Chương 73: Fright

The cave reeked of burnt human flesh. Blue fire flared violently, then guttered out. The first thing Mo Jian did was turn to Bai Ning and make sure she was unharmed, physically, at least. The next thing he did was say it aloud.

"Are you alright? I'm so, so sorry, Bai Ning, that you had to-" She cut him off at once.

"No," she said sharply, then drew a steadying breath, forcing herself to calm down.

"It's fine, Master. I understand what you were doing. You don't have to be…" Her voice trailed off, the words failing her. Neither of them knew how to continue. But there were greater concerns at play. Mo Jian turned his gaze to the pile of dissolving ash left in the cave. In the dim, azure light of their temporary hideout, it looked even darker, more ominous. He knew then that they had crossed a threshold. From here on out, it was kill or be killed. He was done trying to escape and done trying to apologize.

Fu Zhan had crossed every line the moment he opened his mouth; this outcome had been inevitable from the instant he began hunting them down. Either Fu Zhan died, or they did. Now, all that remained was to live with the consequences.

"We have to leave. Now," Mo Jian said urgently, gesturing toward the Heaven Enshrouding Ding. The ding expanded, growing until it resembled a full-sized cauldron. Cobalt flames and threads of silver lightning licked at its rim, the two forces braiding together before spiraling outward. They struck the ground beside Fu Zhan's ashes, where the Sanguine Blood Banner lay, pristine and untouched. Even Fu Zhan's death had failed to mar it.

Mo Jian drove the ding harder, summoning his hottest, most destructive flames, reinforcing them with his strongest lightning. They needed to destroy the artifact, and they needed to do it fast. The banner refused to burn or break. Understanding the urgency, Bai Ning attacked as well. She lashed out with her sword, slipping smoothly into her signature technique. The Green Karma Sword rang against the pale wooden shaft of the banner, the clash sharp and hollow, but it left not so much as a scratch.

Mo Jian clenched his teeth and finally gave up. They didn't have the luxury of time. At any moment, Old Devil Fu would realize what had happened. After that, even hiding would be impossible. The banner could be used to track them; destroying it was ideal, but if they couldn't destroy it, then they would take it with them. With a sharp gesture, Mo Jian split a copy off the Heaven Enshrouding Ding. It reshaped itself into a long, narrow box.

The Sanguine Blood Banner lifted into the air and settled neatly inside before the lid snapped shut. A talisman sealed the container, and in the next breath, it vanished into his storage pouch.

"Let's go," he said. The ding lowered itself obligingly, and they climbed aboard. Bai Ning paused, casting one last look around the cave. Her gaze lingered on the pile of ash in the corner before she swept her hand toward it. Something small and polished, almost brasslike, shot from its depths into her palm. She slipped it quietly into her storage pouch, then leapt onto the ding beside him. Mo Jian saw the motion but said nothing. At this stage, it didn't matter.

They shot upward, bursting through the illusory ceiling as the formation collapsed behind them. Seawater rushed in, swallowing the space whole. Within seconds, it was as if the cavern had never existed at all. The Heaven Enshrouding Ding burst from the sea, wrapped in a tight sphere of blue light, and immediately surged forward, skimming low over the waves, heading towards-"We're going back to Cloud Veil Ridge?" Bai Ning asked. The disbelief in her voice barely masked the edge of fear. Mo Jian didn't hesitate.

He nodded, jaw set.

"Hiding won't work anymore. If Fu Zhan could track us down, then Old Devil Fu can as well." His gaze stayed fixed ahead.

"Cloud Veil Ridge has defenses strong enough to buy us time. They'll know we are there the instant we arrive, but the time for running is over." He turned to her then, his voice softening.

"Don't worry. Trust your teacher. I have a way out, even from this. We'll be fine." Bai Ning said nothing, because there was nothing to say. Her master still looked deeply worried, despite his attempt at reassurance. And as for a way out; if one truly existed, would they be in this predicament at all? Whatever method Mo Jian had in mind, it would not be simple, nor would it come without consequences. As for Mo Jian, his thoughts were singular and relentless: move as fast as possible.

