"Though I sleep longer and longer, the old dragon's soul body recovers very quickly. Had I not sensed that you were in a tricky situation, the old dragon intended to sleep for another thousand years before waking."
Yeyun: "..." By the time you sleep for a thousand years and wake up, I might already be dead and gone.
The Candle Dragon's soul body manifested directly from Yeyun's body, hovering behind her. Looking at the blood-stained battlefield, it sighed: "In the end, it has still come to this. You reckless kid, the Great Dao has no path to longevity from the very beginning; why must you cling to it so stubbornly?"
Hearing the Candle Dragon's voice, the Soul Emperor's evil thought suddenly stopped its attack. "Old Dragon, I didn't expect you to still be alive."
"Not bad that you still recognize me."
"After all, it was you and him who sealed me. The hatred of that seal is irreconcilable."
"Since you know it was I, the old dragon, who sealed you, you should understand that the old man can seal you a first time and can seal you a second time as well."
"Hmph, without your physical body, what can this tiny world do to me?"
"Though I lack my physical body, I have his successor." While sparring with the Soul Emperor's evil thought, the Candle Dragon transmitted its voice to Yeyun: "Prepare the Soul-Sealing Array."
At the same time, Gong Yutian reached out and clutched his chest, as if having made some decision. A streak of array-pattern light appeared in the palm of his hand, and as the light merged into his body, his cultivation began to climb steadily. Di Qin, who stood right behind him, instantly changed his expression.
He hurriedly transmitted his voice: "Gong Yutian, are you trying to undo your seal?"
Gong Yutian did not reply, instead driving the entire array pattern into himself. The aura around him grew stronger and stronger, and only when it reached the critical point did he halt the unsealing process. "It's fine. With the Heavenly Dao laws in place, the tribulation lightning will not descend."
"But—"
"There are no buts. If I meet with any misfortune or if the situation goes awry, her safety will be entrusted to you." Gong Yutian stepped forward, his burning gaze fixed upon Taishu Xu. "Among everyone present, I understand the Human Emperor's weaknesses the best, and in terms of cultivation, only I can remain unaffected by the suppression."
As soon as his voice fell, he flew straight toward Taishu Xu.
Seeing Gong Yutian approach, Taishu Xu did not dodge. Instead, he stared at him with keen interest and smiled: "What? Having betrayed the Immortal Palace and the Human Emperor Palace to become a traitor, are you now preparing to commit patricide with your own hands?"
"Though I cannot be considered your true master, I still nurtured and raised you. Yet you have always addressed me as your Grand Master. What is this? First you joined forces with that rebel to ravage your Little Master's Immortal Palace, and now you are preparing to slaughter my Human Emperor Palace? Is this your repayment?"
Gong Yutian lowered his gaze and said solemnly: "I was once truly grateful to my two masters for their nurturing grace, but now... what you have both done has violated the Heavenly Dao."
Hearing this, Taishu Xu threw his head back and laughed loudly.
"Hahahaha... What a fine 'violation of the Heavenly Dao'! Gong Yutian, don't you know that your very existence is a violation of the Heavenly Dao?"
"And Di Yun as well. One of you is an outcast of the heavens, while the other is a Soul-Absorbing Master; which of you does not defy the Heavenly Dao? Yet now you come lecturing me about violating the Heavenly Dao—it is utterly laughable. If these Heavenly Dao laws did not suppress my cultivation and prevent me from shattering the void, why would I have been driven to this point? If Di Yun had not been unwilling to pass on the Soul-Absorbing Master heritage to the Emperor Venerable, this massacre would never have happened either. When all is said and done, you are the ones who forced me into this."
"Since that is how it is, then... offense taken!"
The battle between the two was triggered at a hair's trigger. The moment they struck, the smile on Taishu Xu's face froze, instantly replaced by disbelief: "How is this possible? Your cultivation..."
"Fight!"
Rampant Xuan Qi surged into the sky with an unstoppable momentum, its force sweeping outward so fiercely that no one within a radius of ten miles dared to approach—and this was only because a certain array barrier was containing it.
Meanwhile, Taishu Xu's entire body radiated a blood-red aura mingled with black mist, resembling thousands of vengeful ghosts wailing and roaring behind him.
Boom!
With an explosive blast, jagged rocks flew in all directions. The bluestones on the ground were all shattered into pieces, leaving behind one giant crater after another. Trees and vegetation were severed cleanly at the waist, and the earth was left in utter devastation.
As Taishu Xu summoned even more Blood Demon Qi, his appearance grew increasingly ferocious. A chilling frost radiated from him as his center, causing the temperature to plummet sharply as a foul, blood-red barometric pressure permeated all directions.
"Blood Demon Soul Devour!" With a sharp shout carrying towering demonic energy, he swept forward. Many martial warriors enveloped by the demonic energy shuddered all over, as if their minds had been bewildered by something.
At this moment, the battlefield was as turbulent as a raging sea. Gong Yutian did not use his natal weapon; instead, he formed hand seals with both hands.
"Seal!"
The endlessly biting cold collided with the flickering golden light, causing streak after streak to shatter instantly.
Taishu Xu was driven back repeatedly by the sweeping golden light talismans, ultimately crashing to the ground with a miserable scream. "What... what kind of move is this?"
"Naturally, it's something specially prepared for Grand Master."
"Good! Very good! As expected of a disciple I trained myself, truly extraordinary."
Taishu Xu laughed sinisterly. "In that case, I have no choice but to specially prepare a move for you as well. Have you forgotten the oath of the Seventy-Two Soul-Extinguishing? This was custom-made just for you. Originally, I still cared for our master-disciple bond, but I never expected my good disciple to want to kill me too!"
