Chapter 379 Finale 3
Mo Li had been waiting for this moment for so many years. Finally, Jiang Shuxuan had woken up. She expected him to be as excited as herself at this point.
To her horror, Jiang Shuxuan reacted as if he had not even seen her!
"My brother has already woken up." Mo Li peered at Gu Xiqiao, whose expression was stone cold. She could sense hints of mockery with a dash of sympathy on her face.
She was so fixated on Gu Xiqiao that she failed to notice how hostile Jiang Shuxuan’s expression had transformed!
Silently, he leapt past her. His attention was on a thin figure who stood behind her. Underneath his cold exterior, she could sense something warm flowing around.
Mo Li stood there, frozen in her tracks as she continued being ignored by the very person whom she looked forward to meeting for the past couple of years.
It wasn’t Mo Li alone who was shocked beyond words. The 81-man formation who stood guard behind her were baffled by the turn of events.
According to popular hearsay, as high and mighty their master was, they did not expect him to outright ignore someone whom he knew, let alone a person like Mo Li.
Gu Xiqiao did not walk forwards. She merely glanced at Jiang Shuxuan with a light smile on her face.
Her smile, although gentle, glowed underneath the sunlight. As a light breeze blew past them, her dark hair fluttered around, making the whole scene seem almost as if it had been taken from a painting.
Mo Li glared at Gu Xiqiao, then at Jiang Shuxuan. She was in a state of pure disbelief!
"Brother..."
Jiang Shuxuan got visibly annoyed when he heard her voice. His brows were furrowed instantly.
Gu Xiqiao quickly took notice of this. With a cheeky grin on her face, she said to Jiang Shuxuan, "Brother Jiang, you deal with this whole situation here. I’m going off to Zhuge Yan’s place."
Jiang Shuxuan didn’t seem like he particularly enjoyed staying around here. He was noticeably disgusted upon hearing Gu Xiqiao mention Zhuge Yan’s name. Still, seeing her smile made him defenseless.
"Fine, I’ll come over as soon as I can." He tried his best but in the end, he couldn’t help but cave in to his desire to embrace her. He marched forwards and slowly bent down with his arms wide open, ready to wrap themselves around her.
Standing there, he watched as she slowly walked off into the distance until she could no longer be seen. It was after he was sure that she left that he turned around to deal with Mo Li.
Mo Li’s facial expression was still the same—disbelief.
No one knew Jiang Shuxuan better than her. Back then, it was him that pulled her back from the deepest pits of hell, shielding her from harm the entire way. Although he rarely spoke to her, he was the only source of warmth in her life.
Mo Li did not doubt that she knew him better than anyone else here, even the parts of him which were so cold and unlikable!
She thought he would start ignoring Gu Xiqiao once he recovered his memory. Never in a million years could she have foreseen him reacting with such a merciless attitude. Had he really regained his old memories?
"Brother... you..." Mo Li’s mouth opened and closed but she was interrupted by Jiang Shuxuan before she even started asking her question.
"Do you want to know the reason why I took you under my wing back then?" asked Jiang Shuxuan. Now that Gu Xiqiao was no longer here, the wall of ice returned to his eyes. Judging by how the ground was starting to freeze underneath his feet, he was being dead serious.
Mo Li was stunned. She had never thought about this matter seriously. The Dragon Clan was annihilated, leaving her as the sole surviving member of their clan. Back then, she had already accepted her fate but at the final moment, she suddenly felt a wave of warmth wrap around her. When she opened her eyes, she was greeted by the sight of Jiang Shuxuan’s eyes.
Although she did not manage to see his face clearly, she was fairly certain that he was defending her.
Jiang Shuxuan did not wait around to hear her reply. "That time, she was visiting the Dragon Clan, whose ancestors she was good friends with. That was when she decoded the secrets behind the elusive charmspeak ability you are so proud of. Upon hearing news of your clan’s demise, she set off for your clan’s base immediately. You were the only person left when she arrived, and I was given the task of protecting you. And do you know what she did after that? She went off on a one-man mission to destroy the clan that destroyed yours."
His expression was calm, but his words impacted Mo Li’s heart like exploding bombs.
