Clash in Crimson Light

In the prison cell, the crimson candlelight cast a dim glow.

It settled upon Ye Jinghuang’s ceremonial coronet, reflecting not the noble gold one might expect, but a dull, ominous yellow-red.

A single glance was enough to evoke a chilling sense of unease.

Even Lin Xiaoxiao’s sword, usually gleaming with the purity of moonlight, now shimmered with a dangerous, dark crimson hue.

Their gazes clashed in the air.

A tense atmosphere, presaging a storm, permeated the empty cell.

Both women possessed their own fierce pride.

Driven by private, unspeakable thoughts concerning Mo Tingbei, they sought to dominate the other, even in a mere exchange of glances.

Like squabbling children, they glared at each other.

Their spiritual energy surged, drawing upon the ambient qi of heaven and earth.

The oppressive aura of cultivators materialized into a palpable, immense pressure, bearing down on each other.

Yet, one was a demonic cultivator who had seized the cultivation of others.

The other was a fated individual, blessed with numerous fortuitous encounters but lacking the time to refine her realm.

Neither had achieved a level of control and understanding over spiritual energy commensurate with their cultivation.

At this moment, the oppressive force they intended for each other settled entirely upon Mo Tingbei, not a single trace missing its mark.

Yet, they remained oblivious.

The unusual signs that would have appeared on a healthy person were concealed by Mo Tingbei’s already pallid face and emaciated body, which seemed as though it might simply drift away with a breeze.

Mo Tingbei gritted his teeth, enduring the escalating, competitive pressure from the two women.

He felt as though two mountains were pressing down on him.

Or perhaps, a pair of grinding stones were crushing his already broken body.

Watching their standoff, Mo Tingbei’s head, already aching from a lingering chill, throbbed even more intensely.

He had intended to speak up and stop them, but was aghast to discover that he couldn’t even control his throat to utter a sound.

The overflowing spiritual energy had long since solidified into an almost tangible pressure.

It felt as though the very air was about to freeze.

The extremely faint spiritual energy within him was already stretched thin, barely sufficient to repair his damaged meridians.

Now, he had to contend with the oppressive aura of cultivators two major realms above his own.

Even he, once renowned within his sect for the resilience and longevity of his spiritual energy, felt it was an uphill battle against an overwhelming tide.

Fortunately, the two women seemed to notice something.

Or perhaps they simply realized the futility of such childish posturing.

Gradually, they retracted their oppressive auras, granting Mo Tingbei a moment to catch his breath.

Disregarding the two incomprehensible women, Mo Tingbei focused his mind inward, observing his dantian.

Within his ravaged dantian, a wisp—perhaps too minuscule to even be called a ‘wisp’—of spiritual energy continued to circulate slowly yet steadily through his meridians.

With each damaged spot it passed, this sliver of spiritual energy diminished further.

Yet, Mo Tingbei found reassurance in this.

After completing a full circulation, the spiritual energy, which had been almost depleted, resumed its original size as it once again departed from his tattered dantian.

Moreover, whether it was an illusion or not, Mo Tingbei sensed a subtle tendency for this spiritual energy to grow stronger.

While Mo Tingbei had closed off his senses and immersed himself in internal observation, Lin Xiaoxiao and Ye Jinghuang had shifted to a different form of confrontation.

The tip of her sword remained pointed menacingly at Ye Jinghuang’s heart.

Lin Xiaoxiao, her face set with a grim resolve, initiated the attack with a cold sneer:

“Stealing others’ cultivation, betraying your sect, imprisoning your master—a cultivator like you, who has fallen into the demonic path, would only be seen as cleaning house if I were to slay you directly, not as violating the Celestial Alliance’s laws.”

“If you’re smart, you’ll quickly undo the poison on Master.

Then, perhaps, out of consideration for you being half a fellow disciple, I might leave you a complete corpse.”

When facing anyone other than Mo Tingbei, Lin Xiaoxiao invariably presented herself as a flawless righteous cultivator.

Potent, orderly, and solemn.

Aside from her excessively good fortune, she was indistinguishable from any other cultivator on duty for the Celestial Alliance’s enforcement branch, serving as the Alliance’s finest calling card.

Anyone who encountered these awe-inspiring enforcement cultivators would naturally hold the organization behind them in high regard.

Now, confronting Ye Jinghuang, having somewhat calmed herself, she naturally regained her usual composure.

However, the faint starlight filtering in through the man-sized gaping hole above them subtly hinted at her earlier dark deeds, severely diminishing her air of authority.

Ye Jinghuang remained utterly unconcerned by Lin Xiaoxiao’s words.

As if completely unaware of the weight carried by the words “Celestial Alliance.”

The dim candlelight cast an inauspicious brassy hue upon her ceremonial robes, symbols of mortal sovereignty.

