165. One Last Time.
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The tallest tower in Yu Shui city was in utter ruins, but it remained standing tall in the damp, desolate, foggy city, its elegant roofs filled with holes, broken eaves, and missing tiles.
Two pairs of feet gently landed atop the highest roof and Luoyin swiftly cast a few hand seals.
A jet of his bright blue aura shot into the skies, parting the clouds, accompanied by spirals of brilliant and colourful lights.
"A-Yin!" Weiyan exclaimed in worry. "This place was conspicuous enough... Why give away our position?!"
But Luoyin smirked. "Hmph. That's precisely the plan!"
As expected, a familiar voice rang out, now colder and more fierce than ever.
"Kill Them!"
Zhurong Fen had seen Luoyin's aura on the tower and instantly gave the kill order, sending most of the Universal Tier demons right to the tower!
But the demon's all crashed into an invisible barrier.
Atop the tower, Weiyan shook her head, not even the least bit surprised.
"You deliberately drew them away from the citizens... Hao." She held out a hand and her sword appeared. "Your shield won't hold up against them for long, so we'll face them together!"
"Er... Ehehe, Yanyan, calm down!" Luoyin pulled her firmly behind him. "Not yet, not yet! That wasn't only to draw the demons away... It was also a signal!"
"Hmph. Such an ostentatious signal... You've not stopped showing off in so many years!" A bitter voice spoke and they both swivelled to see a white and gold robed figure appearing.
It was Yan Lutian, Weiyan's immortal cousin from the Swallow Clan. He flashed a smile of pure admiration to Weiyan.
"Cousin! It's really you!" Red splotches appeared on his cheeks. "Even as a mortal, you're graceful in everyway!!"
"Hmph." Weiyan turned her face away, clearly unimpressed.
A sour look descended on Luoyin's face. "Why are you here again?!"
Lutian matched his displeased countenance. "Tch! Just be thankful I'm willing to fight with yo-!"
He was cut off by a dense aura suddenly filling the space, and Luoyin swiftly tugged Weiyan behind himself.
"Oh? Xiaozi, you really dared summon us to fight these low-lives." A soft voice said, and they turned to see a woman materialize, dressed in flowing red and black robes.
It was Rong Yin, the new Shadow Deity, a High Grand Immortal Fox in charge of all seals and gateways to the Shadow Realm, and though her face was beautiful, she was too pale and surrounded by a creepy air.
"Hmph." She covered her nose. "Lucky for you I do have a score to settle with that offensive bxxch...! She dared mess with the Shadow Realm Seals! She must take responsibility if the Sky Emperor docks my Salary!"
"I don't believe it!" Another voice spoke and yet another Immortal appeared.
"You've really become a mortal!" It was the River Deity who had abandoned his post after the events thirty thousand years ago! His eyes fell on Weiyan.
"Ei? Both husband and wife are mortal!" He exclaimed. "Xiaozi! Did you secretly run off here to enjoy yourself with your wife?!"
"Just be thankful they're alive and well!"
More and more Immortals appeared one by one, including several elder Immortals, the Wood Deity, the Plague Deity, the Thunder Deity, the Weaver Deity, and the current Lord Medicine, an elderly Immortal who had insisted on being Bailong's 'disciple' back then!
Most of these deities had been original members of the 'Emperor's Circle' from back then, and quite a few had abandoned their posts in a show of loyalty to Luoyin.
Before the Baishan Tournament, Luoyin pretty much guessed how dangerous Yu Shui City might be, so he had persuaded Old man Bao to enter Sky Realm for the first time in thirty thousand years.
Old man Bao had set out to reassemble old friends in case things took a turn for the worse, while Kai Zhen had been tasked with locating those like him who had hidden in the Mortal realm over thousands of years.
Then Luoyin had left instructions to 'await his signal'.
In truth, less than ten of these Immortal power-houses were truly loyal to Luoyin himself.
