179 - Douluo: Martial Spirit Blue Silver Grass

Chapter 179 - The Days and Nights of Rebirth as the Malevolent Senior Sister "Kill Si Ding Yun?!" The words made Fu Ling halt in her tracks, her pupils constricting instantly. The Dragon-Slaying Blade, obeying her will, flew across the rugged terrain, charging straight at the Blood Dart before she could even move. The two divine weapons clashed mid-air, creating a thunderous boom that echoed through the atmosphere. Five demonic creatures on the ground failed to evade and were instantly blasted away, scattering several miles into the distance. Even Si Ding Yun was forced to step back repeatedly from the force of the impact. He had never seen such a curved blade before, but he recognized it immediately as a rare artifact like his own Blood Dart. In fact, it was of a higher grade than the Blood Dart. The circular ring at the sword's handle clanged with a delicate, chiming sound on all sides. The Blood Dart circled in the air before obediently returning to its master's hand. Yet, the Dragon-Slaying Blade remained poised, unwavering and protective, before the demonic entities. Only when Fu Ling stepped out from behind the rocky outcrop did it quiver slightly, signaling its welcome. Indeed, it was an exceptional blade—a blade with its own spirit. Si Ding Yun eyed the curved blade, a sudden urge to claim it for himself surging within him. The bright sunlight made the blade's edge appear even sharper and more menacing. With just one glance, he couldn't tear his eyes away. It was at that moment he realized that only this divine blade could sever the demon-locking golden threads. The destruction of the golden threads and the Kun beast's escape—all traced back to this blade, and to Fu Ling. Clutching his weapon tightly, he turned to the girl behind him, his gaze filled with mockery and disdain. "You, a mere child, dare to show off your skill in front of me." "Summon Jiu Ying." Though aware of Fu Ling's innate dual spirit roots, he had never considered her worth any notice. It was Jiu Ying's Nine-Star Buddha Chime he was wary of. Fu Ling knew well he looked down on her; no anger crossed her features. Instead, she smiled softly. "My senior sister said you are merely a defeated underling, and she refuses to waste time fighting you again." Reviving the disgraceful past, especially when mentioned by someone of lower status, made Si Ding Yun's face darken unpleasantly. The memory of Si Xiao's defeat at the girl's hands fanned the flames of fury within him. "Such insolence! Don’t think I won't dare harm you just because you're Fu Xi's daughter. I want to see what trick you used to kill Xiao Er." Si Xiao's death was a permanent chasm between the Si family and Fu Ling. The devastation of losing a son led Si Yi Guang to even blame Si Ding Yun, straining the once-close relationship between the brothers. Recalling the moment the Blood Dart spiraled out of control and killed Si Xiao, Si Ding Yun found his hatred for the girl before him deepen. "Today, I will offer your life to the heavens for Xiao Er, and then bring your head back as a testament to what becomes of those who cross the Si family." With these words, he no longer concealed his murderous intent. The Si family's ultimate skill, the Sky and Earth Fiend Hands, was formidable due to its emphasis on the 'fiend' aspect. The darker the energy, the stronger the technique's power became. Si Ding Yun's merciless and tyrannical nature made him ideally suited to mastering this technique. Over the years, he hadn't disappointed the Si family, honing the skill to perfection and securing the family's place as the foremost clan. The deeper the malice in his heart, the greater his strength. His hatred and anger towards Fu Ling intensified the fiendish aura around him several-fold, driving even the Blood Dart to a frenzy. The overpowering aura cloaked the sunlight with a cold, shadowy shroud. The temperature plummeted, with an ominous chill seeping in all directions, causing the seawater feet away to churn uneasily. Fu Ling's expression shifted momentarily as the Dragon-Slaying Blade leapt into her right hand with her mere thought. Finally, Si Ding Yun launched his attack the instant she gripped the blade. His target was the Kun beast in the sea; Fu Ling was merely an incidental hindrance. He didn't wish to prolong the battle, launching a fatal strike without even summoning the Blood Dart and resorting directly to the Sky and Earth Fiend Hands. A sudden gale arose, scattering flowers, plants, and rocks wildly. In no time, an unseen barrier enveloped half the sky. Si Ding Yun's palm turned, incantations flowing from his lips, as every movement of his fingers layered the energy barrier. As it built to nine layers, the collective palm force would