Chapter 722: Bloody Battle in Miaojiang

Chapter 722: Bloody Battle in Miaojiang

"Clang, clang, clang!" Yue Hongling's sword danced like a swimming dragon, probing around the Black Miao King for the location of his soulfire.

A trace of blood had already seeped from the corner of her mouth. Every casual punch from her opponent, if she failed to dodge in time, even if she managed to parry it, would shake her into internal injuries. Colliding against the nearby mountain rocks, her body felt as if it were falling apart, wracked with pain.

More troubling was that she had staked her life on this, desperately trying to locate the enemy's soulfire, yet she still couldn't find it—it was as if it didn't exist.

Was this different from the corpse puppets she had known before? No soulfire?

Then how was it operating on its own?

Moreover, its reactions were slower than before, and it no longer seemed crazily fixated on heading to Taoyuan Town. Clearly, the one controlling it had abandoned even the slightest effort to manage it here, now fully engaged in dealing with someone else. That someone else was almost certainly Zhao Changhe.

Changhe's battle had slowed even this Black Miao King. If she still couldn't finish it, she was unworthy of being a swordswoman!

"Boom!" Another fist, capable of splitting mountains and cracking rocks, came crashing down, slightly slower than before.

This time, Yue Hongling did not hastily dodge. Her eyes were as sharp as swords, fixed unblinkingly on the trajectory of the incoming fist.

"Indeed, the soulfire must exist—just not in the spiritual platform, not in the heart, not in any vulnerable spot, but hidden within the fiercest fist and arm, a blind spot right under the nose."

"Boom!" The fist was upon her. At the last moment, Yue Hongling twisted abruptly. The fist grazed past her ribs, the force tearing a bloody gash along her side. She didn't even frown. Her arm swiftly clamped down on the Black Miao King's iron-like wrist.

"?" The chaotic consciousness of the Black Miao King couldn't help but pause. You, with your frail frame, are you throwing your life away?

Even if you know my soulfire is in my arm, you can't pinpoint its exact location in an instant. And to break into my arm, you must concentrate all your power at the tip of your sword. How can you manage that in this position?

As the chaotic thought flickered, the Black Miao King wasted no words. With a shake of his arm, he lifted her entirely, intending to smash her into pulp.

But Yue Hongling's left hand had already whipped out a mirror with lightning speed. As she was being lifted, she swept it along the entire length of his arm.

The Qinghe Mirror revealed all evil and phantoms. A faint glimmer of soulfire flickered at the crook of his elbow.

"Right there!"

"Bang!" Yue Hongling was slammed heavily to the ground, blasting a massive crater in the earth. Yet, at the moment she was thrown down, her divine sword flew from her hand, automatically streaking toward that predetermined point with a sharp whistle.

In the Black Miao King's chaotic mind, he hadn't anticipated that this was a sword already birthing its own spirit. It couldn't handle overly complex tasks, but when given a clear target to concentrate all its power upon, it executed without compromise.

All of Yue Hongling's strength was poured into the sword. The tip blazed with dazzling brilliance, its terrifying force startling the Black Miao King into instinctively raising his other hand to block—but it was too late.

The divine sword pierced through, striking the crook of the Black Miao King's elbow at the same moment its owner was smashed into the ground.

It was afternoon, with no sun in the sky, yet this soulfire was like a blazing sun.

One strike shattered the iron barrier, and the radiance of sun and moon was extinguished in a roar.

The Sunset Divine Sword!

The Black Miao King lowered his head to look at the sword piercing his elbow. His gaze shifted to the bloodied, mangled Yue Hongling lying in the pit. The fading gleam in his eyes showed a flicker of revival, like a dying ember flaring up.

He rubbed his iron-like throat, emitting a low, eerie voice: "You... are remarkable. Which Heavenly Ranking expert from years past are you?"

Yue Hongling propped herself up slowly, standing with effort, and gave a proper martial arts salute: "A humble latecomer, Yue Hongling, barely ranked on the Earthly List. I pay my respects to Senior Black Miao King."

"Earthly... List? You on the Earthly List, then who deserves the Heavenly?"

Yue Hongling was silent.

Footsteps sounded around them. The White Miao army, sensing the commotion had subsided, began to approach to investigate.

The two ignored them. The Black Miao King continued, "Where is Xia Longyuan?"

Yue Hongling replied calmly, "He has already passed away."

