klisemfg Chapter 540 The Night Before the Seal Collapses
Chapter 540 The Night Before the Seal Collapses
The moment the bronze mirror shattered, I felt as if the whole world had fallen silent.
That wasn't a simple cracking sound, but a shriek as if the soul were being torn apart.
Countless fragments containing ancient energy, accompanied by blinding white light, burst forth in all directions.
I almost instinctively closed my eyes, but my body was too weak to move due to the depletion of my spiritual energy. I could only stand there, frozen in place, waiting for the devastating impact.
The expected excruciating pain did not come.
A warm and solid chest stood in front of me, and Wen Chen's cool and refreshing aura completely enveloped me.
He used his back to withstand all the impacts of the oncoming debris.
I could hear the dull thud of the shards piercing flesh, and I could even feel the slightest tremor in his body.
"Wen Chen!" My heart tightened, and I suddenly opened my eyes.
At the same time, the low shouts of the ethereal immortal and Zi Ling rang out, and gentle yet resilient barriers rapidly opened around us, blocking all the subsequent energy shockwaves.
The violent tremors of the palace gradually subsided, and the lingering smoke and dust slowly settled.
The world seemed to have returned to silence.
But I know this is just the suffocating calm before the storm.
My gaze was fixed on the center ahead, the place where the bronze mirror once hung, now just a void.
Wen Chen continued to protect me. He did not turn around, holding his long sword horizontally in front of his chest, adopting the most vigilant defensive stance.
His breathing was somewhat rapid, clearly indicating that the impact had caused him considerable injury.
As the smoke cleared, a figure stood there quietly.
It's him.
That face is the one I've longed for for hundreds of years.
Long eyebrows that reach her temples, phoenix eyes that gleam like stars, a high and straight nose, and thin lips that are slightly pursed.
She wore a moon-white robe, spotless and elegant, like a celestial being from a painting.
That was my master, the most brilliant and talented immortal in the Nine Heavens.
I once thought that when I saw him again, I would be so excited that I would burst into tears, rush into his arms, and tell him about the longing and suffering I had endured for hundreds of years.
But now, I just stand there blankly, as if my limbs and bones are frozen by invisible ice, and even my blood has stopped flowing.
Because those eyes, which I had seen countless times before and which were always full of tenderness and smiles, were now filled with an unfathomable indifference.
There was no joy of a long-awaited reunion, no relief of escaping danger, not even the slightest trace of human life.
There was only a coldness that looked down upon them like ants, and... a hint of mockery.
"Master...?" My lips trembled, and the voice that came out was so dry that it didn't sound like my own.
Wen Chen sensed my unusual behavior. He turned his head slightly, glanced at me out of the corner of his eye, and said in a low and urgent voice, "Xiao Yao, something's wrong. The aura around him... is very dangerous."
Of course I knew something was wrong.
In my memory, my master would shake his head with a helpless smile when I was slacking off in sword practice, and then personally guide me through each move; when I failed my tribulation and almost died, he would sacrifice his own cultivation to rebuild my immortal bones, and then be so weak that he went into seclusion for a hundred years; on my birthday, he would travel all over the mountains and rivers just to find a handful of "morning dew snow" that could make me happy.
He is the only light in my life, the god I firmly believe will come to save me no matter how desperate the situation I am in.
But the person in front of us just stood there quietly, his gaze sweeping over us one by one, as if he were examining a few insignificant items.
When his gaze fell on me, a slight tremor finally appeared in his icy eyes.
That's the kind of look you give when you're looking at a "work of art".
A perfect "work" that he created by his own hands and is now finally completed.
"You...you're not Master." Zi Ling's voice carried a hint of surprise and uncertainty. "Who are you? And why do you resemble Immortal Venerable Xuanqing?"
The ethereal immortal did not speak, but his tightly furrowed brows and slightly narrowed eyes said it all.
They could all see that the "Immortal Venerable Xuanqing" before them was just a stranger with the same appearance.
