Chapter 58 Part 1

The Azure Hill Marsh. The baleful Qi, unresolved for a thousand years, had transformed into a miasma that shrouded this withered, desolate place. All traces of life were gone; only the crazed, unwilling screech of the osprey Remnant Soul echoed in the wind.

Jiang Yiguang stood at the edge of the marsh, sword in hand, just one step from crossing that boundary and entering Dafeng’s attack range. Her expression was stern as she watched the osprey, hidden within the mist and moving with the wind. Her grip on the sword tightened again. After a moment, she turned to the seemingly carefree Fu Juan and asked, “Shall we go?”

Fu Juan gave a soft “Mm.” With a flick of her wrist, she sent several spell talismans flying while chanting the Yellow-Scarf Divine Soldiers Bodyguard Incantation. In the space of a breath, the talismans blazed in mid-air, and several Yellow-Scarf Divine Soldiers manifested ahead. They turned their heads, nodded in unison to Fu Juan, and then, wielding sabers and halberds, strode into the desolate marsh.

The Dafeng within the mist instantly detected the intruders’ presence. Its wings snapped open, whipping up boundless waves of turbulence. Even the gray clouds churned like boiling water. As it descended, carrying the gale, a tremendous pressure crashed down as well. The Yellow-Scarf Divine Soldiers were torn apart instantly by the surging airwaves. But just then, a streak of pale green light howled forth, cleaving the airwave in two! With a sweep of her two fingers, Jiang Yiguang’s ritual sword slashed horizontally again. Turning her head towards Fu Juan and receiving a nod, she abruptly stepped forward. Her right hand gripped the sword hilt, and amidst the ceaseless sword hums, a single strike cut the wind. Under Tushan Lian’s training, she could now withstand the oppressive force carrying the ancient, primeval aura.

The chilling aura of dread erupted suddenly, intermingling with Dafeng’s piercing shriek. Fu Juan’s eyes flashed. The Qi in her body circulated, and the “fire baleful energy” lurking within her, tormented her day and night, was now catalyzed by the Yin-Yang energies, erupting into thunder and fire! Her five fingers spread slightly, then after a few breaths, clenched abruptly. Instantly, rolling thunder clouds converged, purple lightning snaking across the sky, joined by crimson, spreading, inextinguishable flames, forcibly pressing the osprey downwards.

They had yet to master divine abilities like Riding the Clouds or Controlling Qi. If the osprey didn’t descend, relying solely on sword Qi slashes would likely waste most of the impact on the clouds. Sure enough, under the pressure of thunder and fire, the osprey flapped its wings and swooped down at them. Its movement caused the air currents to surge wildly, producing short, sharp whistling shrieks. Dead trees shook violently. The water in the puddles was swept up by the wind waves, turning into raging billows that crashed down mightily!

Jiang Yiguang felt a colossal pressure bearing down on her. Sword Qi shattered the wind masses and water waves, soaking her from head to toe. A suffocating feeling arose, making even breathing difficult. Yet her eyes blazed brilliantly, like a burning flame. The numerous protective magical artifacts on her emitted a scorching, dazzling light. With a horizontal sweep of her Dao Solitude Sword, she swept her two fingers. Accompanied by a resonant, soaring cry, a sword shadow transformed into a green wind dragon, slamming fiercely into the hurricane churned up by the osprey. The explosive sound echoed instantly through the Azure Hill Marsh. Jiang Yiguang, wrapped in the gale, gripped her sword again. Her form flickered past the osprey. Vast expanses of water were swept away by the sword light. Booming, roaring, thundering… all kinds of sounds echoed in her ears, but slowly, as if entering a millstone, they were gradually worn away.

In this exhilarating battle, Jiang Yiguang’s heart expanded gradually—a feeling she’d never experienced during routine practice. Yet the closer she got to this state, the quieter her mind became. Her long sword slashed through massive clouds of mist and water, tearing through the howling, rushing wind. In this profound stillness, free from external distractions, she detected the two entwined currents of Yin-Yang energy. If I am heaven and earth, my every breath and movement is the wind rising! Xun as Wind! If it were about borrowing the momentum of heaven and earth’s wind, she could never, ever match a great fiend named after the very concept of “Dafeng.” But the wind now was generated from within her. As her sword moved, the wind’s momentum raged! Uncontested by the osprey.

As heavenly thunder rolled, there was Thunder-Fire Abundance and Fire-Thunder Biting Through. But thunder and fire alone were not enough! The moment Fu Juan saw the wind rise on the sword, a unusually deep light flickered in her eyes. Her fingers moved, and using the wind’s momentum, she activated more hexagrams. Wind-Thunder Increase, Wind-Fire Family—four hexagrams in motion! Wind, thunder, and fire surged chaotically, searing the sky crimson, as if countless stars had fallen to the mortal world.

The air crackled violently under the scorching of thunder and fire; this magnificent, terrifying display continued to sweep outwards. Fu Juan’s current cultivation couldn’t withstand this force. The rebounding energy blurred her vision for a moment, nearly making her cough up blood. But to eliminate the Dafeng Remnant Soul, this precise moment was necessary. It was as if heaven and earth pressed down in upheaval, the colossal thunder and fire falling like towering, massive mountains, crashing onto the osprey. The osprey let out a desolate screech and instinctively tried to escape this patch of sky. With the osprey’s speed, it could ride the wind and vanish in an instant.

