Embers of Sword

Chapter 100: Inner Demon, Xie Xuanyi (Part )

"Boom" sound!
The whole world fell into dead silence. The sound was like the sound of a fish breaking through the ice and falling into the lake, or like the last drumbeat of a heart stopping.

Xie Xuanyi stared at the "self" who was walking away.

This was the first time he faced his inner demons.

The severe pain in his soul reached its peak at this moment, as if a knife had stabbed into his head and was stirring violently!

"Well."

Xie Xuanyi pressed his forehead hard.

This kind of pain cannot be described in words, countless shattered memories are rolling in the lake of my heart.

The scene of falling into the North Sea that year.

Suddenly, forcefully and rudely, it penetrated my mind.

For a moment, he didn't know whether he was the winner or the loser who fell into the lake...

The "inner demon" that had fallen deeply into the lake of my heart has long disappeared.

But countless ripples suddenly appeared on the snow-white lake surface, swirling around Xie Xuanyi, and then pairs of pale hands reached out and grabbed Xie Xuanyi's collar and sleeves.

He gritted his teeth and looked at the lake.

These pairs of hands belong to “myself” who fell into the North Sea that year.

They struggled desperately towards the lake surface, trying desperately to pull themselves into the Dead Sea.

The inner demon is what a practitioner fears the most.

They never had life.

and so……

They won't die.

"you……"

Xie Xuanyi looked at the pale faces, smiled softly, and said, "Do you want to pull me down and experience death again?"

After a moment of silence.

He no longer resisted, but allowed the hands to pull him down.

The familiar, icy, biting chill permeates the entire body from bottom to top.

He fell into the North Sea again.

Xie Xuanyi asked himself this question when he was fighting his inner demons.

Is his inner demon really himself?
He didn't want to show his true colors, didn't want to repeat the same mistakes, and didn't want to do it again.

Perhaps, it’s not because I’m afraid of my past self.

Just pure fear of... "death".

Only those who have experienced the feeling of near-death will understand what it feels like.

Xie Xuanyi immersed himself in the stagnant water of his heart lake, as if he had returned to the coffin in Yuzhu Town.

He looked at the pale faces surrounding him, densely packed, all around him... Those were his "dead" selves.

The inner demon Xie Xuanyi who had fallen to the bottom of the lake before was just one of them.

A familiar feeling of suffocation came over me.

The whole world was in darkness.

But this time, it's different... There is still a ray of light in this world.

That light came from above the lake of my heart.

Xie Xuanyi stretched out his hand.

He waved gently.

next moment--

"Boom!"

The Heart Lake exploded, and a flying sword crashed into the lake. The golden light emanating from the sword illuminated the dark and pitch-black Heart Lake as bright as day. Pale faces retreated in fear, and under the gaze of countless dead eyes, the flying sword swooped into Xie Xuanyi's raised palm.

then.

Xie Xuanyi held the sword.

Cut off.

This heart lake, as dark as a coffin, was cut in half and shattered into pieces.

……

……

Southern Xinjiang tonight.

It rained heavily and thundered loudly.

But in the mountain cave where Xie Xuanyi was in seclusion, he set up two pure formations to block out all the sounds of rain and thunder.

If you stay in the quiet array, you will only hear the slight noise of drizzle hitting the mountain and the faint sound of muffled thunder.

but.

The Purification Array can only block out sounds, not sights.

Dozens of talismans floating in the air were rustling in the wind. Suddenly, a figure sat up in the smaller quiet formation.

A fire lit up in the darkness.

It's neither a bonfire nor a talisman.

But the pupil.

Jiang Huang sat up straight and stared at the larger Pure Array with an expressionless face.

Her gaze passed the talisman, passed the extinguished fire, and fell on the young man sitting cross-legged in the pure formation.

There was no fluctuation in the expression in those eyes that were burning with fire.

There is only endless indifference.

If someone looks into these eyes of fire... they will only feel a chill.

This isn't like fire, it's more like ice.

"..."

Because of the wind and thunder, the world outside the cave is very noisy.

Because of the talisman, the world inside the cave is very quiet.

Jiang Huang lowered her head and looked at her legs, which were as shriveled and skinny as firewood.

After trying to stand up and failing.

A hint of self-mockery appeared in those eyes that had always been wooden...

She looked around and saw a crudely made wooden wheelchair and two even cruder cypress crutches not far away.

After a moment, she moved her torso little by little and sat on the wooden wheelchair.

Then he pushed away the purification talisman that trapped him.

She gained "freedom".

To be precise, it is the "freedom" to move freely in this cave.

Jiang Huang turned the wheels of the wooden wheelchair bit by bit and slowly came to the front of the larger quiet formation.

Here, she could see clearly.

At this moment, in front of him, a young man in black was meditating silently.

The two were no more than ten feet apart.

Although Xie Xuanyi is wearing the appearance of all living beings.

But "Jiang Huang" still felt a familiar breath.

There are some people that she will never forget even after a hundred years.

Xie Xuanyi is one of them.

A hint of disgust and... a hint of fear appeared in the little girl's eyes as she stared at Xie Xuanyi.

The flying sword that was hanging high above Xie Xuanyi's head and constantly vibrating was also staring at her.

The intricate sword energy has filled the entire Great Purity Formation. As long as she dares to take a step forward... the sword energy will be released immediately.

This was also the reason why Xie Xuanyi deliberately separated them to rest and set up two formations.

If he only formed a pure formation, then the sword energy that he used to attack the cave heaven during his retreat tonight might very likely hurt Jiang Huang.