spell death even for an immortal-tier warrior. Fu Ling stood with her blade where she was, feeling as though time itself had paused. She didn't realize she was tightly ensnared by the nine-layer energy barrier. The Sky and Earth Fiend Hands lived up to its reputation as the Si family's most lethal move. Even the mere vibrations of its energy gravely wounded the beasts, causing them to vomit blood before fainting. Jiu Ying stood alone not far away, a fierce cold coursing across her brow inexplicably. She never imagined she'd become a burden to Fu Ling one day. Unable to protect Fu Ling, she had to hide, cloaked within the shadows. Her lips pressed together, hands clenched tightly within her white sleeves, as her resentment turned inward — against herself. She loathed the mistakes of her past life and her current helplessness. She was desperate to change fate, to become stronger, but ultimately, she remained someone who couldn't protect anyone. What a pathetic joke. Time ticked slowly by. Fu Ling, blade in hand, was caught within the pressing layers of energy, finding it hard to even lift the blade. She tried to retreat, but the open ground behind her felt like a solid wall, preventing any movement. The encroaching energy pressed closer and tighter, squeezing out the air, leaving her breathless. Though she'd heard of the formidable Sky and Earth Fiend Hands, she'd never witnessed it firsthand. She loosened her lips, examining the pressing malevolence surrounding her, gently touching the blade's edge with her fingertip. The blade was sharp, and a drop of blood seeped down her finger, tracing the blade before being enveloped by flame elemental aura, dispersing into nothing as the aura unfurled into fire. Fu Ling tightened her grip on the curved blade, exhaling softly forward, sending a flurry of tiny sparks billowing outward. Though blocked by the energy, the elemental fire clung in the air, creating a bizarre scene. Only then did she realize she was encircled by nine massive, invisible palms. Nine palms stacked like a towering mountain; anyone trapped within had only one path left. Si Ding Yun possessed an earth spirit root, and his palm energy was earth-based. Among the five elemental auras, only the wood elemental aura could subdue earth. The elemental essence flowed rapidly through Fu Ling's dantian, and soon a robust wave of wood elemental aura spilled from her palm, following the scent of the blood she'd released earlier, fusing with the flames. In mere moments, several thick green vines sprouted from the elemental fire, weaving themselves tightly together, forming a vast green net adhering to the invisible palms. Breathing heavily, Fu Ling exhaled once more onto the green vines, and the nine layers of palm energy genuinely recoiled half a foot. As the confined space eased slightly, fresh air flooded in, allowing her to breathe deeply at last. Si Ding Yun stood stunned by the spectacle before him. Fu Ling was a dual water and fire spirit root - how could she summon wood vines out of nowhere?! What lay before him defied common sense. He glanced around, suspecting someone was secretly aiding Fu Ling against him. He guessed it might be Jiu Ying, yet quickly dismissed the idea, recalling their past encounter and knowing she possessed a water spirit root, not wood. Who could it be? He couldn't comprehend it. Hesitating for a moment, he finally stepped forward, closing the distance until he stood before the girl, separated by the nine layers of ethereal palms. Though wood countered earth, his advanced cultivation made the Sky and Earth Fiend Hands unbreakable by a mere web of vines. In his eyes, Fu Ling's efforts were nothing more than a futile struggle to survive. He reached out, his fingertips piercing through the energy, aiming straight for the green vines. As his skin brushed against the tendrils, a brittle, yellowed branch suddenly emerged from the foliage, unexpectedly stabbing towards the back of his hand. Though it was just half of a broken branch, the jagged edge was razor-sharp, the desiccated remnant cutting like a knife, its jagged spikes akin to silver needles. Si Ding Yun reacted with remarkable speed, swiftly retracting his hand, yet the fine thorn still managed to carve a tiny bloodline across his little finger. He released a wave of spiritual energy from his palm, attempting to trace whoever might be aiding Fu Ling from the shadows. However, the wood aura that drew blood from his finger vanished into the air as soon as it appeared, leaving no trace to follow. "Where is Jiu Ying now? Aside from her, do you have other assistance?!" His face contorted with sudden anger, the inquiry not stemming from fear, but from a desire to identify which wood-root cultivator dared confront him from the shadows. Hearing