Gui Jiu obeyed the order, and the main doors slammed shut with a heavy thud, leaving no gap. The hall plunged into darkness, save for the glow of the luminous pearls above.
The crowd sensed something amiss. Just as they turned, the sect leader’s colorless spiritual energy formed a visible, impenetrable barrier over the doors.
“What are you doing?” a middle-aged man shouted angrily.
“You barged into Wu Hui Sect, making a ruckus. What do you think I’m doing?” the sect leader replied coldly, gesturing toward Luo JinXiao with a raised eyebrow.
“So, you dare detain us? Aren’t you afraid the Celestial Clan will trouble you?” The man drew his sword, but his legs gave out, nearly collapsing.
“Using formations—how despicable!”
They had assumed Wu Hui Sect would hand over Qu WeiYin out of courtesy, never expecting the sect leader to boldly detain them in broad daylight.
“I’ve never liked your lot, claiming unity among sects to seize power, yet greedily taking advantages everywhere. I usually ignore you out of courtesy, but today, before dealing with bigger issues, I’ll start by cleaning up you lot to leave a purer environment for future generations.”
“You disgrace the righteous path, shameless!” someone cursed, but as soon as they spoke, Luo JinXiao silenced them with a wave of her hand.
Everyone gasped in shock.
“I explained everything last time. If anyone dares speak disrespectfully again, I won’t hesitate,” Luo JinXiao said sternly, standing among the crowd with Wu Jue in hand.
“Luo JinXiao, beat them up!” Yan Ying shouted, pumping her fists.
“You said you’d sacrifice Qu WeiYin?” Luo JinXiao stomped in front of the Sect Master of Life and Death Sect, kicking his knee. The wiry man fell to one knee, still cursing.
“Instead of addressing natural disasters, you blame the innocent. You’re nothing but cowards,” Luo JinXiao murmured, kicking him again, sending him crashing into the corner.
The man screamed in pain, unable to use any spiritual power due to restraints. Others, seeing this, fell silent, not daring to cause more trouble.
Even villains fear worse villains. They never imagined that the renowned Wu Hui Sect could be so unruly!
Turning back, Luo JinXiao returned to Qu WeiYin’s side. She raised her hand, and the pressure descended, overwhelming those restrained, many rolling their eyes and some vomiting blood.
“Stop, please stop! Sect Leader, we admit our mistakes!” Finally, someone could no longer endure the pain, begging for mercy, even kneeling to apologize.
The sect leader remained silent until the middle-aged man’s eyes rolled back, and he collapsed. Only then did she pat Luo JinXiao, signaling her to stop.
“Enough, JinXiao. The Celestial Clan has been stirring trouble everywhere for ages; a lesson is due,” the sect leader said.
Luo JinXiao withdrew her power, leaving the group sprawled on the steps, too afraid to make a sound.
With a soft hum, she grasped Qu WeiYin’s hand, winking playfully. “Impressive, right?”
Qu WeiYin hadn’t intervened from start to finish, yet those who offended had all admitted their wrongs. A warm feeling surged in her heart, and she nodded slowly.
“You all may leave. I’ll handle things here,” the sect leader instructed.
As she rose, a violent tremor shook the ground, and a distant explosion echoed, loud enough to reach the heavens, leaving all dizzy.
Luo JinXiao felt as though a massive stone weighed on her heart, suffocating her.
The hall doors suddenly flew open, a fierce wind rushing in, making robes billow and scalps tingle.
Screams echoed all around. Luo JinXiao hurried outside, looking up to see the sky, pale from the clouds, split open, revealing lightning hidden in the darkness.
“What’s happening?” A disciple ran out, yelling in fear while looking around.
Chaos reigned everywhere, noise overwhelming. Pulling herself from the shock, Luo JinXiao turned to find Qu WeiYin, finally grasping her hand amidst the chaos.
Holding the soft hand calmed her somewhat.
“What happened?” Qu WeiYin’s voice was serious but unpanicked.
“It must be the catastrophe Luo Ning mentioned,” Luo JinXiao replied, pushing through the crowd with Qu WeiYin. The crack in the sky had widened, and with a thunderous roar, a massive bolt of lightning descended, obliterating a distant mountain.
The scene terrified the disciples, even those from the Celestial Clan shrinking back, wide-eyed with fear.
