Phoenix's Requiem

Chapter 463: Decision

During the banquet, while Yun Ruoyan had been working herself to the bone, Rong Yueshan stayed hidden and waited for an opportunity. In the afternoon, when the rate of arriving guests had reached its maximum, Yun Ruoyan instructed her servant to bring Li Yan back to the Slaughtering King’s manor. This was the opportunity that Rong Yueshan had been waiting for.

She followed the servant out of the Lin manor and prepared to strike, only to find the Mo guards protecting her on the way back. Rong Yueshan was unable to catch them off guard, and she could only follow them all the way back to the Slaughtering King’s manor. There, she identified a humongous spiritual beast within the pond, causing her to shrink back in surprise.

She secretly slipped a satchel of particularly strong sleeping powder into the pond, something she had acquired while on the Mingyuan continent. The effect was so strong that even Whitey was unable to resist its effects and fell asleep at the bottom of the pond.

Then, as the guards keeping watch over Li Yan started to relax, she successfully attacked and killed several of the guards and managed to snatch Li Yan up. Unfortunately for her, however, that was exactly when Yun Ruoyan and Li Mo were returning to the Slaughtering King’s manor, and they had given chase immediately.

As a result, both parties were now at a standstill. Yun Ruoyan guessed that Rong Yueshan was going to hand Li Yan to the silver dragon elder and judged that she wouldn’t dare to hurt him. “Rong Yueshan, no matter what, I won’t let you leave with Li Yan.” Yun Ruoyan waved an arm at her, and a black beam shot toward her.

This sudden attack scared both Rong Yueshan and even the demonic dragon forefather. The Feilai Blade shot toward Rong Yueshan—as well as Li Yan, still in her grip. Although the demonic dragon forefather was the blade spirit of the Feilai Blade, he was unable to redirect the trajectory of the Feilai Blade when Yun Ruoyan was controlling it with her own power. After all, Yun Ruoyan was the owner of the blade.

Rong Yueshan suddenly threw Li Yan away from her. The silver dragon elder had repeatedly instructed her to ensure Li Yan’s safety, and if Li Yan were to die at her hands, the silver dragon elder would surely ensure that her fate was worse than death.

After Rong Yueshan threw Li Yan into the distance, she raised the heaven-transcending mirror and shot out a pillar of light at the Feilai Blade, trapping it and arresting its momentum.

Meanwhile, Li Mo had dashed off after Li Yan. When Yun Ruoyan saw him safely in Li Mo’s arms, her heart finally calmed down.

“Yun Ruoyan, you madwoman! How could you attack your own baby?!” Rong Yueshan gasped.

Yun Ruoyan snorted. “If the silver dragon elder sent you here to kidnap Li Yan, he’s undoubtedly trying to use Li Yan’s blood to manufacture more holy water. As a mother, I won’t let my child be used as an ingredient! I’d rather kill him myself!”

Yun Ruoyan’s words were something she had made up in order to confuse Rong Yueshan. Her gesture just now had seemed daring, but she was certain that she would be able to change the Feilai Blade’s trajectory before it hurt Li Yan.

“To turn this baby into holy water? What holy water?” Rong Yueshan asked. She had once asked the silver dragon elder why he so desperately sought Li Yan, but the silver dragon elder hadn’t told her why. According to Yun Ruoyan, the silver dragon elder wanted to use Li Yan as an ingredient of some sort, but what was this holy water she spoke of?

“Tell me about this holy water,” she demanded.

“Oh? You don’t even know about holy water?” Yun Ruoyan mocked her. “It looks like the silver dragon elder hasn’t told you everything. Back on the Mingyuan continent, not only did Pi Yan and Pi Batian both know about holy water, the silver dragon elder even handed them a bottle each.”

Rong Yueshan frowned. “So, what exactly is it?”

Yun Ruoyan’s lips quirked up. “I’ll tell you now. Holy water is...” She told Rong Yueshan all about the miraculous properties of this purported holy water, emphasizing the fact that holy water would be able to resurrect the dead, that the scar on her face would be easily wiped away.

“Such a miraculous thing could hardly exist!” Rong Yueshan frowned.

“If you don’t believe me, then so be it. No matter what, the silver dragon elder won’t hand you any holy water. After all, in his eyes, you’re nothing but a tool, worse than even Pi Yan and Pi Batian!” Yun Ruoyan called out. “You should be aware of how the Pis died—be careful you don’t end up like them!”

Rong Yueshan’s face turned cold. She had already lost Li Yan and was pincered from the front and back by Yun Ruoyan and Li Mo. The only way she could handle Yun Ruoyan was with the heaven-transcending mirror, and if Li Mo were to attack her as well...

Rong Yueshan decided to flee. She infused her entire body’s worth of spiritual energy into the mirror, which glowed with transcendent light as it tried to push the Feilai Blade away.

“Lass, give me control of the blade!” the demonic dragon forefather called out in Yun Ruoyan’s mind, and she immediately did so. The demonic dragon forefather pulled the blade back until it was out of the pillar of light that the heaven-transcending mirror shot out, then directed it at Rong Yueshan again.

