Chapter 1382: Healing

Seeing that vast, sky-filling tide returning, the three had no choice but to hide underground again. They remained beneath the rubble, peering through gaps in the ruins.

There was simply no way to communicate with these Butterfly Rakshasas.

The only one capable of communication, the Holy Rakshasa, was presently in a state where it recognized neither kin nor friend.

Even the Five Saints had been unable to cope with such circumstances. For the three of them, it went without saying. The instant they showed themselves, they would certainly be besieged. And since they still did not know the outcome of the battle, hiding was their only option for now.

As the immense tide drew near, Niu Youdao's pupils abruptly contracted and his heart tightened.

A Blood Rakshasa was flying at the front.

Held horizontally in its arms was the Holy Rakshasa.

Looking carefully with his Dharma Eye, Niu Youdao could see blood all over the Holy Rakshasa. It appeared to have fallen unconscious. Both wings hung limply behind it, swaying without strength.

Yun Ji and Xi Haitang stared as well, unable to tell what had happened or whether the Holy Rakshasa was alive or dead.

"I wonder what condition the Five Saints are in now," Xi Haitang muttered.

The returning Rakshasas were not carrying only the Holy Rakshasa. Some were also bringing back grievously wounded Butterfly Rakshasas that had survived.

Outside the palace city, at the battlefield, Butterfly Rakshasas descended from the sky and lifted the survivors still struggling and gasping on the ground.

They also collected the dead.

The battle had seemed long and earth-shaking, but in truth it had not lasted very long. The Five Saints had simply been too powerful. The number of Butterfly Rakshasas killed or wounded by their hands already had to be counted in the tens of thousands.

The three watched countless Butterfly Rakshasas sweep magnificently across the sky, then descend upon the tallest mountain outside the palace city.

Niu Youdao turned to Yun Ji. "Go. Let's move over and take a look."

Yun Ji knew he was worried about whether the Holy Rakshasa lived or died. She nodded, used her art to travel underground, and took both men toward the mountain.

Several times they quietly surfaced just enough to look around.

Finding the Holy Rakshasa was easy because nearly all those gathered immediately around it were Blood Rakshasas.

They eventually found a suitable observation point and hid inside a steep slope. Through a tiny gap in the earth between stones they had carefully separated, they watched what was happening outside.

The Holy Rakshasa was still cradled horizontally in the arms of that Blood Rakshasa.

Several Blood Rakshasas were using their claws to dig into the trunk of an enormous tree towering into the sky.

None of the three knew what they intended to do, so they watched closely.

Once the Blood Rakshasas had excavated a hollow in the trunk roughly half the size of a door panel, several of them joined together and placed the Holy Rakshasa inside. It looked almost as though they were putting it into a coffin standing upright.

The Holy Rakshasa lay within, utterly still.

The scene gave the impression of a burial.

Yun Ji glanced back at Niu Youdao's reaction.

As expected, his eyes had narrowed slightly and his lips were pressed tight.

Then something strange happened.

A group of Blood Rakshasas flew up and clung to the trunk, apparently using demonic power to drive some process within the tree.

Before long, glowing liquid began seeping from the wounds they had cut inside the hollow.

The luminous fluid was thick and viscous.

More and more of it emerged.

Gradually it wrapped around the Holy Rakshasa's body.

After waiting for a while, the glow within the enveloping liquid began to pulse, brightening and dimming as though breathing. The rhythm became steadily clearer. Between each rise and fall of light, the silhouette of the Holy Rakshasa could be faintly seen inside.

After they waited longer, the three noticed something unusual.

The light radiating from the leaves of that enormous tree, whose trunk would have required dozens of people holding hands to encircle, was visibly dimming.

Looking off to the side, they saw other Butterfly Rakshasas doing the same thing to other trees, placing wounded members of their kind inside hollows cut into the trunks.

Those injured Rakshasas simply did not receive the same treatment as the Holy Rakshasa. They did not have a whole group of Blood Rakshasas helping them.

The scene made Niu Youdao and the others realize that the Holy Rakshasa might only be injured rather than dead.

This was probably some healing method unique to the Butterfly Rakshasa race.

When the light in the crown of the great tree finally went completely dark, the glow in the liquid surrounding the Holy Rakshasa gradually faded as well.

The Blood Rakshasas worked together again, digging the Holy Rakshasa out of the sticky fluid and taking it to another huge tree.

Once more they cut a hollow into the trunk.

Once more they placed the Holy Rakshasa inside.

Once more they repeated the same process.

Meanwhile, many holes were cut into the trunk of the tree whose light had gone out. Dead Butterfly Rakshasas, or severed limbs and other remains that had been collected from the battlefield, were stuffed into those hollows.

It was much like burial.

The scene gave a vivid sense of how life and death coexisted among the living things of this world.

Niu Youdao fell into thought.

Perhaps, just as he had once said himself, this world truly was the world that belonged to Yin'er.

Yun Ji knew Niu Youdao cared more about the Holy Rakshasa's condition than anything else.

So she took the two men underground once again and found another observation point, one from which they could look directly at the Holy Rakshasa inside the tree hollow.

When they looked elsewhere, they discovered that some injured Butterfly Rakshasas had already recovered completely by the time the light from one tree faded and they emerged.

This astonishing method of healing opened all three men's eyes.

But Niu Youdao's expression remained grave.

They watched the Holy Rakshasa moved through more than a dozen enormous trees in succession. Every one of those trees was immense. Yet even after absorbing the radiance of so many, the Holy Rakshasa still showed no sign of waking.

Its injuries were plainly severe.

