460: Drinking together in the mortal world

They knew that their lives were coming to an end, but their ideals and their persistence would remain forever in this chaotic world.

"Liu Yan, you Devil Head, don't even think about... acting recklessly..." Kong Mingyuan said slowly, using his last bit of strength.

"Even if my Divine Soul flies away and scatters... I must make you die first!" Li Wangji felt hot blood bubbling up his throat, but he forcibly swallowed it back. His gaze was sharper than a blade, filled with a resolute determination that carried the Daoist protection for the world and all living beings. "How can you be allowed to recklessly invert the clarity and turbidity of this chaotic world!"

Before his voice even faded, the two of them simultaneously chose to tear apart their own Divine Souls!

A faint golden shimmer first rose around Kong Mingyuan, then suddenly surged, transforming into a sky full of brilliant golden flames. This was the Hao Ran Righteous Qi inherited by the Confucian school for two hundred years; every strand of flame was engraved with runes of "Benevolence, Righteousness, Propriety, Wisdom, and Faith," converging into a galloping golden galaxy;

Li Wangji's body bloomed with clear white light, like poured moonlight. This was the Origin spiritual power of the Daoist school that conforms to the heavens and earth, transforming into lingering white clouds, within which appeared Dao patterns of "Dao follows nature."

The golden flame galaxy and the white cloud waves collided with a boom. There was no earth-shattering sound of impact; instead, a solemn humming that resonated with heaven and earth emerged.

Two completely different yet equally great powers abandoned all barriers at this moment, perfectly merging—the golden Hao Ran Righteous Qi as the bone, the white Daoist spiritual power as the veins, weaving together into a giant blade of light that spanned the heavens and earth.

Upon the blade of light, Confucian and Daoist runes flickered alternately, flowing with their lifelong beliefs, compassion for all living beings, and the resolution to sacrifice their lives for righteousness. This was the Peak combination of the Confucian and Daoist schools, the final swan song written by two Grandmasters with their lives!

"Hmph, struggling in vain!" Seeing this, Liu Yan was not panicked. "Merely two wastes at the Nascent Soul Early Stage; what can you do even if you burn your Divine Souls?"

Black Evil Qi surged crazily around his body, releasing the full pressure of the Deity Transformation Realm. His right hand gripped suddenly, condensing a black lotus-shaped palm print that covered half the sky. On the palm print were filled with eerie world-ending runes; this was the Soul Transformation-level ultimate move he had exchanged for by sacrificing his Physical Body—the Black Lotus World Annihilation Palm!

"Shatter for me!" Liu Yan roared angrily. The Black Lotus World Annihilation Palm, carrying the power to destroy the world, struck fiercely toward the light blade formed by the combination of Confucian and Daoist powers.

In his eyes, this palm was enough to grind their remaining souls and that ridiculous light blade into fly ash.

However, the next moment, Liu Yan's smile froze.

The light blade of the combined Confucian and Daoist powers looked soft, but it contained the power to penetrate all darkness. It actually ignored the corrosive Evil Qi of the Black Lotus World Annihilation Palm, and like a hot knife through butter, it went straight through the giant black palm print!

The world-ending runes on the palm print, under the illumination of the light blade, quickly dimmed and shattered like melting ice and snow.

"No! Impossible!" Liu Yan's face changed drastically. He wanted to pull back and dodge, but the Soul Transformation power he had exchanged for by sacrificing his Physical Body had already exhausted his Foundation, and his movements were delayed by half a beat.

That light blade, condensed with Confucian and Daoist beliefs and the fire of life, had already struck him fiercely with irresistible momentum!

"Boom—!"

A deafening roar resounded through the heavens and earth. The mountain walls of the Xiaohong Sect trembled, and countless rocks rolled down.

Liu Yan let out a shrill scream that did not sound human. He spat out a large mouthful of black vital blood, which dissipated into black smoke the moment it hit the ground.

His body flew backward like a kite with a broken string. The black Evil Qi on his body instantly dissipated for the most part under the impact of the light blade. The deep wound on his chest, which had been deep enough to reach the bone, was torn open again, almost cutting him in half. The "crack" of breaking bones was clearly audible.

He fell heavily to the ground, kicking up dust everywhere. His aura instantly became dying, and his eyes were filled with unbelievable shock and fear.

He could never have imagined that the Soul Transformation-level power he had exchanged for by sacrificing everything could not stop the final strike of two Nascent Soul Early Stage Cultivators who had burned their lives!

This strike not only severely damaged his remaining body but also shook his Divine Soul violently. If it weren't for the Black Lotus World-Ending Art in his body automatically protecting its master, he would have already had his Divine Soul destroyed and his body and Dao extinguished by now!

