At a critical moment, a figure clad in white, as ethereal as a crane, appeared before Huang Jinlong. The gray robes that Yan Ziyao had been wearing seemed to have transformed into immaculate white, with every speck of dust vanishing as if cleansed away.
"Master!" Huang Jinlong's face, pale with despair, lit up with renewed hope.
Yan Ziyao extended her right hand lightly, blocking in front of the icy barrier. Her five fingers moved with a graceful yet decisive twirl, like the petals of an orchid.
The thousand steel claws hurtling toward them followed the spiraling motion of her hand as if drawn by an invisible force. Like a school of fish converging in the ocean, they coalesced into a shining metallic sphere in her palm. With a swift flick of her wrist, the sphere exploded outward like a sinister flower in full bloom. The countless steel claws, now blazing with lethal energy, shot off in complex, electrifying trajectories into the distant shadows of the night.
A chilling scream of agony shattered the night, followed by the muffled thud of a heavy body falling lifelessly to the ground.
"Attack!" hissed a deep, insidious voice from within the nearby ruins.
Huang Jinlong turned sharply to find a monstrous black serpent emerging from the earth. Its flat head, flared neck lined with fleshy wings, and venomous green eyes fixed menacingly on him. The serpent's gaping maw revealed oversized cyan fangs as it lunged at him with terrifying speed.
"Help me!" Huang Jinlong cried out in despair.
The snake's cunning to burrow through the earth and bypass the defensive barrier was an intelligence that even surpassed that of most humans.
Yan Ziyao's figure blurred again, vanishing just as the snake was about to strike.
Suddenly, the serpent's black body turned a fiery orange. Flames erupted from its gaping jaws, engulfing it in a bizarre inferno.
Within moments, the creature was reduced to charred remains, filling the air with an acrid, smoky odor that made Huang Jinlong gag.
"Watch my sword!" A voice, thunderous and sharp, suddenly pierced the night as the failed assault of the black snake was replaced by a new threat. Twelve gleaming swords, each unique in design, hurtled forth from all directions. These blades, as if imbued with the spirits of warriors longing for battle, surged with unrelenting vigor toward the ice barrier protecting Huang Jinlong, aiming to obliterate it and the person inside.
Yan Ziyao reappeared, her figure radiating calm authority. In her hand, she held a snow-white tailbone—a relic of the incinerated black serpent. With a swift yank, she drew the entire skeletal remains from the ground, transforming them into a sleek and deadly whip. As she swung the bone whip, it generated rolling waves of cloud-like energy, forming a pale veil that encircled her and the ice box. The twelve swords clashed against the whip's afterimages, their assaults deflected, leaving only fiery sparks of red and green dissipating in the air.
"Still as spirited as ever, Yan Ziyao. You haven't changed at all since thirty years ago," a deep voice echoed from the oppressive darkness.
"I can't believe that even after all these years, you still refuse to let me go!" Yan Ziyao's voice carried a sharp edge of fury and defiance.
"It's not about us refusing to let you go. It's about you refusing to stay silent," the man retorted with calm venom. "You couldn't keep to yourself. You had to see *that place*, know the truth, and make it public. Despite our warnings, our pleas, even our begging, you insisted on seeking out that cursed place. Those who see it must either join us or die. There is no third path. That is the decree from above."
"You were spoiled since childhood," the man continued, his tone dripping with disdain. "You thought the world revolved around you, that everyone had to abide by your decisions, that only your version of right and wrong mattered. Your stubbornness drove away everyone who cared about you, yet you still refuse to yield."
"What will it take for you to spare me and my disciple?" Yan Ziyao demanded.
"Join us," the man said plainly.
"In your dreams! I, Yan Ziyao, would rather be a beggar than align myself with your filth!" she shot back fiercely.
"Hmph. Then I'm sorry to say, unless you lose all your memories, we cannot allow you to live freely in this world!" With those words, the man whistled sharply.
*Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!* Four deafening explosions erupted as dark-purple curtains descended from the sky, enclosing the area and cutting off the night. The entire world seemed to transform into a shimmering, fluorescent stage. The twelve swords, now scattered, spiraled downward into the glowing curtains, only to be caught by twelve shadowy figures emerging from the light. Each figure grasped a sword and advanced, forming a ring around Yan Ziyao with deliberate, heavy steps.
"Y-You... You... You all..." Yan Ziyao looked around at the faces of the twelve individuals, and tears suddenly welled up in her long, beautiful eyes. "It's you."
These twelve individuals were dressed in a variety of ways, male and female, with strikingly unique features. Each one exuded an air of individuality, with faces marked by both hardship and calm. It seemed that each person carried a poignant, tragic story, and though they were standing right in front of her, their gazes seemed distant, as if from far away.
"It's been a long time, Ziyao. Do you remember us?"
"Ziyao, it's been thirty years. Where have you been?"