Just who was this Jiang Shuxuan person? Back then, he was the most powerful person in China!
Possessing the world’s most mysterious magical powers, he engaged in a final battle with the devil. Halfway into the battle, he and his enemy had vanished into thin air. No one knew if he was alive or dead. The Almighty Ones of the ancient martial arts world assumed that he had fallen in battle. Leaving only a torn branch of himself behind, Mo Li had entered hibernation. A century had passed when she finally woke up, after which she had successfully tracked down Jiang Shuxuan.
And just when she had the chance to see him, she was informed that her actual savior was Gu Xiqiao?!
Mo Li found this a little hard to believe. Still, memories of Gu Xiqiao using the charmspeak ability suddenly flashed through her mind. All of a sudden, the truth was becoming clearer to her by the moment.
Jiang Shuxuan did not want to waste his time any further. He turned around, prepared to leave Mo Li behind for good.
From the beginning till the end of their brief interaction, never once did he spare a glance at the Ghost Legion.
A black eagle flew over after he left.
It’s dark feathers reflected the cold sunlight as it slowly landed onto the ground. With a razor-sharp glare, it peered at the 81 men. "The first thing you people do when you come back is offend the mistress. Prepare to be locked in the darkrooms."
Mo Li turned around with a furious expression right after she heard the eagle speak. The Ghost Legion stood there frozen, as the dreadful feeling of regret slowly engulfed their heart!
How would they know that things would turn out like this? They thought that this was just an opportunity for them to see Jiang Shuxuan in person. And so, they did what they had to do in order to curry favor with Mo Li, even if it meant offending Gu Xiqiao in the process!
They then realized another thing. Miss Gu was their mistress?!
They were shocked beyond words. Cold sweat started gushing from their pores.
The leader of the Ghost Legion grabbed a random passerby from the street and asked, "I have a single question. Is there any way we can make up for accidentally offending Miss Gu?
The person, who was a native dweller of the ancient martial arts world spared him a look of sympathy when he heard that these people had offended Gu Xiqiao. Still, in the next second, he hurriedly ran off into the distance, in an attempt to not be associated with these unfortunate souls.
***
"Young Master, drink this medicine," said Wei Xi, who brought a bowl filled with a dark liquid to Zhuge Yan.
Wanqi Jue, Baili Bin, Tang Qinghong and the rest were all gathered here. They were discussing their plan to investigate the desert wastelands. The Peacekeepers had detected a bizarre fluctuation of energy in that location, and naturally, they too could sense this strange phenomenon.
Zhuge Yan drank a mouthful of this medicinal brew before giving the girl an instruction. "Wei Xi, bring me the divining tool."
In his current physical state, his body could not withstand the stress that making divination would bring. However, considering how dire the situation here has become, even Wei Xi had refrained from refusing his request. Obediently, she did as told, bringing the divining tool over to her master.
Zhuge Yan placed the tool on his palm and shut his eyes. A moment later, he placed it within the hexagram pan, which moved for six separate times. He then looked at the imagery that was subsequently produced.
"In the north, a white tiger has awoken. This is a bad omen," A pair of pale white hands picked the copper coin up from the hexagram plate, which was followed by the familiar crystal-clear voice of Gu Xiqiao. "Looks like blood will be split in my next mission."
Everyone’s facial expression changed right after hearing her say that.
Baili Bin stood up immediately. "Qiao Qiao, you can’t go!"
Gu Xiqiao’s lips were pursed. She did not respond to Baili Bin’s protest.
"So you really wish to go there?" asked Zhuge Yan, who peered up at Gu Xiqiao’s face, then down at her belly. A frown appeared on his face. "You..."
"I must go," replied Gu Xiqiao as she set the copper coin down.
What followed was a tense silence, which felt so heavy that it made them suffocate.
Zhuge Yan deliberated in silence before finally telling her, "The head of the Demon Tribe should be found in the desert wastelands. I have read about this in the records of the Zhuge family archives. In the past, there was a person who set out on a one-man crusade to wipe out their tribe."
"A one-man crusade?" Wanqi Jue’s eyes widened. "Are you sure who you are referring to is a human and not a god?"