If they could shelter beneath the Grand Effervescent Formation before Old Devil Fu learned what had happened, they might still have a chance. Ye Chen's secret technique, that he had spent so much effort learning after the auction incident, was his only remaining option. He couldn't match a Nascent Soul cultivator head-on, but with surprise, a grand formation, and the willingness to detonate his natal artifact, he could force one back. The cost would almost certainly be his life. That truth no longer shocked him.

Ever since the confrontation at the tournament, it had been hanging over him, growing heavier by the hour. They were past the point of good choices now. Even past the point of clean ones. Survival itself had become a gamble. The only true escape he could envision was the Netherworld Domain, and even that would be temporary. And he had waited too long. There was no way to activate the domain within such a short timeframe. It required a specific alignment, one that had yet to arrive. Mo Jian shoved the thought aside.

Focus. First, Cloud Veil Ridge. And then- The world shuddered. The tranquil expanse around them – the endless blue waves, the clear sky overhead – collapsed in an instant. Dark clouds boiled into existence, their bellies split by jagged veins of crimson lightning. The sea below curdled into blood, thick and dark, with vast shapes sliding beneath its surface like grasping shadows. The air filled with the stench of iron and smoke, heavy enough to choke. Then something rang through the world.

It was neither sound nor voice, yet it carried the weight of both: a shout, a command, a word spoken in fury. Rage flooded outward from it, vast and suffocating, rippling through sea and sky alike. Bai Ning spun in place, wide eyed, fear flashing across her face. She seized Mo Jian's robes in a white-knuckled grip.

"Master, what's happening?" Mo Jian stared at the hellscape that had swallowed the horizon, his expression turning grim with recognition. He knew this technique.

"Our time has just run out," he said quietly.

"He knows." Bai Ning swallowed.

"Old Devil Fu knows? Then what do we do?" Mo Jian gave the only answer left to him.

"We keep running." The Heaven Enshrouding Ding surged forward, devouring qi as though it were inexhaustible, tearing a blazing path through the sky. Below them, the blood-red sea split apart in a long furrow, the waves shuddering in its wake as the ding ignored everything else in its path. Miraculously, nothing stopped them. The boiling skies and crimson waters receded behind them, dissolving back into distant normalcy as they fled. Only then did Mo Jian understand what had happened.

It hadn't been pursuit; rather, it had been a declaration. Old Devil Fu had broadcast his rage and intent to kill across the islands, not managed to pinpoint their location. Relief flickered in his chest, thin and fleeting. It wasn't salvation, of course: the gap between them was still shrinking. A Nascent Soul cultivator would not be delayed for long, and the difference in speed between realms was absolute. Still, they might just reach Cloud Veil Ridge as planned. After that- Mo Jian's jaw clenched.

After that, there would be no choice left but to fight. He pushed the thought aside and poured everything into the ding. Faster, and then faster still. He burned through his qi without restraint, the artifact shrieking through the air like a bolt of living lightning. Nothing else mattered now. If they survived this, then he could think about the rest. Daisai Island had once been hours away when they had set out a month ago. Back then, he had focused on caution, on arriving without incident.

Now, he cared only about speed. Beside him, Bai Ning had fallen silent. She sat rigid and still, eyes lowered, as if drawing inward, quietly bracing herself for whatever waited at the end of the flight. They raced on, the distance steadily closing. The seas around them were empty, just as Mo Jian had expected. Anyone with sense would have avoided this region ever since the tournament's end. At last, Cloud Veil Ridge came into view.

The mountains surrounding it rose sharp and jagged, their silhouettes harsh in the light. The cave nestled between them, once a refuge, hidden like a pearl within an oyster shell, now felt disturbingly like a prison. Or a grave, his mind whispered. Mo Jian shook off the thought. The dome of the grand formation was already active, a thin, shimmering film stretched over the cave residence. Prismatic arcs flared across its surface as the Heaven Enshrouding Ding plunged straight through, meeting no resistance.

