Chapter 80: The Ethereal Temple
Chapter 80: The Ethereal Temple
“Mu Feng, Brother Mu Feng…”
Sky Splitting Tiger’s voice was weak. His limbs grew colder and colder, his whole body trembled, and his teeth chattered uncontrollably. The severe blood loss, and the aftereffects of forcibly using the Gold Needle Stimulation technique, were taking hold.
“Hmm, I’m here. Big brother, don’t speak. Calm your mind, circulate your inner technique. I’ll help heal you,” Mu Feng replied.
Sensing his brother Sky Splitting Tiger’s wounds worsen, Mu Feng’s eyes turned red. He knew they couldn’t delay any longer; they had to leave this place quickly. Yet, the raging wind and bone-chilling cold outside, thick with Yin Energy, made venturing out suicide. Gritting his teeth, he made a swift decision. Even as he spoke, he placed one hand firmly on Sky Splitting Tiger’s back.
After swallowing the Blood Pearl, condensed from the Millennium Tree Demon’s blood essence and Yang Energy, he hadn’t directly broken through to the Late Mortal Realm. But his nearly exhausted Spiritual Power was rapidly replenished. He had also comprehended the Millennium Tree Demon’s innate ability, greatly increasing his strength. Stirring the Ancestral Sorcerer’s Essence Blood within him, his pure Spiritual Power and Yang Energy continuously poured into Sky Splitting Tiger’s body, driving out the invasive cold and Yin Energy.
Three long gusts, one short gust – this was the cold wind’s recurring pattern.
The cold wind had been blowing for a while now. If they could just hold on for another half an incense stick’s time, they could escape death.
Hold on!
No matter what, they had to hold on!
“It’s useless. This is a Restriction left by the Ethereal Sage. Unbreakable. This place… it’s the legendary Ethereal Temple passed down through generations in the Hundred Thousand Mountains.”
Sky Splitting Tiger shivered violently, his voice growing fainter. “Brother Mu Feng… don’t… don’t waste your strength. While you still have Spiritual Power and Yang Energy left… run! Get out alone. Never… never come back. Before you go… tell me, Big Brother… is… is Shuang’er pretty? Is she?”
Shuang’er?
At these words, an image surfaced in Mu Feng’s mind: the first time he went to the Green Mountain Villa to add words to the horizontal plaque. Jing Wushuang, dressed in pure white, quietly grinding ink beside him. Her purity, like ice, her kindness, her gentle nature, like water—that moment had been deeply etched into his consciousness.
“Is she pretty?” Sky Splitting Tiger pressed weakly. As the cold intensified, spreading beyond his limbs, his abdomen too began turning cold and stiff.
“She is!”
Mu Feng nodded firmly.
Though he didn’t understand his brother’s sudden question, feeling Sky Splitting Tiger’s body grow colder, his life force fading, Mu Feng’s eyes grew redder still.
“Go-ood… go-ood… go-ood!”
Sky Splitting Tiger nodded. A trace of a relieved smile appeared on his icy, stiff face. He continued, his voice raspy and slow, “Then, Brother Mu Feng… do you… do you like Shuang’er? Would you… would you be willing to watch over Shuang’er for me… for Big Brother… for the rest of your life? Big Brother… can’t go on. This time… truly… can’t escape. Big Brother’s life… though short… I have no regrets. In your humble opinion… never did anything shameful… never disgraced our Jing family ancestors… can die without regrets. The only thing Big Brother worries for… is Shuang’er. She is strong… good… diligent… but… after all… still just a delicate girl.”
“Big brother!”
Sensing Sky Splitting Tiger’s Yang Energy draining away faster, hearing his words like a final testament, Mu Feng felt a tightness in his nose. He desperately stirred his Ancestral Sorcerer’s Essence Blood, pouring Spiritual Power and Yang Energy into Sky Splitting Tiger without regard for himself. But Sky Splitting Tiger’s injuries were too severe. After inhaling the Yin Energy surrounding the Ethereal Temple, his wounds had deteriorated rapidly. No amount of infused energy could help now.
