108 Maidens of Destiny

Chapter 24: This Last Bullet Is For You

Su Xing had long been prepared. The moment Elder Xiu thrust out the Firebolt Sword, Su Xing quickly sidestepped, completely avoiding the attack.

Elder Xiu wasn’t about to die willingly. He threw out the talismans and artifacts he kept on himself, decades worth of items were all taken out until there was nothing left. This battle potential was not less than that of the Three Stars working together in harmony. [1] Still, though, his fate was decided; not only were the Three Stars he was facing all Heavenly Stars, there was also the resourceful Knowledge Star among the two highly capable warriors.

Wu Xinjie’s “Wind Kill” Talisman turned into a beastly storm that first just gave Elder Xiu nowhere to escape. Then, Liu Qing’er’s Blaze Refining Saber hacked away, its cutting edge wrapped in a fierce flame. Its flaring fireworks easily incinerated the talismans Elder Xiu had thrown out.

Just as there were the stars, sun and the moon, so too, did a cold light follow up. Lin Yingmei’s spear technique cleanly and swiftly cut through the artifacts, which didn’t even have the time to activate.

The three great Star Generals completely surrounded Elder Xiu, suddenly leaving him in a rather desperate situation.

Liu Qing’er’s first slash cut heavily into Elder Xiu’s body, and the spurts of blood were instantly vaporized by the flame on the blade’s edge. Elder Xiu yelped and tried to squeeze his fingers into a hand seal, only for a cold light to pass by and sever those fingers altogether. Finally, Lin Yingmei leapt magnificently before him, her cold and piercing eyes giving a look fierce enough to kill, and stabbed the Arctic Star Spear through Elder Xiu’s throat.

His incantation abruptly stopped. [2]

Even in death, Elder Xiu’s eyes remained fixed upon Su Xing to the very end, and his eyes revealed an unmistakable resentment for Su Xing. If he was still capable of thought, he perhaps would have recalled that time so long ago when he first saw the Astral Treasure “Round Star Buckled Moon” [3] and had been left breathless. [4] However, he was luckily able to escape by taking advantage of the sacrifices of countless other Star Cultivators.

And this time, tragedy took the stage again.

Yet he already had no chances for regret.

In the blink of an eye, the Elder Xiu that previously had been pressuring Su Xing to death had himself been killed simply in a matter of seconds by three Star Generals.

Upon seeing this, Su Xing’s heart still held a lingering fear. In actuality, Elder Xiu could not be blamed for being careless. In his battle with Su Xing, he did not hesitate to use the “Firebolt Sword” in order to obtain the “Profound Star Barrier.” This magical weapon was full of power, but its use necessitated that the Star Cultivator unceasingly instill a steady stream of Star Energy to maintain it. Otherwise, the Firebolt Sword is unusable.

When he finally used the “Profound Star Barrier” to stave off defeat, most of his own power had already been exhausted. When the Three Stars danced together, Elder Xiu grew even weaker. [5] Therefore, he knew his next step had to be dragging Su Xing to the grave. Unfortunately, a completely prepared Su Xing would never abide by his wishes.

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Su Xing turned his gaze towards the Firebolt Sword. Due to the loss of a power source, the Firebolt had already turned into a red, but rather ordinary wooden sword. Su Xing didn’t even spend much time looking at it, and he stored it inside the Astral Bag he lifted from Elder Wen He. He looked around once more, and he discovered that the Deviance Star’s master was nowhere to be found.

“Little Sis Liu Tang, I never expected to bump into you here, how fortunate.” Wu Xinjie playfully smiled, her copper chain now gone.

Settling things with Elder Xiu did not mean that everything was over, and Lin Yingmei clenched two spears, [6] staring intently at Liu Qing’er. The Arctic Star Spear normally would never hesitate to attack, but she was an exception.

The Red-Haired Demon turned the Blaze Refining Saber, the sword links clinking, playing with the cold friction.

Wu Xinjie’s smile quickly disappeared as even she was able to tell something was wrong between the two. “Little sisters, you couldn’t be thinking of dueling here, right?”

Liu Qing’er shot Wu Xinjie a sardonic look and returned to where Lin Yingmei was: “Lin Chong, that alliance just now happened only because I absolutely hate that old geezer. Don’t even think that what’s between us can be settled peacefully.”

“Same here!” Lin Yingmei stated calmly.

“You both should be sorry!” [7] Xun Huo emerged. He wore a prince’s robe, and he carried a stack of talismans in his hand. It seemed that in the time that they hadn’t seen him, he went to Prince Gou Zi’s to collect some weapons for the purpose of fighting Su Xing and Lin Yingmei. No wonder why he acted so proudly; victory was so close at hand for him. “Your current Star Energy isn’t even on the level of a beginner’s, how could you two ever face us!”

They could even discern that Lin Yingmei’s Star Energy was in rapid decline, and never mind Su Xing. Having fought off two Nebula Stage Cultivators, his tenacity thus far was rather commendable.

