Chapter 288: Saving a Life Is Like Fighting a Fire

As he raced out of the city, one thought after another flashed through Ding Songyan’s mind.

He didn’t think it was a coincidence that he’d spotted Qi Xiaoxiang.

Ji Hanyi had surely let him see her on purpose, just like the previous two times. The point was to let him know his dear little sister had arrived, and since she wasn’t nearby, she must have gone after Zheng Zhuxi.

Ji Hanyi’s advance "notice" was like a cat playing with a mouse.

Ding Songyan couldn’t avoid it and didn’t want to. He also had no time to go back to the west of the city and seek Twelfth Madam Luo’s help. Help from far away wouldn’t arrive in time.

He didn’t know whether Twelfth Madam was secretly providing protection today, but he didn’t dare gamble on it. After all, Twelfth Madam Luo had her own affairs and her own life, and could only occasionally choose to tag along to intimidate Ji Hanyi, so the demoness wouldn’t dare trust and use the results of her divination.

Soon, Ding Songyan, going all out, reached the outside of the city gate.

The Hongxin caravan carrying Zheng Zhuxi had already set off and vanished at the end of the road.

Ding Songyan didn’t hesitate. Four semi-illusory wings suddenly unfolded behind him: one a fresh green for spring, one a blazing red for summer, one a golden yellow for autumn, and one a pure white for winter.

The four wings beat, and Ding Songyan rose into the air, sweeping past the road ahead in a few breaths and rushing into the distance.

This was about the same speed as using the Waxing Moon Phantom Form at full power, but from above he could see farther and spot his senior sister’s trail sooner.

Whether the Chaos Four Wings would be seen by the watchtower at the city gate, the guards, or passersby was something Ding Songyan no longer cared about.

He wanted them to see.

If he shouted "Demoness Ji is attacking" here, the watchtower would first have to verify it, and support from the Heaven-Men of the Flame Capital wouldn’t arrive very quickly. But if he exposed his Chaos inheritance, powerhouses would arrive soon. All he’d need to do was hold out a few moves against Ji Hanyi and make enough noise to point the way, and he’d have a decent chance of lasting until rescue came.

As for the consequences, Ding Songyan couldn’t worry about that now. Save his senior sister first, get through the crisis in front of him first, and sort out the rest later!

As the red, gold, white, and green wings beat in unison, Ding Songyan flew toward the edge of a distant forest.

...

Zheng Zhuxi didn’t understand why they were suddenly under attack. The Hongxin Trading Company caravan wasn’t carrying any rare treasures, just some goods from the capital that sold well in Changhua Prefecture.

Not understanding was one thing, but she had already drawn Autumnwater and gone to meet the attacker together with several Brightnight Sect disciples. She also ordered the caravan’s hands to immediately set off the special fireworks to seek reinforcements from the Flame Capital.

This forest wasn’t far from the Flame Capital. If they could hold out for the time it took to drink a cup of tea, help should arrive.

Zheng Zhuxi could already tell the attacker was no ordinary opponent, and she knew that any "bandit" bold enough to attack a caravan this close to the city must have backing. Erring on the side of caution, she had her fellow disciples use their emergency measures before the fight even began.

The attacker was in his fifties or sixties, wrapped in a black robe, his head sickly pale, his eyes like a fighting cock’s, his nose large and fleshy, his mouth slightly protruding. His hands bore spikes that glinted with cold light.

Seven Great Proliferation Realm disciples of the Brightnight Sect had already formed the Northern Dipper Sword Formation and surrounded him.

Just then, a thought stirred in Zheng Zhuxi, and she guessed the enemy’s identity.

Hou Yang? His strange appearance is very similar to the Hou Yang that Junior Brother described...

Wasn’t he turned into a moth-man by Demoness Ji? Has Demoness Ji come to sever my junior brother’s worldly ties?

Hou Yang is a Grandmaster who cultivates the Qi Que inheritance. He can pierce metal and iron and stab souls...

As her thoughts raced, Zheng Zhuxi called out in a loud voice, "Constellation Form!"

This was one variation of the Northern Dipper Sword Formation, used specifically against enemies who couldn’t be met head-on.

The moment Zheng Zhuxi finished speaking, the old man suspected to be Hou Yang thrust out both hands and blocked a Brightnight Sect disciple’s charging sword with his spikes.

