The Rise of the Divine Oracle

Chapter 169 - Breath of Life

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Da Ziran led Jingyi all the way to the back mountains and out of the warded zone.

He stopped in his tracks when he heard a loud bang and was about to run towards it when a hand appeared out of nowhere, clamping his mouth shut and whispering into his ear: "Shhh.."

Jingyi recognizes the callous brute's hand from his short fight with the Slayer.

Jinhai whispers into his ear: "Stay put, child. This is not your fight."

Jingyi nods his understanding and Jinhai lets go.

He watches the Slayer slowly advance towards the fight noises coming from the back mountains and wonders if he should listen to the man.

After a few seconds of debating his choices, Jingyi decides to turn around to run back towards Cloud Recesses.

Wuxian stares into Biming's faceless face.

Shortly after Grandmaster Qiren handed the Shoucang Zhe to Mianmian and Wuxian explained to her how to activate it, they realized that one person is not enough to make it work. Wangji and Zewu Jun volunteered to transfer energy to her as she slowly activates the talisman and watches it revert to its original form.

Wuxian smiles happily as he witnesses his talisman work.

That's when the faceless man showed up.

He appeared out of nowhere, screaming in anger: "THAT'S NOT YOURS TO MESS WITH!"

Wuxian blocked his view of the three cultivators activating the talisman and grabbed his flute from his belt as Wen Ning stepped behind him, ready to fight: "It's not yours either!"

Grandmaster Qiren grabbed his sword and Yuxio lit hers on fire. They were all ready to fight and defend the innocent spirits trapped inside the pouch.

Biming points his finger at Wuxian: "Who are you to tell me what is mine and what isn't?"

Wuxian looks passively at him, sensing his anxiety and conflicted feelings: "I'm the one who's destined to stop you. It's literally why I was reincarnated."

Biming throws his head back, unleashing a manic laugh: "You think you're strong enough to stop me?"

Wuxian takes a deep breath and brings his flute to his lips whispering to himself: "We will find out soon enough.."

The moment his lips touched Chenqing, his ring and hair shone bright, sending energy to the music coming off of the flute and towards Wen Ning.

Wen Ning felt a cold breath sweeps through him. Like life was being resurrected within him. Normally, Wuxian summons the angry spirits of the dead and feeds their dark energy to Wen Ning. This time it was different. Wen Ning felt like Wuxian was collecting the essence of life and breathing it into him. His music made the dead man feel whole again.

Wen Ning's hair and summoned chains slowly turned golden like Wuxian's and when Biming stared into Wen Ning's eyes, he saw them sparkle just like the Oracle.

Biming seethed: "You think this scares me?"

Wen Ning frowns at him: "You should be scared. I am undefeated."

Biming unsheathes his sword and tightens his grasp. It slowly turns darker than night and he smirks: "I will enjoy breaking your record, Ghost General."

They fought for a while.

Even though Biming was clearly smarter and stronger with his attacks, fighting Wen Ning is a lost cause. How can you defeat a man that cannot die?

Biming realized that after a few minutes of dodging chains and dealing blows, so he switched his strategy: aim for the puppet master.

Qiren and Yuxio saw his swift change in direction and tried to intervene, but the man was clearly stronger than both of them.

Wangji was having a hard time concentrating on the energy transference while trying his best to keep an eye on his soul-bond. Wuxian may be strong, but Biming was a desperate man with nothing to lose.

Yuxio and Qiren were both struck down, forcing Wuxian to stop playing and using his ring to push Biming away. Wen Ning stands before Wuxian, back in his black hair and bloody chains, holding his guardian position and waiting for Biming to make a move.

The faceless man circles them for a while then says: "You can't keep this up for too long, Oracle."

Wuxian: "I just need to stop you long enough for them to free the souls you stole."

Biming tsks: "You're not strong enough to hold me for that long, pretty boy."

Something heavy lands between them, sending a strong wind of energy and dread.

Jinhai stands tall and smirks at Biming when he takes a small step back: "But I am.."

The Slayer doesn't give Biming time to respond and tackles him.

Wuxian watches them worriedly as the three cultivators behind him start releasing spirits around them.

Wuxian can feel his hands starting to shake. He hates to admit it, but Biming was right.

He used a lot of energy to create the talisman. Wen Ning alone is not enough to stop Biming without his help and he didn't have it in him to keep the energy flow going.

He just hopes Jinhai is strong enough to hold the faceless man off until they free all the spirits.

Mianmian screams: "We're almost done!"

Biming hears her and shifts his stance to charge towards her. Jinhai was on his tail and yanked the dark knight's robes, sending him off the ground and driving him into a nearby rock wall, plunging his sword into his chest.

When the debris settle, Jinhai realizes that Biming was not there and turns around to look for him.

The bastard has shifted dimensions and was once again charging for the transforming pouch and the people around it.

Before Biming can reach them, he senses something coming towards him and instinctively swings his sword and deflects it. He was confused for a second when he sees nothing but hears it move and tracks it to a young disciple in white Lan Clan robes.

The boy was flanked by an army of disciples, all armed with swords and different musical instruments, ready to fight him to death.

He takes one last angry look at the almost empty pouch a few paces away from him and turns to glare at Wuxian: "Count your blessings, pretty boy. When we meet again, you will not be the only one with an army to command."

He vanishes just like he appeared and Jinhai huffs: "Come back here, you coward!" before he takes off running.

Wuxian rushes towards his father and Yuxio to check on them while Mianmian happily laughs as the last spirit exits the pouch, leaving nothing but a piece of fabric and a few strings behind: "It worked!"

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