"Hahahaha... Enjoy it to the fullest! Since you have committed this crime of patricide and regicide, I have no choice but to make you accompany me on a trip to Jiuyou Hell."
Taishu Xu's movements were extremely fast—or rather, he had been prepared for this all along. The moment his voice fell, thunder suddenly rumbled in the blood-red sky!
Resembling terrifying thunder claps with purple lightning flashing, this was clearly the tribulation lightning belonging to the laws.
Yet at this moment, no one was undergoing a tribulation, and the thundercloud was aimed squarely at Gong Yutian. Taking advantage of the fact that the tribulation lightning had not yet descended, another major blow landed on Taishu Xu, causing him to instantly spew a mouthful of blood. His aura weakened in a flash, and the ferocious demonic energy began to dissipate.
Yet he still wore a savage grin: "Having my good disciple accompany me beneath the Jiuyou, it's worth it after all."
"Oh no! Taishu Xu has triggered the soul oath lightning of the Seventy-Two Soul-Extinguishing!" Di Qin reacted the fastest, shouting in frantic alarm: "Everyone retreat immediately! Do not step into the range of the tribulation lightning under any circumstances, or you will definitely be dragged down into Jiuyou Hell and never be reincarnated!"
"Yutian, no!"
Hearing this and watching the laws of heaven and earth descend, Yeyun could no longer care about the so-called Soul Emperor's evil thought. She charged toward Gong Yutian like a madwoman.
However, this was not ordinary heavenly lightning; it was the law of heaven and earth. Even a Soul-Absorbing Master or an outcast of the heavens could not avoid its descent. The moment she rushed into the perimeter, she was directly repelled by a terrifying surge of energy, stumbling back repeatedly until she crashed heavily into a stone pillar behind her.
Puff...
Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Yeyun felt as though a giant boulder were crushing her chest, and her entire body ached as if it had been run over by a millstone. Yet watching the man being struck by the heavenly lightning, she could not simply stand by and do nothing.
"Xiao Jiu, go quickly! You cannot handle these laws of heaven and earth."
"Di Qin, take Xiao Jiu away at once."
With red eyes, Yeyun gripped her Zhanyan Spear so tightly that her knuckles cracked. "No, I am not leaving! Gong Yutian, listen to me: call it mere heavenly lightning, or even if the sky were to collapse, anyone who wants to take you away must first step over Yeyun's dead body!"
Streak after streak of tribulation lightning struck down, and Yeyun charged back in to endure the might of the Heavenly Dao blow after blow.
Boom!
Rumble!
The thunderclouds gathered densely, pressing down like the canopy of the heavens. Amidst the rolling black clouds, the power of thunder was converging, faintly emitting a purple glow.
Boom!
An explosive blast blasted a massive crater directly into the ground. The power of this tribulation lightning completely surpassed the previous one—evidently because Yeyun's intrusion had doubled the strength of the tribulation—and a bolt of lightning landed squarely on her.
Yet she gritted her teeth and endured it without uttering a single sound. Her madness made everyone present tremble with awe.
Time and time again, Yeyun was repelled by the heavenly lightning; time and time again, she was struck down by the power of the laws of heaven and earth. The protective magical treasures on her body were already battered into ruins, her hair was a tangled mess, and the corners of her mouth were stained with blood. Yet she seemed to feel no pain at all; in her eyes, there was room for only one person—the man bathed entirely in purple light.
Watching the woman fall down again and again, only to crawl back up each time, his heart was bleeding.
She was the woman he doted on with all his heart, the woman he feared would suffer even the slightest injury. Yet now...
He was the one causing her to suffer such agony, driving her to such madness. His Xiao Jiu should be a cold, domineering, and arrogant woman, not someone battered and bruised to this extent because of him.
"Xiao Jiu, stop rushing in."
"Yutian."
"Xiao Jiu, leave quickly."
With tears in her eyes, Yeyun shook her head unceasingly. "No, no... I won't let you leave, I won't let you leave..."
"Xiao Jiu, do you trust me?"
Through the light curtain of the laws of heaven and earth, Gong Yutian smiled faintly and reached out his hand, wanting to touch Yeyun. "Your man is the only outcast of the heavens in this entire world; neither the laws of heaven and earth nor Jiuyou Hell can do anything to me."
"I promised you I would stay by your side forever. There is only one bad guy in this world, which is too lonely—I still need you to accompany me in wreaking havoc across this realm!"
Yeyun met Gong Yutian's purple eyes with a burning gaze, and after a long moment, she choked out through red-rimmed eyes: "I believe you."
Seeing that the energy of the laws of heaven and earth had reached its absolute peak, Yeyun suddenly found strength from somewhere unknown and charged toward Gong Yutian once again. This time, she successfully caught his hand and, almost without hesitation, pressed her lips against his slightly upturned ones.
She bit at his lips with a near-mad frenzy, tasting the sweet flavor of blood everywhere. Whether there was pain, or whatever else might come—
She no longer cared about any of it. The only thing she could do was kiss him wildly.
This could be said to be the first time Yeyun had ever been so proactive. Gong Yutian's eyes darkened, and he could no longer spare a thought for anything else.
Reaching out to cup the back of her head, he turned passivity into initiative. This kiss was long past being a mere kiss.
It was a release between two souls, and simultaneously the final commemoration at the precipice of life and death.
"Gong Yutian, listen to me: so what if you descend into hell? In this world, I, Ye Shiqi, dare to pierce even the heavens—what could I possibly fear about hell? You are my man, Ye Shiqi's man! Even if you go down to hell, without my permission, you are not allowed to die! If you dare to die, I will shatter this plane, slaughter my way into hell, dig up your grave, unearth your skeleton, and whip your corpse. If you are gone, I will turn the realm you care about into hell! Do you hear me!"