Chapter 261: Come With Me
Outside the walls of the Ancient Moon City ruins.
"What was that just now?"
The crowd stared blankly at the sky.
"It’s a Refining Dust realm expert!"
Someone realized.
"HISS!"
Everyone gasped. "To kill Shen Daoxing, the Celestial Sacred Land actually sent a Refining Dust realm expert!"
"The crucial part is... even with that, they still let Shen Daoxing get away!"
Someone said.
At that, the crowd gasped again.
SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!
All the disciples of the Celestial Profound Sacred Land turned to look at Shangguan Yiran.
Things having reached this point, Shangguan Yiran’s special relationship with Shen Daoxing was confirmed. There was no longer any possibility of her returning to the Sacred Land.
Nearby, Lv Yunsheng seemed to understand something.
Before anyone else could speak, Lv Yunsheng was the first to shout, "How dare you, Shangguan Yiran! You colluded with that Celestial Slaughter Demon Star and betrayed our Celestial Profound Sacred Land! Your crime is unforgivable!"
As he spoke, Lv Yunsheng raised his palm high, surging with torrential Spiritual Power, and abruptly struck out.
But just as his palm was about to strike Shangguan Yiran...
Shangguan Yiran hadn’t even made a move.
Lv Yunsheng seemed to be struck by some immense force. With a sudden cry, he was thrown violently backward, slamming onto the ground with a THUD.
Then, as if gravely injured, he clutched his chest and cried out in alarm, "Ah... Damn it! Shangguan Yiran, what kind of Demon Technique did you use? To be... to be this powerful."
He then began to roll on the ground, seemingly in great pain.
Shangguan Yiran looked down at herself, utterly bewildered. She hadn’t done anything at all. But then she saw Lv Yunsheng desperately winking at her, as if telling her to run.
But by now, the disciples of the Celestial Profound Sacred Land had already surrounded Shangguan Yiran completely.
The atmosphere instantly grew tense.
"Sigh."
Zhao Wufeng sighed, shook his head, and walked out helplessly. "Junior Sister Shangguan, these are orders from above. Don’t blame me!"
With that, he waved his hand, signaling the other Sacred Land disciples to attack.
Suddenly, a shadow fell over the crowd. Zhao Wufeng quickly looked up to see a massive Cloud Ship appearing in the sky.
The Cloud Ship slowly descended, coming to a stop beside Shangguan Yiran. Shen Daoxing suddenly walked out onto the deck and extended a hand to her. "The Celestial Profound Sacred Land has no place for you anymore. Come with me."
Shangguan Yiran paused for a moment, glanced at the disciples of the Celestial Profound Sacred Land, and then, without hesitation, took Shen Daoxing’s hand and leaped aboard the Cloud Ship.
Behind her, Fu, overjoyed, quickly followed.
Just then, the aged voice boomed from the sky once more.
"Insolent brat! You actually dare to return!"
Immediately, from a place far beyond Ancient Moon City, a speck of light flared. In an instant, it crossed a thousand li, streaking across the heavens and earth. A white ray of light then slammed into the walls of Ancient Moon City with a BOOM.
But by then, the Cloud Ship had already soared high into the air and vanished into the clouds.
The disciples of the Celestial Profound Sacred Land were stunned, not yet having processed what had happened.
Lv Yunsheng looked up at the Cloud Ship slowly disappearing into the sky, an unconscious smile spreading across his face.
"BANG!"
A sudden explosion rang out.
From within the ruins of Ancient Moon City, rubble suddenly shot into the air.
Then, Wang Mingxuan’s figure rose. He wasn’t dead after all.
His clothes were in tatters, and he was in a wretched state. A shocking Sword Mark ran from his shoulder all the way to his opposite hip.
After standing up, Wang Mingxuan turned his head and looked around as if searching for something, then took a single step and appeared on the city wall.
