Chapter 37: Sorry, I am late

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Under the watchful eyes of the assembled evil cultivators, Qu Ziyao descended from the sky like a butterfly with broken wings, trembling as she landed.

The instant her feet touched solid ground, she dropped to one knee. Only by bracing herself against the sword in her hand did she keep from collapsing completely.

She breathed in silence, but her face was pale as gold paper and her breath faint as a dying thread, betraying the state she was in.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator’s spiritual sense could indeed cover this entire forest.

But doing so required her to exhaust herself completely.

And it was not only her spiritual sense that she had pushed to its limit.

There were three thousand great paths.

Not one of them had ever placed a limit on anyone.

From ancient times to the present, everything depended on a cultivator’s innate aptitude.

With sufficient aptitude, even a Qi Refiner could grasp one of the great paths.

Without it, one might cultivate to the very end and still gain only the shallowest understanding.

Qu Ziyao’s spiritual sense was in turmoil. As a dull ringing filled her mind, she suddenly recalled Yue Suxian’s words.

“Your aptitude for the Dao of Space is exceedingly rare in this world. Are you willing to take me as your master?”

Those were the words Yue Suxian had spoken before Qu Ziyao became her disciple.

“With your aptitude, you can begin to master this path at the Qi Refining stage. Your gifts in this regard far surpass even mine.”

“However, a Qi Refiner’s body ultimately cannot resonate with space. Once you reach Foundation Establishment, you will be able to wield the Dao of Space. At that time, you will be invincible among those of your realm.”

Qu Ziyao had once believed those words without reservation.

Now, she had long since begun to waver.

“My master does nothing but deceive me all day long. I cannot even defeat a fellow disciple at the Qi Refining stage…”

She muttered under her breath, then suddenly laughed.

There was nothing funny about it.

The words had clearly come from her own lips, yet they carried a strange emptiness, as though they had drifted from some distant, distant place.

Qu Ziyao’s spiritual sense instinctively followed that sensation, reaching toward the distance, but a needle-sharp agony abruptly dragged it back.

“This journey should be perfectly safe. But if anything truly goes wrong, take all the disciples and leave together. Wherever your spiritual sense can reach, space can carry you.”

“However, remember this well: with your spiritual sense and spiritual power at the Foundation Establishment stage, moving more than a dozen people twice is already your limit. Do not exceed what you can bear.”

Her master’s warning still echoed in her ears.

But the result was obvious. She had not followed those instructions.

Instead, she had chosen the opposite extreme—

She had moved every enemy directly before her.

Naturally, that had exhausted her completely.

Still, Qu Ziyao did not regret it.

She knew she could never take everyone away.

But in exchange, she could buy them all precious time to escape.

See?

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At least she had delayed them for several dozen seconds. Was that not enough?

At last, Qu Ziyao opened her eyes once more.

The violet irises that had once shone so brightly were now utterly dull.

Seeing this, many of the evil cultivators let out derisive chuckles and turned to leave.

She gritted her teeth, leaned on her sword, and staggered to her feet.

“Do not leave…”

Their steps halted. More than a dozen gazes turned back toward her and fixed upon her once again.

Surrounded by them, Qu Ziyao looked just like a lamb awaiting slaughter.

One of them gave a mocking laugh and flew into the air. “I want to leave. What can you do about it?”

The next instant, Qu Ziyao swung her sword.

The man had anticipated it. Twisting his body, he easily evaded the strike, then grinned savagely as he rushed toward her and drove a claw viciously into her shoulder.

Bang!

It struck the exact same place, only this time driving her deeper into the stone wall.

Qu Ziyao possessed a protective spiritual treasure, which spared her from most of the damage.

Yet after she fell to the ground, it seemed she could no longer stand.

“It does not matter. I will make your self-righteous sacrifice amount to nothing. A few minutes will be more than enough for me to place the heads of your junior brothers and sisters, one by one, before your…”

His words abruptly cut off as a sword aura struck his shoulder with unerring precision.

The sword aura was pitifully weak, doing no more than tear a piece from his clothing.

Yet the man suddenly fell silent, and the sinister ghostly aura surrounding him instantly thickened several times over.

“Get down on your knees and kowtow now, and I will let you die peacefully!”

Qu Ziyao finally managed to stand. Looking at the evil cultivator she had enraged, she raised the corners of her lips into a bloodstained smile.

“A disciple of Sword Mountain dies standing. We have never died on our knees.”

“Where are her teammates? Where are they? Someone save her!”

“Qilin! If you do not come out and play the hero soon, I am going to curse you!”

“I was wrong! I should not have cursed you like that before. Do not log off!”

At that moment, the viewers before the screen could no longer contain themselves.

They had attacked Qu Ziyao earlier because they had placed themselves in Xiao Lin’s position. Since she stood opposed to him, she was effectively standing against them as well.

But now, even without identifying with Qu Ziyao, they naturally found themselves standing against these evil cultivators.

No one truly loves ugliness, just as no one truly hates beauty.

Perhaps, after suffering too many disappointments in reality, many people would no longer extend a helping hand.

But when someone else stepped forward to help, they would never begrudge that person their admiration and praise.

After all, in this world, there were always people willing to use their lives to uphold the kindness they had possessed at the very beginning…

The evil cultivator laughed.

“Is that so?”

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“Then I will make you die on your knees!”

“Have you enjoyed the spectacle enough? If you have, send her on her way!”

For a moment, none of the evil cultivators continued watching how a disciple of the righteous path upheld her foolish sense of justice.

They attacked as one, their wails like those of ghosts and wolves nearly resounding throughout heaven and earth.

Yet Qu Ziyao slowly closed her beautiful eyes. Her voice was soft, almost a murmur, as though she were speaking to herself.

“Qu Ziyao of Sword Mountain borrows three thousand swords from Heaven. Here, I purge demons and sweep away evil spirits…”

Nether Slaughter charged at the front and sneered. “Putting on airs. Die!”

He had no idea that Qu Ziyao’s words were not an empty bluff.

She did not possess such power, nor did Heaven.

But a third-grade spiritual treasure did.

Once detonated, a Golden Core spiritual treasure would be enough to annihilate everything here.

The only problem was that she had to draw upon the power unleashed by destroying her own Dao foundation.

But what did that cost matter?

She had long since prepared herself to offer up her life.

From beginning to end, she had never begged anyone to come and save her.

She simply could not determine how powerful the explosion of the third-grade spiritual treasure would be, or how much time it would buy her junior brothers and sisters to escape this place.

Farther away…

A little farther…

Buzzzzz—!

But at that moment, a tremor that shook heaven and earth rang out, instantly suppressing the howls of ghosts and wolves.

Bang!

A colossal sword descended from the sky, as though Qu Ziyao had truly borrowed a sword from Heaven.

Nether Slaughter bore the brunt of it. Before he could react, the enormous blade pierced straight through him and nailed him to the earth.

It happened so quickly that the other evil cultivators had yet to react. Carried forward by their momentum, they reached Qu Ziyao’s side.

A sword was a weapon of piercing force. No matter how great the commotion, when it entered the earth, it raised neither smoke nor dust.

Yet in the next instant—

Boom!

Dust filled the sky, and sand and stones flew in every direction.

Only after the clouds of dust settled and dispersed did the scene before them come fully into view.

Above the heads of two evil cultivators, a massive hand had appeared over each of them, pounding them deep into the dirt. They looked like two wild dogs, and no one could tell whether they were alive or dead.

Amid the utter silence, a faint voice rose like the wind.

“Sorry. I am late.”

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