Chapter 111: A Diversion

The array formation in the sky shifted faster and faster. Within moments, the area encircled by the formation began to shrink, gradually revealing the original appearance of the Yu estate. The black miasma within grew even more frantic and agitated, violently attacking the heavenly array above. Yet how could a heavenly-rank formation be destroyed so easily? Not only did the black gas fail to break it, but each strand that struck the array was scattered by its radiant light.

Wen Qing looked up at the formation with a complex expression. This is only a heavenly-grade array formed from spiritual energy, he thought. If it were fueled by immortal energy… even an immortal would never escape it. An overwhelming sense of helplessness rose within him; he could do nothing but stand aside in awe as more than a dozen cultivators cooperated to maintain the spell.

Inside the array, the Chi Xiao seemed to be driven to desperation. Shrill wails echoed again and again from within, each one sharper than the last, making everyone’s scalp prickle. The more the black mist fled about, the tighter the array constricted. At last, a humanoid shadow appeared in the center. Because it was shrouded entirely in thick resentment, no one could clearly see its face—only that it seemed to be a woman. Her long black hair brushed the ground, and her blood-red eyes glowed with eerie light as she fixed them coldly on the people outside.

A chill crept into everyone’s hearts. The next instant, a furious voice rang out:

“Despicable mortals! What have you done?!”

The being flung out a massive surge of black energy straight at the array’s luminous barrier. She seemed to pour her entire strength into the strike; wherever the miasma passed, vegetation, brick, and stone all melted away. Then—with a thunderous boom—it slammed into the array.

On the west side, the elder presiding over one of the array nodes suddenly felt an immense pressure crash down on him. His qi roiled violently; his footing faltered, and he stumbled back a step. The whole array shuddered, yet he gritted his teeth, swallowed the blood rising in his throat, and forced himself to hold firm.

“Elder Li!” cried Master Xu in alarm. The Soul-Locking Array might be heavenly-rank, but their opponent was still a ghost general; a full-force attack on one node could indeed shake the formation. He immediately shouted, “Switch back to the third configuration!”

No one hesitated. They all began changing their seals. Behind Elder Li, Jiao Hengyi stepped forward and replaced him. In that instant the array in the sky not only failed to collapse—it grew even more solid. The weak spot that the Chi Xiao had just detected vanished completely, and the dark energy she released was pushed back by the surrounding white light.

“Ahhh!” The Chi Xiao screamed in agony. As the formation constricted further, her fury twisted her features. Her body writhed, her crimson eyes gleamed more menacingly than ever.

“You… you filthy mortals dare treat me like this? I’ll make you all pay!”

Her voice became shrill and razor-sharp, stabbing into their ears until many felt dizzy and faint.

Master Xu froze for an instant, then quickly gathered his qi and shouted, “Beware her sound attack! Don’t listen to her voice—focus on the formation!”

The crowd jolted in realization. None had expected that a ghost general’s voice itself could be such a deadly weapon. Fortunately, they had already been on guard; the daze lasted only a heartbeat before they refocused, speeding up the array’s contraction.

“Ahhh—!” The tighter the array drew, the more excruciating the Chi Xiao’s screams became. Every beam of light from the array was the bane of her resentment; no matter how she struck back, the ghostly energy she released instantly dispersed upon contact. The dozen cultivators moved in perfect harmony; the enormous Yu estate was sealed within the array without a single gap. The Chi Xiao could find no path of escape.

Her fury grew wild. She thrashed and attacked madly, her form nearly torn apart by the array’s power. Then, suddenly, she ceased struggling. Her blood-red eyes swept slowly over the gathered elders, and her lips curled into a malicious smile. Her voice turned cold and mocking.

“Fools. Do you truly think that with one mere array—and a few pitiful mortals—you can destroy me? Hehehe…”

A burst of manic laughter filled the air, dripping with malice. A chill raced through Master Xu’s heart. Instinctively he bellowed, “Quickly—tighten the formation! Don’t let her escape no matter what!”

At once, all the elders hastened their hand-seals. The shrinking array suddenly accelerated, light surging toward the center.

The black miasma dissipated even faster, sweeping in on the Chi Xiao’s body. Yet she didn’t even try to dodge; it was as if she had abandoned all resistance. The sinister curve of her lips only deepened. Just as the light of the array was about to engulf her completely, her ghostly, chilling voice rang out once more:

“Hehehe… I was born of resentment. So long as resentment endures—so shall I!”

With those words, her figure flickered. Like a fading shadow, she vanished right from the center of the array—as if she had never existed at all.

She was gone.

Everyone froze, a cold dread sinking to the pit of their stomachs.

Wen Qing, who had been observing from the side, suddenly turned pale as realization struck him. “No! Little Martial Niece!” he blurted, then spun around and shot off in the direction they had come, disappearing in a flash.

“Damn it!” The elders’ faces also turned ashen as they understood at once. They all dashed the same way, activating instant-movement talismans to speed their flight.

They had been careless! Seeing that the densest resentment was within the Yu estate, they assumed the Chi Xiao’s true body must be hidden there. Thus they had enclosed the estate in their array, thinking their plan flawless—yet they had forgotten the most crucial point: the Chi Xiao had no physical body. She could shift her position anywhere that resentment lingered. From the start, she must have realized they were setting up the array and had already moved her true form elsewhere, leaving only a fragment of resentful energy behind.

And throughout the entire western city, apart from the Yu estate, the place with the greatest concentration of resentment was—

the place where Fellow Daoist Yun was.

She had been treating the surviving townsfolk, drawing out the Shaohua curses formed from the resentful energy. One or two victims were fine, but after several hours, the amount of resentment extracted…

Everyone’s hearts sank as they raced frantically toward that direction. But they were already too late.

At the city gate, a towering cloud of black resentment had gathered, plunging downward like a storm toward the crowds assembled outside the walls. The Chi Xiao’s triumphant, arrogant laughter echoed overhead:

“Hahahaha—The last breath of life in this city belongs to me!”

“Little Martial Niece!” Wen Qing was the first to arrive at the gate—but he was already too late. Massive waves of dark energy were plummeting toward the people below. His heart went ice-cold, despair flooding him. It’s over! He could almost feel his master flaying him alive for this disaster.

The inky mass was about to devour hundreds of lives when—

A blinding white light suddenly flared up. Like a vast counter-current tide, it surged skyward and obliterated all the falling black mist.

“AAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!”

A scream—hundreds of times more wretched than before—split the heavens, echoing across the entire western city. It was a howl of such unbearable agony that it chilled the soul.

The once-arrogant Chi Xiao now looked like a chick struck by lightning. She tumbled straight out of the sky, rolling and bouncing several times before crashing back to the city gate.

Wen Qing: “…”

The elders who had finally caught up: “…”

Huh???

(⊙_⊙)

(End of Chapter)