Chapter 303: Before the Decisive Battle (Part 2)
Ma Huaizhen fixed his gaze on Qiao Wan , waiting for her response.
In the icy wilderness, all that could be heard was the howling of the fierce winds.
The wind rustled Ma Huaizhen 's robe, and his pitch-black eyes never blinked as he closely watched Qiao Wan 's reaction.
Qiao Wan saw the girl's figure sway suddenly, her bottom lip biting so hard that it started bleeding.
It felt like a long time had passed, as if a hundred years had gone by.
Qiao Wan lifted her eyes, red veins glaring in them.
She kneeled down, silently drawing the sword from her waist, and made a blood oath in front of everyone.
"I promise."
"I promise that if there is no other choice, I will watch Su Buhuo be executed without lifting a finger."
"I promise."
"I promise that I am willing to take my own life when captured by the enemy."
If I break this oath," the girl drew out her sword, making a deep cut in her palm. Under the astonished gazes of everyone on the icy plain, she clenched her hand tightly and said firmly, "Both Su Buhuo and I will be forever annihilated, never to be reborn."
Before the words fell, there was silence all around, except for the crowded and trembling cold fire in the cold wind.
The blood in her hand slipped and formed a drop, which froze quickly when the wind blew, falling to the ground and shattering into pieces.
In that moment, in front of the Cultivation Alliance, this determined girl bravely made a blood oath. The cold-hearted old monsters from various sects, who had seen all sorts of tragic scenes, couldn't bear to look and turned their heads away.
Everyone stared at the shattered drops of blood on the ground, their hearts filled with lasting shock.
Qiao Wan won the hearts of the people.
...
But there were too few available reinforcements.
The lamp in the tent remained lit until dawn. Before Ma Huaizhen, there was a scroll of jade, his face cast in shadow by the lamplight.
The man raised his hand wearily and rubbed his forehead.
Of the thousands of sects in the world, less than a hundred were willing to join the battle in this crisis.
As for the leader of the demons, even if they didn't say it explicitly, Ma Huaizhen probably understood their intentions by now.
Demon Emperor Jia Yin may have already sided with the demon realm.
After all, whether it's the cultivators winning or the demon realm winning, it doesn't make much difference to the demon clan. The weak friendship between Qiao Wan and Mu Xiaoxiao clearly cannot influence the Lord of All Demons' decision.
Staring at the lamp in front of him, Ma Huaizhen remained silent.
Now, the only truly useful thing left is the Ao family's army.
...
"You say... Ao Yi has decided to form an alliance with the demon realm?!!"
Cangwu State, thousands of miles away.
A thin and weak cultivator in front suddenly stood up, looking incredulously at their leader.
Mu Xiaoxiao had her hands bound behind her back, long eyelashes casting a light shadow on her eyelids, and her rosy lips shimmered with a seductive glow.
The leading cultivator gave a disdainful glance at the thin cultivator. "What are you shouting about?"
"If I were Ao Yi, I would also choose the demon realm."
Mu Xiaoxiao felt a slight tremor in her heart, clearly not expecting to hear such a secret along her journey.
In the midst of this chaotic world, it was not easy for Mu Xiaoxiao to leave Baoyi Manor and head to the battleground in the south. Especially when her dantian was broken, leaving her defenseless, and yet her delicate appearance attracted attention.
On her journey, just as she had left the borders of Baoyi Manor, she was caught by a group of cultivators in front of her.
Although Aoshi was a dragon, there weren't many dragons, so he had numerous soldiers under his command. Human cultivators fought for them.
These few people in front of her were Aoshi's army.
In this rapidly changing background, everyone was trying their best to survive and find their own place in the midst of uncertainty.
These cultivators in front of her were no exception. They pointed and gestured on the ground, with the leading cultivator blowing out a smoke ring.
"Ao Yi killed his own father and accidentally killed the envoy of the cultivator alliance, Zhu Enchou."
"He couldn't figure out what Xie Xingzhi was thinking, so of course he was afraid in his heart."
The leading cultivator smiled confidently and said, "Even before he went to seek forgiveness from Xie Xingzhi, we secretly sent someone to the demon realm. We asked Mei Kangping for help in driving Xie Xingzhi and his companions out of the South Sea."
"Everyone knows that the Ao family is actually playing both sides, wavering between the Cultivation Alliance and the demon realm."
"Um..." the thin cultivator hesitated and asked, "So, what does this recent assembly to go to the demon realm mean?"
