BW Chapter 168

Dark Domain (10)

 

Qian Prefecture, Louzhou, Wanxuan Academy.

 

“Father and the Venerable are both not here. I just went to Chenguang Island to pick up Xiao Shan, but Xiao Shan was also nowhere to be found, and Big Yellow is also missing.” Feng Zizhang paced back and forth in the room, worried. “Something must have happened today. Otherwise, why would the head teacher drive us into this sealed barrier when we were having classes perfectly fine?”

 

Earlier when the Chongzheng Alliance surrounded the island, the disciples of Wanxuan Academy had all been stuffed into the barrier by the head teacher as a precaution, so they were still completely in the dark about what was happening.

 

“Could it be that they took Xiao Shan out to play?” Jiang Yizheng lay sprawled on the table listlessly. “Father said he would test my recitation of heart formulas in three days, but I’ve only memorized less than a hundred. I’m definitely doomed.”

 

Yang Lingzhu said, “But every time they leave for a long time, they always leave us a message. And today the atmosphere in Wanxuan Academy feels strange. Many familiar high-ranking head teachers are absent, and the security is much stricter than usual.”

 

When she said this, Feng Zizhang and Jiang Yizheng immediately became nervous.

 

“Something really didn’t happen, did it——mmph.” Feng Zizhang hadn’t finished speaking when Jiang Yizheng covered his mouth.

 

“Big brother, please, say something nice.” Jiang Yizheng said seriously.

 

Over this long time, Jiang Yizheng had discovered that regardless of whether it was good or bad, most of what came out of Feng Zizhang’s mouth turned out to be correct.

 

Feng Zizhang mumbled, “I won’t say it anymore, won’t say it anymore.”

 

“Father and the others must have snuck off to fight again.” Cui Yuanbai squatted by the window stroking the dragon. Little Black comfortably rolled over showing his belly, his dragon tail wrapped around the window lattice reflecting the setting sun, gleaming brightly.

 

“That’s right!” Feng Zizhang suddenly had a flash of inspiration, staring at the little black dragon. “Isn’t Little Black the same as Big Yellow, both being Xiao Shan’s contracted beasts? He must be connected to Xiao Shan through their sea of consciousness, so Little Black definitely knows where they are.”

 

The little dragon who had been comfortably having his belly rubbed for digestion was suddenly grabbed by the tail and lifted up, with four people surrounding him in a circle, their eyes shining as they stared at him.

 

“Hic!” The little black dragon was startled into hiccupping.

 

“Little Black, tell sister, where are Father and Xiao Shan right now?” Jiang Yizheng asked gently and pleasantly.

 

The little black dragon made two soft sounds.

 

The several humans surrounding him: “…………”

 

Feng Zizhang said disappointedly, “Forget it, Little Black can’t talk. He’s even younger than Ning Xiu, what would he know?”

 

The little black dragon swished his tail, and with a “bang” sound, a majestic great dragon used his tail to roll them up and throw them onto his back. Before they could react, he soared toward the setting sun with the wind.

 

****

 

Dui Prefecture, Xinzhou, Dark Domain.

 

The formation controlled by Ning Buwei crashed toward Pei Heguang with tremendous force. For a moment, rubble flew throughout the cave, and everyone from the Chongzheng Alliance was forced to retreat far back.

 

Pei Heguang retreated rapidly but was still a bit slow. He sustained injuries of varying degrees all over his body, but the excited expression in his eyes became increasingly obvious.

 

Clearly, the result of Ning Buwei successfully cultivating the Path of Ruthlessness was very important to him.

 

The tremors within the high platform hadn’t stopped. Big Yellow, who had originally been standing in front of the stone wall concentrating on repairing the prohibition, suddenly called out loudly, “No good, I can’t patch it anymore. The prohibition is about to completely disappear!”

 

Everyone on the high platform looked toward the uneven stone wall in front of him. Sure enough, the red runes that had originally covered about half the wall now only had a pitiful few incomplete symbols left, flickering with crimson light in the dark cave.

 

Pei Heguang and Ning Buwei almost simultaneously rushed toward Big Yellow. Chu Linyuan closely followed Ning Buwei and shouted to the Chongzheng Alliance members, “Stop Pei Heguang!”

 

Although they didn’t know why they were inexplicably acting together with Ning Buwei, everyone also knew that if the prohibition was completely released, it would be of no benefit to them either, so they temporarily set aside their previous grudges——

 

Of course, the Linglong Bone was currently being held steadily in Venerable Jinghe’s arms, and no one dared to touch that bad luck.

 

Ning Buwei’s blade blocked Pei Heguang. Several cultivators who were confident in their high cultivation stepped forward trying to tie up Pei Heguang, but before they could get close to him, they were struck by a powerful spiritual force and sent flying, crashing heavily into the stone wall and losing half their lives.

 

“Why do you people continue this pretense?” Pei Heguang effortlessly received Ning Buwei’s killing moves, his gaze sweeping over those cultivators from the Chongzheng Alliance. “One by one calling yourselves righteous sects, full of benevolence and moral righteousness. Earlier when it didn’t concern you, you hung back aloof, smugly standing on moral high ground looking down on all living beings. Now when it’s too late, you still hope to make amends——”

 

His gaze coldly swept over these cultivators. “Truly disgusting.”

