"Rex Lapis... was injured?!"
When the people of Liyue watching the battlefield saw this scene, their pupils trembled in shock.
Zhongli was the faith of every single person in Liyue. In everyone's eyes, Zhongli was an invincible existence. No matter what difficulties Liyue encountered, as long as Zhongli took action, danger would definitely be turned into safety.
However, the previous draw with Chen Feng had already caused a slight crack in the faith within the hearts of Liyue's people. Now, when everyone saw Zhongli coughing up blood, the invincible image of Zhongli in the hearts of Liyue's people was completely shattered!
"No, this isn't Rex Lapis. Rex Lapis is invincible. Rex Lapis would never be defeated!"
Some people could not accept this result and even began to question the authenticity of Zhongli's identity.
What was even more exasperating was that before the battle, Zhongli had said he was one hundred percent sure of himself, yet he was so quickly caught by Chen Feng after a flaw was exposed and then captured.
When they realized this, the myth of Rex Lapis was gradually disintegrating, and many people's gazes toward Zhongli were no longer so full of awe.
"If even Rex Lapis cannot defeat Chen Feng, then who else can save us?!"
"That's right, there is still the Traveler."
"Keep fighting, Traveler!"
"You must win!"
-
At this moment, when Lumine saw Zhongli fall into Chen Feng's hands, she was completely stunned, never imagining that Zhongli would actually fall.
Was Zhongli always this weak? Why did everything feel so wrong?
Speaking of which, she had not passed through Sumeru this time; surely she wasn't dreaming?
Lumine again felt a slight doubt about the reality before her, but her hands moved without slowing down as she perfectly merged the power of five elements together, suppressing all the incoming attacks.
In truth, even without using the Power of Void, Lumine's strength was comparable to a god, and fighting the Guardian Yaksha and Skybracer at the same time was not difficult. The problem was that she knew these people were all under Chen Feng's control, so she had been holding back all along.
But now that Zhongli had been captured, the Adepti, acting out of desperation after seeing this scene, launched an attack only to be suppressed one by one by Chen Feng.
Seeing this, Lumine could no longer hold back. She could only silently say sorry to the people in front of her in her heart, then erupted with a terrifying aura, sending them all flying.
Because Lumine did not hold back this time, the powerful impact even caused Indarias's body to become ethereal.
Seizing this fleeting moment, Lumine's figure traced a grayish-white trajectory in the sky, then she placed the Dull Blade at her waist and gently flicked it.
The image of Zhongli getting injured flashed through Lumine's mind, and suddenly, the aura radiating from her body became even more terrifying. Three lightning-fast slashes directly dismembered the massive phantom, and Chen Feng's face instantly turned pale.
Because the phantom was severely injured, Zhongli finally broke free from control and fell straight toward the ground, eventually kicking up a huge cloud of dust upon landing.
At this moment, the aura around Lumine weakened significantly. A strong sense of crisis surged in her heart, and she hastily dodged. The next second, a storm formed from countless dust particles swept through the spot where Lumine had been standing.
Seeing her attack miss, Guizhong immediately changed direction. Countless plumes of dust rushed toward Lumine from all directions, sealing off nearly every corner.
Lumine did not want to get bogged down fighting Guizhong. She took a deep breath and drew her sword again, swinging it with all her might. The next moment, Guizhong's blockade was torn asunder by a flash of sword light, and a figure simultaneously flew out from the rift.
After breaking free, Lumine without hesitation launched another attack at the phantom that was gradually repairing itself. She used the last of her strength to complete a horizontal slash, severing the phantom at the waist!
Once tainted by the Power of Void, the massive phantom, which could have repaired itself quickly, was now almost unable to recover after suffering the severe injury from Lumine. When Lumine struck the final blow, completely cutting the phantom into two pieces, the massive phantom lost its last chance to regenerate.
"You actually possess No. 4's power. Did he betray us?"
Chen Feng frowned slightly, but quickly accepted this fact.
"Forget it, this matter is no longer important."
Chen Feng waved his hand, and the fragmented phantom instantly transformed into streams of light that surged into his body. Then, a dazzling white light covered the surface of Chen Feng's body.
With a flip of his wrist, a translucent blade appeared in Chen Feng's hand, and he looked at Lumine with an indifferent gaze.
"Although I don't have much power left, I assume you are not doing much better right now."
"The Power of Void is indeed strong, but its consumption is equally terrifying. Furthermore, wielding it requires an extremely resilient heart, otherwise, it will only result in backlash."
