War. The filthy blood of battle drenched the earth.
In the far north, glaciers lted. From the southern seas drifted blackened remnants. The once-vast desert devoured the grasslands.
Mountains, rivers, the land, forests—all echoed with desolate wails.
Beneath the earth, it felt like an endless abyss… a mouth that stretched beyond the heavens, biting down again and again—lurking in the shadows was a malice even deeper.
The radiance of the True Dragon was like a dwindling fla in the wind and snow… Long Xiruo’s pure-white form was suddenly tainted with gray, as if sothing was corrupting her entirely.
“What’s going on…”
The True Dragon of Divine Land, who had been holding the spiritual energy breach, changed expression drastically. As she had said, this was not the first ti a Dragon Fiend had appeared—but each ti before, they had been suppressed by the power of the True Dragon.
But this Dragon Fiend, possessing Gongsun Shiyu’s body, had power that surpassed the sum of all previous ones!
From deep underground, countless pitch-black tendrils shot up—flexible, serpent-like, and covered with crimson eyes.
A horrifying sight.
“What the hell are these things!”
The black shadow tentacles covered in red eyes sward around Su Zijun. Even though her fla-light sword cut through them, they regenerated instantly—endless and powerful.
“Do you feel it?! Our hatred, our resentnt… the hatred of the Divine Land itself!!!” roared the Dragon Fiend, its body now fully covered in a black, sludge-like substance.
Gongsun Shiyu’s original form was no longer visible—only crimson eyes and a grotesque mouth that seed to lt as it opened wide.
“Power… our power! It's pouring out endlessly! The power of the earth itself!!”
A massive force was surging into its body through the earth—an unimaginably vast power it hadn't expected.
It didn’t know the source of this strength, but the sensation was intoxicating—it felt like it could now destroy all things, hold the world in its palm, and control everything at will.
Compared to this, the Million Soul Orb it once devoured was not even a tenth as powerful. And this force was still growing—seemingly limitless.
This overwhelming surge now granted the Dragon Fiend enough strength to overpower even the True Dragon of Divine Land.
“Hahahaha!! True Dragon!! Even the heavens are helping !!”
The darkness burst out in full—it filled the underground rift of Mount Tai like thick, endless black sludge.
It swallowed all light.
The True Dragon’s radiance and the sword’s fla-light were now dim and feeble. The black sludge corroded the True Dragon energy crystals instantly. The spiritual energy breach, which had been sealed, was on the verge of collapse.
“You old hag! Haven’t you dealt with Dragon Fiends before?! Were they this terrifying?!”
Su Zijun struggled against the monstrous tentacles erging from the black sludge.
“This one… its power far surpasses the previous ones…” Long Xiruo gritted her teeth. Even her True Dragon energy was being corrupted.
This wasn’t sothing entirely unexpected—but it had never appeared in the inherited mories of the True Dragon. Could the resentnt of Divine Land really have grown this powerful?
At that mont, the ground trembled violently.
Simultaneously, storms raged in the sky, dark clouds gathered, and the stars and galaxies dimd. The roaring winds howled like dragons… the Divine Land's twelve ancestral veins had arrived.
“They’re here!” Long Xiruo’s expression changed again.
“They’re here!” the Dragon Fiend shrieked with laughter.
The black sludge consud the entirety of the underground rift…
…
Su Zijun opened her eyes. In this pitch-black world, she could only see Long Xiruo. The two of them seed utterly trapped in this space of pure darkness.
The only light resisting it ca from the faint golden glow emanating from Long Xiruo. Yet even that was slowly being corroded.
“You… how are you?” Su Zijun hurried to her feet.
“These black sludges… have severed my connection to the land…” Long Xiruo struggled to raise her head. Her hands were outstretched, as if holding back the encroaching darkness—yet her body trembled.
“You’re not receiving support from the earth?” Su Zijun instantly realized the gravity of her condition.
The True Dragon was still powerful—but without the land’s replenishnt, even she would eventually run dry.
