Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
Lotus stabilized herself and then motioned Han Fen to not panic. Instead of directly walking to Wild Horse, she instead first turned to the Waning Moon Hall disciples on the right side, looking calmly at each of them before saying in a rare, gentle voice, “I’ve already found the formula for the antidote to the Blood Coagulation Pill.”
For the dozens of surviving disciples of the Essence Pavilion, the Blood Coagulation Pill was a strange and meaningless drug name. But for the disciples of the Waning Moon Hall, who accounted for more than half of the people here, her words were a source of endless joy. Even Wild Horse temporarily restrained his killing aura and turned around to listen to Lotus.
The Waning Moon Hall was famous for its secret arts and pills. They even used them to strengthen their disciples’ loyalty. And the Blood Coagulation Pill was one of their most important tools. It was made from dozens of exotic flowers and rare herbs that were mixed together with a piece of living human flesh. And then the taker had to eat the antidote regularly. With this as a threat, the Hall Leader could control the hall’s disciples for a long time without having to worry about their betrayal.
So when the only betrayal in decades had taken place, Han Wuxian had been caught completely unprepared.
Lotus had imprisoned the Hall Leader and then found the antidote formula in a very short time. Then, she had made a batch of pills with Han Wuxian’s flesh and successfully taken control of most of the disciples.
The control was naturally even more tenuous than during Han Wuxian’s rule. To prevent unnecessary trouble and suspicion, Lotus had even refused to inherit the position of Hall Leader and promised all the disciples that she would eventually find a permanent antidote so that no one would have to worry about the threat of the Blood Coagulation Pill anymore.
Lotus herself had also taken the Blood Coagulation Pill, which was why so many people believed her promise. When she had said that she already had the antidote formula, the disciples of the Waning Moon Hall all understood that what she meant was taking about was not the regular antidote but rather a permanent one.
Nobody liked the feeling of being manipulated; even the half-mad disciples of the Waning Moon Hall who had no fear of death longed for freedom.
But would the Master Commander give them the permanent antidote?
Lotus and the disciples of the Waning Moon Hall had never established a strong relationship of mutual trust. Every time she encountered a crisis, her first reaction had been to avoid her fellow disciples. And it was reasonable to do so because it was exactly her who had set a precedent of imprisoning the Hall Leader, and there was no guarantee that others would not do the same to her.
Before this, the disciples who had been trained at Waning Moon Hall since childhood had never dared to disobey the Hall Leader’s order, let alone rebel against her.
As she looked at the group of people who she depended on but also distrusted, Lotus slowly spoke out a few names. “Han Zhi, Han Luo, Han Mang, Han Tong.”
Nobody answered. The disciples looked at each other. After a while, someone said, “All four of them are dead.”
“I guess so. They preferred to make pills than practice their kung fu and they probably all died due to your sword in the very beginning. But the antidote formula was found by them.
Upon hearing that the ones who knew the formula had actually been killed, the disciples all looked at each other in speechless despair. Some of them regretted their actions, and some thought the Master Commander was retaliating against them in this ironic manner. There were also a few wise disciples who immediately walked out of the crowd and knelt before Lotus without saying a word. These people’s actions reminded the rest of the disciples, and all the Waning Moon Hall disciples followed them in kneeling.
Some of them had joined the Waning Moon Hall after Han Wuxian was imprisoned. To show that everyone was treated the same, they had also been asked to take the Blood Coagulation Pill.
The disciples of the Essence Pavilion didn’t understand, but also soon followed the Waning Moon Halls in kneeling.
No one spoke. The disciples of the Waning Moon Hall didn’t have the habit of begging.
Han Fen was the last to kneel, but she ostensibly didn’t understand why. The others all bowed their heads while only she looked up at the Master Commander, her eyes full of joy and reverence.
Shangguan Hong knelt to show that he was Lotus’s subordinate.
Only the Dragon King, Old Man Mu, Shangguan Fei, and that guard of the Heavenly Mountain Sect refrained from moving.
With his eyes squinted, Wild Horse didn’t kneel. He had also taken the Blood Coagulation Pill and knelt in front of Lotus before, but he refused to kneel again now.
The dozen or so Essence Pavilion disciples all rose to their feet and retreated behind Wild Horse.
Lotus turned a blind eye to this obvious disrespect and division in the ranks and said to the people kneeling on the ground, “There’s another person who knows the formula besides me and she’s among you. So if you want the antidote, it’d be best if you all stopped killing for now.”
“Yes,” the disciples echoed in unison.
“Once Han Wuxian is captured alive, this person will come forward and disclose the formula to everyone.”
“Yes.”
Lotus finally turned around and said to Wild Horse, “You’ll get the antidote even if you kill me.”
Then she stopped speaking, as everyone understood what she meant. If Wild Horse continued slaughtering through the Waning Moon Hall, he might kill someone who could save his life.
Wild Horse appeared impassive, as if he were the only one who did not understand Lotus’ words. He slashed the air with his long sword, indicating that the Dragon King and Lotus should make a move together.
Gu Shenwei shook his head. “No, your swordsmanship isn’t that good. You have to defeat the Master Commander first before defeating me. Then you might be able to challenge both of us at the same time.”
Wild Horse made another slash in the air. He was full of confidence in his own swordsmanship.
Old Man Mu knew that it was his turn to speak again. “Dragon King, I think that you should cooperate with Lotus. You two’s sword techniques counteract yet also complement and reinforce each other. When you join hands, it is more than twice as powerful compared to you performing it alone. Lotus doesn’t seem to haven’t recovered from her injury yet, so I’m afraid that she wouldn’t be able to take the blow alone.”
