The green-clad youth was clearly recovering from a fierce battle, his clothes disheveled and stained with scattered dark brown splotches. His upright spine was slightly bowed, and his long, soft, silken black hair cascaded around him.
His forehead was slick with sweat, his temples damp, and his pale pink lips parted slightly as he breathed heavily. It was evident that his spiritual energy was dissipated and unstable, rendering him unable to fly with his weapon.
As he heard the chilling sounds closing in from behind, his subtly drooping lashes fluttered, and his starry eyes shifted, widening slightly.
The ghastly corpses behind him, having evolved to the point where they could nimbly leap across eaves and walls, had tumors growing on their heads, like grotesque bulges on their cranial tops.
Their eyes were as black and thick as viscous asphalt, their limbs long and slender, their joints disproportionately thick. They crouched low, on all fours, like ferocious hyenas darting through alleyways in the dead of night, pursuing prey.
The terrifying, foul-smelling aura of pursuit felt so close that the skin on his back could sense a chilling touch.
The green-clad youth's mind was in turmoil, yet his expression remained relatively calm, showing no signs of breakdown or distorted panic.
He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing, and then, with stern composure, turned his head to shout at the group of elderly nuns behind him, "You all run ahead quickly, go to Jizhao Gu Temple. I'll hold them off!"
Compassion City boasted three Pure Lands: Guanghui Zen Temple, Jizhao Gu Temple, and Jingxu Ni An. All were places where female practitioners of Buddhist and Taoist arts currently resided.
Within them were powerful cultivators who had set up formidable barriers during their travels. Once activated, these barriers could repel invaders. Not long ago, Guanghui Zen Temple, Jizhao Gu Temple, and Jingxu Ni An had all successively activated the "Suito Kanjin Array."
The array, spread out like a net from elevated points within the city, formed a triangular barrier encompassing these three locations. Within the array, all evil presences were eradicated, protected by the profound blessings of Buddhism.
Once the array was activated, the golden bells hanging from the eaves of the city's buildings, adorned with beast carvings, would be influenced, striking one after another. Cascades of crisp bell sounds would resonate throughout the city, forming a continuous, ubiquitous line, serving as a warning.
However, even knowing that a safe haven existed within Compassion City, those left outside still had to overcome immense challenges and narrowly escape death to reach it.
This was because the ghastly corpses not only appeared everywhere, but their corpse poison also possessed a degree of contagion. Once injured, individuals with lower cultivation might succumb and transform into bloodthirsty monsters.
This created a silent, escalating situation: the fewer living people in Compassion City, the more numerous the ranks of the ghastly corpses became, a cycle of increase and decrease.
The city housed travelers from outside, as well as nuns who had returned from almsgiving. The Buddhist nuns following the youth were from Guanghui Zen Temple. They had been in the city, assisting female cultivators in escaping this disaster.
But now, with their spiritual energy depleted, they had narrowly escaped being surrounded by the ghastly corpses. Fortunately, this unexpected righteous youth had intervened, saving them and leading them in their escape to this location. kanδん
"No, no, you've already exhausted your vital energy saving us. Now—" Abbess Huiming grabbed him, shaking her head repeatedly. Her loose eyelids, however, revealed a pair of benevolent and gentle eyes, but now they were stern and disapproving.
"This is not the time to consider such things. If we delay any longer, none of us will escape. Abbess, please rest assured, after you escape safely, I can pursue them!"
As he spoke, he brushed away her hand and summoned his sword.
From the hilt he held, a resplendent, vibrant seven-colored light shot forth. With one hand, he rapidly formed seals, infusing the sword with his spiritual energy. Instantly, the bright radiance became dazzling.
He rose and swung, unleashing a sharp sword whip. The sword qi, like a rainbow, sliced through the surrounding ghastly corpses, their black, foul-smelling intestines spilling onto the ground. However, even this did not affect their movements.
Meanwhile, in the shadow of a dark alley, Gu Junshi's focused gaze abruptly changed.
She looked at the sword, her pupils gradually deepening.
Flower Spirit!
"Abbess, quickly, you must leave—"
The green-clad youth desperately blocked the approaching ghastly corpses, urgently calling to the hesitant figures behind him.
"Master—" A young nun tugged at Abbess Huiming, who looked apologetically at the youth standing bravely before them, her heart heavy with gratitude and sorrow. "For this kindness today, Huiming and all my disciples will never forget!"
