196: Chapter 196 The Seal of Ceasefire

"From now on, no one will ever ask about the truth of that city again, because you have already buried the truth at the bottom of Liuyun Pond, beneath the bones of that nest of crane demons."

Tianyu Lian's lips trembled, her pupils dilated, and her face was smeared with tears and snot.

As he finished speaking.

The White-robed Person stood straight, the dark red crane wings on his white robe glimmering faintly in the light of the night-luminescent pearl.

"I tell you all this only to let you know..."

"The debt you owe is one you must pay yourself."

As he finished speaking.

The White-robed Person raised his hand, his slender, fair fingers lightly slicing through the Void Realm.

A flash of white light streaked by. Tianyu Lian's right arm was severed at the shoulder, and blood gushed out.

A sharp, piercing scream echoed through the cave.

Tianyu Lian's body struggled frantically on the stone bed, her left hand clutching the stump of her severed arm. Blood gushed from between her fingers, staining the brocade mattress dark red.

Her face was covered in tears and blood, her eyes wide open, her pupils reflecting the White-robed Person's eerie face.

"Ah..."

"Don't... don't kill me..."

Her voice was intermittent, every word trembling.

The White-robed Person said nothing and swiped his fingers again.

Tianyu Lian's left leg was severed at the thigh, the ghastly white bone protruding from the flesh. Blood flowed off the stone bed and dripped onto the floor, pooling into a dark red puddle that gave off a thick, metallic stench.

Over and over...

Inhaling the fresh, sweet scent of blood, the White-robed Person stood by the stone bed, watching her struggle in the pool of blood, his eyes devoid of any expression.

She had only one breath left. Her Physical Body was shattered, her Meridians broken, yet her half-step Nascent Soul physique would not allow her to die so quickly.

"Don't rush, there is more..."

The White-robed Person raised his hand, a point of gray-white spiritual light condensing at his fingertip.

"Anti-Reversal Seal!"

"Hum~"

"What... what is this..."

The White-robed Person did not answer. He pressed his finger to Tianyu Lian's forehead, the gray-white spiritual light seeping into her skin and leaving a mark the size of a fingernail on her brow.

The mark was in the shape of a crane, its wings spread and head held high. It was lifelike, resembling a tiny white crane perched upon her forehead.

"This mark will prevent any healing technique from entering your body, unless a Soul Transformation expert comes in person."

"Otherwise, if someone forcibly injects spiritual power to heal you, this mark will detonate."

"And your head will detonate along with it."

Tianyu Lian's eyes were wide open, her pupils reflecting the White-robed Person's eerie face.

Her lips trembled, and she tried to speak, but only garbled, airy sounds escaped her throat.

She dared not speak, dared not move, and dared not even cry.

She was afraid—afraid that this person before her would strike again, afraid that he would swipe his hand, afraid that he would tap her forehead once more.

The White-robed Person withdrew his hand and slowly stood up.

He glanced down at Tianyu Lian lying in the pool of blood, then at the blood-soaked brocade mattress and stone bed, his eyes devoid of any expression.

Then, he turned and walked toward the cave entrance. Reaching the opening, he paused and looked back.

Outside the cave, the Tianyu Family's residence appeared exceptionally bleak in the moonlight.

Most of the pavilions and lofts had collapsed; the rockeries and streams were dried up and shattered; the stone pillars of the corridors were splattered with blood, and the pond water was stained dark red.

Over three hundred corpses were scattered across every corner of the residence.

The moonlight shone upon the pools of blood, casting a dark red glow like shattered mirrors, reflecting the corpses that littered the ground.

The White-robed Person stood at the cave entrance, silent for a long time.

The wind blew, and the dark red crane wings on his white robe fluttered slightly.

His long hair was lifted by the breeze, a few loose strands fluttering by his ears. His white jade crown shone faintly in the moonlight; his face remained eerie, his skin as white as congealed fat, but something flickered in his eyes.

It was not sadness, nor was it anger, but something indescribable—as if he were looking at a grave, or perhaps, at an old debt that had finally been settled.

"It is finished..."

He withdrew his gaze, and his figure flickered.

His white robe shattered, transforming into countless hair-thin specks of white light that swirled around him. Where the light points converged, a white crane emerged from the radiance.

The crane's body was snow-white, without a single blemish. Its wingspan was a full ten feet, the feathers at the tips shimmering with a faint silver light in the moonlight.

With its head held high and beak slightly parted, it let out a clear, ringing cry that echoed throughout the valley.

The white crane flapped its wings and soared into the sky. Under the moonlight, its silhouette grew smaller and more distant until it finally became a mere white speck, disappearing into the horizon.

Time passed.

Less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea after the white crane vanished into the horizon, the Void Realm above the Tianyu Family residence suddenly tore open.

A figure tumbled out from the rift.

Shangguan Hong's gray-white robe was largely shredded, and the cracks in his inner armor were many times more numerous than before. Pieces had shattered and fallen away, revealing the charred skin beneath.

His hair was disheveled, his wooden hairpin lost somewhere, and his graying hair hung loose over his shoulders, matted with dust and blood.

Crossing tens of thousands of miles by forcibly tearing through space was more than even a Late Stage Nascent Soul Cultivator could bear. Even for a Nascent Soul Cultivator, traversing the Void Realm in such a manner required a great price.

But he could not care about such things.

"A Lian!"

Shangguan Hong raised his head. The moment he saw the Tianyu Family's residence, he froze.

"Lian'er... Lian'er!"

Shangguan Hong's voice was shrill as he rushed madly toward the depths of the residence.

Inside the cave.

The light of the night-luminescent pearl was dim and murky. On the stone bed, the brocade mattress was soaked through with blood, which dripped from the edge of the bed and pooled on the floor.

Tianyu Lian lay in the pool of blood. Her right arm was gone, and her left leg was gone. Her body was covered in wounds, and blood gushed from every one of them, staining her clothes, hair, and face a deep, dark red.

Her eyes were half-open, her pupils dilated, and her lips trembled slightly—like a fish thrown onto the shore, still making its final struggle.

Shangguan Hong stood at the entrance, gazing at the mangled figure on the stone bed, and his legs gave way.

"No... no!" Shangguan Hong's mouth hung open as he tried to call her name, but his throat felt as if it were blocked, and only garbled, airy sounds escaped. "Lian'er... Lian'er..."

Shangguan Hong rushed forward.

"A... Hong..."

A sound, extremely faint, thin, and barely audible, came from the stone bed.

Shangguan Hong's body stiffened abruptly.

He raised his head, his vision blurred by tears, and saw that Tianyu Lian's eyes had opened a slit, her pupils reflecting his face. Tianyu Lian's lips were still moving, still calling his name.

Her consciousness was clear, her mind restored. She recognized him.

Shangguan Hong's tears flowed even more fiercely. He scrambled to the side of the stone bed and knelt in the pool of blood, his hands trembling as he reached toward Tianyu Lian's face, yet he dared not touch her.

"Lian'er, you... you have regained your senses..." Shangguan Hong's voice was so hoarse it was barely audible, thick with weeping, trembling, and a century of suppressed longing and heartache.