Nightfall
chapter-546

Looking at Ye Hongyu’s fluttering robes, Long Qing’s face suddenly became cold. His eyes grew darker and darker until they looked dead. The greedy and icy aura in the pebbles by the lake grew all the more stronger.

However, there was always a ray of light in this dark and cold place that could not be erased.

It was a light that came from the blood-colored divine robes, with a strong metallic scent of blood.

The sleeves of the robes danced on the banks of the lake. Every time the sleeves were lifted, a strong wind with a scent of blood and a sacred aura would rush towards the vortex that was formed by a deathly silent aura.

The strong winds resembled the moss-covered rocks of the West-Hill Divine Palace’s You Prison. The wind, swirling in the whirlpool, was just like the lake water that fell from the empty sky, and it made its surrounding Qi of Heaven and Earth vibrate to all directions.

Numerous roars rang across the quiet lake. Affected by Long Qing’s grey eyes and Ye Hongyu’s attack, the water in the lake bubbled as if it was boiling. The fish hidden in the depths of the lake were either dizzy or dead. They gradually floated to the top the water, piling up like patches of deathly white on the surface of the water.

The wooded mountains far away had not escaped the terrifying collision of the aura. The branches, extending towards the surface of the lake, had broken noisily. The trees rustled. The sparse yellow leaves on the trees floated in the air, not knowing whether they would fall into the lake or be crushed to smithereens by the wind.

The tail feathers of a few magpies cocked up because of horror. They flapped their wings, trying their best to fly far away. However, they had eaten too much in order to survive the harsh winter of the Wilderness and had become too fat. They could not speed up and were not able to escape the aftershock of the battle between the two powerhouses. They wailed mournfully before falling to the ground and dying.

…

…

Several small scratches appeared on Ye Hongyu’s body. Tendrils of blood flowed from these wounds, permeating through her thin divine robes and flowing slowly to the ground.

The divine robes which were soaked with blood was a vibrant red. It seemed like captivating red flowers that were washed by dew. She was beautiful and seductive with the damp robes stuck to her body.

She looked pale, but was still as beautiful as ever. There wasn’t a speck of dirt nor any trace of blood on her skin after a battle. Her eyes were especially bright but were serene. The divine robes soaked in blood became a stark comparison with her seductive body.

She was still serene and beautiful even with a bloody body, which had indicated how powerful she was.

Over ten fallen knights were heavily injured on the pebbled ground by the lake. Their blood flowed, dyeing the pebbles beneath them red.

Long Qing knelt on the ground on one knee. His hair was damp with sweat and was plastered on his forehead. The silver mask he wore was missing, so his severely burnt face was revealed.

Ye Hongyu walked forward slowly.

More blood would ooze out with every step she took. Her expression did not change at all, as if she could not feel any pain, and it seemed like she had more than enough blood to lose.

She walked towards Long Qing and said, “You are indeed much stronger than before. I am surprised that you did not manage to kill Ning Que at the Red Lotus Temple. However, it is a pity that you are still not as strong as I am.”

Long Qing lifted his head with difficulty and looked at the approaching blood-red robes. He looked at her horrible appearance with a strange smile. For some reason, he did not tell Ye Hongyu about the strange incidents that happened to Ning Que during their battle at the Red Lotus Temple.

“I’m not interested in the black jade throne at all. You really don’t have to pay such a huge price, and take the risk of trying to kill me alone, without taking any of your subordinates.”

He said as he panted, still with a strange smile.

Ye Hongyu walked forward and stopped several feet away from him. She said, “I would never believe that you have lost interest in all things and are going to roam around the Wilderness for real peace. I know that you are not interested in that, so I won’t let you grow any stronger and become a threat to me.”

Long Qing placed a hand on his knees and said wearily, “You have never talked too much nonsense before killing someone. So I wonder why you have allowed me to say my last words?”

“I heard that you told Ning Que that you think you are the Son of Yama?”

Ye Hongyu said, “Of course, I am not killing you now because I need to have a rest. I do not want to die with some bum like you.”

Long Qing watched her and mocked, “Even the Tao Addict needs to have a rest? Has your spirit been depleted by the black jade throne after becoming the Great Divine Priest of Judgment?”

Ye Hongyu did not grow angry because of his jibe. She said serenely, “It is said that even though we are half deities, below Haotian and above the divine throne, we are still not the true Gods. So as humans, we need to take a rest.”

“All humans need to rest. Indeed… Many people have always wanted to become a God, but they do not know that, as long as they don’t become ghosts, it is really a blessing to be a human being.”

Long Qing said somewhat desolately, “I don’t know if I am Yama’s son or the person in the prophecy. However, I don’t think I am a human being anymore.”

The blood-red divine robes gradually dried. Ye Hongyu looked at him and said calmly, “Whether you’re human or God, you’ll become a ghost today. If you are really Yama’s son, then I’ll let you see your father.”