At the critical moment, the Black Lotus World-Ending Art in Liu Yan's body operated automatically. A small black lotus flew out from his body, wrapping around his last trace of Divine Soul.

As for his Physical Body and most of his Divine Soul, they were completely annihilated in this strike.

The small black lotus, carrying his trace of remaining soul, turned into a black stream of light and fled rapidly into the distance.

This trace of remaining soul was severely damaged; without decades of cultivation, it could not recover, let alone do evil again.

The light blade dissipated, and heaven and earth returned to silence.

The figures of Kong Mingyuan and Li Wangji slowly toppled over, like autumn leaves falling to the ground, silently.

Their faces were calm, and the corners of their mouths even held a hint of relief, as if they hadn't fallen, but had just fallen into a dream out of extreme fatigue, closing their eyes peacefully after a fierce battle.

A moment later, the two bodies began to glow—Kong Mingyuan turned into dots of golden stardust, gentle as the first light of dawn;

Li Wangji scattered into strands of pure white light, clear and cold like falling moonlight.

Gold and white intertwined and rose, like ascending to immortality, or perhaps like the soul returning to the Great Void, slowly merging into the vast firmament, leaving no trace behind.

Perhaps in some parallel space-time, they would meet again—

Either as rivals or as soulmates,

Either discussing the Dao on the cloud Peak, or drinking together in the Mortal World.

Inside the Xiaohong Sect, only Shu Xiaohong remained, collapsed on the ground, along with the corpses and blood covering the floor.

Shu Xiaohong's hollow eyes fell on the light spots where Kong Mingyuan and Li Wangji had ascended. Tears fell again. This time, within the tears, besides pain and despair, there was also a bit of admiration and gratitude.

She knew that these two leaders of their respective schools had sacrificed their lives to stop Liu Yan's slaughter and to protect the righteousness of the world.

She moved her body with difficulty, came to the corpses of Kong Mingyuan and Li Wangji, and used her last bit of strength to lean their bodies together.

Looking at their relieved smiles, she whispered softly: "Mr. Kong, Mr. Li, thank you both... Your righteousness, your persistence, I, Shu Xiaohong, will keep them in my heart. From now on, any Confucian Disciple or Daoist Cultivator, my Xiaohong Sect will treat with respect. Even if they come into conflict with my Xiaohong Sect, we will show mercy and never harm them. May heaven and earth witness this oath."

...

"Waste!" In the Divine Realm, Dawn Moon watched Liu Yan almost lose his Divine Soul. If it hadn't been for the fact that Dawn Moon had left a backup plan, hiding a top-tier protective technique in the Black Lotus World Annihilation Art that transcended the entire Lower Realm, Liu Yan would have been dead long ago.

White Ember continued to massage her feet: "Don't be angry. No one could have expected that Kong Mingyuan and Li Wangji would be so powerful, nearly killing Liu Yan—who was at the near-Deity Transformation Realm after being demonized—with their Nascent Soul Early Stage cultivation. This is too Heaven-Defying."

Dawn Moon felt a lingering fear and kicked White Ember in the face: "I don't care about Liu Yan's life or death. I just didn't expect that there would be two such talented geniuses in the human world. If they had been given time to grow, their achievements would undoubtedly be limitless, yet they were killed by the Heaven-Chosen Person I selected, delaying the Master's plan. I would deserve to die ten thousand times over!"

White Ember suddenly realized: "Queen, don't blame yourself. If these two couldn't even pass this hurdle, it means it was fated. After all, how could the true protagonist die in the Early Stages?"

Dawn Moon nodded: "What you say makes sense!! Fine, for this period, let's keep a low profile. This Liu Yan has also suppressed every Heaven-Chosen Person, so we can consider the task completed."

Lu Chen was speechless. These two, Dawn Moon and White Ember, were putting on a double act here. Dawn Moon was so smart; she must know that his Divine Sense could observe the entire world, including their conversation.

Dawn Moon was afraid he would blame her, so she used White Ember's mouth to express her loyalty, claiming that killing the two big shots, Kong Mingyuan and Li Wangji, was just a mistake, not her intention.

She also indicated that she was doing her best to complete Lu Chen's task.

This made it so that even if Lu Chen wanted to punish them, he couldn't find an excuse.

However, Lu Chen indeed had no intention of punishing Dawn Moon.

Although this Liu Yan was indeed a bit too crazy, it seemed normal for a world to have such a big villain. As long as they didn't intentionally intervene in the Lower Realm and forcibly kill the Children of Luck or the Heaven-Chosen Persons, Lu Chen wouldn't take action.