These few days, the Ao family has been busy gathering hundreds of dragons, causing the sea waves to rise and the fishermen living by the sea can easily catch a glimpse of the leaping and roaring white dragons within those waves.
"What else can he do?" the leading cultivator sneered. "That cunning Mei Kangping probably wants to use the Ao family's help to stab the Cultivation Alliance in the back."
As they say, when somebody's down, they aim for the kill. It's nothing more than that.
Perhaps it was because Mu Xiaoxiao's gentle appearance was not threatening at all, the group of cultivators chatting decided their next direction without even considering her opinion.
Looking at the campfire in front of her, Mu Xiaoxiao seemed lost in thought.
The entire northern region was collapsing... the final battle was approaching...
Everyone started fighting.
She bit her lip, suddenly feeling a strong sense of unwillingness, which intensified when she heard familiar names like "Ma Huaizhen" and "Zhou Yan".
Master, Hall Master Ma, and other familiar or unfamiliar senior martial siblings were all at the frontlines, while she was trapped here.
From Baoyi Prefecture to this place, she encountered many people like Wang Er Ya along the way.
Even if she was not very clever and didn't have much knowledge, after going through this journey, she couldn't help but be influenced by the tragic atmosphere and grow a lot.
Her discontent stemmed from the fact that Qiao Wan, Xie Xingzhi, Meng Canglang... Before she realized it, Qiao Wan had already reached their level. But what about her? What had she achieved?
Mu Xiaoxiao stared blankly, her lower lip bitten so hard it almost bled.
In the demon realm, she pleaded for Pei Chunzheng's mercy. She... she became his concubine in the demon realm, a joke in the eyes of those demons.
How did she become a joke?
Others thought she was gentle and kind-hearted, but deep down, she knew she was not. She was ambitious, proud, and unwilling to lose to others. It's just that she had worn the mask for so long that she couldn't take it off.
Her ridiculousness caused Wang Erya to die in her arms.
No wonder Ma Huaizhen looked down on her, it's no wonder Ma Huaizhen looked down on her.
The young girl sat with lowered eyes, quiet and serene. Even without speaking, she was gentle and sweet, like a canary living in a cage.
Tuyiming was slightly surprised. To be honest, when he caught sight of Mu Xiaoxiao, he almost thought he was seeing things.
In this world, there are still naive and sweet people like her wandering around.
Seemingly aware of his gaze, the girl looked up. Her black hair slid down her cheeks, revealing a pitiful and innocent face.
Tuyiming felt a twinge in his throat that he couldn't suppress.
The skinny cultivator's gaze also fell upon Mu Xiaoxiao. "What should we do about this?"
It's inconvenient.
Should he use force before killing?
This thought briefly crossed Tuyiming's mind, and a flash of harshness, desire, and murderous intent flew through his eyes.
He had been holding back for too long in this realm, but the girl's tattered clothes and exposed fair and smooth skin only aroused his desires for cruelty and sadism.
Tuyiming smiled and lifted the corner of his lips, pulling out a small knife from his sleeve and tossing it back and forth.
One swift chop cut the rope that bound Mu Xiaoxiao. The man looked at the delicate lady in front of him with interest. A teardrop formed in her eyes.
"Please... let me go."
In the past, he would never have allowed himself to indulge in such beauty. Good food should be savored slowly.
He didn't plan on rushing things, it would be more fun that way.
He put away the small knife and, with a twist of his wrist, stabbed it into the ground. Tuyiming stared at Mu Xiaoxiao, as his desire grew stronger with each glance.
His heart fluttered slightly as he smiled and said, "Let you go? That's too good to be true."
She may be pretty, but unfortunately, she's not very smart.
"Well then," Tuyiming calmly adjusted his posture and looked at Mu Xiaoxiao with a smile. "How about playing a game with me?"
"The bet is that if you win, I'll let you go."
Knowing there was no hope of escape, the girl finally couldn't help but sob softly.
Mu Xiaoxiao opened her sleepy eyes and sniffled. She calmed herself down for a moment and asked, "What... what kind of game is it, and how do we play?"
The girl's eyes turned red like a rabbit's, filled with sadness. It stirred up something inside Tu Yiming, causing a reaction down below. Fortunately, he quickly suppressed it and smiled, saying, "It's simple, we draw lots."
"There are two lots, one means leaving, and one means staying. Whichever lot you draw will determine your fate. What do you think?" he asked.