“This is the worst case…” Long Xiruo gritted her teeth. “Brat, if you hadn’t blocked at the last second, would the Dragon Fiend have succeeded?! We wouldn’t be in this ss!”
“Old hag! If you hadn’t hidden the truth about the Dragon Fiend, I wouldn’t have made that move!” Su Zijun snapped, charging up to glare at her.
“Stupid girl, did a donkey kick your brain?! You think I could let the world know what the Dragon Fiend really is?” Long Xiruo roared. “Are you really that naive or just out of oxygen?! If the world knew sothing existed that could threaten , don’t you think worse dangers would co?!”
“You’re the stupid one!!” Su Zijun shouted. “Didn’t that Boss knock so sense into you yet?!”
“So it was you!!” Long Xiruo grit her teeth, slightly flexing her arms.
“So what if it was? Bite if you dare!” Su Zijun snapped.
“You… damn brat!!” Long Xiruo raged. “Do you know what you’re doing?! Calling out the Godslayer Sword?! Are you insane?!”
“I’m not the crazy one—you are!!” Su Zijun roared back. “The Daoist and Demon pact should’ve ended long ago! You think I don’t know the circumstances under which the Divine Land’s dual-realm treaty was signed?! You’re the one who’s truly insane!! Aren’t you tired yet?!”
“They just… wanted to live. Is that so wrong?”
“No, no one was wrong.” Su Zijun’s eyes turned slightly red, her voice soft. “And you weren’t wrong either. You can’t be wrong… because if you make one mistake, it’ll be the end of everything. So… if you can’t be wrong, let take that mistake for you.”
“Zijun…”
—Father can’t be allowed to make mistakes… so let be the one to make them instead.
…
“I’ll settle this debt with you later… right now, quit the nonsense and help ! I can barely hold back the power of the twelve ancestral veins!”
While resisting the corrosion of the “black sludge” and trying to suppress the violent spiritual energy from the twelve ancestral veins—without any replenishnt from the earth—every breath Long Xiruo took ca at an unimaginable cost.
“If the twelve ancestral veins were corrupted… what would happen to Divine Land?” Su Zijun suddenly asked.
Long Xiruo responded quickly, “What happens when a mass murderer takes control of the military?”
Su Zijun’s face shifted slightly.
Long Xiruo collapsed to one knee, drenched in sweat. “I don’t know what would happen to those who failed, but the Dragon Fiend is essentially a grudge born from the earth itself. You, girl, want the Godslayer Sword to appear just to slaughter the transcendent forces of the Daoist and Demon… but this grudge aims to wipe out all life and spiritual energy on this land. An eye for an eye, blood for blood—only by doing to the living what they once did to the earth can it find release.”
“I see…” Su Zijun bit her lip. “If that’s the Dragon Fiend’s true goal, then it’ll eventually clash with the Godslayer Sword’s bottom line… I don’t believe it—between my Godslayer Sword and you, we still can’t stop it!”
“My power cos from the earth, from the twelve ancestral veins… if those veins are corrupted, it ans I’m corrupted too.” Long Xiruo gave a bitter smile. “By then, even if the Godslayer Sword appears, so what? Even if the Three Xuanyuan Swords of the Nine Provinces unite, could they defeat the full wrath of the earth itself?”
“No other way out…” Su Zijun bit her finger, her hand trembling. “No… there is a way. A simple one.”
“Don’t even think about it!” Long Xiruo shouted angrily. “Forget that thought right now! How many tis have you done it, since the very first? Without realizing, it gave you convenience, made you willingly trade again and again. Right now, you’re spending the wealth of the Xuanyuan royal family—but what happens when you’ve exhausted it? You’ll have nothing left to trade… except yourself. That path is a dead end!”
“You still have a plan?” Su Zijun suddenly asked quietly.
“At least… not until the last mont…” Long Xiruo turned her face away.