“Life ends in death… That is what every person… must face one day… A true man… sheds not tears lightly. Why… cry?” Sky Splitting Tiger tried to smile but found his facial muscles too stiff. He could only manage a grimace.
Gathering a breath with difficulty, he spoke in broken gasps, “Mu… Brother Mu Feng… we haven’t known each other long… but… conflict makes acquainted friends. Back… back in the bamboo forest… after those three battles… this Big Brother knew… you were no ordinary fish trapped in a pond! In… in times to come… you will surely be… a great figure who commands wind and rain! Those who shape the ages… which one lacked passion? I do… do not ask for Shuang’er to enjoy riches and honor… just… just that in her lifetime… she has a warm home… just that you… you never abandon her… Brother Mu Feng… te-tell me… can… can you do it?”
Perhaps it was a final rally, a surge of clarity before the end. As he spoke, Sky Splitting Tiger suddenly mustered his strength and turned towards Mu Feng. His eyes, once fiercely bright like a tiger’s, were now clouded grey. They stared unblinkingly at Mu Feng, full of longing for this world and brimming with urgent expectation.
“Big brother, rest assured. I will watch over Shuang’er!”
Mu Feng’s expression was resolute. He turned and hoisted Sky Splitting Tiger onto his back, saying firmly, “However, I absolutely will not leave you here alone. If we die… then we die together right here!”
Whoosh…
The biting cold wind howled, heavy with Yin Energy, tearing through the air like dark smoke. It peeled away the protective Blood Vines wrapped around their bodies layer by destructive layer. As the Blood Vines lessened, the wind’s stabbing chill penetrated deeply, accompanied by the all-pervasive Yin Energy. And this was only half way; the terrifying cold wind would rage for at least another half an incense stick’s time.
Staying hidden inside was already so difficult. Charging out recklessly? That wasn’t just risky; it was suicide.
Mu Feng understood the danger perfectly. But at this moment, he had no choice.
Braving the storm, carrying his dying brother out to find the Ghost Mother offered some slim hope of saving him. Waiting here passively, trapped? Even a delay of another half an incense stick’s time could very well mean Sky Splitting Tiger turning into a cold corpse!
“No! Don’t… don’t worry about me!”
Sky Splitting Tiger protested, his voice cracking, but it was useless against Mu Feng’s iron resolve.
He felt a sudden constriction as every strand of Blood Vine wrapped securely around his body, blocking the howling wind. Waves of warmth and Yang Energy surged through the blood-red vines, sustaining his fading life. Meanwhile, Mu Feng’s body was left completely exposed to the dreadful cold wind and the invasive Yin Energy.
He couldn’t sustain two things at once. To protect his dying brother, Mu Feng had to gamble everything.
He gathered no Blood Vines around himself. He didn’t even attempt to form Blood Armor, which required immense power. He wore only his thin blue robe, betting with his own body. Win, and he would carry his brother to safety against all odds. Lose, and he would join the other unfortunate souls who had trespassed here, becoming nothing more than a frozen corpse.
Sharing hardship, weathering the storm!
In that instant, Mu Feng irrevocably tied his own fate to Sky Splitting Tiger’s. They would share this calamity.
While the icy wind outside was terrifying, Mu Feng knew he had a good chance of forcing his way out alone. But abandoning his gravely wounded sworn brother? Watching Sky Splitting Tiger die right before his eyes? Absolutely impossible!
“Go!”
The moment the last Blood Vine cocooned Sky Splitting Tiger securely, Mu Feng snatched up the Overlord Spear from the ground. With a fierce shout, he charged outward at top speed.
First step: bone-numbing cold slammed into his face.
Second step: his whole body turned icy.
Third step: an agonizing, needle-like pain pierced his skin everywhere.
Fourth step: the sound of the wind faded. He could no longer feel the cold. His body began turning numb… stiff.
Within moments, Mu Feng’s speed slowed drastically. His steps grew heavier and heavier. Simultaneously, his internal Spiritual Power and Yang Energy drained away at an alarming rate. And the safe edge of the Forest Sea? It was still miles away. A distance he could cross in a blink normally, now seemed impossibly far, like the ends of the earth.