No one had ever witnessed the world on the brink of destruction.
Another bolt struck, this time aimed directly at Wu Hui Sect. Amidst the earth’s violent shuddering, the protective barrier that had shielded the sect for centuries shattered. Luo JinXiao and Qu WeiYin instinctively dashed out of the hall, their combined hands forming a barrier to withstand the lightning.
Nearby, the sect leader rose skyward on her sword, her silver hair whipped by the wind, her white robes billowing, visibly strained.
There was no other way but to endure the lightning.
Watching the ground split with chasms and a fierce light heading toward Wu Zhong City, the thriving town vanished in an instant.
Cries of despair erupted below, someone sobbing. Luo JinXiao’s mind felt like it was about to explode.
She looked up at the menacing crack, like a mocking mouth hanging arrogantly.
“Sister!” Luo Ning’s voice called from behind. Luo JinXiao instinctively spread her arms, forming a new barrier from her palms. The air solidified into a thin, strong membrane, enveloping the entire Wu Hui Sect.
No one inside could leave, and the lightning outside couldn’t penetrate.
“Luo JinXiao, what are you doing? Come back!” Lu FanZhi cried from the sect’s entrance, unable to breach the barrier Luo JinXiao had erected.
Lightning continued to rampage, the visible land ravaged.
In the distance, flickers of various lights suggested other cultivators using their spiritual power to shield the people from the lightning, glowing intermittently.
“Go back!” Luo JinXiao shouted into the wind at Qu WeiYin.
Qu WeiYin ignored her, the wind tearing at her red robes. She shrugged off her outer garment, letting it fly away like a great bird, revealing her bound sleeves as she stood firmly in the wind.
“Whatever you do, I’m with you,” Qu WeiYin declared resolutely, gazing up at the sky, lightning reflecting in her beautiful eyes.
“No,” Luo JinXiao grasped her wrist, “Go back, listen to me this once.”
“Luo JinXiao,” Qu WeiYin suddenly raised her voice, pulling away, her phoenix eyes darkened, “I’ve never feared death, only living alone.”
“I’m only afraid of not having you!”
Her words, restrained yet powerful, left Luo JinXiao stunned. In a flash, Qu WeiYin surged into the sky, toward the immense crack.
The Crescent Moon Star Sword appeared in her hand, gleaming golden, rivaling the lightning, slicing through the air with a crackling sound, meeting a bolt head-on.
Light burst forth, and Qu WeiYin’s hand trembled, nearly losing her grip on the sword.
She didn’t retreat, continuing upward, charging toward the heavens. Rain poured down, drenching her completely, her graceful figure appearing small against the vast sky.
Luo JinXiao closed her eyes tightly, her heart burning like a red-hot coal.
Qu WeiYin had been hurt before in front of her, when she was powerless. That pain still lingered. Now, she wanted to be selfish, to protect the one she loved.
Taking a deep breath, she rose suddenly, divine power filling her, her green robe turning to ashes, transforming into a stream of light, her black hair flying.
Seeing another lightning bolt about to strike, just inches from Qu WeiYin, she grabbed her arm, pulling her behind, Wu Jue meeting the searing fire, resulting in a clash of ice and fire, smoke billowing.
Qu WeiYin gasped softly, frowning as she began to speak, but Luo JinXiao silenced her with a kiss.
Amidst the chaotic world, the kiss was both brief and eternal.
Luo JinXiao’s kiss was cold, drenched in rain.
Then, divine power enveloped Qu WeiYin, forcing her downward. For the first time, the unflappable Qu WeiYin was truly panicked, struggling desperately within Luo JinXiao’s barrier, calling her name.
But her voice was muffled, not entirely clear.
A long-forgotten feeling filled her chest as Luo JinXiao looked up at the crack, meeting the abyss, hearing voices echoing around her, scattered divine power slowly coalescing.
“What’s that? Look!” someone shouted from the ground, pointing at a dazzling white light on the horizon.
With the earth’s tremors, a massive island suddenly rose from below, slowly spinning.
In the sky, Luo JinXiao had regained her divine form, raising Wu Jue, her robes unmoving in the wind, black hair trailing to her ankles, barefoot on the clouds, light enveloping her.
