119. Flames Amidst Flower
.
Another demon had arrived, and he unleashed his aura, making more than a few mortals step away in fear.
This level of aura was something none of them could measure, making it hard for them to breathe.
But this gathering held men of honour, who wouldn't cower in the face of danger, so the demon was surprised when these frightened mortals summoned boldness and suddenly held their ground, saying,
"There's only one of him!"
"Let's work together and defeat him!"
"Attack as one!"
The near-thousand man army of mortal cultivators began attacking this unknown demon, from the weak to the strong.
However, this was a lesson in the stark difference between their power levels, and though they managed to push him back, sometimes pummelling him into the ground, he would appear somewhere else and dust himself, completely unharmed.
"Is that all you can do?" His eyes bore an evil gleam as he looked round at them all. "My turn!"
He moved swiftly, suddenly heading right for Xu Wen who was closest, a wicked looking blade raised to kill him.
"No!" Sect Leader Xu instantly yanked Xu Wen away, preparing to receive the blow himself...
But just before the blow landed, an arc of brilliant white aura slammed into the demon, sending him flying a good deal off.
"...!" The demon skidded back, and glared around.
"Show yourself! There's no way a mere mortal could give me such a big hi-!"
But his words were cut off as another wave of the brilliant white aura hit him in the middle, this time sending him to his knees, and this was followed by several more arcs which tossed him around the arena like a ragdoll.
"I was trained to destroy evil upon seeing it." A calm voice said from above, and once again, numerous irises came to rest upon a silver-clad figure glowing brightly against the evening sky, gracefully descending from on high, a gleaming silver sword in his hand.
"H- High Immortal Yin!" Sect Leader Xu recognised him, though he had never seen him in such a glorious form!
Sect Leaders Huo and Xu cupped their hands in a respectful bow, and everyone else followed, but Yin Xing paled at the sight of Sect Leader Xu's bowed head.
"Ah, no, no! No need to be so polite!"
'Won't elder brother kill me if his father-in-law keeps bowing to me?!!'
"So...!" The new demon gasped for breath "...the great Night Deity isn't beyond a sneak attack?!" He wore a sour look, but his words brought a smirk to the gatekeeper's face.
"Oh? The Night Deity visits my city...? To what do I owe the pleasure?" He sneered. "Or are you simply here for your elder brother, Yin Xiaolong?"
There were instant murmurs and Yin Xing's eyes narrowed at the smug gatekeeper.
His statement had been deliberate...
As the Grand Wulin Master had put it, recent events had indeed made mortals a bit 'paranoid', and now there was no telling which Immortal to trust, if any.
Most were largely still distrustful of Yin Xiaolong, the infamous Black Dragon, and were only tentatively accepting him because he seemed to be on their side.
But to find out now that the revered Night Deity was his kin was bound to cause even more distrust amongst the mortals...
However, Yin Xing remained unfazed. "Are you still trying to sow discord here?
"Hmph. Do you think mortals are foolish?" He asked in a loud and clear voice. "They can tell who is trying to harm them from who is trying to help them, and can clearly see who disdains them, and who respects them!"
He swept an arm and the new demon was suddenly within the same shield as the gatekeeper and city master, while the mortals began to chatter.
"Too true." Someone muttered.
"These demons have disrespected us and consistently tried to harm us all day..."
"Compared to them, Yin Xiaolong and the Night deity saved us!"
"The Night Deity was even so polite to us!"
"Isn't it better to stand on his side for now?"
Yin Xing appeared by the shield. "The upright never fear crooked shadows. The truth, no matter how deeply buried, will always surface in time.
"You and your so-called mistress painted black as white thirty thousand years ago, but Sky Realm has discovered the truth!"
He held up a hand and a large black orb appeared, within which were tiny floating white lights.
The black orb floated upwards, expanding to cover the evening sky in a dark blanket, dotted with the brilliant white lights. He held out a hand and one of the white lights came to rest above his palm, brightly pulsing.
"Your days deceiving Mortals are over... With the permission of the Sky Emperor himself, I'm here to show mortals all the events that have led to the recent catastrophe, lest they be led astray by you lowlifes...!"
.
.
Meanwhile...
Flames could swiftly burn a flower...
Yet presently, flowers were overpowering a flame, and Xu Weiyan was indeed learning the vast difference between a mortal and an immortal as she fell forward to her knees, severely bloodied and beaten, a spray of blood bursting from her lips.
She had since lost count of how many times this had happened...
Qin Yuelian seemed to enjoy toying with her and was whipping her around with thorny vines, sending waves of sharp petals to slice at her, or hitting her with spells designed to harm but not kill her.
