Dual Cultivation: I Summon Villainesses of Mythic Era-Chapter 71: Purifying Lotus Bloom
Consequently, BaiShe and Yi Lan rushed towards the depths of the ruins, taking advantage of the diversion created by the Dragoness. Behind them, the howls of Rakshasas consumed by black fire tore through the night.
Long Huang dealt with the Rakshasas with terrifying efficiency, allowing BaiShe to advance without having to reveal his true nature. As he ran towards the designated area, BaiShe could not help but reflect on the dynamics that were being put into place.
...
The atmosphere inside the sealed cave had become suffocating, not due to a lack of air, but because of the almost liquid density of the Qi emanating from the Golden Jade Lake. Huojin stood at the edge of the basin, the golden glow reflecting in his heterochromatic eyes.
He savored this moment, feeling the power of his past lives vibrating in harmony with his current body. A few meters away, Zhi Mei remained on alert.
Suddenly, the Templar froze. Her pointed Sidhe ears twitched violently. A wave of spiritual shock, imperceptible to an ordinary cultivator but deafening for an Overlord of her rank, swept through the area. It was an energy signature she knew only too well: a mixture of primordial Qi and pure corruption, a vibration of khaotic Qi so powerful that it seemed to want to tear the fabric of reality.
"Lord Huojin! Can you feel that?" exclaimed Zhi Mei, turning abruptly towards him, her hand instinctively resting on the pommel of her weapon.
"That khaotic Qi... it’s a direct emanation from the Devourer. He has just struck the capital. The massacre must be of unprecedented scale for the wave to reach here!"
Huojin did not move. He did not even take his eyes off the shimmering lake. His expression remained marked by that perpetual smirk, a mask of sovereign contempt that was beginning to irritate the saintess deeply.
"So what, Templar?" he replied in a drawling voice, devoid of any urgency. "Let those ants die. Their dantians might feed that monster’s appetite a little, it will leave us more time here."
Zhi Mei stood petrified, thinking she had misheard. She took a step towards him, her blue eyes fixed on his with total incomprehension. "But... you are the Dao Executor! The chosen one selected by Heaven to restore balance! Your sacred mission is to protect this world and eliminate that abomination!"
Huojin let out a laugh.
"The Dao Temple told you nice stories, Zhi Mei. But I have the memories of my predecessors. I know how this ends. Once the Devourer is eliminated, the Dao takes back its power. I would become a mere mortal or a mediocre cultivator again, a puppet the Heavens no longer need."
He advanced towards her, imposing his presence. "I have no intention of killing that fucking Devourer. As long as he exists, my divinity is assured. Why would I be a stooge like my other incarnations, sacrificing everything for a virtue that will leave me empty? This time, I will do what I want. I will bind my soul to this lake, become immortal, and let the world burn if necessary for me to stay on top."
Zhi Mei was truly shocked. The very foundations of her faith had just cracked. She saw before her not the savior spoken of in the prophecies, but an arrogant and selfish opportunist, a man who despised the celestial will he was supposed to embody.
"You are... a monster," she murmured, her voice trembling with disappointment. "The Temple made a mistake. You do not deserve the title of Executor."
"Merit is a notion for the weak, Templar," retorted Huojin, turning back towards the basin. "If you want to play the heroine, go ahead. Purify whatever you want, but do not count on me to leave this sanctuary before I have obtained what I desire."
Zhi Mei did not reply. She gritted her teeth, her fists clenching so hard her gauntlets creaked. Without another glance at the one she was supposed to protect, she turned away and rushed out of the cave. She was the Holy Templar, and if the Executor refused to act, she would fulfill her role alone, in the name of Justice.
...
When she arrived in the Royal Capital area, Zhi Mei was greeted by a nightmare vision. The silence that reigned over the city was more terrifying than war cries. The air was saturated with a smell of iron and decay, a purple haze stagnated above the gutted rooftops.
There was no one left alive in the main streets. Quite a few corpses swarmed on the ground, but it was not an ordinary scene of death. The bodies were grayish, withered shells, as if life itself had been sucked out through every pore of their skin.
Zhi Mei noted with horror the undeniable traces of the Devourer: impacts of khaotic energy that had eroded stone and metal.
However, something else was wrong. A freezing pressure, a Corpse Yin Qi of exceptional density, permeated the remains of the victims.
Before her eyes, the corpses began to twitch jerkily. Their eyes turned a dark purple, and once inert limbs straightened up with a crackle of broken bones. Because of the Yin Qi, the corpses were transforming into zombies, soulless puppets animated by an obscure will.
This had been Xue Ming’s plan from the beginning. The Princess of the Nether Dynasty, with her Art of Ten Shadows and her Corpse Yin Qi, had orchestrated this massacre to create a diversion. She knew that Zhi Mei, bound by her Templar vows, could not remain passive in the face of such an abomination. The goal was to lure the Holy Templar away from the Golden Jade Lake, leaving Huojin without his most powerful protector.
While Zhi Mei was busy containing the tide of undead, the path would be clear for BaiShe to kill him.
Zhi Mei understood the urgency, even if she still did not know the exact identity of the conspirators. She saw the zombies beginning to move towards the outlying districts where survivors might still be hiding. If she did nothing, the defilement would spread to the entire kingdom.
"May the Dao forgive me for leaving him alone," she murmured, her blue eyes shining with a glimmer of divine resolve.
Zhi Mei therefore decided to purify the area. She rose into the air, her blonde hair floating. She joined her hands, channeling all of her 5th stage Overlord Qi.
< Arts: Purifying Lotus Bloom >.
A giant lotus of blue light materialized above the central square, its petals opening to release waves of purifying energy.
Each zombie touched by this light disintegrated instantly, Xue Ming’s corruption burned away by the Sidhe’s purity. She descended to the ground, her shockwaves pulverizing the shadow creatures trying to encircle her.
Each movement of her palms decapitated dozens of monsters, but she felt a growing unease deep in her Dantian.
She knew that Huojin, in his narcissistic madness, was now easy prey for the one waiting in the shadows. Consequently, she redoubled her efforts, hoping to cleanse this cursed city quickly enough to return and save the Executor, unaware that the Celestial Demon was already ready to strike.
