The profound, chaotic, and incredibly complex concepts of Creation and Uncreation that Yun Lintian had struggled for so long to comprehend—the concepts that Nian Shi was even now trying to forcefully dominate—suddenly beca clear in his mind.
It was as if a veil had been lifted. The conflicting laws, the paradoxical nature of giving life and enforcing death, the delicate balance between existence and void—all of it clicked into place with perfect, effortless clarity.
He wasn’t learning it; he was rembering it. It was knowledge that had always been there, buried deep within the Profound Vein, now being unlocked and illuminated by the very source of that power.
Yun Lintian felt his soul not just healing, but expanding, evolving, ascending to a level of understanding he had never dread possible. The power felt familiar yet infinitely more profound, like finally understanding the true aning of a song he had only ever humd.
He felt reborn, as if he had shed a mortal coil and stepped into a new, divine existence. A wave of euphoric power, pure and uncontested, washed over him. For the first ti since the battle began, he felt... hope. True, tangible hope for victory.
Amidst this incredible surge of power and understanding, his joy was suddenly cut short by a horrifying sight.
Ning Yue’s form, which had been solid and radiant, was beginning to fade. The light that composed her body was becoming translucent. He could see the glow of the World Tree through her.
The vibrant energy that was empowering him was flowing directly from her, and with every passing second, she grew fainter, like a candle burning its wax to fuel another fla.
"No!" Yun Lintian cried out, the euphoria vanishing, replaced by sheer, unadulterated terror. He tried to pull away, to stop the flow of energy, but the chains, though loosened, still held him in place enough to prevent him from breaking the connection. "Yue’er! Stop this! What are you doing?!"
Ning Yue looked up at him, her face pale and translucent, but her smile was one of utter peace and deep love.
"I told you, Big Brother Yun," she said, her voice growing fainter, like a distant echo. "I am the final arrangent. This... this is my duty. This is why I was born."
"NO! I won’t accept it!" Yun Lintian shouted, his voice cracking with desperation. "I’ve lost everyone! Everyone is gone! I can’t lose you too! I refuse! Please, Yue’er, stop!"
Tears welled in his eyes, blurring her fading form. He struggled against the chains, not to free himself, but to reach her, to hold her, to keep her from disappearing.
Ning Yue’s smile remained, though tears of her own—shimring, light-filled tears—traced paths down her translucent cheeks.
"Big Brother Yun," she whispered, her voice so soft he had to strain to hear it. "Do you know what the best ti of my life was?"
He could only shake his head, choked with sobs he didn’t know a spirit could produce.
"It was the ti we spent together, just after we left the Profound Pill Sect," she said, her eyes gazing into a beautiful, cherished mory. "It was my first ti seeing the ’outside world’. The sun was so warm. The grass was so green. The towns were so loud and full of life. And I saw it all... with you. You held my hand and showed everything. You bought tanghulu. You taught how to skip stones on a lake. You told stories by the campfire."
Her form grew even fainter, now little more than a outline of light. "I am so grateful to the Creator. Not for making from her soul, but for making my path cross with yours. For letting et you... and for letting beco your little sister."
A final, radiant smile, filled with all the love in the universe, graced her lips. "If... if there is a next life... I don’t want to be an adopted sister. I want to be your real younger sister... okay?"
"NO! YUE’ER!" Yun Lintian scread, a raw, agonized sound that tore from the depths of his soul.
He threw himself forward with all his might. The loosened chains allowed him just enough movent, and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her fading form into a desperate embrace.
But he felt nothing. No substance, no warmth. Only a faint, fading tingling sensation against his spirit. He could feel her, the essence of her, dissolving within his arms, rging with the energy that was even now flowing into him, empowering him, granting him the clarity to defeat their enemies.
He was holding her, and he was losing her. She was sacrificing the very core of her existence to give him the strength to fight on.
He held on tightly, as if he could physically keep her from vanishing, tears of light and grief streaming uncontrollably down his face, falling through her translucent form and disappearing into the serene light of the Land of Nowhere. The cost of his second chance was becoming horrifyingly, unbearably clear.
Yun Lintian didn’t cry when he learned that Lin Xinyao, Yun Qianxue, and the others were gone. He didn’t cry when he learned that Long Qingxuan, Linlin, Qinqqing, and the others died protecting him.
But at this mont, it was as if all the griefs he had been buried them in the deepest past of his heart ca out together.
Yun Lintian remained frozen, his arms wrapped around the empty space where Ning Yue had been. The lingering warmth from her sacrifice was a cruel phantom sensation, a final gift that was already fading, leaving behind a cold, gaping void deeper than any he had ever known.
He stayed like that, kneeling, his head bowed, his spirit utterly still. The euphoric surge of power and understanding she had granted him felt like a bitter poison now, a constant reminder of the price paid.
The magnificent World Tree above him rustled gently, its leaves shimring with a soft, sorrowful light. It was as if the very heart of creation was mourning the loss of the one born from its essence, trying to offer a comfort that could never truly reach the depths of his despair.
Long Yi watched the scene, his ancient face etched with a profound and shared grief. He had witnessed the rise and fall of empires, the birth and death of stars, but the pain of loss never grew easier to bear. He understood the weight threatening to crush the young man before him.
After a long mont of respectful silence, Long Yi spoke, his voice a low, rumbling calm that cut through the oppressive stillness.
"Child," he began, his tone not harsh, but firm. "Have you already forgotten what you told the young miss just monts ago? You said you had not given up. Look at you now. What is this, if not giving up?"
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