Chapter 44: The Rampaging Sacred Qilin (Part Two)

Nan Fenglang noticed the flicker of excitement in Zhou Yu’s eyes and wanted to ask something, but just as Zhou Yu had said, there was no time.

The Sacred Qilin, newly born from the shattered ice, now burst through the thick frozen wall. It gazed at the cultivators fleeing like panicked ants, its rage transforming into a strange exhilaration. Yet when it saw the two men walking toward it, against the tide of terrified mortals, an innate sense warned it of danger. It opened its massive, toothed jaws and exhaled a breath of icy wind from a throat as cavernous as a mountain cave.

The instant the frigid breath escaped the Sacred Qilin’s mouth, the temperature within a mile plummeted—such was the deadly chill of that white, freezing air.

Liu Wujian and Tianxing kept their pace, walking side by side, unaffected by the knowledge that they were the target of this glacial assault. The icy breath swept toward them in total silence.

Zhou Yu’s eyes brimmed with excitement. He watched the two men about to be engulfed by the deadly cold, urging the AI in his mind, "Hurry, scan them! I’m certain their power is far beyond B-level! Facing a beast like this, they can’t possibly hold back. Take this chance and investigate thoroughly!"

Anticipation mounted within him, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles whitened and trembled. The truth was about to be revealed; he was about to witness the might of peerless experts.

From the moment the Sacred Qilin unleashed its breath to the instant the white cold was about to strike Liu Wujian and Tianxing was but a heartbeat. Most cultivators only registered a sudden drop in temperature. Those fleeing in panic had no idea a fatal attack had already been launched, missing a sight that would be seared into memory for a lifetime.

Following Zhou Yu’s gaze, Nan Fenglang glimpsed only a streak of white vanishing into the night. He hadn’t witnessed the moment, but could imagine its peril—a single strike from a sacred beast was not something mortals could withstand. Even the aftershock would have been lethal. Yet he himself remained unharmed, which could only mean that not all present were mere mortals. Those who were not must be the two men closest to the Sacred Qilin.

Tianxing halted, raising his hands before him as if conjuring an invisible shield from thin air. The deadly breath vanished a yard from him, as though absorbed by emptiness.

Liu Wujian also stopped. He had done nothing during the attack, his gaze lingering briefly on Tianxing’s outstretched hands, pausing a moment on those pale, tense fingers before stepping forward.

One step forward, as if traversing ten thousand.

The Sacred Qilin, seeing its breath fail to freeze the group of ants, swelled with fury, its body ballooning. Its belly contracted, and it spat again—a breath of white so cold that three yards from its mouth, it crystallized into transparent ice.

The ice crystal, several feet thick but only a short segment, took the shape of a Qilin’s head. Unlike the earlier breath, this chilling crystal did not lower the surrounding temperature; instead, the air warmed by several degrees.

The earlier breath radiated cold, but the ice crystal now seemed to absorb it, making its power all the more terrifying. Yet the true horror was not in this single crystal, but in the barrage that followed. The Sacred Qilin’s chest and abdomen billowed and contracted, hurling one crystal after another like a volley of cannon fire.

Tianxing frowned, lifting his hands above his head. His invisible shield silently absorbed the first crystal, then the second, and the third...

Liu Wujian’s sword hung at his waist, silent and sheathed. He stood unmoving a step ahead of Tianxing, his eyes devoid of emotion, leaving Tianxing to bear the Sacred Qilin’s wrath alone.

From afar, Hua Queyue watched Liu Wujian’s back and Tianxing’s gradually bending arms with growing disappointment. The last hope he’d held for Liu Wujian withered into anger. Since learning of the massacre at the Sword Sect, and seeing each atrocity proved to be Liu Wujian’s doing, he knew his old friend had, for some unknown reason, turned against all of humanity. Yet he had clung to hope, believing Liu Wujian must have his reasons. Now, seeing him again tonight, he understood—Liu Wujian had changed.

Now, as Tianxing began to falter and Liu Wujian remained motionless, Hua Queyue’s heart filled with rage.

Farewell, Liu Wujian.

Liu Wujian, farewell.

Hua Queyue’s hands flashed through a complex series of seals in the blink of an eye.

With grief and resolve, he darted toward the Sacred Qilin, green light flaring from his left hand.

None present knew the Sacred Qilin’s might better than Hua Queyue. He was the first to discover it, before it awoke. Even then, before it fully regained consciousness, it had twice opened its eyes.

The first time, a vast lake froze solid in an instant.

The second time, the realm’s guardian on the perimeter, arriving to investigate, was turned into a statue of ice without warning—proof enough of the beast’s power.

Now the Sacred Qilin was fully awakened, and in a rage. Its current attacks were unimaginable in their force.

Hua Queyue believed that if Tianxing faltered and even one crystal struck the ground, almost everyone present would die. And if Tianxing could not withstand it, who could?

He had no choice but to act. He formed the seal, ready to sacrifice himself to halt the Sacred Qilin.

But after ten meters, he was forced to stop. Someone blocked his way—a black-robed fiend, shrouded in thick shadow, extended a skeletal finger, waving it in warning.

Hua Queyue glanced back at Jin Buhuan, but saw the latter locked in confrontation with Xuan Zhan, somehow summoned again by the black-robed figure.

"Step aside," Hua Queyue said coldly.

"Well, well, that seal just now—was that the God-Sealing Mark? Planning to imprison the little white dog forever? How could I let you pass?" the black-robed fiend croaked.

"If you don’t, we’ll all die here tonight," Hua Queyue replied, surging forward, the green light in his hand lashing toward the fiend.

The figure dissolved into a wisp of darkness, evading the attack. That eerie voice came again, "Tsk, tsk... If you want to die, that’s your business, but you mustn’t seal the little white dog…"

But before he could finish, Hua Queyue had already stopped. He stared ahead, eyes reflecting a blinding white light.