24: Chapter 24 You Won This Struggle

"What do you mean?"

Before Fairy Meng could even digest his words, Zhang Laoliu had already died peacefully in the hands of his Divine Statue Manifestation.

"So it turns out he was just another simp who ran out of lifespan and still wanted to make a confession!"

Hidden in the shadows, Kang Dalei pursed his lips with a look of melancholy.

Fairy Meng, who had summoned her Divine Statue Manifestation and was standing in mid-air, looked at the figure in her hands with a complicated expression and sighed helplessly.

"Why did you have to do this?"

Gently setting down Zhang Laoliu's body, Fairy Meng glanced toward the spot where Kang Dalei was hiding and frowned, but seemingly finding nothing, she withdrew her Divine Statue Manifestation and returned to where she had been watching the battle.

On the other side, the group of people at the restaurant began cursing loudly after seeing that Kang Dalei had disappeared.

"What a loser, swindling us out of our Demon Cores."

"The world is going downhill, morals are decaying; to think someone would actually commit fraud in broad daylight."

"Kid, don't let me catch you, or I'll skin you alive."

Kang Dalei naturally didn't know about the crowd's cursing, and even if he did, he wouldn't care.

As long as the Demon Cores were in his hands, he didn't care about anything else.

"The trip to Dongning Prefecture was quite successful, but now, where should I go to find Leng Yanshuang?"

Kang Dalei thought to himself, feeling a bit listless as he walked down the streets of Dongning Prefecture.

"System, recycle the Demon Cores for me."

[Ding-dong, recycling Demon Cores...]

[Ding-dong, high-grade Demon Core recycled, obtained 6 points.]

[Ding-dong, high-grade Demon Core recycled, obtained 6 points.]

[Ding-dong, high-grade Demon Core recycled, obtained 5 points.]

[Ding-dong, would the Host like to upgrade the divine blood pool?]

"Do not upgrade."

No sooner had Kang Dalei said this than he immediately changed his mind, because this damn system was pulling this trick again.

[Ding-dong, don't force me to slap you.]

[Ding-dong, congratulations to the Host for successfully spending 1000 points to upgrade the divine blood pool. The divine blood pool can now accommodate two people for marrow cleansing and meridian cutting to forge a God Venerable Body.]

"Alright, it's empty again. Are you satisfied now?"

Kang Dalei spat internally.

This bastard system would make him cough up every last point the moment it realized he had any, never leaving him any savings.

"But now is not the time for this; the priority is to find Leng Yanshuang first."

Putting his thoughts aside, Kang Dalei prepared to make another trip to Yuyang Palace to see where exactly Leng Yanshuang was.

Meanwhile, outside Dongning Prefecture, Leng Yanshuang and Palace Master Li Huainan were fighting with genuine ferocity.

At the beginning, Palace Master Li Huainan had indeed intended to yield, but as the fight went on, he grew more alarmed and fearful.

Leng Yanshuang's strength was actually not weaker than an Undying Realm Divine Venerable.

"Girl Leng, I truly underestimated you before, but if you think you can take down my Dongning Prefecture with just a Danyun Realm cultivation, then you are underestimating us far too much."

Divine Statue Manifestation, God Venerable Body.

"Majestic divine spirit, obey my decree, Dharma King Mingyu, assist me!"

A massive, azure-green divine statue crawled out from the earth.

"God Venerable Body." Leng Yanshuang's eyes narrowed slightly; it seemed Palace Master Li Huainan was going to get serious.

However, since the fight had reached this point, there was no reason for her to back down. Thus, the moment Palace Master Li Huainan's God Venerable Body appeared, Leng Yanshuang's Ice Dragon already coiled around his God Venerable Body.

But a Great Sun Realm Divine Venerable was, after all, a Great Sun Realm Divine Venerable. Even with her high talent and the divine blood pool rewarded by the system to forge her God Venerable Body, she was still struggling against an opponent two major realms higher.

The moment her Ice Dragon touched Palace Master Li Huainan's God Venerable Body, it shattered into a pile of ice shards.

It could be said that before Palace Master Li Huainan summoned his God Venerable Body, Leng Yanshuang had a thirty-seventy chance, but after he summoned it, she had no chance at all.

