Chapter 552: Death |
The Dragon Vein resisted Xu Nian’s profound attacks and struggled as it tried to coil Xu Nian’s afterimages.
Li Huowang almost reached the Dragon Vein, but it was already on guard. Ten dragon claws swiped toward Li Huowang.
But their attacks phased through Li Huowang’s illusion. Peng Longteng suddenly appeared and threw the invisible Li Huowang toward the young emperor of the Qi Kingdom.
It was definitely a ‘young’ emperor, as the baby had turned into a blob, becoming what looked like a fist-sized fetus.
Li Huowang extended his hands and unsheathed his purple-tassel sword to slash the young emperor.
“Junior Li! You can’t kill it like that! You have to sever his connection to the Dragon Vein first!”
Hearing Zhuge Yuan, Li Huowang moved his sword three inches to the side.
With the sound of tearing flesh and spraying blood, the back of the young emperor was separated from the Dragon Vein.
He then flicked the sword and stabbed the embryo in the chest.
Li Huowang still had the young emperor’s corpse stuck to his sword as he fell downwards when the ‘decapitated’ Dragon Vein started expanding its body.
Thick blood, strange organs, messy scales, and dragon horns sprouted out from its body.
The eyes of the past emperors glared at Li Huowang with eternal hatred.
All of them revealed their dragon claws and charged at Li Huowang, or more accurately, the corpse of the young emperor on Li Huowang’s sword.
“Junior Li! Be careful! The Dragon Qi will revive the young emperor! Do not let them touch him. Throw him into the Liang Kingdom!”
Li Huowang swung his sword, and the corpse of the young emperor fell into the red line made from Xu Nian’s afterimages.
He then swung the spine sword and transported the young emperor into the Liang Kingdom along with part of the red line.
Li Huowang was already very close to the ground when he finished doing that.
He took a deep breath and imagined himself to be falling into a pool of water.
He felt the cold water splashing past his skin, but rather than swimming upwards, he swam sideways and tried to escape as far as possible.
He swam until he couldn’t hold his breath any longer before surfacing. He felt his brain pounding and the water slowly becoming thicker until the pressure around him was barely tolerable.
Bam!
Li Huowang broke through the surface of the earth and spat out chunks of dirt. He ignored his wounds and turned to look at where the Dragon Vein was located.
However, the ground trembled before he could see anything. Earthquake?
Sand and stones flew everywhere in the darkness, and the sky changed. There was nothing Li Huowang could do due to his injury. All he could do was sprawl out on the ground and wait for the earthquake to pass.
An unknown amount of time later, the earthquake stopped, and his wounds had scabbed over as well.
He used his sword as a support and stood up before looking around.
Wait, why is it so bright? Is the Natural Disaster gone? Li Huowang carefully looked up and saw that the darkness covering the skies was gone.
However, he didn’t even have the time to celebrate when he saw something wrong with the sun. Rather than being a normal ball of light, some black spots had blotted out parts of the sun.
“Oh no. The Heavenly Dog has eaten the sun.” The old monk’s illusion used his right hand to cover his eyes as he looked at the strange phenomena.
What’s wrong with this world? Is it real? Li Huowang immediately realized the mistake that he had made. NO! I can’t doubt myself! I’m a Strayed One! I cannot doubt myself or something bad will happen!
Li Huowang slammed his fists don't his head.
After pounding his own head a few times, Li Huowang stopped, not because he wanted to, but because there was danger.
Slam!
A thick claw struck the ground and blew the cloud of dust away. Xu Nian's figure then emerged from the dust.
Xu Nian was also heavily injured from the battle with the Dragon Vein. Most of her red fur was gone, and there were cracks on her face. Still, her injuries appeared better than Li Huowang’s injuries.
Li Huowang held his sword tightly and stared at the woman’s broken face. “You still want to fight me? Since you can understand me, you should also know that we don’t have any grudges between us, right?” Li Huowang showed no fear as he gritted his teeth.
Xu Nian didn’t respond. Instead, her face revealed a complicated expression as if she wanted to say something to him.
However, Li Huowang wasn’t going to wait for an answer as he stepped back slowly. Just as Xu Nian was about to disappear into the cloud of dust, a female voice filled with yearning came from within her.
“I wish to write to my loved one, but the mountains are vast, and the seas are endless. How will I ever find him?”
ONE?! Had she realized that I'm a Strayed One?! Li Huowang immediately raised his weapons out of reflex.
However, he soon realized that Xu Nian was gone for good, and he could have misheard her as well.
“She said loved one' right? Senior Zhuge, what was she talking about?”
Zhuge Yuan stared at where Xu Nian had disappeared before speaking in a hushed tone. “Xu Nian copies the words of others, so it’s probably nothing. Junior Li, you should probably go back and rest. You're heavily injured, after all.”
Li Huowang looked at him and then at his own broken leg. “How can I chase after the rift to go back to the Liang Kingdom? It’s best if I stay here and rest for a while.”
Li Huowang held his sword and wore his red robes again. Then, he found a boulder and leaned against it.
Soon, the dust settled, and something unexpected appeared in front of him.
What was once the plains was now a cliff. He was sitting at the edge of a cliff.
What’s happening? Li Huowang looked down at the chaotic scene beneath the cliff and then looked up at the sun covered in black spots. His brain started hurting, and he felt like he was in a dream.
Zhuge Yuan looked at the scene and shook his head. “I don’t know what's going on.”