With a clang, the long sword quickly cracked and snapped. The disciple who wielded it shuddered, his soul stabbed with pain, his sea of consciousness nearly frozen.

He instinctively let out a scream and stumbled backward, and the Northern Dipper Sword Formation was broken in an instant.

A flash of sword light like autumn water shot at the back of the old man’s head. Zheng Zhuxi took the place of the disciple whose soul had been hurt and reformed the Northern Dipper Sword Formation.

She was now absolutely certain that the enemy before them was Hou Yang.

Her Candle-Star Pupils still couldn’t see through the Celestial Heart imprint or the "moth seed" it concealed, but she combined the martial art and his physical appearance to reach her final judgment.

Under her lead, the Northern Dipper Sword Formation shifted rapidly. The disciples facing Hou Yang head-on focused on dodging and evading, while those behind and beside him struck at his vital points, attacking elsewhere to force him to defend, rotating constantly and bringing out the formation’s characteristics to the fullest.

Though Hou Yang was a Grandmaster, he was still flesh and blood, and the Qi Que inheritance had no other strengths. For a time he was trapped in the Northern Dipper Sword Formation, charging left and right without being able to break out.

This was also because he had become a moth-man, and when facing complicated situations he inevitably became sluggish and rigid from time to time, unless the moth patriarch or moth matriarch was nearby.

An illusory misty rain quickly shrouded his surroundings. There wasn’t much of it, but every drop was as fine as an ox’s hair, drifting with the wind. If those "ox hairs" touched the body, they would prick painfully again and again, as if someone were stabbing needles into the head.

The Brightnight Sect disciples forming the Northern Dipper Sword Formation were all affected. Some moved a bit stiffly, and some paused now and then. The only exception was Zheng Zhuxi who had both long since formed Candlelight Sword Intent and also cultivated the earlier parts of the Mystical Pass True-Nature Preservation Art. Her soul was stronger than that of most perfected Great Proliferation Realm martial artists, close to Grandmaster level. That yellowish candle flame in her sea of consciousness swayed back and forth, yet it was extraordinarily tenacious, warming and lighting a small area and helping her block "ox hair" pricks again and again.

Zheng Zhuxi wanted to use Candlelight Illuminates All to draw some of the "ox hair" drizzle onto herself and bear it for her fellow disciples, but inside the Northern Dipper Sword Formation she couldn’t do whatever she wanted. She had to coordinate with the whole and keep up the rapid rotation. Only that way could they hold out longer against a Dharma Realm Grandmaster, and perhaps even wound the enemy.

Why haven’t they set off the distress fireworks yet... In the midst of the fierce fight, Zheng Zhuxi’s gaze swept toward the caravan out of the corner of her eye.

To her shock, the grass and trees there had grown lush at some point, with withered branches and dead leaves flying everywhere. Several of the caravan’s hands and Brightnight Sect disciples lay unconscious on the ground or were tightly bound by vines. Only seven remained, forming a Northern Dipper Sword Formation to fight an old man with ox horns on his head.

He Jin? Two Grandmasters... Zheng Zhuxi’s heart suddenly sank.

She wanted the remaining fellow disciples to flee while she covered their retreat. Anyway, Demoness Ji’s only target was her and wouldn’t care much about the others.

The thought flashed through Zheng Zhuxi’s mind and was not acted on in the end.

Even setting Demoness Ji aside, by covering the retreat herself she could only briefly hold off one Grandmaster. The other had more than enough strength to wipe out the Brightnight Sect disciples fleeing in panic without a sword formation, especially since He Jin specialized in the Five Elements Escape Art.

Only by holding out and waiting for help did they have a sliver of a chance to survive.

"Dipper Form!" Zheng Zhuxi’s eyes flickered with candlelight, her lips pressed tight, and with a resolute expression she shifted to the position facing Hou Yang and told her six fellow disciples to change formation with her.

Her Autumnwater pierced through the void and turned into a sharp, icy beam of sword light flying toward Hou Yang.

Hou Yang met it with both palms and clamped the blade with his spikes.

Autumnwater suddenly gave out a clear ringing sound that shot straight into the clouds and echoed far and long.

