Ch. 1211 - Northern Hills Ambushed

The woman in red danced like a dream, while the woman in blue played the zither like a mirage.

Their performance complemented one another perfectly, the melody lingered in the air as if it might echo for three days, enchanting and unreal.

“Chancellor Feng, I’ve been waiting for you,” said Chu Feiyang, the master of the Chu Heavenly Clan, as he rose from his seat with a warm smile. “You’ve come a long way, please, take your place.”

When Feng Buxiu and his group entered the hall, several factions rose in greeting, such as the Compassion Temple and Sinful Abyss God Realm, to show their courtesy.

Others, however, paid them no attention, among them were the Dragon Demon God Realm and the Desolate Temple.

Especially the Ghost God Collegium. Xu Zimo spotted a familiar face, Wu Daozi, the academy’s Chancellor.

Beside him sat a woman dressed in a tight, form-fitting robe. Her black hair fell like a waterfall over her shoulders. Her eyes were deep and black, and she drank quietly from a cup of wine, clearly the student chosen to compete on behalf of the Ghost God Collegium this year.

When Wu Daozi noticed Xu Zimo, he gave a heavy, disdainful snort.

At Chu Feiyang’s invitation, the Seven Gods Collegium party took their seats.

Not long after, the people from Martial Blade Collegium entered as well.

Crimson Soaring Emperor glanced toward Xu Zimo and made a throat-slitting gesture, his expression full of arrogance.

Xu Zimo smiled faintly, tapping his finger twice against the table, thump, thump.

“If you’d like, we can skip the tournament,” he said calmly. “I can send you to your death right now.”

“Gentlemen, please,” Chu Feiyang quickly stepped forward, trying to ease the tension before things spiraled out of control.

He drew a deep breath. These factions were all sworn enemies to one another, Dragon Demon God Realm and Sinful Abyss God Realm had just been pacified, and now the Seven Gods Collegium’s arrival threatened to stir chaos all over again.

“My friends,” Chu Feiyang said, “whatever grudges you bear, settle them in the tournament. No one will interfere. But for now, I ask that you give my Chu Heavenly Clan a little face.”

“Of course, Patriarch Chu,” Wu Daozi was the first to speak, his tone sharp. “But when will you explain how this year’s White Emperor Mountain trial will be conducted? Everyone’s been waiting long enough.”

Chu Feiyang smiled. “The Northern Hills haven’t arrived yet. Once they’re here, I’ll announce everything together.”

“The Northern Hills again, they’re the only ones missing,” someone muttered from below.

“A bunch of women, no wonder they can’t keep up.”

Just as the mocking voice fell, hurried footsteps echoed from outside.

Butler Chu stumbled into the hall, panting heavily. “Patriarch, the Northern Hills have arrived.”

“Then why aren’t they being shown in?” Chu Feiyang said sharply.

“I’m afraid… they can’t be shown in,” Butler Chu replied after a pause. “You’d best come and see for yourself.”

Chu Feiyang frowned and strode out of the hall first, the other factions quickly following behind.

The moment they stepped outside, a heavy stench of blood and the musky odor of fox fur filled the air.

Everyone looked toward the courtyard ahead, on the ground lay a woman and a massive fox.

Both were grievously injured. The woman was pale and disheveled but still alive. The fox, however, was drenched in blood, its nine tails severed down to one, its fur matted and torn.

“How could this be…” Chu Feiyang whispered in shock.

He wasn’t the only one. Around him, the gathered powers wore expressions of disbelief and confusion.

“What’s going on?” Xu Zimo asked quietly, turning to Feng Buxiu.

“That fox,” Feng Buxiu said gravely, “is Ji Linglong, the leader of the Northern Hills. She must be so badly wounded that she can no longer maintain her human form. The woman beside her should be their chosen participant this year, Ji Jiuning.”

His expression darkened. “Ji Linglong was a Grand Emperor at the very peak of her realm. For her to end up like this, the attacker must have been a Saint Sovereign.”

“Or a Sovereign Lord,” Xu Zimo murmured.

Among the five stages of the Grand Emperor realm, Yin-Yang, Void Tribulant, God Unity, Life Death, and Sovereign Lord, he himself had reached only the third, Divine Connection.

There was still a vast gulf to cross.

Seeing such a sight made him reflect quietly.

Even Grand Emperors, at times, were nothing more than a slightly stronger kind of ant.

“Quickly! Treat her!” Chu Feiyang shouted, waving his hand. “Fetch the Old Saint Healer!”

Butler Chu nodded hurriedly and sprinted off.

Meanwhile, Chu Feiyang gathered his spirit energy into his palms, channeling it toward the dying fox. But each time the healing light began to take form, it was violently disrupted, repelled by some mysterious power within her body.

It was as if something inside her was fighting back.

Chu Feiyang’s expression turned grim. Unable to stabilize the fox’s wounds, he could only form a protective barrier around the unconscious Ji Jiuning.

Moments later, Butler Chu returned, leading an old man dressed in a pale robe.

“Old Saint Healer, please take a look,” Chu Feiyang said quickly, stepping aside.

The elderly man nodded slightly. His hair and beard were pure white, and his calm eyes betrayed his great age.

He extended a hand, a soft yellow glow forming in his palm. The light expanded until it enveloped the fox’s body completely.

The old man’s brows furrowed deeply, wrinkles folding together across his forehead.

“She cannot be saved,” he said at last, sighing as he straightened.

“Is there no way at all?” Chu Feiyang asked urgently.

“There is,” the old man said dryly. “Go to the Mirage Tides Heaven and bring back her soul. Then I can save her.”

At those words, the entire courtyard fell silent.

The Mirage Tides Heaven, a place even Saint Sovereigns feared to tread. To go there was to never return.

“But this girl still has a chance,” the old man continued, glancing toward the unconscious Ji Jiuning. “Do you wish to save her?”

“Yes,” Chu Feiyang said at once. “Save her, and ask what happened to them.”

The gathered leaders nodded. None of them truly cared about the Northern Hills’ survival.

A dead Clan Lord, or even a destroyed clan, meant little to them.

What mattered was who had done this, and whether that power posed a threat to them as well.

For the Chu Heavenly Clan, the matter was even more urgent, they couldn’t afford for anything to jeopardize the tournament.

The Old Saint Healer flicked his finger. A golden pill burst forth in a beam of light, flying straight into Ji Jiuning’s mouth.

In the next instant, her body lifted from the ground, floating in midair.

A powerful energy began to surge and twist within her, struggling to expel the dark, invasive force inside her body.

“What a domineering power,” the old man muttered softly.

He quickly produced several golden needles connected by threads of shimmering light and directed them into Ji Jiuning’s body.

She let out a faint cry and coughed up a mouthful of black blood.

Within that black blood, something writhed, trying to burrow into the earth to escape.

“Stop it!” Chu Feiyang shouted.

As Shadow Tyranty thing darted toward the sky, a monk from the Compassion Temple stepped forward.

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