Weiyan had thrown everything she could at Qin Yuelian, but Qin Yuelian blocked or countered all her attacks with ease, no matter how well planned or thought out.
Even with Luoyin's talismans ...
Qin Yuelian was completely immune to the smoke poison, and when Weiyan used the darkness talisman and maze talismans to get away, Qin Yuelian had suddenly appeared, blocking her path.
"Hmph. I'm a millennia old flower.... I'm impervious to almost all poisons! And I planted one of my seeds within you from my first strike.
"I can find you, no matter where you run or hide!" After which she had proceeded to torture Weiyan even more.
But far from welcoming death, Weiyan was grateful...
The longer she was alive, the longer there was hope that this powerful woman wouldn't go after Luoyin.
And so she picked herself up one more time.
The rain began to fall, splattering her with mud, and making her hair and clothes stick to her uncomfortably.
But she didn't mind...
Rather, it was oddly soothing as she staggered forward, struggling to hold her sword upright.
"Ho? You're quite resilient for a mere mortal!" Qin Yuelian taunted, shielding herself from the rain.
Her pretty features wore a smile which somehow made her appear grotesque. "I'll be merciful... Fall to your knees and kowtow! I'll at least leave your corpse intact so your dear husband can recognise you!"
The words filled the space, unsettling Weiyan who acknowledged that her death, no matter how undeserving she was, would make Luoyin miserable.
She found herself on Caoyang again, recalling how sad Yin Bailong had seemed on Caoyang- that night of sorrows before she had stabbed him...
Looking back on the past, Yin Bailong had always possessed an air of sadness and loss, despite his brilliant smiling face.
And so had Luoyin...
She recalled the New Year, where he had sat drinking alone in the garden pagoda.
...and then the wedding night where he had mentioned someone else in his heart...
Now that she knew Yin Bailong and Luoyin were one and the same person, she realized this love had lasted thousands of years- more than thirty thousand years, from what she knew.
The thought of Luoyin loving another so greatly weighed heavy on Weiyan's heart, and she staggered, grasping her chest.
Still, one thought shone through...
She could not forgive anyone who wanted to harm Luoyin in any way- even through her death...!
Meanwhile, unaware of Weiyan's inner turmoil, Qin Yuelian only saw her grasp her chest and stagger.
"Oh? Are you finally giving in? Are you going to die now?" She raised an eyebrow as Weiyan fell to her knees, and she laughed, her voice ringing around. "Heh! Don't blame me for killing you- blame your 'dear husband' for standing in our way!
"That stubborn resilient fellow always survives like the lowest of roaches! I can't wait to see what face he makes after finding your lifeless bod-!"
Her words were suddenly cut off as a hand suddenly grabbed her throat, slamming her into the ground.
"You-!" But she spluttered as her attacker tightened the hold, dragging her along the rough ground, still in a chokehold.
Qin Yuelian's eyes widened to find it was the same Xu Weiyan who was doing this to her! Weiyan's face was now calm and expressionless, but her eyes were glazed by a golden light.
Qin Yuelian quickly performed a one-hand seal and disintegrated into petals, leaving Weiyan momentarily lost, her blank eyes staring at her empty hand, as if wondering where her prey had gone.
"Bold of you!" Qin Yuelian reappeared in a flurry of petals, some distance behind Weiyan, and she tenderly touched her sore neck. "How dare a mere mortal like you harm m-!"
But once more, she was suddenly in a chokehold and tackled to the ground again, gasping for air.
'Too fast!' She stabbed upward, and Weiyan vanished in a wave of white flames, reappearing almost at once with a downward swing of her white sword.
Qin Yuelian blocked the attack and swiftly leapt away.
'How can a mortal have such power?!' She wondered, landing a good distance away.
It added to the mysteries surrounding Xu Weiyan, and as Xu Weiyan turned cold blank eyes to her, Qin Yuelian glared, her rage surging to the point of nearly swallowing her whole.
"I was once the most beautiful and powerful in the Floral Realm, admired by all and destined to rule after my sister stepped down!
"It was all going well..." Her aura began rising steadily as she spoke. "But then a rare genius appeared and was predicted to rule!
"Hmph! Suddenly my sister who was about to step down, suddenly clung to the Floral Throne, guarding it till this new Successor was old enough! I never understood... This genius was almost a millennia younger, and yet she was more startling and surpassed me in every way!"
Her irises lit a bright pink. "I hate you inexplicable geniuses the most! I'm going to kill you and shatter your soul...!!"
.