293: These flowers, don't they resemble our future?

Liu Lanyan's Nine Yang Departing Fire Phoenix Physique had completely awakened, her Bloodline purity breaking through ten percent, and three hundred sixty thousand pores all over her body gushed forth divine flames!

Even more terrifying was that—

A crimson-gold mark slowly appeared between her brows, which was the Awakening mark of her previous life's Empress's true Divine Soul!

Now, due to the great calamity of the Taixu Sect, and the Traction of Karma, she finally awakened!

"Liu... Senior Sister Liu?!"

The surviving Disciple whispered, trembling, unable to believe it.

The Saintess, who was usually gentle as water, possessed such terrifying power!

Zhao Zheng stared at her, a flicker of apprehension appearing in his eyes for the first time.

"So that's it... No wonder Ling Tian wanted to seize your Phoenix Physique; not only is your Bloodline pure, but you've also awakened your previous life's true Divine Soul! Unfortunately, you awakened too late."

"Even if you have the Empress's Soul, you are only just Awakening now; your Divine Soul is unstable, and your Physical Body is not yet integrated. I only need thirty percent of my strength to kill you!"

Just at this moment—

Ling Tian's eyes suddenly narrowed!

He stared intently at Liu Lanyan, as if thousands of thunderclaps were exploding in his Sea of Consciousness!

Countless sealed memories surged in like a tide—

He saw himself in his youth, rescuing a wounded girl from a war-torn ruin.

She was covered in blood, yet her eyes were like stars, stubbornly refusing to bow her head.

He blocked the pursuers for her, cut down the enemy's leader with a single sword, and led her away from that Hell.

He saw them Cultivating side by side; she danced with her sword under the moon, and he guarded her from the side;

They wandered in the wilderness, sharing a pot of turbid wine;

They discussed the Dao at the Peak of a snowy mountain, and comprehended the mysteries of the Heavenly Dao deep in a secluded valley... Finally, because of their different ideals and aspirations, Ling Tian wanted to Cultivate Immortality and slay gods; Liu Lanyan wanted revenge and to restore her nation.

The two parted ways.

There were also some strange tender scenes—

Liu Lanyan leaned on Ling Tian's shoulder, watching a meteor shower;

He put his outer robe on her, shielding her from the cold wind;

She smiled and handed him a wild flower, saying, "Doesn't this flower resemble our future?"

No!!

Ling Tian suddenly clutched his head, roaring out loud!

"These... are all fake!"

"They are Heart Demons! They are obsessions! They are stumbling blocks preventing me from Cultivating Immortality and slaying gods!!"

His eyes were bloodshot, and he forcibly cut off his emotional ties. The power of the Four Symbols surged wildly within him, attempting to burn those memories to ashes!

"I, Ling Tian, have long since severed all emotions and desires, solely to pursue the supreme Dao!"

"Coming here today is to completely sever my ties with Liu Lanyan—not only to kill her, but also to seize her Phoenix True Physique, refine her Divine Soul, and help me step into the Soul Transformation realm!!"

Ling Tian looked up, staring intently at Liu Lanyan, his voice as cold as frost:

"Liu Lanyan, you and I are already strangers. Today, I will personally send you—to Hell!"

Ling Tian turned to Zhao Zheng and said coldly:

"Zhao Zheng, leave Liu Lanyan's matter to me! You go and activate the taixu stele to release the Nascent Soul Ancestor! That is your goal, and the key to your advancement!"

Zhao Zheng narrowed his eyes, his gaze profound.

He had lived for five hundred years and met countless people, so he naturally saw the entanglement of Karma between Ling Tian and Liu Lanyan.

That was not a simple enmity, but a destined entanglement spanning a hundred lifetimes!

He nodded coldly and said in a deep voice:

"Good. This woman is yours."

"I will go and meet the true Nascent Soul Ancestor—to see if this Taixu Sect can withstand my nine tripods Devouring Heaven technique!"

Before he finished speaking, he grabbed the severely wounded and dying Xiao Qingxu, lifting him like an ant, and shot into the sky, heading straight for the Taixu ancestral master stele at the highest point of the main Peak!

His five fingers were like hooks, gripping Xiao Qingxu's Heavenly Spirit, and he shouted coldly:

"For me—open the Stele! Summon the Ancestor!!"

A domineering Soul Power was forcibly poured into Xiao Qingxu's Sea of Consciousness, forcing him to activate the ancestral master stele's Seal with the Sect Head's secret method!

The Taixu Sect's last line of defense was about to be forcibly torn open... On the other side.

