Nightfall

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The ground was split and trees were smashed. Then a bang was heard. The bang of the massive pound resounded in the air.

Horrifying lightning smashed the remaining of the trees and collapsed the remaining of the walls. People standing nearby were thrown a dozen meters away and struck senseless.

Luckily, many people were covering their ears. Otherwise they would have been struck to death by the thunder formed by the pound. Many of them were knocked out.

At least ten thousand kilos of stone chips and mud were knocked into the sky and covered the morning sun. It became dark and no one could see clearly.

In the darkness, stone chips fell down like pouring rain and shattered the leaves. They disassembled the pile of firewood and threw them into the well like some frogs jumping into the water.

After a very long while, the rain of stone chips gradually ceased and dust dispelled. A pit was formed in the yard. The stone ground was very hard, and under some loose mud there was another layer of even harder granite. But now there was a pit on the ground.

When the dust dispelled, two figures were seen in the pit. Tang Xiaotang was holding her distorted cudgel. At the other end of the cudgel, there was another hand, a slightly grey and inhuman hand.

Long Qing was holding the cudgel. His face was extremely pale and his pupils were the purest grey. There was blood by the corner of his lips while he was half kneeling in the pit. He seemed exhausted but was still holding on.

Tang Xiaotang was also pale. The sacred artifact of the Devil’s Doctrine was already distorted. And her wrist bones were broken. Her right arm was shivering as if it would collapse at any moment.

With some snaps, Long Qing stood up slowly. The lower half of his gown was ripped and he was covered in dust. He stared at Tang Xiaotang and said, “You should have not been so powerful.”

Tang Xiaotang did not say a word. She bit her lips so hard that blood would not spurt from her mouth. Only by doing so could she continue to hold her iron cudgel and pretend to be not weak.

Long Qing suddenly laughed. With blood on his teeth, he looked horrifying. His dashing eyebrows raised, and his grey pupils shone. They were both charming and uncanny.

“But it doesn’t matter how powerful you are.” Long Qing smiled, “Because… I’m more powerful. You won’t find anyone more powerful than I am in the world. Because, my sweetheart, I am no longer one person.” His voice was somehow trembling. It was not because of the injury but excitement, or even insanity. He felt that many voices were echoing inside his body.

Many years ago when he was healing and cultivating in the Zhishou Abbey, he stole the Arcane Tome of the Sand and practiced the evil skill of Grey Eyes. He took the life and cultivation from Taoist Banjie and got his second chance. Then he betrayed Taosim and went into exile. Along the way he sucked the cultivation and power from many powerful Taoists, went to the East Wilderness, and captured the spirits and power from many powerful figures in the Left Royal Court. Eventually he reached the state above Knowing Destiny and captured many people inside his body.

Later on, he was accepted by Taoism again. When he returned to Peach Mountain, as Ye Hongyu had predicted, his state of cultivation was collapsing. He had few choices. He could either dispel the evil skill and become an ordinary man, or keep capturing the cultivation of others and quench the crisis with further evilness. He would eventually be destroyed by the evil skill but at least it could help him hang on for a longer while.

Long Qing chose the latter resolutely because he had to be powerful. He had been struggling between the light and the darkness for too long and had enough of it.

Fortunately for him, at that time the Divine Halls of West-Hill was executing the Abbey Dean’s order of housecleaning. Many subordinaries of the Hierarch and those from the Divine Hall of Light and Revelation Institute were sent to the Secluded Pavilion and captured by his Grey Eyes.

The Devil’s Doctrine invented the Practice of Taotie, and later on Taoism converted it into the Grey Eyes. For hundreds of years, Long Qing was the only one who practiced it to the extreme. It was because no one but him could have found so many preys. Now he seemed to be on the Zenith of Knowing Destiny. But actually he had already possessed unimaginable power that made him the most unique existence throughout the history of cultivation.

When they were at the imperial palace in Linkang, the Eldest Brother had sensed his power. He was shocked but could not figure out why he had become so powerful.

Long Qing was powerful, as he told Tang Xiaotang just now, because he… was no longer one person. He was a combination of many human beings. In other words, he was already inhuman.

Tang Xiaotang got even paler. She knew better than anyone else how powerful Long Qing was. She pressed to the ground like a meteorite. But he took that with a single hand.

So does the distance between Heaven and Earth no longer mean anything to Long Qing?

She frowned and pulled the cudgel out of his hand. She raised it again and seemed to be in pain.

Her wrist bones were broken. But she was still standing there, ready for another fight.

Long Qing stared at her quietly. His grey pupils seemed deeper. The greyness captured his eyeballs as if they were dark clouds taking over the sky. His body under the Taoist gown started to emit a sense of extinction.

Tang Xiaotang lowered her head. Her ponytail was loosened and the dark hair was flying and blocking her sight.

She tried so hard to resist the sucking power of the Grey Eyes. Luckily she had been cultivating the Devil’s Doctrine and integrating her spirit into a strong body. Otherwise she would already be defeated with her body and soul falling apart.

