75: A new journey

Li Ao's syllable "Ji," which sounded as if it came from the nine nether regions of Hell, did not reverberate through the sky, but instead directly tolled the death knell on the Soul level! The dark golden Qi and blood around him, which had originally dimmed due to serious injury, did not extinguish at this moment. Instead, they reignited in a posture that was deeper, more restrained, as if compressing ten thousand rays of light to the extreme!

No, that was not burning, it was... collapse!

With him as the center, the spatial light within a hundred zhang radius completely twisted and dimmed, as if all vitality, energy, and even the rules were forcibly extracted, frantically converging and compressing toward the silver-gray core of annihilation within his body! The silver-gray in his eyes was no longer flame, but had transformed into two slowly rotating, all-consuming vortices!

[Ding! Detected host's intense obsession triggering the rules to run rampant! Black Iron Hegemon Body is forced to Breakthrough the critical point! The Peak barrier of the second stage is shattered! Beginning Fusion... Rule reconstruction... Warning! Energy overload! The Physical Body is about to collapse!]

The System's warning sound was sharp and piercing, but Li Ao ignored it! At this moment, he only had one thought in his heart—to cleave that hand! To destroy that door! To take revenge for the figure behind him who had blocked the fatal blow for him and whose life or death was unknown!

A sickening cracking sound came from inside his body, and the dark golden lines on his skin cracked inch by inch, oozing blood containing silver-gray light spots! This was the backlash resulting from the Physical Body being unable to withstand the suddenly surging and rampant Annihilation Rule! But he ignored everything, pouring all the pain, all the anger, and all the killing intent into the dark, heavy long saber that trembled and wailed along with him!

Upon the saber's body, there was no longer the intertwining of dark gold and silver-gray, but it had transformed into a color of absolute nothingness—a color so pure it seemed to negate the very concept of "existence"!

He gripped the saber with both hands, unleashing a strike that surpassed his own limits and burned everything, aimed at the gigantic gray palm that had become illusory yet still descended with the crushing majesty of a Dou Zun, and aimed at the cold consciousness vaguely visible beyond the spatial rift!

This strike had no name.

Because what it represented was the ultimate—Return to Stillness!

"Cleave!"

The saber light swept past silently.

There was no earth-shattering momentum, nor any strange phenomenon of space tearing.

Wherever the saber light passed, all color, sound, energy fluctuation, and even the ubiquitous Dou Zun pressure, seemed to be wiped away by an invisible great hand! Only absolute "nothingness," chilling to the Soul, remained!

The gigantic gray palm, upon contact with this Return to Stillness saber light, was like encountering the nemesis of all nemeses! The Netherworld Law and the power of the Dou Zun contained within it had no room to struggle before instantly melting and disintegrating like leftover snow under the sun, returning to the most complete void!

The saber light extinguished the gigantic palm and continued its momentum unabated, plunging directly into the violently trembling spatial rift!

"Buzz—!!!"

From the other end of the rift came a muffled groan containing shock, fury, and a hint of disbelief! The grand voice sounded again, but carried a clear fluctuation: "Nirvana Origin?! How is this possible... in this low-level plane..."

Before the voice finished, the spatial rift spanning the sky suddenly collapsed inward at the core where the Return to Stillness saber light had swept past! It was as if its Foundation of existence had been completely severed by that strike! Countless fine cracks containing the aura of annihilation spread along the edges of the rift!

"Ant... this Venerable remembers you..."

The cold voice, carrying a hint of suppressed rage, quickly faded and dispersed. Clearly, the cross-realm transmission of power had been forcibly severed, and even the "door" itself was damaged, causing the entity on the other end to suffer considerable loss and forcing it to temporarily retreat.

Finally, amid an extremely violent spatial tremor, the spatial rift, which was like a scar on the Empire, let out a wail of unbearable strain, rapidly shrinking into a minuscule black dot, and then... completely vanished!

The sky returned to its original color. Although still damaged, the heart-palpitating, eerie aura and the spatial rift were gone!

Yun Lan Mountain... No, this place could no longer be called a mountain; it was just a massive ruin covered in deep pits and fissures. Upon the ruins, only Li Ao stood, holding his saber.

The terrifying aura of Return to Stillness around him receded like a tide, replaced by an extreme weakness and a desperate state bordering on collapse! He could no longer stand, falling to one knee and propping himself up with the long saber to barely keep from falling over. Blood gushed from his cracked skin, staining him red, and his aura was weak to the extreme.

But he was still alive!

Moreover, he succeeded!

He had extinguished the Dou Zun's strike from afar and forcibly closed the spatial rift!

He struggled to raise his head, the silver-gray pupils regaining a sliver of clarity, and immediately looked toward the direction where Medusa had fallen.

