Chapter 133 – Undone

  A surge of golden Qi burst outward from Jun De, rippling through the space around him in concentric waves. The wooden planks beneath his feet groaned and split, the weakened wood unable to withstand the force of energy erupting from his Dantian.

  It was as though a golden sun had ignited behind him, flooding the world in a light so bright that it burned away the lingering demonic miasma that hovered in the air.

  The pressure of Jun De’s cultivation was suffocating. Mei Lian gasped, her body locked in place as the sheer weight of his Qi pinned her where she stood. Her hands shook, and her knees buckled. Struggling to stand, her eyes widened in disbelief.

  The air shimmered around Jun De like molten glass, and his hair whipped about wildly, every strand illuminated by golden light. It was as though a blazing sun seemed to be rising behind his back. It was a vast, luminous and radiant energy that burned brightly.

  Even Shen Weifeng, standing a few paces away, narrowed his eyes against the brilliance his young friend was emitting. A deep furrow appeared between his eyebrows.

  ‘This pressure shouldn’t be possible for someone at his level of cultivation.’ Shen Weifeng mused.

  Shen Weifeng could feel how Jun De’s Dantian was straining at its limits, pushing at the bottleneck that separated him from the 9th Level and kept so many of his peers from reaching it.

  “Mei Lian, this may be the only way to save you.” Jun De said quietly, his voice steady despite the storm of Qi around him.

  Jun De suddenly moved. There was no hesitation in his movements, only a burst of golden light as his figure seemed to vanish from where he stood and crossed the distance between him and Mei Lian in a single step.

  Mei Lian barely had time to gasp before his palm struck her chest, directly over her heart.

  “Jun De!”

  The cry died in her throat as his Qi surged into her like a flood breaking through a dam. It was overwhelming, a blazing and impossibly pure energy that was relentless in its pursuit of the Demonic Qi inside of her.

  Her body trembled as his golden energy poured through her meridians, colliding violently with the roiling demonic Qi that tainted her Dantian. The two forces clashed like fire and oil, shaking the air with invisible ripples.

  Within her body, Jun De’s Qi chased the dark energy like a hunting predator. Where it went, the corrupted threads of the Crimson Rebirth Sutra writhed and screamed, burned to ash beneath the radiance of his Qi.

  The Demonic Qi tried to retreat within her body or Dantian, but Jun De’s power followed as it devoured and consumed all of the tainted energy.

  Mei Lian’s body arched backward, and pain twisted across her face. Her meridians shuddered as her cultivation began to collapse layer by layer. From the 6th level to the 5th, all the way back to the 4th level, where she had been before the Crimson Rebirth Sutra had transformed her.

  When the final traces of demonic Qi were gone, Jun De slowly withdrew his hand. The golden light faded from his body like the sun setting at the end of a long day.

  Mei Lian fell to her knees. Her breath came in shallow, ragged pants, and the once vibrant, almost manic, energy that she had felt was replaced with confusion and despair. She could feel that her cultivation had changed; the strength and power that she had gained from the Crimson Rebirth Sutra were gone.

  Her hands trembled as she pressed them to her chest. The demonic Qi was gone, and the Sutra’s influence had been burned clean from her. She could return to the Sect, to where she belonged.

  And yet, her heart clenched painfully.

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  It would take her years to climb back to where she had just been. All that progress, everything she had worked and sacrificed for, was all gone.

  “It’s gone. It’s all gone.” Her voice trembled between grief and relief as tears fell down her cheeks.

  Jun De staggered back a step as the last traces of golden light dispersed around him, fading into the night air like dying embers. His chest rose and fell heavily and sweat clung to his temples. The oppressive force that had filled the space around them moments before was gone, leaving behind nothing but the sound of Mei Lian’s sobbing.

  He looked down at her for a long moment, then exhaled slowly. When he finally spoke, his voice was tired but steady.

  “Elder Shen. Please watch over her while I go find Shen Ruolan and Lin Yue. Make sure there are no lingering side effects. When we return, she can explain everything to the other Elders. They will be the ones to decide what happens next.” Jun De said quietly.

  Shen Weifeng’s eyes flicked to Jun De, and he was visibly shaken by what he had just seen. He hadn’t expected him to be able to purge the demonic Qi from another person, but when he was just at the Qi Condensation level.

