Chapter 113

Chapter 113: Nine-Wheel Sacrifice

Yun Xi broke into a cold sweat; this was a formation meant to destroy every last trace—clearly, no one would be left alive.

She swiftly stowed away the Seven Star Fatal Staff, gripping a mid-grade spirit stone in each hand and desperately replenishing her rapidly draining spiritual power.

She glanced anxiously toward Qin Tong Shuang and Zhang Yan. Both were cultivators in the late Qi Refining stage, and she wondered if they could hold out.

Qin Tong Shuang had encased herself in a thousand-year-old ice crystal, halting the loss of spiritual energy. But Zhang Yan lacked such a precious treasure, already collapsed onto the ground, her body gradually fading away.

“Zhang Yan!”

Mu Ning Zhu’s wrist suddenly felt lighter; the red string on it had snapped back, signifying her companion had already perished.

Eyes turning red, Mu Ning Zhu clenched her fists around spirit stones, determined not to follow Zhang Yan’s tragic end.

Yun Xi stared fiercely at the nine wheels floating above, her mind racing to find a way out. Unbeknownst to her, the flower mark between her eyebrows shimmered faintly, fighting against the formation’s relentless pull.

At that moment, a figure in white emerged above the Nine-Wheel Sacrificial Array, speaking coldly as he released a crystal coffin into the formation’s core, siphoning spiritual energy from the trapped cultivators into it.

“Fellow Daoists, I, Li Cang Yuan, thank you all for attending my marriage ceremony—and for your sacrifices, which will restore my beloved Qiu Shui!”

“Daoist Li, what madness are you planning?!”

“Li Cang Yuan, you demonic cultivator!”

“Does City Lord Li know what you’re doing? To sacrifice an entire city for a dead person—aren’t you afraid your Dao-heart will collapse?”

“Daoist Li, have mercy!”

“Stop this immediately!”

The cultivators erupted in panic, pleading for their lives.

“You dare speak to me about mercy?!” Li Cang Yuan’s eyes blazed with madness. “It was you who killed my Qiu Shui! It’s only right you pay with your lives!”

“Nonsense! It’s our first time setting foot in Twin Peaks City,” a high-level cultivator argued fiercely. “We’ve never met your Qiu Shui, let alone harmed her!”

Yet Yun Xi noticed the uneasy expressions of those who’d been mysteriously teleported here, hinting that some might indeed be guilty.

“Haha! So what? Blame yourselves for entering the city alongside those murderers!” Li Cang Yuan laughed bitterly, consumed by hatred.

Yun Xi almost rolled her eyes. [Is this man insane? If he wants revenge, he should go after the actual culprits! Why involve innocent bystanders like us?]

“Only by offering your lives can my Qiu Shui return!” Li Cang Yuan’s face twisted grotesquely. He had carefully planned for this moment, patiently awaiting his father’s seclusion, and now victory was within his grasp.

The spirit stones in Yun Xi’s hands crumbled into dust. She quickly took out two more, angrily shouting, “Your lover is dead! Even if you resurrect her through this evil array, do you really think her soul will be the same? If you love her so much, why didn’t you give up your mortal body and cultivate the ghost path yourself, accompanying her soul instead?”

Li Cang Yuan turned, sneering disdainfully upon realizing the voice belonged to a mere girl. “Foolish child! Qiu Shui will return to me, and together we’ll ascend to the Spirit Realm—perhaps even the Immortal Realm! Your insignificant lives are an honorable sacrifice!”

Yun Xi felt laughter bubbling within her chest, anger rising at such arrogant cruelty. [Just because our cultivation is weaker, do we deserve to be trampled like insects?]

More cultivators around her turned into fine dust, causing despair to weigh heavily on those still fighting.

“Array Master Zhu! Have you found a weakness in this formation yet?” a desperate voice called out.

Zhu Lin shielded himself with a formation disk, desperately calculating with his compass. He finally replied grimly, “Only a Nascent Soul cultivator, attacking simultaneously from inside and outside, or destroying the formation’s core, can break this array.”

Everyone turned their despairing eyes to the crystal coffin above, clearly the array’s core—but reaching it was impossible without a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Just as Yun Xi considered escaping into her space, Dian Dian’s anxious voice sounded within her mind. “Master, what’s going on? Dian Dian’s spiritual energy is being drained too!”

Yun Xi startled, remembering the little mouse hidden in her robe. “Dian Dian, we’re trapped in the Nine-Wheel Sacrificial Array. The formation is absorbing spiritual energy; when it’s gone, we’ll all die!”

Dian Dian whimpered pitifully, “Master, Dian Dian was just about to break through to second rank. I woke up only to wait for death?”

Yun Xi’s heart jumped, an idea forming rapidly. “Does your breakthrough also summon Heavenly Lightning Tribulation?”

“Of course! Heavenly Dao is fair; spirit beasts must face tribulations just like cultivators,” Dian Dian affirmed.

“If given enough spiritual energy, can you attempt to break through immediately and summon your tribulation lightning?”

“Probably…” Dian Dian replied uncertainly.

Yun Xi quickly thought it over. This enclosed space might prevent tribulation lightning from appearing at all, and if it did, Dian Dian could be fried to ashes. With so many cultivators here, the lightning would surely be terrifyingly powerful. Yet, lightning—especially heavenly tribulation—was the nemesis of all evil formations.

Making up her mind instantly, Yun Xi sent Dian Dian into her space. “Hug the Immortal Spirit Herb and cultivate quickly—reach your breakthrough threshold. Hurry, or your master will perish!”

Immortal Spirit Herb was startled by Dian Dian’s sudden arrival but immediately received Yun Xi’s orders. Disdainfully, it refused to let the mouse touch it, instead shaking its leaves to sprinkle green luminous energy over Dian Dian.

Determined to save Yun Xi, Dian Dian furiously absorbed spiritual energy, determined to summon the tribulation lightning.

Half the cultivators trapped in the array had already perished. Only Golden Core and late Foundation Establishment cultivators remained, barely clinging to life.

Even Zuo Die’er and Ming Ya trembled inside a bell-shaped treasure, deeply regretting following Zhou Lang Chen. Romantic interest meant nothing compared to survival.

Li Cang Yuan’s eyes shone brighter, whispering tenderly, “Qiu Shui, soon you’ll be back at my side!”

Suddenly, a golden light struck Li Cang Yuan’s back, knocking him off balance and sending him tumbling onto the crystal coffin. An aged voice boomed from above, filled with anger and disappointment.

“Cang Yuan, stop at once! Acting this way, how are you different from a demonic cultivator?!”

Everyone raised their heads in hope, though they couldn’t see who had spoken. Recognizing the voice, someone shouted, “It’s City Lord Li! He’s come out of seclusion!”

“City Lord Li, save us!”

Pleas echoed desperately through the formation.

Yet Li Cang Yuan remained indifferent, sprawled upon the coffin, greedily absorbing the continuous surge of spiritual energy from the array’s core, his cultivation rapidly rising.