Chapter 289: End of Days

“Jiaojiao, you’ve misunderstood.”

Siming swayed as she stood, the icy chill in her eyes gradually softening into a gentle gaze.

Lu Jiaojiao's eyes shimmered with unshed tears, a faint reddish tint still visible. Set against her delicate, snow-white cheeks, her eyes were like a pond bathed in the soft glow of twilight, brimming with light, as if clear spring water might overflow at any moment.

Her delicate shoulders trembled slightly as she looked at Siming with a complicated expression, complaining, "You just admitted you lied to me. What else is there to explain?"

Siming looked at her, recalling every detail of their acquaintance, and felt a surge of guilt. She softly defended herself, "It must be Ning Changjiu and Qiu Yue conspiring. Qiu Yue wrote this book, so of course she can write whatever she wants. Listen to how intimately she calls him 'Daddy' every other word! There's definitely something fishy going on here!"

Lu Jiaojiao nodded thoughtfully.

She looked at Ning Changjiu again.

It was as if they were in a yamen court, with Lu Jiaojiao as the chief judge, gavel in hand, holding the power of life and death. The two "culprits" by her side earnestly tried to defend themselves and clear their names.

Ning Changjiu now held the clear advantage. Without a trace of panic, he pressed on, "Jiaojiao, if you doubt the Luoshu's content, you can cross-reference it. While I don't trust this brat, the Luoshu is, after all, the final divine artifact left by Tianzang and Mingjun; it shouldn't contain falsehoods."

Siming retorted, "Since the Luoshu is a divine artifact, it should possess extraordinary literary skill. Is it truly reasonable for the phrase 'meaning unclear' to appear repeatedly so many times?"

Ning Changjiu said, "It's simply because the God Official has hidden her thoughts too deeply; even the Luoshu couldn't discern your intentions."

"God Official?" Qiu Yue was startled. She looked at Siming with burning eyes and exclaimed in admiration, "I always felt there was something extraordinary about your body. You're actually... God Official Sister!"

Siming's sarcastic words were tinged with self-pity: "What God Official? I'm just the master's slave, to be beaten and cursed at will. The slightest displeasure means being dragged into a room for punishment, and a hundred pleas for mercy are useless..."

After all, the slave mark was now a confirmed fact. A man, another's husband, had placed a slave mark on such a peerlessly beautiful woman—if there was nothing between them, no one would believe it.

Listening to her words, Lu Jiaojiao recalled Ning Changjiu's description of her as "green-faced and fanged," and some doubts still lingered in her heart.

In any case, Sister Xueci had always been very good to her...

Ning Changjiu knew that the habitually kind Jiaojiao was about to soften. He quickly intervened, stating firmly, "Jiaojiao, I've only ever deceived you this one time. You surely know my true feelings for you from the past. As for Siming, I haven't laid a finger on her. 'Green-faced and fanged' was no lie. Besides the few I truly care about, other women in this world are no different to me than green-faced, fanged imps."

Siming's eyes narrowed instantly. Her fine, porcelain-like teeth ground together, and she longed to hold his head down and give him a good beating.

Ning Changjiu sensed Siming's murderous intent and swiftly summoned a fierce Asura for protection, preempting a sudden attack from her.

Siming said, "Jiaojiao, you're not a little girl anymore. You must not believe such clumsy sweet talk."

Lu Jiaojiao hummed in acknowledgment.

She looked at Ning Changjiu and asked, "What exactly is the story behind the slave mark?"

Ning Changjiu said, "The slave mark is a long story; I can explain all the details to you slowly, Jiaojiao. For now, proving what's true and false is simple: our conversation just now should have been recorded by the Luoshu again. We'll know once we check."

Lu Jiaojiao lowered her head, flipping through the book with a serious expression.

Siming's bad premonition grew stronger.

She thought, 'I didn't laugh just now, so... it should be fine, right?'

Lu Jiaojiao turned the pages.

Ning Changjiu and Siming both leaned in, curious to see.

Qiu Yue hopped around nearby, singing a nursery rhyme.

"Two mothers, two mothers, so pretty, so pretty, one cold as ice, one soft and tender..."

"Shut up!" Ning Changjiu sharply ordered.

"Yes, Daddy!" Qiu Yue obediently sat by the book.

Siming looked at the book, rubbing her temples in frustration. Lu Jiaojiao looked up and asked, "Do you have anything else to say?"

On that page, before Siming's words, appeared phrases like "pretended," "feigned," and "lied."

Siming gnashed her teeth, "Didn't it say 'meaning unclear' before? Why is it so clear now? There must be a trick!"

Qiu Yue explained, "It means the God Official has been exposed by the Luoshu."

Ning Changjiu was confident of victory, unhurriedly waiting for Lu Jiaojiao to process her emotions. He looked at Qiu Yue. Qiu Yue's eyes lit up, and she immediately sought praise, "Daddy, didn't your daughter do well? The main reason we won this victory is that Daddy's integrity shines through, but your daughter, despite her past misdeeds, still deserves 30% of the credit!"

Ning Changjiu ignored her flattery and bid for praise, asking, "How do we get out of the Luoshu?"

Qiu Yue looked hesitant.

Ning Changjiu said, "Confess, and leniency will be granted. It's only a matter of time before I uncover the Luoshu's secrets myself. I'm giving you a chance to turn over a new leaf."

"Confess, and leniency will be granted..." Qiu Yue was swayed by these words. She cautiously probed, "If I tell you, Daddy, you won't drive me away, right?"

Ning Changjiu said, "Don't worry, Jiaojiao is right beside me. Of course, I won't go back on my word."

Qiu Yue hesitated for a moment, unsure whether to trust this human. But outside, matters were urgent. Using them as cannon fodder might offer a glimmer of hope, and she could also gain some goodwill...

