Beyond the Divine States

Chapter 59 The Dusk in My Eyes

Ning Changjiu slightly opened his eyes.

The gale was blowing.

The blood on his clothes had coagulated. His bloodstained clothes were whistling in the wind. With a pale face, his breathing was quite faint. However, his arms were still bent and his fingers were gripping the snow fox's body firmly.

Before the snow fox's joy, pride and rejoicing in surviving the calamity could reveal themselves, it was finished by a s***h from behind.

It couldn't see the young girl's face clearly. What it could feel was the piercing coldness.

The sword was so unbelievably thin and thus sharp beyond imagination.

Ning Changjiu raised his neck with difficulty. There was a remarkable red mark on his forehead which was pressed against Ning Xiaoling's for more than two hours.

In his vision, a young girl in black struck a s***h. He couldn't see her face but he could see the stunning figure vaguely.

He knew who she was.

After the s***h was struck, the snow fox's body split up and its demonic nature dissipated.

It didn't know how Zhao Xiang'er made it but it knew what was happening to its body. Its eyes were full of rancor.

The sound of glass breaking came continuously.

On the square Jiuling Tower, the fox's shrill roaring was lingering.

It wanted to kill Ning Changjiu but its arms were feeble because there was a c***k in the middle of its body, leaving the aura flow away like the quicksilver and the cultivation base that should enable it to enter the realm of Purple Court cast to the wind.

It was the evil seed that broke.

In midair, an illusory shadow slowly loomed up.

That was an old man in b****y red clothes. He was standing in the air, one sleeve flaming heavily and the other sleeve with an icy river hanging. The eight tails behind him were swinging slowly.

Old Red-tailed Lord!

Zhao Xiang'er looked at him with no glint of surprise or fear in her eyes. She looked as indifferent as a god.

Likewise, Old Red-tailed Lord also didn't look at her.

He turned around and took a look at the city that had suppressed him for a hundred years for the last time, his eyes full of vicissitudes.

On the sea of clouds, the lingering magic of the word written by the imperial preceptor had died away. The spirit-swallower pushed aside the clouds and fog, showing its big head again.

It felt that the spirit it preyed on was taken. Instantly, the golden pupils filled the hollow eye sockets, just like two huge golden pills.

And its realm also kept elevating as it got away from the barrier.

When the old fox was completely going away like the fireworks, he raised his head and saw the enormous head.

The old fox thought nothing could stir up any ripples in his heart on the verge of death, but he was still astonished when he saw the head stuck out of the sea of debris.

Old acquaintances suddenly met again.

"Why are...you here?" The old fox muttered to himself.

The feelings he had five centuries ago came sweeping back. The past events appeared in his mind and yet contained the smell of blood.

In the disaster five centuries ago, corpses were piled up as a mountain and blood flowed like a stream. Humans and demons were fighting with swords, going across the blood and thunderous pools. Corpses, blood and flesh were here and there.

Down the highest mountain, tens of monsters were climbing. They were all evil kings of their territories but now they were climbers on their feet. Even they were not sure about what was awaiting them at the peak.

Back then, the old fox didn't expect that one of them was a traitor...

He hated the traitor to the core. If it were not for this traitor, their bodies wouldn't be smashed and their souls wouldn't be suppressed in the secular world.

His hatred didn't vanish even after five centuries.

He thought all the ideas were dashed but now, he saw the traitor again. However...

"Didn't you go to the immortal land... Why are you reduced like this?"

The old fox's mind was filled with a myriad of thoughts and ideas. At the last moment of his life, he finally sorted them out amidst fast thinking.

He suddenly opened his eyes and stared at the black head and the two horns on it. A lot of hazy guesses were connected now.

So this was the secret that the twelve states of Yin tried to conceal. Five centuries ago, the saint didn't deceive them indeed.

However, he didn't figure it out until now. And now was the last moment of his life.

The old fox couldn't help laughing. His laughter was somewhat scornful and relieved.

He vanished like fireworks.

The monster on the sea of clouds had lost its mind long ago, so from beginning to end, it didn't cast a glance at this old acquaintance at all.

Ning Changjiu opened his eyes and wanted to get up but he couldn't exert any strength at all.

The spirit-swallower...

This was the spirit-swallower that "Ning Changjiu" told him before, which was said to be the dead star...