It slipped neatly through the skylight in the cavern ceiling, and both Mo Jian and Bai Ning leapt down the moment the floor came into view, landing without effort. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. With a wave of his hand, the formation plate floated into Mo Jian's grasp. He reinforced the barrier further, though he knew it was more for his own peace of mind than any real gain. The formation had been running at full power ever since they'd left.

They likely had only minutes left. At any moment, Old Devil Fu would arrive, and then-"Master." Bai Ning's voice cut through his spiraling thoughts. Whatever fear she'd been wrestling with, she seemed to have forced it down. It wasn't gone, but it was contained. Her posture was straighter now, her expression set.

"What can I do?" Nothing, except hide. But that was not an answer he could give and expect her to obey. Instead, Mo Jian gestured toward the inner chambers.

"Go and pack everything," he said.

"If things go well-" He caught himself, then corrected smoothly." When things go well, we'll escape again. I don't want to leave anything behind. Take everything we have." Bai Ning worried her lip for a second before replying, "I can do that… but is there nothing else? Can I help with the formation, at least?" Mo Jian exhaled slowly. The truth was that even he could do little for the formation. It wasn't bound to his qi, or to Bai Ning's.

Rather, the grand formation functioned by twisting and redirecting the natural currents of qi across the entire island, shaping them into a protective dome. If it ever began to fail, neither of them could hold it together for more than a few moments. Still, he understood where she was coming from. And giving her something to focus on, something tangible, might be the best thing he could do for her right now.

He searched for an answer, and it came to him almost immediately, likely because it had already been lingering in his thoughts.

"Well," he said, a flicker of wry amusement surfacing even in the midst of dread, "you could try opening the way to the Netherworld Domain with the Netherworld Map. You've been promising to crack it for a while now. If that route opens, we could escape anyone in the world." Bai Ning froze. She stopped moving, and stopped speaking. Even her breathing seemed to halt. For a heartbeat, Mo Jian froze as well. Had he been too casual about it?

Had she been blaming herself for not solving the map sooner, for something that had been impossible from the start? He was about to clarify, to reassure her- When Bai Ning inhaled sharply and spoke, her voice suddenly bright with excitement.

"Of course. How could I forget?" She looked up at him, eyes shining.

"Master, I can do it. I can solve the map. I promise. If I have enough time, we'll escape safely." Mo Jian went still, shaken by the absolute certainty in her tone. He met her gaze, and she didn't flinch. She wasn't just saying it. She believed it fully.

"It's-" Mo Jian stopped, choosing his words with care.

"It's an almost impossible task, Bai Ning. You haven't managed it until now. What makes you think you can do it right now?" He wasn't trying to be cruel. It was impossible. Ye Chen had accomplished it, but Ye Chen was the hero. But then again… wasn't Bai Ning the heroine? Hadn't he read about the two of them doing the impossible together, chapter after chapter, a lifetime ago?

"Master," Bai Ning said, her voice fierce with resolve, "believe me. I can do it. I can find us a way out." Despite himself, a flicker of hope stirred in Mo Jian's chest. If she truly could- It was as if the Heavens themselves refused to allow him even that single hopeful thought. The entire cave shuddered violently. Through the skylight, the once-clear sky darkened as black clouds churned into existence, split by veins of crimson lightning. The air thickened with the stench of blood and ash.

Worse still, a crushing pressure descended, as though the air itself had congealed into stone. Mo Jian immediately flared his aura, forcing back the weight as best he could. He turned and gestured sharply toward the inner chambers.

"Go," he barked.

"Do it. Let me know when the map is ready." Bai Ning nodded once sharply, and then she was gone, racing away like the wind, leaving him alone to face the monster waiting outside. Good. That was how it should be. The entire cave shuddered again, a voice echoing through the tremors. It was the voice of a furious god, full of rage and wrath: "Juniors, come out now, and prostrate yourselves. Otherwise, if I have to dig you out of this turtle shell, don't blame me for being impolite." Mo Jian inhaled, his chest tight.