"That is correct. However, amidst the fighting, the leader of their tribe slipped away. He absorbed the evil aura of the entire Demon Tribe, making him unstoppable. However, the records stopped here." Zhuge Yan blinked. "What I’m trying to say is, they are not undefeatable. Otherwise, this world would have ended a long time ago."
"Then how are you sure that what you just told us is real? Wiped out the entire Demon Tribe? Preposterous!" said Tang Qinghong angrily.
"If we take what you just said as the truth, considering how strong the leader of their tribe is, I don’t think we can even offer any resistance against it, let alone taking it down," said Baili Bin while shaking his head.
Zhuge Yan sighed. "If only that person was still around."
"Well, judging from your story, what’s left of that person should probably be only a pile of bones now."
Varying opinions suddenly sprung up out of nowhere, like mushrooms after a rainstorm.
Gu Xiqiao sipped on the tea Wei Xi brought her. Carefreely, she thought about her plans. The almighty person whom you guys are calling a ’pile of bones’ was thinking about playing poker.
She set her teacup down onto the table and peered at Wanqi Jue and her friends who were caught up in a fiery debate. "Guys, I don’t know if there’s any better way to say this but, the almighty person who you’re all talking about might be me."
Bang! That was the sound of a stool falling over.
Smash! That was the sound of a teacup shattering.
Thud! That was the sound of a person falling onto the ground.
"You’re saying that you are that person?" Zhuge Yan looked at Gu Xiqiao with a sceptical look.
But, as powerful as Gu Xiqiao was, annihilating their entire tribe was simply hard to believe!
That should only be the work of an Almighty One from ancient times!
"So what Zhuge Yan said was true? It was you who wiped out the entire Demon Tribe?" asked Wanqi Jue who wore a stupefied expression.
No one doubted her words. She was already plenty powerful herself. If what Zhuge Yan said was true, then Gu Xiqiao’s rapid rise to power within the ancient martial arts world could finally be explained.
"A one-man crusade? That’s more of a speculation than anything else," said Gu Xiqiao while laughing.
As expected, that part of the story was just a myth. Wanqi Jue let out a sigh upon hearing her say that.
Seeing them in such a relaxed state created an odd smile which cracked across Tengen’s face. "The only ones that my master had massacred were the senior figures within their tribe. The remaining fledgelings were all rounded up and handed over to the gods."
Tengen himself started choking up out of awe for Gu Xiqiao when he reached this part of his sentence.
How was that any different from wiping out their entire tribe?!
They all looked at Gu Xiqiao the same way one looked at a monster right after that.
Gu Xiqiao ignored their gazes. Instead, she picked up the divining tool. After deploying it, she looked at the imagery within the plate. She laughed. "Seems like three days later would be our best chance to strike."
"If we go by what you told us, the entire world would be encapsulated by evil aura by then." Zhuge Yan massaged his temple. "The evil aura from the Demon Tribe that is."
"Brother Jiang has 81 men and an eagle under his command. That bird has always been keeping an eye on the Demon Tribe, so naturally, it knows where their weak points are. And as for his men, they know how to cast a type of formation that could block off any evil aura trying to invade our territory. You guys have exactly three days left to learn how to use this technique."
***
Three days later.
At the Gu family in N City.
Luo Wenlin had already been staying here for a couple of days after being sent here by Luo Wenlang himself. The Gu family home was a gift from Gu Xiqiao to the boy. He appeared to be interested in digits so Luo Wenlang immediately sent him back here.
Gu Xijin stood nearby, watching Luo Wenlin and Gu Xiqiao around which people flocked, with his eyes filled with regret.
She had been rejected by Jiang Shuxuan back in the States, which was also why she was sent back to the Gu family straightaway.
She, however, refused to return home as her family members had decided to remove her from their family. And so, she lived like a bum around the exteriors of their family home. No one was willing to call her ’Young Mistress’ anymore. Her existence was pathetic, like that of a dog who had lost its owner.
"That’s my sister, it’s her alright!" Gu Xijin struggled against the crowd, trying to slide in conveniently beside Gu Xiqiao.
"Your sister? The audacity of this b*tch! How dare you call a person like her your sister?!" A homeless man threw away the thing he was holding and slapped Gu Xijin across her face. "If she’s your sister, then it shouldn’t be too preposterous for me to claim that I am God himself!"
