Chapter 94: The Path of the Dao is Nameless
It was clear that she was sulking.
Yin Buran was so angry that she pinched Ning Ruoque’s face, kneading it like a ball of dough.
Ning Ruoque could only try her best to make a sound, “Listen to my explanation, mmph—”
So Yin Buran let go of her hand and listened to her excuse with a cold face.
Ning Ruoque shrank her shoulders, first glancing at Si Mingyue, and then cautiously pulled on Yin Buran’s sleeve.
She said eagerly, “I can’t possibly not consider you.”
“If we encounter a demonic beast tide, or a particularly dangerous demonic beast attack, you are in more danger than I am. In this kind of emergency, I will only be at ease if you are safe.”
Yin Buran’s health was not good, and Si Mingyue was also more inclined to be a support. She was really worried.
Even if she took Yin Buran with her, she was afraid that there would be some conspiracy below.
So she thought about it, unable to pick it up or put it down.
If she were to let Ning Ruoque only care about herself, that would be even more impossible.
Yin Buran’s expression did not change, and it was clear that she was unmoved.
Ning Ruoque thought for a moment, then added softly, “I promise I will come back to find you, no matter what.”
“I don’t accept.”
Yin Buran flicked her sleeve and questioned unceremoniously, “Why do you always put yourself in a position that ‘needs to be sacrificed’? What if something happens again? Have you thought about my feelings?”
She was clearly extremely angry, her speech was fast, and her voice was a little hoarse.
Ning Ruoque was also anxious as she listened, afraid that she would misunderstand her, and also afraid that she would be injured because of her.
“Ranran…”
Yin Buran frowned and did not respond to her.
In the end, it was Si Mingyue who came up and pulled the two apart.
She shook her fluffy white head and persuaded in a soft voice, “Oh my, you’re clearly both considering each other. Why are you still arguing?”
“For my sake, can you each take a step back?”
Ning Ruoque was stunned for a moment and blurted out, “Alright.”
She quickly went to look at Yin Buran.
The latter still did not speak and just sulked. Only her dense eyelashes trembled, which could be considered a tacit agreement to Si Mingyue’s words.
Time was tight, and who knew when Si Mingyue’s premonition would come true.
Ning Ruoque hurried out the door, but was suddenly called by Yin Buran, “Take the Sudden Rain.”
She took out a familiar sword, stared at Ning Ruoque without blinking, her gaze scorching.
Ning Ruoque was a sword cultivator, and a dagger was ultimately not as good as a sword.
But she directly shook her head and refused, “The Dao is Hidden and Nameless has a bad temper. It will get jealous if I use another sword.”
In the past, the Dao is Hidden and Nameless was in pieces, so it was fine to use other swords. Anyway, it didn’t know.
Now that she had found it back and had entrusted it to Chu Xuan for safekeeping, she could no longer do this.
Seeing this, Yin Buran held the sword in her hand, her sleeve blowing in the night wind, as light as a thin butterfly wing in autumn.
“I couldn’t stop you back then, twice.”
She said, “Don’t make me regret it again.”
“…Alright.”
After agreeing to this, Ning Ruoque turned around and leaped off the flying boat.
*
Relying on the faint connection with the Dao is Hidden and Nameless sword and the compass that Si Mingyue had stuffed to her, Ning Ruoque could know Chu Xuan’s general location.
What was strange was that although the formation eye of the ancient battlefield’s grand formation was here, Chu Xuan’s aura was several miles away.
The cold wind brought a fishy smell of blood, mixed with a thick demonic aura.
The clouds that had come from who knows where had covered the sky, and the forest in the distance was like a ghost shadow.
From Ning Ruoque’s experience, a demonic beast tide might be coming.
Perhaps from the very beginning, the nine-tailed fox had deliberately forced her to take out the Dao is Hidden sword to attract countless demonic beasts to pay their respects to the Demon God’s remains.
She quickly shuttled through the forest, occasionally leaping onto the treetops to look into the distance.
At this time, the only bright light source around was the flying boat hanging in the distance.
After walking a little further, even this light could no longer be seen.
A demonic mist instantly swept through the entire forest, and from time to time, a strange rustling sound could be heard.
Following the guidance of the compass, Ning Ruoque finally found Chu Xuan in front of a mountain wall.
She was half-kneeling, and before her were countless streams of light and lines emitting spiritual energy, and a transmission talisman was flickering in the toolbox on the side.
Hearing Ning Ruoque’s footsteps, Chu Xuan only turned her head to look for a moment, then turned back to continue repairing the formation patterns.
