Chapter 97: The Power of the Demon-Subduing Array [Requesting Subscriptions]

At the shout, the sword in the old man's hand seemed to split apart, and dozens of blades appeared in a ring, trapping the Black-Robed Imperial Tutor in the center. The runes on every sword spun faster and faster, their light blinding to look at.

The Black-Robed Imperial Tutor was truly panicked now. She had clearly not expected the old man to stake all their lives and souls on activating such a formation.

She tried to retreat, but there was no retreat left—they were sealed inside the second barrier, and all around her were only phantoms of swords.

She leaped into the air, attempting to break through the barrier. A thunderous bang rang out as she collided with its ceiling, then was slammed heavily to the ground, carving a huge crater.

This was nothing like when the fat man had reached out to poke it. With all her strength thrown into the attempt, the barrier's backlash hit her with tenfold, even tens of times the force.

The Black-Robed Imperial Tutor climbed out of the pit, her earlier composure gone.

She was afraid, staring at the old man's swords.

"Old man, do you really think this can kill me? Even if I die, it won't be long before I'm reborn. But you'll be nothing but ashes. Let me go today, and I'll take these evil creatures with me. What do you say to that trade?"

The old man gave a bleak smile and glanced at the disciples within the barrier—only ten remained who could still hold off the zombies' attacks.

"Prepare to die! Kill!"

With that roar, he hurled the sword in his hand, and it descended from above toward the Black-Robed Imperial Tutor. The ring of swords that formed the formation also drew in tightly, falling together. She raised both hands, deflecting the blades again and again, but no sooner had she knocked one away than another slid into the vacant place.

Thud, thud, thud—four swords pierced into the Black-Robed Imperial Tutor's body. She dropped to her knees, black blood spilling in an unbroken stream from the corner of her mouth, and she smiled at the old man with a sinister charm.

"Is this all? You think this can kill me? Delusion!"

At that, she sat cross-legged on the ground, ignoring the swords stuck in her body. A cloud of black qi streamed out through her constantly opening and closing mouth, flooding the entire barrier until Zhou Yi and the others could see nothing within.

At that moment, a dazzling radiance flashed, followed by an explosion. The searing light made it impossible to open one's eyes, and even outside the barrier, everyone was thrown far away by the shockwave.

Fatty and Cheng Zhi each spat out a mouthful of blood. Zhou Yi shook his head, scrambled to his feet, and looked toward the barrier.

The old man's formation inside had vanished completely. The old man knelt on the ground, while the Black-Robed Imperial Tutor had shattered into several pieces. Even in death her eyes were wide open, as if she could not believe someone could be so ruthless.

The barrier below that had trapped the zombies was gone too, and not a single zombie remained. Not even their corpses. As for the cultivators, all of them were dead—bodies scattered helter-skelter within the formation, not a spark of life left.

Zhou Yi grew anxious, scanning the barrier before him. Everything inside should have been slain cleanly by now.

He wanted to ask the old man what that hexagram formation actually was. What did it mean? Who had taught it to him? How did he know it?

Sophia tried to stop him, but Zhou Yi shook off her arm. He raised his hand toward the barrier, frantically summoning every attribute he knew within his mind until a stream of iridescent light curled around his palm.

The moment his hand touched the barrier, instead of being thrown back as he had imagined, the entire barrier vanished as if a switch had been pressed.

The people behind him stared in utter shock.

That actually worked?

Zhou Yi had no time to marvel. He hurried toward the old man. Seeing this, Sophia rushed over, grabbed Zhou Yi by the belt, and with a few bounds landed them both in front of the old man.

The old man's eyes were closed, as if he were resting.

But his face was ghastly pale, without a trace of color. His robes still bore the same bloodstains, with no new wounds.

Zhou Yi crouched down, not daring to touch him.

"Old sir, are you all right? I… how can I help you?"

Sophia crouched behind Zhou Yi and scanned the old man up and down. He wasn't breathing, and his heartbeat was so weak it was almost inaudible. Clearly, the old man was on the verge of death. But seeing Zhou Yi so frantic, she didn't say anything.

The wind whispered past their ears.

A long time passed. The old man didn't move. He seemed dead.

Zhou Yi reached out, and the moment he touched the old man, the old man's eyes suddenly flew open.

