Nightfall

Chapter 545: The Flaring Divine Robes

Translator: Transn Editor: Transn

The long narrow lake was as blue as the sea and shaped like a waist, but it was just a slender lake in the north. Ning Que had once stopped here, so did Mo Shanshan and the girls from the Black Ink Garden. Many interesting stories had played out here, and Ye Hongyu had once heard them while on a hanging basket in the clouds.

It was a pity that what she faced was not the young, damp Calligraphy Addict in the hot spring, whose black hair fell like a waterfall behind her. What she faced at this blue lake was not the food of Chang’an or the Great River Kingdom, but the bonfires and those surrounding them.

Having had his attack countered by Ning Que at the Red Lotus Temple, Long Qing was in a half-comatose and half-mad state. Fortunately, his loyal subordinates carried him away when they fled. When he regained consciousness, he did not have time to lament or fall into depression. Instead, he brought his men on this journey to the north without hesitation.

Long Qing had managed to transcend the numerous defense lines set by the Judicial Department over the long journey due to the years of influence he had accumulated in the Divine Hall. Furthermore, he also had many loyal subordinates whom he had given the precious Earth Pill to. The previously heavily injured fallen knights were strengthened and became more powerful.

Since news of Long Qing had spread two years ago, only one prince remained in the Yan Kingdom. There were no longer any disputes as the Crown Prince Chongming firmly controlled the Yan imperial court and the military. The Divine Hall thought that Long Qing would be killed by his brother when he brought the fallen knights into the Yan Kingdom.

However, contrary to all expectations, Long Qing and his subordinates had been able to pass through the Yan territory without hassle. Perhaps he had received aid from a bigwig in the Yan Kingdom; he was not met with any powerful resistance as he sped through the kingdom and entered the Wilderness.

Long Qing’s face was pale as he sat by the bonfire. He pressed a handkerchief to his mouth to muffle his cough. However, this did not stop the white handkerchief from being stained blood red.

He had been severely injured in the fight with Ning Que, at the Red Lotus Temple in the rain and had not fully healed from it yet. He looked at the cerulean lake waters that resembled the sea and at the thin sheets of ice that were being blown about by the cold autumn winds. He thought about how his life had changed when he entered the Wilderness two years ago and was silent.

Suddenly, there were several white ripples in the depths of the blue-green autumn lake. There were several dark shadows in front of the waves which were evidently left by the fish. However, how big did the fish have to be to cause such huge ripples?

Long Qing looked at the white handkerchief that was stained with blood and suddenly laughed self-mockingly. He tucked the handkerchief into his sleeve and slowly got up. He looked at the girl across the lake in a dark red divine robe.

The divine robe was extremely thin, but the red that colored it was deep. It was like the color of blood and it draped over the girl’s body like a smooth red swan. It seemed solemn and majestic.

Long Qing was very familiar with this blood-colored robe. He had seen it numerous times on the black jade throne over the years. And he had, for many times, fantasized about the divine robe, seemingly stained with the blood of millions, draped on him. He had wondered how it would feel.

It was a pity that he was not the new owner of the blood-colored robe.

Long Qing was also very familiar with the new owner of these robes. Many years ago, just as he was about to make something of himself at the Revelation Institute, and just as he was about to shine brightly, a little girl in a green Taoist robe with a stubborn, proud and cold expression arrived. She was brought before the students of the Revelation Institute by a respectful priest.

From then on, Ye Hongyu and Prince Long Qing were often compared to each other. One was the Tao Addict, the other was the Divine Son of West-Hill. They left the Revelation Institute and entered the Judicial Department at the same time. However, what shamed him was that he had never defeated her and never walked ahead of her.

He had placed first in the Revelation Institute because she often did not participate in examinations. When he had entered the Seethrough realm, she had already seen the threshold of the Knowing Destiny State. He was the second priest in the Judicial Department while she was its Grand Master. Two years ago, in the Wilderness, he saw that she was about to enter the Knowing Destiny State, but had encountered a tragedy. Following that, he had discovered grimly and bitterly that she had been able to enter the Knowing Destiny State long ago.

Long Qing knew that he and Ye Hongyu were destined to fight. If not, he would not be able to clear his Taoist Heart. It was just like how Ning Que was significant to his journey towards cultivation.

It was just that he had never imagined that the battle would take place in these conditions.

Ye Hongyu walked towards the autumn lake, her naked feet stepping onto the lake waters gently and floated towards him. Her blood red robes danced in the wind, making her look like a fairy bathed in blood. She was both bewitching and holy, with a unique beauty.

If one looked carefully, they would realize that every time her foot landed, a thin sheet of ice would slide beneath it. The thin ice seemed to be able to perceive her desires. Or perhaps, one could say that she knew and could control every object on the lake. This was even more incredulous than walking on the lake.

“Priestess, My Lady!”

