A Guide to Self-Rescue in the Cultivation World - Chapter 21

“Boom!”

A deafening explosion, accompanied by a blinding flash of fire, erupted instantly. As the flame and dust subsided, a figure wearing faded clothes but radiating an aura as sharp as a drawn sword emerged.

It was Qu Ming Wu!

He held an ancient-looking longsword, and on his back was a golden, stringless bow. The usual gloom that made him look like the world owed him money was gone, replaced by a volcanic, restrained fury.

With every step he took, the solid stone pavement cracked beneath his feet.

Following closely behind was another figure in cyan-green. He flickered through the rubble like a phantom, appearing next to Zhou Suyao in a heartbeat.

Ignoring the numerous, menacing enemies, the silver needles in his hand flashed like lightning, instantly piercing several acupoints on Zhou Suyao’s forehead. Simultaneously, he crushed a jade bottle that smelled richly of medicine, allowing the resulting medicinal mist to quickly enter her nose and mouth.

Only after completing all this did he look up, still wearing his usual cheeky grin, yet his eyes were now glazed with an icy, bone-chilling killing intent.

“Well, look at the big party. You think our Chengxian Dao is empty, huh?”

However, the most noticeable presence was the figure who had appeared out of nowhere in the center of the battlefield.

He said little, simply standing there quietly.

Zhou Shan Yuan.

He was still pale, still frail. His oversized robes floated emptily in the chaotic air, looking as though a gust of wind could blow him away.

Yet, he stood there serenely, barely lifting his head, his gaze calmly piercing through the confusing battlefield and the glaring streaks of bl00d.

Zhou Suyao looked up, her sight briefly meeting his.

But the eye contact seemed to last only a moment, so fleeting it felt like a hallucination. When she came back to herself, he had already averted his gaze.

His arrival was not heralded by earth-shattering drama, yet it plunged the entire battlefield into a strange stasis.

Whether it was the coldly charging Imperial Guards or the puppet-like Heavenly Dao Assassins, their movements involuntarily slowed for an instant. An inexplicable dread, originating from the depths of their souls, silently spread.

He slowly raised his hand. What he held was not a divine weapon, but a small, freshly broken peach blossom branch, still bearing morning dew.

“Elder Xuan Yangming,” Zhou Shan Yuan’s voice resonated, low and pleasing, yet carrying a weariness that transcended time, clearly reaching every corner of the battlefield. “The Three Path Meridian Flower is not something you should meddle with.”

The moment the words fell, the seemingly fragile peach blossom branch in his fingers suddenly erupted with a light of pure, unadulterated, pearly white.

The light wasn’t blinding, but it carried a divine quality that seemed to break through all illusion.

Wherever the soft glow passed, all raging spiritual power was gently and silently soothed. Almost everyone, including the Heavenly Dao Assassins, was momentarily slowed down inexplicably.

Only the bizarre figure, the two hundred and six bones that had re-formed into a fleshy casing in the distance, shrieked sharply: “Attack quickly—!”

He didn’t know why, but this seemingly ordinary Chengxian Dao junior carried an aura that was both familiar and deeply terrifying to him.

He began to tremble all over, as if absolutely suppressing spiritual power had occupied the surrounding air. He let out another high-pitched, distorted scream, filled with unprecedented horror: “Attack quickly!!!“

At his command, all the Imperial Guards and Heavenly Dao Assassins abandoned every other target like puppets, desperately charging toward that single, seemingly frail figure in cyan.

“Eldest Senior Brother!” Zhou Suyao cried out. She was about to rush forward when she suddenly sensed a faint spiritual fluctuation.

The fluctuation was coming from underground.

She snapped her head up and looked at Master: “Ming Luo… Ming Luo is down there!”

Master’s figure paused, then he nodded and instructed, “You three go save that girl first. Ming Wu! Follow your Junior Sister! I’ll stay here!”

With that, he tapped his toe and flew to stand beside Zhou Shan Yuan.

Zhou Suyao didn’t immediately follow the two figures hurrying ahead. Instead, she turned to look at the two figures locked in fierce battle with the Heavenly Dao Assassins, trying to spot any sign of weakness or flaw in their expressions.

But there was none—everything seemed exactly as it should be.

“Let’s go, Suyao. We can’t waste any more time,” Qi Jie tugged at her sleeve. “The longer we delay, the more complications there will be.”

“I know,” she nodded.

The three of them quickly ran to the front of the Hall of Mental Cultivation (Yangxin Dian). The white jade steps, symbolizing the highest imperial power, immediately came into view, followed by the sight of the Heavenly Dao Emperor perched atop them.

“Stop them!”

A cold, authoritative voice rang out. Following the command, the Heavenly Dao Assassins, who had been attacking Zhou Shan Yuan, instantly froze, then turned to face the three people in front of the Hall.

Without the slightest hesitation, the dozens of Assassins closest to the trio suddenly shone with a blinding white light—not a defensive light! But…

Self-detonation!

Dozens of Assassins, all possessing at least mid-level cultivation, simultaneously detonated their spiritual cores, which they had cultivated for years. The combined power instantly knocked the unprepared trio backward.