Sophia jumped in fright. The dead man had come back to life? Could he have turned, becoming a zombie—or an even greater demon lord? The shock made her freeze for only a moment. Then she reached for Zhou Yi's shoulder, but the old man was only looking at Zhou Yi, and her hand stopped mid-motion.

"Old sir, how are you? Is there any medicine that can heal your wounds? Or what should I do?"

Zhou Yi spoke with genuine earnestness and urgency. He truly did not want the old man to die. He reached out, gently supporting the old man's arm, trying to give him some help.

The old man's lips curved into a faint smile. With great effort, he opened his mouth and said:

"Heaven has not deceived me, nor allowed the Qingcheng lineage to be severed through me!"

The old man turned his hand over, and a pure white jade pendant fell into Zhou Yi's palm. Then, with a smile on his face, his lips moved feebly, as if he were still saying something, but not a single word could be heard.

After that, the old man's entire body transformed into specks of glowing dust and scattered away in the wind. Zhou Yi clutched the jade pendant and rose to his feet, trying desperately to hold on to some of those specks, but when he opened his hand, nothing remained.

At the same time, throughout the valley, every corpse dissolved into specks of powder and dispersed. The points of light rose, ceaselessly drifting as if toward the moonlight.

The moon grew brighter, and the valley was no longer as dim as before.

Zhou Yi stood where he was, gripping the jade pendant, shouting again and again:

"Don't go! That hexagram and those runes—what are they? Why did you say I'm of the Qingcheng lineage? What does it mean?"

By the end, his strength gave out. He fell to his knees, lost and helpless. The only person who knew the secret was gone, and everything had returned to the starting point.

"Zhou Yi, are you all right?"

Sophia was deeply worried, sensing his dejection.

Fatty and Cheng Zhi came over. Cheng Zhi nudged Fatty's shoulder, signaling for him to say something, since Fatty was the best talker.

Fatty blinked, then moved up to Zhou Yi.

He was normally all smiles and jokes, but at a moment like this, he could truly understand what Zhou Yi was feeling—especially helpless, not knowing what to do next, just like when he himself had once repeated the same motions over and over, lost and hopeless.

"Boss, he's already gone. But didn't he leave you this jade pendant? I'm sure it must mean something. How about we head up the mountain and take a look at the Qingcheng sect? After all, this is their turf, so we can also learn something about the old man. And once we do, cracking the mystery will be easier. Didn't the old man just say the Black-Robed Imperial Tutor was Emperor Liang's consort? If worst comes to worst, we go to the capital and pay this Emperor Liang a visit. He's the one who ordered Qingcheng destroyed. How about we avenge the old man?"

Zhou Yi raised his head. Fatty's words reminded him. He hurriedly grabbed the jade pendant and looked up toward the buildings at the top of the mountain.

By now, the east was already paling with dawn.

Zhou Yi started up the mountain. Sophia glanced at Cheng Zhi. She could carry at most two people at once—that was her limit.

"Follow behind, I'll come back for you in a moment."

With that, Sophia hauled the two of them up with visible effort and leaped. Zhou Yi said nothing, since this was faster. Fatty squeezed his eyes shut, clenching his jaw to keep from screaming.

In moments, they landed before the mountain gate of Qingcheng.

Sophia set the two down, turned, and went back down for Cheng Zhi. This time she returned quickly.

Zhou Yi held up the jade pendant and examined it closely. It was a rectangular piece of jade, flawless and pure white, so smooth it was like a mirror, with no trace of carving except for the small hole where a cord was threaded through.

The cord itself was simply a dark green string with two decorative jade beads. Zhou Yi had no idea what the pendant was. A token?

But there was no one left on Qingcheng Mountain.

Or was it something like a storage device, filled with books or spirit springs, that required a drop of blood to bind?

Zhou Yi shook his head, realizing his thoughts were drifting. He looked around and found himself standing before a row of imposing buildings, with the mountain gate at the top of a tall flight of stone steps standing ajar.

As the morning light grew brighter, the gate was framed in the glow of dawn, carrying a trace of serenity.

Zhou Yi stepped forward. Fatty followed close behind. Sophia did not rush ahead; she walked with Cheng Zhi in the rear. The zombie horde might have been wiped out, but no one could guarantee there were no remnants. Staying in the back at least guarded against a surprise attack.

At that moment, a stamping sound came from behind the gate—thud, thud, thud!

Zhou Yi tensed at once. Sophia darted to his side, and they both looked toward the sound, but found nothing.

"What was that noise?"