Celestial Dragon Sword Venerable

In that instant, Yang Yushuang’s body exploded, turning to dust.

Flames flared like tiny stars, and after burning away clusters of flesh and blood, all that remained was calamitous ash.

And with that, Yang Yushuang’s body and soul were utterly annihilated!

Thus, the three Divine Children and one Goddess from the Fire Qilin Divine Land had all been slain by Ye Tianling.

They underwent Transformation Dao on the spot, becoming the stuff of legends.

A dead silence fell over the scene.

Besides those from the Fire Qilin Divine Land, there were many other Cultivators in the East Mountain Ice Cave.

However, in this small area, there were only about twenty or so Cultivators present.

Ye Tianling retracted the Xuanyuan Celestial Evil Sword. With a slight tremor of his hand, he shook all the blood from the blade, which turned into a mist and dissipated.

Then, Ye Tianling glanced at Xia Xinyan, Xia Xinyue, Xia Xinqin, Tianqing, and the others. "Alright," he said, "you can come with me now."

Xia Xinyan, Tianqing, and their companions were all dumbfounded.

They hadn’t been able to discern what kind of technique Ye Tianling had used.

But they could tell his strength was more than enough to completely crush them. He was nothing like the rumors claimed—he was no cripple.

Tianqing had always known Ye Tianling was strong; she had always believed it.

But this time, after witnessing his battle firsthand, she realized she had still gravely underestimated him! Ye Tianling was far, far stronger than she had ever imagined.

Sharing Tianqing’s thoughts were Xia Xinyan’s group of three, as well as Die Qingchen and the many other prodigies present.

"Celestial Secret Divine Son, the Fire Qilin Divine Land is known for being incredibly high-profile, and their Daoist Ancestor is exceptionally protective of his own. This... what you’ve done is too insane!"

Xia Xinqin couldn’t help but speak up. She deeply admired Ye Tianling’s methods.

But after you’ve killed four of their prodigies in a row, the Fire Qilin Divine Land will absolutely not let this go!

"I gave him a chance. It’s not my fault he didn’t take it. As for Yang Yutian and the other two, since they chose to interfere, I naturally wouldn’t be polite. If I had been the weaker one, do you think they would have spared me?"

Ye Tianling replied to Xia Xinqin’s warning.

"Celestial Secret Divine Son, the Fire Qilin Divine Land possesses a unique Flame Ability. And there’s no guarantee that word of what happened here won’t get out. You must be very careful."

Xia Xinyue also spoke up to warn him.

Her expression was equally grave.

"Yes. I’ll kill as many as they send."

Ye Tianling stated indifferently.

"You... you’re still exactly the same as you were before. Honestly, for Divine Son Level prodigies to be killed just like that... it’s truly lamentable."

Xia Xinyan sighed softly.

"Even if I had shown mercy, do you think they would have appreciated it? Besides, since I already made a move against Yang Yuhun, sparing him would have been pointless. Knowing his character, he never would have let it rest. This enmity was inevitable, so I figured I might as well make it absolute. This matter ends here; there’s no need to discuss it further. Killing a few Divine Children is no big deal."

Ye Tianling stopped Xia Xinyan from saying anything more.

Hearing this, Xia Xinyan couldn’t help but reveal a helpless expression.

"Celestial Secret Divine Son, you’ve saved my life again. I truly don’t know how I can ever repay you."

The Tianqing Goddess gazed at Ye Tianling, her beautiful eyes filled with affection, and her voice brimmed with sincerity and gratitude.

"It was nothing. Besides, this whole incident started because of me, so it’s fine."

Ye Tianling gave a faint smile, and then his figure flickered, appearing before Die Qingchen.

Die Qingchen jumped in fright, shuddering. He almost couldn’t stop himself from bolting and fleeing for his life.

"Your Die Xin Fairy didn’t come this time?"

Ye Tianling asked.

"Ah—she, she came, but... we, we got separated."