He had asked her in that underground room—whether she was willing to give up the power of the True Dragon. From that mont, Long Xiruo knew that he probably had his eyes on the True Dragon’s power.
Even the True Dragon had things she could not do.
All those tis of helplessness, confusion, and despair—too many to count.
It’s a road of no return. Once the power is lost, there will be no guardian True Dragon left for Divine Land.
“There’s one more way,” Long Xiruo took a deep breath. “Lend your strength. I’ve kept a reserve… with the power of the Godslayer Sword half-form, I can break through this black sludge.”
“Then why didn’t you say so earlier?”
“If I act, I won’t be able to suppress the madness of the twelve ancestral veins anymore!” Long Xiruo said sternly. “But now, we have no other choice… Girl, you take my place and suppress them—for twenty seconds… no, ten seconds is enough! You can do it!”
“You’re sure you can defeat the Dragon Fiend?” Su Zijun stared at her.
“If I lie, may I never find a man in this life!” Long Xiruo swore on the spot. “Listen… if I fail, that will be the final mont—then go call that damn rchant. He’s probably already watching, waiting for one of us to speak!”
There was no ti to hesitate—Su Zijun nodded.
Long Xiruo gritted her teeth and reached straight into Su Zijun’s chest—pulling out the true half of the Xuanyuan Godslayer Sword, not the fla-light replica Su Zijun held.
The mont the sword was drawn, the black sludge around them retreated by several ters… the power from the Godslayer Sword even made the black sludge hesitate.
But as the sword left Su Zijun’s body, Long Xiruo stood up. “Your power will be weak now, but ten seconds should be doable. I believe in—what are you doing?!”
Su Zijun suddenly snatched the sword back from Long Xiruo’s hands.
“You brat! At this mont, what the hell are you doing?!”
“You… can’t defeat the Dragon Fiend, can you?”
“You’re talking nonsense!”
“You… the only thing you can do now is die with it.” Su Zijun said quietly.
“You idiot!!” Long Xiruo snapped. “The True Dragon doesn’t die! Once the Dragon Fiend is destroyed, I’ll be reborn from the earth! Don’t be stupid—give the sword!”
“Even if you’re reborn… will it really still be you?” Su Zijun’s voice was faint. “That would just be a different vessel for the True Dragon’s power. Old hag… I’m sorry. I caused this, so let end it.”
“Don’t do anything reckless!”
Su Zijun slowly stepped back… In that mont, the sword in her hand shone with blazing light. She pointed it toward the earth, and a ripple of golden light spread outward from her position.
“In my na, Xuanyuan Zijun…”
She pressed both hands beside the sword’s hilt.
Golden light surged through the blackened soil, flooding into the blade…
…
“What’s that…”
Atop Mount Tai, a thick black mist surged out of the torn rift. Windchaser stopped in his tracks, frowning.
But just then, Mo Xiaofei suddenly collapsed—face pale and drenched in cold sweat.
“Big Bro! Big Bro!!” Windchaser quickly put down Zi Xing and rushed to help, but as soon as he touched Mo Xiaofei, a terrifying force threw him back.
“Big Bro!”
“Don’t co any closer…” Mo Xiaofei clutched his head in pain. “Sothing’s… trying to burst out of … Don’t co any closer!!”
Suddenly, a beam of violet-gold light shot from Mo Xiaofei’s chest. His expression grew even more agonized as he scread in pain, his hands clutching the glowing light in his chest!
Under Windchaser’s disbelieving gaze, Mo Xiaofei actually reached into the golden light at his chest… and slowly pulled out the hilt of a sword!
As the hilt was drawn, the blade followed!
“Ah—!”
Finally, with a scream that sounded like it was tearing his lungs apart, Mo Xiaofei yanked the sword from his chest… and in that mont, thunder roared across the sky in overwhelming force!
The longsword, drawn from his chest, shot straight into the night sky—heading for the rift at the summit of Mount Tai!
A flash of violet lightning streaked across the heavens… Windchaser didn’t even have ti to react before the bolt seed to slam into sothing—then was slapped back!