After saying that, she took another step forward.

Suddenly, there was a flurry of footsteps in the wooded mountains by the lake. Several powerful forces enveloped the pebbled grounds in an instant.

Ye Hongyu’s gaze sharpened as she looked at the grassland barbarians holding various kinds of weapons. There were over a thousand of them, wearing leather robes, yelling as they flowed out of the forest.

Only subjects from the Left King’s Palace, which was in a precarious position, would appear in the frontier fortress of the North of Yan Kingdom at this time. The powerful forces could only come from the high priests from the palace.

“So you had an agreement with these barbarians. They are having a hard time now, but they still could send high priests to come and get you. So what price have you paid for that?”

Ye Hongyu asked.

Long Qing stood up, blood and pus flowed through his black Taoist shirt. The hole on his chest must have been severely wounded once more in the battle.

“Those from the Left King’s Palace are indeed living a hard life right now. They are attacked both by the Desolate Man and the Central Plains. Just like myself, attacked by the Divine Hall in the light and Ning Que in the dark. You asked what I had paid for their trust? In actuality, I paid for nothing.”

He looked at Ye Hongyu and said, “The Yans and the Left King’s Palace have been neighbors for years. They are enemies as well as friends for years. Coincidentally, I have been the friend of their new Chanyu since years ago. What’s even more important is that we are both in the same boat and have common goals.”

Ye Hongyu asked, “What goals?”

Long Qing said, “We want to get strong again. And then… take revenge.”

Ye Hongyu kept silent.

Long Qing said, “Actually, I did not expect that you could catch me here. Fortunately, as you have said; no matter how powerful you are, you are but human. You are not a true God, and you need to have a rest. That gives me the opportunity to turn the tides. Of course, I also felt grateful that I could live until now in front of you.”

Ye Hongyu suddenly smiled.

Her face was still pale, but her smile was radiant.

Long Qing was not in the mood to admire her beauty, though he used to gasped with admiration at her attractiveness occasionally when they were in the West-Hill Divine Palace.

Because he had seen the derision and scorn in her smile.

“I am indeed not a God, but just a human being. That is why I am curious about whether you are the Son of Yama, and why you had gone to the north and entered the Wilderness. I was waiting, because I want to see who would help you.”

Ye Hongyu looked at him and said serenely, “Ning Que had once said something ludicrous by the Yanming lake. He said that curiosity would kill the cat. I do not understand. But I know that curiosity would indeed be a hindrance. However, it is a pity that you pose no hindrance to me for killing you.”

An incredulous expression crossed Long Qing’s face. He said coldly, “I have a thousand warriors from the grassland and seven high priests on my side. How can you kill me?”

Ye Hongyu looked at him as if she was looking at an idiot. She said, “You are just 30 feet away from me. Even the army led by the Chanyu from the Golden tent can stop me from killing you, let alone the defeated Left King’s Palace.”

Long Qing said in shock, “But how will you escape after killing me?”

Ye Hongyu said, “The West-Hill aims at killing you, rather than running away. As long as I can kill you, it is not important if I can escape or not.”

This sentence was simple, yet it would need a strong logic and an undaunted will to speak it out calmly. Long Qing’s expression stiffened when he heard that.

Ye Hongyu said, “Most importantly, once you become a meaningless corpse, there would be no reason for the Left King’s Palace to detain me. Would the barbarians care for you so much that they would sacrifice their own lives for killing me, a Great Divine Priest of West-Hill? Long Qing, you’re really stupid.”

Long Qing’s face had become exceptionally pale. He knew that Ye Hongyu was right. If he died now, there would be no reason for the Left King’s Palace to avenge him and fight with the Divine Priest of Judgment.

With the last ray of hope, he said, “But they would not allow you to kill me because I am their last hope to survive and become powerful in the Wilderness.”

As if it was going to prove that Long Qing was right, the branches in the forest by the lake started to shake. The powerful auras that had descended upon the pebbled grounds grew more violent, flowing towards Ye Hongyu.

There was a natural and wild power in the auras, there was a hidden scent of some wild beast in the Wilderness. It was the unique spiritual attack of the grassland barbarians’ high priests!

Ye Hongyu’s face looked pale. She looked towards the forest with an exceptionally frigid gaze.

A proud and overbearing murmur emerged from her thin lips.

Almost at the same time, a dull painful whimper rang in the forest in the distance.

In the dark forest, a priest of the Left King’s Palace, dressed in an expensive robe and bearing several bone-made religious instruments toppled onto the ground with a fearful expression. A fine bone instrument shattered, and two streams of black colored blood flowed from his nose. It was evident that he had been seriously injured.

Ye Hongyu looked towards the forest, feeling the auras. She said disdainfully, “How dare they use their spiritual Psyche Power to hurt me. They are very brave, yet very dumb.”