"Leng Yanshuang, today I will let you taste the price of offending my Dongning Prefecture."

"Divine Venerable Slash."

A terrifying, world-destroying power slowly slashed out from the long blade in Palace Master Li Huainan's hands. There were no flashy martial arts techniques, just a seemingly plain and unremarkable slash.

Yet, this very slash made sweat appear on Leng Yanshuang's forehead and left the watching Fairy Meng and Commander Yun Wanhai deeply alarmed.

"Is this truly the power of a Great Sun Realm Divine Venerable?"

Facing this charged strike from Palace Master Li Huainan, large beads of sweat seeped from Leng Yanshuang's forehead, and even her light blue scholar's battle armor was soaked through with cold sweat.

This was also the first time she had truly felt the power of a Great Sun Realm Divine Venerable. It was strong—so strong that she couldn't bring herself to resist, and so strong that it nearly shattered her Dao heart.

However, as the Commander of Xining Prefecture in charge of all major affairs, Leng Yanshuang's mental fortitude and perseverance were not comparable to ordinary geniuses.

The moment Palace Master Li Huainan swung his great blade, endless blue light lit up around her.

"Burning lifespan."

Everyone was shocked.

Leng Yanshuang, however, gave a cold smile. "You tied up my husband, yet you still dare to speak so brazenly! Palace Master Li Huainan, today I swear I will fight you to the death."

Burning lifespan could increase the user's strength by one major realm for a short time, but the cost was something most people couldn't bear. After all, they cultivated to become Divine Venerables for the sake of longevity and to be revered; in reality, no one was truly that noble.

For everyone, lifespan was undoubtedly as precious as their own heart's blood.

Especially for Commander Yun Wanhai and Fairy Meng, who were already at the stage of being at death's door, no one understood the importance of lifespan better than them.

"Leng Yanshuang, do you really have to do this?"

Palace Master Li Huainan's voice was cold, his tone mixed with many unclear emotions.

In truth, by this point, he was already having thoughts of retreating.

If the fight continued, he would certainly be able to steadily defeat Leng Yanshuang, a Danyun Realm cultivator who had just entered the Divine Venerable stage, but the outcome would definitely not be what he wanted.

Leng Yanshuang didn't care about any of that now. Kang Dalei was her reverse scale—a reverse scale no one could touch. Now that Palace Master Li Huainan dared to kidnap Kang Dalei right in front of her, it was a direct provocation, implying that even though she, Leng Yanshuang, had stepped into the Divine Venerable stage, she still couldn't protect her own husband.

"Palace Master Li Huainan, stop the nonsense! Hand over Kang Dalei. Otherwise, even if I can't defeat you today, I can certainly make you, a Great Sun Realm Divine Venerable, lose half of your lifespan."

With two Ice Dragons circling at her side and her God Venerable Body standing behind her, Leng Yanshuang's eyes were bloodshot, completely devoid of her previous icy beauty demeanor.

Her blood-red eyes, disheveled hair, blood-stained blue armor, and her enviable jade-like feet all radiated the fury she felt at that moment.

Palace Master Li Huainan flinched; he was truly a bit afraid.

If they really did as Leng Yanshuang said and fought until both were severely injured, it would undoubtedly benefit the Demon race in the end.

Yet, his Dongning Prefecture happened to be a severely affected area of the Demon invasion, with the Heavenly Demon Sect eyeing them covetously from the side, and the Bai family plotting mischief from within.

Silence, an incomparable silence.

After this sharp shout, Palace Master Li Huainan fell into a silence that lasted several minutes, and Fairy Meng and Commander Yun Wanhai nearby also became tense.

How could the two of them not know the current situation of Dongning Prefecture?

If Palace Master Li Huainan really fought Leng Yanshuang until both were severely injured, their Dongning Prefecture would truly be in danger.

In the end, all the silence turned into a sigh. Palace Master Li Huainan withdrew his God Venerable Body and sighed heavily; he chose to compromise after all.

For a Great Sun Realm Divine Venerable to be forced to compromise and concede by a Danyun Realm Divine Venerable was a major piece of news that would surely shock the Cangyuan World.

"Miss Leng, you have won this fight. I will help you find your attendant, Kang Dalei. As for the matter of the East-West alliance, I will give you an answer later."