Chapter 197 ·Who in the World Is Worthy of the Red Robe
Chapter 197: Who in the World Is Worthy of the Red Robe
“Clang!”
A faint sword cry rang out from Li Yunqing’s hand.
At this moment, Li Yunqing’s vitality, cultivation, lifespan, and even her Dao Self, True Self, and Past Self formed from her Primordial Spirit—
had almost entirely flowed into the broken sword.
They had become part of the sword.
As a result, even as she wielded it, she seemed weak.
Without strength, she instead resembled a frail woman in a red dress, dancing with a sword.
Even the motion of the broken sword appeared soft and powerless.
“Rip…”
Yet at the instant the broken sword moved, space was torn apart.
Even more bizarre, the shattered space was devoured by the sword, transforming into an incomparably brilliant streak of sword light.
That sword light was like the most blazing sunlight, like the most violent thunder.
Like the fleeting brilliance of a meteor, like the most radiant instant of all things in heaven and earth.
It tore through everything before it.
“Boom!”
The three Kings’ descending heavy weapons exploded the moment the sword light swept across them.
Even more terrifying, the shattered fragments froze in midair, then lost all essence in an instant, turning into ash.
It was as if, the moment anything touched that sword light—whether it was refined heavy weapons or all things of heaven and earth—it would enter its end.
Enter ultimate annihilation, becoming nothing but dust.
“Not good!”
“Run!”
Seeing this, the three Kings’ expressions changed drastically as they shattered space without hesitation, trying to flee.
The terror of that sword made them tremble with fear.
But at that moment, the sword light closed in.
Time itself seemed to freeze.
The movements of the three Kings slowed a thousandfold, ten-thousandfold.
Everything became slow motion.
Everyone could clearly see the void they had pierced open.
Their faces filled with fear, yet their movements crawled forward like turtles, inching toward the broken void.
“Buzz!”
The dazzling sword light, however, was unaffected.
It swept across the three Kings, and even tore open a massive gap in the void they had pierced.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
The bodies of the three Kings exploded instantly, and droplets of blood rained from the sky.
All flesh and bone turned into bloody fragments in an instant.
Yet even then, the brilliant sword light did not stop.
The barrier of the Nine Lands Absolute Domain, which had just begun flickering as the nine Kings all fell—
was shattered by that sword light.
It broke into countless fragments of light, pouring downward.
The Nine Lands Absolute Domain formation was completely destroyed by a single strike.
All those fragments of light were seized and devoured by the sword light, vanishing into nothingness in the blink of an eye.
It was as if, in that instant, even the so-called Nine Lands Absolute Domain had entered eternal destruction.
Yet the sword light still did not stop.
It tore through the void and slashed upward into the sky.
At that moment, a pitch-black spatial rift appeared across the heavens, stretching to the horizon.
It looked as though a straight, endless abyss had suddenly split the sky apart.
Extending to the very end of heaven and earth.
This single strike seemed to have split the entire sky in two.
“Pfft!”
Only at this moment did everyone hear the sound of the sword light tearing through everything.
“Rumble!”
With that sound, the entire Fallen Immortal Land trembled violently, erupting in a deafening roar.
Everyone saw the void at the edge of heaven being torn apart, countless spatial cracks boiling.
Vast chaotic currents intertwined endlessly.
It was as if the entire world had been pierced through, the cracks like an abyss that refused to heal.
As if they had been branded into the fabric of reality itself.
“What kind of sword technique is this?”
The Sword Saint of Cangshan and the Sword God Ying Jiu stared blankly at that sword light as it tore everything apart and vanished into the chaotic void at the horizon.
For a moment, their minds went completely blank.
A single streak of sword light had shattered three Kings’ heavy weapons and left behind an abyss in space that could not heal.
At the edge of the world, endless void currents surged, refusing to settle.
It seemed to have cleaved open the barrier of heaven and earth.
The power of that strike was beyond all imagination.
“This sword…”
Looking at the trace left by the sword light—like a straight abyss carved into the sky—everyone stood stunned.
They could not recover for a long time.
Too terrifying!
With a single strike, it killed three Kings, shattered three heavy weapons, tore apart heaven and earth, split open the sky—
and pierced through the barrier of the world.