In the past, he also vaguely heard some comments about heavenly demons. According to the book, the existence of heavenly demons was the "lenience" of the universe while their appearance was the "error" of the universe.

Now it appeared that the heavenly demons were spirit-swallowers.

Every spirit-swallower who was lingering out in the c***k of the worlds all once had reached an unbelievably high realm in its last life.

If they came to the secular world, who could stop them now?

...

After the old fox disappeared, the several big tails of the snow fox also went away and the demonic nature that clung to the innate spirit also dissipated. The little fox returned to the size of a kitten. Leaning against the shoulder of Ning Xiaoling, it was almost weightless, which had fallen into an exhausted slumber.

Ning Xiaoling went limp and bumped into his chest.

Ning Changjiu coughed a few times heavily. He wanted to support his fellow disciple but his arms could only hang feebly. Hence, they just smacked into each other.

The spirit-swallower had targeted Zhao Xiang'er firmly.

It was attracted here by the nine spirit beasts. The nine spirit beasts which it should be able to get easily were taken by a little girl, making it fly into a rage. It stretched out its claws through the sea of clouds and wanted to squeeze Zhao Xiang'er to death.

"Run!" Ning Changjiu shouted with all his strength.

He knew that the spirit-swallowers were powerful but if they broke into another world to kill people, it would be like an ordinary man diving into the water to catch fish. A man was a lot stronger than a grass carp. However, if the man dived into the water and the air in his lungs was running out, he had to get out of the water anyway.

Now, if the spirit-swallower was compared to the man, this world would be a sea and Zhao Xiang'er would be the fish in the sea.

As long as she got into the depths of the water and waited until the spirit-swallower had to leave the world, she could have a chance of surviving in such a desperate situation.

Nevertheless, Ning Changjiu didn't know that. Now, as the sea of Qi of Zhao Xiang'er's Zifu was seriously ruined, she couldn't exert any means to flee. It was not until now that Lu Jiajia came to her senses and rushed towards the Jiuling Tower by riding her sword at an extremely fast speed.

Unfortunately, it would be pointless even if she took Zhao Xiang'er away by riding her sword because the lake was too shallow and the spirit-swallower had reached the Five Realms. For it, it could easily destroy the state of Zhao.

With the death of the imperial preceptor, the restraint around the Jiuling Tower was also gone. A lot of soldiers and people of the imperial city also gathered over, some of whom were here to watch the fun and some of whom sincerely wanted to do something for the state of Zhao. However, when the spirit-swallower stuck its head out of the clouds, deep fear and pressure just struck them so seriously that they all knelt on the ground.

It was nearly the end of autumn. The sun set early. The vast sea of clouds also became faintly rosy. Without the clouds, the flaming fire ashes in the sky could be seen now.

Zhao Xiang'er's black clothes were extremely thin, with the big bird flying around her. She swept the long sword across the ground, leaving a faint sword mark.

Staring at the spirit-swallower, she knew that she had no chance of surviving at all.

Five Realms... What kind of realm was that?

"Mother, I've done my best."

She sighed lightly. Even if she showed disregard for her life, her regret was still indelible.

She suddenly walked to Ning Changjiu, untied the head string to have her hair scattered, and slightly lowered her head and eyelids. Then, she bowed deeply to the young man who was still sitting on heels before her.

She was the most prestigious princess in the state of Zhao and the daughter of the god's descendent. This was the etiquette she had never performed.

After performing the etiquette, Zhao Xiang'er turned around, looked in the direction where the spirit-swallower was and walked over.

That was where the sunset was. Over there, the young girl once saw numerous bubble-like beautiful worlds.

On the Jiuling Tower, a never-ending gale blew across her face, making her cheeks ache.

She racked her brains in scheming and faced death calmly.

It was not until now that she suddenly realized that she had never lived for herself over the past more than ten years.

She had been pursuing the fire-like red clothes behind the golden gauze curtain. Even if death was around the corner, she only wanted to prove her courage and fearlessness by dying.

She hedged and then took a look at her thin and ragged black outfit. Then, she kind of regretted that she hadn't worn a suit of beautiful clothes today.

Zhao Xiang'er suddenly chuckled. Her slim and pretty back appeared even bleaker in the dusk.