 

The Suzaku narrow blade was only an inch away from Pei Heguang’s neck before being forcefully deflected. Ning Buwei leaped forward and casually threw a barrier formed from condensed evil qi onto those broken runes. Before the barrier could fall, suddenly a short sword broke through the wall and shot straight toward Big Yellow.

 

“Big Yellow, dodge!” Ning Buwei wanted to intercept it but was held up by Pei Heguang. Those useless people from the Chongzheng Alliance couldn’t be counted on, and Chu Jun in the distance was motionless for some unknown reason. He could only use all his strength to control the skeleton to pull Big Yellow backward.

 

Big Yellow, who had nearly exhausted all his spiritual power repairing the prohibition, staggered back a step. The short sword grazed his throat as it passed, and the lingering cold sensation made him shiver involuntarily.

 

Xie Jiu’s figure emerged from the shadows. Meeting Ning Buwei’s gaze, he coldly curved his lips and suddenly attacked the motionless Chu Jun.

 

Ning Buwei’s eyes flashed coldly, and his moves against Pei Heguang became increasingly vicious. However, Pei Heguang’s methods were difficult to handle, and when he was momentarily distracted by concern for Chu Jun’s situation, Pei Heguang’s five fingers barely grazed past his dantian, and crimson blood disappeared into his black clothing, bringing a warm sensation.

 

Beside Chu Jun, Shen Xi, who had not participated in the fighting, suddenly made a move and blocked Xie Jiu’s sneak attack.

 

In the chaotic battle, a wisp of weak spiritual power accidentally fell onto those few incomplete runes, and the last bit of crimson light slowly extinguished before everyone’s eyes.

 

There was a moment of silence on the high platform, then Pei Heguang laughed with delight. His gaze slowly swept over the stunned crowd, over Chu Jun and Ning Xiu in his arms, and finally stopped on Ning Buwei’s face.

 

The smile on his face gradually widened. “Chengfeng, clearly we are both the same. Why do you willingly burden yourself for their sake?”

 

Before Ning Buwei could respond, the surroundings plunged into complete darkness.

 

If someone had been looking down from above the Seventeen States at this moment, they would have seen a massive, vast formation slowly emerging from underground, using the entire Eight Trigrams Great Formation as its foundation and the Dark Domain as its center. A trapped beast that had been dormant for thousands of years finally broke free from the chains that had always bound and suppressed it, baring its teeth to reveal cold fangs, aimed at the tens of thousands of innocent living beings throughout the Seventeen States.

 

The entire sky above the Seventeen States was shrouded in blood-colored gloom, with the stale, rotten smell of blood permeating and spreading through the air.

 

Whether common people or cultivators, at this moment they all looked up in amazement at the blood-colored firmament. Something in the air seemed to be faintly trembling, and that sound grew louder and closer, becoming clearer and clearer.

 

Thud——thud——thud thud——

 

Like the sound of a heavy, grand heartbeat, from the depths underground, passing through boiling magma, through barren deserts, through stifling swamps, through vast boundless plains, through crisscrossing mountains and hills, it forcefully occupied every inch of land in the Seventeen States, penetrating through air so thick it seemed unable to dissolve, falling into the minds of all living beings.

 

The spiritual power of the entire Seventeen States poured out like a bursting dam, rushing past the vanished prohibition and rapidly dissipating.

 

The endlessly blooming spirit plants were rapidly withering, the flying fish swimming in spirit springs were turning belly-up, the palaces supported by spiritual power that lined the continuous mountain ranges were crashing down, the walkways built high in the air suddenly collapsed, falling into bottomless cliffs without echo. Countless formations and barriers formed by spiritual power quietly disappeared, and all hidden things had nowhere to hide.

 

This vast land that had been blessed and shrouded by spiritual power was like a fierce beast that had been skinned and had its fangs cut off, suddenly losing all its weapons and pride without warning. Its original appearance was revealed under the sky, waiting helplessly and bewildered for death’s arrival.

 

And on the other side in the mortal realm, ordinary flowers, grass, and trees began jaw-dropping rapid growth due to the sudden abundance of spiritual power. Giant trees, vines, and animals that had taken on various forms from excessive absorption of spiritual power invaded farmlands and villages, cities and palaces.

 

The common people caught within fled in panic, but died from spiritual power explosion due to the soaring spiritual energy in the air.

 

The spiritually barren mortal realm and its people, suddenly receiving so much spiritual power, were like teacups forcibly filled with water. When the cup was full but couldn’t overflow, water continued to pour, and though cracks had already appeared, they were powerless to stop it. The final outcome could only be death by explosion.

 

The prohibition between the cultivation world and mortal realm completely dissipated. The entrance to Li City had long since collapsed, and the Dark Domain had become the largest outlet for pouring spiritual power. The collapse of Jade Mountain could not be stopped.

