57: Sacrifice yourself to save the beauty, your whole body melts

A thick, incomparably green beam of light, carrying a terrifying power that could annihilate everything, spewed out from the Flood Dragon's mouth!

Its target was Lin Gou, who was blocking Li Hanyue.

"It's coming, it's coming!"

"S-rank! This is definitely S-rank death!"

"Perfect posture! Perfect lines! Perfect timing! System, prepare the feast!"

In a flash.

The destructive green light beam solidly struck Lin Gou's body.

There was no explosion.

No loud bang.

Only a grating "hissing" sound.

Under Li Hanyue's horrified gaze, the man's body, starting from his clothes, then his skin, then his flesh and blood, and finally his bones... like a wax figure doused in concentrated sulfuric acid.

At a speed visible to the naked eye, it rapidly melted and vaporized.

He didn't even have time to let out a scream.

In less than a breath's time, a living person was completely disintegrated into the most primitive particles by that terrifying poisonous Qi, right where he stood.

Not even a drop of blood or a strand of hair was left behind.

【Ding! In the Hidden Dragon Secret Realm, to save Tianjian Sect Disciple 'Li Hanyue', you were corroded and melted to death by the Jade Phosphorous Poison Flood Dragon's Natal Divine Ability 'Jade Phosphorous Poison Qi'!】

【Death Method Assessment: Sacrificing oneself for others, dying heroically, extremely tragic death, highly commendable spirit!】

【Reward settlement in progress...】

【Congratulations to the Host for obtaining a Heaven Rank special Physique — 'Body of Invulnerability to All Poisons' (Elementary)!】

【Congratulations to the Host for obtaining Tianjian Sect faction favorability: Reverence!】

【Congratulations to the Host for unlocking the special achievement: 'Fairy Guardian'!】

In the last moment before his consciousness completely dissipated, a satisfied smile seemed to hang on Lin Gou's lips.

This wave, he profited immensely!

"Ah—!!!"

An extremely cold, clear cry, filled with endless killing intent, suddenly burst from Li Hanyue's mouth.

She looked at the spot where Lin Gou had disappeared, and in her usually calm eyes, two clusters of raging flames, capable of incinerating everything, now burned.

Within those flames, there was overwhelming anger, heart-wrenching guilt, and a violent emotion that even she herself couldn't understand.

A stranger.

A person whose name she didn't even know.

To save her, he died in front of her in the most tragic and complete way.

This impact was a thousand times more intense than any peerless sword art or supreme Dao she had ever witnessed.

It directly broke through all the dams she had built with her cold sword heart!

"Beast! I will have you die!"

Li Hanyue's voice seemed to come from the profound ice of the Nine Netherworlds.

She no longer suppressed the spreading poison within her body.

In fact, she actively used that deadly toxin as fuel to drive her Spiritual Qi!

The Azure Edge Sword in her hand let out a mournful cry that pierced the clouds and shattered rocks.

Buzz—!

A hundred-zhang-long, moon-white sword light, solid as substance, shot into the sky!

The sword light, carrying absolute resolve and icy coldness to cut down everything, fiercely and unreasonably struck the Jade Phosphorous Poison Flood Dragon, which had just unleashed its ultimate move and was in a weakened state.

The Flood Dragon felt the threat of death and tried to dodge.

But it was too late.

"Pfft!"

The sword light fell.

The giant Flood Dragon's head was severed with one strike and flew high into the air.

Foul, poisonous blood spurted into the sky like a fountain.

Its massive body crashed down, splashing hundred-zhang-high waves of filth in the muddy bog.

Li Hanyue gasped for breath, her figure staggering as she landed by the edge of the muddy bog, her long sword deeply embedded in the ground, barely supporting her tottering body.

Her face was as pale as paper, and a trace of uncontrollable black blood oozed from the corner of her mouth.

Forcibly activating the secret art caused the toxins in her body to completely erupt, and her injuries were far more severe than before.

But she paid no heed.

Her gaze was fixed, unblinkingly, on the spot where Lin Gou had just disappeared.

It was empty.

As if that man, that resolute smile, that righteous shout, were all just an illusion before her death.

She dragged her leaden legs, step by step, and walked over.

She squatted down and carefully searched the ground, which had been blackened by the corrosive poison Qi.

She hoped to find something.

Even if it was just a piece of torn cloth.

A strand of hair.

Any trace that could prove he had once existed.

For a long, long time.

Her gaze settled on an inconspicuous bluestone token half-buried in the black mud.

This token was clearly shaken off by the man at the last moment with his last bit of magical power.

It was covered in mud.

Li Hanyue reached out her slightly trembling hand, picked it up, and carefully, repeatedly wiped it clean with her own white sleeve.

The token was crudely made, and the material was the cheapest bluestone in the Cultivation World.

On the front, a crooked character was carved with a very immature knife technique.

—Gou.

Li Hanyue clenched the token tightly.

The cold touch provided an anchor for her chaotic, almost exploding emotions.

Gou?

Was it his name?

A person named "Gou" (meaning 'to muddle through' or 'to cling to life') had done the most heroic and least "Gou" thing in this world.

This huge contrast, like a sharp thorn, fiercely pierced her heart.

This fool.

This fool whose name she didn't even know... Dozens of miles away, in a hidden cave obscured by an illusion array set up by Lin Gou.

This was the first resurrection anchor point he had set up after entering the Secret Realm.

A flash of light, and Lin Gou's figure quietly coalesced.

He stretched comfortably, exercised his limbs, and felt this perfect, even stronger body than before.

On his face was an unconcealable, satisfied smile.

"Body of Invulnerability to All Poisons, Elementary."

He muttered to himself.

He could clearly feel that his entire body had a peculiar affinity for the faint poisonous miasma in the surrounding environment.

He took a deep breath.

The poisonous mist that used to sting his skin now, upon entering his lungs, not only caused no discomfort but instead made him feel completely refreshed, as if he were absorbing Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi.

Although it was only Elementary, it was already enough to immunize against most poisons below the Nascent Soul Stage.

This reward was simply amazing!

Not to mention, there was also "Tianjian Sect faction favorability: Reverence."

This meant that as long as he revealed the identity token he had "accidentally" dropped, the entire Tianjian Sect would treat him as a benefactor.

"Li Hanyue..."

In Lin Gou's mind, that cold and beautiful face appeared, along with her complex eyes at the end, filled with shock, anger, and emotion.

"Such a huge favor, in the future... I'll have to make her 'return' it to me with interest, won't I?"

A calculating arc curved on his lips, and he walked out of the cave feeling refreshed.

Alright, it's time to look for the next high-quality "Holy Land of Death."