After hearing Chen Feng's words, Lumine could no longer maintain her facade. Leaning on the Dull Blade, she looked at Chen Feng and gasped for breath.
The other party was right. The Power of Void did indeed consume a huge amount of energy. Even though she had now resonated with five elements and her strength was comparable to that of a god, she still could not use this power for a long time. She even had to be careful at all times about the risk of the power spiraling out of control.
One must know that today was different from the past. If the Power of Void were to go out of control now, the area within a thousand-meter radius would surely become a Forbidden Zone for life!
However, Chen Feng had clearly underestimated her strength. Given her current physical state, she could still erupt with nearly her full power to unleash a final strike.
At this moment, Lumine gazed intently at Chen Feng, secretly gathering strength and waiting for the right opportunity.
"This is Order!"
In the distance, Zhongli planted his Stone Spear into the ground to support his body. His current appearance was somewhat miserable, his body stained with a significant amount of blood, but his face remained hidden beneath his cloak, making it impossible to see clearly.
Zhongli found the opportunity and channeled most of the strength within his body into this final strike.
A massive meteorite appeared in the sky once again. Although it was several times smaller and its momentum several times weaker than the first one, the expression on Chen Feng's face was now much more serious than before. After all, after fighting until now, he was also at the end of his rope.
Chen Feng did not retreat but instead advanced, flying straight toward the meteorite that was falling from the sky with terrifying momentum. When he got close enough, he raised his hand and grasped the air, instantly transforming the white light covering his hand into a giant palm that seized the meteorite.
The meteorite vanished in an instant, but the impact it brought still acted upon Chen Feng.
Under everyone's gaze, Chen Feng's figure fell toward the ground at an extremely fast speed.
The opportunity has come!
Seeing this scene, Lumine's eyes erupted with a soul-stirring radiance, and her figure transformed into a series of afterimages on the ground, quickly arriving directly below Chen Feng. She then gripped the Dull Blade tightly with both hands and swung it diagonally downward.
A grayish-white sword light soared into the sky, slashing toward Chen Feng with a momentum that seemed capable of splitting heaven and earth in two. After Lumine unleashed this strike, her aura completely withered, leaving her without even the strength to stand steadily. She swayed unsteadily and nearly collapsed to the ground, finally managing to steady her posture by relying on the Dull Blade's support, but her eyes remained fixed on Chen Feng.
At this moment, everyone held their breath, watching as the distance between that grayish-white sword light and Chen Feng closed rapidly.
In this instant, time seemed to slow down, and everyone broke into a cold sweat. Although they did not understand combat very well, they could still vaguely feel that this was the most critical moment, and many were silently praying in their hearts.
Fortunately, the unexpected did not happen. Chen Feng felt the fatal threat from below and struggled to construct a defense in front of himself. Countless white lights surged from his body to form a shield in front. He pushed both hands forward, and instantly, the shield spun toward the grayish-white sword light with a white trail, and then it exploded with a loud bang.
A dazzling white light instantly filled the heavens and earth, but it lasted only a few seconds before being swallowed by blackness. At this moment, that grayish-white sword light flew toward Chen Feng without any loss of momentum, though the aura it emitted had weakened considerably.
Chen Feng's expression grew even more solemn. He crossed his hands in front of his chest, and instantly, a black vortex gradually emerged before him.
Finally, that grayish-white sword light made contact with the black vortex first. Surprisingly, it sliced it directly in two, then flew past Chen Feng.
Although Chen Feng dodged at the last moment, he was still cut in half at the waist, and for a moment, his body became nearly transparent!
The next second, the severed body turned into two white lights that merged together again. Chen Feng once again appeared in everyone's sight, his body whole once more, but his aura had weakened to the absolute limit.
But this scene filled everyone with a sense of despair. They could see that Lumine was already exhausted after unleashing her final strike, yet Chen Feng had still not been defeated. At this moment, even Zhongli, who stood by the side, looked utterly wretched. Who else could suppress him next?
However, just at this moment, a crimson light not far from the battlefield captured everyone's gaze.
Watching this scene unfold, a scorching fire ignited in Hu Tao's eyes, and her Vision erupted with a red radiance far beyond any before. Then, Hu Tao's body, along with everything around her, burst into flames, but these flames quickly converged onto the Staff of Homa in her hand, which was now almost completely engulfed in orange-red fire.