Die Qingchen trembled. Only after sensing that he wasn’t in mortal danger did he calm down a little.

Even so, cold sweat was already beading on his forehead.

’If Ye Tianling had made a move earlier, I’d be dead by now.’

"Oh? Has she been well these past few months?"

Ye Tianling reached out and patted Die Qingchen’s shoulder. Die Qingchen didn’t dare to move or resist; his whole body trembled, and he was nearly scared to death.

His face was a little pale as he stammered, "Sh-She’s been okay, I think. I-I don’t know the specifics. C-Celestial Secret Divine Son, if Senior Sister Die Xin knew you were still thinking of her, she... she would be extremely honored!"

Ye Tianling nodded. "Alright, don’t be afraid. I’m not going to kill you. Your Life Chart isn’t bad; you’ll live for a while longer."

As he spoke, Ye Tianling removed his hand and took a step into the void, flying forward.

Only then did Die Qingchen take a deep breath and wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, feeling as if he had just survived a peerless, perilous ordeal.

"Qingchen Daoist Brother, you’re... you’re way too cowardly."

A Cultivator from the Soul Race shot Die Qingchen an inscrutable glance and said via voice transmission.

"You go try it then! If you haven’t experienced the impact of that oppressive aura, you can’t possibly imagine how strong he is, how utterly despair-inducing!"

Die Qingchen glanced at the Soul Race Cultivator and retorted directly via voice transmission.

The Cultivator glanced thoughtfully at Ye Tianling’s departing back but didn’t say anything further.

Xia Xinyan, Tianqing, and their party didn’t hesitate, immediately following after him.

「...」

Deep within the ice cave, in a dark canyon.

"Tianxi, is it acting up again?"

Kong Lindao looked at Ye Tianxi’s deathly pale face, his heart aching with extreme pain, yet he was utterly helpless.

SPIT—

Ye Tianxi spat out a mouthful of blood.

At the same time, a large amount of bloody fluid began to stream from the corners of her mouth.

As the bloody fluid flowed out, it transformed into clusters of vibrant Nirvana Flame, which burned fiercely.

The Flame quickly dimmed, and where it had burned, wisps of black calamitous ash appeared.

"Her Origin Essence Blood is continuously decreasing. Is there really no cure for this Venerable Soul Curse? Little Sister Tianxi’s Life Force is getting weaker and weaker!"

Kong Daoze sighed, his voice exceptionally world-weary.

The light in Kong Daoxi’s beautiful eyes also seemed to dim.

"Brother Tianling’s Soul Mark has brightened... Perhaps he’ll have a solution."

Just as Kong Lindao was about to check the state of Ye Tianxi’s failing life, he suddenly shuddered and murmured aloud.

His voice carried a hint of joy and anticipation.

"Brother... Tianling... his Mark... it has Manifested again?"

Hearing this, Ye Tianxi’s eyes immediately brightened, and a bit more vitality returned to her.

"Mm, yes. And what’s more, his aura seems to be heading this way."

Kong Lindao closed his eyes, Sensing for a moment, and then made his judgment.

"That... That’s good. If I can just see him one more time, I can... die without regrets."

Ye Tianxi spoke with difficulty; her condition was clearly terrible.

"Tianxi, don’t say that."

Kong Lindao’s pupils contracted slightly, and a sharp pain stabbed at his heart.

"Brother Lindao, that is my wish. I know I’m not going to make it... This decline is accelerating! Even if it stabilizes, I only have half a month left to live. In this accelerated state, I might not even last five days. However, I... I have more than five very special ideas, but they need to be tested with a life.

When Brother Tianling arrives, I’ll tell him my methods and let him use my life for his experiments. That way, he—"

Ye Tianxi said with great difficulty.

However, her words were cut short.

Kong Lindao frowned and said, "Stop talking! That idea of yours is completely unrealistic. Not only would he refuse, but even if he would, I wouldn’t allow it! I will not give up until the very last moment! Tianxi, believe me! I will save you!"