“Can’t you settle this duel when you go to the Liangshan Maiden Duel Grounds?” Wu Xinjie frowned.

“How could we ever miss this opportunity, Qing’er, kill!” Xun Huo shouted, while at the same time, he threw out tens of paper talismans. These talismans turned into a net of light. This was the “Sky Shrouding Spider Web Talisman.” [8] Its target was not Su Xing, but Wu Xinjie. Having identified Wu Xinjie as an obstacle, the first thing to do was to prevent her from intervening in any way possible.

As for Su Xing and Lin Yingmei who were now spent, Xun Huo simply didn’t bother with them.

Liu Qing’er gave a feminine shout, and the Blaze Refining Saber flames began combining, interlocking layer upon layer. The first step would be an all-out Huangjie Sword Arts [9] attack.

Nine Consecutive Hellfire Demonic Slash!!

The monstrous flames were not a single bit inferior to those of the “Firebolt” Sword. Lin Yingmei’s spear swept forth a cold light, using the very last bit of her Star Energy to barely defend. Liu Qing’er saw an opening and hacked at Lin Yingmei’s head. Red flames swept over Lin Yingmei. There was no room for her to dodge, and she had to clutch her spear tightly with both hands in order to block. However, the forceful blade showed no signs of being delayed.

Liu Qing’er grunted fiercely, and the strength she exerted suddenly increased.

Lin Yingmei felt her wrists become heavy, her pace become unsteady, and she could see Liu Qing’er’s sword cut towards her own neck.

The Star Breaker Golden Pill’s [10] side effects had begun to kick in, and Lin Yingmei felt her body begin to fatigue. Her only choice was to retreat, to create some distance.

But Liu Qing’er’s cold and brilliant blade still cut into Lin Yingmei, cutting a wound so deep that bone could be seen.

Taking advantage of Lin Yingmei’s sluggish actions, Liu Qing’er rushed forward without hesitation, the Blaze Refining Saber intent on drawing even more blood.

SFX: Peng! (Bang!)

A crisp noise blasted from the sidelines.

A silver line blasted between Liu Qing’er and Lin Yingmei, catching the girl off guard and forcing her to retreat. Turning her head, the one who opened fire was none other than Su Xing.

“Qing’er, leave him to me!”

Xun Huo gave a cold grin and tens of golden swords shot out.

Liu Qing’er was indifferent, and the Blaze Refining Saber again cut towards Lin Yingmei, spear and sword biting at each other, slamming against each other. The strength of Liu Qing’er’s attacks gradually grew stronger and strong, whereas Lin Yingmei began to become increasingly slow.

Her parries began to only barely keep up.

When Su Xing saw this, he felt anxious from the bottom of his heart. “Xun Huo, you moron, didn’t you learn your lesson last time? Could it be you just don’t have even a shred of the ability needed to sign a contract with her?”

“You must be talking about yourself.” Xun Huo scornfully replied. “You were lucky the last time. This time, I won’t give you the chance.” Su Xing could only see Xun Huo tap his pocket, but when he did, a curved red shadow flew out from within the bag.

The red shadow expanded and swept around Su Xing, covering him from head to toe.

But Su Xing was just waiting for this opportunity. He suddenly twisted his body and used the “Chaotic Tail Escape Technique,” [11] disappearing into thin air before Xun Huo’s very eyes.

How could Xun Huo have known that Su Xing unexpectedly learned this bizarre and uncommon escape technique during the last few days. And he thought his own artifact, “Magical Fire Fragrant Handkerchief,” [12] had nabbed Su Xing.

Though he kept up his poker face, his heart had begun to sink. Suddenly, he glanced a chilling light.

Xun Huo’s face suddenly paled.

How is this happening?

“This last bullet is for you.”

This was an unrelenting declaration, and Xun Huo was frozen in place, trembling.

Within the darkness, there came the crisp sound of a string being severed.

And someone whimpered.

Author Note:

I asked for your vote, and now I’m near the bottom, a mere carpet.

1. Literally, the characters used here were “三星齐舞,” which was translated as “Tandem Dance of the Three Stars.” However, I’ve made changes to make the text flow. ?

2. When he started chanting, I don’t know. ?

3. “环星扣月,” where the “buckled” part refers to something like a belt buckle. The meaning behind this is that the moon is apparently restrained, somehow. ?

4. Literally, this Treasure injured him to the point that he could hardly breathe ?

5. “强弩之末” This is an expression that basically means even the strongest weapons can break. ?

6. I don’t recall her having two spears, so I’m not exactly sure what the author means here. ?

7. Here, Xun Huo addresses Su Xing and Lin Yingmei using the expression “死鸭子嘴硬,” which basically describes someone refusing to admit any wrongdoing on their part, especially if they actually did something wrong. ?

8. “结天蛛网符” ?

9. “黄阶刀法” Previously translated as “Phoenix Step Tactics,” in the coming chapters, the mention of a new technique necessitates this change. ?

10. See Chapter 22. ?

11. See Chapter 12. ?

12. “魔火香帕” ?