“Ah…”
The Qin Sword Immortal let out a piercing scream. In the instant his flesh body shattered, his nascent soul retreated with haste.
“Ye Chang Sheng, how have you come to collude with the demon race?”
The Qin Sword Immortal bellowed in fury, “Do you not know that the demon race must be slain on sight by all?”
“Could it be you intend to betray the human race?”
“If the human race repays kindness with enmity as you do, what harm in betrayal?” As Ye Qiu’s words fell, his right hand thrust forth.
In that moment, demonic qi surged to the heavens, like a galactic dam bursting, flooding forth endlessly.
The Qin Sword Immortal at once felt enveloped by a shadow of death. Without a word, he turned to flee.
But it was too late.
“Slap!”
A massive black hand descended from the sky, slamming the Qin Sword Immortal’s nascent soul to the ground like Mount Tai bearing down.
“Ye Chang Sheng, spare me.”
The Qin Sword Immortal begged frantically, “I want no part of that whip. So long as you let me live, I shall keep silent about your ties to the demon race. I…”
“Best you die all the same!” Ye Qiu pressed down with force.
Puff!
The Qin Sword Immortal’s nascent soul pulverised.
At the same time, the grand array crumbled.
Ye Qiu gazed at the black arm on his right hand and said, “Old Nine, my thanks.”
“My strength is spent. I must return to the coffin to rest. I shall slumber for a time henceforth. Take care of yourself.” Old Nine’s voice sounded utterly feeble. The next instant, the severed arm detached from Ye Qiu’s arm and returned to the universe pouch.
Heaven and earth fell silent once more.
“Little whelp, what just happened?”
The Long Eyebrow Immortal gaped in astonishment. Mere moments ago, they had been hunted by the Qin Sword Immortal. How had he perished in the blink of an eye?
“Did you not see it all?” Ye Qiu said.
“I mean that severed arm. What of it?” The Long Eyebrow Immortal said, “This poor Daoist finds it oddly familiar, like the severed arm from the Qinling blood coffin…”
“Quite right. That blood coffin is in my possession.” Ye Qiu said, “The owner of this severed arm is a demon race overlord. To avoid trouble, he rests in the universe pouch as a rule.”
The Long Eyebrow Immortal asked dubiously, “How came a demon overlord to the Qinling? And why aid you? Have you struck some bargain?”
Ye Qiu nodded, “Old Nine’s flesh body was dismembered and suppressed in sundry places. I vowed to help him reclaim it all. In turn, he pledged to guard my path. Simple as that.”
So that was the way of it.
“A single severed arm felled a pinnacle Tongshen expert. By that token, Old Nine must be a saintly powerhouse?”
The Long Eyebrow Immortal grinned broadly, “A saintly powerhouse as your guardian. Little whelp, your fortune runs deep.”
“With such a mighty ally, we need flee the Yin Yang Sect no longer. We charge straight in and fight.”
Ye Qiu rolled his eyes and said, “Did you not hear the Qin Sword Immortal? The demon race is to be exterminated by all.”
“Human cultivators regard demons as their archfoe. Should Old Nine be exposed, the entire human race would hunt us, even saintly powerhouses descending upon us.”
“Old Nine has but this one severed arm left. He cannot stand against saintly powerhouses.”
“Old thing, in that hour, how long do you reckon we two would last?”
The Long Eyebrow Immortal laughed, “My oversight, that. Still, with Old Nine, our safety has some surety at least.”
Ye Qiu said, “Old Nine specified he aids me only at death’s door.”
“He expended much just slaying the Qin Sword Immortal. He spoke of slumbering for a spell.”
“We two must tread warily henceforth.”
The Long Eyebrow Immortal nodded, “Aye, caution is key. Enemies lurk everywhere now, after all.”
“Who would have thought it. The Qin Sword Immortal, of the Qingyun Sword Sect no less, seemed a decent sort, yet proved a rank hypocrite.”
Ye Qiu said, “The line between righteous and wicked blurs ever. A sect disciple of crooked heart is but a fiend, while a demon cultist of pure intent stands as a true gentleman.”
The Long Eyebrow Immortal concurred heartily, “Well said, little whelp. Mind you keep such views from outsiders, though. The human race deems demons their direst enemy.”
“I know.” Ye Qiu then asked, “Old thing, how fares your wound?”
“Dire. I am nigh unto death.” The Long Eyebrow Immortal said, “Little whelp, grant this poor Daoist a leaf of divine medicine, quick.”
“You are full of it, eyes wide open.” Ye Qiu said, “Rest a while. I go to heal.”
With that, Ye Qiu moved aside, sat cross-legged, and circulated his energy to mend his injuries.
The Long Eyebrow Immortal approached the site of the Qin Sword Immortal’s shattered body, circled it once, then found a spatial ring.
He glanced back, saw Ye Qiu still healing, and swiftly dripped blood to claim it. A scan revealed the spatial ring utterly barren.
“Bloody hell, an elder of the Eastern Wastelands’ premier great sect, and not a thing to his name. Pauper.”
The Long Eyebrow Immortal cursed in outrage.
He pocketed the spatial ring and waited nearby for Ye Qiu.
Half an hour passed.
Ye Qiu’s wounds mended. He rose and said, “Old thing, onward!”
The pair set forth anew, bound westward.
They had gone but a short way when, at the spot where the Qin Sword Immortal fell, a figure emerged from a rift in the void.
This figure wore a grey scholar’s robe, his frame gaunt, face shrouded in cloth save for his eyes, long white hair cascading over his shoulders.
“Why does demonic aura linger here?”
Doubt flickered in the masked man’s eyes. He fixed upon the Qin Sword Immortal’s corpse fragments, his gaze swirling like a starry river, profound beyond measure.
“To think the man likeliest to attain sainthood in five centuries perished here.”
Regret laced the masked man’s words. By degrees, his eyes turned crimson, like spilled blood.
“Ah…”
The masked man uttered a soft cry, tilting his head back. Veins below his neck swelled black and purple, grotesque in aspect.
His gaze grew feral too, brimming with savagery, like a beast roused from slumber.
At this, the blood on the ground, drawn by some arcane force, floated upwards in streams, then converged in a rush towards the masked man.
The masked man parted his lips and swallowed the blood whole.
Next, he extended his palm and beckoned from afar. The Qin Sword Immortal’s sundered remains flew swiftly to him.
The masked man lifted the cloth from his mouth, seized a chunk of flesh, and crammed it in, chewing voraciously.
Soon, he grasped a severed leg and gnawed upon it, bones and all. “Crunch crunch” echoed across the icefield, sending chills down the spine.
The masked man savoured it with relish, blood trickling from his lips, a sight of utter horror.
After a time, the Qin Sword Immortal’s remains were wholly devoured.
“Delicious beyond words.”
The masked man licked his lips, loath to finish.
Then, he rent the void with both hands and stepped within.
Vanishing in an instant.