Liu Lanyan also looked at Ling Tian with burning eyes; clearly, Liu Lanyan also recalled some unwanted scenes.

Ling Tian's god slaying sword pointed at Liu Lanyan: "You and I, in this life and the previous, today is the time to make a clean break."

Liu Lanyan said coldly: "Heh, you want to kill me??"

Ling Tian: "If I don't kill you, my Heart Demon will be hard to remove! The word 'love' is a great taboo in Cultivating Immortality! The path I, Ling Tian, want to walk is the path of slaying gods, the path of shattering the Heavenly Dao, and it tolerates no weakness!"

"Hahaha!!"

Liu Lanyan suddenly looked up to the sky and laughed loudly, her laughter like a Phoenix's cry piercing the clouds, making heaven and earth resonate!

"You can't even overcome a mere Heart Demon, and you still want to slay gods? Stop making excuses, Ling Tian!"

"Whether in your previous life or this one, you are a coward! You constantly talk about breaking the Heavenly Dao, but what you truly enjoy is slaughter! It is destruction! It is the thrill of climbing over the bones of others!"

She pointed at the corpses of the Taixu Sect Disciples scattered on the ground, her voice mournful:

"How many people have you killed? How many souls have you taken? How many Geniuses' Dao foundations have you refined? You are not resisting the Heavenly Dao; you are becoming another, more cruel 'Heaven'!"

"Shut up!!"

Ling Tian roared in anger, his eyes bloodshot, and the power of the Four Symbols within him violently surged!

"If I don't kill them, the Heavenly Dao will also destroy the world! You know that every civilization, when it reaches its Peak, will be personally wiped out by the Heavenly Dao, and Reincarnation will restart!"

"No destruction, no construction! Only by slaying gods can one transcend!"

"When I kill the Heavenly Dao, the whole world will naturally know—my greatness!!"

Before he finished speaking—

He struck with his sword!

The Azure Dragon coiled around the sword, the White Tiger attached its malevolence, the Black Tortoise protected his Physical Body; the three great Physique manifestations appeared simultaneously, and Sword Qi roared like a black Dragon, directly aiming for Liu Lanyan's throat!

Liu Lanyan spread her wings, and a fiery Phoenix phantom appeared behind her, as Southern Bright Departing Fire swept out!

The two forces collided with a thunderous roar, erupting into a world-destroying shockwave!

But very quickly—

Liu Lanyan fell into a disadvantage!

Ling Tian's Cultivation was, after all, profound, and his combat experience was from countless slaughters; every move carried a fatal killing intent!

Although she had the Phoenix True Physique, she had only recently awakened; her Divine Soul was unstable, and her Physical Body was not yet integrated, so there was still a delay in her movements!

"Pfft—!"

She was cut across the shoulder by a sword, and the spilled blood turned into flames as it fell to the ground, burning deep pits!

"I cannot die..."

She bit her lip and whispered, a look of determination flashing in her eyes:

"I cannot die yet! I want to Ascend to the Spirit Realm... I want to save Lu Chen..."

That name, like a bolt of lightning, split open her Sea of Consciousness!

Lu Chen—the young man she had watched grow up since childhood, the child she had nurtured for over ten years, the only person she was willing to give everything for!

She must find a way to revive Lu Chen!!

Within Liu Lanyan's body, a strange power quietly awakened!

It turned out that for more than ten years, she had lived with Lu Chen day and night, subtly influenced by his Cultivation process, and had even unintentionally absorbed the "Heavenly Dao Qi rhyme" that emanated from his body!

Even more terrifying was that—

She had long since deeply imprinted Lu Chen's Cultivation Technique, breathing rhythm, and Spiritual Qi circulation routes into her Divine Soul!

At this moment, at the brink of life and death, all these memories erupted!

Her Dantian vibrated violently, her Golden Core spun madly, and she instantly Broke through her shackles—

Boom!!

A Spiritual Pressure far exceeding that of a Golden Core erupted!

Liu Lanyan's aura rapidly ascended, from Golden Core Peak, she stepped into Half-step Nascent Soul in one go!

If this Small World had not been suppressed by the Spirit Realm's Seal, with its thin Spiritual Qi and incomplete Laws, she would probably have directly Broken through to Nascent Soul, or even reached the Late Stage of Nascent Soul!

"What?!"

Ling Tian's pupils contracted sharply, unable to believe it!

"You... you can actually Breakthrough Golden Core under the Spirit Realm's blockade?? How is this possible!"