Another homeless man pointed in Luo Wenlin’d direction. "See that? That’s Miss Gu’s little brother, Luo Wenlin. The entire Gu family belongs to him now. Even the big boss of our city listens to his command. Take a look at yourself. How dare you say that she’s your sister! Have you lost your marbles?!"
Gu Xijin saw stars above her head after receiving the painful slap from a bum. She glared at Luo Wenlin, who was donning a set of fresh, clean clothes. Her nails dug into the flesh of her palm as the feeling of regret overwhelmed her.
She would’ve been envied by the world to have such a powerful person as her sister.
If only she had treated Gu Xiqiao right back then, just like Luo Wenlin, she wondered where she would have been today. Perhaps there would not have been the need for her to be exiled by her family? In fact, there might be a chance that commoners would start admiring her like a celebrity?
Gu Xiqiao turned towards the noisy group of homeless bums.
"Darling, are you hiding something from me?" asked Jiang Shuxuan who was standing next to her.
In the past three days, Gu Xiqiao had visited Hua Youlin, who was at Mingzhou and she had come here to N City, for a purpose which felt unsettling to Jiang Shuxuan.
There was a long pause before Gu Xiqiao responded to his question with a smile. "No."
Jiang Shuxuan walked forwards and wrapped his fingers around Gu Xiqiao’s hand. "Don’t leave my side later."
"Alright," she replied.
***
In an abyss located within the desert wastelands, a dark cloud of energy formed into a black dragon which flew circles in the sky.
"Congratulations, brother!"
"Big brother, you’ve succeeded!"
"..."
There were three people who stood at the edge of the abyss. One had transformed into a massive fox, and the other, a white tiger. The last transformed into a gargantuan skeleton.
"Big boss, please avenge our seventh sister!" said the white fox with a murderous look in its eyes.
"Our seventh sister’s death shall not be in vain." announced the black dragon which morphed back into its human form. The human had a beautiful face, which, if Gu Xiqiao was present, would’ve recognized the person as Chu Ziheng!
Chu Ziheng peered at the horizon as a black-colored evil aura expanded from where he stood.
Though his smile was gentle, every single living thing within a hundred-mile radius was killed with just the wave of his arm.
Clank–
The evil aura which was emanating off of Chu Ziheng’s body flickered. He took a step back as he raised his head to look at the horizon.
Two human figures started materializing out of thin air!
Gu Xiqiao plucked a handful of notes on the guitar she was holding. She watched as half of the total evil aura dissipate before she sang praise for the person who looked seemingly like Chu Ziheng. "The effect looks pretty convincing."
"You two don’t seem to fear death do you?" Chu Ziheng paused and took a good look at his opponents.
The aura which he was emitting grew even stronger.
"And aren’t you the one who fears it more than anyone else?" Gu Xiqiao’s attitude was the same old. She wagged her finger and laughed in the face of Chu Ziheng.
A smile broke across his face. He looked at Xixi and Dog Feed, who were perched on either side of her shoulders. An ominous red glow began appearing in his eyes. "Little Ba, Little Jiu, I’ll spare you two if you come back to our side."
Xixi’s only response was a fireball. "Don’t even think about that!"
"Good! Very well!" Chu Ziheng no longer wished to negotiate any further. Raising his arms, he started brawling against his two opponents.
Rumble–
Darkness descended upon the desert wasteland, as a sandstorm was stirred up!
After the two forces clashed, each side retreated back. Gu Xiqiao and Jiang Shuxuan’s facial expressions changed right after making the initial contact.
"You stole the lifeblood of our planet?!" Gu Xiqiao took in a deep breath. A somber expression appeared on her face as realization started to set in.
The evil aura continued to pour out from Chu Ziheng’s palms. His dark eyes were now glowing bright red. "You two can never take me down. My life is now so closely connected with that of this world that killing me would ultimately mean killing this planet! There is nothing you people can do now! Nothing!"
He started cackling maniacally upon saying that.
Long before this, his true body had already been sent deep into the core of the earth, merging and acquiring the energy of the Earth!
Finally, he had succeeded. At this point, there was virtually no one who could kill him!