Seeing this, Lv Yunsheng suddenly raised a hand and struck himself in the chest, spitting out a large mouthful of blood.
He then scrambled to his feet, rushed to Wang Mingxuan’s side, and beamed. "This is great! Senior Brother Mingxuan, you’re not dead!"
Wang Mingxuan glanced at Lv Yunsheng and said flatly, "Shen Daoxing. Where is he?"
Lv Yunsheng immediately put on a look of regret. "Reporting to Senior Brother, this disciple fought him to the death, risking my very life, but alas, the gap in our strength was too great. It’s a pity, but he still managed to escape in the end!"
"..."
Zhao Wufeng.
"..."
The other disciples of the Celestial Profound Sacred Land.
"He escaped?"
Wang Mingxuan’s eyes darkened, and his hands clenched into tight fists. At this moment, the smile that was always on his refined face finally vanished.
Just then, the aged voice rang out from high in the sky again: "Pursue!"
Wang Mingxuan’s face lit up. He quickly bowed respectfully toward the sky. "Elder Yuan Hua, Shen Daoxing’s strength is unexpectedly terrifying. I must trouble you, Elder, to act on behalf of our Sacred Land and eliminate this menace."
"Mingxuan, I am in Qingyang City and cannot arrive immediately. You go and pursue him. As long as you can stall him for a while, I will be able to get there."
The aged voice slowly transmitted from the sky.
"Yes!"
Wang Mingxuan nodded, then abruptly leaped into the air and flew toward the Cloud Ship Crossing of Ancient Moon City.
...
Ten thousand li up in the sky, aboard a massive Cloud Ship.
Shangguan Yiran came before Shen Daoxing and bowed respectfully once more. "Thank you for saving me."
Shen Daoxing quickly reached out and stopped her. "Commandery Princess, there is no need for such ceremony. You have shown me kindness, so it is only right that I save you today. Besides, this whole affair was caused by me in the first place."
Saying this, Shen Daoxing fumbled in his robes, took out a bottle of supreme-grade Rejuvenation Pills, and placed it in Shangguan Yiran’s palm. "For now, just rest and recuperate on the Cloud Ship."
Shangguan Yiran looked down at the Elixir, stunned. ’I’ve always been the one helping others. Since when did I need someone else’s help?!’
Shangguan Yiran looked up at Shen Daoxing, only to see two ghastly, bloody holes in his chest, dripping with fresh blood. Yet Shen Daoxing seemed completely unfazed, not paying them any mind at all.
"You should worry about yourself first."
Shangguan Yiran reminded him coolly.
Shen Daoxing froze for a moment. Only then did he feel the sharp pain from his chest. Looking down, he saw two bloody holes there.
The more dangerous of the two was barely an inch from his heart; it had nearly cost him his life.
Shen Daoxing then turned and entered the ship’s cabin, found an empty meditation room, and sat down on a cattail mat.
A searing pain pulsed from his chest. Upon closer inspection, Shen Daoxing discovered a residual, silver-white burning power clinging to his wounds, preventing them from healing.
Shen Daoxing circulated the Spiritual Power within his body, silently directing it to attack the foreign energy.
The silver-white burning power shimmered but stubbornly refused to dissipate.
The seven-colored Profound Platform spun, black light swirling around it. Shen Daoxing hurriedly condensed his Venerable Power.
TZZZ! TZZZ!
Black arcs of electricity flickered.
Space distorted for a moment.
The silver-white burning power flickered a few times before suddenly shattering.
But even so, the wounds on Shen Daoxing’s chest were simply too severe and still difficult to heal.
At that moment, Shen Daoxing remembered the Violet-Gold Immortal Fruit that Patriarch Xu had given him in the Huangliang Secret Realm.
With that, he swiped a hand over his Sumeru Ring. A rosewood box appeared in his hand. The box slowly opened, revealing a crystal-clear, purple Vermilion Fruit. An unforgettable, soul-refreshing fragrance immediately wafted from it.