  “You’ve grown stronger, Jun De. But you still need to learn to stop calling me ‘Elder.’ Go, I’ll see to her, Junior Brother.” Shen Weifeng said wryly, shaking his head before kneeling next to Mei Lian and assessing her health with his spiritual sense.

  Jun De turned, ready to leave, when Mei Lian suddenly lifted her head. Her eyes were wide and glassy, and her lips trembled as she spoke.

  “Jun De. Tell Lin Yue that I’m sorry.” Mei Lian whispered, her voice barely audible.

  Jun De paused and glanced back at her. He tilted his head in confusion at her request.

  “Sorry? For what?”

  Mei Lian shook her head, and tears fell from her eyes again. Her expression crumpled, and she turned her gaze down toward the deck, refusing to meet his eyes.

  “Just…please. Tell her that I’m sorry for everything.”

  For a moment, Jun De was silent before he gave a short nod.

  “I will.”

  He turned once again, and his blue Inner Sect robes brushed against the deck as he walked toward the other side of the ship. Behind him, Mei Lian remained kneeling while crying softly.

  It took Jun De a few minutes to search the ship for Shen Ruolan and Lin Yue, and his breath caught in his throat as he realized what had happened. Lin Yue was lying pale and injured with her head in Shen Ruolan’s lap. Blood stained both of their robes, and Jun De could feel the presence of demonic Qi inside Lin Yue.

  “What happened?” Jun De demanded, his voice sharp with fear and a sense of urgency as he rushed to them.

  Shen Ruolan looked up, and her expression was torn between relief at seeing him and fury over what had happened to Lin Yue. But before she could answer, Lin Yue weakly lifted her hand and gripped Shen Ruolan’s sleeve.

  “It was an accident, Jun De. Just an accident.” Lin Yue whispered, while Shen Ruolan frowned but remained silent.

  “An accident? What kind of accident could have left you in this condition?” Jun De replied, his eyes narrowing. He glanced between the two women, but Shen Ruolan avoided his gaze.

  Kneeling down beside Lin Yue, Jun De placed a hand on her chest, just over her heart.

  “Hold still. This may hurt.”

  Jun De closed his eyes, and a faint golden radiance began to rise from his body once again. The air around them rippled as his Qi rose. It was calm, steady and warm like sunlight breaking through storm clouds.

  Unlike the raging tempest of Qi he had used against Mei Lian, his Qi flowed into Lin Yue like a gentle stream.

  Almost immediately, Jun De felt the cold, oily taint of demonic Qi writhing deep within her. It almost hissed at his presence as it stubbornly clung to her Dantian and Meridians like tar.

  Jun De’s own Qi flared brighter in order to burn away the invading energy strand by strand. The purifying warmth of his cultivation spread through her body to push out the corruption. A thin mist of black vapour rose from her skin, evaporating into nothing as the light of his Qi consumed it.

  Lin Yue gasped softly, her breathing easing as the pain left her features. Colour returned faintly to her cheeks, and Shen Ruolan exhaled softly in relief.

  When Jun De finally removed his hand, his Qi dimmed and faded from sight once again.

  “It’s gone. But this wasn’t an accident, was it?” Jun De asked. Shen Ruolan’s jaw tightened, while Lin Yue’s face showed an expression of guilt over her lie.

  “Please, just let it go for now. Mei Lian didn’t mean to hurt me.”

  Jun De froze at the name, his heart sinking as he looked over his shoulder to where he had left Mei Lian and Shen Weifeng.

  He exhaled slowly, his voice quiet but firm.

  “Rest for now. We’ll make sure that there are no more accidents.” Jun De said, looking up and meeting Shen Ruolan’s eye. The young woman paused for a moment before nodding firmly in agreement.

  The quiet that followed was broken by the slow, deliberate sound of footsteps approaching.

  “Truly a touching scene. Everyone else is out fighting for their lives, and here you are, tending to your woman as though nothing else matters. Your robes are so clean, I doubt you’ve even seen a Demonic Cultivator today. What were you doing, Jun De, hiding behind your women while others fought?” A voice drawled, edged with scorn.

  Zhang Yuehai stood a short distance away, his robes torn and singed from battle. Dust streaked his face, but he appeared unharmed. His eyes darted toward Lin Yue, then to Shen Ruolan, before dismissing them from his concern.