950: I'm sorry, Zhang...

The giant claws tore through the smoke and dust, but only caught a patch of gradually dissipating golden specks of light.

The spot was already empty!

In the final moment, Dragon Xuanyuan had actually used the power of the imperial seal of china to forcibly take the suppressed Blood Consort and Ding Lingxuan, teleporting away to parts unknown!

Only the dense spatial fluctuations remaining in the air and the massive palm-print crater bore witness to the Soul-stirring collision that had just occurred.

The smoke and dust slowly dispersed.

The battlefield suddenly fell into an eerie silence.

High in the Void Realm, the terrifying aftershocks of the battle between Li Wuji and the Lord of Chaos continued.

But below, all eyes were focused on the massive, mutated figure standing dazed at the edge of the crater—his body covered in scars, his aura fluctuating as he slowly faded from his berserk state—and the white-clad young woman sitting on the ground nearby, her face covered in tears.

Bai Yuan and Baili Ziyuan hovered in mid-air, looking at Hu Lai with complex expressions, not daring to strike again.

Elder Antu and Jian Changsheng quickly rushed to Leng Qingying's side, guarding her vigilantly while looking at the stone statue that Elder Wang Er had become, their expressions solemn with grief and indignation.

Hu Lai's massive body trembled slightly as his mutated features began to recede slowly and unstablely; scales vanished, fur retracted, and his size gradually shrank... He seemed to be doing his utmost to suppress that wild bestiality, his blood-red eyes struggling with difficulty to look toward Leng Qingying.

Guttural, indistinct sounds—a mix of pain and endless exhaustion—came from his throat.

"Qing... ying..."

He took a step forward, his massive mutated foot landing on the ground with a dull thud, causing the earth to vibrate slightly.

However, after this step, the terrifying aura he had forcibly raised—approaching the Third-tier Peak—receded rapidly like an ebbing tide. The intense pain of the backlash caused him to let out a muffled growl, his massive body swaying as he nearly collapsed to his knees.

Clearly, the power from the forced Fusion with the beast Soul was vanishing, and the price was beginning to manifest.

Leng Qingying watched her father's painful, weakened state as he gradually returned to human form, yet still bore horrific traces.

As she saw the undisguisable pain, guilt, and deep-seated paternal love in his eyes when he looked at her, her heart felt as if it were being torn apart.

She broke free from Elder Antu's hand and stumbled desperately toward Hu Lai.

"Father—!"

The young woman's cry, filled with sorrow, seemed to pierce the Soul and echoed for a long time over the devastated battlefield.

Hu Lai widened his eyes as he watched his daughter running toward him. His once hideous and terrifying face now struggled to squeeze out a reassuring smile.

However, due to the physical pain and the remnants of the mutation, the smile appeared incredibly distorted and strange, evoking pity in anyone who saw it.

Hu Lai slowly and with great difficulty raised a hand, which was gradually turning back into human form, though it was still covered in various scars and dried blood.

His movements were exceptionally slow, as if every tiny motion required his entire strength.

At some point, a fine drizzle began to fall from the sky, the thin threads of rain descending like a light veil, gently washing away the blood and dust on the battlefield.

However, this drizzle could not wash away the sadness and complex emotions permeating the air; they intertwined like a heavy haze, shrouding this land that had once seen such fierce combat.

Hu Lai coughed a few times, his voice raspy: "Cough, cough—I really am in a sorry state—"

His words revealed a sense of helplessness and self-deprecation.

After speaking, he slowly raised his hand and placed it on top of Elder Wang Er's head, as if wanting to give him one last bit of warmth and comfort.

Just then, something unexpected happened.

Suddenly, the phantom of a strange fish appeared behind Hu Lai.

The body of this strange fish was nearly transparent, consisting only of black and white. Its massive mouth took up almost half of its body, looking exceptionally hideous and terrifying.

Seeing this, Jian Changsheng's pupils constricted sharply. He seemed to want to say something, but before he could speak, Hu Lai interrupted him.

"Changsheng, this is the last... cough, cough... thing I can do..."

Before he finished speaking, a strange ghostly light flickered around the phantom fish, as if driven by a mysterious power, and it suddenly opened its bloody maw.

That mouth opened so wide it seemed capable of swallowing the whole world, and in one bite, it fiercely devoured Elder Wang Er's petrified statue!

Immediately afterward, debris began to fall rapidly from the previously still statue.

At first, it was just a few scattered pieces, like occasional shooting stars in the night sky, but then the speed of the falling debris increased, becoming more and more frequent until it was like a small rain of stones.

Before long, Elder Wang Er could be seen struggling violently within the statue.

He gasped for air in large gulps, each breath heavy and labored, as if he had used up all his strength to finally break free.

Meanwhile, Hu Lai's aura grew increasingly feeble.

His body trembled slightly, and his face was as pale as paper, devoid of color, as if he might dissipate at any moment.

His eyes gradually dimmed, as if the light of life was being extinguished bit by bit.

"Father—"

Leng Qingying suddenly cried out in a low voice, her tone filled with worry.

For she saw that her father's legs had begun to glow with an earthy yellow luster—a sign of petrification.

Furthermore, the speed of this petrification was extremely fast, spreading visibly like a surging tide; it was estimated that it would cover his entire body in less than fifteen minutes.

"Cult Leader!"

Jian Changsheng and the others seemed to realize something. The five of them looked tense and immediately sat cross-legged.

Their hands quickly formed seals, continuously channeling the spiritual power from within their bodies into Hu Lai, hoping to alleviate this terrible condition.

Their foreheads were covered in beads of sweat, each one reflecting their effort and anxiety, but Hu Lai's current state was too poor.

Having used a forbidden technique, he was like an oil lamp about to burn out, long since exhausted.

He had also used his methods to transfer the power of petrification from Elder Wang Er's body, which was undoubtedly adding insult to injury.

Coupled with his desire for death, he seemed to have given up all resistance.

All the spiritual power entering his body was like a stone sinking into the ocean, failing to cause even the slightest ripple, instantly swallowed by the endless darkness.

"Cough, cough—"

Hu Lai didn't care about the changes in his body; he only looked at his daughter with a gaze full of kindness and guilt.

In his eyes, there was both deep love for his daughter and an unspeakable guilt.

His lips trembled slightly as he tried to say something, but he was interrupted by a fit of violent coughing.

"Qingying, I'm sorry. I... I wasn't able to... save your mother..."