Chapter 272: Zhu Xian Sword Formation, Defending the Sect to Save the World

When the people on the ground looked up, at first they could only see a broken moon and the enormous sun above.

A straight, harsh line appeared.

Like a hairline cracking at the rim of the sun, it stretched from the sun’s outline all the way to slice through the unusually bright remnant moon. The moon cracked first, as if a paper sheet had shifted; then its pieces drifted apart.

What spilled out from the break was not debris, but moonlight, as if frost and snow that had been hiding and brewing for billions of years were being scattered. Two slowly unfurling tails of light trailed across the deep-blue sky.

There was no time to mourn the moon before the sun began to shift even more violently.

Half of the sun sank downward by about half a finger’s breadth. From the severed edge poured a viscous, rolling platinum light-ichor, flowing along the wound into space like the molten yolk of a burst egg.

The light-ichor dragged tens of thousands of blazing white filaments through the air, like an inverted lava fall, like the burning roots of a giant tree stretching outward.

For some reason the sky grew a little darker. Countless stars flashed in the daylight. The sky itself was now divided by the sun and moon, slowly slipping out of alignment.

Jincha rubbed her head.

For a brief instant, watching the misaligned sky, she had the sensation that her own skull had been sliced and her vision skewed.

Only after confirming her head was still whole did she slowly exhale.

But staring at that apocalyptic, magnificent panorama of the heavens, her throat felt clogged with a thousand unsaid words.

The crowd who had been chattering about the Azure Cloud Sect’s Disaster Control Bureau fell silent, suppressed by the drifting broken sun and moon that floated farther away.

The whole world sank into an eerie calm.

“Is this still what you’d call Magical Girls?”

Somebody muttered.

No one answered.

“From appearance alone, there’s maybe a one percent chance our Sect Master’s still a Magical Girl…”

A long while passed before anyone else whispered back.

[Detected sun and moon destruction, detected high-risk reaction, self-defense systems initiating.]

Jincha, still watching the sky and waiting to see what the Azure Cloud Sect would do next, froze for a moment.

The gathered Magical Girls on the square below erupted into noise again.

“What’s happening?”

“It’s the self-defense mechanism, right? Doesn’t that only kick in when the world is about to be destroyed?”

“Isn’t this exactly that? The sun and moon have been cut apart!”

“But that wasn’t the Azure Cloud Sect…”

“What’s going on?”

“Damn Jincha, did she betray us? An Shiyu, let’s go!”

“Hey, hey, hey, Senior Mujin, let’s ask first. Maybe it’s a misunderstanding — we can get them to undo it…”

Listening to the murmured thoughts from below, Jincha rubbed her forehead.

She glanced at the system, now utterly locked down, and realized it was over.

Looking back at Hongmian’s ashen face, Jincha gave a bitter smile. “Do you think the Azure Cloud Sect will believe our explanation?”

“An accidental discharge like that?” Hongmian’s expression was ugly. “Hard to buy. We never said the Central Bureau had a world-destruction self-defense system, and their disciple was right here — it looks like betrayal!”

“Yeah, but who would’ve imagined somebody could actually slice the sun and moon?” Jincha sighed, a face full of despair and exhaustion.

“Think about what to do next.”

“If nothing else, we could kneel at the Azure Cloud Sect gate and die to atone…”

As murmurs rose, pure mana gathered into a brilliant white radiance.

[Anomaly scan, search failed, repositioning.]

[Positioning successful.]

[City anomalous — Parasitic world beast: awakened larva fused into new world, completion rate 99%. Handling plan: eradicate.]

[Applying for Grand Magic: Salvation Barrier — eight rulings review one —]

[Crisis not individual: achieved.]

[Crisis not human: achieved.]

[Crisis not a long-term world purge: achieved.]

[....]

[Five of eight rulings achieved, application approved.]

[Salvation magic privileges activated, full power engaged.]

[Target: Beihai.]

Jincha and Hongmian both stiffened. The space in the sky trembled slightly.

Aimed downward.

“Wait!”

“Shouldn’t it target the one in space?”

“Quick, contact the Azure Cloud Sect in Beihai!”

They were already a step too slow. The amassed salvation mana had finished charging.

[Launch.]

A terrifying beam of magic exploded from the heavens and shot toward Beihai like a rainbow bolt!

.....

“Huh? That thing almost really pulled it off? Beihai is already being corrupted.”

Jialan almost spat out her food.

Beside her, Twins hastily produced a basin to catch the spray. “Hey, don’t cough up your food. Hold it in for three seconds.”

Jialan slapped her away.

The two of them sat in a subterranean sports ground on the border between the Witch Association’s West China and South China territories.