This sword left everyone filled with shock, yet unable to describe it.
“This is that sword light!”
“The most dazzling sword light!”
Among the crowd, Di Qing suddenly stood up, staring at Li Yunqing in disbelief.
He had never imagined that in this lifetime, he would witness such a sword again.
A sword of ultimate brilliance.
“Not good!”
But the moment he saw Li Yunqing’s condition, Di Qing was instantly alarmed.
Her entire body was nearly transparent.
There was not a trace of blood color, like a spirit that could disperse into nothingness at any moment.
“The price of that strike…”
Seeing this, Di Qing’s hands clenched instinctively, his heart trembling violently.
His eyes turned red, as if blood might spill from them.
At this moment, he finally understood why, after that sword strike a hundred thousand years ago, there had been no further trace of that swordsman from the Great Luo Sword Sect.
That was a strike paid for with one’s life—with everything one possessed.
With a single strike, all things, all laws, and all Great Dao entered their end—ending everything.
Including the one who wielded it.
The entire Fallen Immortal Land owed Li Yunqing far too much.
So much that Di Qing felt the urge to collapse and weep.
But as Emperor, he forced himself to hold back, suppressing the tremor in his chest and the sob in his throat.
“Miss!”
Seeing Li Yunqing’s nearly dissipating form, Xiaolan rushed toward her in madness.
Tears streamed through the air.
Behind her, Ying Qianqian, Jiang Xiuning, Li Yansong, Li Shuo, Jiang Yu, Jiang Jing, Qin Yu, along with the Sword Saint, the Sword God, Xun Fei, Lu Xingzhou, Gu Yuan—all rushed forward in panic.
Yet seeing her translucent form, no one dared to touch her.
They only surrounded her, guarding her like a priceless treasure.
As if even a gentle breeze might scatter her away.
It felt as though a heavy stone pressed upon everyone’s hearts.
Their noses stung, their throats choked, yet no sound came out.
Their eyes were red as blood, their bodies trembling as they stared at Li Yunqing.
That sword had been brilliance taken to the extreme.
But the price was far too great.
“Miss…”
Xiaolan murmured, tears tinged with blood streaming down her face.
Others might not know how hard Li Yunqing had worked, how much she had endured—
but Xiaolan had followed her all the way, witnessing everything.
At this moment, her heart was filled with endless unwillingness.
Such effort, such relentless cultivation—even in sleep—
how could it end like this?
“It won’t happen…”
“It absolutely won’t!”
Xiaolan covered her mouth, sobbing.
Such an ending did not deserve Li Yunqing’s effort.
“Go. Go and wait for your true master.”
Li Yunqing spoke calmly, her expression serene.
Her translucent hand loosened slightly, and the broken sword floated before her.
Compared to being captured and turned into a tool for reproduction, this ending was far better.
From the moment she grasped the sword, she had already known the outcome.
Yet she had not hesitated in the slightest.
She simply refused to fall into darkness and live a fate worse than death.
If that were her ending, then what would all her efforts have meant?
She might as well have married early, borne children, and lived quietly in the inner chambers.
Hidden away from the world.
This ending could at least be called achieving what she sought.
She had saved the world—
but also saved herself.
“Buzz!”
The broken sword hummed, circling around Li Yunqing, unwilling to leave.
It seemed to mourn, as if it understood the fate of the girl before it.
Now, the corrosion on the sword had deepened, the rust thickened, and even more pits had appeared along its blade.
That final strike had also brought it closer to its own end.
Though it was the guiding force of that power—the remnant trace left by that peerless swordsman—
it could not endure endlessly.
Perhaps the next time it was wielded, it too would vanish completely.
It seemed to understand that it would never have a master again.
Unless in utter despair, no one would willingly give everything to wield such a strike.
And the cost—
was far too great.
“Go.”
Li Yunqing waved her faint hand.
Only after the broken sword returned to the Sword Pavilion did she calmly look around.
Her gaze passed over familiar faces one by one—filled with remembrance, reflection, and quiet emotion.
She did not regret anything she had experienced, nor her choices, nor did she resent anything.