Its quality surpassed that of every weapon present. It didn’t break under "piercing metal and iron," but it took a slight wound, and so it cried out in grief.

That mournful cry was Zheng Zhuxi’s way of calling for help from the Flame Capital.

At this moment, the warm, yellowish candle flame in her sea of consciousness shook violently under the "soul stab" and nearly went out.

She nearly froze up completely, her head throbbing with pain.

This was a gamble.

She was taking the injury herself, using the spirituality Autumnwater had already developed to trigger a sword cry and call for help from afar!

Zheng Zhuxi suddenly felt a pang of regret.

There had been so much to say these past two days, too much to say, and I forgot to tell Junior Brother that Autumnwater is close to developing complete spirituality...

Just then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw He Jin sink into the ground on the other side and emerge behind the Brightnight Sect disciples, in an attempt to break their Northern Dipper Sword Formation.

Zheng Zhuxi gritted her teeth and didn’t give up. She had the sword formation change back to "Constellation Form."

She still had so much she couldn’t bear to leave behind.

Suddenly, she felt everything around her slow down.

She did, her fellow disciples did, and Hou Yang and He Jin did too.

It was as if deep winter had arrived, with heavy snow falling from high above and freezing everything.

A moment later, a crystal-clear, icy beam of sword light fell from the sky, heading straight for the top of Hou Yang’s head.

Hou Yang slowly raised his palms. Just then, winter receded and midsummer arrived, and the sword light suddenly sped up.

Like an electric snake, it slipped past the edges of Hou Yang’s palms before he could adapt and sank into the crown of his skull with a thud.

Ding Songyan pulled Frostshade back, beat his four wings once, and turned toward He Jin.

Zheng Zhuxi stared blankly at the scene as if she had fallen into a mirage dragon’s illusion.

Junior Brother...

It was the first time she had seen her junior brother reveal the Chaos Four Wings in actual combat.

The Brightnight Sect disciples who had been attacking Hou Yang felt like they were dreaming as well. They watched, wide-eyed, as Hou Yang collapsed with a thump, his face rotting rapidly, and red things like ants flew out of his nose and mouth.

Is this Junior Brother Ding?

He killed a Grandmaster with a single sword strike?

How does he have two pairs of wings?

Seeing this, He Jin sank into the ground and escaped into the earth.

Ding Songyan followed him down.

Zheng Zhuxi came back to her senses and, a little worried, looked at the packed-earth road and the forest ground. The other Brightnight Sect disciples did the same, though they were more confused.

In under ten breaths, He Jin emerged from the woods by the roadside.

Before he could even steady himself, his body swayed, his head fell off with a smack, and blood gushed from the severed neck.

Ding Songyan came out of the ground after him and looked at Zheng Zhuxi. Seeing she was unharmed, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief, then looked around without relaxing in the slightest.

The real mastermind hadn’t shown up yet!

Zheng Zhuxi understood this too. She ran to her junior brother, wanting to stand with him, but the other Brightnight Sect disciples thought the attack was over. They all looked at Ding Songyan in astonishment, finding him quite unfamiliar.

Ding Songyan used the Chaos Realm and the Celestial Heart to sense his surroundings and found nothing.

He was puzzled.

Ji Hanyi, where are you?

If you wait any longer, support from the Flame Capital will arrive. Why aren’t you making your move?

What’s with sending only two moth-man Grandmasters?

Is she deliberately trying to force me to expose my secrets?

Zheng Zhuxi also noticed that Demoness Ji didn’t seem to be coming. She looked at Ding Songyan and asked in a low, concerned voice, "Junior Brother, did you fly here directly?"

Ding Songyan smiled.

"I couldn’t worry about that. Saving a life is like fighting a fire."

If I’m exposed, I’m exposed.

Listening to her junior brother’s words, Zheng Zhuxi couldn’t help recalling the scene of the two of them rushing back to Alpine Lake Mountain to save her mother.

That scene overlapped with the sight of him chasing after her today without holding anything back, with him killing Evil Beyond Measure Sun Feiyang, and with all the other little things he had done.

In an instant, the matters she hadn’t been able to sort out became clear, melting rapidly like snow under a blazing sun.

Her heart grew clear and transparent, reflecting the void around her. It seemed that points of candlelight nearby were pulling at her Candlelight Sword Intent and shining on each other.

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