THE HEAVENLY RIFT (4)

The truth was that Chu Wanning had been deceived by the perpetrator. When he saw that the hearts of the Butterfly Town residents had been specifically removed, he had a feeling that it had something to do with the five spiritual elements. He just did not expect that the hearts were to be used that very day to pierce open the Heavenly Barrier. Three years earlier than it was supposed to be.

Luo XianXian had been manipulated from start to end. Her hands were tainted by the immeasurable sin of murdering every single person in Butterfly Town and she had been driven crazy by unrealistic promises and wild resentment energy that arose from the murdered town people. To top it off, she was used to distract Chu Wanning while the five cauldrons containing hearts were simmering slowly to build up resentment energy.

When everything was ready, Luo XianXian's soul was sacrificed and the five spiritual elements combined force punctured the Heavenly Barrier.

Magnificent plan.

Chu Wanning coughed softly.

His barrier was slowly receding, but Tianwen still kept the undeads trapped within the willow trees. He had additionally summoned Jiu'ge to purify the ghosts that escaped to the ground before they started to attack human beings all over the Lower Cultivation Realm.

Chu Wanning pressed a hand against his throbbing heart. It hurt. It hurt so much. But he could not pass out now. The Ten Thousands Coffins still had to stand. Jiu'ge must keep playing the ghost purification tune. Although the two spiritual weapons were draining his spiritual energy badly, he still had to hang on. Chu Wanning closed his eyes while leaning at a tree trunk.

-Come already.

-Please come.

-I cannot hold on for much longer.

-At this rate, I will run out of spiritual energy before I even start mending the Heavenly Rift.

The first Sect that arrived was Guyue'ye Sect which was led by Jiang Xi himself and all the elders. The second one to arrive was Rufeng Sect, led by Nangong Si and Ye Wangxi.

Chu Wanning swallowed the blood inside his throat.

-Please, please come soon.

Finally, the sect that he was waiting for arrived. The Kunlun Taxue Palace cultivators arrived like a storm riding on swords. Leading the group was a handsome young man with striking features. His light blonde hair and jade green eyes made him stand out from the other cultivators from his sect.

It was Mei Hanxue, the elder one.

Chu Wanning heaved a sigh of relief.

After exchanging some words with Xue Zhengyong, Mei Hanxue led the cultivators from Kunlun Taxue Palace toward the ground. He rushed toward Chu Wanning as soon as he spotted him.

Cupping his hands in respect, he said, "Chu-zongshi, I am here to help. My barrier-mending ability is nothing to brag about. I hope for some guidance to fix this barrier around Butterfly Town."

Chu Wanning coughed up some blood.

Mei Hanxue's eyes widened in surprise.

"Zongshi, you...!"

Chu Wanning dismissed his concern with a wave of his hand.

"I have to focus on mending the Heavenly Rift," he quickly said. "Please hold down the barrier around this town before I withdraw Tianwen. And then, take care of the ghosts and undead corpses that wander on the ground."

Mei Hanxue nodded in all seriousness. He quickly arranged for different groups to scatter in all directions to make sure that no corner was uncovered. Then he performed a barrier changeover with Chu Wanning. The golden-colored barrier was then replaced by a blue-colored one. Tianwen and Jiu'ge were withdrawn, and the corpses started going rampage again.

Chu Wanning fell unconscious for mere seconds before he regained his strength again. Mei Hanxue wanted to say something to prevent Chu Wanning from leaving, but the latter quickly rushed toward the big gaping eye in the sky without losing another word.

"Huaisha," Chu Wanning said softly. The golden sword materialized in his hand. He slashed his palm open and the blood droplets were mixed in with the golden strands of spiritual power that flowed from his hands into the huge rift. The bright light was extremely painful for the ghosts. They started to shriek and howl in pain when they came too close to Chu Wanning.

One inch, two inches...

Chu Wanning's consciousness was dwindling again. He slashed another wound on his palm to keep himself awake.

-Don't pass out now.

-Chu Wanning, you cannot lose consciousness now.

-Only a bit more.

-I can do it.

-Just like Grandmaster Wu, all I need to do is give my all, without caring about my own survival.

-Peace over the mortal realm takes priority.

-I willingly give my life as long as I can seal the rift.

-I must not hesitate.

After the low-class ghosts escaped to the mortal realm, the bigger demons started to pour from the rift. Unlike the ghosts who shrieked and ran away from Chu Wanning, the demons were more inclined to get rid of this lone cultivator who dared to challenge them.