One or two strikes; that was all the grand formation could withstand from a Nascent Soul cultivator. In practical terms, that amounted to mere minutes. Those minutes would have to be enough. That was why he had abandoned any attempt at hiding after killing Fu Zhan. If the Sanguine Blood Banner could track them, its maker likely could as well. Being caught completely unprotected and exposed would have been far worse. Here, at least, he had a buffer: a chance to prepare.

Ye Chen's secret technique wasn't complicated in theory. In fact, it was almost terrifying in its simplicity. Mastering it had required effort, yes, but then, he had learned it from nothing more than a few lines in a book he had read years ago. Its execution was simple, but the consequences were devastating. The concept was brutal but elegant. Advancing to Nascent Soul required one to shatter the core and rebuild it into a new soul. But what if, instead, one burned the core as fuel?

The explanation in the book had required one to envision their cultivation as a branch set aflame: the fire rages while wood remains, then dies when it's consumed. Mo Jian could burn his core to feed his power. It would thrust him half a step into the Nascent Soul realm, amplifying his qi, his strength, and his techniques, enough to challenge his current foe. Not on equal footing with a true Nascent Soul cultivator, but close enough that the gap might be crossed. The price was equally catastrophic.

Every second of power consumed his cultivation. Ideally, the technique could last an entire day, but the more he pushed, the faster it burned. Against his current opponent, the maximum window was one hour. As soon as he activated the technique, his cultivation would begin to burn away, from late-stage Core Formation to middle, then early stage, moment by moment, depending on how much power he expended. And if it fell to Foundation Establishment? Mo Jian's fists tightened until his knuckles ached.

At that point, there would be no undoing it. The technique could not be canceled. Survival would be measured in minutes, and death would follow inevitably. In the story, Ye Chen had used it against Old Devil Fu, killing a Nascent Soul opponent while still at Core Formation, but Ye Chen had been built for such extremes. He had risked everything and paid the price, ending up as an early-stage Core Formation cultivator from his peak Core Formation cultivation, barely preventing himself from dying.

Now, Mo Jian faced the same impossible fight, but he was no hero. He doubted he could survive it. He doubted he could even achieve a fraction of Ye Chen's triumph. He exhaled shakily. There was no choice, and no time. He activated the technique. Immediately, a burning pain erupted in his dantian, as if a live ember had lodged behind his navel. It was sharper than the pain of advancement, yet easier to push aside. Mo Jian shoved it to the back of his mind, already feeling the changes sweep through him.

His qi doubled, and doubled again, rising until he held fifty times the qi of a late-stage Core Formation cultivator. The core flames he had spent centuries nurturing deepened, turning richer and sharper, transforming into Nascent flames. The Heaven Enshrouding Ding, floating within his dantian, was bathed in this fire. It groaned under the refinement, ascending to a new level of strength and toughness. Not enough to rival the Hell Reflecting Mirror, but sufficient to clash against it for a time.

Next, his spiritual sense expanded. Where before Old Devil Fu's oppressive qi had seemed to suffocate the world, now Mo Jian could see through it. The island and the surrounding thousand li had been transformed into a hellscape, every current of qi mapped clearly before him. He could sense Old Devil Fu, high in the air, his qi burning like a bloody star, every movement and intention laid bare. The island shuddered violently as something vast and fleeting struck the formation dome.

Colors flared across the cracks: red, blue, and green streaking like lightning chasing shadows, weaving trails as wide as entire streets. Mo Jian waited, letting his natal artifact bathe longer in his Nascent flames, refining itself further. Every moment counted. Another impact thundered against the dome. Light dimmed and flickered across the fractured surface, the cracks widening as a deep, resonant groan rose from the stone itself. The formation could not withstand another blow. This was it.

