Time seemed to freeze at the entrance of the Ling Shu Valley.
Tang Xiaoqi knelt on the cold, shattered rocks, maintaining the posture of reaching forward, his fingertips desperately trying to grasp the starlight that rose into the sky and ultimately dissipated into nothing. His master's final gentle and nostalgic smile was branded onto his retina, onto his very soul.
No sound.
His throat was blocked by an invisible boulder, unable to emit even the faintest whimper.
His chest felt hollow, with only a vast, whistling cold void where his heart should be. Emptier than the exhaustion from burning essence and blood, more painful than the agony of severed meridians. It was a sense of severance from the very source of life, as if part of him had dissipated into the heavens and earth along with those starlight particles.
His vision was completely blurred by tears, warm fluid mixing with the blood on his face, falling silently onto the scorched earth below, spreading into a small patch of dark color.
Master...
The master who would maintain a stern face while checking his studies, yet whose eyes carried unconcealable concern; the master who would quietly help him get revenge when he was bullied; the master who, after he activated the jade pendant, came to talk with him late at night and told him Cultivate the heart before cultivating the Dao; the master who, before the mountain gate, fought bloodily with a single arm, holding his ground until death...
Gone.
For Qingxu Temple, for his unpromising disciples, he had become part of the mountain-protecting formation, become stars that might exist in the sky above.
An indescribable cold spread from the void in his heart to his limbs and extremities, freezing his blood, freezing his thoughts.
Yet, beneath this extreme coldness and silence, something was brewing, accumulating.
From the direction of the mountain gate plaza, someone could not tell who first let out a mournful cry that had been suppressed to the extreme before finally breaking through their throat, like igniting a fuse.
Deacon Xuan Lin!
Avenge the Elder!!
Kill all these demon brats!!
Grief! Rage! Hatred! And a final display of bloodlust born from desperation, from the resolve to die with the sect!
The master's sacrifice was like a key, opening the final floodgate in the hearts of all Qingxu Temple disciples. Sadness did not break them; instead, it became the most scorching fuel, igniting the last strength in their bones!
The remaining disciples' eyes instantly turned blood-red. Spiritual power that had been depleted from the long battle somehow surged forth again, carrying a desperate aura of burning life! They stopped defending, stopped caring about casualties, charging toward the demonic tide before them like mad tigers!
Sword light became more resolute, spells more violent. Even talisman explosions carried a mad aura of mutual destruction!
The Qingxu Temple defense line that had been steadily losing ground suddenly erupted with amazing counterattack power, forcibly pushing the demonic tide back a small distance!
High in the sky, Palace Master Xuan Xuan True Person let out a long cry mixing endless grief and fury. The earth-yellow spiritual light surged again, temporarily pushing back the Faceless Elder's assault!
The entire Qingxu Temple, at this moment, because of one person's sacrifice, had transformed into a volcano of righteous fury!
And the core, the most scorching part of this volcano, was at the entrance of Ling Shu Valley.
The kneeling Tang Xiaoqi's body began to tremble uncontrollably. Not the trembling of weakness, but a vibration suppressed to the extreme, about to explode.
That cold void was filled with a raging fire from the depths of his soul, burning across all directions!
Why?!
Why must protection always come at such an excruciating cost?!
Why do the good never receive their due, while demons rampage unchecked?!
Second Senior Brother's resolute self-destruction with unknown fate, Zhao Tiezhu's push before falling off the cliff, Master turning into starlight... scene after scene collided, shattered, and restructured in his mind! In the end, all transformed into boundless hatred toward Shadow Snake Pavilion, toward all injustice and evil in this world!
And, a deeper, more resolute obsession--
Protection!
Protect the brief peace that Master bought with his life!
Protect the sect where Senior Brothers and Sisters still fight in blood!
Protect those fellow disciples who trust and follow him!
He would no longer watch helplessly as important people leave! He would no longer endure this heart-wrenching powerlessness!
He wanted power! Power enough to crush all enemies, to protect everything he wished to protect!
Ah---!!!
A roar that seemed not of human origin, tearing through the sky, finally erupted from the depths of Xiao Qi's throat! The roar was hoarse and broken, yet carried a mad will sufficient to make ghosts and gods retreat!
Along with this roar, the dormant Purification Origin within him, dimmed from backlash, seemed to be triggered by this extreme grief and protective obsession, exploding violently!
No longer the gentle nurturing force, no longer the barely sustained activation from before, but an unprecedented pure white light carrying majestic divine might and boundless fury, gushed out from every corner of his body! That white light was so blazing it temporarily outshone the starlight of the altar within the valley, illuminating his surroundings as bright as day!
Meanwhile, that protective sword will imprint from his father Xu Zhan, deeply rooted in his dantian, also glowed with unprecedented brightness. Golden light streamed out actively, no longer a weak resonance, but madly surging toward the Red Flame Sword planted in the ground beside his hand!
Clang---!
The Red Flame Sword emitted an unprecedented, joyful yet violent sword cry! The blade vibrated intensely. Crimson flames soared into the sky. The flames were no longer purely scorching, but bordered with a pure platinum-white edge! The angry red flames and the protective golden light, under the unified command of the Purification Origin's majestic white light, fused perfectly together for the first time!
Red flames as the surface, carrying the fury that burns away evil!
Golden light as the bones, condensing the will to protect all!
White light as the soul, cleansing all filth in the world!
Three powers, at this moment, due to Xiao Qi's heart that was grieving to the extreme yet resolute to the extreme, achieved perfect resonance and fusion!
A terrifying aura far exceeding his own realm, even faintly touching the threshold of Golden Core, erupted violently from Xiao Qi's seemingly broken body!
He raised his head sharply. Though tear tracks still lingered on his face, grief in those crimson eyes had been replaced by killing intent cold to the extreme yet burning to the extreme!
He reached out and grabbed the platinum-white flaming Red Flame Sword in one grasp!
As the sword entered his hand, a sense of power surged through his entire body like a tide, temporarily suppressing all injuries and pain!
He slowly straightened his body. Though still covered in blood and dirt, though his aura was slightly unstable from the fused power, he stood there like a god of vengeance returned from hell. Where his gaze fell, the air seemed ready to ignite!
He glanced toward where Master dissipated, then at the endless demonic tide beyond the mountain gate. Finally, his gaze fell upon those within Ling Shu Valley still stubbornly resisting--traitors and Shadow Snake Pavilion infiltrators who had destroyed the formation's eye.
Starting from... here!
He moved!
No sound, only a platinum-white streak of light tearing through the air!
Speed exceeded visual capture!
A Shadow Snake Pavilion Foundation Establishment early-stage infiltrator, currently engaged with the last few defending disciples, only saw a blur. A sword tip wrapped in platinum-white flames was already pointing at his brow.
He could not make any reaction at all.
Pfft!
A slight sound.
The infiltrator's body stiffened suddenly, pupils instantly dilating. Not a simple penetrating wound. The demonic essence and life force within his body, upon contact with the platinum-white flames, were like snow meeting the blazing sun, completely purified and annihilated from the source! The entire person collapsed softly like their support had been emptied, no wounds on their body, yet all breath gone.
Instant kill!
Pure, overwhelming instant kill!
Grief transformed into power. The flames of revenge had been lit! Xiao Qi, holding the new Red Flame Sword fused with three powers, combat strength soaring, transformed into a purging Asura, beginning his reckoning!