Rong Yueshan’s eyes widened as she quickly flew away. Li Mo, with Li Yan in his arms, couldn’t very well give chase, but Rong Yueshan immediately followed after her. The Feilai Blade morphed into a black beam of light as it flashed past Yun Ruoyan’s body and shot toward Rong Yueshan like a bolt of lightning.

Sensing the imminent danger, Rong Yueshan turned around and held up the heaven-transcending mirror once more. However, the Feilai Blade, under the demonic dragon forefather’s control, continued rushing forward.

Before Rong Yueshan could use the power of the mirror, she felt a sudden burst of power explode against her hand, then flailed as she was unceremoniously knocked flying from the impact.

When she finally regained her balance, she lifted the remnants of her right hand in shock. The heaven-transcending mirror had disappeared in the explosion, along with half her hand. Furthermore, the right side of her body was a frightening mess of blood and flesh. A large fireball hung in the sky, still giving off incandescent heat.

“Yun Ruoyan, one day, I’ll repay you for what you’ve done to my body—with interest!” she gritted out, then dragged herself off to safety.

Yun Ruoyan was dazed as she looked at the burning fireball, at a loss for words until Li Mo returned to her side. She turned to him and asked woodenly, “I can’t feel the existence of the Feilai Blade any longer. Is the demonic dragon forefather also...?”

Although she had been very annoyed by the demonic dragon forefather’s consistent pestering, she still couldn’t bear to see him die just like that—after all, he hadn’t done anything that had truly hurt her.

“Why... why was he so rash?” Yun Ruoyan continued gazing at the burning fireball.

Li Mo looked toward the blaze as well. “I suspect he’s still alive. He’s not such a rash figure.” Li Mo firmly believed that the demonic dragon forefather wasn’t someone who would be interested in a pyrrhic victory.

Just then, the demonic dragon forefather’s voice again could be heard from within Yun Ruoyan’s mind. “Lass, I’m not yet dead. Today’s not when I’m fated to die.”

A few blackened shards flew out of the fireball and assembled into the Feilai Blade once more. Except for a few cracks on the blade’s surface, it seemed unchanged. The demonic dragon forefather resurfaced atop the blade, but he seemed much fainter than before.

“Are you... alright?” Yun Ruoyan asked.

“I haven’t died yet. While I did lose some of my vitality, I’ve destroyed the heaven-transcending mirror, huhut! As for that woman, Rong Yueshan—even if she isn’t dead, she has to be badly injured. She won’t be a threat to Li Yan for quite a while,” the demonic dragon forefather replied. “Alright, finish whatever tasks you haven’t yet wrapped up. I need to send all of you to the Jiyuan continent while I still can. Lass, regardless of whether or not you ultimately choose to be the clan head of the demonic dragons, I’ll do it. I’m running out of time.”

When Yun Ruoyan stared at the much-more-translucent demonic dragon forefather, she couldn’t help feel some amount of guilt and gratitude toward him. She had always thought that the demonic dragon forefather was just trying to make use of her, but he had sacrificed part of his limited life force today in order to protect Li Yan in the future.

She sighed, finally having made up her mind. “Alright, I promise you I’ll be the next head of the demonic dragon clan.”

“You—” the demonic dragon forefather glanced at her, his eyes briefly widening. He bowed toward Yun Ruoyan. “On behalf of the demonic dragon clan, I thank you.”

Although the demonic dragon bloodline ran through Yun Ruoyan’s veins, she didn’t have a close relationship with the demonic dragon clan. Furthermore, the trouble that the demonic dragons had brought her had made her somewhat dislike them—but given the demonic dragon forefather’s sacrifice, Yun Ruoyan decided to take on this mantle.

“But once the demonic dragon clan is back to its former glory, I’ll hand off the position of clan head to someone else from the clan,” Yun Ruoyan said. “I won’t let Li Yan take over that position.”

“Alright,” the demonic dragon forefather replied. “That’s only natural. Li Yan’s to be the clan head of the silver dragon clan in the future. I believe that, as long as you’re here, neither Li Mo nor Li Yan will hurt the demonic dragon clan.”

When Yun Moxiao learned that Yun Ruoyan and Li Mo were intending to head to the Jiyuan continent in two weeks, he immediately requested to join them. Yun Ruoyan initially objected, not wanting both of them to take part in the dangerous trip. If something were to happen to her, she hoped that Yun Moxiao would remain to take care of Lin Yuemei and the Lin family.

“Ruoyan, if you don’t return with holy water, then Mother will never awaken. In that case, what’s the point of my remaining behind?” Yun Moxiao countered.

“Lass, your brother’s cultivation isn’t all that high, but he must be talented if he was able to lead an army at such a young age. Bringing him along might be more help than you think,” the demonic dragon forefather advised.

“Brother, if you go, then what’s going to happen to Li Luo? The two of you just got married. Are you so cruel as to leave her alone now?”

Li Luo walked to Yun Ruoyan’s front and tugged on her hand. “Ruoyan, I understand your intentions, but if I were so selfish as to keep your brother with me, he would certainly spend his days wallowing in guilt and worry. I don’t want to see him like that, so please let him join you. I’ll wait in the Yun manor for all of you to return.”