Slender willows sway in the breeze

Chapter 118 Discussion
On the mountain path, shrouded in dark clouds, inky sword energy and scarlet blood light clashed repeatedly.

Gu Changzhou's black robe had been torn in several places.

The glittering blade of the longsword reflected the distorted face of the evil cultivator leader.

The man had a blood-red crystal embedded in his left eye, and his right arm was adorned with a bizarre crystal formed from countless infant arms.

"Marquis Molin is nothing special."

The evil cultivator leader licked the blood off his blade, nine skeletal phantoms forming a rotating array behind him: "Back when your father was refined, his blood was much warmer than yours."

Gu Changzhou's pupils suddenly contracted.

When his father died, his body was clearly lying intact in the bronze coffin.

Suddenly, the black jade hilt of the sword burst forth with a dazzling light, and the black dragon spirit that had been dormant in his dantian for many years finally awakened. The burning sensation that traveled along his meridians made his senses increasingly clear.

"Mo Lin Tianshou!"

The sword's cry pierced the clouds and split rocks, and dark spiritual energy condensed in the air into a seven-zhang-tall phantom of a Qilin.

His outstretched hand, with golden eyes like torches, shattered the void, bringing with it a radiant light like fragments of starlight.

The evil cultivator leader screamed and activated the skeleton array. Nine white skeletons simultaneously spewed out emerald green phosphorescent flames, but they were all annihilated when they touched the phantom of the Qilin.

"That's impossible! You clearly haven't..."

The roar abruptly ceased, and the dark sword energy had already pierced through layers of defense.

The evil cultivator leader stared in horror at the bloody hole in her chest. Suddenly, the entangled infant arms turned on her, tearing her mangled body into a shower of bloody jade.

Lu Danshi's golden-winged umbrella fluttered in the gale, and the phantom of a golden roc on the umbrella was trembling with fear. Suddenly, a sound of porcelain shattering came from the southeast. Liu Sijun's magpie feather fan flipped, and a phoenix made of frost cried out as it pounced on the rock crevice.

The skull hidden within the array exploded in response.

"Azure Sun Burns the Heavens!"

Li Qing's youthful voice carried a chilling tone beyond his years, and the crimson fireball suspended in mid-air exploded with a roar.

Ancient totems emerged from the flames, burning the last few evil cultivators to ashes.

Gu Changzhou leaned his sword against the ground, a metallic taste rising in his throat.

The backlash from forcibly awakening Mo Lin's spirit began to take effect. As his vision blurred, he suddenly smelled a faint, cool plum blossom fragrance—Liu Sijun was putting an Ice Jade Pill into his mouth, her slender fingers pressing down on the spiritual energy flowing from his wrist.

"Does the Marquis always make sure I'm carrying the Nine-Turn Rejuvenation Pill when he acts tough?"

She's finding it incredibly difficult to refine the Nine-Turn Rejuvenation Pill now; she has to get it all from her master.

But she still needs to provide these medicinal herbs; they're very precious!
How can you eat it like candy?

Liu Sijun's cultivation level was still low, so he had no idea about Gu Changzhou's true situation. Master Lu peeked through the gap and his mouth twitched.

Mo Linhou is truly shameless.

He just tricked his apprentice like that!
Gu Changzhou remained defiant: "I can handle it."

His face was deathly pale.

They killed all those who blocked their way, took a short break to catch their breath, and continued on their way to the Valley Palace.

In less than two days, they were ambushed three times, each time by a larger number of attackers.

However, apart from the first group, the latter two groups should both be from Xuanji Hall.

Lu Danshi and the other two returned to the courtyard first. Li Qing knew they were leaving again, her eyes reddening. She held onto Liu Sijun's hand tightly, tears welling in her almond-shaped eyes, and said, "Sister, don't go."

Gu Changzhou half-squatted down and tied the black jade sword ornament to the boy's waist: "This is the token of the Mo Lin oath. When the seventh star on it lights up, I will personally take you to the Thousand Lantern Banquet in Zhongzhou City."

The boy loosened his grip, still sobbing, but didn't see Liu Sijun's face turn deathly pale. The token of Mo Lin was only ever given to those with whom one had shared life and death.

