Celestial Dragon Sword Venerable

Long Tianyu was incredibly persistent.

No matter how much Long Tianmo wanted to give up, hoping to use her Residual Soul to strengthen Long Tianyu, Tianyu refused without hesitation.

Long Tianmo was so weak, she no longer even had the strength to give up.

"Tianmo, in our condition, even if you were to sacrifice yourself for my sake, I still might not survive. But if we encourage each other and hold fast to our beliefs, then even if we must undergo Transformation Dao together and perish in the endless, dark void, we will have no regrets.

If one of us sisters were to sacrifice herself so the other could live, could the survivor ever truly be at peace? Death isn’t what’s terrifying; giving up is just an act of cowardice and escape!

We are sisters. We will persevere together. We will not give up until the very last moment! I will not give you my Soul Energy, nor will I accept you transferring yours to me. As long as we hold firm to our beliefs, even if we truly perish in the end, we will have no regrets!

Have you forgotten the sacrifices made by Father Emperor Ye Fengyang, Empress Qingzhuo, and our Empress Qingyue?

And have you forgotten the great sacrifice our brother made?

If you haven’t forgotten, then strengthen your resolve and focus your will.

As long as our will remains, no matter where we are, our parents and our brother are with us!"

An incredibly determined look filled Long Tianyu’s eyes.

She, too, was too weak to speak, but she still persevered.

Indeed, if not for this perseverance along the way, she would have perished long ago.

The light in Long Tianmo’s dim, beautiful eyes gradually began to brighten, as if the power born from sheer will was enough to make them undying and indestructible.

"That’s... That’s more like it!"

A hint of relief finally appeared in Long Tianyu’s eyes.

"Sister, what do you think... what’s become of Brother? He underwent Demonization... Will he become an enemy to the entire world because of it?"

Long Tianmo blinked, and tears slid from her eyes.

"No, he won’t! He is the Celestial Secret Divine Son... He won’t!"

Long Tianyu couldn’t help but recall scene after scene from the past, and her heart ached.

The two sisters drifted through the cold and desolate Void Turbulence, carried by the Heart Stone on an endless journey through the darkness, with no destination in sight.

Their only solace was in exchanging glances and sharing memories, reliving moments from their past time and again.

Suddenly, the darkness seemed to freeze. Ahead of them, a massive Blood River materialized.

The Blood River stretched across the void, cutting off the darkness and forming a gigantic, blood-red prison.

BUZZ—

The Blood River Prison descended, instantly swallowing the Heart Stone containing Long Tianyu and Long Tianmo.

Long Tianyu’s and Long Tianmo’s hearts seized. An inexplicable sense of danger washed over them, making them feel as if they’d been plunged into an icy cavern, chilling them to the bone.

But then, an incredibly familiar sensation made them ecstatic with joy, and they couldn’t stop the tears from streaming down their faces.

"Brother... W-why did you come to such a dangerous place? You have to go back!"

Long Tianyu choked up almost immediately, forcing out the words.

In a space like this, even a shout could not travel.

But she knew her brother could definitely hear her.

High above the Blood River Prison, a figure manifested.

It was a projection of Ji Tianxie.

BUZZ—

After Ji Tianxie’s projection appeared, he made a casual grasping motion. A blood-red hand seemed to cross the Six Paths of Reincarnation and pierce through endless Space-Time, pulling Ye Tianling’s figure over.

"They are resisting. If they don’t willingly accept the Fusion of Energy, they can’t be healed. So, I need you to handle it."

Ji Tianxie gave Ye Tianling a faint glance, then lowered his eyelids. His entire blood-red figure abruptly vanished.

And Ye Tianling took Ji Tianxie’s place, as if he had pierced through an endless Space-Time projection and arrived here suddenly from the Forgotten Dust World.

Ye Tianling was touched. ’He knows that Ji Tianxie did this to let me see Long Tianyu and Long Tianmo, to confirm for myself that they’re all right.’

’As for the claim that they couldn’t achieve Fusion without willingly accepting the Energy, with Ji Tianxie’s power, that clearly wasn’t an issue. It was just an excuse.’

"Tianyu, Tianmo."

Ye Tianling’s figure descended. Upon entering the Blood River Prison, he found himself in what felt like a small, independent space.

The space wasn’t large. A light rain drizzled from the sky.

The rain was blood-red, as if human blood had been mixed into the water.

The ground below was a barren, muddy wasteland that gave off a faint smell of blood.

The Heart Stone had cracked open here. Upon entering this space, Long Tianyu and Long Tianmo had already flown out of it.

As the drizzling rain fell on their bodies, their soul auras began to recover at a visible rate. Even the state of their Talents was being remarkably restored.

However, their more fundamental injuries, such as the fragmentation of their souls, still remained.

Ye Tianling walked over, reaching out to embrace Long Tianyu and Long Tianmo.

Crying softly, the two of them willingly threw themselves into Ye Tianling’s arms.

...

"It’s all right now. Everything’s okay. You will stay here to cultivate and recover. Afterward, a mysterious power will send you to the nearest planet. I’ll be able to get information on your whereabouts. When the time comes, I’ll find a way to come for you and bring you back to the Dragon Race."

Ye Tianling comforted Long Tianyu and Long Tianmo for a long time.

Ji Tianxie had indeed kept his promise. According to Ye Tianling’s Soul Talent assessment, Long Tianyu’s and Long Tianmo’s conditions were almost fully restored, with the sole exception of a Dao Injury.

This kind of injury required the Life Soul Spring and the Elemental Magnetic Aurora to heal; all other forms of Energy or Origin were useless.

"Brother, did you... pay some kind of terrible price? And you... what about your bloodline? Your Talent? And... what about that transcendent air of Divinity you had?"

Long Tianyu and Long Tianmo gradually came to their senses, the initial joy of their reunion fading.

Soon, Long Tianyu noticed that something was wrong with Ye Tianling.

"None of that is important. As long as you have a Strong Heart, you can start over from scratch!"

Ye Tianling gently stroked Long Tianyu’s head, then lightly caressed her face as he spoke softly.

Long Tianyu’s body trembled. She understood what Ye Tianling meant, and tears instantly began to fall from her eyes again.

"Brother..."

Long Tianmo cried as well.

How could she not understand?

"Brother, you sacrificed your own Abilities to restore us. Do you think that would make us happy? Do you think we could live with that? This isn’t protecting us, it’s a form of cruelty! How could we live in peace, knowing we’ve trampled on your Talent and Abilities?"

Long Tianyu’s voice trembled.

Ye Tianling shook his head. "I’m not hiding it because I don’t want to deceive you. But I have a Strong Heart. The rest really isn’t important. If I could rise to become a Sword Dao God in half a year, I can spend another half year rising again.

Divine Blood, once lost, can be regenerated.

A Divine Body, once lost, can be forged anew.

But if my sisters are gone, they’re truly gone forever.

I will live a happy life, and you two must do the same."

As he spoke, Ye Tianling gently cupped Long Tianyu’s face with his hands, pulling the corners of her mouth up into a smile.

Then, he reached over and did the same to Long Tianmo’s lovely face, coaxing it into a smile as well.

"Yes, just like that. I hope that you can both keep smiling from now on, and cry no more. Only a worthless man would let his family and the ones he loves cry."

Ye Tianling said earnestly.

"Brother..."

"Brother..."

Long Tianyu and Long Tianmo stopped crying, but they once again threw themselves into Ye Tianling’s arms, hugging him tightly, as if afraid that he would vanish for good.