She slightly opened her thin lips, seemingly wishing to say something to the world or just to herself.

Ning Changjiu behind her could vaguely hear her.

"15 years ago, the troops of the state of Jin were bearing down in force. On the battlefield, the strong soldiers were all dead. The negotiation lasted 17 days. In the end, the land within a 300-kilometer radius of the state of Zhao was ceded to the state of Jin. Due to the loss of the land, I was named Xiang!"

...

These words came to Ning Changjiu's ears, just like thunderclaps.

The door to his memory was cracked open. What was buried deep in the depths of his mind finally revealed itself.

"Are you sure that you don't want the marriage letter?"

"I'm wholeheartedly committed to pursuing Taoism and don't want to get involved with the secular world."

"Alas. Why are you so rigid and tedious? Why don't you go and meet that girl? Tsk. I've investigated the girl for you. That girl is quite pretty. Most importantly, she can always cause trouble. In my eyes, your cultivation life is so plain. You should need this kind of surprise to add some fun to your life."

"Thank you for your kindness but I'm not interested in the man-and-woman love stuff."

"Trust me. Have a try, or you will regret it sooner or later. Changjiu, listen. The other day, when I went to protect the sister-in-law-to-be under orders, I saw her standing on the platform alone, talking about the story behind her name. Even I feel touched by her. Alas, I couldn't help thinking if you were there, the scene would make a perfect painting."

"No matter how beautiful she is, can she be more beautiful than the scenery on the road of Taoism?"

"..."

The man with the saber was lost for words. Then he just gave Ning Changjiu a knock on his head angrily.

...

On the Jiuling Tower, the spirit-swallower's body pressed down like a mountain. The big hand also caused great wind and waves to blow across slowly.

"The word Xiang stands for the loss of the state of Zhao's land."

"This is my born shackle..."

The young girl slowly raised her sword and the black bird dancing around her shrieked sadly. And her billowing black hair was also like a flock of crows that flew in the sky flapping their wings at dusk.

She suddenly laughed and her last mutter faded away in the wind.

"My name is Zhao Xiang'er."

"People call me Her Highness Xiang'er..."

The large palm came over like the never-ending wheel.

...

"No!"

At that time, Ning Changjiu's heart skipped a beat. He cried out loudly but his words were engulfed by the gale. None of his words could be heard.

A great sense of incapability flooded into his body as if a drowning man choked in the water bit by bit. He widened his eyes, staring at the dark figure. Suddenly, he felt tremendous pain.

All his tricks had been exhausted. He hadn't even reached the Profound Realm yet. Given his low realm, he couldn't be of any help now.

His cultivation went too smoothly in his last life. He had barely met any hardships or bottlenecks and now, it was the first time that he had ever yearned for power.

The Five Realms were nothing. If he were the self of his last life...

But there was no going back.

Zhao Xiang'er raised the black sword, who looked so lonely from behind.

When the big hand came over, Lu Jiajia happened to rush by on her sword toward the position where Zhao Xiang'er was.

However, Ning Changjiu's face turned ashy. He knew that only another life would be sacrificed.

"Alas..."

When the big hand was about to kill all the people on the tower like crashing the ants, a sigh came.

That was not the sigh of Ning Changjiu, Zhao Xiang'er or Lu Jiajia but a man's resigned voice.

Ning Changjiu felt as if thunderstruck. His mind just went blank instantly and there seemed to be a glint of hope in his eyes.

"I still have to show up and help anyway... Tsk. A 16-year-old girl can draw a spirit-swallower at the Five Realms to come here. Luckily, Master hasn't found the last disciple yet. Otherwise, with such a trouble-maker as his wife, our small Taoist temple would be torn down by you."

The familiar voice, the familiar tone... This was...

The second fellow disciple!

Leaning against Ning Xiaoling in his arms, Ning Changjiu stared ahead with twitching eyes and couldn't help shedding tears.

The big black hand didn't go further.

Above the Jiuling Tower, a streak of dazzling light brightened. At first, that was a streak of extremely thin fiery line sweeping across the sky at an even speed. With the man's voice, the fiery line started to speed up, going as smoothly as the fluent writing of the calligrapher. The fiery line also turned white. The white line's light was quite restrained. The center turned silver grey and the edge was brightly luminous, reddening the space. Then, it just twisted and got peeled off bit by bit, which seemed like the withered fire ashes.