On the field lay a huge crystal ball — the witches’ observation sphere — currently streaming the battle above East China.

It had originally been used to watch Shion and the Incubator, but after Shion transformed again, that area went invisible.

All anyone could confirm was the final sword stroke — zero seconds to guess who transformed into a child.

Twins tidied the scene for Jialan while glancing at a nearby phone.

The President’s voice came through. “I didn’t expect it could reach this degree, Incubators.”

Her tone held a trace of astonishment.

“Willing to destroy the natives for the humans they love?”

Jialan curled her lip. “It’s madness. A rebound from the bottom. The Incubators who lacked emotion became even more obsessed and deranged after being cursed.”

“What curse?” Twins whispered.

“Of course, love.” Jialan adopted a knowing expression. “Pure human love. M78X340 — we call it Incubation No. Seven. It’s a special existence among Incubators.”

“Human love?” Twins relaxed. “Then what’s there to fear? Love is a weakness! Just assassinate the person it loves, or take that supreme loved one hostage, and it’ll obey. Dealing with someone with a soft spot… no problem. Little pests, our Witch Association has as many methods as we want!”

“You’re still too naive.” Jialan sighed.

The President’s tone grew grave. “We only play small games. Against human love, the Witch Association’s tricks are rookie moves.”

“Because love has no limits.” Shan Lan stared at the vanished garnet-colored Magical Girl. “That’s the most terrifying curse. To shove that disaster-world into a new world, it will do anything.”

“No.” Twins raised a hand at once. “How come you all act like you knew everything the moment it emerged? Why weren’t you saying this earlier? Hindsight is easy.”

“Well, that’s because the intel has been declassified,” Jialan said, “Once the intel is declassified, naturally you can talk. Before that, someone might come poking around.”

Twins sniffed. “Who would dare mess with the Witch Association? That’d be asking for death.”

“This intel isn’t fully declassified yet…”

If she could avoid being beaten, Twins wanted to use Herder Wolf’s head to clean Jialan’s shoes.

Jialan, my head itches!

Not declassified and you say nothing.

Still, like Lady Bingtang guessed, the Witch Association’s intelligence was vast. These senior veterans hid a ton of secrets.

One day when she’d got all that intel, she planned to reveal her identity openly and make Jialan kneel and use her head as a stepping stone!

Why not the sole? Because she doesn’t wear shoes.

“Oh right, Twins, about avenging Simo Tu like I told you before — you did it?”

After Simo Tu beat Jialan up and later snatched the vice-president post, Jialan had been brooding. She’d passed the task of revenge to Twins because she was afraid to provoke Simo Tu directly.

Twins perked up. “Do I need you to tell me? Simo Tu and I have personal grudge — I already took a good revenge. Don’t worry!”

“How did you revenge him?”

Twins proudly lifted her foot. Pale, delicate, still damp with little beads of water — toes wiggled and water dripped from between them.

“I mixed his witch reagent with my foot-washing water! He was so arrogant but in the end had to drink my foot-wash. Tell me that wasn’t brutal!”

“God, Twins, you’re a born demon!”

“Heh.” Twins flared her nose. “Of course, I’ve been the most devilish since childhood…”

“When Simo Tu returns, I’ll reveal it to him — we’ll shame him properly!”

Twins slapped the floor and knelt. “Sis, you’re joking…”

“I’m not joking.”

“I really was joking!” Twins wailed, kowtowing. “Fake, fake, I didn’t! I only added some honey soda water. Sister, please don’t make Twins the center of a crushing cycle…”

The President chuckled and interrupted. “Alright, enough. Whether Mr. Simo Tu can come back is itself a question.”

Twins kept her head bowed on the floor, “Ah, right right…”

Jialan stretched and rested a leg on Twins’ shoulder.

Though Twins gnawed her teeth in anger, she dared not complain.

“The problem is, if an Incubator dies, is that okay?”

“One Incubator may be fine. The issue is,” the President said calmly, “it linked to the main cluster.”

The atmosphere stiffened instantly.

Twins blinked, surprised. Jialan had been breezy just moments ago — why the sudden tension?

She asked carefully, “What’s up? You were so high and mighty — scared now?”

Shan Lan gave Twins an ear-tug, silencing the chatterbox. “Nonsense. If it linked to the main cluster and was killed, they won’t sit idle. Professional judgment: the Magic Kingdom will act.”

The President offered a thin smile. “Maybe not. The Magic Kingdom hasn’t opened its gates for a long time. They might not want to open just for one discarded machine. Still, the sun and moon were destroyed; the salvation barrier will activate.”

