Chapter 60

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Volume 1

60 The Worst Battle

The split lip that was decorated with dried blood twitched began singing a sharp tune, “Yi~ Ah~ Ci~ Ah~ Yi~” The bizarre sound seemed to have a sort of melody to it but the unusually piercing tune became increasingly intense, spreading through the air.

I couldn’t help covering my ears at the sound. As I brought my hands to my ears, I saw Jie Pa growing unstable; judging by the change in expression, his enchantment doesn’t seem to be holding up either. A loud thump sounded. While it wasn’t clear exactly what had shattered, Li Wen’s body was beginning to heal again.

Li Wen, now fully healed, was still drenched in fresh blood. The ruthlessness of scarlet red bloodstains, stark against her tender and affectionate gaze, was contrasting but alluring in its own way, exuding an almost blinding charm. The smile she wore was a mix of both cruelty and warmth as she slowly got to her feet. Jiao S who had landed behind her, made haste to retreat back to her own piece of rock, clearly sensing the danger in our current situation.

Li Wen straightened up with a smile, then continued with the piercing tune. “Yi~ Ah~ Ci~ Ah~ Yi~” The strange melody seemed to be infused with MF, causing a stabbing pain to spread from my eardrum all the way to the heart.

Jie Pa was the first to cover his ears and crouch. The storm brewed in Jiao S’ eyes and her brows were knitted together. Nie Zun, on the other hand, was bent at his waist supporting Jie Pa but maintained his gaze on me.

“Yi~ Ah~”

“… Ci~ Ah~”

The horrifying tune was intensifying; my heart felt like there was a needle stabbing at it relentlessly. Between my eardrum and my heart, it was as though a piece of rope was tugging hard. Following the melody’s growing ferocity, the rope was likewise getting tighter, threatening to snap at any moment. I gritted my teeth; the tune was too much to bear and I was slowly reaching my limits. With both hands, I cupped them tightly around my ears.

Li Wen remained at the same spot, her smile still tender yet merciless when suddenly she widened her mouth and began singing even louder.

“Yi~ Ah~ Ci~ Ah~ Yi~!”

“Yi~ Ah~ Ci~ Ah~ Yi~!”

“Ah—!” I couldn’t help crying out at the profound shot through the heart, the gnawing pain made me hunch over. The last image engraved in my mind was of Nie Zun and Jiao S, both crouched over in agony, neither of whom was able to endure this strange melody.

“Yi~ Ah~ Ci~ Ah~ Yi~!”

“Yi~ Ah~ Ci~ Ah~ Yi~!”

I attempted a step forward but even the slightest movement seemed to tear my heart into shreds. Quickly realizing that covering my ears did nothing to stop the piercing tune’s effect, I let my hands fall from my ears and tried going for my bow again. The moment I shifted my hands, I felt the prickling, sharp pain in my ears.

Like the image of towns and markets of an oasis during an earthquake, the illusion began disintegrating with a crashing sound. It was as if we were in a stereoscopic mirror before. As our surroundings became fragmented and the sea gradually disappeared, the scenery of the boundary forest was revealed once again.

I continued expelling mouthful after mouthful of blood, glancing up from my position on the ground. Enshrouded among the bloodied rays of light, I reaffirmed that we were back into the forest. Guan Nie was sitting atop a tree not far away, his cascading white hair stained with his own blood.

There was a trailing bloodstain by the corner of his lips, his eyes flashing a cold glint of viciousness. He had a hand to his chest and another supporting his weight against the tree trunk. The others were the same as me, spewing blood onto the ground in misery. Nie Zun’s hands never left Jie Pa; even when Jie Pa was likewise puking mouthful of blood, his other features seemed unmarked.

Li Wen floated in the air, tossing the two arrows she had just yanked from her eyes onto the ground. She looked towards Guan Nie, “Your MF is strong enough indeed. Even my Demonic Tune couldn’t make you fall?”

Guan Nie let out a sardonic laugh. The bloodstain along his lips seemed to be dripping with fresh blood again. “MF? No one here has a weak MF but none of us could have prepared against something we’ve never seen before. Did you really think you’re all that capable?”

Sprawled on the ground, I grinded my teeth. Why isn’t my MF sufficient enough to turn myself invisible? Is it because my split symbol hasn’t been activated?

Li Wen raised the sleeve to her yellow dress and wiped her mouth gently. “Come on, Guan Nie. I’m not capable? I have yet to activate my split symbol and yet, the Demonic Tune was already enough to reduce all of you to this state. Do you still think I won’t be able to handle the few of you on my own?”

Guan Nie’s stiffened at her words.

Jiao S scoffed from her position on the ground. “If I hadn’t promised Si Luo about not using that particular skill, do you really think you could still be standing this obnoxiously in front of us?”

Li Wen smiled. “Jiao S, you still wouldn’t be able to deal any real damage to me. Ah, all of you.”

At that, she whirled around towards Nie Zun who still had his hands around Jie Pa’s ears as a precaution. “Nie Zun, that ability just now… was that a form of force, a skill controlled by the pupils?”

There was still a track of blood from when it flowed from his eyes earlier, as with the corner of his lips. When Li Wen called his name, his indifferent eyes swept a fleeting glance at her but he did not answer. Seeing as Nie Zun bore no intention of responding to her, Li Wen laughed scornfully but did not attempt to force a reply.

Instead, she turned gracefully around and the slender sword appeared in her hand again, casting it towards Jiao S. The action came so unexpectedly that even Jiao S had no time to react before she let out a hiss. Just like that, the slender sword was thrusted into Jiao S’ back.

Jiao S spewed a gush of blood, furrowed her brows and glared. Just as she seemed to move towards tugging the sword from her back, shock filled her eyes.

“Stop using your MF. Do you really think you won’t exhaust your MF once you’ve activated your split symbol? The layers of protective barriers you cast over them in the illusion used up an extensive amount of natural elements, and now you won’t be able to regain your MF for a period of time. You’ll need time… but this Parting Sword of mine will absorb your MF and restrict such behavior!”

Following her words, as though the stealth enchantment had lost effectiveness, two other people appeared from thin air and fell to the ground; they were the still unconscious Song Lu and Huan Qing!

Li Wen spared a glance at the two who lay motionless on the ground, then smiled. “See, your MF isn’t even enough to support that airflow dimension of yours anymore.”

Jiao S clenched her teeth tightly, a deep hatred evident in her eyes.