Naked Sword Art

Chapter 526: Save Me

The moment Li Lian’s voice reached him, Li Huxin’s resolve crystallized. The crushing force pressing down on him suddenly halted, no longer able to push him back.

A mere mortal—blocking a Heavenly Realm attack?

"How..." he whispered.

The Li clansmen watching from the hills were stunned.

"I can’t believe it’s real."

"What condition?"

The words spread in hushed disbelief as they watched the shield hold against the heavenly realm attack.

Li Huxin’s sleeves had been shredded away, his arms raised as though he were holding back an impossible force.

What Li Huxin didn’t know was how severe Li Lian’s injuries truly were. Even so, she forced herself into a lotus position and struggled to draw in Qi.

A familiar voice echoed from within her soul sea.

"...Ancestor?"

"Ancestor... save them."

Without hesitation, Li Lian followed her instructions, withdrawing her consciousness into the Immortal Soul Pagoda. In the same instant, Li Xianyu’s will flowed outward, taking control of her body as naturally as if it had always been hers.

Her dantian was still badly damaged, her Qi reserves nearly depleted—but there was enough.

A subtle shift rippled through the air—and the Heavenly Realm cultivator felt it immediately. Something was coming, though he couldn’t tell what. Without hesitation, he withdrew his [ Giant Seal ], retreating its pressure as he hastily prepared himself.

Like a single drop of water falling into a still lake, the world around them rippled outward. Space itself seemed to twist, reality folding in on itself as the familiar landscape was overturned and replaced by something utterly alien.

"This—"

The Heavenly Realm cultivator froze.

But this...

The pressure was deeper. More absolute. It didn’t merely deceive the senses—it rewrote perception itself.

His pupils constricted when he realized the illusion didn’t fade even when he attempted to destroy it.

...

A manifestation of one’s Dao, formed upon stepping into the Heavenly Scholar Realm. It is not a technique that can be learned, nor a skill that can be copied, but the embodiment of a cultivator’s understanding of the world itself.

...

This was not an attack against the body, but against the spirit itself. Unless he could manifest a Daoist Conception of his own, there was no true defense.

In that instant, he became certain of one thing.

What stood before him was something ancient—something terrifying beyond comprehension.

But escape was impossible. Not from this illusion. And certainly not from her Daoist Conception.

Reality snapped back into place.

The Heavenly Realm cultivator froze, confusion flashing across his face.

Then he saw her condition.

Attacking once again, the giant seal descended towards her with a terrifying might, but again, Li Huxin wouldn’t allow his attack to reach her.

"Li Huxin!!!"

"You will not touch my child!" Li Huxin barked back in fury.

"What are the rest of you doing? Attack!" he barked sharply. "Kill her!"

However, in the next heartbeat, every one of them was pinned in place—blades driven cleanly through their hearts.

"That’s our little sister."

Even with the beast wave and Song clansmen quickly closing in on them, Li Lian’s brothers and sister stood strong and ready.

"That’s our captains! They’re helping Li Lian!" the Li Clan soldiers murmured in disbelief.

’How is this happening...?’ the Heavenly Realm cultivator thought in horror. ’It’s all because of her.’

She wiped the blood from her lips, her eyes still sharp, still dangerous.

He knew it—if he were dragged into that illusion again, he would not leave alive.

Li Lian was barely standing. Every breath burned. Every second of consciousness was paid for in blood. She was holding herself upright by sheer will alone.

With a frantic command, the Heavenly Realm cultivator ordered the beast horde and the Song Clan forces forward, using them as a shield as he turned to flee.

"Kill!"

"Kill!"