Chapter 244: The Pursuers Have Arrived
Luxianbei was very clear that even though she controlled the Qingyi Celestial Maiden’s powers derived from Celestial Maiden Ya…
Even though Celestial Maiden Ya had revealed everything to her…
Even though she had already accumulated rich experience while condensing the spirit seal of the White Wolf during that time…
It was still no easy task to condense a spirit seal relying on Celestial Maiden Ya’s powers.
The difficulty of condensing Celestial Maiden Ya’s spirit seal, compared to condensing the White Wolf spirit seal using a high-quality visualization diagram like “Hounds’ Hunting Map” and the powerful assistance from the Hundred-Armed Giant, was at least several times greater.
It was like asking a novice who just learned C programming to complete a high-quality independent game within a limited time. Even if the programming could barely pass, the art and narrative would be enough to drive one insane.
In the past, such a task with a success rate of less than ten percent would not even be considered by Luxianbei.
However…
She wanted to survive, both now and in the distant future.
This desperate obsession with survival was not supported by much love or hate, nor was it about righteousness; it was merely due to countless seemingly insignificant ties pulling at her.
She had not found Jiang Li yet to cook a delicious meal for her.
She had promised Stinky Sister a trip, which had not yet happened.
Her father’s lingering soul was still trapped deep within the Lime Men, and she had not rescued him.
Could Water Brother really end up with Inspector Xing?
She wondered if Huasang had successfully caught that big turtle.
The entanglements and misunderstandings with Xiao Hua had yet to be resolved.
And Shen Baiwei, who had been taken to the past, had not been sent back.
If the Calamity Witch were to disappear, Huacheng would surely descend into chaos once again, and those little urban legends would likely become targets for stronger urban legends once more.
Uncle Zhang Shan’s source of materials was completely lost as well.
Boss Hu was probably still waiting for that scholar to return with no sign of hope.
And…
Unknowingly, Luxianbei was already different from the time when her eyes had just regained light; then, she merely feared d*ath and wanted to cling to life.
Now, for the countless ties, even if there was only a one in a thousand or one in ten thousand chance to live, she would steal that power from the embers left by the gods of old!
So… let’s begin! Luxianbei thought fiercely as she gazed at the flame before her.
In the next moment, she emptied her mind, allowing the scene she had glimpsed not long ago to occupy her thoughts, then urged her spirit energy to unravel the strands and depict the figure of Celestial Maiden Ya.
However, during this first attempt, she had yet to complete a full beginning, and with the invincible figure of Celestial Maiden Ya, Luxianbei’s consciousness experienced weak ripples, collapsing in an instant.
But…
Luxianbei never thought she would succeed in one try.
If one attempt failed, then a hundred tries; if a hundred failed, a thousand tries, ten thousand tries!
Until… complete success!
———
At the moment Luxianbei began attempting to condense Celestial Maiden Ya’s spirit seal, besides Proxy Player Sister, there was another woman who was tormented because of her, and that was Shen Baiwei.
After breaking free from the constraints of the Snake of Time’s powers and temporarily correcting the mistakes left by the modifications of Tethys Laboratory personnel, she quickly used her newly acquired abilities on the out-of-control Luxianbei.
Shen Baiwei initially thought that with her newly acquired magical abilities, she would be able to awaken Luxianbei immediately, but she soon realized she was wrong.
“Wake up, Calamity!”
As she used her newly acquired ability to send this call, from the moment the portrait of Calamity was completed in the little book until now, Calamity had indeed escaped the state of chaos in a short time. However…
Why was she still not awake after breaking free from the chaos?
Was she going to sleep through this crisis?
Was it really appropriate to sleep so long in a time of crisis?
Shen Baiwei thought, her expression filled with resentment, glancing down at the unconscious Luxianbei in her arms, then looking around at the tribal warriors selected by the Shaman King gradually gathering towards her, furrowed her brow.
It turns out that pain does not simply disappear, it only shifts from some people to others.
When the Calamity was in a state of chaotic rampage, the pain shifted from the Calamity to those tribal warriors, and when the Calamity fell into unconsciousness, the tribal warriors, blinded by battle intent and rage, lost their targets, and the pain shifted onto Shen Baiwei.
On the war-torn battlefield.
Shen Baiwei was dodging and fleeing with the unconscious Luxianbei while observing the heavily injured tribal warriors, who would have perished long ago if they were normal people, gradually closing in on her, her heart racing like a drum.
Was she to fight against hundreds on her own?
Don’t joke, I’m not Calamity!
How could an assassin compare to a berserker in direct combat? Shen Baiwei wondered.
Breaking free from the Snake of Time’s powers wasn’t without side effects; as the constraints were lifted, those abilities derived from the Snake of Time seemed reluctant to yield, causing troubles and also imposing restrictions.
Changes in spiritual ability were not like a character in a game resetting points and easily reassigning skills with a simple tap.
