654: Afterthought

Afterthought

At that moment, everything seemed quiet, one sound after another slowly tuning out. Although the barrier protecting her consciousness weakened, it had not fallen yet. 

The Witch narrowed her eyes, noticing that something was amiss. 

"What is she trying to do?"

Her hands slowed as an ominous feeling arose within her, but she didn't stop, clapping from a safe distance. 

On one end it was pride that kept her from leaving but on the other, this was the disciple of her 

Looking inward, Ming Yue focused on her Mental Force, sensing the Witch's power and tracing it back. In a battle of one's consciousness, she was not helpless against the old woman. And if she couldn't catch her, she'd have to try something different. 

What came next was dangerous. incredibly dangerous.

The red hue of Blood Moon glowed ever so brightly as the energy of the Sword Dao manifested itself, traveling up to her mind. 

The barrier suddenly dispersed, merging with the Sword Dao Energy. Having abandoned all defense, the full brunt of the pain that the clapping caused had come over her like a wave. 

"Urgh..."

She grunted, nearly dropping her sword to clutch her head reflexively. It felt like her mind was going to split in half. It was less like a sword cutting through and more like someone was trying to tear it apart.

But it was only for a moment. 

Combining both Mental Force and the Sword Dao Energy together, Ming Yue suddenly looked up, staring right at where the old woman was. Her eyes had a pale blue glow, flashing like lightning. Tracing the energy of those claps back to her, the young woman practically knew the Witch's location. 

"This..."

Zhi Jinguo felt a chill, a sensation she very rarely felt. In fact, she couldn't stop herself from looking straight into Ming Yue's eyes. 

At that moment, the old woman felt something and the clapping suddenly stopped. She was frozen still, standing there without any more movement. She wasn't even breathing. 

Suddenly, there was peace and quiet. 

"Hah, hah, hah, that worked?" 

The young cultivator nearly fell forward, using Blood Moon to support herself. She shook her head, blinking a few times as her vision was a bit spotty, still dealing with the aftereffects. But soon enough, she recovered, straightening up and standing tall before glancing over at where the Witch was. 

Slowly walking up to her, Ming Yue looked at the old woman who was still frozen in place. She wasn't dead yet, still breathing albeit very weakly. 

"Just one powerful attack to shock the mind", the young cultivator thought to herself, "Even if she knew what it was, it doesn't seem like she prepared for it. Still... the Sound Dao... I don't think I ever fought someone like that."

She then looked at Zhi Jinguo, seeing the frozen eyes that still had life in them. Their eyes met, although the Witch's stare was blank. 

Ming Yue was quiet, thinking back on their fight and the things that she was told.

And then she pointed Blood Moon towards the old woman. All it took was a quick stab into the chest for her to end it. But she didn't stop there, after all a Sky Realm expert had a tenacious lifeforce and Ming Yue didn't plan on taking risks. 

The sword hummed, ravenously eating away at the Witch's remaining strength. She didn't stop until the old woman's body shriveled up. Ripping the blade out, Ming Yue held it tightly before glancing over her shoulder. 

"Five more", she muttered before whistling for Xiao Yin. 

On the other side, the five other members of the Fourteen Evils suddenly stopped, listening carefully to their surroundings. All of their eyes widened as they looked at each other. 

"The clapping stopped."

That was the only thought they had and it meant one thing, the fight was over. However, all of them seemed somewhat apprehensive. It was just a feeling that they had, coming from years of experiencing life and death. 

Was the Witch victorious? Rather, did she die?

In their minds, they didn't believe that she'd lose. Even if she wasn't a fighter, she was still a Sky Realm expert, a high-level one at that. Even if she lost the fight, escape should've been easy for her. 

They all stood there, thinking about their next move. 

"Even if she's dead, the other person must be injured at least. They may try to escape but they couldn't have gone far", one of them said. 

The others looked at them, considering those words. 

"Mm, Even if that one rescuer managed to defeat or even kill the Witch, they shouldn't have the power to take on all of us."

"You're right."

Agreeing with this, they all brandished their weapons and moved forward. Despite the facade of cooperation that they had, none of them truly thought of cooperating. 

Even now, they all sneaked looks at each other. Some couldn't quite hide the joy on their faces. Without Zhi Jinguo, there was no one to keep them in line. Someone was going to want to take the lead. 

More than that, all of them thought of the treasures they'd find at the Misty Blood Tomb. With one less person, especially the strongest one, all of their shares had grown. And it would continue to grow if there were even fewer people.

Making their way toward where they last heard the clapping, a silvery shadow suddenly came before them.

"What-"

They all; froze for a moment, not expecting this before the silvery blur spread their wings out and created a bright flash of light!

"Agh!"

"So bright!"

They covered their eyes, shielding them from the light while swinging their weapons, trying to strike the source. It was blinding, all that they could see was pure white before their sight returned bit by bit. 

Shaking their heads and blinking multiple times, they looked around both confused and dazed. And the silvery blur was gone. 

"What was that light?! Is there someone else?!"

"I don't know, maybe we should retreat!"

The courage that they had vanished, replaced by fear instead. Their weapons trembled ever so slightly from the tightened grip they had. 

Unfortunately, it was too late, far too late. 

As one of them recovered their sight, they looked at the others, checking on all of them. Their eyes suddenly widened before shouting out. 

"They're already here!"

Jumping into action, they all looked raised their weapons, looking at their surroundings. 

"What? Where?!"

The realization settled in when they turned towards their comrades to find not one but two of them dead on the ground. 

"Was it that flash of light?" 

"What else could it be?! Keep your eyes open, they're going to use more tricks when they attack."

They all looked around, staring at the slowly brightening surroundings. The sun was rising and it just barely peeked over the horizon now. 

Three of the Fourteen Evils were dead just like that. 

Of the five in this group, just three remained. 

Constantly turning around, they looked everywhere, trying to catch a glimpse of something but there was nothing for them. Then out of the corner of their eyes was a glint of red.1

And then, Ming Yue shot forth, coming right in front of them!

Wielding Blood Moon with both hands, she swung down, cutting right through the first person. Her blade went straight down, going from the top of the head to the ground. Before the others could even react, she spun around, swinging her sword sideways. 

She was swift and Blood Moon was just a flash of red, cutting right through the waist. None of them could react and if that weren't enough, their bodies were skewered with Wind Needles. 

In perhaps one or two breaths, the remaining three were killed. 

She stood up, wiping her blade clean before looking at them, releasing a tired breath. 

"And that's the rest of them."

Compared to the Witch, they were nothing more than an afterthought to her. 

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