L'hibiscus comme peinture

Chapitre 48

"What are you doing? Haha... Considering we were once allies, I want you and your lover to participate in this greatest moment together, haha..." As Sheng Chi laughed, Yelü Ying felt waves of thick fog rushing towards them, and the fog was like a sharp sword, stabbing his heart painfully, and his whole body felt as if thousands of swords were cutting into him. This was an illusion, an illusion.

The hissing sounds of clothes tearing and the sticky feeling on his body clearly indicated that it wasn't an illusion; swords were indeed striking him, and the bleeding wounds were proof. Yelü Ying swung his sword to defend, but no matter how skillfully he wielded his sword, the blades still managed to strike him repeatedly. Yet, there was no one in front of him. What was going on?

"Come with me." Just as Yelü Ying was standing in front of Ao Jun, fighting against those invisible swords, Ao Jun's voice came from behind. Immediately afterwards, Yelü Ying felt his hand being grabbed and pulled forward.

Yelü Ying was still in a daze as Ao Jun pulled him along, his mind still reeling from the joy of being led by Ao Jun. It wasn't until he realized there was a cliff in front of him that he snapped out of it and pulled Ao Jun back, who seemed oblivious to the cliff and continued forward, saying, "Jun, be careful, there's a cliff ahead."

"It's alright, it's fake, Yelü Ying, do you believe me?" Ao Jun looked straight into Yelü Ying's eyes and stared at him as she spoke.

"I told you, I believe in you, and only you," Yelü Ying said firmly, his eyes filled with trust and the determination to entrust his life to her. Even if there was a bottomless abyss ahead, as long as she held him, he was willing to jump down with her.

The trust in his eyes was blinding to Ao Jun, who turned away guiltily and said calmly, "Let's stop the bleeding first!"

Yelü Ying smiled happily; she was worried about him. She took out some wound medicine and applied it to all the sword wounds, large and small, all over her body.

"My lord, what was that just now?" Yelü Ying asked while applying the medicine, certain that it was something no human could accomplish.

“That’s Blood Soul.” Ao Jun frowned and said coldly.

"Blood Souls? Aren't those my Cangliao soldiers? Didn't you say they still retain consciousness? Why are they attacking me?" Yelü Ying asked, even more puzzled. He remembered that Jun had said that before the arrival of the extreme Yin time, these Blood Souls would still be conscious, so only he could deal with them. But why would they attack him so mercilessly?

"Those blood souls weren't very powerful, so they probably weren't Cangliao's soldiers. It seems that Sheng Chi has injected new blood souls into the Heavenly Stems Eight Trigrams Formation again," Ao Jun said coldly. If that's the case, then dealing with the blood souls will be even more difficult. Right now, there's no way of knowing how many blood souls Sheng Chi has injected besides the tens of thousands of blood souls from Cangliao, or how powerful those blood souls are.

Just as Ao Jun was pondering, Yelü Ying had finished applying the medicine. Suddenly feeling a cool sensation on her neck, Ao Jun came to her senses. It turned out that Yelü Ying was applying medicine to her injured neck! His movements were so gentle and careful.

Faced with Yelü Ying's deep affection, Ao Jun could only turn her head away and not look at him. After he finished applying the medicine for her, he walked straight towards the edge of the cliff and said, "Let's go!"

Yelü Ying caught up, grabbed Ao Jun's hand, and pulled her forward. Ao Jun was right; it was an illusion. As soon as they stepped out, the cliff disappeared, and the scenery changed again, becoming a vast sea. Ao Jun sneered, walked to the left, and struck a protruding rock on the beach with her palm. The sea in front of them vanished without a trace.

"My lord, what is this?" Yelü Ying looked at the changes before him in confusion. Didn't you just say that this was an illusion? Why not just walk over there? Why bother hitting the stone?

Ao Jun knew exactly what he wanted to ask, and calmly said as he walked straight ahead, "The true and the false are intertwined; that's what makes the Bagua Formation so terrifying."

"You mean, the sea we just saw was real?" Yelü Ying asked in surprise. It was really hard to tell what was real and what was fake.

Ao Jun didn't answer, because the scene changed again. Lightning flashed and thunder roared, and a bolt of lightning hurtled towards them. Yelü Ying quickly picked up Ao Jun and leaped away to avoid it. But more and more lightning bolts appeared, and each one seemed to have a mind of its own, chasing after them. Yelü Ying had no choice but to fly up and down with Ao Jun to avoid them. Had they entered a lightning array? Ao Jun wondered.

