Chapter 2054: 挽璃

This scene completely defied Hua Qingying's understanding of abyss beasts. Yet, she had no time to feel even a shred of surprise, for her soul was instantly engulfed by extreme terror. The Heaven Wielding Sword also flew from her grasp at that very moment, soaring towards the power that was directly engulfing Hua Caili.

As the world-renowned Sword Immortal, Hua Qingying specialized in swordsmanship and movement techniques. Her sword could slay a person in an instant, silently and imperceptibly, undetectable even from ten zhang away. This was not merely sword intent that had reached an ultimate state, but also the pinnacle of profound energy mastery. In essence, it involved condensing profound energy into her sword, achieving extreme compression and control of profound qi. Even a tiny wisp of profound qi could claim a life in a flash, guided by her sword intent. This was the complete opposite of Yun Che's method of unleashing profound energy wildly with expansive, open attacks.

Since comprehending the Heaven-Folding Sword Intent, Hua Qingying had never been defeated by opponents of the same realm. This was because even with identical cultivation levels and equally potent profound energy, in a confrontation, her opponent would be nearing exhaustion while she would have used at most three-tenths of her power. Their overwhelming, pervasive power could be dispersed by a single ray of her sword light. Her ultimate agility and profound subtlety were the origin of her "Immortal" moniker.

For this reason, she disdained the path of heavy swords. While heavy swords were powerful and brutal, capable of one-against-a-thousand in offense and defending vast territories in retreat, they consumed immense energy and were unrefined. Against a strong enemy, one would weaken oneself before defeating the foe. Even the Abyssal Qilin God, whose single claw could cause a hundred miles of disaster, a thousand miles of collapse, and ten thousand miles of tremors, was in her eyes merely a dull, barbaric beast. Therefore, even within the Mist Sea, she could remain undefeated against the Abyssal Qilin God, moving freely.

But… at this very moment, for the first time in her life, she so clearly and truly perceived the shortcomings of her own power. Suppression…

Her Heaven Wielding Sword desperately pursued the Abyssal Qilin God's immense power in a flash… If this power had been unleashed in her direction, Hua Caili would still have been affected by the residual shockwave from behind, but it would certainly not have been fatal. However, aimed directly at Hua Caili, from a mere seventy li away… that was almost a ninety-nine percent certainty of death! The tearing sound of the Heaven Wielding Sword was almost a wail. It split into hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of sword lights, frantically slicing and annihilating the Abyssal Qilin God's power. But in that brief instant, the Heaven Wielding Sword, arriving later, could not possibly completely annihilate the power engulfing Hua Caili. Thirty percent, fifty percent, sixty percent, seventy percent… The remaining thirty percent of the Qilin Divine Power, which had not been annihilated, finally slammed into the space where Hua Caili was.

The shadow of death rapidly approached from behind. Hua Caili, mid-flight, twisted her body with difficulty, ignoring the rupture of her internal injuries, and struggled to form a fan-shaped sword array with her Glazed Cloud Sword. Boom— The incredibly sturdy Mist Sea ground sank dozens of zhang. The Glazed Cloud Sword's light dimmed, and it flew far away. Its owner, like a withered leaf swept by a hurricane, was sent flying horizontally, traveling a very long distance before crashing powerlessly onto the still trembling, icy ground. Dazzling scarlet rapidly spread across her pure white outer robe, appearing tragically beautiful.

“Caili!!” The world was a blur, sometimes pale, sometimes desolate. Her aunt’s voice vaguely reached her ears… a panic and wail she had never heard before. She felt no pain, almost no sensation of her body's existence. Her aunt had said that no matter how severe an injury, as long as one could still feel pain, it wasn’t terrifying. What was terrifying was suddenly feeling no pain, because that indicated… both body and soul had been severely wounded to the brink of death. Her blood-stained fingers tried to curl, but couldn't support her to get up. Her vision grew increasingly blurry, her clearest awareness being a… despair of rapidly ebbing life. Father God… Aunt… Young Master Yun…

The disaster was not over. The enraged Abyssal Qilin God attacked again with a roar, its two Qilin claws stirring the abyssal-corrupted Qilin power, heavily pounding the earth below. This time, its power wasn’t concentrated in Hua Caili's direction but engulfed hundreds of li around. Within a hundred li, all beings below the Demigod realm would either die or be severely wounded. There were no blind spots, no chance of survival. And with Hua Caili's thread-like breath, she was certainly doomed.

Its massive body could unleash boundless, ocean-like power in an instant. As a guardian Qilin God, its unleashed Qilin divine power could protect millions of beings from harm. Now, however, it had become a malevolent god of destruction. What was once a divine protective domain it could create in an instant had now become an inescapable domain of death and calamity.