"..."

The little girl in red gritted her teeth.

Memories from more than a decade ago came to mind.

The human race went hunting in the north, and he fought with Xie Xuanyi, had his legs cut off, and was sent to the imperial city...

These painful memories swept into her heart, making her face turn three shades paler.

Then there was a blank.

Memory gap.

Fortunately, she is not dead yet.

Even more fortunately, she has met Xie Xuanyi again!

The opportunity for revenge is at hand.

Although this large and peaceful formation before my eyes blocks out the sounds from both inside and outside.

But she could feel that Xie Xuanyi was at a critical juncture of breaking through at this moment. As long as she took action and severely injured him, not only could she destroy his great opportunity... but she would also have the chance to make him fall from grace!
Boom!
Jiang Huang raised her hand, and a ball of bright flame suddenly ignited on her white jade palm.

only.

The wooden wheelchair hanging outside the Pure Array did not move forward in the end.

Jiang Huang's expression was uncertain, with large beads of sweat oozing out of his forehead.

Every practitioner has inner demons.

Demon cultivators are no exception.

Her inner demon...is none other than Xie Xuanyi.

She lost that battle completely.

As a phoenix-blood demon, she has never lost to anyone.

If it weren't for the accident that year, she would have been destined to become one of the future "great masters" of the Demon Kingdom!

The prouder a person is, the less likely he is to accept his own failure.

And the more such failures.

The more frightened, horrified and dreadful it makes people feel.

Although I don’t know what went wrong with the other party, it is obvious that his cultivation has dropped drastically and is far worse than before.

Jiang Huang knew in his heart that this might be his "only" chance in this life -

Once you miss it, it will never come back.

But she didn't dare.

She was afraid that all this was an illusion, and once she stepped into the Pure Formation, Xie Xuanyi's sword energy would explode.

Xie Xuanyi encountered an "accident", and so did she.

Just as she hesitated.

The sword energy that enveloped the Great Purity Formation began to fluctuate violently, and countless golden vital energies lit up on Xie Xuanyi's body. His chronic illness no longer trembled, but regained stability.

One hundred and eight large orifices, each one like a niche for enshrining gods, lit with fire!
And every ray of fire resonated with the natal flying sword, and eventually the long lines formed together weaved into a golden cave!
The sword energy cave slowly took shape.

To be precise...it's beginning to take shape.

This cave was located to the right of Xie Xuanyi's dantian. Just as Xie Xuanyi had originally expected, after his physique had been changed by the Immortal Spring, he had opened up an unprecedented path of cultivation.

This Dantian can accommodate more than one cave!
"You are still as timid as ever..."

A soft sigh sounded from within the cave.

Xie Xuanyi slowly opened his eyes.

He waved his hand to summon away the purification talismans, looked calmly at the little girl in red in the wheelchair, and said seriously: "Actually, you still have a chance now, do you want to try?"

Jiang Huang's eyes suddenly turned gloomy.

The Phoenix Fire that was about to go out was rekindled.

Rumble, rumble.

In just a few breaths, the entire dark cave was ignited by the Phoenix Fire. It was raining heavily outside, and the fire was lingering inside.

There was a "boom".

A wisp of phoenix fire fell from Xie Xuanyi's head.

The flying sword flew out in an instant.

The phoenix fire was shattered by the sword energy, falling to the ground and turning into scattered ashes.

"???"

Seeing this scene, Jiang Huang frowned.

The power of the Phoenix Fire was much smaller than she had expected!

What's going on here?
"I'm sorry, it seems I was wrong."

Xie Xuanyi looked down at the sparks that fell on his body, reached out to brush them off, and said calmly: "You are still too weak now. If you want revenge... you have no chance at all."

The power of Jiang Huang's Phoenix Fire is too weak now. He may be able to try to burn to death the cultivators in the Qi Control Realm by taking them by surprise.

It is very difficult to kill Dongtian.

Not to mention killing yourself...

"Xie Xuanyi, how are you better than me?"

These words angered Jiang Huang.

The girl in the wheelchair sneered, "I am not as good as I used to be, but look at your current state. Even your life-definition flying sword is cracked, and your sword energy cave has just been reshaped... I guess you are not much better than me in these years, right?"

Xie Xuanyi was silent.

Seeing Xie Xuanyi's appearance,

Jiang Huang couldn't help laughing. She puffed out her chest and said nonchalantly, "Yes, I can't kill you, I don't care... Just kill me, I don't want to live anyway!"

Although he made some harsh words.

But Jiang Huang's chest was rising and falling greatly, and it was obvious...she didn't care as much as she thought.

Before life and death.

No one is that calm.

The Phoenix Fire in the cave gradually dissipated, not because Xie Xuanyi extinguished it with his sword energy, but because Jiang Huang was too weak.

She closed her eyes and waited for a long time, but Xie Xuanyi's sword energy never came.

After a while.

Jiang Huang opened his eyes, but only saw a young man in black fiddling with a dying bonfire.

"You're right. Over the years, I've been no better than you."

Xie Xuanyi's reaction was calmer than she had imagined.

Too much to be calm.

To be more precise...it seems to be a kind of calmness.

"It's really not easy to live these days."

The boy picked up a branch, lit it with the dying fire, blew hard, and lit the bonfire with the embers.

The whole cave was filled with a little light.

Xie Xuanyi threw the sticks into the bonfire, turned his head to look at the little girl in the wheelchair, and asked seriously: "Since living is so difficult, why do you want to die?"

(End of this chapter)