No longer dawdling or hesitating, Abbess Huiming's attitude was decisive. She led her companions and fled swiftly in a safe direction.
With no further concerns behind him, the youth faced a battle to the death. However, his cultivation was merely at the Foundation Establishment stage. That single, full-power sword strike had nearly drained his spiritual energy dry, leaving not a single drop to be squeezed out.
At that moment, a ghastly corpse swiftly appeared from above. Startled, the youth instinctively dodged to the side. Although he avoided being torn in half, he was still grazed by its blackened, sharp claws on his arm.
He looked at his arm, where several long bloodstains seeped. The blood flowing out was no longer normal red, but black.
Pressing his arm, from which black blood flowed, the youth's face turned deathly pale. He looked around, only to see the ghastly corpses, with their expressionless, eerily malicious eyes, encircling him.
His flesh and blood were quite sweet, at least in the perception of these ghastly corpses, far exceeding that of the fleeing nuns.
Therefore, they were not in a hurry to pursue, preferring instead to savor this "feast" before them.
Roar—
This roar served as a signal. Instantly, not only the ghastly corpses on the street surged forward, but also those gathering more densely on the eaves leaped down from mid-air—
The situation had escalated to a breaking point.
The youth tilted his head back. Time seemed to slow to an extreme. The blood-red sky was buried by blackness, filled with the leaping, ugly, and repulsive ghastly corpses that occupied the entire sky.
Time then seemed to accelerate. With a "boom," the narrow space where the youth stood became a pile of ghastly corpses, scrambling over each other.
He was completely submerged by the ghastly corpses.
The youth's once rapidly beating heart ceased. He believed his end would inevitably be utter annihilation.
Or perhaps, without knowing anything, he would become one of these ghastly corpses.
But just as he was suffocated by the foul stench, a subtle, clear, cold fragrance inexplicably reached his nostrils, like a frigid flower blooming on ice, mysterious, chilling, and elegantly aloof.
His fading, numb consciousness was inexplicably awakened. Immediately, he was pulled by a strangely prominent force. A floating, powerful figure appeared before him. With a wave of their arm, the ghastly corpses, with their sharp black nails nearly tearing at his face, were all violently flung away.
Their faces frozen, they were instantly crushed into dust in mid-air by a terrifying force emanating from the air.
On this utterly silent street, amidst the swirling ashes, the person slowly turned around, their gaze fixing upon the youth with an almost tangible intensity.
That gaze was rather unusually sharp, making one slightly apprehensive.
After being saved, instead of feeling relief at surviving or recoiling in shock, the youth stared at her blankly, as if stunned.
"Tell me, why is Flower Spirit in your possession?"
She was a girl who appeared to be around his age. Beneath a water-pink, carp-tailed skirt, she wore a long, dark, heavy, and imposing black cloak fastened with chain-gold buttons.
The voice she spoke resonated in the youth's ears as if from another dimension.
Misty, faint.
He had been poisoned by the corpse toxin, which was clearly affecting all his senses, especially his hearing and vision.
He tried hard, but he still couldn't see her appearance clearly.
But he thought, this girl... must be very beautiful.
"Thank you for saving me..."
He tried to offer his savior a pure and innocent smile, wishing to express his gratitude.
However, Gu Junshi, whose heart was as hard as iron, was not swayed by his actions.
"You are infected with corpse poison. Without an antidote, you will die within the hour."
As if to confirm her words, the next moment, the youth finally couldn't hold back, turning his head and spitting a mouthful of black blood onto the ground.
"So... do you wish to live, or to die?" she asked calmly.
The youth's eyes were already failing him, and his mind felt dull and muddled. He barely heard her mention the words "life" and "death."
"Immortal maiden, please leave quickly... it's dangerous..."
He used his sword as a support, swaying precariously, as if he would collapse at any moment.
Hearing him still concerned for others at such a moment, and recalling his selfless sacrifice for the nuns earlier, Gu Junshi looked at him with mild bewilderment.
This person... seems a bit foolish?
Gu Junshi saw that he was afflicted with corpse poison and had depleted his spiritual energy. Naturally, his own cultivation was rather unimpressive, so it was no surprise that he would soon succumb to the poison entering his brain and become a newly minted ghastly corpse.
She still had matters to inquire about. If he were to become a ghastly corpse, naturally, she wouldn't be able to ask anything.
