Translator: She.Wee

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Chapter 107: Peace in the World And Four Seasons In Harmony

There was a Nascent Soul stage cultivator in the Nuan Yan Pavilion with an earth-based single spirit root. During battle, the ground would quake and mountains would tremble, giant boulders collapsing, and all the rolling rocks in the sky became his weapons.

As he fought, everyone’s ears were filled with thunderous roars, shaking the heavens.

From dawn till dusk, the constant tremors brought danger to Chi Muyao and his group.

Even though Xianyue Tianzun was severely injured, she was still in the late Nascent Soul stage.

The difference between the early, middle, and late Nascent Soul stages was immense, and Xianyue Tianzun was known for her exceptional combat skills. Together with this domineering earth element cultivator, their ferocious attacks gradually overwhelmed Chi Muyao and his companions.

The appearance of QiuQiu was completely unexpected for these Nascent Soul stage cultivators. They had never known that such a powerful bird existed in the cultivation world, one equipped with the tricky Hui Flames, and although it wasn’t very familiar with Hui, it could still cooperate with it.

However, QiuQiu had spent most of its time by Chi Muyao’s side, and since Chi Muyao seldom engaged in battles, QiuQiu lacked practical combat experience. While it had some abilities, it couldn’t respond perfectly to real battles and was repeatedly caught in the calculations of the Nascent Soul stage cultivators.

These cultivators coordinated well, using diversion tactics, with some drawing QiuQiu’s attention and others launching sneak attacks.

One cultivator, hiding in the shadows, pulled his bowstring taut and shot an arrow through QiuQiu’s left wing.

QiuQiu let out a mournful cry, angrily retaliated, and recklessly charged at the archer, pinning him down with its claws and pecking fiercely.

QiuQiu’s body was naturally enveloped in flames, and just being near it gave the archer a searing sensation. The cultivator screamed in agony as QiuQiu, in its rage, forcefully tore off one of his arms.

At that moment, another cultivator threw a magical attack at QiuQiu, forcing it to extend its one good wing and launch several fire-type spells. The enemy quickly defended, but QiuQiu had already reached him and unleashed its final attack.

The fireball, charged with all its remaining strength, pierced through the man’s chest, leaving him no chance to struggle. He collapsed, dead.

When QiuQiu’s wing was shot, Chi Muyao, as its master, felt a pang in his heart and loudly called it back: “QiuQiu, return!”

QiuQiu didn’t linger in battle. Facing multiple Nascent Soul stage experts for the first time, it had already performed remarkably well by severely injuring one and killing another.

Before entering the spirit beast bag, QiuQiu let out a soft, pitiful chirp, causing Chi Muyao’s heart to ache.

Now, only Hui remained, fighting fiercely while still trying to protect Chi Muyao and Si Ruoyu to the best of its ability, unable to fight as freely as before.

After QiuQiu seriously injured one person, the scent of blood attracted Hui’s attention. It opened its mouth and swallowed the injured man whole, using the devoured cultivator to restore its combat strength.

Another one fell.

Three enemies remained.

Chi Muyao could only struggle to activate his formation.

“Twenty-four Killing Cloud-swallowing Array, rise!” Chi Muyao shouted in a low voice. The formation he had set up while being protected by the two spirit beasts silently spread out, advancing towards the remaining three Nascent Soul stage cultivators.

These three were no ordinary figures; they had some understanding of formations and cautiously avoided stepping into its range, deftly dodging around it.

Hui’s large size made it difficult to completely protect Chi Muyao and Si Ruoyu. The three enemies exploited every opening, waiting for an opportunity to attack the golden bell barrier.

The golden bell also had its limits, and they aimed to break through it.

A bitter fight ensued.

It was excruciating.

For Chi Muyao, this was the first battle he had participated in since reaching the Nascent Soul stage, and it was of this scale, making it extraordinarily difficult for him to endure.

After three months of grueling struggle in the illusionary realm, Chi Muyao was already mentally and physically exhausted, now only clinging on by sheer willpower.

He killed one more Nuan Yan Pavilion cultivator with the Twenty-four Killing Formation, then quickly signaled to Si Ruoyu with his eyes. They both moved in unison, using the formation in tandem with illusion techniques to cover their retreat from the illusionary realm, heading towards Qingze Sect.

