Accompanying the Phoenix

Shen Li glanced at the temple man that grabbed the blade of her spear earlier . The gash on his hand had already healed to the point the wound was no longer visible . He was monstrous, like the scorpion-tailed fox she had beheaded near the Ruins .

Shen Li knew they would attack soon when she sensed the change in the air . Her red-tasseled silver spear shook and suddenly flew and attacked the man in the middle . [notes]

He gave a cry of alarm, but it was no use; the attack was impossible to dodge and he was stabbed square in the face . He reached up to grab the spear .

Shen Li wasn’t about to let him grab it like before . She was mentally prepared this time, so when he reached for it she immediately somersaulted forward and twisted her body around to slam into him . This caught him off guard and allowed her to easily attack . She grabbed her spear and thrust it forward intending to chop his legs out from under him .

Although she used all her strength to strike, she failed to slice through his legs . All she heard was a solid metallic “Dhoom” as her spear vibrated from the impact . The vibrations were so strong it nearly broke the skin on her hand .

It was unimaginable to Shen Li that, despite using all her strength, her spear failed to cut through . It had accompanied her through scores of battles, across oceans and lands, and never failed her before . In shock, she flipped backwards, retreating to a safe distance with the spear in front covering half her face .

To be fair, the spear was originally made for stabbing, and not so much for cutting and slicing, however, Shen Li had had used it for so long that it had become imbued with her qi and become freakishly strong, capable of more than just stabbing . In fact the shaft of the spear could even be used in place of the blade to behead a person .

But now she could see a see a small knick[notes] at the edge of the blade .

The other two didn’t wait for Shen Li to gather her thoughts . They flanked her on both sides before rushing her like ravenous wild dogs .

She wanted buy some time to think of a strategy to defeat the men so she jumped up and perched on a beam out of their reach . She hadn’t thought of a plan yet when a silhouette jumped up even higher . He had his hand out to hit her head, but she dodged it with a minor tilt of her neck . She grabbed his hand and poured qi into her grip . A loud cracking sound came from his hand as every bone broke .

He raised his head and gave a loud shout, leaving his center unguarded . Shen Li grabbed the opening and thrust her spear into his gut, but hard muscle prevented her from stabbing deeply . At this Shen Li shouted as well and rays of light glowed from her spear . It increased in intensity until with a “crack” and a “ploosh” her opponent’s chest exploded, raining flesh and blood down onto the floor .

She shoved the rest of his body down, yanking her spear out as she did so . He fell like a boulder, crashing into the wall before falling to the floor and leaving a crater in his wake, finally dead .

Shen Li was gasping for air, but she had managed to take one man out . Before she could catch her breath, the two men below jumped up to her perch, with one on either side . She raised her spear in time to block an attack from one, but was smacked by the other . The force behind the hit was so powerful she was knocked off the beam and into the first dead man’s crater .

The two jumped down and landed with a thud on the ground, raising a tremendous amount of dust and debris into the air . They couldn’t see Shen Li since her body was complete obscured so they had to walk to the side to peer in .

Red light flashed through the rubble . Before either man could react, Shen Li’s spear pierced one through the eye . He stood dead with the blade protruding out from the back of his skull . Shen Li sliced his head in half when she swept her spear to one side to free it .

Dust scattered as his ruined body fell to the ground . There were no visible injuries on Shen Li’s body, but there were strands of blood on her lips that trailed down the front of her . Her eyes were cold and bloodshot . She wiped the blood from her lips with one arm whispering to herself as she did so . “That really hurt . ”

She had only taken one blow but her entire body ached like her joints were broken . Even breathing was difficult . It was hard to believe three unknown men could force her into such a terrible position .

She stepped forward and glared at the final temple man left standing . Through the metallic taste of blood in her mouth she said, “Since you want to fight, be prepared to fight to your last breath . ”

He let out a roar that echoed through the hall . Everything shook, even the brick in the walls crumbled . The muscles on his body rippled as they expanded . He stepped over his dead comrade and dashed at Shen Li .

She didn’t try to dodge, having already predicted his movement, instead she jumped up and aimed the tip of her spear at his head, intending to pierce him from above, however he made an unexpected move in blocking the spear with his arm, allowing it sink into his flesh . The attack didn’t seem to hurt him at all though .

He smashed his unencumbered hand into Shen Li’s face, but she moved out of the way just in time . She coalesced qi in her hand and forced it into the downward thrust . The wind resulting from their two opposing forces rattled the temple and shook the bricks .

Shen Li dropped to the ground with her hand supporting her body and swung her leg up into the air like a scissor . She wrapped it around his neck and twisted him to the side, slamming him into the wall . The stone masonry crumbled away from the impact revealing a hidden room behind .

A person, dressed entirely in green with a strange air around him, stood behind the wall looking down at the scene of Shen Li’s battle .

The temple man crashed into the wall shook his head before standing up . The man in green gave him a kick, knocking him back down .

Shen Li looked at the face of the man in green as though she was looking at an evil spirit . “You are the one pulling the strings . You’re the framing the Demon realm . Why are you doing this?”

“Frame?” The man in green said as he moved in the shadows . Shen Li couldn’t see him clearly but his voice sounded familiar . “You can’t really call this me framing anyone . ”

Shen Li frowned . She was about to go after him and demand answers when the man, who was knocked down earlier, finally got up . He roared as he shook the debris off his body . This really was indeed “fighting to one’s last breath . ”

“A troublesome person is about to arrive so forgive me for not staying to watch to Azure Sky King longer . ”

Shen Li stared at the play of light and shadow on his face as he turned away . He reminded her of someone and she suddenly thought of the person leading the attack that night at Xing Yun’s courtyard . What was his name?