He enjoyed giving people hope and then destroying it with his own hands. After all the years of rolling and crawling on this battlefield, if he didn't find some enjoyment, he might end up stabbing himself with a knife.
Thus, it was only natural that Tu Yiming was a bit twisted. Though he sweetly spoke of choices between leaving and staying, deep down, he knew he would only write "stay" on both lots for this beautiful young girl to draw.
The girl in front of him didn't believe it, unwilling to give up hope for survival.
Mu Xiaoxiao hesitated for a moment, clutching her dress tightly, as if only holding something in her hand could make her feel at ease.
There were a total of 5 people in front of her, 2 in the front, 2 in the back, and 1 on each side, forming a circle around her.
The most common, but also the most difficult to break through, she had no other way but to make a bet with this person.
"I won't agree, unless you make a...make a blood pact."
Tu Yiming wasn't annoyed, but instead found it more interesting, the kind that wouldn't resist, tasteless.
"Fine, go ahead and say it."
Mu Xiaoxiao thought for a moment, mustered up courage and looked up, "If I choose one and leave the others behind, you not only have to let me go, but also give up your own cultivation."
Tu Yiming was slightly taken aback, he didn't expect this little beauty to be so greedy, wanting to make a big bet, asking for their cultivations. However, his gaze fell upon Mu Xiaoxiao's broken Dantian, and he suddenly understood.
He found it even more interesting this way and said with a smile, "Okay, then I have a request too."
"If you choose the wrong one, my dear, I will grab hold of your limbs and cut the flesh from your body piece by piece."
To see Mu Xiaoxiao's frightened expression, Tu Yiming intentionally spoke slowly. As expected, the girl in front of him turned pale in an instant.
By signing a blood contract, if anyone violates it, their soul will be destroyed.
Tu Yiming smiled with satisfaction and instructed the thin cultivator under him to make arrangements.
The thin cultivator clicked his tongue and looked at Mu Xiaoxiao with a hint of sympathy.
What is he sympathizing with?
Mu Xiaoxiao wondered.
Is he sympathizing with her predetermined fate? The thin cultivator seems so certain about the fifty-fifty probability of drawing lots, his eyes filled with pity and sympathy.
As the two crumpled papers were handed over, Tu Yiming crossed his arms and laughed, "Come, choose one."
Under the flickering firelight, these two paper balls represented her two completely different destinies.
Mu Xiaoxiao lowered her wet eyelashes and hesitated for a moment before reaching out her hand. In front of everyone's eyes, she unexpectedly picked up one paper ball and threw it directly into the bonfire!
"I have made my choice, and I have burned it," the girl said, lifting her eyelashes with a gentle and sweet smile.
Pointing at the remaining piece of paper, she said, "I'll bet that this one says 'stay'."
In an instant, Tu Yiming's face changed drastically!
The next moment, he realized that he had been tricked! This little mischievous girl had played him!
She played a word game with him.
"If I chose one, and left 'stay' behind."
From the beginning to the end, she never said that she wanted to choose "leave"!
With a gentle smile, the girl slowly stood up from the shadows. Her jet-black, smooth long hair cascaded down her back. When the wind blew, it flowed like the extravagant hair of a serpent monster.
"The blood pact has been formed. If you don't give me your cultivation, your soul will perish."
Mu Xiaoxiao absentmindedly reached for the small knife stuck in the ground, lifted her face, and smiled sweetly.
Her dantian was shattered, so even if she had cultivation, she couldn't hold it for long.
But having something is better than nothing, right?
Compared to "perishing soul", Tu Yiming would rather die. He turned pale, stared at Mu Xiaoxiao as if he wanted to pounce on her, and took a bite of the meat.
The girl blinked her wet eyelashes, her lips as alluring as a rose, innocent expression on her face.
The girl, like a enchantress, absorbed their cultivation into her dantian.
At the moment the teleportation ended, Tu Yiming raised his eyes and suddenly met Mu Xiaoxiao's sweet smile. The dimples on her cheeks, illuminated by the firelight, seemed to be filled with sparkling wine.
Tu Yiming felt a cold sensation on his neck and everything went black before his eyes.
Following closely behind, he was chopped into more than three thousand pieces by the sword formation formed by spiritual power. Together with the four people beside him, a total of five people, there were over fifteen thousand pieces in total.
Mu Xiaoxiao's entire body was drenched in blood, her black hair sticking to her white cheeks. The young girl stared at the falling, glistening shards of flesh, resembling untimely snow.