“This small injury won’t deter me from making a move,” Lotus said as she drew her sword. Then she gazed intently at the sword and flicked it gently with her left hand. “How can I master the Death Sutra Swordsmanship If I don’t have even this much confidence?”
“That’s right.” Gu Shenwei was still unwilling to join the fight.
Wild Horse turned around and casually killed an Essence Pavilion disciple. The remaining dozens of people were completely stunned, watching their companion fall with no one running away.
Wild Horse slashed in the air for a third time, inviting the Dragon King to fight.
Gu Shenwei thought for a while before asking Lotus, “What does the Master Commander think?”
“Hmm, it will make it a little easier if we join hands, but I’ve always wanted to see what reaching the highest level of the Death Sutra Swordsmanship looks like. If Wild Horse dies just like this, then I’m afraid that I won’t be able to fulfill my wish.”
“If we can pull our punches, then Wild Horse may still have a chance to improve.”
“Well… Let’s join hands then, but both you and I should not use our full strength.”
“That’s the best plan.”
The two talked casually, as if Wild Horse were sure to lose. Old Man Mu didn’t forget his duty, and immediately asked, “Isn’t the Death Sutra Swordsmanship a purely offensive technique where you have to exert all your strength when making a move? How can you limit your strength?”
“It’s just a wish and it depends on Wild Horse’s actual ability. If his swordsmanship is really as strong as I think it is, then we’ll actually be showing mercy even if we don’t pull our punches,” Lotus explained as she looked at Wild Horse with an expression that seemed like she still had some doubts about his swordsmanship.
Old Man Mu clearly knew that this was nothing but a tactic to incite Wild Horse, so he laughed and said, “Little Wild Horse, you have to work hard. They are looking down upon you. You failed to kill your opponents twice, so do not make a mistake this time.”
Wild Horse wasn’t enraged. He had been tricked once, but he would not be tricked again now. The Dragon King and Lotus were the greatest rivals that he had ever met. Killing them would probably make him transcend the realm of Ceasing and Arising and truly enter the new realm that he firmly believed existed.
All living beings would cease. The Dragon King and Lotus were merely two ordinary lives and there was nothing special about them. Wild Horse’s faith only grew stronger.
Gu Shenwei drew his Five Peaks Saber and stood with Lotus, one on the left and the other on the right. ‘Killing Others’ and ‘Killing Oneself’; two different training methods that counteracted yet complemented and reinforced each other.
The Dragon King was full of confidence, but he emitted no killing aura as if he wasn’t taking Wild Horse seriously at all.
Lotus looked down at her sword and became lost in a deep trance as if she had completely forgotten about the upcoming duel.
Wild Horse was different. The other side’s contempt hadn’t aroused his anger and had instead made his killing aura even more intense.
Even Old Man Mu began to doubt the Dragon King’s tactic’s viability. A man would commit suicide when his kung fu was strong enough? If it were someone else who had said this nonsense, then he would scoff at him. Even the Dragon King could be overconfident sometimes.
The Death Sutra required its practitioners to have so much faith in it that it almost reached fanaticism. Perhaps the most arrogant man wasn’t Wild Horse but rather the Dragon King.
Old Man Mu took two steps back just in case things didn’t go the way he thought they would. This way, he would still have enough time to rush into the crowd and knock the torches off the wall. No one was better at running away in a chaotic situation than him.
More than one person felt as uneasy as Old Man Mu. Han Ling even ventured to say, “Wild Horse, do not forget about the antidote…”
Han Ling dared not speak too bluntly in front of Lotus. She wanted to remind Wild Horse that the Master Commander’s words might not be all true. The formula for the permanent antidote might really exist, but Lotus’ words about how one of the remaining disciples knew it might be a lie, and the truth might not be revealed until they captured Han Wuxian alive. Lotus probably wanted to instigate the disciples into continuing to be enemies with the former Hall Leader even after her death.
The trust between Lotus and most of the Waning Moon Hall disciples was already very tenuous, and it had become even more so when she showed signs of having a serious injury.
Without giving a response, Wild Horse suddenly made a move.
There were 157 onlookers in this hall. Besides Han Fen, who knew nothing about the Death Sutra and had poor kung fu skills, everyone else saw Wild Horse’s move clearly and therefore, knew that they definitely wouldn’t be able to dodge this sword attack.
Old Man Mu and Shangguan Hong were particularly shocked. They had just escaped from Wild Horse’s sword, but both of them felt that they would not be able to take the current blow no matter what.
After learning from his two previous failures, Wild Horse’s swordsmanship had become even stronger and more rigorous. He wanted to make sure he could break all of the Dragon King’s strange tricks.
He faintly felt a strange and pleasant sensation arise within him, as if he had finally reached the peak of the Ceasing and Arising Swordsmanship, as if he could enter a higher realm with just one more step, and as if he was bound to hit and kill his target without a doubt.
With a fierce light flashing in his eyes, the Dragon King held his saber with both hands to meet the startling sword.
Old Man Mu cried out in surprise because he recognized right away that the Dragon King was not using the Death Sutra Swordsmanship.
Then he cried out again because Lotus had actually not made a move.
With her sword in hand, Lotus merely stood on the spot as if she had no more strength to make a move or as if she was unwilling to join the fight and just wanted to be an onlooker.
Wild Horse did not stab at her either. He could change his move at any time, but he would not attack Lotus if she didn’t move.
Even without Han Ling’s reminder, Wild Horse knew that it would be unwise to kill Lotus before he got the formula of the permanent antidote.
Thus, he had concentrated his sword, which was supposed to be aimed at both the Dragon King and Lotus, and placed all his strength and faith into attacking one person, the Dragon King.