With a roar that matched the fury around him, Mo Jian shot out through the skylight, the Heaven Enshrouding Ding hovering around him. He moved so fast that thought itself lagged behind. The world became a blur, the fractured formation dome shrinking beneath him, and in the instant he cleared it, the lid of the ding slid open like a snapping jaw. The clouds overhead, black and alive with furious red lightning, darkened further.

Waves of inky blackness swept through them like a tide, and from within those churning black clouds, silver lightning erupted, twisting and spiraling into serpentine forms that rose and dived as dragons, their scales made of crackling energy. When silver met crimson, the heavens exploded in blinding blasts, scattering sparks that rained down like molten stars. Below, the sea had turned a deep, viscous red, thick as coagulated blood.

Shadows writhed beneath the surface, the forms of leviathans vast enough to devour ships, circling and snapping at the remnants of the foolish who had ventured too close. Blue flames raced across the water like liquid fire, consuming the blood and boiling it away. The shadows screamed, twisting and diving deeper to escape the cleansing blaze, yet the fire hunted them relentlessly, devouring the darkness itself. Mo Jian hovered above the island, the full measure of his power radiating outward.

The landscape around him had become a battlefield of elemental fury, as if two forces of nature were tearing at each other, testing which would consume the other. Then, the moon fell on him. Except- It wasn't the moon. It was a circular mirror, larger than the entire island, no, larger than any natural reckoning. The reflection of the island was but a pinprick amid the hellish expanse it displayed: blackened rocks, bloody seas, and a lone spot of life and greenery, flickering beneath a fragile dome.

The mirror descended with the inevitability of an avalanche, a force capable of crushing the island without effort. Mo Jian sent the Heaven Enshrouding Ding to intercept it. The ding expanded as it flew, growing from house-sized, to mountain-sized, then island-sized. He pushed it beyond all limits, until the entire Cloud Veil Ridge could fit within it, and then still more. He became a speck against its titanic form, and then: impact. The world roared.

A sound like steel tearing, like the earth itself shrieking in pain, radiated outward from the point of collision, reverberating across thousands of li. Mo Jian felt the force in his bones, blood rising in his mouth as the Heaven Enshrouding Ding shuddered above him, colliding with the mirror in a clash of landmass-sized power. Then, with a wrenching noise that was half sound, half the world protesting, the mirror lifted, retreating a few paces.

The Heaven Enshrouding Ding shrank as it fell, like a dying star, but Mo Jian caught it. He gasped for breath, every fiber of his body aching, but he had deflected it. He could do this. He could endure for an hour.

"Hmph. So you found some power, and think you can oppose me. Naïve." Old Devil Fu descended slowly from the sky, hovering opposite Mo Jian. The Hell Reflecting Mirror remained above them both, impossibly vast and still as menacing as before. He was old and weathered. Where Ancestor Qing had been young and handsome, Old Devil Fu looked like a rugged fisherman hardened by a lifetime of toil. His skin was sun-browned and leathery, hands calloused and thick.

His hair was splotchy; dark brown streaked with bleached white, and his broad shoulders spoke of strength honed over decades. Most striking of all were his eyes: sharp, deep, and unsettlingly intense, as if he could see straight through to the marrow. Mo Jian considered saluting, but decided against it. His patience was at an end. Instead, he bared a bloody grin.

"Wouldn't it have been even more naïve to trust your words and come out? You are, after all, famous for your lack of mercy." Old Devil Fu's expression did not change. He raised a hand, a single finger pointing directly at Mo Jian's heart.

"I don't know what technique you have used, but it's not enough. You cannot defeat me. Obediently surrender, and your suffering will be brief." Mo Jian smiled wider, the grin sharp and dangerous. Those words… the old devil must be genuinely shaken to speak so now.

"I don't know whether I can defeat you," he said evenly, "but I can for sure give you a fright." He spread his arms wide, ignoring the burning pain in his dantian, each breath feeding the fire that consumed his cultivation.

"Shall we test it? See whether a Core Formation cultivator can take on a Nascent Soul one?" In response, the moon fell on his head again.