But in that lightning-fast moment, Fu Juan directly activated Manifesting Heaven and Earth, recreating the mythical form of Yi shooting the nine suns thousands of years ago! That tiny figure, walking on the parched earth, who dared to point the arrow bestowed by the Heavenly Emperor—at the Golden Crows, at the sons of the Heavenly Emperor! Even the blazing suns were annihilated beneath those arrows, let alone the fierce beast Dafeng? The instant Yi’s form manifested, holding the bow, a primal, deep-rooted terror and instinctive submission seized the osprey, even slowing its escape speed by a fraction. Thunder and fire crashed upon it. And Jiang Yiguang, charging into the marsh, seized the moment. Sword imbued with spiritual energy, she pierced the osprey’s body! But this wasn’t enough! The sword wind erupted from within; the ritual sword in Jiang Yiguang’s hand screeched. A divine light remained undispersed in her eyes. She gripped the sword with both hands, activating the layers of talismanic and runic patterns on the blade.

“Raging wind, come,” Jiang Yiguang murmured. The flowing Qi, centered on her body, radiated outwards. The previously somewhat stagnant air currents instantly rioted. Accelerating, the gentle breeze finally unleashed a fierce, violent roar, merging with the sword light into a raging torrent of gas, slashing towards the osprey! A resonant, ear-splitting sound echoed between heaven and earth! The moment the green light pierced the osprey’s body once more, the remaining thunder and fire also crashed down. The osprey’s form, born of that Remnant Soul, finally showed cracks. A few breaths later, it burst apart into mist and cloud!

Jiang Yiguang’s eyes lit up with joy. But as her focus relaxed a fraction, she finally noticed the countless wounds on her body carved by the wind blades throbbing with sharp pain. The forcibly activated spiritual energy also caused her blood and Qi to rush inward. With a suppressed cough, Jiang Yiguang spat out a mouthful of blood. It felt as if her internal organs were being pounded by a giant hammer; her face paled instantly. Her sword hand trembled; the skin between her thumb and forefinger had long split open under the vibrations. She didn’t even have the strength to hold the sword. But unwilling to appear too pathetic before Fu Juan, she forced herself to sheathe the sword, wiped the corner of her mouth, and turned to look at Fu Juan. The words “Are you okay?” caught in her throat at the shocking sight of blood. She couldn’t ask; there was no need. This didn’t look like someone who was “okay” in any way!

Fu Juan lowered her eyelashes, slightly dazed, a buzzing ringing in her ears. She vaguely glimpsed “herself” sitting in a dead, silent place where all things had ceased flowing. Those eyes were dark and still, devoid of the slightest ripple. She frowned, forcibly banishing the image, and raised a hand to wipe the blood from her cheek. Looking at Jiang Yiguang, who had been staring at her this whole time, she asked, “What is it?”

Jiang Yiguang stiffened. Fu Juan’s voice was utterly icy, her eyes holding a strange, bone-chilling coldness. It was as if a Yin-Yang millstone existed within her, grinding away any emotion the moment it arose, leaving only an extreme detachment. She averted her gaze, pushing aside the stray thoughts. Out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly spotted a bizarre-looking jade slip lying where the osprey had dissolved. The pattern on the slip resembled the Yin-Yang Fish… but upon closer inspection, Jiang Yiguang’s entire body went cold with dread!

No, that wasn’t Shenzhou’s spiral pattern! It was the Mitsudomoe! Shintoism from Dongying? But how could their object appear in the Mountains and Seas Realm? Jiang Yiguang didn’t care about anything else. She took a deep breath, walked over to Fu Juan, handed her the jade slip, and said in a low voice, “It’s from Dongying.”

Fu Juan, gradually recovering from that abnormal state, also stiffened upon seeing the Mitsudomoe. As her Qi circulated, the “lock” sealing the jade slip shattered with a click. The writing hidden within gradually revealed itself. The first line was, “Respectfully, to Elder Brother Dafeng.” The last line read, “Your younger brother, Bashe, writes this.” The text in between was already blurry, but the words “enter the Mountains and Seas,” “north of the Red River,” and “Nü Ba” could still be discerned!

“Wasn’t Bashe also slain by Yi? And Bashe was a being of the Mountains and Seas. Why would it use the Mitsudomoe?” Jiang Yiguang rubbed her forehead; thinking about these matters gave her a splitting headache. The current clues pointed to one possibility: Bashe had returned to the Mountains and Seas Realm and, upon leaving, had brought Nü Ba’s fire baleful energy into the human world. But how had Bashe revived? What was its connection to Shinto? Could it be that self-proclaimed Shenzhou man, the Onmyoji Xu Heng, was still scheming in the shadows?

“In the High Antiquity era, the human world and the Mountains and Seas were still overlapping. Not all the fierce beasts slain by Yi remained in the Mountains and Seas. Bashe, for instance, was shot dead by Yi near Dongting.” Fu Juan lowered her eyes in thought, then added, “Perhaps someone secretly revived Bashe.”

Jiang Yiguang’s expression grew peculiar. “Dongying… destroying dragon veins, welcoming the Mountains and Seas? Are they supporters of the Four Evils from the Mountains and Seas?”

“Spiritual revival is happening everywhere. My Shenzhou’s Mountains and Seas are returning. I suspect other nations’ divine natures will also awaken. The likelihood of them siding with the Mountains and Seas isn’t high. Their goal is probably to seize a share of the pie while Shenzhou is in chaos and turmoil!” Fu Juan shook her head, a cold light flashing in her eyes. Those wolves and tigers had long coveted the great dragon that was Shenzhou.

Jiang Yiguang hissed. “Yi slaughtered Bashe at Dongting. Its bones became like a mountain ridge, hence the name Baling. If Bashe has truly revived, isn’t Shenzhou’s Baling in grave danger?”