“Dustin!”
Margaret’s heart twisted like a knife. She could clearly feel the terrifying gulf separating Aokun from the three who came before — an abyss between them.
Without a moment’s hesitation, she pulled out a small jade vial she had kept close to her person. It was given to her when she left the palace by that unfathomable old attendant beside her royal father — with solemnity beyond measure, he had said it was the royal family’s most precious treasure, a divine lifesaving pill that even the power of an entire nation could not reproduce — the Ninefold Rebirth Pill.
She rushed to Dustin’s side, ignoring the suffocating pressure that weighed on her chest, and pressed the smooth vial into his cold hand. Her voice was unwavering:
“Take it! This is your only chance!”
Dustin felt the boundless vitality within the pill — like a vast ocean of stars — and knew at once that its value was beyond imagination.
He looked at Margaret. In her eyes, he saw desperate resolve and deep, unwavering concern. Without hesitation, he uncorked the vial and placed the pill — large as a dragon’s eye, gleaming with seven-colored light — into his mouth.
It melted instantly — not as a torrent of heat, but like celestial dew from the Ninth Heaven, spreading through his cracked meridians, moistening his depleted core, and nourishing his wounded spirit.
The immense yet gentle medicinal power worked like a master craftsman, swiftly mending his internal injuries and replenishing his true essence.
Though it couldn’t restore him to full strength, the flickering flame of his life — like a candle in the wind — finally steadied. Two or three tenths of his power returned; warmth once more flowed through his limbs.
He exhaled a long breath, the air scented faintly with medicine. Drawing upon this newfound strength, he forced down the surging blood within him and straightened his back once more — a spine that seemed capable of upholding heaven and earth.
Then, meeting Aokun’s icy, bone-piercing gaze, he allowed a faint, mocking smile to curve his lips.
You want my soul? Then stop talking — come and take it yourself!”
“Stubborn fool! Seeking death!”
Aokun’s last shred of patience was shattered by those cutting words.
With a roar of rage, he raised his right hand — fingers outstretched. From their tips burst blinding platinum light. He drew a single line through the air before him, seemingly casual — yet the world itself trembled.
“Geng-Metal Sky-Rending Slash!”
Shhh!
A thread-thin platinum line, delicate as a cicada’s wing, appeared soundlessly — and in that instant, tore through the space between them.
Where the line passed, it left behind a pitch-black rift that refused to close, as though space itself had been permanently severed.
No thunderous explosion accompanied it — only that absolute sharpness, so pure it made every watching soul tremble, as if their very existence could be sliced apart by that one “line.”
Dustin’s pupils constricted. The crushing sense of death made every hair on his body stand on end.
He moved — faster than thought — his body dissolving into a blur of pale-blue smoke as he darted left, barely escaping in time.
Rip—!
Behind him, a massive jade pillar, thick enough that several men would need to encircle it and carved with defensive arrays, was silently cut through by the platinum line.
The upper half slid down along a glass-smooth edge and struck the ground with a dull boom. Residual Geng-metal energy flickered and hissed like living sparks, slicing even the air itself apart.
But Aokun’s assault was like a tempest — relentless, without pause.
Just as Dustin dodged and his old strength faded before new strength could rise, Aokun’s left hand clenched into a fist. From his knuckles erupted dark-golden flames — not hot, but radiating a chilling cold that froze life and annihilated creation.
“Blazing Divine-Fire Fist!”
The punch surged forward — the dark-golden fire did not travel in a straight line but instead expanded into a colossal web of flame, sentient and alive, descending from all directions upon Dustin.
Within the fire-net, countless shadowy spirits writhed and wailed silently, emanating waves that struck directly at the soul.
Where the flames passed, space twisted and collapsed; light was devoured, leaving only writhing darkness in its wake.
No escape!
Dustin roared, channeling every ounce of new strength from the Ninefold Rebirth Pill and the remnants of his Xuanqing energy into his sword.
The blade erupted in brilliant azure radiance — layers of condensed sword energy gathered and formed a thick barrier before him, inscribed with the intricate pattern of the Taiji.
“Xuanqing Infinite Wall!”
BOOOOOOM!
The dark-golden divine-fire net slammed into the azure barrier.
No thunderous detonation — only a chilling, soul-tearing sound, as though billions of spirits screamed in unison.
The azure wall quaked violently; the Taiji pattern spun madly, striving to neutralize that dreadful god-burning force. Yet it lasted less than a heartbeat before a sharp crack echoed — and countless fractures webbed across the wall. - Marinien
Comments
- In fact, being a, Royal Treasure, it should have been in her father's possession, shouldn't it?
- This whole drama, the visit to the island, and so many lives could have been avoided, couldn't they?