Long Qing took a deep breath.

Before attacking the powerful figures from the Divine Halls, Tang Xiaotang took two deep breaths and inhaled every bit of the chilling wind on the square.

Whereas now, while Long Qing breathed, the ancient pagoda tree started shivering. Its leaves that had survived the entire winter had started to fall off.

Long Qing seemed to have become a black hole. Massive Qi of Heaven and Earth poured in from everywhere in the city and swept leaves and snow towards the relics of the walls and entered his body.

Massive Qi of Heaven and Earth was gathered by the collection of souls inside his body. It carried an unbearable horror, spurted from his chest, and instantly pierced through the thin Taoist gown.

There had been a hole in his chest, the black hole that was created by Ning Que’s iron arrow.

A black peach blossom about one meter length bloomed on his chest. It was a secluded, jet-black and chill blossom, as if it came from the darkest abyss and carried endless resentment.

The black peach blossom bloomed gradually. Long Qing’s right hand reached out from the black petals and toward Tang Xiaotang.

Tang Xiaotang’s eyes became even brighter as she knew it was a life-or-death strike.

Instead of stabbing the iron cudgel forward, she twisted to place it horizontally in front of her. It seemed like an iron fence located on the edge of a viewpoint by a roaring river, keeping people away from the dangerous surge.

Long Qing’s fist pounded on the cudgel. Upon a clap, the distorted iron cudgel bended further from the middle. It bended and formed a dangerous curve, as if a kid would have broken it with a single blow. A curve was made on Tang Xiaotang’s chest too. It was neither a proud nor charming curve. Because it was an incurve.

Her chest sank a few inches. It seemed horrifying, as if a kid could break her ribs in a single touch. Tang Xiaotang’s face was as pale as snow, then turned immediately scarlet. She could no longer keep her lips closed and blood spurted from her mouth.

While spitting blood, she fell backward. Her slim figure pounded on the edge of the pit and further smashed the stone ground and granite layer. Then she bounced up and rolled in midair, and finally fell on the ground several dozens of meters away.

Upon a low bang, the ground sank again. Some rhythmic footsteps were heard.

Long Qing walked out of the pit and appeared in front of the crowd.

He seemed pale. His lips seemed blue and he was covered in blood. Yet, he looked very calm.

It was dead silent in the square.

Everyone was staring at him. People from the Sword Garret, followers of the New Stream, and the divine priests and deacons from the West Hill were all stunned speechless. They looked at Long Qing with mixed emotions.

Many years ago he was the most famous young genius of Taoism. But no one had expected him to be defeated by Ning Que in the Academy’s enrollment test to the Second Floor. Ever since then, he had lost in a series of fights and was no longer the glorious young man. Eventually he became the wretched figure commonly seen in stories and struggled in a miserable life of revenge.

Even though Long Qing survived and became even more powerful than he used to be, even though he had returned to Taoism and was accepted as the Abbey Dean’s last disciple, he was no longer paid any attention in the cultivation world.

If it was in the past, a young Knowing Destiny like him would have been indeed outstanding. But now Taoism had Ye Hongyu. And Haotian had left some gifts to the human world after that spring breeze and rain. There was Hengmu Liren in Taoism and A Da, the young barbarian in the Grassland. Furthermore, Ning Que had always been in Chang’an overlooking the world. Compared with these people, he seemed like nothing.

Therefore Long Qing had been very quiet and stayed low, so quiet that he was almost forgotten by the cultivation world. When he and Hengmu led the cavalrymen of the Divine Halls to extinct the New Stream, people only saw Hengmu and no one cared about him.

It was not until today that he made his presence again in the cultivation world, in the capital of Song. He supported the falling sky with one hand, and destroyed the sacred artifact of the Devil’s Doctrine with the other. Only by then were the people reminded of his previous glory, and that he used to be much more powerful than Ning Que.

Ye Su was here. Therefore it was the most critical place for the extinction of New Stream. With Long Qing as the leader of this battle was proof of his high rank in Taoism and their faith in him. It was just like what he told Tang Xiaotang. He was indeed very powerful. His state was very high, and his psyche power was unprecedentedly majestic. He had a huge complex of powerful psyches inside his body. He could be a demon or deity.

Long Qing walked dozens of meters away. He was calm. But to the crowd he symbolized the evil side. Right then they exclaimed because they saw another unbelievable scene.

Tang Xiaotang was trying to stand up. She propped herself against the ground, with her fingers inserted deeply into the mud. Her hair was soaked in blood and sweat, and swung helplessly in front of her forehead. Her body was trembling in pain. She was severely wounded and exhausted. But she still wanted to stand up and fight. Therefore, she made it.

Like what she had done in the dozens of fight these days, she fell, stood up, then fell again, and stood up again. No matter how many times she fell, she would eventually stand up, as if no one could really defeat her.

Even the evilly powerful Long Qing could not. Long Qing was slightly shocked. He knew how badly Tang Xiaotang was wounded. Even if she had cultivated on Devil’s Doctrine and acquired an iron hard body, it was not possible for her to stand up from such a severe wound.

