Chapter Seventy-Six: Forcing Back the Formidable Foe

There was no time to ask questions. Yu Youwei immediately began suppressing her cultivation. She was ruthless enough to force her level all the way down to the peak of the Qi Refining stage, but her control faltered—the force of her breakthrough surged uncontrollably, escalating all the way to the peak of the Integration stage. The warm energy continued pouring into her, though the flow had slowed considerably, and impurities seeped from her body, coating her in a thick, black grime.

“Compress it further, push it down to the lowest realm!” Little White Bear, frantic inside the Beast Control Token, stamped his feet anxiously while the tiny Thunder Eagle on his head chirped shrilly.

After another round of ruthless suppression, Yu Youwei stabilized her cultivation at the peak of Foundation Establishment, just one step away from forming her Core. Opening her eyes, she realized the torch was gone; the beam of light enveloping the mountain had dispersed, now shrouding everyone present. The fighting had ceased—some were standing, others sitting, but all were in a state of cultivation, their auras rising ever higher.

Elder Ma and the leader of the Assassins’ League stood barely ten meters from the summit, their auras the most formidable. Everyone else who had tried to climb the mountain, except for Ning Mofei and Yu Youwei, had been forced back down by their overwhelming presence.

Bang!

A muffled thud, like the bursting of a drum skin, rang out abruptly. A man, knocked from the summit, exploded midair. It was as if a spark had fallen into a powder keg—explosions erupted one after another in the crowd below the peak.

Yu Youwei froze for an instant, then shouted, “Elder Ma orders: Disciples of the Celestial Dawn Sect, suppress your cultivation immediately!” At that moment, with spiritual power surging chaotically inside everyone, it was difficult to hear anything from below. Only the Celestial Dawn disciples, conditioned to respond instinctively to Elder Ma’s orders, obeyed without thinking; others, even if they heard, mostly ignored the command, many overwhelmed by the sudden spike in their strength and falling into a frenzy.

Elder Ma and the Assassins’ League leader opened their eyes at the same time and glanced at Yu Youwei. Elder Ma’s lips moved, but he could not send a voice transmission. The League leader, his intent murderous, sneered, “Aside from Ning the Chivalrous, Celestial Dawn has produced another extraordinary disciple!”

From this alone, it was clear the League leader’s strength far surpassed Elder Ma’s. Yu Youwei shivered inwardly, but met his gaze with a bright, serene smile. “It’s no matter if Celestial Dawn loses a genius disciple. But if the mighty League leader gets blown up by a spirit stone with a Fireburst Array, that would be quite the joke.”

“How bold you are! Do you really think Elder Ma can hold me back?” The League leader’s killing aura surged in waves so intense even Elder Ma was affected.

Little White Bear, risking exposure, unleashed his beastly might to suppress the League leader. Yu Youwei was confident—she could escape unharmed before blowing him up, so she cared little for his murderous intent. Her beautiful eyes sparkled as she said leisurely, “In this state, at least Ning and I can both move. You’re still immobilized. If Ning carries Elder Ma away, and I detonate the spirit stone, perishing together with you, at least I’ll die with honor!”

“You—!” Never before had the League leader been threatened to his face, especially not by a slip of a girl. His eyes turned blood-red with rage.

Yu Youwei’s face grew cold as well. She slapped Ning Mofei on the back. “Ning, carry Elder Ma down the mountain. After I butcher this old crab, I’ll come find you.”

“Hm?” It was as if Ning Mofei had just woken from a dream. He still wasn’t used to being called “Ning,” never having been called “brother” before. Though he suspected Yu Youwei was deliberately sowing confusion—hoping others would mistake him for Ning the Chivalrous, given the rumors—he still said, “Don’t call me Ning, just call me brother.”

Was this flirting? The League leader’s face darkened with fury. Did they really take him for a sick kitten rather than a tiger?

“Brother, be good. Get Elder Ma down the mountain quickly, take the Celestial Dawn disciples and get as far away as you can. Today, your little sister is going to catch a big fish.” Yu Youwei drew out a handful of spirit stones carved with arrays, weighing them in her hand.

Elder Ma was so anxious he looked as though his eyes might pop from their sockets. Without a sound, he mouthed: Girl, run! Don’t do anything foolish! Yet he was paralyzed, unable to move. Ning Mofei hefted him up as if slinging a sack over his shoulder and dashed down the mountainside, calling for the Celestial Dawn disciples to retreat as he went.

Below the peak, the sudden surge in strength had caused many to lose their mental balance, and as more and more people self-destructed, chaos reigned. Only the Celestial Dawn disciples, having obeyed Yu Youwei’s urgent relay of Elder Ma’s order, managed to suppress their cultivation and remain composed. They all regarded Ning Mofei as Ning the Chivalrous, whose reputation in the sect meant his every command was obeyed without question. At his shout, everyone abandoned trying to absorb more energy and withdrew as one.

A fair number of high-level cultivators still retained clarity and, seeing the Celestial Dawn disciples retreat, followed suit. Soon, a wide swath at the foot of the peak was empty.

With a loud cough, the League leader spat a mouthful of blood, glaring at Yu Youwei with venomous hatred. “I swear you’ll regret ever being born.”

“Then die!” Yu Youwei’s face was masked by the black grime from the impurities forced out of her body, but her chilling tone made it clear she was utterly resolved to kill him.

“Which old monster from Celestial Dawn are you disguised as—” His words broke off as a stabbing pain lanced through his mind. Yu Youwei hurled a spirit stone at him—it exploded against his body. With a furious roar, the League leader spun away from the blast like a whirlwind, fleeing in the opposite direction from Yu Youwei.

The moment she threw the stone, Yu Youwei leapt off the peak. The shockwave from the explosion blasted her outward, sending her tumbling into the midst of the Celestial Dawn disciples—a fortunate turn, saving her the effort of finding them. Just as she was about to face-plant, two pairs of hands reached out from either side, catching her and carrying her forward at a run.

The gates of the Dark Emperor’s ancient fortress loomed ahead. The fortress itself began to tremble; the light atop the bamboo-shaped mountain faded. Those still at the foot of the peak scrambled desperately to escape, but the ground suddenly split into gray fissures. Anyone who fell in screamed once and was never heard from again—no one ever emerged from the cracks.

Bursting through the fortress gates, the Celestial Dawn disciples looked back at the carnage, their hearts pounding with dread.

“Hurry! This plaza isn’t safe either!” Yu Youwei shouted, urging the disciples lingering at the gates to flee once more. They rushed down the plaza to the edge of the cliff. Ning Mofei turned and asked, “Sister, there’s no way out.”

“Someone take Elder Ma!” Yu Youwei called, and someone immediately took Elder Ma from Ning Mofei’s shoulders. She darted forward, wrapped her arms around Ning Mofei, and used the Azure Frost Sword to vault up the cliff wall, taking support from each point.

The gray light swirling below exerted a terrible pulling force. Yu Youwei felt it would soon overwhelm her. Her ascent slowed, and blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.

“You’re bleeding!” Ning Mofei cried out in panic.

The Celestial Dawn disciples nearest them nearly broke down: Was this really Senior Brother Ning the Chivalrous?

Rather than feeling that Ning Mofei was a burden, Yu Youwei was oddly pleased that he wept for her. Forcing a smile, she said, “You’re my brother, aren’t you? Don’t cry. Do you have any Vitality Pills or something? Give me one.”