“Qian represents Heaven, Kun represents Earth, Kan represents Water, Li represents Fire, Zhen represents Thunder, Gen represents Mountain, Xun represents Wind, and Dui represents Lake. The Zhen trigram is composed of overlapping thunderbolts, interacting and moving, shaking and resounding.” Ao Jun murmured as he looked at the thunderous and shaking mountains before him.

"What? What did you say, my lord?" Yelü Ying asked, confused, as he led Ao Jun around in a dodgeball.

Ao Jun ignored Yelü Ying and continued muttering to herself, "Qian and Dui generate Kan, Kan generates Zhen and Xun, Zhen and Xun generate Li, Li generates Kun and Gen, Kun and Gen generate Qian and Dui. Qian and Dui restrain Zhen and Xun, Zhen and Xun restrain Kun and Gen, Kun and Gen restrain Kan, Kan restrains Li, Li restrains Qian and Dui. The five elements generate each other: metal, water, wood, fire, earth; the five elements restrain each other: metal, wood, water, fire, earth." This can't be a thunder formation! Impossible! This… After pondering for a moment… she remembered the formation diagram Yelü Ying had given her.

"So that's how it is!" Ao Jun suddenly sneered. "Saint Chi, did you think that fake array diagram you gave me, which others couldn't see through, was also invisible to me, Ao Jun? Hmph..."

"What..." Yelü Ying was about to ask again when Ao Jun interrupted him.

"Take your Fire Cloud Sword and slash at the lightning!" Ao Jun looked up at Yelü Ying and shouted, then added, "Use the Fire Cloud Sword Technique."

Although Yelü Ying did not understand, he still did as he was told. He drew his Fire Cloud Sword and used the first move of the Fire Cloud Sword Technique to slash at the oncoming lightning. Instantly, a fire dragon flew out and collided with the lightning. A huge burst of sparks exploded, illuminating the entire sky.

After a while, all the lightning disappeared, the sky returned to its pitch-black silence, and the surrounding scenery transformed back into the eerie, demonic landscape of Qianlipo.

Looking up, I saw that the moon overhead had become completely hazy; midnight was fast approaching. No, I must quickly find the center of the Heavenly Stems and Eight Trigrams Formation. I must break this formation before the extreme Yin time arrives. Jinxuan should already be at the Jing Gate.

"Qian represents Heaven: Northwest, Kun represents Earth: Southwest, Xun represents Wind: Southeast, Zhen represents Thunder: East, Kan represents Water: North, Li represents Fire: South, Gen represents Mountain: Northeast, Dui represents Lake: West. Yang travels from the left, Yin travels from the right, the two polarities and four symbols, the ecliptic circle, the extremes of Yin and Yang, the middle section of the four seasons." Ao Jun muttered to himself, recalling the description of the Heavenly Stems and Eight Trigrams formation in "The Travels of Feng Yan," and a sudden realization struck him—this must be it.

Ao Jun broke free from Yelü Ying's embrace, turned his head, and went to the right. This formation was no longer the original Heavenly Stems and Eight Trigrams Formation. At this time, the Yin energy was extremely heavy, the Blood Soul was the dominant force, the Yang energy was lost, and the Heavenly Stems were the auxiliary force.

As the two walked, a large mountain suddenly appeared in front of them, blocking their path.

"My lord, there is no way out," Yelü Ying said, looking at the massive mountain ahead.

"Sure enough, it's here. Let's go over there; Saint Chi is just ahead." Ao Jun said to Yelü Ying inexplicably. She was right; this was indeed the central heartland.

"The past? Could this mountain peak also be an illusion?" Yelü Ying wondered after hearing Ao Jun's words.

"No, it's true." Ao Jun smiled mysteriously.

"Really?" Yelü Ying asked again, looking completely bewildered. Tonight, he felt like a country bumpkin who had never seen the world, knowing nothing and finding everything inexplicable.

Ao Jun just smiled and didn't answer. Then, he did something on the mountain and pulled Yelü Ying straight towards the peak. Just like that, the two of them seemed to be sucked into the mountain and disappeared in an instant.