“Be careful!”

Zhou Shan Yuan’s normally calm voice registered a slight tremor for the first time. The peach blossom branch in his hand, radiating divine white light, violently shook. However, the attacks from the surrounding Heavenly Dao Assassins piled on, and with two fists against six hands, he was powerless to resist the combined force.

Zhou Suyao felt a wave of destructive energy instantly engulf her. As her vision was swallowed, the only thing she could hear was the piercing shriek of spiritual power being compressed to its limit.

She hugged her arms to her chest, trying to minimize the damage when she hit the ground.

Just as she thought she couldn’t escape a severe injury, a blinding golden light suddenly erupted in front of her.

“Clang—!”

The deafening metallic clash even drowned out the sharp explosion of the spiritual power self-detonation. She snapped her eyes open, seeing a golden phantom of a peach tree shielding her from the endless attacks of the charging Assassins.

Her heart pounded. Then, she instantly understood.

Eldest Senior Brother.

She lifted her eyes, looking again at Zhou Shan Yuan battling the Heavenly Dao Assassins on the horizon.

He didn’t spare a glance her way, but this was enough.

Staring at his utterly impassive profile, Zhou Suyao bit her lip and slapped the dust from her body.

Even if all of this was a conspiracy, and even if Eldest Senior Brother and Master were hiding countless secrets from her—so what?

At this very moment, they were all fighting for her.

Her mind cleared. Then, she slowly stood up.

Her hands instantly formed a giant protective seal. The faint golden aura flowed, perfectly intersecting with Eldest Senior Brother’s peach tree illusion, creating a double defense.

“Second Senior Brother! Qi Jie!” she anxiously called out while maintaining the protective spell in front of her, her gaze desperately sweeping the area where Qu Ming Wu and Qi Jie had been.

However, the sight that greeted her made her heart plummet.

Qu Ming Wu was kneeling on the ground. His drawn longsword was plunged deep into the pavement, supporting his shaky body. His head was bowed, his expression unreadable, but the hand gripping the sword trembled violently. Bl00d constantly dripped from his mouth, staining the white jade steps before him.

Clearly, the horrifying spiritual impact had severely wounded him beyond imagination. He was already unconscious.

A few steps away, Qi Jie was lying sprawled on his back. His usual swagger was completely gone, replaced by the pallor of severe bl00d loss. His chest clothing had been ripped open, revealing a bloody, mutilated wound. His breathing was shallow, his life hanging by a thread.

“Senior Brother!” Zhou Suyao cried out in alarm, instinctively wanting to rush over.

But the moment her foot moved, she froze.

No!

Master and the other two Senior Brothers were still restraining the most dangerous enemies, their spiritual power greatly depleted. Protecting her was their absolute limit. Second Senior Brother and Qi Jie were severely injured and unconscious, and Qi Shuo Bei had long since lost his ability to fight. At this moment, she was the only one left with strength in front of the entire Hall of Mental Cultivation!

She frowned silently—fear and loneliness wrapped around her with an unprecedented intensity. Facing the tidal wave of Heavenly Dao Assassins, how could she, alone, break through and rescue Ming Luo trapped in the underground chamber?

“Stop her! Absolutely do not let her near the underground chamber!”

The cold, authoritative voice of the Heavenly Dao Emperor sounded again. More Assassins, like puppets, abandoned other targets, frantically closing in on Zhou Suyao.

The white light on their bodies intensified again.

It was the precursor to self-detonation.

What should I do… what should I do…

The path ahead was a cold, merciless wall of steel formed by the massed Heavenly Dao Assassins.

To her side were the unconscious bodies of Qu Ming Wu and Qi Jie, their lives in the balance.

In the distance was a perilous, desperate battle.

And inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the Heavenly Dao Emperor’s figure remained hidden in the shadows, only his dark black imperial robe reflecting a chilling light in the gloom.

Isolated and without aid.

She seemed to have fallen into a true dead end.

Ming Luo’s aura was like a dying candle in the wind, flickering but distinctly weakening.

She thought frantically, her gaze sweeping over the unconscious allies and her Master and Eldest Senior Brother fighting to the death in the distance.

Time… she had no time left.

She briefly closed her eyes. When she opened them again, her gaze was fixed on the tightly shut door of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the symbol of conspiracy and death.

A burst of unprecedented resolve violently erupted in her chest, instantly shattering all her fear and hesitation.

“Ming Luo… wait for me.”

She whispered.

At this moment, there was no retreat, no reinforcement.

She had only herself.

Zhou Suyao closed her eyes.

She did not retreat. Instead, she circulated all the spiritual power in her body without reservation, including the resentment power from the Demon Race.

The moment the white light on the bodies of the leading Heavenly Dao Assassins reached its peak, just before they were about to explode.

Zhou Suyao moved.

She had no doubt, no step backward, no second thought, and no regret.

Instead, she charged without hesitation toward the giant, deep crater right next to the Hall of Mental Cultivation’s main door, the crater created moments ago by the self-detonation of dozens of Assassins!