Recalling Tang Xiaotang’s stunning recovery capability and her power that exceeded what the Taoism had expected, Long Qing frowned slightly and started wondering. When he went to Tang Xiaotang, she was no longer panting in pain and her wound on the chest was recovering fast. Within a distance of a hundred steps, she seemed to have regained the strength to fight.

It was not a human approach.

Long Qing had kept the Arcane Tome of the Sand with him, which recorded every single type of cultivation in the world. He was certain that none of them could have fulfilled what Tang Xiaotang did. It could only be a Divine Manifestation.

“Now I know why.” Long Qing stared at her and sighed, “Is this Haotian’s gift to you?” When he said it, he was somewhat disappointed and upset. It was because he had spent the previous half of his life to get closer to Haotian. No matter if it was light or darkness, he used to have no regrets.

However, today he realized that he had been walking further away from Haotian whereas his enemy, the enemy of Taosim, was blessed by Haotian. How could he not be disappointed? But after being disappointed, he felt grief and self-mockery, yet even more resolute. It was because it was exactly what the Abbey Dean was trying to do: to get away from Haotian.

Tang Xiaotang said nothing, as a silent acknowledgement.

When they were in the shabby lane in Linkang, she did not take it seriously when Sangsang said to grant her immortality. Even though she was Haotian, Tang Xiaotang thought it was just a joke. She thought Haotian was just making fun of ordinary humans.

It was merely a few years after Sangsang had said so, not long enough to prove that she was immortal. But what had happened during the constant fighting had somehow proved that Sangsang was not joking. She was serious.

During the constant fighting, she had been wounded again and again. Meanwhile, she found that she seemed to have formed some magical bond with the Qi of Heaven and Earth. The strength she lost was always restored instantly. No matter how severely she was wounded, she could always recover instantly. Death could never seize her. Probably that was what immortality meant.

Despite the Divine Manifestation, she was of course not a god but just an ordinary human being. She could not be immortal forever. Yet death would not be able to seize her for a while. In other words, she was much more powerful now. That was why she could have escorted Ye Su and Chen Pipi, both with destroyed Ocean of Qi and Mountain of Snow, through their journeys across mountains and rivers, and came here successfully.

That was also why she could stand against the evilly powerful Long Qing. Even though she had been severely wounded, she was not killed and even able to recover instantly. She could almost fight another round.

“It must feel jolly good… to be protected by Haotian.” It seemed Long Qing did not care about her being recovered instantly. He looked at her and said, “Unfortunately, Haotian will not always be on your side. And you are doomed today.”

Tang Xiaotang said, “At least I am still alive now.”

Long Qing laughed. The scar on his face distorted slightly and his grey eyes seemed sarcastic. He said, “I suppose you had already noticed that you were not recovering as fast as you used to.”

Tang Xiaotang did not answer. Because Long Qing was right. But why? Does that mean Haotian is no longer offering protection as she promised? Why?

“When Haotian is no longer able to protect herself, how could she continue protecting you?” There was some unnoticeable joy in Long Qing’s voice.

Tang Xiaotang said after a pause, “I don’t care.”

Indeed, she did not need to care because she grew up in the center of the Wilderness. She was pure and simple. She practiced hard before she was granted immortality. She witnessed no miracles or secret cultivations. She never took any Heavenly Power Pill, and was the most unlucky in the young generation of cultivation. However, she became powerful no matter what.

With or without Sangsang’s words, she was herself. Therefore when the protection was gone, she was still herself, the girl who always wore fur and had no idea what failure was. Why should she care?

She pulled her strength to straighten the cudgel. Due to the efforts, she felt some pain in her chest and spat some blood. But she regained her strength immediately and pointed her iron cudgel forward.

Long Qing smiled and said, “You people from the Devil’s Doctrine are indeed crazy.”

In order to destroy, one had to be crazy. There had been quite a few lunatics in the Devil’s Doctrine who wanted to destroy the world. Although Tang Xiaotang was not one of them, she could be pretty crazy in battles, just like she was previously as well as today.

Tang Xiaotang took one step forward while colors were further drained from her face.

The iron cudgel pierced through the wind. Just like the mountain that still stood high even when abandoned by Haotian, she still fought resolutely against the enemy even she was no longer protected.

Long Qing got stern. His Taoist gown fluttered in the chilling morning wind and formed scattered shadows. In a blink, he had made countless attacks.

A low bang was heard. The nicely cut stones that covered the ground of the square was cracked. Long Qing and Tang Xiaotang dashed toward each other in a blink and darted apart in the next. They stood staring at each other at the opposite ends of the square.

Long Qing was pale. Blood was dripping from the corner of his lips.

Tang Xiaotang lowered her head as if she was pondering, but then fell onto the ground all of a sudden.

Long Qing wiped off the blood and looked at her quietly.

She was extremely exhausted and had drained every bit of her strength.

Long Qing was sure that she could never stand up again. So he turned toward the high stage.