Twins tilted her head. “What salvation barrier?”

“Whenever a force capable of destroying the world appears, the Central Bureau’s defense system automatically starts — a world-class grand magic.” The President sighed. “It’s been almost centuries since the last activation. I had almost forgotten it existed.”

“Huh? What do we do?” Twins grew nervous. “Isn’t there danger?”

Jialan shot her a glance. “Who do you think’s in danger?”

“...Us.”

“Of course not.” Jialan snorted. “Too far away to touch us.”

“But there’s another trouble: Chongxu has rules.” The President sounded helpless. “When the salvation barrier’s light appears, Chongxu will help.”

“Our Chongxu has a salvation barrier too.”

Soon Twins saw a pitch-black radiance flare in the distant sky.

That dense polluted mana sent a chill even Twins felt.

“Wait, is that really a barrier?”

“Called a barrier, actually a cannon.”

“Where’s the salvation in that?”

“A corrupted mana cannon matching the salvation cannon. When the salvation cannon lights, the corrupted cannon fires to cancel the aftermath. Thus, salvation? But Chongxu, fearing Azure Cloud Sect and Shion…”

“Plans to coordinate the salvation cannon and attack together.”

Twins’ face shifted subtly, while Jialan sat up. “Are you insane? That’s declaring war on Azure Cloud Sect!”

Twins nodded rapidly. “They’re vindictive, worse than me!”

“I said the same, but it’s useless. They think Shion and the Azure Cloud Sect will act against them eventually.”

The President sounded tired. “They probably think it'll be more reliable to join the Disaster Control Bureau to eliminate Azure Cloud Sect and Shion.”

Shan Lan pointed skyward.

The sliced sun and moon descended with an apocalyptic grandeur. “You mean go after whoever can do this? Child’s play. When Azure Cloud Sect retaliates, we’ll be the ones filling the battlefront!”

“Then we’ll cut back with everything we’ve got and apologize!”

The President said seriously, “Besides, I pulled twelve full-life Shions. At least one will survive.”

“Damn, cunning. Save me one!”

Jialan checked her phone. “Shoot, my draw time almost passed. I only drew six full-life ones!”

“Good luck to you…”

Suddenly the pitch-black radiance grew and rushed toward Beihai. The two witches and their Magical Girls raised their heads.

“Here it comes.”

But compared to the black mana gathering over the Witch Association, the Central Bureau’s seven-colored pure mana was far more terrifying!

“That blow that can level heaven and earth.”

.....

Bai Mei opened one eye and watched that grand sword in the sky.

Her master’s sword was the strongest — she never doubted that.

Though her master had rarely used the sword since demonstrating that one stroke long ago, the sword remained unmatched. For Bai Mei it was a regret that he didn’t use it often; seeing him now split the sun and moon and silence the heavens with a single stroke filled her with satisfaction.

Her own sword intent rose another level.

Sadly, there was no chance to savor and analyze it slowly.

She looked toward Beihai.

From east and west, interfering corrupted mana and pure salvation mana both struck at Beihai.

The civilians nearby, beating pots and pans as instruments of celebration, were still astonished at the sun and moon’s misalignment. They had endured countless malice and suffering for a hundred years without panic, barely noticing.

From afar a city descended with the monstrous malice of a millennium.

Bai Mei’s expression grew serious. Just as she moved to draw her sword, a voice sounded.

“Bai Mei.”

An icy blade appeared before her face.

“Draw your sword.”

Smiling faintly, Bai Mei opened her other eye and took the ice sword.

“Yes, Lady Bingtang.”

A clear, piercing sword qi howled and rushed toward the Azure Cloud Sect!

At the same moment, in West China,

Those not caught in the disaster simply looked up at the interlaced sun and moon: some cheered, some cursed.

A man in the crowd suddenly felt a chill and noticed an ice sword beside him.

He slipped quietly away, ducked into hiding, and seized the ice sword from the sect.

Sectumsempra — the blade unleashed itself involuntarily.

Jiang Ming.

In the recently unsealed city, the populace looked bewildered — already experiencing this for the second time, they were used to it but still at a loss.

Likewise, in a quiet corner, Qianjing and Shui Ling saw the sect’s ice sword appear.

Every disciple learns this truth upon entering the sect: when the sect is in danger, ice swords appear before its members,

a proof the sect needs their help.

Grip the blade and you can assist the sect, channeling the Great Elder Winter’s magic.

“Do we have enough of us?”

“Stop worrying!”

Without hesitation the two grasped the ice sword and flew out toward the crystal sphere.

Anyang City.

Xingxuan, Qingluán — recent recruits — exchanged glances at the ice sword appearing before them.