This situation was similar to a child who had just learned to walk attempting to run; while their legs were indeed their own, running required time and practice.
With the old abilities constrained and the new ones yet to be mastered, Shen Baiwei’s strength was naturally greatly affected, making her dare not move recklessly.
In this situation, faced with nearly a hundred tribal warriors who charged fearlessly like zombies, who would not fall unless their bodies were completely destroyed, Shen Baiwei could barely ensure her and Luxianbei’s safety. Defeating all of them was nearly impossible.
“d*mn it!” Shen Baiwei, seemingly venting her frustration, gave the unconscious Luxianbei a hard slap and gritted her teeth, “You’re as heavy as a dead pig. If only you could exert a little strength yourself, or…”
Or if my spirit patterns were complete, our situation wouldn’t be so difficult, Shen Baiwei added silently.
Just then, fragments of conversations she had overheard from the doctors at Tethys Laboratory and the deep-seated fear that arose after hearing those discussions came back to her, giving her a strong premonition that one day she would return to that laboratory that had brought her endless nightmares.
Her intuition and the strong emptiness conveyed by her spirit patterns told her that she had left something particularly important behind in Tethys Laboratory.
That was something that would scare the doctors at Tethys Laboratory to the point of altering and erasing her memories, using the powers of the Snake of Time to interfere with and destroy her original spirit patterns, and they would go to great lengths to hide it.
And that thing would become the weapon to support her in completely destroying Tethys Laboratory and achieving revenge!
Of course, the premise was that she had to escape the current peril…
Shen Baiwei glanced at the tribal warriors, who looked like demons crawling out of hell, and shook her head.
At that moment, a chaotic sound of hooves came from afar, shaking the ground.
It seemed a large group of troops was advancing towards them.
In the next second, drums thundered.
In the distance, atop the walls of Yumen Pass, Long Bang heard the familiar sound of drums, urged his spirit energy, and shouted at Shen Baiwei on the battlefield.
“Miss Shen! Quickly enter the city, the Shaman King is coming!”
Upon hearing this, Shen Baiwei’s face turned pale.
———
Five miles away.
A contingent marched across the desert, and through the dust kicked up by the hooves, there were about three hundred men.
Their pitch-black armor was mostly broken, more than half of them were injured, but they were undeterred, rushing ahead like the wind.
This group of Longxiang Army cavalry, led by Longxiang, was responsible for engaging the elite troops of the Shaman King’s army and luring the Shaman King to Yumen Pass.
They had fought fiercely all the way from their station, and despite encountering ambush reinforcements along the way, they suffered significant casualties, reducing their number from over twelve hundred to just over three hundred.
To ensure that these over three hundred men arrived here successfully, many more reinforcements and volunteers recruited by Longxiang had fallen into the endless yellow sand, never to have the opportunity to see Yumen Pass or their home again…
The horrors of the monsters under the Shaman King were evident.
After charging for another two miles, Longxiang raised his hand to signal for the army to halt.
In less than the time it takes to incense, they would reach Yumen Pass, and before that, they would take one last brief rest.
Longxiang dismounted and turned to look at the soldiers sitting on the ground, hesitating to speak.
The three hundred Longxiang Army Armor Soldiers sat quietly, like black statues, their armor tattered and dirty, and their weapons beside them riddled with gaps and in disrepair.
They took advantage of this brief rest to adjust their armor, trying to cover vital areas with the already broken armor, or tearing strips from their garments to tightly bind their wounded arms to their weapons, or simply lowering their visors and bowing their heads, holding water pouches to moisten their cracked lips, with dazed eyes staring at the ground, not knowing what they were thinking.
Gathered together, the sounds of heavy breathing were the only noise, overshadowing the fraying sounds in the whipping wind that made the military flags flap violently.
About three minutes later, estimating that the pursuing Shaman King’s army would arrive soon, Longxiang remounted.
A fierce wind blew by, and the decorative feathers made of unknown birds fluttered above his head.
Seeing this, the Longxiang Army Armor Soldiers quickly returned to their mounts within a breath.
With a glance over his shoulder at the regrouped Longxiang Army Armor Soldiers, Longxiang calmly said, “Everyone, do you still remember what I told you earlier?”
“We remember!”
“Are you afraid?”
“Not afraid!”
“Very good!” Longxiang nodded, withdrew his gaze, and looked towards Yumen Pass as if he had made some inner resolution, and spoke in a deep voice, “Beat the drums!”
As soon as the voice fell, the banner waved, and the war drums thundered.
The earth-shattering sound of drums seemed to drown out all the noise echoing across the Gobi, but it could not silence the heavy footsteps approaching from behind.
The pursuers had arrived.
The last battle at Yumen Pass a thousand years ago, accompanied by the sudden neighing of the Longxiang Army’s war horses, marked the beginning…
