing without any fanfare.

And the First Prince of the Crow Rain Tribe's right hand followed right into the range of that protective force.

In just an instant, the First Prince of the Crow Rain Tribe suddenly changed expression, violently retreating a hundred meters away, staring at his nearly rotted right hand while looking at An Dong'er with shock and uncertainty.

In that brief instant when he had entered the protective force around An Dong'er, he had sensed… a presence similar to his father's! The presence of a demon!

Replaced

(End of this chapter)