The sword spun violently and shot back, embedding itself into the ground right beside Mo Xiaofei, its purple glow dimming.
Mo Xiaofei collapsed to the ground in weakness. He looked once at the sword embedded beside him… then passed out.
The strange sword then turned into a violet light and sank back into Mo Xiaofei’s body.
Windchaser looked at the unconscious Mo Xiaofei, then at Zi Xing beside him, scratching his head. “How am I supposed to carry two people?”
…
Mysterious symbols radiating an ancient and sorrowful aura flickered faintly across the blade of the sword.
Su Zijun’s eyes flowed with lines of blood. Even after the strange symbols stopped appearing, she still gripped the sword’s hilt tightly.
anwhile, within the black sludge, countless blood-red eyes opened. Dragon Fiend’s voice filled the air.
“Xuanyuan Godslayer Sword… you think we’re afraid of that?!”
The black sludge that had been driven back suddenly surged again.
Su Zijun snapped her eyes open and swung her sword. “You pathetic losers! Get out of my way!!”
The sword burst forth with powerful brilliance, splitting the black sludge like parting an ocean… revealing the Dragon Fiend’s ugly body.
Su Zijun shot into the air.
“Zijun!!”
“Old hag! Don’t bring my ashes back to Xuanyuan Palace! I’d rather die than be buried there!!” Su Zijun fused with the sword in her hand, becoming one with it. “And one more thing… if you get the chance, go find yourself a man!”
Long Xiruo couldn’t move.
The spiritual energy from the twelve ancestral veins, suppressed for millennia, had now swelled to the brink like over-pressurized steam!
The sword pierced directly into the Dragon Fiend’s chest! It scread madly as dazzling light erupted from Su Zijun’s blade.
But in that instant, Dragon Fiend grabbed both of Su Zijun’s arms… and waves of black sludge began pouring from every direction into her body.
Into her mouth, her ears—her face twisted in agony.
Could it be… that Gongsun Shiyu’s Yellow Emperor bloodline was partially neutralizing the Godslayer Sword’s power?!
“Want to die together? Keep dreaming!!” Dragon Fiend howled. “Perfect—ti to switch vessels! A true royal heir is way more useful than Gongsun Shiyu!!”
The black sludge continued pouring into Su Zijun’s mouth… her lips cracking, her throat on the verge of rupture!
The cleaved sludge suddenly twisted and began to close in.
Before Long Xiruo’s eyes, Su Zijun was slowly being swallowed by the black sludge.
Let go… and maybe there’s still a chance.
Let go… just let go…
What does the fate of Divine Land have to do with …?
—Aren’t you tired?!
Let go…
—Don’t bring my ashes back to Xuanyuan Palace! I’d rather die than be buried there!!
—What can you even do?
Call his na… call him.
Call him…
“Help… help —!!” Long Xiruo raised her head, using all her strength.
She shouted that na.
“Luo Qiu—!!!”
The black sludge completely swallowed everything.
The flickering light of the True Dragon—finally extinguished.
…
“Hahahahahaha!! We… we won!! We won!! W—!!”
In the darkness, just as all light seed to vanish, a new brilliance suddenly appeared—not the glow of the True Dragon’s power.
In the instant it shone, the world of black sludge shattered—dispersed—like an explosion, waves of light forcibly expanding and tearing open the black abyss.
Su Zijun slowly fell from the light, like a feather… landing gently into a pair of steady arms.
She was caught in Boss Luo Qiu’s embrace.
As the black sludge dissipated, Long Xiruo also erged from its grip.
Luo Qiu descended from the sky, holding Su Zijun.
Then Su Zijun began to float from Luo Qiu’s arms—drifting toward Long Xiruo… who instinctively reached out and caught her.
Su Zijun’s face no longer showed the agony of being consud—she looked as if she were simply asleep.
“Miss Zijun really listens to you, Lady Long,” Luo Qiu said softly. “In the end… she could’ve called for herself.”