It's over, Mu Xiaoxiao told herself.
She could continue moving forward now.
Thinking about the message left by Tu Yiming earlier, Mu Xiaoxiao tightened her grip on the knife and walked towards the direction of the southern battlefront without looking back, step by step.
She had to deliver this message to the front line.
For Wang Erya, for her master in the northern territory, for Elder Martial Brother, for herself? Or for the diverse people she had encountered along the way?
Mu Xiaoxiao hesitated as she wiped away the blood from her eyes, bit by bit.
On their journey, when Mu Xiaoxiao saw that Qiao Wan was a monk on her way to the front lines, many ordinary people willingly gave her some food. They would give her half a piece of bread, a whole piece of bread, or even a jug of water.
As Mu Xiaoxiao held the dirty, half-eaten piece of bread in her hands, tears immediately streamed down her face.
Mu Xiaoxiao was not a good person. She was jealous and always played mean tricks. She knew how to act pitifully to steal the attention that should have been on Qiao Wan.
But she was also someone who cried easily and was fragile.
However, now, Mu Xiaoxiao suddenly understood the difference between herself and Qiao Wan.
During their journey, they witnessed many tragic separations and family tragedies. In a few years, only ten simple words would be written in the history books.
"In XX year, there was a severe drought and people resorted to cannibalism."
In this kind of environment, if Mu Xiaoxiao still yearned for Qiao Wan's attention, the favor of others, and the gaze of men, she would truly be beyond saving.
She wanted to do something, anything.
Mu Xiaoxiao took a bite of the thin bread and swallowed it whole.
The people in front anxiously ask, "Are you going to the front lines, little girl?"
"It's too dangerous ahead. How about you come with us?"
"How long will this battle last?"
The biscuit is very hard, Mu Xiaoxiao has to swallow it with effort, wiping her tears indiscriminately.
On this journey, facing the wind and sleeping under the stars, she no longer has time to care for herself.
The only belief that keeps her going is to deliver the message to the front lines quickly, to find Wang Yutian, the older brother of Wang Er Ya.
If she doesn't hurry, they will lose, and Wang Yutian will die.
Master, Elder Martial Brother, they will all die.
On this journey, she can only rely on her two legs to walk. There is no entertainment, only thoughts constantly swirling in her mind.
Mu Xiaoxiao can't help but think of Qiao Wan and finally understands the difference between her and Qiao Wan.
The difference between her and Qiao Wan is that Qiao Wan has emerged from war, from blood. She has the same courage and determination as Ma Huaizhen. Even in this difficult situation, she can adapt well and maybe even gather other lost cultivators to achieve something great.
But she, she can't.
Qiao Wan doesn't have anyone protecting her. She has to struggle and fight her way out of the war, even if her bones are shattered.
Mu Xiaoxiao feels like she can't hold on any longer, and she thinks of Qiao Wan.
Qiao Wan gets help from Zhou Yan, from Lu Pihan, from others. She has much more support than Mu Xiaoxiao.
Without the protection of Zhou Yan, even the girl in the pink dress would be struggling like this.
At this point, Mu Xiaoxiao can't be worse off than Qiao Wan.
Her cultivation in the dantian quickly runs out. Without the support of cultivation, she becomes an ordinary mortal.
Mu Xiaoxiao can't explain what she's thinking, but she has a belief that keeps her going forward.
The first light of dawn began to appear, but the sky was still dark. A faint golden-red light rose on the horizon, making it difficult to see the faces of the people near the hill.
The withered thorns lay low on the ground, trembling in the wind. It was the time between night and day, when darkness was fading but daylight had not yet arrived.
The girl looked up and a drop of water slid down her slender neck and into her collarbone. She had consumed her last drop of water.
The battlefield in the south was still a hundred miles away.
On this side of the north, everything was ready.
Venerable One Miaofa was standing in front of a map, discussing the marching route into the demon realm with Ma Huaizhen and others, three days from now.
After the meeting, Ma Huaizhen asked Qiao Wan, "Are you afraid?"
Qiao Wan shook her head, her palm already healed, and she squeezed it tightly.
After a brief hesitation, Ma Huaizhen said, "We will need the help of the Ao family's army to retreat. When they arrive, you can hand over to them."
Without her powers, Mu Xiaoxiao could only walk step by step towards her destination.
But time is running out for her. It won't be long before the cultivation league led by Ma Huaizhen enters the demon realm, and at that time, the soldiers of the Ao family will betray them in a critical moment.