"Dead?" The Black Miao King muttered to himself, his tone growing stranger. "Then why did I even rise?"

Yue Hongling said evenly, "You had no need to rise in the first place... A hero of an era, yet your bones have become a tool for others—laughable and pitiable."

The Black Miao King did not answer. He slowly turned his head to look at the advancing White Miao soldiers. "White Miao... you blocked me to protect them?"

Yue Hongling said, "Yes."

"But as I see it, they not only don't know you saved them, they want to kill you."

"...Perhaps. But I seek only a clear conscience, and that has nothing to do with you, Senior."

The Black Miao King chuckled softly. "As you say, disturbing my peace, using my bones—how is that none of my concern? At least I should cause him some trouble."

Yue Hongling's heart stirred.

The Black Miao King spoke slowly, "The goal of this corpse controller is hard to hide from me... What he wants may not be these corpse puppets that haven't reached the Imperial Realm, nor those skeletons and dried corpses... His true aim is most likely to use the spirit tribe's blood sacrifice to revive the earth."

As he spoke, the sword embedded in his elbow popped out with a "ding," landing precisely before Yue Hongling.

She reached out and took the sword. When she looked at him again, he was motionless, with no trace of life left.

Revive the earth?

What did that mean?

Yue Hongling had no strength to ponder it. She was grievously wounded, her heart anxious for Zhao Changhe. Even her conversation with the Black Miao King had been merely to buy time to recover. Now, she was still racked with pain and utterly weak.

Turning her head, she saw the White Miao soldiers had closed to within a bowshot. A general was shouting angrily, "Yue Hongling, what happened to our Chief Dao?"

Yue Hongling raised her sword and pointed. Thousands of soldiers, seeing the fierce divine sword, all halted in their tracks, none daring to advance.

"Dao Qingfeng was blinded by ambition, deceived into summoning an ancient corpse, nearly bringing catastrophe upon Miaojiang. He has reaped what he sowed; his bones are gone. Why ask me?" Yue Hongling said coldly. "If you want to blame me, then consider it my doing. Does anyone want to avenge him?"

The west wind howled, billowing her sleeves and ponytail backward. A few strands of hair brushed across her forehead, past her fierce eyes.

Alone, sword in hand, facing thousands upon thousands of troops—yet not a single person dared to take a step forward.

This was a swordswoman who had just slain a resurrected Heavenly Ranking Black Miao King. No matter how battered she was, her aura and heroic bearing were etched into the Miao people's eyes like a god descending.

A horse's long neigh rang out. Wuzhui galloped on the wind, stopping beside Yue Hongling.

Yue Hongling glanced back, her eyes lighting up with joy. She swiftly mounted and rode off: "Let's go, help Changhe!"

The crowd watched her depart, standing like statues.

After a long while, someone murmured, "Truly a celestial being..."

Wuzhui carried Yue Hongling, whom the Miao regarded as a celestial being, but inside, the horse was a string of ellipses. What use was looking impressive? Covered in blood like this, could she still fight? "Help Changhe"—more like she'd be a hindrance...

That said, Wuzhui now understood why Yue Hongling always wore red—it made the blood less visible...

As these thoughts raced through its mind, they arrived at the spirit tribe's stockade in Taoyuan Town. Below, the soldiers looked up at a flying horse carrying a woman charging straight at them, dumbfounded.

"Stop! Halt! What business do you have!" Countless soldiers raised their spears skyward, a forest of cold, gleaming steel.

"Get out of my way!" Yue Hongling slashed out a sword aura. The nearest row of spears snapped in two. The soldiers recoiled in fear, clearing a space. Yue Hongling leaped off Wuzhui and charged straight through the formation: "I am Yue Hongling! I have urgent matters to see your queen! Move aside, or it will be too late!"

The name Yue Hongling thundered in the hearts of Han soldiers, and it was not forgotten among the spirit tribe either. Last time, the pair of envoys—the woman was Yue Hongling...

Seeing her blood-soaked and murderous, no one dared to stop her. The army parted like waves, letting her rush into the secret cave and disappear.

Wuzhui sighed, circled in the air a few times, and found a place to hide again.

So she could still fight after all... That's fine. The Supreme Sword Body is indeed formidable.

Speaking of which, the master and this woman truly matched—in every sense, on all levels. But my master's wife is Miss Cui. What a troublesome thought.