Fu Sheng .

Fu Sheng . Fusheng Men...[notes] But how was that possible? He was an ordinary person so he shouldn’t still be alive .

Shen Li was anxious to chase after him but the fallen man from earlier blocked her path . His eyes were full of cold malice as he roared, “Prepare to die!”

He only spoke those three words before Shen Li sliced his eyes with her spear . She hurriedly leapt away from him towards Fu Sheng; she wanted to capture him no matter what . Unperturbed, Fu Sheng calmly waved his sleeve in her direction .

Shen Li didn’t notice anything amiss at first, but a few seconds later her vision turned black and her body froze up . She toppled over .

The last temple man jumped over to Shen Li and proceeded to pummel her abdomen with both fists, as if he was trying to shatter her internal organs . Done with that he lifted her up by the neck, trying to choke her to death . Before they had been on the ground amidst the debris .

Shen Li stared after Fu Sheng’s back as he gradually disappeared from sight . A sense of powerlessness came over her as she endured the attack . Despite her high tolerance for pain, blood gurgled out of her mouth and poured down the front of her, dying the hands of the temple man red .

“This...what’s going on here?” An extremely cold voice sounded from the hall’s entrance .

The temple man turned and saw a figure in white standing by the entrance . He roared and used Shen Li as a weapon, hurling her at the newcomer .

Shen Li had no control over her body, but she suffered no injuries despite the throw . It was as if a hand was supporting her back, twisting the momentum away from her as she spun towards the entrance . By the time she could see clearly again, she had already settled into Xing Zhi’s embrace .

Shen Li had a strange thought when she saw Xing Zhi’s bloodstained clothes . She was constantly staining his clothes wasn’t she? Fortunately she wouldn’t have to help wash them this time . Wasn’t it more troublesome than slaughtering the yao shou?

“How many injuries did you receive?” His tone was low, filled with an anger Shen Li had never heard before .

Shen Li shook her head . “The man behind it... escaped . ”

Xing Zhi persisted . “How many injuries?”

Shen Li didn’t answer, not because she didn’t want to, but because she couldn’t . She wanted to tell him her injury wasn’t life threatening, that it was more important he not miss this opportunity to chase after the mastermind . The reputation of the Demon realm and the demon emperor rested on this . She didn’t want her home to be maligned .

Xing Zhi held her wrist to read her pulse .

As if to proclaim his presence, the temple man roared while rushing to them . The added noise from his large body trampling over the ground only made it harder for Xing Zhi to read Shen Li’s weak pulse . Xing Zhi glanced over at the temple man, and with an expression as cold as ice yelled, “Get lost!”

All movement immediately ceased . The once fluttering dust particles stopped moving and dangled in place . Meanwhile the temple man was completely frozen, locked in mid-stride . It was like time had stopped in ice .

Witnessing the power of the words nearly made Shen Li nearly pass out . She stared distractedly at the high god in front of her . She understood now how powerful a spell when uttered from Xing Zhi’s lips could be .

He went back to listening to her pulse . It was so quiet that Shen Li could hear her own weak but accelerating heartbeat, however she chose to ignore both it and Xing Zhi, not giving a voice to the subtle change . [notes]

Xing Zhi failed to pick up on it . All he could tell was that something was wrong with her body . Frowning he said, “You’ve been poisoned . ”

Shen Li could see her reflection in his eyes . Her mouth was severely bruised and her face was deathly pale . In a weak voice she said, “Poison can’t hurt me . The mastermind...”

Shen Li had barely finished speaking when the sounds of chanting rang out in the room . It started softly but then rose in pitch . The volume made Shen Li’s head ache and she involuntarily clenched her teeth .

Xing Zhi could see something was wrong from her expression . He asked anxiously “What is it?”

“Sounds . ”

Xing Zhi’s expression turned cold . It was obvious whatever it was, it was only targeting Shen Li .

Suddenly a noise came from behind them . Turning around, Xing Zhi saw a man with a partially sliced head crawl out from the rubble of bricks . A second man, the one Shen Li had smashed to death, fell from the crater in the wall . Both men were covered in blood . They ignored Xing Zhi’s presence, acting as though he wasn’t there, like they were obeying someone’s command .

Shen Li’s fingers tightened, flexing unconsciously, when she saw them . She attempted to get up but was held in place by Xing Zhi . Pressing her down by the shoulders he spoke in a cold and severe voice . “Do you no longer wish to live?”

Shen Li twisted her mouth at his words . “It’s because I wish to live that I must rise and fight . ”

Xing Zhi pursed his lips . A feeling he couldn’t keep in check floated up from the bottom-most part of his heart . He didn’t bother turning his head, but instead simply drew five-point configuration . A loud sound, like the roar of the early morning erupted . The previously smoggy air cleared up as extremely clean, pure air flowed from Xing Zhi’s body . Bright light shot out and burned everything around them to ashes .

“I will keep you alive . ”

A muddled-headed and confused Shen Li felt a murmur rise in her heart . [notes] She couldn’t resist muttering before passing out, “Before... Xing Zhi there wasn’t anyone . ”

Xing Zhi’s grip on Shen Li’s shoulders tightened as he gazed at her . It was hard to gauge his mood from his dark eyes .