Reflected on the stone wall, it vaguely projected a shadow eerily resembling a malevolent dragon’s head.

“Immortal Master Lin, are you still clinging to your cultivator’s pretense?

Consider this: with evil arts that allow mortals to steal cultivators’ power already unleashed, how much control does your ‘Celestial Alliance’ truly hold over this world?

Why don’t you guess what preparations I, who command an entire dynasty, might make with the very demonic powers you speak of?”

Lin Xiaoxiao was unmoved by Ye Jinghuang’s words, stating confidently:

“If forbidden demonic arts resurface, righteous cultivators will naturally rise to eradicate evil and defend the Dao.”

“The Celestial Alliance annihilated your kind once; it can certainly do so again.”

Lin Xiaoxiao was certainly not someone who lost her wits when emotional.

Before arriving here, she had already swept the entire capital city of Wu Yin with her divine sense, confirming there was no person or object capable of threatening her.

Moreover, the moment she first saw Ye Jinghuang and sensed the familiar aura of Mo Tingbei emanating from her, she had already deduced the source of the rather unstable cultivation within her.

Were it not for the threat, ‘If you kill me, Master Mo will not live past three days.’

She would have long since slain this demonic heretic who had harmed her master with a single strike of her sword.

“Above the Foundation Establishment realm, I dare not boast, but below it, no technique has ever withstood a single strike of my sword.”

“Furthermore, several of your compatriots have already been captured before you; for your demonic arts to contend with me is pure delusion.”

“If not for the fact that you are half a disciple of Master, I would not waste my breath on you here.”

A cold sneer played on Ye Jinghuang’s lips, offering no comment.

Yet, she secretly crushed a seal in her hand.

Beneath the prison, bizarre array patterns suddenly illuminated.

They activated with a terrifying speed that even a Foundation Establishment cultivator would find difficult to react to.

An aura potent enough to threaten a Great Accomplishment Foundation Establishment cultivator rapidly solidified at a terrifying speed, incomprehensible to ordinary people and barely detectable even by a cultivator’s spiritual sense.

It struck towards the back of the vigilantly alert Lin Xiaoxiao.

However, whether by coincidence or deliberate prior action, at the critical node of the array’s activation, a puddle of blood, mixed with both Yuan Yang and Yuan Yin (TL Note: Primal Yin and Yang energies) energies, had gathered.

Blood containing Yuan Yin and Yuan Yang, a material rich in spiritual energy, served as an excellent substitute for many precious ingredients.

Yet, for this highly secretive array, such a material paradoxically disrupted its unique stable structure, greatly diminishing its power.

Consequently, the array, which was originally capable of unleashing an attack almost equivalent to the full power of a perfected Foundation Establishment cultivator, ultimately condensed only a sinister sword qi, merely equivalent to that launched by a nascent Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Even so, it was only after instinctively deploying several defensive formations that Lin Xiaoxiao barely managed to parry this lightning-fast strike with her sentient flying sword.

A wave of lingering fear washed over her.

Her gaze, fixed on Ye Jinghuang, now burned with anger.

Ye Jinghuang’s cold sneer still lingered on her lips, but her eyes had undeniably shifted to a look of intense horror.

A voice suddenly echoed in her mind: ‘Quickly activate the means left on Master Mo.

That way, the opponent will be hesitant to act, and wouldn’t dare lay a hand on you.’

Ye Jinghuang had been about to comply.

However, a strange competitive urge, coupled with an unspoken sentiment, halted her from performing such a despicable act.

‘Why must Master Mo leave me, while that woman opposite can enjoy his companionship?

As fellow disciples of Master Mo, am I truly inferior to her?!’

Beyond this, a flicker of doubt suddenly arose in her mind.

This sudden thought seemed to whisper in her ear.

It even had a faint resonance with the black-clad woman who had taught her the forbidden arts.

However, this strange sensation vanished in an instant.

The killing intent emanating from Lin Xiaoxiao left Ye Jinghuang no time to ponder.

After all, she was still a novice who had just stepped into the cultivation world.

She wasn’t even proficient in circulating spiritual energy through her meridians, let alone engaging in combat.

Lin Xiaoxiao’s mere release of hostility made her mistakenly believe she was about to be killed, prompting her to hastily prepare her counter-measures.

Ye Jinghuang frantically recalled the various incantations the black-clad woman had taught her, along with the basic spells Mo Tingbei had occasionally demonstrated, and began clumsily forming hand seals and chanting spells.

Lin Xiaoxiao, naturally, would not allow her to succeed.

Acting with indignation, her sentient flying sword struck, arriving even before it was launched!

Just as it was about to pierce Ye Jinghuang’s throat, an immensely vast and oppressive aura, far beyond the imagination of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, descended, halting everything in its tracks.