543: Chapter 543 The Great Battle Ends

Inside the city, countless people looked up at the scene, first stunned, then breaking into a clamor.

"He's falling!"

"Quick, save him!"

"Quickly—!"

Some were so frantic they didn't know what to do with themselves, some squeezed forward desperately, and some high-level Cultivators took to the air immediately.

Hundreds of figures rushed toward the sky simultaneously, blanketing the heavens like a flock of birds flying toward you.

The one rushing at the very front was Lin Feng.

He supported your back with one hand, feeling the warmth of your body and a faint heartbeat, and let out a heavy sigh of relief.

"He's alive! He's just exhausted!" He shouted loudly, as if afraid others wouldn't hear.

He supported you and slowly descended to the ground, afraid of hurting you.

Cheers erupted within the city.

"Quick, set him down! Be careful!" Grandmother Tianyin shouted.

"Don't push! Don't push! Make way!" Sword Nameless led the way, clearing a path.

The streets were packed with people, shoulder to shoulder, making it impossible to move.

A dense mass of heads stretched as far as the eye could see. Some stood on tiptoe, some climbed onto rooftops, and others stood on the city walls, desperately craning their necks to look inside.

You were lifted above their heads by pair after pair of hands, held as carefully as a piece of precious porcelain.

Your body was passed from one palm to another, from one person to the next.

Someone supported your head, someone your back, someone your legs. Every hand was as light as a feather, for fear of causing you pain.

"Gently! Gently! He's injured!" Yu Tiankuo reminded them.

"Make way! Make way!" Sword Nameless shouted repeatedly.

"How is he? Is he still alive?" someone asked, gathering their courage.

"He's alive! He's just exhausted!" Lin Feng replied.

"That's good, that's good..." The person let out a sigh of relief and wiped away tears from the corners of their eyes, their voice choking up. "That's good, that's good."

"What is his name?" someone else asked.

"Qin Chen! His name is Qin Chen!" Huangfu Zhanming spoke up loudly.

"Is that the same Qin Chen who killed the Prodigy Sima Tao with an iron sword?"

"That's right, it's him!"

Discussions rose and fell like a surging tide.

Murong Zhaozhao squeezed through the crowd, desperately pushing forward.

"Make way! Let me through!" Her eyes were red with anxiety.

Someone recognized her and quickly made a path.

She rushed to the front and looked at you being held aloft by the crowd. Seeing your pale face and closed eyes, a sudden pang of bitterness filled her heart.

"Qin Chen... Qin Chen!" she called out twice, her voice trembling.

You didn't respond.

Her nose tingled, and tears nearly fell.

Lu Xihe stood behind her, patted her shoulder, and said softly, "He's fine, he's just unconscious from exhaustion."

"Then why was Liu Xuerong so intent on killing him? What did he actually do?" someone asked curiously.

Lin Feng looked at your face, remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly spoke:

"He killed the high-ranking members of the Liu Clan Immortal Family, including the Liu Clan Patriarch. He also freed the Torch Dragon, which slaughtered millions of Liu Clan Disciples."

As his words fell, the surroundings suddenly became silent.

Everyone was stunned.

"Millions?"

"The Liu Clan Immortal Family?"

They naturally knew who the Liu Clan Immortal Family was.

Someone gasped, someone's eyes widened, and someone's lips trembled, unable to utter a single word.

"No wonder... No wonder Liu Xuerong was trying to kill him like a madwoman..."

"That's a Mahayana! He's just a Void Refining Cultivator, and he actually managed to survive a Mahayana's hands?"

"Not just survive; he even repelled Liu Xuerong!"

Everyone looked up at the figure being carried and at that pale face.

Murong Zhaozhao finally couldn't hold it back anymore, and tears began to fall.

She wiped her eyes hard, but the more she wiped, the more tears flowed, and she couldn't stop.

Lu Xihe glanced at her, put an arm around her shoulder, and said nothing.

Finally, you were carried into a grand hall within the city.

Inside the hall, a bed had already been prepared.

You were gently laid down, someone covered you with a quilt, and Lu Xihe fed you a Medicinal Pill.

Murong Zhaozhao stood by the bed, looking at your pale face and closed eyes, feeling an indescribable distress.

"When will he wake up?" she asked.

"I don't know." Lu Xihe shook her head. "The drain on his Divine Soul was too great. It might take a few days, or it might take a few months."

Murong Zhaozhao bit her lip and didn't speak.

She pulled up a stool, sat by the bed, and watched you without moving.

Lu Xihe glanced at her, said nothing, and turned to walk out of the hall.

Outside the hall, Sword Nameless was still standing there.

"Tell me when he wakes up," Sword Nameless said.

Lu Xihe nodded.

Inside the hall, it became quiet.

There was only the sound of your steady breathing and Murong Zhaozhao's occasional sniffles.

She stared at your face and suddenly whispered, "You can't die."

You didn't respond.

She sighed, leaned against your bedside, and closed her eyes.

Moonlight spilled in through the window, shining on her face and on yours.

Outside the hall, the wind blew, and the leaves rustled.

The seventy-fourth year.

During the months you were unconscious, many major events occurred.

The destruction of the Liu Clan's high-ranking members, Liu Xuerong being repelled by you, and the emergence of the Immortal Sword—these events spread throughout the entire Immortal Realm as if they had grown wings.

Because of this, the Immortal Sect's morale soared, while the Heavenly Palace's morale suffered a heavy blow.

The originally deadlocked front line was forcibly pushed forward by a significant distance.

And you—Qin Chen—became thoroughly famous throughout the Immortal Realm.

The matter of you killing Elder Qi was somehow unearthed by someone.

The title of "Number One Beneath the Mahayana Stage" was firmly pinned on you.

This time, no one dared to question it.

Countless Cultivators admired you.

In those teahouses and wine shops, storytellers spoke of your deeds with spit flying, from the Slaughter of Immortals in the Poisonous Miasma to the destruction of the Liu Clan, and from the Four Symbols Sealing Heaven to the birth of the Immortal Sword.

Every segment was embellished, and every part made the audience clap in wonder.

You were also honored as the Number One Prodigy of All Time.

This title was too heavy, heavy like a mountain.

But no one felt it was inappropriate.

However—

Seeing the Heavenly Palace retreating step by step, the other three top-tier powers couldn't sit still any longer.

They came forward to mediate, speaking with very pleasant words.

The Heavenly Palace followed the current, paying an astronomical sum of Spirit Stones, ceding several border Star Domains, and making a bunch of insignificant promises.

The great war concluded just like that.

After years of vigorous fighting, countless deaths, and the destruction of many stars, what was gained in the end was nothing more than a piece of truce paper.

There were no winners, and there were no losers.

Only the survivors—those high-level Cultivators.

And the dead—those low-level Cultivators.