“Great Divine Priest!”

The fallen knights in black armor looked at the girl in blood-red robes. They stood up in surprise. In the cacophony of startled war horses and frightened shouts, many had forgotten to prepare for battle.

Long Qing looked at Ye Hongyu silently as she stepped on the lake ice. After a moment of silent contemplation, he took a deep breath and sent out his Psyche Power, calling for his peach blossom without hesitation.

Facing such a terrifying opponent, he knew that battle tricks or a contest of wills were pointless. He could only depend on his own abilities.

There were five petals on his black peach blossom. One of them had been shot by Ning Que’s Primordial Thirteen Arrows and had withered. Two other petals had fallen and been crushed in the rundown temple by him. The blossom looked a little odd and was disgusting and ugly in its feebleness. It looked like rotten fish on a ship that had been dead for six months.

The fallen knights were shocked into action after sensing the darkness and death in Long Qing’s peach blossom. They shed away the natural fear they had for Ye Hongyu and drew their swords in a discordance that broke through the air. Dozens of Taoist Swords were drawn and flew towards the girl in a shrill buzz.

Ye Hongyu’s expression changed slightly when Prince Long Qing called for his black peach blossom. She had sensed the deathly aura being emitted from it and thought of the massacre in the Zhishou Abbey; she then knew what had happened.

As for the dozens of powerful looking Taoist Swords, Ye Hongyu ignored them. She did not even set her mind on them. She just waved her hands, and holy Haotian Divine Light spread across the lake.

The fallen knights had all entered the Seethrough realm thanks to the Earth Pill. The commanders of the cavalry who had managed to survive all had higher cultivation states. Their Taoist Swords had also followed Prince Long Qing’s aura and had turned a gloomy black after pledging their allegiance to Yama. Their power was terrifying and could tear apart the armor of an armored cavalry. Ordinary cultivators would not be able to stop them.

The West-Hill Divine Skill was the nemesis of this Gloomy Taoist Sword.

Of course, these black Taoist Swords flew across the lake’s surface as if they could not be stopped. When they reached the ten feet of Haotian Divine Light surrounding Ye Hongyu, it was like ghosts meeting the intense sunlight. The swords trembled and released smoke. They emitted a terrible keening and did not seem as powerful as before.

Some of the black Taoist Swords sensed that something was not right and attempted to fly away from the boundaries of the Haotian Divine Light. However, they began to smoke as it seemed like there were several invisible ropes winding around them. No matter how they struggled, they could not leave the holy light, making them look like moths trapped in a lampshade.

The blood-red robe cascaded down Ye Hongyu’s arm like a waterfall. She stepped towards the other shore of the lake serenely, unstoppable.

The Haotian Divine Light that radiated from her was like a large shroud. The black Taoist Swords moved with her as she continued forth on the lake.

This scene was strange and shocking.

Her naked soles stepped onto the lake bank, leaving a faint print on the cold pebbles.

The holy Haotian Divine Light slowly receded into Ye Hongyu’s body.

The dozens of black Gloomy Taoist Swords flew away, as if excited that they had been freed.

Ye Hongyu casually lifted her right hand and held on to one of the Gloomy Taoist Swords.

The moment she held the Gloomy Taoist Sword, the black sword started smoking like it was on fire. The Taoist Sword slowly returned to a pure white.

The other Gloomy Taoist Swords successfully returned to the fallen knights. Many of them landed in the frigid lake waters, causing splashes and startling the fish.

Ye Hongyu had casually picked up the sword and also seemed to use it nonchalantly.

She thrust the sword toward the black peach blossom.

Because it was done casually, one could not guess where the sword style was headed to, so how could one avoid it?

Long Qing could not avoid this sword, which was an amalgamation of Ke Haoran’s sword move and Liu Bai’s sword style. He had never thought to avoid it, but welcomed it determinedly with a pale face.

The tip of the sword nicked an intact petal of the black peach blossom.

There was a soft pop.

The black peach blossom that had been crafted with pure Qi of Heaven and Earth started to tremble and tear.

There wasn’t any hopelessness in Long Qing’s eyes, and only determination and coldness. Next, the white and black of his eyes began to mix and turn into a faint grey. A powerful and greedy aura shot out from his black Taoist robe. The autumn lake descended into chaos.

Ye Hongyu frowned slightly as she looked at his strange eyes. Her expression was grave and filled with hatred before turning into contempt and ridicule.

She flicked her robes, and holy Divine Light coupled with the heavy stench of blood rushed towards the greedy swirling aura. Holiness and blood were two auras that could not be mixed. They shot out from Ye Hongyu’s robes and changed into the pebbles that had been soaked in blood for millennia, in the Divine Hall’s You Prison. These pebbles that smelled like blood protected the light of Haotian.

Pebbles like this could not be swallowed by any vortex.