“…” Hua Qingying froze in place, a deep sense of powerlessness and despair making her feel as though she had returned ten thousand years ago… to Qu Wanxin, lying in a pool of blood, with fifty-four Soul-Severing Nails hammered into her body. Back then, she was powerless to reverse fate, left only with regret and self-reproach. Now, facing Hua Caili trapped in a deathly situation, a mere seventy li distance felt like an insurmountable chasm of despair… Even if she could stop time and shield Hua Caili, without anyone to restrain it, the Abyssal Qilin God’s enraged power and pursuit would follow… an unsolvable death trap. The Heaven Wielding Sword, which was returning to her hand through the air, suddenly lost power and fell from the sky. Just like her soul, which instantly plummeted into an abyss.

If I had fled with Caili at full speed from the start, instead of leaving her alone and attempting to lure it away, perhaps there would have been a thirty percent chance of survival. Back then, I harmed Qu Wanxin. Now, I have harmed her daughter again… Without a doubt, the choice she made should have been the most logical and correct one. She had fought the Abyssal Qilin God multiple times and knew well that despite its massive size, its speed was not slow at all. If she had tried to flee with Hua Caili at full speed, it would have taken at least a hundred breaths to completely escape the Abyssal Qilin God. Within those hundred breaths, even if she fully protected Hua Caili, the sheer terrifying divine pressure and spatial tremors from the Abyssal Qilin God alone would have progressively worsened her injuries, leading to death. She had no other choice. But she had never imagined that the Abyssal Qilin God, which had clearly been attracted by her aura and power, would attack Hua Caili, who had already fled far away.

As all her hopes turned to ash, a world-shaking dragon roar suddenly echoed from the distant sky. Hua Qingying's sword soul trembled, and her dimmed eyes instantly cleared. The Abyssal Qilin God, with its claws raised high and immense power surging, also abruptly paused at the sound of that ancient dragon roar. And in that brief pause, a dark figure shot out from the unstable, trembling space, rushing directly towards Hua Caili, quickly and carefully embracing her blood-stained body to his chest. Hua Qingying suddenly turned her gaze. Abyssal dust obscured her vision, but she still recognized the dark figure by Hua Caili's side at a glance. Yun Che?! Her mind had just been in such chaos that she hadn't noticed when he had approached. And why would he approach this calamitous place where everyone else would only recoil in fear…

Warmth touched her body, so familiar it felt like a dream. Her faded eyes trembled intensely, gradually making out the face so close… a face she had thought lost forever. “…” Her lips parted and closed, but no sound escaped, only a mist of tears blurring her vision once again.

After a brief pause, the Abyssal Qilin God's claws slammed down… but due to the preceding halt, a small portion of its immense power naturally dissipated. Boom— The peak divine power shook Hua Qingying far away, but she seemed oblivious, her gaze fixed on the distance… watching as, in that instant, a yellow barrier enveloped Hua Caili. It was an Earth Barrier, symbolizing the strongest defensive profound energy, yet it was compressed to its smallest form, firmly protecting only Hua Caili, leaving not a shred for himself.

The earth was lifted thousands of zhang high, reaching the grey sky. Two small figures, like bamboo boats on a raging sea, were shaken to different distant locations. But in that instant, Hua Qingying clearly observed… countless cracks covered the barrier around Hua Caili, but it only completely shattered the moment they landed. Yun Che abandoned his own protective barrier to single-handedly withstand the Abyssal Qilin God's ground-stomping attack, which still retained half its power, from seventy li away.

The black figure rose… his black robes were even darker, she knew, from the blood that covered him. Yun Che, with a cultivation of Divine Master Realm Level Three, possessed power and a physique comparable to the early stages of the Divine Extinction Realm. At that distance, had he fully resisted, he would have been able to completely withstand the residual power from the Abyssal Qilin God… even if wounded, it wouldn't have been severe. But he had given all his protective power to Hua Caili. One could imagine that even with a demigod and dragon god physique, utterly unprotected, his body must have been shattered, his organs destroyed, and bones broken. Yet, he struggled to get up at the first opportunity, dragging a clearly visible trail of blood from afar, and lunged back towards Hua Caili.

A weak, blood-stained, yet resolute and ringing voice also came from that direction: “Please, Senior… hold back the beast… I swear on my life… I will ensure her safety…” He picked up Hua Caili, and a new barrier formed around them. His severely wounded body, however, erupted with miraculous speed, rapidly fleeing into the distance.

Swish!! The Heaven Wielding Sword, which had fallen to the ground, shot back up into the air. Hua Qingying, whose profound energy rarely overflowed, now had her long hair unbound, her white robes fluttering, and violent profound energy vortices swirling around her. Where her sword tip pointed, a sword screen swept downwards, instantly overlapping into a thousand layers. She rarely used sword screens against enemies. But at this moment, she wasn't trying to subdue the enemy, but only to impede its body and power in every possible way.

