Chapter Fifteen: The Butterfly Demon

The woman’s feet touched the ground lightly, and the plain white dress she had worn moments before had transformed into a robe of flowing purple-black velvet. The garment clung to her form, parting slightly at the chest and extending to her lower abdomen, revealing a narrow strip of snow-white skin above her navel. Her waist was left bare by intricate cutouts, accentuating her graceful figure. Below her slender waist, a skirt like gossamer reflected tiny sparks of light—on closer look, it was formed by interlaced butterfly wings. A cascade of silvery hair tumbled down her shoulders, and the silver ornaments in her hair had become a vine-like crown of butterflies pressed against her brow.

"Feast to your hearts’ content, my children," she murmured contently to the purple shadows pouring from the cave entrance. With a gentle motion, she tucked a few stray locks behind her ear and turned, letting her fingertips trace along Chi Yuan’s face. "I’ll grant you a most beautiful dream."

A burning heat flared again at Chi Yuan’s brow. Even in his dazed state, he sensed something stirring.

“Here is a wicked woman, fated under the baleful star, who brought ruin to her father and death to her brother, who blocked the flow of heaven and earth, severed the spirit of creation, thwarted fortune and severed blessings, shattered the sacred veins of our immortal mountain, and drained the divine source of our spirit river. Now, by her own body, shall the sword of heaven and earth be forged, restoring the source of creation, severing the root of evil, and by her soul shall the spirit of the sword be completed, so that she may suffer the eight torments, appease the departed, and return fortune to the world.”

A sudden jolt of terror seized him, as if he were drowning in an endless sea of sorrow. Helplessness and despair poured into his very being, stifling his breath. He suddenly opened his eyes wide; before him, the woman shuddered as though struck by a backlash.

"Get away!"

Chi Yuan flung her hand aside and gripped his frost sword, drawing a cold arc before him. The woman, caught off guard, summoned a purple shadow to block him, but the butterfly wings shining with golden light were instantly cleaved by the sword’s edge, scattering in all directions. A blade of sword energy grazed the woman’s forearm, leaving a thin cut from which blood began to seep.

"You—!" she exclaimed in shock, dabbing the blood from her arm with her fingers. "Are you so eager to die?"

Chi Yuan did not answer. Crimson crept to the corners of his eyes, his expression emptied of all emotion, leaving only an icy mask. Cold radiated from him—it was unclear if it came from the sword or himself.

The Butterfly Demon narrowed her eyes, but in the next instant, Chi Yuan vanished from sight. A chilling presence swept before her—a ghostly blue sword aimed straight at her heart.

With a turn of her palm, she deflected the frosted blade and stepped back, twisting her body to deliver a whip-kick that sent Chi Yuan flying.

In midair, he caught hold of his sword again. Frost surged in his palm, and an ice wall materialized beneath his feet. He sprang off it, charging again toward the Butterfly Demon.

"Foolish," she said, deflecting the sword with her left hand and reaching for his shoulder with her right, intending to force him back.

Instead, Chi Yuan pressed forward, accepting her strike head-on, and brought his sword up in a reverse arc. The Butterfly Demon, unprepared for his reckless assault, was forced to block with her palm. The sword’s edge left another mark on her arm, but before blood could flow, frost spread over her left arm, sealing it in ice.

Her fury erupted. She struck his chest with her palm—a crack of breaking bone sounded as Chi Yuan crashed into the cavern wall, leaving a deep crater.

The Butterfly Demon reached out into the air, and the altar flared with a purple-black light. A violet longsword appeared in her grasp, its blade etched with black butterfly sigils. As it swept through the air, it made a sound like beating wings, and a swirling violet glow seemed to devour the mind.

She flickered forward, sword tip aimed at Chi Yuan’s brow. Suddenly, blue light flared behind her. She spun around to see a spectral blue arrow flying toward her.

She deftly flicked her sword—the arrow exploded into crystalline blue dust, vanishing into the air.

Sun Lang stood with a blue longbow, the limbs of which were etched with dark golden dragon patterns that flowed with energy, absorbing the spirit power of the cavern. The Dream Soul Butterflies that had bound him were gone.

Seeing her ambush fail, Sun Lang was unfazed. The bow in his hand became a streak of light, transforming into a sapphire ring on his finger.

"How did you get free?" the Butterfly Demon exclaimed, surprised, for Dream Soul Butterflies never vanished without draining every last trace of spirit energy.

"There was simply too much spirit energy for your little butterflies," he replied with a smile.

With that, Sun Lang vanished. Twin blue dragons spiraled around the Butterfly Demon, striving to pin her in place. Sun Lang’s right hand glowed deep blue as he struck at her abdomen with a sweeping fist.

