Chapter 243

As Ning Ning continued forward through the snow and mist, she suddenly noticed several translucent figures by the roadside. They appeared to be soldiers from the past, as if the great battle had never happened, talking and walking slowly through the snow.

“Those are ‘Thought Spirits.'”

He Zhizhou explained patiently from beside her.

“When a deceased person has an intense longing for something, it leaves behind these kinds of apparitions, which are essentially replays of their memories.”

Ning Ning made an understanding sound, “Oh,” realizing that these were akin to brainwave projections in the cultivation world.

Passing through the occasional apparitions, the group finally reached the end of Qiong Mountain as the decay and death aura grew stronger. Ning Ning couldn’t help but take a Turtle-Breath Pill.

On their side, everything was covered in pure white snow. But as far as they could see, it was all shrouded in thick, black mist.

Countless Bone Puppets hovered above the snow, so densely packed that they resembled a swarm of dark, crawling ants.

Amidst the Bone Puppets, suspended in the narrow shadow between two adjacent mountains, was an irregular black mass.

Compared to the surrounding death aura, the Shadow Demon’s pitch-black form was much darker.

It was far larger than Ning Ning had imagined, nearly as tall as an entire building, wrapped in dark gold chains that were both intangible and solid. It emitted a series of roars from an unknown source, causing snow to fall suddenly from the mountaintops.

The enormous, writhing shadow resembled a black hole capable of devouring all light, exuding an aura of death and malevolence. Even from a distance, the intense pressure and demonic energy it radiated made their hearts feel heavy.

Suddenly, the shadow moved slightly.

The four of them quickly ducked behind a boulder and, in silent agreement, retreated swiftly.

“No, no, no! My god, did you guys feel that pressure?”

Zhou Zhao’s legs trembled as he patted his chest.

“And those Bone Puppets surrounding it—if they all attack us at once, there’s no way we’ll make it back to the sect alive!”

Though sword cultivators loved to fight, they weren’t fools.

Facing an obviously overwhelming opponent, they wouldn’t rush in recklessly.

Xu Ye’s face was equally pale.

“Why do I feel like it’s still really strong? What’s the Shadow Demon’s current power level, Golden Core or Nascent Soul?”

He Zhizhou glanced at him.

“Judging by that pressure, it’s at the mid-Nascent Soul stage.”

A painful realization dawned on them all, and their expressions turned grim.

“Hey, Ning Ning,” He Zhizhou called, noticing her silence.

He glanced at her and saw that she was looking down, intently examining a torn piece of paper.

“What are you looking at? Some kind of martial arts manual?”

Ning Ning shook her head and handed the paper to him.

He Zhizhou took it and read aloud in a low voice:

“You are the moon on the horizon, the fragrance of flowers by my door, the first swallow of spring that lands on my windowsill.

If you ask me how much I love you,

It’s like the bird loves the sky, the fish yearns for the clear water, the butterfly cannot part from the scent of flowers, and I wish to rest beside your branches—ah! What kind of corny thing is this!”

He shuddered, covered in goosebumps, and handed it back to Ning Ning before even finishing it; his face wrinkled like a bitter gourd.

“Did some boy write you a love letter? And why is it only half of it?”

Ning Ning shook her head again, her voice soft.

“I found this letter on one of the soldiers. It was probably written to the girl he loved.”

Ever since she learned the truth, she had stopped referring to them as “Bone Puppets” and instead called the deceased creatures “soldiers.”

He Zhizhou was stunned into silence.

Ning Ning carefully tucked the letter into her storage bag, a faint thought crossing her mind.

It was a shame he didn’t finish reading it.

After those cringeworthy words of affection, the person had written, each stroke filled with sincerity:

[You always say that I’m timid and cowardly, and that’s true. I’ve never dared to tell you these heartfelt words, and even writing them down makes me blush.

Please forgive me for leaving without saying goodbye.

With evil spirits in the world and countless lives at stake, it’s our duty to stand up and save the world from calamity.

In this vast world, a mortal is just a mayfly in the ocean. Though our strength is small, it’s better than running away and hiding.

I never lie—you are the moon in my heart.

The moon, after all, should hang in a sky free of wind and waves.]

He Zhizhou had said that the power of mortals was insignificant, and so the destruction of the Jiansha army was an inevitable fate.

But Ning Ning didn’t see it that way.

Those soldiers of the past, knowing full well that the road ahead would likely lead to death, still gathered on the battlefield with the sole purpose of saving the world.

They used their flesh and blood to pave the way for the cultivators, turning the tide of the war.

Though they were mortals, they possessed unparalleled resolve and strength.

Yet now, those who had held onto their beliefs, those who had sworn to defeat the demon forces, had become the very monsters they once fought, cursed to wander endlessly in the dark abyss of the snowy sea, never to see the light of day again.

It was terribly unfair—what kind of fate was that?

As the snow fell silently around them, Ning Ning suddenly spoke up, “Do you guys have any interest in trying to take on the Shadow Demon with me?”

Her words struck like a bolt of lightning, and Zhou Zhao’s eyes widened in shock. “Are you crazy? That was the great demon that made the entire cultivation world tremble in fear!”

Ning Ning remained calm.

“But now, it’s only at the mid-Nascent Soul stage.”

Zhou Zhao gasped, “But it’s still at the mid-Nascent Soul stage!”

He truly couldn’t understand where she found the courage to say such a thing so casually.

A mid-Nascent Soul demon, surrounded by such a dense swarm of Bone Puppets—given their current cultivation levels, defeating it seemed impossible, and even getting close would be a challenge!

“Think about it,” Ning Ning continued, her voice steady, “This is the 50th level, right on the border between the Golden Core and Nascent Soul stages. This Shadow Demon is likely the strongest demon entity within our capability to kill. In other words, it’s the highest score we can possibly achieve.”

She added with a hint of temptation, “If we don’t try, we’ll never know. Don’t you want to make a good showing at the Ten Methods Assembly? And even if we fail, the demon is chained up. We can still escape.”

Her reasoning was sound, and there was a small but undeniable allure to it.

Xu Ye swallowed nervously.

“But can the four of us really defeat it?”

Ning Ning smiled.

The snowy plain was dim and quiet, and a snowflake gently landed on her nose, casting a soft, pale glow on her face.

She raised a finger to tap her temple, a glint of light in her eyes.

“I have a plan.”