“That’s, that’s…”
“That’s a deity!”
“Sister Luo is a deity!”
“A god, a god! We’re saved!” People shouted excitedly, crowding at the barrier’s edge, while Luo Ning buried her face in Yan Ying’s embrace, crying endlessly.
The Celestial Clan was stunned, watching everything unfold, involuntarily kneeling, trembling.
They had crossed paths with a deity.
“Divine protection, divine protection…”
Amidst the cries and cheers, a white figure silently ascended into the sky, unnoticed.
The long-dormant, crumbling God’s Tomb rekindled its brilliance, like a radiant sun, soaring above the clouds. The island’s light pierced the clouds, illuminating the earth, starkly contrasting the menacing crack with the purity of the divine realm.
Luo JinXiao stood above the clouds, facing the crack, lightning striking her without effect, all absorbed by the light around her, turning into tranquility.
“Powerful people are always lonely.”
“You have this power; it must be used.”
She glanced back quietly, seeing the earth’s devastation, yet still breathtakingly beautiful—the southern Exiled Sea, northern glaciers, lush lands, and flocks of birds soaring.
She didn’t intend to protect the filth, only to ensure her loved one lived a long life, that the mountains, rivers, and seas cycled through eternity.
A red-clad figure seemed to appear in her vision, but as she blinked, it turned into an illusion. Luo JinXiao smiled bitterly, turning back, unleashing all her strength, drawing in the drifting divine power.
Ancient gods had sacrificed themselves here to defy the heavens.
Under immense power, the crack slowly closed, lightning striking wildly, falling on Luo JinXiao’s head and face.
She remained unmoved, the surroundings falling silent as the crack gradually sealed, the sky clearing, though Luo JinXiao had expended all her energy.
She seemed to hear someone calling her name, but it felt like an illusion. Suddenly, Luo JinXiao roared in fury, burning with anger, charging into the crack.
In the sky, various spiritual energies rose, small and vast, filling the crack, golden light particularly striking.
“Luo JinXiao!” She heard Qu WeiYin’s cries, and felt another hand grasping her from the darkness.
A gentle voice said to her, “You can’t die. Someone’s waiting for you.”
“Sect Leader…” She reached back, but only grasped air.
“I miss Zhao Zhao,” the voice said with a smile, “She hasn’t returned for so long, she must be waiting for me to find her.”
…
Qu WeiYin had already broken free from the barrier, flying to the crack, only to catch a torn piece of fabric, the sky above empty.
The taste of blood rose in her throat; she nearly coughed it out, her voice caught, unable to make a sound.
Her red robe fluttered alone in the sky.
On the ground, people saw the sky clear, realizing they had escaped death, half filled with excitement, half with fear, some almost fainting.
Something seemed to stir in the air, ready to erupt, yet tightly contained.
“Luo JinXiao…” Qu WeiYin finally spoke, murmuring, clutching the torn cloth.
As if responding to her, the air before her rippled, as if something was struggling. Qu WeiYin glared forward, about to call out again when someone fell through.
The world’s last deity, clad in charred, tattered clothing, fell straight into her arms.
“You’re burning me up,” Luo JinXiao muttered, rolling her eyes, hugging Qu WeiYin’s waist, burying her head in her chest.
Qu WeiYin hadn’t even processed it, her body sinking slightly from the impact, instinctively holding on.
“JinXiao?” She couldn’t believe her eyes, reaching to touch Luo JinXiao’s soot-covered face, wiping away the ash to reveal her fair skin.
Tears burst forth, falling onto Luo JinXiao’s face, leaving black streaks.
“You scared me to death,” Qu WeiYin scolded, shaking her head. Having lost and regained, she refused to let go, holding Luo JinXiao as they descended.
A deafening roar rose from the ground, as if gathering cries from all over, countless people like ants kneeling.
“Divine protection, divine protection…”
“Little Martial Aunt…” The woman in her arms looked up, smiling with bright white teeth against her soot-covered face. “I kept my promise, finally protecting you once.”
“Now, no one will fear or bully you again.”
Tears were blown away by the wind, Qu WeiYin laughed and cried, breathless, “Good.”
The red robe wrapped them as they descended, sunlight breaking through, the sky clear and blue, the sun drying the storm’s mud, peace following the chaos of war.
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