"Director Hu Tao?!"
Keqing was astonished. Where was the despair she had seen earlier? But she quickly realized that Hu Tao's previous state might have been a facade to lower Chen Feng's guard.
Just as Keqing had this thought, Hu Tao transformed into a giant fiery butterfly and lunged toward Chen Feng.
The Adepti soon came to their senses and without hesitation poured the last remnants of their Adeptal Energy into Hu Tao's body. This was their final effort to aid her.
Infused with this Adeptal Energy, Hu Tao's power surged, the flames on the fiery butterfly taking on a seven-colored iridescent hue as its speed increased significantly.
Seeing this, Ningguang realized things were unfolding exactly as she had anticipated. Her gaze drifted between Hu Tao and Chen Feng, and she finally sighed inwardly.
Sensing the familiar aura rapidly approaching, Chen Feng turned his head and met Hu Tao's peach-blossom eyes, which were burning with endless rage.
In an instant, it felt as if everything around them gradually faded away. Chen Feng's eyes held only her petite figure, and countless complex emotions flashed through his gaze, but in the end, all gave way to a profound stillness.
At this final moment, Chen Feng slowly closed his eyes, awaiting the long-destined conclusion.
The scorching heat drew closer and closer in his perception, but in the end, it did not pierce through him.
Chen Feng couldn't help but open his eyes again, only to see the familiar figure lunging toward him and holding him in a tight embrace.
Chen Feng's body trembled, a flicker of doubt appearing in his eyes, but they soon hardened with resolve. He raised his hand to seize the Staff of Homa, only for Hu Tao to deftly evade him and retreat several meters away.
"Chen Feng, you've finally shown your weakness!"
Seeing the Death Note that had appeared in Hu Tao's hand at some unknown point, another flicker of doubt flashed in Chen Feng's eyes. Just as he took a step forward, Hu Tao retreated several more steps, then flipped directly to the last page of the Death Note. His name was written there in bold characters!
"You're still too naive if you think you can deceive this Director!"
Seeing this, a triumphant expression appeared on Hu Tao's face, but a deep sadness flashed in the depths of her eyes.
"What's going on? Hu Tao?!"
Everyone was stunned, having expected Hu Tao to launch a fatal attack to take her revenge on Chen Feng, yet they now witnessed this scene.
And those who could clearly see the contents of the Death Note were even more dumbfounded, unable to comprehend why Chen Feng would write his own name on it.
"As expected."
Ningguang sighed softly.
"The so-called sacrifice Chen Feng referred to actually included himself."
Hearing Ningguang's explanation, the crowd was taken aback, never anticipating such an answer.
"Director Hu... when did you find out?"
Seeing his most crucial secret exposed before Hu Tao, Chen Feng took a deep breath, then asked her in confusion.
"Since the very beginning, of course!"
Hu Tao spoke without hesitation upon hearing Chen Feng's words.
"Chen Feng, do you know? You are truly awful at lying."
"You repeatedly dodged this Director's feelings at critical moments, and after this Director made it clear, you refused directly, saying so many things and doing so many things to make this Director hate you."
"How could this Director possibly fall for such a simple trick?!"
Feeling the disdain in Hu Tao's gaze, Chen Feng couldn't help but speak again.
"Then why before..."
"Of course I was just playing along with you."
"After all, you put in a lot of preparation for today, didn't you?"
"If this Director didn't cooperate, wouldn't all your preparations have been in vain?"
Hu Tao said, feigning a casual tone.
"But acting is still quite tiring. This was this Director's first time performing, but seeing that bewildered little look in your eyes, it seems this Director's talent isn't half bad, right?"
At the end of her sentence, Hu Tao didn't forget to praise herself.
"Director Hu Tao, don't you hate me for making you send off your own grandfather with your own hands?"
"Why should I hate you? I should be grateful to you for letting me see Grandpa one last time. This was a regret in this Director's heart back then, but this Director has long since completely let it go."
As Hu Tao spoke, she kept flipping through the Death Note. When she saw the different contents on the two pages regarding Qi Shu, a bright smile immediately appeared on her face.
"Alright, stop talking about this Director, now it's time to talk about your problem."
Hu Tao tucked the Death Note in her hand into her arms, stepped forward to grab Chen Feng's shoulders tightly, and spoke to him word by word.
"Chen Feng, this farewell ceremony of yours is not liked by this Director at all!"
"I really don't like it!"