Ning Ruoque walked straight up. “Mingyue said there’s danger.”
Chu Xuan’s hands wove countless intricate lines, and then she stuffed them into the mountain wall, her movements so fast that they couldn’t be seen clearly.
She did not look up. “Mm, I know. I received a message from Jiang Ai before.”
“The Sword Pavilion’s camp was attacked. Because of a lack of observation, the scale of this demonic beast tide is difficult to estimate. They are already preparing to retreat behind the barrier.”
Ning Ruoque frowned. “What about you?”
“Tsk, the barrier here is damaged. I want to try my best to fix it.”
Ning Ruoque: “Man-made or?”
Chu Xuan sighed softly. “It’s in disrepair. The cultivator stationed nearby has just entered the sect. I’ve already let her go.”
After speaking, she muttered in a small voice, “Fortunately, I discovered it in time…”
She did not say the consequences, but Ning Ruoque knew it in her heart.
If this loophole had not been repaired, it was very likely that a large number of demonic beasts would have taken advantage of it.
However, the ancient battlefield’s barrier was so large that the places they had patrolled could not be completely covered. There was more than one damaged place.
The immortal sects were not fully prepared, and Ning Ruoque could only hope that the casualties would be as few as possible.
A cloud of dust was vaguely stirred up on the horizon, and the cry of a gu-diao, like a baby’s, was already sounding in the sky.
Chu Xuan also heard it. She took out a sword box with one hand, and without having time to hand it over, she directly threw it on the ground.
“You take this for now. Don’t use it for too long. I haven’t studied it thoroughly yet.”
The sword box trembled slightly and turned into a stream of light, flying into Ning Ruoque’s hand.
The long sword was cold to the touch, and the edge of the sword was gleaming with a cold light, but there were a few cracks. What was even more obvious than the cracks was the glaring blood-red on the body of the sword.
As if it had been engraved with someone’s blood, the bright red was so strange that it was shocking.
Seeing that Chu Xuan was busy repairing the formation, Ning Ruoque stood outside with her sword.
She had hidden her aura well, but because the spiritual energy from repairing the formation was constantly escaping, more and more gu-diao were circling in the air.
Until a gu-diao with sharp eyes discovered Ning Ruoque and immediately dived down.
Ning Ruoque reacted extremely quickly and swung her sword. The gu-diao’s wings were instantly cut off by a large half, and after a mournful cry, it fell to the ground, unable to struggle.
This was just the beginning. Accompanied by the screams of its kind, more and more gu-diao began to attack her.
Ning Ruoque’s sword light wove into a fine net. Wherever it passed, demon blood splattered, and no one was left alive.
Just like that, she had killed a clearing for Chu Xuan.
A strange sound came from the forest, and countless strange beastly pupils flickered within.
Ning Ruoque ducked to avoid a wolf demon’s pounce, and with a light spin, her long sword just happened to cut through the throat of another three-tailed zheng.
There were even more demonic beasts surrounding them.
The most terrifying thing about a beast tide was these endless demons that did not know how to retreat.
The continuously piling up corpses of their kind could not make them afraid, but instead, it made their eyes reveal an even deeper greed.
Just as humans used the bones and blood of demons to refine artifacts and pills, the higher the cultivation of a cultivator, the more delicious they were in the eyes of a demonic beast.
And Ning Ruoque was not facing all of them.
The vast majority of the demonic beasts were crowded together, like a surging black river, rolling towards the direction Ning Ruoque had come from.
Yin Buran was also over there.
Ning Ruoque’s heart was hanging high, and her movements of cutting the demonic beasts became faster and more ruthless. She also frequently looked at Chu Xuan, wishing she could just carry her away.
The third time she was distracted and looked at Chu Xuan, a huge Zouwu crashed through the mountain rocks and bit at Ning Ruoque.
It missed, and just as it was about to attack again, a sharp pain came from its back.
The Zouwu was furious, and white flames rose from its body. Just as Ning Ruoque had jumped away, the place where she had been standing turned into a piece of charcoal.
She did not care about the hand that had been burned by the fire and methodically led the Zouwu outside.
The tip of her sword stirred up a cold wind, and countless demonic beasts were drawn into it. The crimson on the body of the sword became even more vivid.
Wherever it passed, it was a mess, and even the wild grass was uprooted.
Ning Ruoque relied on her agile movement technique, and while dodging the demonic beast’s attacks, she also dealt with the Zouwu.
The long sword hummed, as if it were urging her to kill this Zouwu and then have a good fight with the beast tide.