In the pile of broken rubble, a faint trace of seven-colored light flickered, like a firefly in the darkness; although dim, it stubbornly refused to be extinguished.

She was still alive!

The taut string in Li Ao's heart slightly relaxed, and an irresistible wave of exhaustion and darkness surged up, swallowing his consciousness. Just before completely losing consciousness, he vaguely saw a streak of azure light shooting rapidly from the distant horizon, its aura familiar—it seemed to be... Yun Yun?

Subsequently, he fell into boundless darkness... He did not know how much time had passed, but when Li Ao regained a sliver of consciousness again, he found himself in an unfamiliar, simply furnished stone chamber. He lay on a hard stone bed, and the air was thick with the scent of medicinal herbs.

He tried to move and immediately felt intense pain throughout his body, as if he had been taken apart and reassembled. Especially his Meridians and Qi Sea transmitted a searing, burning pain—the aftereffects of forcibly mobilizing power beyond his limits.

"You're awake?" A clear, cold voice laced with complex emotion sounded from the side.

Li Ao struggled to turn his head and saw Yun Yun standing by the bed, holding a steaming bowl of medicinal liquid. She was still wearing her moon-white Sect Master robe, but her face was haggard, and her eyes were filled with unspeakable exhaustion, sadness, and... a hint of confusion.

"Where is this...?" Li Ao's voice was hoarse and dry.

"A secret Forbidden Ground on the back mountain of the Cloud Mist Sect." Yun Yun placed the medicinal bowl by the bed, her voice low. "The Cloud Mist Sect... is gone."

Li Ao fell silent. He extended his Divine Sense slightly and could perceive the deathly silence and ruins outside. The Empire's foremost Sect, with a Legacy spanning a thousand years, had ultimately turned into historical dust during the successive great battles involving him, Yun Shan, and the Hall of Souls.

"What about her?" Li Ao was more concerned about Medusa's safety.

Yun Yun naturally knew who he was referring to, and her gaze became even more complex: "Queen Medusa... her condition is very poor. To save you, her Soul Origin is almost completely shattered, and her Seven-Colored Sky Swallowing Python Bloodline is depleted. Although I temporarily protected a trace of her heart pulse and remnant Soul using the Sect's secret treasure, the 'Soul Nurturing Jade,' whether she can wake up, and when, are unknown."

Li Ao's heart sank heavily. The Soul Origin is almost shattered... This kind of injury is thousands of times more severe than damage to the Physical Body!

He forced himself to sit up, ignoring the severe pain in his body: "Take me to see her."

Yun Yun looked at his unquestionable gaze, sighed softly, did not stop him, and turned to lead the way.

In the adjacent stone chamber, which was quieter and covered with Soul nurturing Formations, Li Ao saw Medusa.

She lay quietly on a cold jade bed, her face pale to the point of transparency. Her originally radiant seven-colored long hair had lost all its luster, becoming gray-white and withered. Her aura was so faint it was barely perceptible; only a warm jade pendant on her brow emitted a soft glow, barely maintaining her vitality, which was like a candle flickering in the wind.

Queen Medusa, who once looked down upon the world, was now as fragile as a breakable porcelain doll.

Li Ao walked to the bedside, reached out his hand, and gently brushed her cold cheek with his fingertip. Sensing the faint Soul fluctuation, his eyes revealed, for the first time, clear... heartache and murderous intent.

Hall of Souls!

This enmity is irreconcilable!

He took a deep breath, suppressing his churning Qi and emotions, and said to Yun Yun: "Thank you."

Yun Yun shook her head, her expression mournful: "The Cloud Mist Sect was destroyed by the Hall of Souls, and my teacher... also lost himself due to the power of the Hall of Souls and ultimately perished. Both publicly and privately, I should save her. It's just... my capabilities are limited, and I'm afraid..."

"I will save her." Li Ao interrupted her, his voice calm but holding an unquestionable resolve, "No matter what is needed, no matter where I have to go."

He looked at Medusa's sleeping face as if making a vow.

"Before I return, please take good care of her for me."

Yun Yun watched Li Ao's retreating figure—weak, yet seemingly containing infinite power and determination—and nodded: "I will."

Li Ao said no more, turning and walking out of the stone chamber. He needed to recover from his injuries as quickly as possible, and then... go search for the supreme divine medicine capable of healing the Soul Origin! Even if he had to traverse the entire Fighting Qi Continent, he would definitely make Medusa wake up!

As for the Hall of Souls... just wait. The day he returns will be the day when no Hall of Souls branch on this continent is left standing!

A new journey had already begun beneath his feet. And this time, his target would point directly at the massive shadow covering the continent—the Hall of Souls!