There was no way the remaining enemies would let them escape. This was the best opportunity to kill them; they were barely holding on!

Si Ruoyu and Chi Muyao were experts in fleeing, and Hui stayed behind to cover their retreat.

As they fled, they also tried to use illusion techniques to trap their pursuers, while informing the Moonlight Palace Master to lead the other disciples out of the illusionary realm.

However, Chi Muyao saw the Moonlight Palace Master walking out, drenched in blood, and rushed to meet him in shock.

“Among us… there’s also… I was watching the others carefully… but he… he was my friend for many years…” The Moonlight Palace Master, supported by Chi Muyao, spoke in despair.

There was a Nuan Yan Pavilion spy among the cultivators who entered the array. They didn’t know how he had been bribed, but even someone who had joined Qingze Sect since childhood had betrayed them and could stab his hundred-year-old friend in the chest with a sword.

The Moonlight Palace Master was gravely wounded and devastated by his friend’s betrayal.

No wonder Xianyue Tianzun suddenly knew he was the array’s core.

He had thought the spy must have been among the guards, but there was more than one spy.

Chi Muyao saw that the Moonlight Palace Master was barely hanging on and quickly began treating his wounds. If he didn’t preserve this last breath, he might die in the next moment.

Just then, the one who had stabbed the Moonlight Palace Master stepped forward, sword in hand, bypassing Hui and attacking Chi Muyao.

This person knew that directly attacking the golden bell would be ineffective, as the attacks would be deflected, but the residual force from an attack could harm Chi Muyao.

So, instead of attacking the bell directly, he maximized the impact of the residual force, charging up for a powerful blow.

Chi Muyao, Si Ruoyu, and the Moonlight Palace Master were all within the golden bell’s protective range. After the strike, Chi Muyao, as the bell’s holder, took the brunt of the damage, and the other two were also injured to varying degrees.

Chi Muyao spat out a mouthful of blood and hurriedly began healing his shattered internal organs. He glared at the attacker with hatred.

It was the one-eyed cultivator.

Chi Muyao had once expended great effort to heal him. Why… why would he treat Qingze Sect like this?

Si Ruoyu, with blood at the corner of her mouth, grabbed the other two and said, “Go!”

Si Ruoyu was excellent at escaping on her own, but carrying two others made it more difficult, and her spiritual power was barely enough to keep the flying artifact in the air.

At that moment, someone else emerged from the array, standing in front of them.

His posture was tall and upright. Although Chi Muyao could only see his back, it was enough to recognize the immortal-like figure standing as steadfast as a pine tree.

It was Yu Yanshu.

Yu Yanshu was also injured. After receiving the signal to retreat, he followed and, upon seeing the situation, naturally came to protect Chi Muyao and the others.

Chi Muyao watched as Yu Yanshu, clearly no match for the late-stage Nascent Soul one-eyed cultivator, still struggled to hold on, and suddenly, warmth filled his heart.

Yu Yanshu was still the same senior brother Yu.

Just like back in the Mitian Tongyin Array, he had protected Chi Muyao multiple times, standing firm, righteous, pure, and kind.

Yes…

He shouldn’t have thought too badly of Yu Yanshu. Sometimes, even he would become muddle-headed when consumed with doubt.

What that person aimed to do was to uphold justice, so how could he act with betrayal and deceit?

Song Weiyue and Zong Sichen were still waiting inside Qingze Sect’s protective mountain array, ready to assist Chi Muyao and the others. With their current cultivation level at the Golden Core stage, they were completely incapable of participating in a battle of this magnitude. If they entered the battlefield, they would be instantly killed by Nascent Soul stage cultivators.

It was only now that they began to resent their own insufficient cultivation.

Zong Sichen watched helplessly as the Moonlight Palace’s Palace Master was gravely injured, to the point where he could no longer walk. He saw the three of them struggling to return on a flying artifact, with pursuers hot on their trail.

“Father!” Zong Sichen cried out, his voice like a wail from deep within his chest. His eyes burned as he held back tears.

