Chapter 81: Struggle in the Snowy Night

Xu Lin watched as Xu Ziyan left and disappeared into the wind and snow. Then, he flew on his sword and left the Talisman Array, landing on the snowy ground. His heart was in his throat as he nervously looked at the Talisman Array in the sky and listened to the rumbling sounds of attacks from inside.

The snowfall grew even heavier. The snow on the ground was already above his ankles, and he couldn’t see anything beyond five meters.

Xu Ziyan, who was rushing through the heavy snow, suddenly stopped. She shouted to Xu Wenli and Han Yue, who were flying on swords in the sky.

“Wait for me here!”

After saying this, Xu Ziyan turned around and hurried back.

“Ziyan!”

Xu Wenli called out urgently, but Xu Ziyan had already moved more than five meters away and vanished into the wind and snow. Xu Wenli and Han Yue exchanged a helpless look before descending from the sky and waiting where they stood.

After moving several dozen meters away from Xu Wenli and Han Yue, Xu Ziyan activated the hiding ability of the Snow Force. Instantly, she disappeared into the wind and snow.

At that moment, Xu Lin stood below the Talisman Array, looking up at it in the sky. The wild wind mixed with heavy snow whistled past his ears and hit his face, making it hard for him to keep his eyes open.

From the wind and snow behind Xu Lin, a hand suddenly reached out. That hand raised a thumb and pressed it against Xu Lin’s ear. Xu Lin’s body went limp and fell backward.

The owner of the hand emerged from the wind and snow. It was Xu Ziyan, who had turned back. With one hand, she caught the falling Xu Lin. With the other hand, she took the top-grade fifth-rank Talisman from Xu Lin’s hand and stored it in her Storage Pouch. Then she turned around, carrying Xu Lin on her back, and rushed through the wind and snow toward Zhongdu City.

Soon, Xu Ziyan carried Xu Lin back to where Xu Wenli, Han Yue, and Xu Yundong were waiting. She handed Xu Lin over to Xu Wenli and said softly,

“Take him back to the clan. Go quickly!”

After speaking, she turned around and rushed back in the direction she came from, disappearing into the wind and snow in an instant.

Seeing Xu Ziyan leave, Xu Wenli carried Xu Lin on her back and called out lightly, “Let’s go!”

She rose into the air on her sword. Han Yue also brought Xu Yundong along, flying on his sword as they hurried toward Zhongdu City.

Xu Ziyan returned to the spot below the Talisman Array. She looked up at the Talisman Array in the sky and saw golden light flashing inside it. The rumbling sounds continued without end. The glow of the Talisman Array was rapidly dimming, and it looked like it was about to be broken.

“We are only five miles away from Zhongdu City. If we can hold on just a little longer, Xu Wenli and the others will make it back to the clan.”

Thinking this, Xu Ziyan raised both hands and quickly made a series of complex Hand Seals. Finally, she reached out toward the Talisman Array in the sky and guided it. The Talisman Array, which trapped Yang Leng and the others, slowly descended and finally landed in front of Xu Ziyan.

Xu Ziyan only had one top-grade fifth-rank Talisman left in her Storage Pouch. She was saving it for her last line of defense. Xu Ziyan’s plan was to have the Talisman Array buy a little more time. As for her own safety, she wasn’t too worried. She still had one fifth-rank Talisman, and she could also hide using the Snow Force. Escaping wasn’t impossible. That was why she came back, knocked out Xu Lin, and stayed behind herself.

Xu Ziyan stretched out one hand and pressed it against one of the main Talismans of the Talisman Array. She continuously channeled the True Essence from her body into that Talisman. Instantly, the glow on the Talisman Array brightened again. The Talisman Array, which had been on the verge of collapse, became stable once more.

The sounds from within the Talisman Array paused briefly, then furious shouts and rumbling attacks erupted.

The glow on the Talisman Array dimmed again. Xu Ziyan had no choice but to pour more of her True Essence into it. Supporting such a large Talisman Array required more Spiritual Power than Xu Ziyan had imagined. In just a dozen breaths, the True Essence in her body was almost completely drained.

At that point, Xu Ziyan regretted her decision deeply. As soon as her hand touched the Talisman Array, it started to continuously absorb her True Essence, making it impossible for her to stop. Her True Essence was nearly exhausted, but the Talisman Array kept drawing more from her body.

Xu Ziyan widened her eyes, unwilling to accept what was happening. She knew very well that in just a few more breaths, she would lose her life here. She never expected that the Talisman Array she set up would end up taking her own life.

“Crack~~”

Xu Ziyan clearly heard a crisp sound from inside her body. Suddenly, she felt a massive amount of Spiritual Energy, so thick it was almost liquid, gushing out wildly from over a dozen Acupoints in her body. In an instant, it filled her Meridians and her Dantian. Even though the Talisman Array kept absorbing it, it couldn’t keep up with the outburst of Spiritual Power.

Xu Ziyan didn’t know where this Spiritual Power came from. She didn’t know why her Acupoints contained such vast amounts of Spiritual Energy. She didn’t know it was because she had been unconscious for three days and three nights in the Spiritual Spring in Cangmang Mountain. She also didn’t know that the essence of the Spiritual Spring had filled all 365 Acupoints in her body. The energy that burst out now was only from a dozen of those Acupoints.

But at that moment, Xu Ziyan didn’t have time to think about these things. Her body was in extreme pain. Earlier, her True Essence had been nearly sucked dry by the Talisman Array, like a dried-up river. Now, it was filled to bursting with Spiritual Power, like a flooding river. Xu Ziyan felt she might be torn apart by the Spiritual Power inside her at any moment, blown to pieces.

What was hardest to bear was the mental fear and torment. Xu Ziyan forced herself to endure the tearing pain in her mind and tried to guide the wild Spiritual Power inside her body. But her weak strength couldn’t control such a huge amount of Spiritual Power. For a time, the fierce energy inside her was like wild horses running free, like a roaring river, crashing everywhere inside her body.

Soon, fine droplets of blood seeped out from Xu Ziyan’s skin, covering her in red. Her eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. Her endurance had reached its limit.

At that time, above Zhongdu City, the falling snow in the air suddenly changed its path. Two swords descended from the sky. Xu Wenli, carrying Xu Lin on her back, landed. Han Yue and Xu Yundong landed beside her.

They had to stop. As soon as they entered Zhongdu City, they felt a warning Aura Pressure coming from the city walls. After they landed, a group of people appeared in front of them. They were the city guard Disciples from the City Lord’s Manor.

By then, Xu Lin had regained consciousness and got down from Xu Wenli’s back. Seeing that he was already in Zhongdu City, he understood that Xu Ziyan must have knocked him out, then had Xu Wenli bring him back to Zhongdu City while she stayed behind in the dangerous place.

“Ziyan is so brave! She stepped forward in such a dangerous situation! And even though I tried to take the danger upon myself and told her to return to Zhongdu City, she secretly came back, knocked me out, and had someone bring me safely back to Zhongdu City!”

Thinking this, Xu Lin looked back into the distance. Through the heavy wind and snow, he seemed to see Xu Ziyan’s struggling figure. He closed his eyes in despair, his heart aching. A trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth…