Chapter 398: Why Did the Paper Cicada Immortal Explode?

Accompanied by a burning pain in his eyes as if they were on fire, the buzzing of high-intensity psychic energy fluctuation rang in Lu Yibei’s ears.

In a daze, he seemed to hear the panicked footsteps and screams of people fleeing from the distant mall, gradually fading farther and farther away, as if his consciousness was drifting off with those sounds.

Then…

It was as if someone had suddenly poured a bucket of ice water over his body. A bone-chilling coldness spread from his chest to his limbs, pulling his consciousness back to reality. The noise in his ears instantly vanished, and the golden glimmer that had just appeared in his eyes was extinguished, leaving only a deep, dark red.

Like a scabbed blood clot, reflecting the figure before him.

A body over 1.9 meters tall draped in a filthy sheepskin coat, his honest physiognomy completely ruined by a ferocious gaze. His long, unwashed hair hung messily behind him like a savage, forming a stark contrast with the jeweled scimitar at his waist.

Staring at the sturdy man with dark skin as he approached, an indescribable rage quietly surged in Lu Yibei’s heart.

This murderer, who had once participated in the ambush of Lu Ming, actually dared to appear before him again. It was like stealing from the police station right in front of the on-duty officer-a blatant provocation.

Yet, as he watched Suolang Baima approach, Lu Yibei found that his body felt frozen, unable to move at all.

It wasn’t due to psychic ability or any kind of spell formation, but simply pure fear-fear so intense he couldn’t move.

His body trembled slightly, his chest felt as if weighed down by a boulder, his stomach cramped, bringing waves of nausea.

Suolang Baima’s figure was like a towering, frigid snow mountain, swallowing all curiosity and life, with no hope of even a crumb of mercy spat back out.

A monster like an abyss.

But Lu Yibei knew very well that what he feared wasn’t Suolang Baima. In terms of psychic energy fluctuation and the pressure he brought, he was far inferior to the Big Boss of Dream Come True Entertainment City.

If he were just watching Suolang Baima from afar, Lu Yibei wouldn’t even feel much of a ripple in his heart.

What he feared was something else, something related to both him and Suolang Baima.

And that fear wasn’t psychological, but more like a painful memory etched into his body after experiencing some terrifying event. When encountering something related again, the painful memory was awakened, and his body instinctively reacted.

In modern medical terms, it was post-traumatic stress disorder, but Lu Yibei felt his current state was far worse than PTSD-even his soul was trembling, his psychic energy fluctuation couldn’t gather smoothly.

Was it that car accident caused by psychics and a haunting, or the giant black shadow his father once faced head-on?

As Lu Yibei pondered, Suolang Baima had already walked up to him.

That tall, dangerous figure paused slightly, and seeing this youth who hadn’t fainted under his psychic energy fluctuation, a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes. Then he sneered contemptuously and ignored him, continuing forward.

Like looking at a half-frozen kitten by the roadside.

No threat at all.

He’s not here for me? Then what is he doing here? Lu Yibei thought blankly.

After a while, when he barely managed to break free from that intense fear and stiffly turned his head to look for Suolang Baima, a loud boom suddenly rang in his ears.

“Boom-!”

A violent shockwave erupted without warning from the women’s restroom in the cinema, rampaging like a wild bull, tearing the restroom door apart. The shattered, sharp panels, along with Fu Xinyi’s slender figure, were sent flying out together.

Every bone in Fu Xinyi’s body felt like it was about to fall apart from the pain. The powerful force sent her, along with the door panel, spinning through the air several times before crashing heavily to the floor, sliding far away and slamming into the wall, cracking it like a spiderweb. She opened her mouth and spat out a mouthful of dark red blood.

“…”

That murderer… actually attacked Fu Xinyi?

Weren’t they on the same side?

Did I just witness a double-cross?

Staring at the scene before him, Lu Yibei felt a bit dazed. Just then, something even more unexpected happened.

He saw Fu Xinyi, her stubborn eyes fixed on the figure shrouded in smoke and dust ahead. One hand braced against the wall as she struggled to stand, the other slowly drawing a soft sword from her satchel.

As psychic energy poured into it, the soft sword, as thin as a cicada’s wing, shimmered with a faint light, and with a barely audible hum, its sharpness was revealed.

Then…

She suddenly assumed a stance that Lu Yibei found incredibly familiar, stepping forward and unleashing a sword move that was both familiar and strange to him.

“Taihe Gentleman Sword: Wind Chasing Order!”

With a crisp shout, a dazzling storm-like turbulence swept up before Fu Xinyi.

Blue tinged with purple.

Wherever the turbulence passed, it left deep and shallow scratches on the cinema hall walls.

Lu Yibei was shocked. Although Fu Xinyi’s sword move differed slightly from what he remembered, both the name of the move and the blue-purple sword energy stirred up by the psychic energy after the strike were undoubtedly from the Ancestors’ Taihe Gentleman Sword Illustrated Explanation.

She’s an insider-how does she know the Ancestors’ sword technique?

Did the Old Patriarch have a side piece or something? Was he cheating on the Old Matriarch?