Most things in life were unsatisfactory, and few could truly be shared with others.
She knew she was not of this world—her thoughts and actions could never be fully understood.
She also knew that what must happen would happen.
There was no need for resentment.
These familiar faces were traces she had left in this world.
Yet now, it seemed she had only ever been a passerby.
But having so many who cared for her—
that was enough.
“You need not be like this.”
Her voice was gentle, as always.
Unchanged.
And yet those who knew her burst into tears.
Even now, she remained so gentle.
So calm, as if she had never feared death.
Seeing their expressions, she was about to speak words of comfort—
when suddenly, lines of text appeared before her.
“You have comprehended Peerless Sword (Incomplete)!”
“You have comprehended the End Law!”
“Peerless Sword (Incomplete): (Entry 0/10000)”
“End Law: Entry 1%.”
Her gaze instinctively shifted to the panel, drawn to the flickering words of her Primordial Spirit.
“Primordial Spirit: Entry (66%)”
Watching the flickering text like stars before her, realization struck her.
“Buzz!”
In the next moment, her Dao Self, True Self, and Past Self emerged from the void and merged into her body.
At that instant, her nearly transparent body solidified.
“With the panel, my realm is permanently fixed!”
“As long as my Primordial Spirit remains and my consciousness is not extinguished, how could I die?”
“Unless my Primordial Spirit, consciousness, and body are erased in an instant!”
In that moment, she understood.
With the panel, as long as her Primordial Spirit was not completely destroyed in an instant, it would be restored.
Everything about her was still enhanced by her traits.
She could not truly die.
This was the advantage of reaching higher realms—
who could annihilate her completely in a single strike?
The Longevity Panel was her greatest reliance.
At the instant her three selves merged back into her body—
the laws and immortal light of her Greater Yin Dao Body, Five Elements Dao Body, Immaculate Immortal Body, and Greater Yin Sword Embryo enveloped her.
Even the Nirvana Flame flowed within her, nourishing her body.
She merged with heaven and earth once more.
“Rumble…”
The heavens churned as endless spiritual energy surged toward her.
In just moments, her body fully solidified again.
Her flesh restored, her skin once more pale and smooth like jade.
Aside from her pale, crystalline white hair and her shattered inner world phenomenon—which could not yet recover—
everything else remained largely unchanged.
Only then did Li Yunqing smile and speak:
“I’m fine. Truly fine.”
Seeing her reverse from near-dissolution to recovery in an instant, everyone wept with joy.
Yet those gathered around her, eyes red, could not find words to speak.
Words felt too shallow.
How could they match the woman before them?
“Although I’m fine… I’m very tired.”
“Let’s go back first.”
As her words fell, Xiaolan, Ying Qianqian, and Jiang Xiuning immediately stepped forward, carefully supporting her.
“Quick! Prepare the carriage!”
Di Qing shouted, both excited and solemn.
“Investigate the entire land!”
“All foreign spies—execute them all! Better to kill wrongly than let one escape!”
“Seal off the National Preceptor’s residence—no one may approach without permission!”
The Fallen Immortal Land could not endure further turmoil.
Without Li Yunqing, Great Xia would have already perished.
Even if they could not stop future invasions, they would endure as long as they could.
The living still had to face what lay ahead.
“Buzz!”
A carriage drawn by nine dragon-like creatures rose into the sky, carrying Li Yunqing away.
All eyes followed that figure in the blood-red dress.
Everyone bowed deeply, remaining prostrated.
No one spoke.
The world fell into silence, filled only with bowed figures.
Even Di Qing, Emperor of Great Xia, bowed the same way.
It was as if they were seeing off the most honored being of the Fallen Immortal Land.
A single woman—
who alone slew nine Kings, saved all under heaven, and changed the fate of the world.
Such merit would be etched into the long river of history.
Enough to make all men bow their heads.
That blood-stained, peerless figure—
that ultimate brilliance carved through slaughter—
would be revered and remembered by all beings.
As her figure disappeared into the horizon, after a long silence, someone finally spoke.
A single sentence that captured everyone’s heart:
“Who in the world is worthy of the red robe?”
“Only Li Yunqing of Great Xia!”