Groups of demons pounced at Chu Wanning left and right. Chu Wanning gritted his teeth. He was about to break the flow of spiritual power to cut through the demons when unexpectedly a long saber did the job for him instead.

Chu Wanning blinked.

-Xue Meng...?

The youth worked efficiently, slashing around Chu Wanning and granting him the protection he needed in order to focus on the rift.

-No, it's...

-Mo Ran...

Chu Wanning forced himself to speak.

"Mo Ran, go back now."

-You have to be with Shi Mei. In this lifetime, Shi Mei must survive...

-You said you wanted to keep him alive.

-You should go and protect him.

-Mo Ran...

Mo Ran pointedly ignored him. The pressure from the ghosts and the pain from all his injuries made Chu Wanning agitated.

"Mo Ran...!!!"

"I know, Shizun!" Mo Ran answered with a harsh tone. "Shi Mei is safe. I made sure of it. So let me help you mend this barrier."

"..."

Chu Wanning shook his head.

"No."

"..."

Mo Ran glared at Chu Wanning. Here he was, offering to help his Shizun and his Shizun would not take his offer. He was about to go berserk.

"Shizun, you know what???"

All forms of respect were gone from Mo Ran's mind. He was going to tell Chu Wanning that he was an arrogant fool who was too stubborn to accept help, screw the consequences. Why must he look down on him? It's not as if he was thoroughly useless! Mo Ran already opened his mouth to scold Chu Wanning, but then a huge demon lunged forward and slashed at his chest with a set of sharp claws.

Mo Ran's eyes grew wide in shock. Red color filled his eyes as he fell backward from the height.

"S...Shizu...n..."

Fresh blood burst from his chest into the air. The last thing that Mo Ran saw was Chu Wanning's side profile. His Shizun had not spared him even half a glance. It was exactly the same as the last time. In the end, Mo Ran was as inconsequential as Shi Mei was. Mo Ran breathed heavily.

"Shizun, look at me..." He begged to no avail.

"Shizun, please pay attention to me..."

He closed his eyes and let himself fall. Above him, a loud banging sound was heard as the Heavenly Rift was finally sealed, separating the ghost realm from the mortal realm once again.

The last thing that Mo Ran felt was warm energy that wrapped around him before he hit the ground beneath him. Afterward, he did not remember anything anymore.

After the Heavenly Rift was sealed, there were still a lot of ghosts and demons that had made it through to the mortal realm. They still had to be purged. After putting a protective barrier around Mo Ran and sealing off his acupuncture points to prevent death from bleeding, Chu Wanning left to help the others. Meanwhile, all ten sects had gathered in Butterfly Town to help. While a lot of ghosts were exterminated, equally a lot of disciples had to die in the fight. Thick stench of blood filled the air as the battle continued until morning arrived.

What was left after hours of battle was a lot of corpses that were piled up above each other. Chu Wanning lay on his back, struggling to catch his breath. The rift. The rift was finally mended. All the ghosts had been purged from the face of the mortal realm. In return, the crack in Chu Wanning's spiritual core had worsened. He was never again going to be able to wield any of his spiritual weapons. Chu Wanning scoffed. It turned out that heaven allowed him to keep his life, but made him a cripple.

What a joke.

-Mo Ran...

Chu Wanning closed his eyes and felt the faint trace of the spell that he put on Mo Ran. Mo Ran was still there, on the battlefield that was littered with corpses.

-Mo Ran... Where are you?

Chu Wanning forced himself up and started to dig through a mountain of corpses. He held his breath whenever he looked at the face of every limp body.

-Mo Ran... Don't die. You can't die.

-I put a lot of hope in you. You must not die.

By the time Chu Wanning dug Mo Ran out, the young man was practically half-dead. Despite Chu Wanning's best efforts, he had lost so much blood from that one last demon attack. He needed medical treatment badly.

Chu Wanning transferred the little spiritual power that he had left in his body into Mo Ran's, all the while praying.

-Mo Ran...

-Mo Ran, you must not die.

-You still have a long life ahead of you.

-You have to live a long, happy life.

Out of spiritual energy, Chu Wanning transformed into his child body and big beads of tears dropped from his eyes.

"Mo Ran," Chu Wanning sobbed while putting both hands around Mo Ran's cheeks. "If you die, you are no disciple of mine..."