As soon as they crossed the mountain, before they could even steady themselves and before Yelü Ying could utter his doubts, an incredulous voice echoed ominously: "You actually managed to get here? Impossible..."

The two turned around and saw Saint Chi still wearing his iron mask, sitting on the octagonal throne, staring at them in disbelief. Chi Yu and another man in black stood behind him. At each of the four sides of the throne was a chilling pillar gleaming with a cold light; these were clearly not just ordinary pillars, but were used to absorb the extreme Yin energy during times of extreme Yin. Fires were lit around the area, and tens of thousands of blood spirits could be faintly seen wandering about, emitting terrifying sounds. This place was a million times more terrifying than the eighteen levels of hell.

Chapter Forty-Three: Breaking the Formation (Part Two)

As soon as they crossed the mountain, before they could even steady themselves and before Yelü Ying could utter his doubts, an incredulous voice echoed ominously: "You actually managed to get here? Impossible..."

The two turned around and saw Saint Chi still wearing his iron mask, sitting on the octagonal throne, staring at them in disbelief. Chi Yu and another man in black stood behind him. At each of the four sides of the throne was a chilling pillar gleaming with a cold light; these were clearly not just ordinary pillars, but were used to absorb the extreme Yin energy during times of extreme Yin. Fires were lit around the area, and tens of thousands of blood spirits could be faintly seen wandering about, emitting terrifying sounds. This place was a million times more terrifying than the eighteen levels of hell.

“Saint Crimson.” Ao Jun walked forward arrogantly and said coldly.

"Mo Jun...you..." Before Sheng Chi could speak, Chi Yu beside him pointed at Ao Jun as if she had seen a ghost. At this moment, Mo Jun was full of confidence and walked forward with an air of arrogance. His peerless figure was independent and upright. In this strange and evil place, he was so righteous and awe-inspiring. This Mo Jun was one that Chi Yu had never seen before. This Mo Jun was completely different from the Mo Jun that she had spent several days with.

"Yelü Ying, you knew all along that the array diagram was fake?" Saint Chi still looked down on Ao Jun as he approached. He asked Yelü Ying in a sinister tone. He still believed that Yelü Ying had discovered the diagram was fake, which was why he hadn't fallen for his trap. But what he couldn't understand was, even if Yelü Ying had discovered the diagram was fake, they couldn't have gotten here! Poor Saint Chi! Even Chi Yu had seen that Ao Jun was different, yet he was still arrogantly considering Yelü Ying his only opponent.

"Hehe... I'm sorry to disappoint you. I don't understand anything about Bagua diagrams, so it's impossible for me to know that the diagram was fake. You almost fooled me. Fortunately, when I gave the diagram to Jun, she knew it was fake." Yelü Ying looked at Sheng Chi with a wicked grin and said proudly, as if he were introducing his wife's extraordinary talent to others.

"What? It's Mo Jun." Sheng Chi finally looked at Ao Jun properly, and was immediately stunned by her imposing aura. He seemed to see again the 'Number One Military Strategist Under Heaven' who stood proudly between heaven and earth on Guanzhipo that day, commanding the retreat of Longxuan's 100,000-strong army. But Chi Yu's words were not like that. Could it be that Chi Yu betrayed him?

Turning his head, he looked at Chi Yu with a gloomy expression, and a sinister voice, as if from the eighteenth level of hell, slowly rang in Chi Yu's ears: "Chi Yu, what's going on? What did you tell me? That Mo Jun is just an incompetent and lecherous fool, that she doesn't understand formations at all. I can't believe you dare to betray me." With a wave of his hand, Chi Yu spat out a large mouthful of blood.

Seeing that Sheng Chi was about to strike again, Chi Yu hurriedly knelt down and crawled forward, trembling as she said, "Chi Yu did not betray Master. Those words were really spoken to Chi Yu by Mo Jun himself. Chi Yu has never dared to tell Master a single lie. It was...it was Mo Jun!" She pointed in Ao Jun's direction and said angrily, "It was her, she lied to Chi Yu, Master, spare my life! Chi Yu has always been loyal to Master."

"Hmph." Sheng Chi snorted coldly at Chi Yu, turned his head away and stopped looking at her. Chi Yu breathed a heavy sigh of relief and struggled to stand up, while the man in black remained unresponsive, like a piece of wood.