As Gu Changzhou flew through the layer of gale-force winds on his sword, he suddenly spoke up: "When His Majesty conferred upon me the title of Marquis of Molin, the inscription on my congratulatory gift was: 'Only when the ink jade is stained with blood can you see the true heart.'"

He brushed the dark patterns on the sword, then looked up at Liu Sijun, his eyes surging with intense emotions.

"He who comes is stopped!"

Two disciples guarding the mountain arrived on clouds, their jade tablets gleaming with a bluish light.

Upon seeing the disciple's token at Liu Sijun's waist, the disciple on the left asked in surprise and doubt, "Senior Sister Liu? Didn't you go to Zhongzhou City?"

"Please inform Palace Master Wan that Marquis Molin requests an audience with the Chaos Gathering Pill."

Gu Changzhou lifted the black iron box, and the moment the lid was opened, the surrounding spiritual energy suddenly surged.

The surface of the pill was filled with chaotic power, vaguely forming the image of yin and yang fish. The snowflakes falling from its face turned into crystalline stardust three feet away.

When the Palace Master saw the elixir in the main hall, the Xuanwu jade carving he was playing with suddenly cracked.

He stared at the purple-gold lightning that danced within the cinnabar patterns, his voice hoarse beyond belief: "The cinnabar is born throughout the heavens, and calamity moves with the stars. Do you know what this means?"

"Twenty-eight hours ago, a solar eclipse occurred in the Eternal Night Abyss of the Northern Territory."

Gu Changzhou traced a star map on the ground with the tip of his sword: "Using the Mirror of Light, we can see that the chaotic energy resonated with some existence deep within the Eternal Night Abyss."

Suddenly, Liu Sijun untied the cloud-patterned sash, revealing a golden seal behind his plain white inner robe.

As she made hand seals, a dark demonic seed slowly emerged from the center of the seal, and that thing was frantically devouring the surrounding spiritual energy.

The Palace Master suddenly stood up, and as the teacup on the table tipped over, the emerald green tea soup meandered on the white jade bricks, forming a hideous ghost face.

He reached out and found the ancient bronze mirror. The surface of the demonic seed reflected in the mirror was covered with blood-red patterns, exactly like the "Nine Nether Heart-Eating Gu" recorded in ancient books.

"Activate the Nine Revolutions Reincarnation Array!"

The Palace Master's order resounded: "Ring the Soul-Awakening Bell one hundred and eight times! Summon the Six Peak Elders to Dianming Peak for a meeting."

A bell rang from the depths of the secluded valley palace, and a total of seventy-two peaks simultaneously lit up with array patterns.

Gu Changzhou suddenly pressed his hand to his chest, where the spirit of Mo Lin was restless—at the top of the clouds where the mist had dispersed, there was a giant crystal with the same aura as the Chaos Gathering Yuan Pill, with countless chains wrapped around it, each chain engraved with blood-red runes.

"That's... a meteorite from outer space?" Liu Sijun's voice trembled.

"The catastrophic disaster that befell Yougu Palace four hundred years ago was caused by this very thing."

The Palace Master's sleeves fluttered, and the tragic scene of that year appeared in the air: the chaotic energy surging from the crystal transformed half of the disciples into demons, and the former Palace Master had to activate a forbidden technique, using the essence blood of three thousand cultivators to seal them.

Gu Changzhou frowned deeply: "The appearance of the Chaos Gathering Pill is probably a sign that the seal is about to break."

I never expected such a coincidence.

Before long, all six elders arrived, and Liu Sijun naturally walked up to Song Hongyuan and bowed: "Disciple greets Master."

"Ah."

Song Hongyuan nodded: "I knew we had guests, but I didn't expect it to be you."

They also made the Palace Master Wan ring the Soul Bell.

Cai Yanpei looked Liu Sijun up and down, then his gaze fell on Gu Changzhou: "What is Marquis Molin holding in his hand?"

Fifth Elder Yunhe stroked his beard and chuckled, "Old Cai, you've really neglected alchemy all these years. You can't even sense such an obvious aura?"

Cai Yanpei: "."

He could certainly feel it, but he just couldn't believe it.