"Ziyao, do you really want to fight us?"
"Ziyao, come, walk with me."
"Ziyao, you've broken our hearts. Do you know that?"
"No, no! Fang Guinao, how dare you do this to me!" Yan Ziyao's face turned ashen, and she shouted in rage.
"Heh heh, Yan Ziyao, we've worked together for many years. Your past is your only weakness. Too bad, none of us know who your lover is, or else I would have killed you by now." Fang Guinao, the man, sneered coldly.
As his laugh echoed, the twelve swordsmen simultaneously leapt into action, their swords blossoming into twelve radiant sword flowers that exploded around Yan Ziyao, the dazzling sword light lighting up the air. For a moment, sword energy filled the air, killing intent surged, shadows twisted, and cold winds howled, turning the surrounding area into scorched earth.
"Fang Guinao, I was going to let you off, but now you've brought death upon yourself!" Yan Ziyao shouted hoarsely, swinging the bone whip and desperately fighting back against the barrage of attacks from the twelve swordmasters.
"Attack!" Fang Guinao's voice grew shrill, clearly signaling that he was now going all out.
A deep thunder rumbled in the sky, and a giant, brilliant blood-red meteor streaked down from the heavens, trailing fiery flames and targeting the area where Yan Ziyao stood.
"Guinao, why do you want to kill me? Look at me—who am I?" Yan Ziyao suddenly cried out in sorrow.
Her face twisted and contorted, transforming into the wrinkled face of an old woman.
"Mother, Mother! How could you be here?" Fang Guinao's voice sounded panicked.
"Guinao, you've already killed so many people. Have you no mercy, even for your own mother? I thought you were at least a filial son." Yan Ziyao's voice, too, became hoarse and slow, as though she were someone else.
"Mother, no, no this isn't real. Yan Ziyao, you're fooling me!" Fang Guinao's voice became shrill and frantic.
"Maybe I was wrong. I always thought I had a good son." Yan Ziyao whispered softly.
"Ah—!" Fang Guinao roared as he surged upward from his hidden position, diving straight toward Yan Ziyao. It was only then that Huang Jinlong saw his appearance. He wore a scholar's cap, a loose robe, and neatly tailored warrior pants. His outfit was simple and efficient, and his face had a dignified appearance. At first glance, no one would suspect that this man was the one who sought to kill Yan Ziyao.
"Gotcha!" As soon as Fang Guinao appeared, Yan Ziyao's bone whip lashed out with lightning speed. The straight, white whip lashed through his body, piercing through his back and spraying a jet of filthy blood. The illusions controlling the twelve swords disappeared, but before vanishing, they flicked their hands, sending the swords flying toward Yan Ziyao.
Yan Ziyao spun, and her body was suddenly enveloped in a shell of frozen ice. The swords struck the ice repeatedly, leaving cracks but ultimately sliding off and falling to the ground. Just then, a meteor from the sky fell toward her, its brilliant orange-red glow engulfing everything in its path. The purple curtain created by Fang Guinao was burned to ashes, and the night returned to view, but the surroundings were distorted into an illusion, with mountains shattering, ancient trees flying, and debris scattering as the entire peak of Liuhua Mountain was consumed by a fierce fire.
Although Huang Jinlong was surrounded by the cold ice box, he still felt the scorching heatwaves, as if he were being roasted alive. For a moment, he even wished for death to spare him from the torturous burning.
The violent flames lasted for half an hour before slowly dying down. Huang Jinlong, half-dead, crawled to his feet and looked toward the core of the explosion. Yan Ziyao stood straight in the center of a crater with a radius of about three yards, her ice shell shattered into powder, scattered around her. Though her body wasn't burned, blood streamed down from her eyes, nose, and ears.
"Master, Master Ziyao, are you alright?" Huang Jinlong shouted, shaking the ice barrier with urgency.
"So you're her disciple. Stop shouting, you've been struck by the Great One's Ninefold Star, and no one survives." A sudden rough voice came from behind Huang Jinlong. He turned to face it, only to hear the voice appear in front of him again. "Since you two share such a deep bond, let's send you both to the Yellow Springs together. At least you can accompany each other there."
Huang Jinlong looked up and saw a monk in yellow robes, with thick eyebrows and wide eyes, short hair, and a necklace of glass beads, each bead containing a dead person's eye.
"You little brat, looks like you're not even sixteen. It's a pity you're dying, but I'll make it painless for you!" The monk grinned and suddenly puffed out his chest. His left fist swelled to several times its size, transforming into a massive iron-blue hammer. He swung it toward the ice barrier with tremendous force, as if it could shatter both the ice barrier and Huang Jinlong inside.
"Ugh..." Huang Jinlong whimpered, about to cry out, but just then, the monk's skin turned blue and white, and he froze mid-air. A sharp crack rang out from his neck, and his head fell to the ground, shattering into a million sparkling pieces.