50 THE HEAVENLY RIFT (2)

Chu Wanning did not waste any more time. He made use of his excellent light footwork and flew to Butterfly Town. The thick stench of blood permeated the air and was carried by the wind in Chu Wanning's direction. The latter's face darkened. He could not hear any movement coming from Butterfly Town. A lot of blood and silence. It only meant that the deed was done. He was too late.

Chu Wanning looked up and saw no more addition to the figures on the chessboard. Over one thousand blurry figures were turned into chess pawns. Chu Wanning gritted his teeth.

He was not at all surprised to see that Butterfly Town had been turned into a sea of blood and corpses. Elders, adults, women and men, and children. There was no exception in the mass murder. Everyone died. Their corpses had been mangled badly, with their chests ripped open in a brutal manner.

In the middle of the town stood the luxurious Chen residence. At the moment, a beautiful girl dressed in a red wedding gown was slowly licking the blood off her sharp, red-painted nails while sitting on top of the eaves. If Chu Wanning did not know better, he would have exorcised the demon on spot. Swallowing his anger and disgust into his stomach, Chu Wanning slowly approached the demonized soul of Luo XianXian.

Luo XianXian had changed completely. She could not be compared to her past self who went berserk and wanted the whole Chen family to die. No. This Luo XianXian was capable of murdering the residents of a whole town with or without a personal grudge. And she enjoyed it.

When she caught sight of Chu Wanning, her lips curled up in a seductive smile.

"Oh no," she pretended to be distraught. "If I had known that someone was coming to visit, I would have waited before finishing the show."

Chu Wanning's expression could freeze the water in a lake.

"Luo XianXian, what have you done?"

Tianwen appeared in Chu Wanning's hand, shimmering golden against the bloody background. Luo XianXian's eyes landed on Chu Wanning briefly before they hovered on Tianwen. Some sense of familiarity flickered in her eyes, but the light quickly disappeared and swallowed within the brightly red demonic eyes.

"What have I done?" She softly said. "Nothing that others had not done to me yet."

Chu Wanning, "No one ripped your heart out and killed you."

Luo XianXian, "They killed me. They all killed me! I hate them!"

The resentment aura increased by multiple folds in an instant. Luo XianXian stood up, her hair danced behind her as if it had just come alive. She glared at Chu Wanning for a few seconds before she moved to attack him.

Her opponent was still Chu Wanning, who was one of the strongest grandmasters in the cultivation realm in history. Although Chu Wanning was a mere mortal, he would not lose to a demonized soul like Luo XianXian. Having anticipated her attacks, Chu Wanning immobilized her with Tianwen and pressed two fingers against Luo XianXian's forehead. He murmured a Soul Purification Spell and Luo XianXian started to wriggle in agony.

"AHHHHHH STOP!!! STOP NOWW!!! I CAN'T TAKE IT!!!"

Luo XianXian screamed around like a piglet being roasted over an open fire. But then her face was distorted into an evil grin.

"Did you think I was going to say that?"

Chu Wanning widened his eyes in shock. He just barely managed to retreat with Tianwen when Luo XianXian's claws landed where he had stood a second ago. Shallow claw wounds appeared on Chu Wanning's chest.

Luo XianXian clicked with her tongue impatiently. She was about to launch a second attack but then she suddenly froze in the air. Luo XianXian turned her head toward the Chen manor and stared for a while. And then...

"Everyone, rise. Please accompany our guest on my behalf."

All around them, the dead bodies on the ground stood up. They slowly turned their lifeless faces toward Chu Wanning and approached him.

"LUO XIANXIAN!!!"

Luo XianXian no longer bothered to pay attention to Chu Wanning. She disappeared into the Chen manor. Meanwhile, Chu Wanning was surrounded by reanimated undead from all directions. He leaped to safety and ran as fast as he could out of Butterfly Town.

"Shizun!!!"

Chu Wanning's head snapped down. Mo Ran was standing on the ground, looking at him with confused eyes. Chu Wanning landed in front of him and pushed him.

"Stay back!!"