“Why is the sect in such trouble? Isn’t it too early for the corrupted soul masters to counterattack?”

“Doesn’t this mean our luck’s good?” Qingluán laughed and seized the sword. “Just joined and we get to take part in something huge.”

“True!” Xingxuan gleefully snatched the blade. “I’m going to be first!”

They followed the sword.

Hu Lin.

Yueji eyed the ice sword, then her companions — fellow champions of the sect competition — and bit her handkerchief in jealousy, both coveting and envying, before she gripped the ice sword with longing.

Inside the Central Bureau,

Hidden Susan looked at the disciples on the square who had already taken up blades, sighed, found a secluded corner, and seized her sword.

“If I’m exposed, don’t blame me, Lady Bingtang.”

With that, her mana formed a sword and shot out from the bureau.

Thousands of Azure disciples, some hidden in cities, some ascending to the sky, laughed and shouted.

Through the ice crystals scattered everywhere, they all linked!

Every disciple was a vertex of the formation, woven and structured.

A voice then rang out to every city with an Azure Cloud Sect branch:

“Azure Cloud Sect disciples!”

“Draw your swords!”

All across East China, South China, North China, and part of West China, myriad colorful mana blades rose!

At the center of Beihai stood Bingtang; a chorus of ten thousand swords rang around her!

In space above, the Sect Master cast down a faint personal light. Bingtang merely nodded at her.

Azure’s secret treasure, the sect’s cornerstone.

With a single wave of her hand, countless streaks of colored sword qi converged.

“Zhu Xian Sword Formation! Begin!”

From the hands of Azure Cloud Sect disciples worldwide, the millions of frost-bladed swords merged into one gigantic seven-colored blade!

Above, the sun and moon slowly recovered.

The sun and moon reflected, the sword qi gleamed!

Terrifying corrupted mana and the salvation pure mana cannons, each with world-ending momentum, surged forward. The dense sword qi that littered their path melted upon contact, as if useless before an overwhelming force!

Beihai’s sky turned two-toned!

Above, Shion suddenly unfurled immense dragon wings!

Beneath the sky-obliterating wings, the seven-colored main sword qi shot up, splitting destruction and darkness, soaring into the clouds!

Yet a small frozen ring contained that enormous seven-colored main blade.

“Heavenly Secret Seal.”

Using ice crystals to connect every Azure disciple and gathering mana, then centering Bai Mei’s sword qi to form the final formation,

a single slight movement felt as though it could rip the heavens and tug the stars.

“Open!”

The ice ring shattered entirely. The Zhu Xian sword’s dreadful sword qi, the vast Haoran sword energy, surged without limit!

Bingtang swung, cleaving. The salvation cannon of pure mana and the corrupted annihilation cannon exploded within the sword qi!

Endless detonations blotted out the sky, as if trying to topple the sun and moon!

Only then did the billions in Beihai fully realize a new wave of danger had arrived. Yet no one panicked — they shouted instead.

“Azure! Azure!”

They had been protected by the Azure Cloud Sect for three years. They trusted the sect most of all!

Outside Beihai, people watched in astonishment and fear.

Even without Shion intervening directly, the Azure Cloud Sect still possessed power to rival the Witch Association and the Disaster Control Bureau!

Then the cosmic wind twisted faintly.

The seven-colored Zhu Xian main sword, reacting violently with the two mana cannons, reached a strange balance as opposing forces rose and fell.

Shion, wings spread to shelter Beihai, tilted her head. A bit of surprise showed in her dragon eyes.

Beyond the planet, space warped like a tranquil pool being stirred.

The balance above Beihai suddenly shattered. The seven-colored Zhu Xian sword, wrapped with black-and-white world-ending force, shot into space and struck that calm pool.

It stirred a tremendous vortex for an instant.

That giant vortex whipped up an almost inconceivable suction, far beyond a black hole. Yet Shion ignored the pull, standing motionless and gazing into the vortex’s center ——

From the great breach came an ancient, decayed aura.

A verdant and towering branch extended outward through the gap. Looking upward, the branch was thick with leaves, some lush green, some pale and rotted.

Within each leaf floated a world.

Vibrant green leaves held newborn worlds.

Faded white leaves held dying worlds.

And this new world existed upon one such leaf.

As for the leaves drifting from the branch, the rotting remnants…

Those were the Dregs, the old worlds.

Understanding dawned in Shion’s mind. The collision of three Full Bloom-level powers had finally, in this instant, broken the invisible heavenly barrier that had been pressing over their world.

Though the glimpse beyond the world vanished in a breath, it made things clear.

They were standing on a massive World Tree!