538: Chapter 538 The Candle Dragon Escapes

[Liu Qingtian watched as his clansmen disappeared one by one, turning into nothingness.]

[He reached out, wanting to grasp something, but only clutched at the Void Realm.]

[Thousands of years.]

[He had never felt such despair.]

[He felt the Power of the Great Dao surge from all directions, beginning to decompose his body.]

[Skin, flesh, bones—]

[Every inch dissipated, every inch turned into nothingness.]

[He smiled.]

["Hehe... hehehe..."]

[His laughter was hoarse, like crying.]

["Good, good." He murmured, "This day... has finally arrived!"]

[He raised his head, looking at the five immortal slaying swords in the sky, looking at the figure suspended in the sky.]

["Indeed... fate cannot be defied!!!"]

[His body began to dissipate, starting from his feet, inch by inch upwards.]

["Heaven is unjust." He whispered, his voice growing weaker and weaker, his neck also dissipating.]

["Heaven—how truly unjust—"]

[His last roar still echoed in the sky.]

[His head turned into countless specks of light, dissipating between heaven and earth.]

[Silence.]

[The sky was silent.]

[More than a dozen high-ranking Liu Clan members were all decomposed by the Power of the Great Dao.]

[Not a single drop of blood was left, not a wisp of soul escaped. Cleanly, as if they had never existed in this world.]

[On the ground,]

[Liu Suifeng was still holding his daughter, looking up at the sky.]

[The light of the five swords illuminated his face, illuminating the tear stains on his face.]

[He suddenly smiled, tears streaming down his face.]

["Hahaha..."]

[His laughter was hoarse, pale, and powerless.]

[As he laughed, he felt an incomprehensible power surge from all directions, enveloping him.]

[He looked down and saw his fingers beginning to dissipate.]

[Not shattered, not exploded, but dissipated—]

[Starting from his fingertips, little by little turning into specks of light, like dust scattered by the wind.]

[He didn't struggle.]

[He looked down at his daughter in his arms, at her pale face, at the faint smile on her lips.]

[He suddenly felt that this was quite good.]

[His fingers were gone.]

[His palm was gone.]

[His wrist was also gone.]

[He smiled, wanting to hold his daughter even tighter.]

[That smile had never been so content, as if he had waited his whole life and finally reached this moment.]

[Liu Jinfeng watched helplessly as her father's body dissipated inch by inch.]

[From his arm to his shoulder, from his shoulder to his chest, from his chest to his cheek.]

[He kept smiling, kept looking at her.]

[Finally, only a face remained suspended in mid-air, still smiling, still looking at her.]

["Feng'er, I'm sorry. I hope you find a... good family in your next life..."]

[The last three words seemed squeezed from deep within his throat.]

[Then, they turned into countless specks of light and completely dissipated.]

[Liu Jinfeng's lips trembled, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.]

[But in the end, she still managed to force out a smile.]

["Father..."]

[She whispered, her voice as faint as the wind, as if afraid of waking something.]

[Then she tilted her head and fell silent. The smile still hung on her lips, but her eyes would never open again.]

[Inside the city, countless people looked up at the sky, at your god-like figure, and stood stunned.]

[Some dropped what they were holding, some gaped, some felt their legs go weak and sat down with a thud.]

[No one spoke.]

[No one dared to speak.]

[Those Nascent Soul Cultivators who were vassals of the Liu Clan were still alive.]

[But they were all terrified, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.]

[The Liu Clan's Third Elder, Tongzi, was also still alive.]

[His face was already streaked with tears.]

[Drop by drop, they flowed down his chin, landing on his collar, on the back of his hand, on the shattered flagstones beneath his feet.]

[He didn't wipe them away.]

["Hehehe... hehehe..."]

[He let out an old, choked laugh.]

[That laughter was like crying, and like laughing, as if trying to squeeze out all the emotions of his life.]

[Then he took a deep breath, and an unprecedented determination flashed in his cloudy old eyes.]

[He soared into the air, staring intently at you, his gaze like a knife.]

[Immediately after—]

[Figures in the city flew into the sky on swords.]

[Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Golden Core—]

[One after another, they flew up from the streets, from the pavilions, from all directions.]

[A dense, dark mass, like dark clouds covering the sky.]

[Tens of thousands of people, all lined up behind Tongzi, in a single row.]

[All were Liu Clan Disciples, and Liu Caiping was among them.]

[No one spoke.]

[No one retreated.]

[In everyone's eyes, the same look flashed—ready to die.]

[Liu Caiping scanned the crowd, her gaze sweeping across the face of every clansman.]

[Her voice was very soft, but it clearly reached everyone's ears.]

["My Liu Clan... only dies standing, never lives kneeling."]

[She paused, took a deep breath, and her voice suddenly rose.]

["All Liu Clan members... follow me to face the clan's calamity!"]

["Swear to die, never retreat!"]

[The voices of tens of thousands of people erupted simultaneously, like thunder, like a tsunami, like the entire sky collapsing.]

["Kill—!"]

["Kill—!"]

["Kill—!"]

[One after another, wave after wave.]

[Those Qi Refining Cultivators, those Foundation Establishment Cultivators, those Golden Core Cultivators, all with bloodshot eyes, bulging veins, roaring and howling.]

[Tongzi's lips trembled, and his hands also trembled.]

[He stood at the very front, staring intently at you, and smiled.]

[That smile contained tears, blood, hatred, and something indescribable.]

["Come on." His voice was not loud, but it seemed squeezed from the cracks of his bones,]

["My Liu Clan has no cowards!"]

["Heh." You smiled.]

[That smile was very faint, so faint it was like looking at a group of dead people.]

["When you slaughtered my Qin Immortal Clan, did you ever imagine this day would come?"]

[Tongzi was stunned.]

[His smile froze on his face, as if someone had choked him.]

[Then, he suddenly laughed, laughing very hard, his whole body trembling.]

["Hahaha... so that's how it is..."]

[He stared intently at you, his gaze like poisoned venom.]

["You are a Qin Clan remnant?"]

[You didn't reply, simply swept your gaze over these people, then raised your hand and waved—]

[An invisible force swept towards Tianshu Pavilion, which instantly turned into dust, and with a gust of wind, nothing remained.]

["Roar—!"]

[An earth-shattering roar erupted.]

["Hahaha—this old man is finally out!"]

[That voice was old, deep, carrying suppressed wrath of tens of thousands of years, like a volcanic eruption, like the sky collapsing and the earth rending.]

["Flame Emperor! Liu Tianxing! You imprisoned this Venerable One for tens of thousands of years!"]

["Escaping today—I will make you pay the price!"]

[Before the words finished, a giant black shadow shot into the sky, transforming into a colossal eye that blotted out the sun, suspended in the sky.]

[That giant eye slowly rotated, like a falling star, coldly observing this land.]

[You looked at the candle dragons eye, your voice as calm as water:]

["There is no longer anything in the Liu Clan Territory that can threaten you."]

["After your Body Integration, do as you wish."]

[With that, you raised your hand and beckoned, and the five immortal slaying swords transformed into five streaks of light, entering your body.]

[The next second, you nodded at An Ya and transmitted, "Let's go. Let the candle dragon attract the pursuit of the Heavenly Palace for us."]

[An Ya's eyes lit up, and the corners of her mouth curved slightly.]

[Then, your figures moved, arriving at a Teleportation Formation that had been prepared long ago. With a flash of spiritual light, the Formation activated, and your figures were instantly swallowed, disappearing from sight.]