“She’s… like ,” Long Xiruo looked down at Su Zijun’s sleeping face. “Just as stubborn, just as hard-headed. She’s okay now… she’s okay…”
Clutching Su Zijun tightly, the feeling of getting her back made the True Dragon of Divine Land shed tears without realizing it. She looked at Luo Qiu and said sorrowfully, “Did you know? She was created… just a vessel. The mont the Godslayer Sword was drawn, her life could’ve ended. That was supposed to be my fate. No life of her own—ant only to serve humanity. Her end was decided from birth.”
Luo Qiu listened quietly.
Ti seed to stop.
Long Xiruo stared at Su Zijun for a long while, then finally turned to Luo Qiu. “Na your price. Whatever it is… anything.”
Luo Qiu looked at her, slowly walked forward, and reached out his hand.
He brought his palm before Long Xiruo’s face… and, as if understanding what she was about to do, she took a deep breath and gently closed her eyes.
His finger paused at her closed eyes, then moved—tracing along her tear line, down her cheek… and gently collected the teardrop she had shed.
Long Xiruo opened her eyes in surprise.
In Luo Qiu’s palm rested a golden teardrop.
“What… does this an?”
“This is enough,” Luo Qiu said softly.
“E-enough…?”
Long Xiruo’s mouth fell open, as if seeing Luo Qiu for the first ti.
From their first encounter, their many subtle or direct interactions, even in the basent… What was really going on in his heart?
“Because this… was never a transaction to begin with,” Luo Qiu said calmly.
“What do you an?” Long Xiruo frowned.
“I still have a shop to run, Lady Long.” Luo Qiu smiled faintly. “And for a better market environnt, sotis a rchant has to invest a little. Besides…”
“Besides?”
“I still want you, Lady Long, to beco even more beautiful,” Luo Qiu said gently. “To beco more attractive to , to move my heart a little more… Of course, Miss Su Zijun as well. So until then, I’ll hold onto this carefully.”
The golden teardrop in Luo Qiu’s palm slowly crystallized.
Long Xiruo’s heart suddenly trembled.
“Really got the ti to flirt here, huh? Ti to die!!!”
…
“Die!!!”
The black sludge that had been scattered now erupted madly from all around the earth, and at the sa ti, Dragon Fiend’s hideous form lunged down from the air!
“Watch out!”
Seeing Dragon Fiend’s sneak attack approaching Luo Qiu’s back, Long Xiruo shouted instinctively. She stomped hard on the ground, instantly channeling her True Dragon power—sharp giant rocks erupted from the earth to shield Luo Qiu’s back.
But Dragon Fiend’s power was still overwhelming. The sharp stones were instantly lted, and its final punch crashed toward the back of Luo Qiu’s head—Boom!!!
A force strong enough to shake the summit of Mount Tai!
Long Xiruo, already at the limit of her True Dragon power, was knocked away by the force, flying backward with Su Zijun in her arms—yet just before smashing into the rocky wall, a gentle force caught and cushioned them.
Dragon Fiend’s punch… did not break through Boss Luo’s absolute defense.
“I don’t believe it!!!”
It swung another fist, bursting with terrifying force—even the pressure of its swing alone generated a storm-level windblast!
But still, that massive power couldn’t breach Boss’s form.
Luo Qiu slowly turned around.
“Endless… endless power from the earth!! I don’t believe I can’t break through!!!” Dragon Fiend howled madly.
But at that mont, Luo Qiu’s expression suddenly turned cold. “Do you know who gave you… that endless power? Who allowed you to suppress the True Dragon?”
“…What?” Dragon Fiend froze in horror, instinctively backing away!
Luo Qiu raised his hand, palm open—and in an instant, the endless black sludge began gushing violently out from Dragon Fiend’s body—drawn toward the Boss’s palm like a black hole, sucking every bit of sludge out of it!
“It was .”
(End of Chapter)
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