A priest from the Left King’s Palace had had his sense of perception shattered, even without seeing his enemy. His internal organs started to bleed. A few of the other priests from the grassland who were in the forest looked at each other. They saw shock and fear in each other’s eyes.

Ye Hongyu, the Tao Addict, had shocked the cultivation world with her all-rounded skills. She was a powerful Sword Master when fighting against a Sword Master. When she faced Tactical Array Masters, she was an outstanding Tactical Array Master. When she fought a Psyche Master, she became a terrifying Grand Psyche Master. She was now the Great Divine Priest of Judgment, so how could she fear the powers of the priests from the grassland?

Ye Hongyu looked at Long Qing.

The Gloomy Taoist Sword that she had taken from him had long been abandoned casually. The sword she held now was her natal Taoist Sword that had been hidden in her blood-colored Taoist robe.

The sword seemed to have no blade. It swam out of her robes and wriggled like a fish. However, it cut a straight white line in the air.

Long Qing despaired, and smiled bitterly.

Just then, there was a loud boom!

A bolt of lightning fell from the sky and struck the Taoist Sword exactly!

The low rumbling thunder could only be heard moments later.

It rumbled endlessly.

It rarely rained in the cold autumns of the Wilderness. As usual, It did not rain today, but there was thunder.

The rumbles of thunder roared through the lake and the forest. It was a deafening sound that had caused the lake water to shake violently, and the dust to swirl on the pebbled ground.

After some time, the thunder finally stopped.

The sky had darkened and the air was filled with dust that floated upwards and became thick black clouds, shrouding the lake and mountains.

Ye Hongyu kept her Taoist Sword and looked up at the sky. She could see the thunder waiting behind the black clouds.

It was difficult to predict heaven’s will and powers.

She looked at the sky silently and ponderingly.

Long Qing was shocked far away. He leaned against a large rock, with a look of excitement and wild passion on his burnt face. He laughed loudly while coughing up blood.

He looked at Ye Hongyu, and his face twisted as he yelled madly, “I have said that I am not a human being, so I have carried the will of heaven! I am the prophecied one! Look! Haotian has not abandoned me!”

“Ye Hongyu! As long as the heavens don’t want me to die, what can you do to me?”

…

…

Ye Hongyu ignored Long Qing’s mad screams. She looked at the sky seriously, as if there would be something beautiful behind the clouds.

She had seen that scenery.

She looked lost, and then returned to indifferent gradually.

Then, she looked to the cliff at a distance. There was someone there. The cliff was tall, and that person was standing so high that he seemed to be able to touch the clouds if he raised his hands.

That person had a Taoist bun and wore light blue Taoist robes. He carried a wooden sword.

After seeing that person on the cliff, Ye Hongyu did not look at the sky anymore, because she could see nothing but him. However, that person just remained silent and did not move at all.

Ye Hongyu became more indifferent. There seemed to be a layer of frost on her eyebrow.

Then, she was irritated uncontrollably.

This was the first time in her life that she had been irritated by the man with a wooden sword.

She suddenly turned back and looked at Long Qing once more, the desire of killing him arouse again.

The man on the cliff seemed to have sensed that.

The man on the cliff in the distance hummed softly.

The thick dark clouds seemingly floated by slowly, but were actually rolling turbulently. There were suddenly dozens of light that transformed into dozens of strikes of thunder that fell towards the lake.

After hitting by the thunder, the rocks by the lake cracked, the aura of heaven and earth was torn into shreds, turning into a terrifying hurricane which danced through the pebbles by the lake madly.

The figure, in red judicial priest robes, danced in the wind and did not fall, amidst the lightning and thunder.

…

…

The grassland barbarians who had rushed out of the forest but had not had time to get close to the lake were shocked by the thunderous tremors. Their natural respect for the sky led them to kneel and pray for God to forgive their sins.

The seven priests of the Left King’s Palace looked calmer compared with the ordinary folks. However, this was because they could sense the majesty and power in the thunder. Therefore, they were actually more shocked than the ordinary folks.

They were extremely shocked when they saw the blood-colored robe dance in the wind, and the figure who stood stubbornly before the thunderous roars was reluctant to express obedience. She was indeed the legendary Great Divine Priest of West-Hill who possessed such terrifying willpower and dared to fight with the heaven!

…

…

The winds and thunder gradually stopped.

Ye Hongyu stood on the pitted banks of the lake, her figure seemingly desolate.

She did not look at Long Qing anymore.

Nor did she look at the figure on the cliff in the distance.

She did not look at the scenery on the clouds.

Nor did she look at the lake and mountains.

She did not look at anything.

She looked silently at herself and her shadow for a long while.

She yelled out loud.

It was a crisp, angry shout. In the silent lake and mountains, the shout echoed and spread far and wide.