But with the war against Floral Realm and the appearance of demons, Old Man Bao had convinced the rest to reform the old Circle and descend to fight in the Mortal Realm.
And now, after witnessing the Star Edict, they had seen what was truly at stake for themselves!
There was a loud crack as Luoyin's barrier began to give way, and the demons below increased their assault.
"Hmph! These are some powerful demons!" The plague deity observed, a brilliant smile on her face. "Perfect for testing a few things!"
"Just don't let any plague get out of control! Medicine Pavillion is understaffed!" Lord Medicine's Sword appeared in his hand, but he turned, linked his thumbs and bowed to Luoyin.
"Master! It's a relief that you're alive! Just leave this to us!"
"Umh! It's just like the War again!" The Weaver Deity said as her elegant shuttle appeared to float above her palm. "We can't let these demons run amok!"
"Hao! Let's fight to the death here!"
The Immortals jumped into action, leaping down the tower to meet the demons who had broken the shield and were now scaling upwards.
Yan Lutian scoffed. "Hmph! The Swallows only got involved because we were the ones passing messages within the Circle.
"I'm not as powerful as them, but I brought a few Swallows with me. We'll help guide the fleeing citizens to the Arena. You're on your own after that!"
"Umh." Luoyin offered a nod, which was more than expected, and Lutian smirked.
"Cousin, are you sure you won't change your mind?" He addressed Weiyan, giving her a small nod of his own. "This fellow is now mortal... What can he offer you?"
Weiyan's brows dipped into an annoyed furrow, but Luoyin's aura exploded around them.
"Want to die?" His voice was calm, but the wind picked up. His sword was suddenly at Lutian's throat.
"Heh! Still as hot tempered as ever!" Lutian grinned before vanishing.
Luoyin turned back to Weiyan, who shook her head prettily.
"I can't even ask when you put so many plans in place..." She mused aloud.
"Ehehe, how can I let my wife step into this dangerous city without a plan?" Luoyin gazed downward where the Immortals were now fighting off the demons.
"And how could I let evil simply do as it pleases?!"
He turned back to her, a soft look on his features.
"How do you feel...?" His brows stood stiffly in place, as if he was trying his hardest not to show his worry. "Try channelling qi from the Pearl!"
He held a hand behind his back to gather qi, preparing to stop her in case anything went wrong!
But Weiyan shut her eyes and raised two fingers, and a flawless spiral of gold and blue lights wove around her, rising from her feet to above her head.
There was a brilliant jet of the same gold and blue light, shooting into the skies like a magnificent pillar which could be seen from afar.
"Three Breakthroughs?!" Luoyin exclaimed incredulously. "Wah! I was fairly certain those pills were powerful, but this is-!"
Not only had Weiyan perfectly adapted to the pearl, she had even triggered multiple breakthroughs, and she was now well above majority of the Baishan Elders!
And all that combined with the steady stream of the Pearl's Immortal power, her own innate phoenix aura, her immortal memories and techniques, and now with the temporary fortification of those pills...
Luoyin genuinely did not know what his wife was capable of, and he grinned like a satisfied cat!
"Hao! They say the younger generations are always scary!"
"Stop sounding like an old man!"
Luoyin simply grinned and took her hand, the two turning as one to glare down at the demons.
"It's time we jumped into the fray!"
"Umh!" Weiyan nodded.
Their swords appeared in their hands, one a pristine white, now tinged with gold, and the other, a magnificent crystal blue.
And they both leapt from the tower, joining the other immortals against the myriad of Eternal Realm demons...
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Meanwhile,
'Am I destined to die here today...?' Kai Zhen wondered as he faced two Eternal Realm demons.
One was tall and thin, with twisted horns curling from his skull.
The second was massive with blackened metallic skin, and a spiked club which hung over one shoulder.
They both looked down at Tiger-Head's corpse. And then looked at Kai Zhen.