this, Fu Ling raised a brow and responded truthfully. "I have no help." No aid—and yet, whence did these vines arise— Just as Si Ding Yun was about to speak, a sudden possibility crossed his mind, and his complexion changed dramatically, unconsciously stepping back a few paces. "Are you a tri-spirit root?!" Among countless cultivators, most possess a single spirit root, and while dual roots are rare, they are not unheard of. True scarcity lies in tri-root, quad-root, and penta-root cultivators. An array of thoughts filled Si Ding Yun's mind. He was aware that a tri-root cultivator indeed existed in the world, yet that individual couldn't possibly be Fu Ling. In his youth, the Heavenly Fates Sect's master had divined a fate—a prophecy of a tri-root cultivator's emergence, with an accurate prediction of their birth period. He recalled vividly that then, not only the four major sects but even the Si family sought to draw this genius to their side. Alas, none succeeded in finding this person. Based on the divination, if this tri-root cultivator truly existed, they would be nearing forty; it could never be this young, inexperienced girl before him. Understanding this, he quickly shook his head, the panic in his expression evaporating in an instant. "Impossible." His tone was so certain that Fu Ling couldn't help but smile faintly. She did not respond with words, instead letting her actions speak. A breeze swept by, causing the green vines to flourish with the wind, soon enshrouding all nine invisible hands entirely. She raised her hand, pressing her palm against the vine network. With each exertion, the space within expanded, while the stub of yellowed, broken wood grew an inch outward. Si Ding Yun couldn't believe his eyes—just moments before, the dry branch protruding from the vine network had burst back into life, turning green once again. Not only that, tiny new buds even emerged along its length. While wood aura could manifest plants, merely reviving dry wood required more than that. For dried wood to sprout anew, it would need wood energy for roots, earth energy for nourishment, water energy for irrigation, fire energy for heat, and metal energy for density, allowing the sprouting branch to become both tenacious and unyielding. Five spirit roots, five elemental energies— The girl trapped in his Sky and Earth Fiend Hands was a cultivational prodigy unseen for millennia! Si Ding Yun's face was a mask of shock. The mere fact that Fu Xi's daughter could be such an unparalleled cultivator never even crossed his mind. Holding the Blood Dart, a fleeting panic crossed his expression, quickly replaced by overwhelming joy. For ordinary cultivators, understanding such natural energy did not require consciously gathering aura into the spirit core. She was an endless source of spiritual energy naturally. To subjugate the girl before him would mean no more cultivation needed ever again. His unbridled gaze, obvious in the lust for power, revealed his greed entirely. One glance was enough for Fu Ling to discern his intentions. Such a gaze sickened her. She furrowed her brow, suppressing her displeasure, only to be overtaken by an inexplicable ache in her chest. Before she could fully react, a pained face surfaced in her vision— The face was pale, eyes filled with resentment, both familiar and yet so alien. Peering closer, she realized it was her own face—not her current one, but her past life self, the face Jiu Ying had used, the face of the previous Fu Ling. In that lifetime, Fu Ling too had faced such cold, terrifying stares, regarded as nothing more than a tool. The only difference was her power to force those coveting her celestial identity to abandon their thoughts, unlike the past life Fu Ling or Jiu Ying, who had no chance to resist, left only to be imprisoned and used. Two different destinies across past and present lives. This life's Fu Ling had Jiu Ying, but who did Jiu Ying have in the past? No one. Jiu Ying endured all the suffering of her past life to grant this life a formidable and safeguarding Fu Ling. The young girl’s eyes softened, her gaze passing through the rock crevices, unsurprised to spot that solitary, slender white figure. The bitterness swirled in her chest, and as she blinked, a single tear unknowingly traced its path down her cheek. Author’s Note: This is the essence that most touches me about self-attacking and self-receiving—mutual acceptance and understanding. They may not fully empathize with each other's experiences and pain, but at least they share ninety-nine percent. They are more intimately connected than an ordinary couple. Fu Ling is a child who knows gratitude. She understands everything she has in this life is because of her senior sister, which is why she cherishes her so deeply.