The shout was full of resentment.

Blood flowed from her lips.

In the forest, the priests from the grassland Left King’s Palace were impacted by the terrifying spirit brought by the yell. They poured out blood from their mouth and fell directly. No one knew if they had lost consciousness or died.

…

…

Ye Su, stood on the cliff, had heard the angry bellow.

He knew that he was the subject of her anger.

She was his sister. This was the first time that she showed anger towards him, even with a hint of challenge.

Ye Su was not upset about that. Instead, he was very happy.

He was so happy he wanted to dance and shout out loud.

Because he knew that after seeing the roaring thunders, she would no longer be the little girl, who wants to get close to him but failed to say anything because of stubbornness or feeling inferior to him, just watching his figure silently.

From today on, she would be Ye Hongyu.

However, he could not allow her to kill Long Qing.

Because the abbey dean did not want that betrayer to die.

Ye Su looked up at the sky and the thick clouds that were so close, it seemed like he could touch them. He looked at the thunder gathering behind them and guessed that Haotian seemed to be of the same opinion.

…

…

Bringing forth thunder with the sword was a legendary cultivation state in Sword Taoism.

Ye Su had received enlightenment in a small abbey in Chang’an. It seemed that he had made a great step forward on his road of cultivation.

Before, Ye Hongyu would be very happy for her brother.

However, her emotions were very complicated today. She felt discontent and angry.

The most important thing was that no one knew where the clouds came from.

After sitting on the black jade throne and becoming the Great Divine Priest of Judgment, her connection with the heaven had grown. She had sensed Haotian’s will when the seemingly terrifying black thunderous clouds passed her by and when she saw the true scenery in the sky.

However, at the same time, perhaps due to her discontent or anger, she had the impulse to have a fight.

As the Great Divine Priest of Judgment, it was disrespectful and sinful to have these kinds of thoughts.

Ye Hongyu felt slight uneasiness in her Taoist Heart, so she calmed down suddenly and forced her mind away from such dangerous thoughts.

She slowly lowered her head, her black hair dancing in the slight breeze.

The thunder receded and the clouds dispersed. They disappeared completely after a short while, revealing the clear, cold autumn sky.

Ye Hongyu did not consider the fleeting blasphemous thoughts she had earlier.

However, since these thoughts had been generated, how could they be completely erased?

Even if it was fleeting, it would leave behind a trace in her heart.

The clouds and thunder had disappeared.

Her head remained lowered.

In the depths of her hearts, somewhere where not even herself could see, a voice seemed to say dispassionately that it could be done.

Some time passed by.

Ye Hongyu raised her head slowly.

“You’re not allowed to return to the Central Plains without my permission.”

She looked at Long Qing and said calmly, “Otherwise, I will not let you live even if the God allows.”

Blood-red robes floated.

She turned and left the lake.

…

…

Ning Que did not leave with Sangsang immediately after Ye Hongyu left the capital of the Kingdom of Qi. He had to fix the horse carriage that his master left him firstly. Otherwise, he would not be able to continue on the journey even though it was not long.

He already knew that the wizened red-garbed priest from the Divine Hall of light was called Chen Cun. He had ascertained that the priest’s loyalty to Sangsang far surpassed his own love for the Academy. Thus, Ning Que would certainly not miss the opportunity of making use of this man. Ning Que asked the priest to search some objects and materials to fix the horse carriage.

With the help of such an important person, Ning Que had enjoyed the same treatment in the Kingdom of Qi as he had in the Tang Empire. He could use almost everything precious in the vassal states of West-Hill.

The white Taoism temple was usually very quiet. However, now it was full of all sorts of terrifying sounds. The thunderous impact from a hammer hitting the walls of the steel carriage, the terrible screeching that came from hard tools engraving talisman lines, and the disgusting sounds of vomiting made by the melting of rare metals rang one after another. It seemed as if it would never stop.

Even the most pious priest would not be able to continue reading his classics. Even the most hardworking Papal Cavalryman could not continue practicing and cultivating. The wrinkles of the red-garbed priest, Chen Cun, grew more evident, which can be seen with naked eyes.

It was fortunate that Ning Que’s talents in the area were astonishing, even though he might not be as good as Sixth Brother. He managed to fix the black horse carriage within a short time and it was ready for the journey.

If one ignored the ugly scars on the walls of the horse carriage.

The red-garbed priest, Chen Cun, sent a team of knights to guard them when they left the capital of the Kingdom of Qi. Ning Que believed that there wouldn’t be anything insecure next, so finally, he was in the mood for admiring the scenery outside the window.

What truly made him happy was that he was accompanied by someone right now.

With Ye Hongyu’s help, Sangsang’s illness was finally under control. She was not asleep all day. Even though she was still weak, she could at least look at the scenery or at Ning Que’s face.