Chapter 102.1: Guard An Entire City Alone?

Chapter 102.1: Guard An Entire City Alone?

Qi Yuan's expression turned cold at Caixia’s attempt to flee.

He lunged after her. "Trying to run?”

"Stop him!" she cried.

All the demon spawns went into a frenzy all at once, hurling themselves at Qi Yuan like a death tide. Caixia's courage swelled when she saw that the spawns had managed to stall him.

"Who would've expected a Nation Subjugator cultivator to show up in City of No Return! I'll admit that you are strong, and that I'm no match for you. But so what? There are plenty of Nation Subjugators in Jialan City as well! Yet haven't they all been beaten back by our Northern forces, too afraid to even step outside? The Southern lands are doomed to fall. Why throw your life away for them? Don't you know how short life is? Why burden yourself with this so-called duty to the world and its people? You're just feeding your own ego!"

Caixia stared pridefully at Qi Yuan. "I'm leaving. The next time I appear, City of No Return will be overturned."

Without looking back, she turned and fled.

Qi Yuan's anger flared. "Overturn my city? You're courting death!"

Heaven-Cleaving Sword!

He unleashed his strongest sword art, tearing open the surrounding hundreds of demons in one slash. A gaping path had been carved through their ranks.

Caixia, watching from afar, froze in shock. That sword strike had butchered over ten Overlords in one blow, something even most Nation Subjugator could never accomplish.

A fierce gust surged toward her, and Qi Yuan's furious roar followed, "Thief, don't run. Stay and be my dog!"

The force struck her waist like a hammer blow. She tumbled from the sky like a severed kite. Even the aftershock alone robbed her of all strength.

Struggling to turn over, she saw the handsome man striding toward her, his broken sword in hand. Terror filled her heart. She didn't want to die.

"I... I'll be your dog!" she cried out.

The scorching sand burned her skin, yet her heart rippled with strange emotion. Looking up at Qi Yuan, her eyes turned pleading, even darting out her tongue like a dog begging for mercy.

Qi Yuan's face twisted in disgust. "Dogs don't get houses."

His sword came down. Caixia went limp and fell to the sand. She couldn't understand. She'd already surrendered, why wouldn't he spare her? Was their enmity truly so deep? Weren't Northern and Southern cultivators always switching sides anyway?

Before she could get any answer, she breathed her last.

After slaying Caixia, Qi Yuan turned his gaze back to the demon horde. He lifted his sword once more and charged.

Half an hour later, he stood again atop the walls of City of No Return. What he was most curious about was what exactly this thing called Demonic Origin really was.

He turned his focus inward, probing carefully. After an unknown length of time, he opened his eyes.

Within his soul, he saw a tiny wisp of vapor, no larger than a grain of rice. It shimmered with countless shifting colors.

"So this is the Demonic Origin?"

[Demonic Origin: The sin of living beings. Pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, lust.]

"The Seven Deadly Sins? This can't be anything good."

When his soul brushed against the grain-sized Demonic Origin, countless visions flashed through his mind. He saw himself cutting down the Bright Palace with a single stroke, devouring mountains of delicious food, and even tearing open Jiang Lingsu's robes and sliding silk stockings up her thighs!

"Impressive." Qi Yuan muttered to himself. "Feels like this Mutation ability might not be a good thing after all."

He realized he could be stumbling into a huge trap.

Still, after some thought, he shook his head. "No... as the saying goes, there's no evil martial art, only evil men. The Demonic Origin is simply the other side of human nature. If I defeat all the demons in this world, how much Demonic Origin will I gather? If I forge it into my Core, it might make me even stronger."

If his Core could influence others' emotions and desires, it could even induce heart demons in his enemies. Qi Yuan chuckled at the thought.

In that case, would my Core rule over emotion itself?

He consoled himself with that reasoning and his mood improved greatly.

***

Two years passed in the blink of an eye.

In the boundless desert, Yuan Qi trudged alone. His lips were cracked, worn to exhaustion. He had encountered countless demon spawns along the road to City of No Return, barely surviving each encounter. Now, he was now at his very limit. Even so, he never once abandoned the wooden chest on his back.

"The road to City of No Return from Great Xia is crawling with demons... How did my brother ever make it there? Is he even still alive in the City of No Return?"

Yuan Qi's heart was filled with doubt. He had to find out what had truly become of the city.

Just then, someone called out from behind him, "Brother, are you also a cultivator from the Southern lands?"

Yuan Qi spun around. Behind him stood a man and a woman, both eyeing him cautiously.

"Yes. And you are?" Yuan Qi asked, thoughts racing.

He'd heard that countless cultivators defected to the Northern side each year. These two bore no visible marks of demonic control, but one could never be too careful.

"We're cultivators from Jialan City," the tall man said. "We're headed for the City of No Return. Judging by your direction, are you going there as well? Could it be, you're from Great Xia?"

Yuan Qi hesitated, then nodded. "That's right."

"I see." The tall man's face brightened.

The woman quickly followed up. "Since you're from Great Xia, do you know who guards City of No Return?"

The city's guardian?

Yuan Qi thought.

Then, he shook his head. "I only know my elder brother led troops to reinforce City of No Return years ago and never returned."

"City of No Return has been isolated for too long." The tall man sighed. "We've heard little news. But word is, the guardian of City of No Return is a Nation Subjugator, and he's held the city alone for nearly three years!"

Admiration filled the tall man's eyes. "My sister and I are on our way to meet this guardian, and to discuss an important matter."

Yuan Qi frowned slightly.

A Nation Subjugator? Great Xia doesn't have anyone with that title. Who could this city's lone guardian be? To guard a whole city alone, isn't that unbearably tragic?

His nose stung at the thought.

"Since we share the same destination, let's travel together."

Five days later, after braving the desert, Yuan Qi had learned much about the pair. They were Liu Wentai and Liu Wenmei. They were traveling to City of No Return to persuade its guardian to relocate and defend Jialan City instead. They had invited Yuan Qi along, hoping his connection to Great Xia would help convince the man.

Yuan Qi felt uneasy about this. Why should Great Xia's guardian abandon his post for Jialan City's sake? But the siblings' reasoning convinced him.

They said City of No Return no longer has to be defended, that the man was throwing his life away for nothing. Great Xia couldn't even send reinforcements. If he remained, he'd only die in vain.

Yuan Qi's heart twisted with shame and guilt.

Half a day later, the three weary travelers finally beheld the City of No Return. The vast fortress loomed before them, majestic and solemn.

Liu Wentai's heart swelled with respect. "One man defending one city... what a magnificent feat."

Beside him, Liu Wenmei cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted with all her might, "Envoys of Jialan City request audience with the Guardian of City of No Return!"

Her voice echoed across the silent city. Ten seconds passed and no answer came.

A sense of dread crept into Liu Wentai's heart. "Something's wrong... could City of No Return have fallen?"