She closed her eyes, forcefully suppressed this thought, and only saved her spiritual energy to deal with the countless demonic beasts.
She couldn’t delay any longer.
After killing half of the demon blood, Ning Ruoque turned her head anxiously. “Chu Xuan.”
Chu Xuan had just finished the last stroke.
A speck of light escaped from her fingertip, scattered like dust, and did not even stir up a ripple when it sank into the formation patterns.
But the vast spiritual energy began to circulate from here, mobilizing the entire grand formation.
Behind them, the barrier was like a gradually freezing lake, becoming thicker and more condensed.
Chu Xuan picked up her toolbox and shouted at Ning Ruoque, “Alright, let’s go!”
She did not plan to get entangled with these demonic beasts either. She took a few large steps and came to Ning Ruoque’s side, and with a swing of her axe, she cut open a giant snake that was trying to sneak up on her.
Then she followed Ning Ruoque and jumped onto the Dao is Hidden sword, rushing into the barrier.
The body of the sword was already narrow, and it was fine for one person. If Yin Buran were added, Ning Ruoque could also accept it.
But Chu Xuan was really big, and she had developed a body of hard muscles from forging iron all year round. Ning Ruoque flew crookedly, always feeling that it was strenuous.
Chu Xuan even bared her teeth and made a request, “Steady, steady!”
Ning Ruoque’s expression was blank. “I have to dodge the demonic beasts.”
After speaking, she made a sudden rush, shook off a few “little tails” that were following them, and the familiar flying boat was already in sight.
Yin Buran and the others had indeed not left and were just hovering in mid-air, having set up a barrier to conceal their aura.
Occasionally, a few sharp demonic beasts would try to attack, but they were all dealt with by Si Mingyue.
Before Ning Ruoque could breathe a sigh of relief, she saw that Zouwu appear again, opening its bloody mouth at the flying boat.
Compared to a normal-sized Zouwu, the flying boat was like a small snack for it.
In that instant, Ning Ruoque was so scared that her heart stopped. She subconsciously flashed into the Zouwu’s mouth, and then drew her sword and swung—
The cold glint was just a line, but it actually lit up the horizon!
“Oh my!”
Because the flying sword had disappeared, Chu Xuan fell directly.
She stepped on the backs of several bird demons, and only then did she land on the deck in a disheveled state. When she looked back, the Zouwu had already fallen.
The huge demon’s body had crushed a group of demonic beasts, and then it had attracted even more demonic beasts to come and gnaw on it.
After clearing the last obstacle, the flying boat finally started and smoothly entered the ancient battlefield’s barrier.
Countless bird-like demonic beasts wanted to follow, but they crashed into the barrier and were shattered into pieces.
And Ning Ruoque landed lightly, and a drop of bright red blood dripped from the tip of her sword.
Her face was very gloomy, not like she was going home from work, but more like she was about to go and kill the next round.
Chu Xuan acted as if she hadn’t seen it, patted the dust off her body, and looked back at the beast group that was roaring at the edge of the barrier.
“Ah, I’ve done what I should. I can only do my best and leave the rest to fate.”
She casually went to pat Ning Ruoque’s shoulder. “The top priority now is to fix your sword.”
“Mm,” Ning Ruoque lowered her eyes and once again handed the Dao is Hidden sword to Chu Xuan. “It’s still affecting me.”
She now suspected that the nightmare she had had before was also related to the Dao is Hidden sword.
It was really too scary. Her own life-bound sword was actually trying to drive a wedge between her and Yin Buran!
This was like eating a piece of ginger disguised as a chicken leg, which made Ning Ruoque unhappy.
Thinking of this, Ning Ruoque couldn’t help but go to find Yin Buran.
She subconsciously put the burned hand behind her back, looked around, and only then did she find that white shadow by the window.
She was quiet, just propping up her cheek and lazily watching them, and did not show any reaction to Ning Ruoque’s return.
The moment their gazes met, she lowered her eyelids.
It was clear that she was sulking.
Ning Ruoque glanced at Chu Xuan again. This person was not very injured, and at this moment, she was boasting to Si Mingyue about her fast and good formation techniques.
So under Yin Buran’s gaze, she walked straight up to the other and squatted down.
She was really not good at coaxing people. She squatted for a few breaths and couldn’t squeeze out half a word.
The more anxious she was, the hotter her ears became, and the more her brain couldn’t think of anything.
In the end, Ning Ruoque had no choice but to half-kneel, brush away her stray hair, and show her forehead.
She looked at Yin Buran eagerly and asked cautiously, “Ranran, my memory seems to be having problems again. Can you help me take a look?”