 

Whether for the cultivation world or the mortal realm, this was an unprecedented catastrophe.

 

Above the Dark Domain, wind and clouds surged. On the high platform, the monk closed his eyes.

 

Sanskrit text carrying golden light, centered on Ming Sang, wrapped the surroundings airtight. The mysterious methods of heaven and earth chanted softly, yet the sound was as vast as a sea of stars, scattering into every corner of the Seventeen States.

 

The smile on Pei Heguang’s face, who had originally been confident of victory, froze slightly.

 

Ning Buwei, in the chaotic darkness, suddenly opened his eyes. Like a drowning person who suddenly received a precious breath of air, he had no time to think too much. He quickly removed the concealment formation from the Dao contract that had long been released, and in the thick, bloody darkness, searched for Chu Jun’s figure.

 

In the pitch-black void, a faint crimson light gently flickered.

 

Ning Buwei took a deep breath, using almost all his remaining spiritual power and evil qi to rush toward that point of weak light that had lit up through the Dao contract’s sensing, then unhesitatingly embraced the person.

 

Chu Jun held Ning Xiu with one hand and wrapped his other arm around his shoulder. This usually gentle and indifferent person carried tremors, as if enduring great pain, yet it was lightly suppressed by its master.

 

“Don’t panic, I’m fine.” Chu Jun’s voice sounded close to his ear.

 

Ning Buwei held his waist tightly. He finally grasped the fragments that had always been flashing in his mind, and said through gritted teeth, “In the Mass Resentment Illusion Realm, you had Ning Xiu take back that strand of life force you had given me back then, didn’t you?”

 

That strand of life force was the key to the fate tribulation falling on Ning Buwei. Logically, it had long since merged into Ning Buwei’s bones and blood, and Chu Jun couldn’t take it back——but Ning Xiu could.

 

Ning Xiu was not only transformed from the Linglong Bone, but was also Ning Buwei’s biological son. As a son giving his father a strand of life force, even the Heavenly Dao couldn’t find fault with it, and there would be no more talk of fate tribulations.

 

Chu Jun had manipulated an ignorant young child, taking advantage of Ning Buwei’s unclear mental state when he was establishing his Dao and overcoming his inner demons, to quietly exchange out that strand of life force.

 

Ning Buwei finally remembered what that little golden hand had been reaching for when it touched his heart, but he felt no joy at all.

 

Chu Jun remained silent, only holding him tighter.

 

“Big Yellow was right. When the prohibition is released, all the spiritual power will rush into Ning Xiu’s dantian——” Ning Buwei wanted to curse the person in front of him to death, laughing in extreme anger. “Only you are the smartest and most capable! Having Ning Xiu hold your strand of life force, you bore the prohibition and this chaotic spiritual power for him, perfectly matching your death tribulation! You even schemed against your own son, you bastard!”

 

Chu Jun slowly patted his back and said softly, “Chengfeng, we both know that without doing this, Ning Xiu simply couldn’t withstand it.”

 

“And you can withstand it?” Ning Buwei couldn’t tell whether it was Chu Jun trembling from the spiritual power impact and pain throughout his body, or himself shaking with anger. “You couldn’t discuss this with me beforehand……”

 

Although even if they had discussed it beforehand, they couldn’t have come up with a better solution. At most, the two of them would have borne this tribulation for Ning Xiu together, living or dying with uncertain odds.

 

“Chengfeng, Chengfeng.” Chu Jun gently pinched the back of his neck and said warmly, “I’m sorry. I was wrong in this matter. After everything is settled, you can punish me however you want.”

 

“Chu Jun, if you dare release the Dao contract now, then never think about forming a contract with me again.” Ning Buwei said through gritted teeth in the thick darkness.

 

Chu Jun’s hand, which had been about to release the Dao contract, froze in the darkness. His fingers turned slightly, changing to a temporary seal instead.

 

Ning Buwei suppressed his anger and sneered coldly, “Shameless old thing——”

 

Chu Jun’s hand on the back of his neck paused, then suddenly pressed forward, using his lips to block Ning Buwei’s provocative mouth.

 

The surroundings were pitch black. Ning Buwei hadn’t even had time to figure out where exactly they were now, didn’t know if there were other people around, and had no idea what terrible state the outside of the high platform and Dark Domain had become——

 

He could only feel Chu Jun’s soft lips and faint bitter fragrance, as well as his gradually burning and unsteady breathing and slightly trembling body.

 

Looking back, there was no way to retreat. Going forward, life and death were uncertain. This precious kiss was like a final farewell.

 

Faint light spilled in from the distance. After the lingering kiss ended, Ning Buwei’s arms were suddenly empty, leaving only some annoying warmth.

 

And Ning Xiu, who was still sleeping soundly in his front robes.

 

Countless curse words surged to his lips but were firmly suppressed by him. He gloomily clenched the hand that had just been holding Chu Jun’s waist and raised his head to look around.

 

Before he could look carefully, countless vast and surging spiritual powers rushed toward him from behind. Ning Buwei spun around sharply, his eyes filled only with shock.