The sky gradually brightened. The decaying corpses by the road were exposed to the sun, emitting a foul and unpleasant smell. Countless white maggots gathered in the chest cavity of the bodies.
In the past, the rice on both sides of the road would have grown evenly, with tender shoots, and swallows flying by. There would be cuckoos calling from the distant mountains.
There was an old man herding cattle, smiling and holding a whip, walking through the paddy fields. Accompanied by the mooing of the cows, he sang loudly.
He sang about apricot blossoms, peach blossoms, and how the mulberry leaves were like something.
Mu Xiaoxiao licked her dry lips and continued forward unsteadily. The sun was shining brightly on her head, making her feel dizzy. She could collapse any second.
She couldn't walk anymore. Her tender feet were covered in countless blisters, constantly breaking and oozing pus and blood. Every step was so painful that she could barely move forward.
At first, she was able to walk quite quickly, but later on, she could only manage to walk reluctantly. Eventually, Mu Xiaoxiao could only crawl on the ground.
She felt like she had never been so miserable in her whole life. Her torn dress dragged on the ground, scratched by thorns and rocks, becoming nothing more than tattered pieces of fabric. Her legs were covered in blood from crawling on the ground, and her fingers were completely ruined from supporting her weight.
A voice came from a passing carriage, as melodious as a golden oriole. The well-off girl inside glanced at the "beggar" crawling on the ground and suddenly felt a bit of sympathy. She told her servant to throw down a small piece of white steamed bun.
"Here, it's for you."
Looking at the bun on the ground, Mu Xiaoxiao was momentarily stunned.
Kunshan's younger martial sister, Zhou Yan's disciple, was in such a messy state, but she picked up the bun from the ground quietly and stuffed it into her pocket. She continued crawling forward.
Finally, she heard the sound of waves and saw the coastline in the distance.
Mu Xiaoxiao was awakened by someone splashing water on her. The person kicked her rudely and poked her with a stick.
When she saw that the person was dressed like a cultivator, Mu Xiaoxiao felt a surge of energy and immediately reached out to grab them. However, she was kicked down to the ground.
The male cultivator impatiently yelled, "Behave! What are you doing here?!"
Mu Xiaoxiao paused, opened her dry mouth, and tried to speak. But her throat felt like it was on fire, and she couldn't utter a single word.
The male cultivator thought for a moment and impatiently took a water flask off himself, tossing it in front of her.
Looking at this barely recognizable mortal who seemed to be a woman, Mu Xiaoxiao held onto the water flask tightly and quickly gulped down the water, as if a dog had found a bone. Because she drank so quickly, tears and saliva streamed down her chin.
Mu Xiaoxiao clutched her throat and coughed several times. In a hoarse voice, she said, "I... I want to see your leader."
"Xie Xingzhi, Chen Xuanling, anyone will do."
"I have something to say to your leader."
She traveled a thousand miles just to deliver a message.
The message reached Chen Xuanling's ears and quickly reached Ma Huaizhen's ears, who was far away in the northern region.
On one side of the Souvenir Jade Ball stood Xie Xingzhi, and on the other side stood Ma Huaizhen.
"It's too late," Ma Huaizhen said in a deep voice, looking at Xie Xingzhi on the other end of the Souvenir Jade Ball. He gestured to stop and said, "The deployment that was planned earlier can't be changed in these two days.
The plan to enter the demon realm has been arranged with everyone involved. If anything goes wrong, Qiao Wan and Meng Guangze will die in the demon realm.
That day, Qiao Wan made a solemn vow in front of everyone, shocking not only the disciples of various sects, but also Meng Guangze and many other old monsters.
Withdrawing the troops is not an option. They have been preparing based on the assumption that reinforcements from the Ao family will arrive.
If they withdraw, Qiao Wan and the others won't be able to leave the demon realm without the dragon from the Ao family.
Is it really only possible to watch Qiao Wan and the others die in the demon realm? Xie Xingzhi remained silent.
"There is another way," said Venerable One Miaofa, who had been coordinating various aspects alongside Ma Huaizhen. He furrowed his brow and turned to look at Ma Huaizhen and Xie Xingzhi.
"What way?" asked Xie Xingzhi.
Ma Huaizhen raised his eyes and, speaking for the silent Buddha, responded with a deep and determined voice, full of ruthlessness: "Persuade the little white dragon to kill his older brother and take his place."
Xie Xingzhi suddenly became shocked.
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