Chu Wanning turned his back to Mo Ran and started to chant some spells for barrier creation. Mo Ran did not understand what happened inside Butterfly Town, but he was shaken to see what Chu Wanning was trying to do. A giant barrier in form of a circle rose from the earth and curved upward, closing at the top and forming a huge dome. A giant haitang flower gently rotated on top of it.

Barrier creation expended a lot of spiritual power but barrier maintenance was going to drain the creator's power over time. To make matters worse, Butterfly Town was not a small town!

Before Mo Ran was done with his train of thought, Chu Wanning already spat a mouthful of blood in front of him.

"Shizun!"

"I am fine!" Chu Wanning pushed Mo Ran away impatiently. He stood up straight and continued chanting.

The barrier was already set, but Chu Wanning was still murmuring some other spells. Mo Ran pressed both hands against Chu Wanning's back and transmitted some spiritual power into Chu Wanning's body to back him up. The latter gasped softly when he felt the warm surge of power entering his body, but he did not stop Mo Ran. Mo Ran closed his eyes and focused on giving Chu Wanning power.

Thump, thump, thump...

Mo Ran frowned. Irritated, he opened his eyes and almost jumped from shock. Slack-jawed, he stared at a bunch of giant golems that had slowly started to surround Butterfly Town. These golems were even bigger than the one Xia Sini took for a walk months ago. When exactly did Chu Wanning find the time to make so many golems??? Mo Ran watched in awe as said golems stretched their arms to the side at the same height and reinforced the barrier.

After summoning and putting the golems in their places, Chu Wanning stopped chanting. He stared blankly at the barrier that he just created.

"Shizun, this is...?"

"Luo XianXian has murdered everyone in Butterfly Town. The corpses have been reanimated. Without a barrier, they will invade the nearby area."

Mo Ran swallowed hard. Everyone in Butterfly Town died? He glanced at the giant chessboard on top of Butterfly Town and then at the barrier. If he looked closer, he could make out some movements inside the barrier. It must be the undead who were desperately trying to break the barriers, craving the blood and flesh of the living.

Containing the undead inside a barrier was a necessary move, but it was not a permanent solution. Chu Wanning still had to purify their souls from amassing resentment energy and send them to the underworld. He could not do that from outside of the barrier.

Chu Wanning put a tracing spell on Mo Ran's forehead.

"When the barrier breaks, run as fast as you can," he told his disciple. Mo Ran gaped at him.

"Shizun, where are you going?"

"I will project my soul inside the barrier."

"No!!! That is dangerous!!!"

Mo Ran grabbed at Chu Wanning's arm to prevent him from leaving. How did Chu Wanning become more and more reckless with passing time? Was he bored of living or what??

"Shizun, you cannot do that!"

Chu Wanning pursed his lips and freed his hand from Mo Ran's grip.

"If I don't do anything, my spiritual power will be depleted soon and then everyone in Shuzhong will join them on the chessboard!"

"..."

"There are only dead people inside. They will not be able to detect my soul. Guard my body if you are so worried."

"But..."

Chu Wanning took the bottle of antidote pills from JiangXi out from his qiankun pouch and took two at once. His heart started to throb violently in his chest as soon as the pills took effect.

"Ugh."

Chu Wanning put a hand across his mouth to prevent himself from vomiting the pills out.

"Shizun, what did you just swallow??"

Mo Ran grabbed Chu Wanning by his waist to prevent him from falling down. Panting, Chu Wanning shook his head and pushed Mo Ran away from him. He did not bother to answer Mo Ran's question.

"I am fine. Be careful."

Without waiting for Mo Ran's answer, Chu Wanning performed the spell and projected his soul inside the barrier. His head tilted backward and his lifeless body fell backward gently like the first snowflake in winter.

"SHIZUN!!!"

Mo Ran caught Chu Wanning's body and leaned his head on his shoulder. An uneasy feeling spread in Mo Ran's heart when he gazed at Chu Wanning's pale face and tender eyelashes. He caressed Chu Wanning's cheek gently and whispered, "Wanning, come back soon..."

Inside the barrier, Chu Wanning's lone soul materialized.