When Fu Xinyi’s sword light swept out, Suolang Baima, who had just broken through the smoke in pursuit, instinctively squinted, as if an ordinary person had suddenly seen a blinding light. When he opened his eyes again, the sword light was already before him.

“Hmph-!”

Suolang Baima snorted coldly. Instead of retreating, he advanced, taking a sudden step forward to stand beside several unconscious passersby. With a few flicks of his toes, the bodies of the passersby flew toward the sword light like rubber balls.

People and sword energy collided in one place. The muffled sound of flesh being torn apart erupted suddenly, crimson blooming like flowers in midair, staining all four walls. Bone fragments shot out at high speed like bullets, piercing the flesh of the innocent and embedding themselves in the walls.

The thick scent of blood rushed into Lu Yibei’s nose, snapping his thoughts away from his suspicions about Fu Xinyi’s identity. Staring at the burly figure striding toward Fu Xinyi, his eyes were filled with shock and uncertainty.

Yes, this was a notorious, bloodthirsty madman.

According to the information provided by the haunting chat group, he had committed at least over twenty psychic murder cases, many of which involved operators from The Midnight Watchers Society.

How could such a ruthless monster possibly care about the lives of others?

Those unconscious passersby probably meant no more to him than rocks or wild grass-utterly insignificant.

I have to do something, or not only will Fu Xinyi and I die today, but those innocent passersby will likely meet a grim end as well.

Lu Yibei thought, forcing himself to overcome the soul-deep terror. His breathing grew rapid.

With his chest heaving violently, air thick with the scent of blood filled his lungs. Then, as if something had been awakened, his heart gave a sudden, greedy throb.

It was a craving, a thirst for blood…

A chill quickly spread to every corner of his body, his blood seeming to freeze, but…

He felt a strange excitement.

After a brief exchange, Fu Xinyi realized how terrifying the enemy was. Flustered, she rummaged through her satchel for various talismans and solidified spell formation jade slips, tossing them forward.

Though she was a fake genius of the Great Pure Palace, she had, through her own efforts, surpassed most of her peers in strength.

But in the end, she was only a Class B Psychic-how could she possibly be a match for a monster like Suolang Baima?

Her swordsmanship was completely suppressed. Whenever she tried to cast a spell formation, the opponent gave her no chance to chant.

In just a few moves-limited by the relatively narrow space of the mall-Fu Xinyi was already unable to hold out.

I’m going to die, I’m going to die, this time my senior sister has really screwed me over!

This guy is too strong; escaping won’t be easy, Fu Xinyi thought.

At that moment, a sinister laugh rang out. The deep, muffled sound boiled in his throat like a beast’s roar, sending chills down the spine.

Amid the exploding spell formations and the blood mist veiling his mesmerizing eyes, Suolang Baima lunged forward like a leopard, drawing the golden blade at his waist. The blade swept through the air, carrying wind and snow, exuding the chilling might of a collapsing snow mountain. With each stride, he shattered half the hall’s floor beneath his feet.

His Spirit Pattern was the Nine-Colored Lotus, a legendary snow lotus said to grow atop the sacred mountains of the snowy domain, representing the soul of the mountains-the very embodiment of their spirit among all living beings.

Fu Xinyi was still rummaging through her satchel for the treasures her Shifu and senior sister had given her for protection when she suddenly heard a sound tearing through the air ahead. Startled, she hurriedly raised her sword to shield herself.

In the next instant, the clash of metal exploded, psychic energy fluctuations collided violently, and blue-white turbulence raged through the cramped space, spreading with brutal force.

Then, in a moment of deathly silence as if the sound had been cut off, her figure flew out like a kite with a broken string, slammed into the wall, and fell to the ground.

Lying on the ground, Fu Xinyi glanced at her bloodied palm, her vision blurring.

She felt that what her sword had struck just now wasn’t a human, but a derailed high-speed train. The immense force traveled through her blade into her body, causing almost all her internal organs to shift out of place in an instant.

She struggled to reach for the satchel that had fallen to the ground, but a large foot in straw sandals stomped down hard, pinning it. Then a big hand reached out, gripping her neck tightly and effortlessly lifting her off the ground.

Just like picking up a dead dog.

Am I going to die? Fu Xinyi thought.

At that moment, she suddenly heard a rustling sound. With difficulty, she shifted her gaze toward the source of the noise and saw a pale paper figure, slightly larger than a palm and clumsily cute, crawling onto Suolang Baima’s shoulder at some point, waving at her in an endearing manner.

Then…

The pale paper figure hugged Suolang Baima’s shoulder with a “smack!” Its belly began to glow, the light growing stronger and stronger, until it triggered a violent explosion.

Amid the deafening roar, as if swept away by a hurricane, Fu Xinyi felt herself lifted into the air. In the dazzling firelight, she saw a group of pale little paper figures rushing toward Suolang Baima, densely packed like a toy army.

That’s the secret technique of my Great Pure Palace-the Paper Cicada Immortal! Could it be that a fellow disciple has come to my rescue?

But…

Why would the Paper Cicada Immortal explode? Fu Xinyi wondered.