However, he could only watch as the people, who were just about to reach the protective array, were intercepted.

After three months of entrapment, only six cultivators from Nuan Yan Pavilion were left alive inside the formation.

After Si Ruoyu left the illusion array, the formation became less treacherous, allowing the other cultivators trapped in different parts of the illusion to escape and join Xianyue Tianzun and the others.

Including the traitorous one-eyed cultivator, there were now seven Nascent Soul stage cultivators.

These people, along with the cultivators from Qingze Sect who had escaped the illusion, launched an official attack outside the protective mountain array.

The Moonlight Palace’s Palace Master was barely hanging on by a thread.

Chi Muyao struggled to cast healing spells for the Qingze Sect cultivators while supporting the Palace Master, who was enduring intense pain. Though he was also severely injured, Chi Muyao directed most of his healing energy to the Palace Master.

Although his injuries were serious, they weren’t fatal.

But the Moonlight Palace’s Palace Master couldn’t hold on any longer.

Si Ruoyu was also gravely injured and could barely keep going.

Chi Muyao looked around, but there was no sign of the Azure Fox Ancestor. He didn’t know if the ancestor had received the signal and made it out safely.

The situation was dire. The Qingze Sect members were at a disadvantage, and the seven members of Nuan Yan Pavilion were ruthlessly pressing their advantage, seeing this as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Xianyue Tianzun pursued them again, seemingly having figured out how to break through the protection of the golden bell. The bell’s endurance was gradually weakening.

Seeing the golden bell crack, Xianyue Tianzun was overjoyed and immediately launched another attack on Si Ruoyu.

Si Ruoyu was no match for Xianyue Tianzun in combat and was forced to retreat step by step.

In the midst of the chaos, Chi Muyao reactivated the golden bell, reaching out to pull Si Ruoyu back under its protection. However, his hand was hit directly by Xianyue Tianzun’s sword.

In that brief moment, Si Ruoyu turned and saw Chi Muyao’s three fingers severed cleanly. Her eyes turned blood-red with fury, and she cursed, “You damned old witch!”

“Still worried about others when you can’t even protect yourself?” Xianyue Tianzun sneered, raising her sword to strike again.

At that moment, a flash of red light suddenly burst from Chi Muyao’s forehead. The red light resembled a small flame, which burned into a fire-like mark. From within the mark, a figure emerged, striking at Xianyue Tianzun and shouting, “Get lost!”

Xianyue Tianzun was shocked, her body hit hard, and she fell heavily to the ground, unable to get up for a long while.

Everyone saw the figure clearly—it was a spiritual avatar of Xi Huai.

Amid the raging flames of battle stood a tall man, with a dragon horn on one side of his forehead. His features were handsome, but his expression carried an intense aura of violence, exuding a natural authority.

He radiated a majestic presence, his upright posture emanating a world-destroying power.

Behind him, the sky seemed to be washed clean, with a single bright moon hanging in the air. Beneath the moon, the landscape appeared tinged with blood, faintly reflecting a red hue. The shadows of the trees swayed like ghosts beckoning in the wind.

Everyone present reacted to him in one of two extremes—either overwhelming joy or sheer panic.

Chi Muyao took advantage of the moment to use his healing powers, regenerating his fingers. As he looked at his now fully restored hand, he still felt a lingering fear.

The pain had been seared into his memory.

He saw Xi Huai’s spiritual avatar turn and look at him, first glancing at his hand before glaring angrily at him. “Chi Muyao, did you do the same thing in the Mitian Tongyin Array? Was the arm beside the Azure Fox Ancestor of yours?”

“No… It doesn’t hurt…” Chi Muyao hurriedly explained.

“It doesn’t hurt? If it didn’t hurt, how could my Daoist couple mark show blood on my forehead?!”

Chi Muyao looked at the chaotic battlefield and quickly reminded Xi Huai, “Go help them…”

Xi Huai waved his hand, and in an instant, the entire world froze. The wind stopped blowing, the fire stopped burning, and time itself seemed to halt. The people around them who had been fighting remained frozen in place, as if turned to stone.

What kind of technique was this? Chi Muyao didn’t even know.