The horned demon chuckled softly. "So this is where Tiger-Head wandered off to."
The large one grunted. "Looks like the prey fought back... Shameful! Dying at the hands of such a scrawny low-level immortal!"
Kai Zhen forced a calm expression, his grip tightening on his whip.
His qi was already half depleted, and his golden aura flickered faintly.
"Heh! One tired immortal dares to remain standing here?!" The horned demon sneered. "Kneel for me!"
He unleashed his aura and a stream of dark pressure rained down an Kai Zhen nearly forcing him to his knees again.
But Kai Zhen channeled his qi, forcefully remaining on his feet. "Immortals bowing to demons...! It won't start with me!"
He substituted with a clone and leapt away as the clone exploded under the pressure.
But both demons moved at the same time, cutting off his escape.
Kai Zhen reacted instantly, his whip lashing out in a wide arc.
This created a wall of Golden aura around him, forming a defensive circle, but one hit from the larger demon's Spiked club, and the shield was instantly shattered, throwing Kai Zhen through the air like a broken kite.
Kai Zhen caught himself, his hand already up in a seal. "Blades of Fortune!" The Giant Kirin flashed with a roar and a grand golden seal appeared above him, with multiple layers of countless gold phantom swords circling around him.
"Hmph!" With two fingers, he directed the swords towards the demons who swiftly shielded themselves.
But the swords were endless and relentless, pummeling into the shields till they broke, letting the swords stab at the demons.
The demons roared then, unleashing their full aura, and this shattered the swords before they made contact.
Kai Zhen swiftly cast another seal. "Emperor's Judgement Seal!"
A massive Dragon-headed stamping seal appeared, solid gold and certainly weighing billions in tons!
The ground around them ruptured, shattering several layers of ground as the seal's pressure alone weighed down on the demons, attempting to flatten them.
But the larger demon grunted. "It is useless!" And with a swing of his massive club, the seal halted, vibrating erratically in place before dispersing.
"Look here!" The horned demon suddenly appeared above Kai Zhen with twin curved blades swinging wildly.
Kai Zhen swiftly blocked several of the demon's slashes, but the larger demon jumped in and sent Kai Zhen flying again with a hit from the club.
Kai Zhen slammed into the ground and rolled.
'Too fast!' Kai Zhen thought as blood rose in his throat, spewing from his mouth.
His fingers moved into swift action and he was instantly surrounded by an endless spiral of gold leaves from his golden gingko tree.
The demons tried approaching, but the leaves were so sharp that it dealt significant damage, and they leapt away in a hurry, opting to strike from afar, and sending their most powerful attacks at the brilliant pillar of gleaming gold gingko leaves.
The attacks hit, destroying countless leaves, but the tree itself had unending leaves, so they were swiftly replaced and Kai Zhen directed more than a few of them to the now worried demons who were evading as much as possible.
However... Kai Zhen's qi was now almost completely depleted, and using the gingko tree required an insane amount of qi!
So the lethal gold leaves began to flicker right before his eyes, and with a gleam of satisfaction, the larger demon broke through and back-handed him out of the pillar of flailing leaves.
Kai Zhen crashed to a halt, but before he could stand up, the horned demon appeared above him, one of the curved blades descending in a swing which would surely end his life.
Kai Zhen raised his whip instinctively, but when the blade struck, the whip split in two and Kai Zhen swiftly leapt away, barely evading being cut in two.
The blade had still slashed him however, and his blood sprayed across the dirt.
His vision blurred and he staggered as the horned demon raised the blade again.
'Is this it?' He wondered.
He didn't exactly seek death, but death came for all beings...
He couldn't be shameless...
He had led a meaningful life and could even leave behind a wonderful disciple!
Still...
'It would have been nice to have you pour tea for me one last time...' He thought, briefly recalling the past months with Luoyin and the rest...
Then with a saddened smile, he shut his eyes in resignation...
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