Tweet– The sound of a bird echoed through the skies.
Gu Xiqiao gradually calmed herself down. Her brain was processing the information in an effort to create a plan to end this whole situation. A never-seen-before type of calmness could be seen in her eyes despite the intense fight that was occurring in front of her between Jiang Shuxuan and Chu Ziheng.
It was at this moment that a fiery red glow lit up the whole scene!
Xixi had expanded into its largest form!
Its entire body was covered in flames, highlighting the vermillion sheen of its feathers.
"No! Xixi, don’t—" Gu Xiqiao’s eyes were wide open in horror!
Jiang Shuxuan’s heart seized up upon hearing her scream. Turning around, he saw the flames on Xixi’s body as it dove towards Chu Ziheng.
"See you later, Beauty Qiao," was the final message said to Gu Xiqiao telepathically by Xixi.
The flames gradually shrunk, until its body disappeared from view. What’s left in the air was a single red feather.
Dog Feed picked up the single feather and stood there, dumbfounded.
Gu Xiqiao too had frozen up. She silently observed the scene. Although Xixi’s time by her side was not very long, three times, it had willingly laid its life down for her. This time, however, was different. This time... it had truly disappeared.
Ding! A familiar bell rang in her mind.
Jiji! Jiji had finally woken up!
"Beauty Qiao, see that dark crack next to Chu Ziheng? That’s the portal that directly connects to the lifeblood of the earth! Xixi has used its life in exchange for giving us this opportunity! Hurry up and sever our connection, let me go in!" Jiji’s blue body finally appeared before her.
"I’m guessing you can’t come back out once you go in?" asked Gu Xiqiao.
Jiji paused for a moment before giving its answer. "I am naught but a string of zeros and ones. Beauty Qiao, I thank you for everything you have done for me."
"Alright," Gu Xiqiao severed the link between herself and Jiji. She turned towards Jiang Shuxuan. "Brother Jiang, back then, you entered into a slumber for my sake, in order to bring me back to life. The time has finally come for me to repay the debt."
"Beauty Qiao!" Jiji finally realized what was going to happen. Gu Xiqiao was planning to dive into the crack herself!
"Master Jiang! Hurry up and hold her back!" yelled Jiji with a horrified voice.
Jiang Shuxuan had been so distracted by Gu Xiqiao that he was not able to dodge a blow from Chu Ziheng. He was stumbling backward when he heard Jiji’s voice. Instinctively, he turned back, only to find that it was all too late–Gu Xiqiao had already been swallowed up by the dark orifice!
The crack then disappeared from view immediately!
Gu Xiqiao’s aura was... gone.
Jiang Shuxuan froze up. His mind had stopped functioning. His fingers were trembling and his face was pale white!
Boom!
A purple-colored pillar of lightning shot down from the heavens, lighting up his panicked face. He seemed to be suffering a momentary loss of memory. His facial expressions were gone and the look in his eyes was hollow.
Seeing Chu Ziheng who had gone mad, and Dog Feed, who was already on its last limbs, Jiji hastily turned towards Jiang Shuxuan for help. "Master Jiang! Wake up! Beauty Qiao has departed in order to save our lives! Don’t waste this opportunity she has bought for us!"
Chu Ziheng’s connection with the Earth’s lifeblood started fluctuating. He too started panicking. A wave of evil aura poured out relentlessly from his body, rapidly enveloping the whole world!
Jiang Shuxuan was unfazed by this. He merely stood still. A wave of energy swept towards him. After withstanding the blow, fresh red blood started dripping from the corner of his mouth.
"Beauty Qiao is not dead yet! She will return!" Jiji’s eyes were bloodshot at this point.
Jiang Shuxuan finally came back to his senses when he heard that. Looking at Jiji, he murmured, "So you’re saying she’s still alive?"
"That’s right! I’m her system! The fact that I’m still here is a clear indication that she is very much alive!" Jiji nodded its head furiously. "She has now severed the connection that tethers Chu Ziheng and the Earth! Hurry up and finish him off!
Jiang Shuxuan finally lifted his chin and stared in Chu Ziheng’s direction. His eyes were stone-cold as he yelled out, "Time for you to die!"