No, they are more terrifying than strangers.
The aura emanating from him, the same dark spiritual power as the black-robed man before him, filled with malice and a desire for control, was spreading out without any concealment.
My heart sank little by little into an abyss.
That most absurd and terrifying guess is being ruthlessly confirmed.
"Ha ha……"
A soft laugh escaped from those familiar lips.
The laughter was low, yet it was like a sharp blade coated with chilling poison, piercing precisely into my heart.
"My dear disciple, after hundreds of years, have we become so estranged that you don't even recognize your master?"
He spoke.
The voice was still the same, gentle and warm, but the content of the words made me feel as if I had fallen into an ice cave.
The black-robed man's voice echoed in my mind again: "You think you can break free? You're nothing but a puppet in my hands."
Two completely different voices, yet both pointing to the same truth, intertwined and overlapped wildly in my mind, tearing at my last shred of reason.
puppet……
I suddenly looked down at the ring on my right ring finger, which I had once regarded as a token of our contract.
This ring was placed on my finger by my master on the day I ascended to heaven. He said it was a testament to our master-disciple relationship.
It was this very ring that just became the sole key to unlocking the core seal.
why?
Why does the thing used to seal him require a token he personally gave me to unlock?
A terrible thought, like a venomous snake, crawled into my mind, making me tremble uncontrollably.
Unless... it was all a scam from the very beginning.
Sealing him was not to imprison him, but to protect him, or rather, to protect something vital within him.
From the moment I was accepted as his apprentice, my sole purpose in life was to use the "cause" he planted with his own hands to reap the "effect" he desired.
I didn't come to save him.
I'm here to... "release the tiger back to the mountain".
Or rather, I am here to retrieve the other half of his power that was sealed away.
"Who...who are you?" I raised my head and asked, using all my strength, word by word.
Tears blurred my vision, making it impossible for me to see the expression on his face, but I could feel that cold gaze was always fixed on me.
He didn't answer my question, but slowly extended his hand towards me.
That hand, with its distinct knuckles, long and fair, had gently stroked my head countless times.
But now, I only feel that hand is like a giant net that is about to take my life, dragging me into the darkness of despair.
"Come here, Yao'er." He called my name softly, his tone so gentle it could melt hearts, as if all the coldness and indifference before were just my imagination. "You did a good job. Now, return it to its rightful owner."
His gaze fell on the ring on my hand.
At that moment, I finally understood.
I am not the hero who broke the seal, I am merely the priest who offered sacrifices.
As for myself, along with everything I cherish, from beginning to end, I was nothing more than a pawn on his chessboard that he could discard at any time.
Wen Chen's body tensed even more. He took half a step forward, shielding me even more completely behind him, the tip of his sword pointing directly at "Master" in front of him, and sharp sword energy had already begun to swirl around him.
"Don't even think about touching her!"
However, the man merely glanced at Wen Chen with disdain, as if looking at an ant trying to stop a chariot with its bare hands.
His gaze returned to my face, and the mockery in his deep eyes grew even stronger.
He didn't even acknowledge Wen Chen's provocation, but continued to speak to me with a hint of amusement in his voice.
"How can anyone else sever the karmic ties I have sown with my own hands?"
Before I could finish speaking, my right hand, adorned with a ring, involuntarily rose up.
An invisible force is completely taking control of my body through that small ring.
I watched helplessly as my hand reached over Wen Chen's shoulder and slowly extended towards the man I once deeply respected, but who now filled me with utter fear.
Inside the palace, the atmosphere was frozen solid.
Wen Chen, Zi Ling, and the ethereal immortal all wore expressions of shock and wariness.
And I became a sword hanging over their heads, the enemy's perfect weapon and hostage.
A genuine smile finally appeared on that familiar face, a smile that mixed satisfaction, cruelty, and a sense of triumph after a great success.
He watched as my hand was manipulated and reached out to him, his eyes revealing the greed of someone looking at a treasure that was about to be regained.