Xi Huai first stabilized the condition of the Moonlight Palace’s Palace Master before walking over to Chi Muyao, his voice filled with fury. “You’ve made yourself look like this, and you expect me to care about them?”

“It hurts!” Chi Muyao finally admitted, “It hurt so much, and yet you’re still scolding me!”

Xi Huai was momentarily speechless, his hand trembling as he held Chi Muyao’s hand to check on him, his voice shaking with concern. “Chi Muyao, if I ever lose control again, it will only be because of you! If you make me worry like this again, I might just go on a killing spree!”

“I’ll be more careful in the future, okay?” Chi Muyao asked obediently.

Xi Huai couldn’t resist him when he acted like that. Every time Chi Muyao showed weakness, Xi Huai’s heart softened instantly, leaving him angrily frustrated with himself.

Xi Huai released Chi Muyao’s hand and turned to face the cultivators from Nuan Yan Pavilion and the one-eyed cultivator.

With a single hand gesture, he shouted, “Break!”

As the command was spoken, the seven Nascent Soul stage cultivators moved abruptly, their bodies exploding in the still world. Blood splattered everywhere like water, or like blood-red flowers blooming in the silent night.

The time Xi Huai could control had passed, and time resumed.

No one on the battlefield knew what had just happened. They only saw their enemies’ bodies suddenly explode, some dying instantly, while others struggled to survive in the blood-soaked ground.

Xi Huai casually grabbed a sword and approached Xianyue Tianzun, who was still trying to crawl away. With one slash, he cut off her fingers, stopping only after severing all ten.

Chi Muyao felt nauseated by the gruesome scene, even wanting to vomit.

He tried to look away, but he heard Xi Huai say, “I’ll leave the rest for you to play with.”

Chi Muyao had no desire to “play” with this. Just looking at it made him feel sick, so he quickly turned around to heal the Moonlight Palace’s Palace Master.

Si Ruoyu, however, seemed interested. She raised her sword and approached Xianyue Tianzun. “After all, we were once part of the same sect. Let me send you off for the final time.”

The last glimmer of light in Xianyue Tianzun’s eyes dimmed.

Xi Huai, being only a spiritual avatar, couldn’t stay for long. Before he left, Chi Muyao hurriedly asked, “Was your seclusion successful?”

“Other than suddenly sensing that my Daoist partner was seriously injured and seeing blood from my forehead, everything else went fine.”

“Did you manage to…”

Before Chi Muyao could finish, Xi Huai pointed to the sky.

Everyone looked up to see thick clouds gathering above Qingze Sect, with faint flashes of lightning. The overwhelming presence in the sky was clearly far more terrifying than the Nascent Soul stage’s tribulation lightning.

Chi Muyao’s heart swelled with joy.

He did it!

He had held off Nuan Yan Pavilion’s invaders for more than three months, buying time for Xi Huai’s seclusion, allowing him to successfully advance to the Soul Transformation stage.

When he first entered the cultivation world, he thought he was nothing more than an insignificant ant, destined to spend his life hiding.

But Xi Huai had given him immense courage, making him brave enough to face such dire situations.

And he had really succeeded!

Chi Muyao looked at Xi Huai’s fading figure and said, “Take care of yourself. I’ll be waiting for you!”

Xi Huai responded with a soft “Mm” before giving him one last look and then disappearing, returning to his true form.

In the cultivation world, when holding a Daoist partner ceremony, there is a part where the partners mutually recognize each other, also known as leaving a partner’s mark on one another.

This mark is typically only used to sense the partner’s location and general condition.

Only couples with deep emotions, who are tightly bound together, can sense each other’s pain, and even bleed from their foreheads, using the blood from this mark to summon a spirit form to rescue the other.

What was once thought to be just a legend, surprisingly, was witnessed today.

Chi Muyao and Xi Huai achieved it.

Now, under the bright moon, then, in the dark chamber.

Chi Muyao stood amidst the vastness of the world, glancing back hastily, as if he had returned to those days in the cave.

In the darkness, he broke through his psychological barrier, daring to touch the person bound by chains, holding that person’s hand.

Then, their fingers intertwined tightly.

No escaping, no running—no matter the hardships and obstacles, you are by my side.