Drip… Drip… Warm liquid dripped onto the young girl's cheek. She opened her eyes, looking at Yun Che's blood-streaked face, unable to distinguish between dream and reality. “Young… Master… Yun…” she whispered, her voice faint as a breeze, like a dream or delirium. The ground was shaking, and the wind howling in her ears sounded like wailing devils. He lowered his head into her blurry vision, revealing that perpetually warm and calm faint smile: “Don't be afraid, everything will be fine soon…”

Heavy pressure assailed them from behind; the residual power, though blocked by the sword screen, was still terrifyingly immense. Hua Caili felt herself being fiercely embraced… Though her vision was blurry, she could still clearly see that the protective barrier that had originally enveloped both of them suddenly contracted sharply, eventually transforming into a dense yellow stream of light that circulated only around her. “No… don't…”

Boom! The space twisted, and Hua Caili's consciousness once again went blank, her ears ringing, but soon, everything became clear again. She watched Yun Che tumble into the distance, yet mid-tumble, he forcefully straightened up and reversed direction. His back was already a bloody mess, bones starkly visible. The moment he rose, his left arm was bent backward at a horrifying angle. The severity of his injuries was unimaginable. Because once again, he had poured all his protective power onto her. He forcibly bent his twisted arm back into place, not even letting out a whimper. He staggered, rushing back to her side. With his recently realigned left arm, undoubtedly enduring bone-piercing pain, he firmly protected her against his chest once more, then picked her up, and, summoning strength from an unknown source, charged forward without any pause.

A mist of tears instantly blurred her eyes. Though her body felt no pain, a searing ache erupted in her heart. “Put me down… you'll… die…” she strained to speak, each word accompanied by a tear. Drip… Drip… Blood dripped several times faster than before, but his lowered eyes still held the kindest, reassuring faint smile: “No… neither of us… will die…”

Thud— Yun Che stumbled, knelt and slid on the ground, spitting out a large mouthful of blood, but then immediately launched himself into the air, struggling to move forward. “Put me down…” she desperately cried out with all her remaining profound energy and will: “Go… you have to keep your word… never see me again…”

Yun Che's blood-stained long hair fell messily, touching the young girl's cheek. He looked ahead and softly said, “I won't allow myself to be a burden to you, and I certainly won't allow… you to be harmed…”

Thud!! The tremor of the earth violently pushed Yun Che away. He vomited blood again, rolling dozens of times on the ground while holding Hua Caili, before barely regaining his footing. “You're… not hurt, are you?” he asked anxiously and fearfully, terrified of even the slightest additional scratch on her.

“…” Hua Caili didn't respond. She stared blankly at Yun Che's chest… where a long, dark rock from the Mist Sea had pierced through his back, emerging bloody from his chest. Her soul felt as though it had fallen into a bottomless deep sea, extreme cold and extreme warmth intertwining in chaos. Her lips trembled incessantly with her soul, and for a long time, she couldn't make a sound. She thought her tears had all been shed during that snowy curtain on that day. But now, her tears, mixed with warm blood beads on her face, flowed endlessly, uncontrollably.

The accumulating injuries gradually slowed Yun Che's speed, but he clenched his teeth, seemingly about to shatter them, and never stopped. The Abyssal Qilin God was gradually being drawn away by Hua Qingying, its power strenuously obstructed by her sword screen… With every passing moment, their distance rapidly increased. The residual power from the Abyssal Qilin God naturally weakened layer by layer. However, Yun Che's condition was also nearing its limit, each resistance undoubtedly a gamble with his life.

Boom— Rumble!! Boom———— Again and again, wave after wave. Space was shaking, the aura of death approached and receded repeatedly. But Hua Caili seemed oblivious to it all. She simply stared blankly at Yun Che, watching every change in his expression, the shape of each of his features, the trajectory of every blood drop and every streak of blood… savoring the warmth of his body against hers. Suddenly, she was no longer afraid. To be buried together, just the two of them… like vanishing meteors…

Lisha had been watching silently, never speaking, so as not to distract Yun Che. The most difficult part of what he did today was to evade Hua Qingying's perception and allow the Abyssal Qilin God to approach Hua Caili. For this, he gathered an exceptionally vast and dense amount of abyssal dust. The Abyssal Qilin God was hidden beneath layers of this dense abyssal dust. Currently, Yun Che's mastery over abyssal dust had not yet reached the point of complete freedom. It took him more than ten hours to gather enough abyssal dust. Clearly, he was very successful.

But there was one thing Lisha didn't understand. Why did he release profound energy to infiltrate the abyssal dust and then fabricate the title of "Mist Emperor"? It made no sense whatsoever. Getting close enough had already achieved his goal. Announcing himself as the "Mist Emperor" was entirely superfluous, merely adding risk. Or perhaps… the identity of the "Mist Emperor" was another part of his scheme?