"Mere tricks," the Butterfly Demon sneered, slicing through the air. The dragons dissolved into dust. She sidestepped his punch and drove her elbow into Sun Lang’s back, sending him hurtling toward Chi Yuan.

As Sun Lang was about to hit the ground, a pair of blue hands appeared to catch him. The force was too great, and the hands dissolved, but another hand caught him, setting him gently on his feet.

Suppressing the turmoil within himself, Chi Yuan’s bones cracked as he forced his energy into order. The wound on his right shoulder, where the Butterfly Demon had struck him, was sealed with frost. Crimson deepened in his gaze as he gripped his sword and charged at her again.

Spirit power roiled around Sun Lang, and he too vanished from sight.

"Pointless," the Butterfly Demon muttered, swerving past Chi Yuan’s sweeping sword and striking at the back of his neck with her sword hilt. A blue serpent appeared, lunging at her face—she had to pull back, kicking at Chi Yuan’s abdomen and leaning away to dodge the serpent.

Chi Yuan seized her thigh, using the leverage to leap up and slash down with his sword, sending a shard of ice toward her neck.

She twisted away, deflecting the ice and lifting her sword from below. Chi Yuan pressed his palm against the blade to block her violet-black sword.

At that moment, Sun Lang appeared behind her, driving his knee toward her back. She could not turn in time to defend, but a flash of violet light streaked to her left hand, forming a new violet sword. The frost on her left arm shattered, and the wound healed visibly before their eyes.

The sword’s violet glow flared, dazzling Sun Lang. He could not pull back in time, but the light flashed past, leaving him unharmed. The Butterfly Demon, however, was split in two by his knee strike, dissolving into purple dust. His momentum carried him forward toward Chi Yuan.

Suddenly, agony ripped through Sun Lang’s left shoulder. Everything dissolved into purple fragments. When his vision cleared, a violet sword had pierced his shoulder, nailing him to the cavern wall.

Chi Yuan saw the sword split in two—the one he blocked turned black and weakened. Sensing his chance, he thrust at the Butterfly Demon’s abdomen.

But the black sword pierced his right arm, and a searing pain shot through him, as if his soul were being flayed. Even his grip on the frost sword faltered.

The Butterfly Demon, seizing the moment, drove him back with a whip-kick, slamming him into the altar, which shattered under the impact. The blow sent his vital energy into chaos, nearly cracking his core. He spat blood, his head drooping weakly.

"How dull," she remarked, seeing their resistance broken. She raised her sword and flew forward to thrust at Chi Yuan’s brow.

At the last instant, Chi Yuan lifted his head. The crimson in his eyes faded, replaced by molten dark gold. A mysterious golden sigil glowed at his brow. Though he sat half-upright, an overwhelming majesty radiated from him.

The black sword could not approach—it trembled, as if trying to escape her grasp.

The Butterfly Demon recoiled in alarm, leaping back, but an icicle materialized behind her, barely a hand’s breadth from her neck. Though she tried to dodge, it pierced her right arm.

In that moment, hundreds of icicles appeared in the air, all hurtling toward her. She tried to evade, but dozens struck her, and as each pierced her, it grew rapidly, filling the cavern with ice. She was bound and immobilized.

As she struggled, the spirit energy in the air began to shake. Sun Lang drew a bow in the air, the blue longbow slowly forming. The spirit energy in the cave rushed toward him, while blood poured from the wound in his chest. An arrow, twined with red and blue, gradually took shape.

The Butterfly Demon fought to break free, swinging her sword, but the black blade’s glow had faded; it was as useless as scrap iron. An icicle flashed by, severing her left hand and sword.

At that moment, the arrow was complete. The dragon patterns on the bow merged into the arrow, and spirit energy trembled with a faint dragon’s roar. The violet sword on the wall keened with a mournful hum.

She tried to plead, but her throat was sealed with ice.

The arrow streaked through the air, piercing her pale throat. Blood spurted from the back of her neck, instantly freezing into crystals. The Butterfly Demon was encased in ice, then shattered and vanished.

The golden glow faded from Chi Yuan’s eyes. His energy roiled uncontrollably, and he coughed up blood again. The pain in his limbs had long since become numb; he could only slump to the ground.

Sun Lang pulled the violet sword from the wall, then staggered over to pick up the black sword as well. Two spectral blue hands emerged behind him, grasping both swords, but they were far less solid than before. Sun Lang walked to Chi Yuan and helped him up.

Chi Yuan’s breath was ragged, his inner energy in turmoil, his face pale as death. Sun Lang was about to speak when Chi Yuan murmured first, "Sun Lang, is there... something you’re hiding from us? How do you know of the ‘Butterfly Shadow’? And..." Before he could finish, Sun Lang struck him on the neck, and Chi Yuan collapsed forward.

"Forgive me," Sun Lang whispered.