"Looks like the injuries aren't light!" Xi Haitang suddenly sighed with feeling. "Zhangsun Mi is dead. I wonder what happened to the other four Saints."

To have personally witnessed the fall of one of the Saints was something few could experience without emotion.

The Nine Saints had become Eight Saints.

One could imagine that the structure within the Sacred Realm, and even throughout Misty Pavilion, would undergo enormous change. Who knew whether the turbulence would affect the situation beneath Heaven as well?

At his words, Yun Ji looked at Niu Youdao and lowered her voice. "Whatever condition the other four Saints are in, one point is certain. Without the support of vast numbers of Butterfly Rakshasas, once the Holy Rakshasa leaves this place, it will be very difficult for it to stand against the Nine Saints."

Some conclusions could only be drawn after seeing the reality with one's own eyes.

Niu Youdao understood what she meant.

Using the Holy Rakshasa for this test had, in a sense, failed.

Outside the Butterfly Dream Illusory Realm, facing the Nine Saints would be extremely dangerous for the Holy Rakshasa.

Xi Haitang said, "For now, it looks like the Holy Rakshasa is only badly wounded. Fortunately all Nine Saints didn't come in together. If all nine had joined hands, the Holy Rakshasa might have been in danger from the very beginning. Still, this Holy Rakshasa... if it can summon a Rakshasa Tide to help it, why didn't it call them the instant it realized something was wrong? Fighting alone against five at once—why put itself through that?"

Yun Ji knew there were things he did not understand and explained, "It wasn't luck that all Nine Saints didn't enter together. There was a reason. Master Dao had already considered the danger and arranged in advance to draw the other four away."

"Draw them away?" Xi Haitang was astonished. He had not known Niu Youdao possessed that kind of ability, enough to manipulate the movements of four Sacred Venerables.

At Yun Ji's words, Niu Youdao turned and swept her with a cold glance. "You certainly know a lot. Spend enough time around Hongniang and you grow more and more of her bad habits. Have I been too easy to speak to?"

The words were severe.

His mood was already poor.

Hearing the rebuke and seeing his expression, Yun Ji instantly realized she had misspoken.

Some matters, once exposed, could become disastrous. If Xi Haitang ever fell into the hands of the other Saints, if word leaked that those four had been deliberately drawn away, a great many things might be exposed.

The Fox Clan side.

Yuan Gang's side.

Ao Feng's side.

Lan Ming's side.

Their connection to this place.

One careless sentence could produce catastrophic consequences.

After Niu Youdao struck her with that verbal warning, embarrassment appeared on Yun Ji's face. She knew perfectly well she should never have let that sentence slip.

Xi Haitang sensed something was wrong and asked, "What does that mean?"

Niu Youdao said, "Some things are better left unknown. When the time comes for you to know, naturally you'll know. Knowing too early benefits none of us."

Those were not empty words.

If the day came when Xi Haitang's knowledge truly threatened this side, Niu Youdao might have to consider silencing him permanently.

He was not Yuan Gang.

When it came to silencing people, Niu Youdao was entirely capable of doing it.

Xi Haitang frowned.

What they were involved in was no small matter. Naturally, he had concerns when so many things remained unclear.

Yun Ji knew her careless words had created trouble, so she quickly changed the subject. "We don't know the condition of the other four who came in, and we also don't know whether the four who never entered will come once they hear what happened. If they arrive again while the Holy Rakshasa is like this, I'm afraid it may be in danger."

Niu Youdao said, "Judging from how quickly the other Butterfly Rakshasas recover, by the time those four arrive, the Holy Rakshasa should have recovered as well. With so many Butterfly Rakshasas protecting it, those four probably won't find it easy to succeed. For now, what matters is whether Wu Chang and the other three managed to leave alive."

Xi Haitang said, "Then let's return. Once we reach the exit and ask, we'll naturally know whether they came out alive. I also shouldn't remain away from Myriad Beasts Sect for too long, otherwise it'll be difficult to explain."

The words had barely left his mouth when something suddenly flashed past the tiny observation hole.

All three turned their heads.

A pair of eyes had appeared at the opening, staring inside.

Perhaps the sound of their conversation had been noticed when they let their guard slip.

All three immediately knew something was wrong.

Sure enough—

Bang!

A claw smashed through the soil and thrust inside.

"Go!" Yun Ji called.

Xi Haitang twisted and struck with one palm, blasting the Blood Rakshasa outside away.

The three seized the opening and fled underground.

A group of Butterfly Rakshasas, alerted by the disturbance, rapidly swarmed over and began digging furiously.

...

"Come out! Come out! Don't you dare show yourself?"

In the Desolate Marsh Deadlands, atop a forested mountain at the agreed meeting place, Luo Qiu suddenly poured cultivation into his voice and shouted.

He had waited here for a full day without Yin Ji appearing.

He knew she probably would not come.

Yin Ji only wanted to see her daughter. She did not want to see him, perhaps because she feared he might try to kill her again.

But Luo Qiu wanted to see that woman.

He had once doted on her so deeply.

He had even enabled Wu Chang's rise because of her.

Yet the final result had infuriated him beyond measure.

That woman had deceived him for so many years.

How was he supposed to endure that?

No matter how angrily he shouted, no figure appeared and no answer came.

...

Far away, in another stretch of mountain forest, Hei Yun emerged from concealment and walked to the cloud-wreathed cliff where Yin Ji stood.

"Old Clan Chief, Luo Qiu has left."

Yin Ji silently nodded.

Grief dimmed her expression.

The scene in which Luo Qiu had coldly and ruthlessly tried to force her to death, even using their child to threaten her, remained carved into her bones and impossible to forget.

[End of Chapter 1382]