Chapter 256: Death Falls Upon Them
Or so it seemed. Hui held his breath, his body limp, exuding a death aura, his cultivation suppressed to the utmost. All the other cultivators, too, played dead, souls tied to Huis through the spell formation, controlled by Hui, powered by the massive reserves of life qi within Mount Mu.
It was a level of playing dead that even Hui had never attempted before. Their bodies had ceased. Their minds were blank. Their souls, even, were suppressed to almost nothing. The spell stopped everything, and masked over it all with a touch of death qi to lend an aura of death. Hui let it eat into himself and the other cultivators a tiny bit, enough to make their flesh begin to rot an infinitesimal amount. Under the death qi, he hid an equally tiny amount of life qi, enough to undo any harm the second he let go.
Effectively, every single cultivator in the sect dropped dead. The only difference between their current state and true death was that Hui controlled this state and induced it artificially, and as such, could reverse it. Holding it for too long would be harmful to everyone involved, Hui most of all. As the one suppressing everyone, he bore all the weight of handling the compass spell formation and keeping the connection to all the cultivators in Starbound Sect. Even with Chen Wuyas assistance, his body still continued to wither and crack under the force of maintaining the spell formation.
Extermination power swept over the sect. Invisible, it appeared only as a force rustling through the leaves, shivering through the grass, ruffling the fur of the animals in the sect. The power spared mortal animals and unconscious plants, but anything conscious with a single hint of cultivation power in its body, the power destroyed utterly. A few plants on Jade Garden Peak spontaneously withered, and a family of spirit bunnies collapsed, cold and dead.
Not even sparing the rabbits? How vicious! Hui thought, frowning.
As it brushed by the first cultivators, Hui held his breath. The extermination passed through them and moved on. Visibly, nothing changed. They laid still, continuing to exude an aura of death. Despite the black thread connecting Hui to them, the second the power of extermination touched them, he no longer sensed their status, their qi, their souls nothing.
Huis heart raced. His hand clenched subtly, but only for a moment. He forced his heart to slow, forced his hand to loosen. Despite everything, was it useless in the end?
Chen Wuya sighed. Dont be stupid. Of course you cant sense anything on the other side of the power of extermination. Thats like expecting to see light on the other side of a vortex.
Hui glanced up at the fine distortion in the air, all that remained of the entrance to Chen Wuyas realm. So I wont know until it completely passes over us?
All you can do now is hold your breath and wait, Chen Wuya confirmed.The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))
The extermination power whittled his life down to a flickering candle. Hui cupped his hands over that flame, protecting it with everything that remained. The power routed his protections, but even as it tore through them, Hui continued to put up more, not resisting, not fighting back, but providing the power with something to distract it, something to destroy aside from his flickering life flame. The power blew through him like a stiff wind, more than enough to extinguish the candle, but in the wrong direction. It battered Hui to bits, but never finished extinguishing his life.
All at once, the extermination power lessened. The pain faded, and sensation returned. Light. Touch. Scent.
Huis eyes widened. I made it!
The connection to all the other cultivators on the far side of the extermination power returned. Hui reached out, tentative, and connected to one. Are they still alive? Did they make it?
A weak reaction responded to him. The cultivators body bled, and their soul trembled, but the flickering candle of their life continued to burn.
One by one, Hui reached out to all the other cultivators, checking his connection. One by one, they responded. Alive. Alive. Alive. Injured, weak, but alive.
His connection to Xixing came to life, and she reached out to him. Alive
He found Sis Meis string. She responded, almost like holding his hand. A reassurance.
Tears leaked down his cheeks. Despite himself, Hui sniffled. He put a hand over his eyes and smiled, exhausted.
I did it. Theyre all theyre all alive!