Therefore, she gathered her qi into her fingers and, with cold-blooded ruthlessness and no hesitation, slashed towards his left side. With a "噗嗤" sound, her action, faster than any sword, severed his entire left arm.
Simultaneously, as he contorted in pain and cried out, she flicked a brown pill into his throat.
He choked, his Adam's apple naturally rolling as the pill was successfully swallowed.
"Cough, cough—"
The sudden action stimulated his throat, causing him to cough several times, clutching his neck in discomfort.
But he gradually began to regain his senses, and the pain of his severed arm seemed to be alleviated.
Seeing that his eyes no longer held the dazed and lost look of stars falling into mist, Gu Junshi's black light on her wrist flashed, transforming into a solid rope that entangled him, immobilizing him and pulling him closer.
One could say that the green-clad youth's dire predicament had reached its peak. One arm was severed, half his body was stained with blood, his small face was ashen as if he had died once, and his lips trembled helplessly in extreme pain.
His eyes were lost, innocent, and fragile, holding a thin sheen of moisture, like a little white rabbit captured by a big bad wolf, completely unaware of the heinous things about to be done to him.
So heavily injured, with nearly all his blood drained, and now bound like a cocoon and coerced.
Anyone with a shred of compassion would find it unbearable to treat such a pure and kind, handsome youth in this manner.
But what did any of this have to do with Gu Junshi?
"Do you know Liu Jiang Fusheng?" She pinched his chin, forcing him to meet her gaze.
The moment she uttered the name, the green-clad youth showed no reaction, but Gu Sijun, who had cautiously followed behind, was startled. His eyes then shot towards the youth.
Forced to meet the girl's gaze, the youth now saw her clearly.
A heart-shaped face, a petite nose, and almond lips. Her fair and delicate complexion was like a budding flower. But truthfully, her current appearance didn't quite match her profoundly deep and cold eyes.
However, to put it simply, just those placid eyes of hers had completely captivated him.
He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, but perhaps due to nervousness and shyness, he stammered, "I, I don't know him. I'm, I'm sorry."
"Then this sword, where did you get it?"
With a grab of Gu Junshi's five fingers, the "Flower Spirit" sword in the youth's hand was firmly grasped by her.
The youth quickly explained, "I bought this sword from a stall vendor. It was quite cheap. He said... he said this sword was discarded by someone else. Back then, it wasn't like this; it was dull and unremarkable. I thought it looked nice, so I bought it..."
Upon hearing this, Gu Junshi's expression seemed to freeze, her demeanor profound and unreadable.
Discarded, thrown away, dull and unremarkable...
She suddenly moved her lips into a chilling smile, letting out a laugh. "I saved your life, preventing you from becoming a walking corpse. In return, this sword belongs to me. Do you have any objections?"
She raised her eyes to look at the youth. Her heart-shaped face was slightly rounded, and her appearance was rather sweet. Her eyes were dark and bright, and her smiling lips seemed to carry a hint of a smile even when she wasn't smiling. But upon closer inspection, there was only coldness in the depths of her eyes.
The youth suddenly felt a chill emanating from his surroundings. Relying on the acute sixth sense inherent in small herbivorous animals, how could he dare to raise any objections? He quickly shook his head.
He thought she was taken with his spiritual sword, but then he saw her raise the "Flower Spirit" sword, her fingertips gripping the blade tightly—
The next second, the Flower Spirit sword let out an extremely piercing shriek, and with a "嘭" sound, it dissolved into nothingness, its spiritual energy scattering into the air like shimmering light.
The youth's pupils reflected the scene of the Flower Spirit Sword transforming into dust and light in her hand and drifting away. He was completely stunned.
The youth's voice was hoarse and dry: "...Why?"
He heard her say.
"Since it was discarded, it should be thoroughly destroyed."
"Mother—"
Gu Sijun then trotted over and hugged her, as if sensing her less-than-pleasant mood and intending to comfort her.
Gu Junshi lowered her gaze, looking at his cute, rosy little face for a moment. The desolate and icy expression on her face then softened slightly.
She carelessly tossed the youth aside, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground, his already injured left arm suffering further damage from the rough treatment.
Gu Junshi casually picked up little Sijun and walked forward. But after a moment, she heard slow, weak footsteps from behind. They followed her, persistently, arduously, and stubbornly.
That arm-severed youth, he refused to leave.