In the front of the vision, it looked like a straight line. It seemed to be drawn with a ruler. It was neatly straight, which was flawless.

Looking down from the height, it would be an arch, which was mysterious to the near perfection. Around the arch, the space started to c***k and sink. Amidst a series of thunderclaps, the arch was not sheerly beautiful but contained the determination of cutting off everything and cracking the universe.

Since the rise and fall of the arch, everything happened within an extremely short time but Ning Changjiu only felt it was a long time.

Of course he had seen the saber. That was the saber he had never forgotten.

This was the second fellow disciple's saber!

The eldest fellow disciple once commented on the second fellow disciple's saber skill in front of Ning Changjiu, saying that he was a straightforward, open-minded and slovenly man, who wielded the saber like a pretty girl doing the embroidery. It was so intolerable to the eye.

Of course, the second fellow disciple never dared to talk back.

However, Ning Changjiu wouldn't think his saber s***h was intolerable to the eye. That was the most special saber light he had ever met in his life. He believed so in his last life and this life.

The vast sea of clouds was slashed away and pushed out of the imperial city by two saber moves. In the sky, the spirit-swallower's enormous body was only half exposed. Every muscle was like a huge and hard rock. His body was stuck in the border of the two worlds, where it was ablaze with light just like the colorful glass.

Its thick arm was cut off by the saber, whose cut was smooth. The arm that was cut off just fell, turned into aura in the air and vanished.

A man wearing the whitening clothes made of the coarse cloth was standing in midair, the left sleeve hanging. Half of the saber sheath was exposed. The right sleeve was rolled to the crook of his right arm, showing his strong muscle. He was holding a long glistening saber.

That was a big saber. The bronze saber guard was round and the blade's radian was smooth, which was purely dazzling. The back of the saber, as wide as half a thumb, could be used to chop.

The man grinned. As he stormed his feet and jumped up, he flew to the sky. Yet, he still didn't forget to take a look at the young girl in black and said, "Your demeanor is just like my eldest fellow disciple's, which is a pity and a fluke. My junior fellow disciple hasn't been found yet so you cannot be brought back to tear down the temple's door."

In his bright laughter, a saber was slashed down and the straight white light streamed from above to below. If the spirit-swallower was compared to an ink brush painting, the light would be the extremely unharmonious white line in the middle of the painting.

However, the white line not only ruined the artistic conception of the painting but also tore off the whole painting from the middle.

The loud sound seemed as if the bone was crushed or the mountain was cracked. The spirit-swallower made a painful groan and wanted to reach out the other hand to grab the man who dared to strike a s***h. However, its hand was stiffened in midair. Because its body was torn apart from the middle, the seemingly unbreakable body turned into the flowing-sand-like aura and vanished into the universe.

The aura would gather slowly and became the evil clouds, which would turn into the rain nourishing the whole state of Zhao.

Now, the clouds didn't come; neither did the rain. Lu Jiajia helped the young girl stand up. Zhao Xiang'er seemed to exhaust her strength and lightly leaned into her arms.

Behind them, Ning Changjiu looked ahead dully and suddenly understood everything.

It turned out that the familiar Qi he had been feeling in the imperial city never belonged to any junior fellow disciple but the second fellow disciple who had gone to the immortal land in his memory.

After going to the immortal land, he could never return to the secular world. Why did he appear here...

"Ha... So that explains it..."

Ning Changjiu laughed quietly.

He understood it. He understood all.

He was Ning Changjiu from start to finish. In the world where he didn't meet his senior fellow disciple, he became the seemingly silly Taoist priest and somehow, the dead self in his last life just returned to the body of the Taoist priest self before death.

The young man who was silly, the young man who was whole-heartedly committed to cultivating, and the young man who was seriously injured with blood all over his body.

They were all Ning Changjiu, the same person.

Zhao Xiang'er was the fiancee he declined at the age of 16.

"Senior Sister Disciple, you told me that one couldn't come back to life outside the states of Yin, but it turns out... I can have a second chance to live..."

He raised his head. It happened that the sunset was as red as blood, tinting the sky red.

The whole world seemed to be enshrouded with red mist.

This was the sunset of the state of Zhao.

It was also the sunset he glimpsed by accident at the age of 16.