"Alright, I'll tell you. Daddy, you absolutely must not go back on your word," Qiu Yue said, raising her hand.

Ning Changjiu nodded gravely.

This world was a spiritual realm built and expanded from the Luoshu as its foundation. The Luoshu was the source and center of all power in this world, the light source for all things, much like a candle placed in the center of a room. It was impossible to tear away all light from the entire room; the only way was to extinguish the candle.

Qiu Yue articulated this simple truth.

She then meticulously and sincerely explained the method of using spiritual power to extinguish the Luoshu's "candle," covering every detail.

"Daddy, hasn't your daughter been very obedient? Previously wanting to possess Mother Siming was truly like a flood overwhelming the Dragon King's Temple—your daughter was utterly blind. Now..." As Qiu Yue spoke, Ning Changjiu's palm descended.

Qiu Yue was aghast: "Didn't you say 'confess, and leniency will be granted'? You lied... Ah!!!"

Ning Changjiu struck with his palm, shattering the spirit Qiu Yue had painstakingly gathered, and forcing it back into the Luoshu.

Meanwhile, Lu Jiaojiao and Siming's discussion also yielded a result.

Siming fully conceded defeat.

"Jiaojiao, actually... I was testing your marital affection before," Siming said.

Ning Changjiu and Lu Jiaojiao exchanged a glance.

Lu Jiaojiao said, "Call me 'Sister' from now on."

Siming bit her lip, her expression fraught with struggle... This was nothing like the outcome she had originally envisioned! Her initial plan was to meet Ning Changjiu, suppress him with her cultivation to deny him any chance of controlling the slave mark, then force him to remove it. After that, she would openly humiliate his wife in front of him, branding her own unique mark on each of his beloved wives.

Why had things turned upside down?

Siming sighed at her misfortune.

If this weren't a spiritual world, and if Ning Changjiu's Asura weren't so uniquely powerful, how could she have fallen to such a plight?

This young girl, who had once admired her and followed her every word, now dared to coldly demand to be called 'Sister'...

Circumstances were against her. She looked at Lu Jiaojiao and compromised, "Sister, I, your younger sister, know I was wrong."

Lu Jiaojiao said coldly, "What should one do when they know they're wrong?"

Siming gritted her teeth. She glanced at Ning Changjiu, who was looking at her with a half-smile.

Ning Changjiu, feeling triumphant, suggested, "Jiaojiao, you must not be soft-hearted towards such a wicked woman. How she wronged you before, she should be repaid a hundredfold."

"No, my younger sister ultimately rendered me a great kindness," Lu Jiaojiao said coolly. "If I were to do that, how would I be any different from those despicable villains?"

As she spoke, she looked at Siming and said, "I know of your kindness and meticulous care for me along the way, Siming. And I am genuinely happy to learn that you are not merely a phantom from history. Your older sister thanks you here."

Lu Jiaojiao spoke earnestly, bowing her head in a respectful gesture to Siming.

Siming looked at her gentle eyes and couldn't help but smile, feeling even more certain that she hadn't misjudged her. What a pity such a good girl was deceived by a bad man...

Lu Jiaojiao said, "But you also deceived me the whole way, plotting and scheming, almost causing a rift between my husband and me. I cannot easily forgive you for that."

Siming's smile faltered slightly.

"Sister... you want to..." Siming began, then hesitated.

Lu Jiaojiao looked up and said, "Husband."

Ning Changjiu understood perfectly.

On the other side of the mountain, the arrogant God Official was easily subdued by Ning Changjiu, who utilized his natural advantage. Her dark ink robe draped over the peak stones, making them appear black, and she herself was like the unmelted snow on the mountain's shaded side. The exquisite beauty of this figure, like a sculpture of snow, was enough to captivate anyone.

Lu Jiaojiao admired her for a long time. Her jade-like, snow-white body was like a divine sculpture, without a single flaw, save for the mark on the inside of her right thigh, which resembled embers ready to reignite at any moment.

"This isn't symmetrical," Lu Jiaojiao said.

Siming thought, 'If this one were removed, wouldn't it be symmetrical?'

Of course, she also knew Lu Jiaojiao would propose another solution.

Under Ning Changjiu's coercion and enticement, Siming reluctantly compromised. Lu Jiaojiao and Siming also made an agreement following a ritual, and thus, in this secret, twin flowers blossomed on the same stalk. If Zhao Xiang'er were present, Qiu Yue might have crawled out of the Luoshu and spontaneously started singing "Two White Tigers."

And so, on this day, Siming gained another mistress.

"Sister, please get up." After trying the mark a few times, Lu Jiaojiao helped the weakened Siming to her feet and gently draped the black robe over her.

Siming, with her snow-white feet, stumbled slightly. She tightened the sash around her waist and asked, a little surprised, "Sister?"

Lu Jiaojiao said, "You are older than me, and in the past, you treated me as kindly as a true sister. When we are out, it's fine for us to address each other as sisters."

Siming caught the unspoken meaning: "And when we're inside?"

Lu Jiaojiao said, "What do you think?"

Siming tidied her tangled silver hair, a faint light glowing in her icy eyes. The cold and elegant woman in black stood still for a moment, then finally spoke softly, "Understood... Master."

The God Official, once second only to a god, had never imagined such a day would come.

Siming stood quietly, sighing silently, thinking she had truly met her fated nemesis.

In the future, if she met other mistresses, would each of them put a mark on her?

Siming dared not think further.

After punishing Siming, Lu Jiaojiao turned around and said, "Husband, what exactly happened in Duanjie City earlier? What's the story with the slave mark? Can you explain it properly to me?"

Ning Changjiu hummed in acknowledgment and told her some of the things he had concealed regarding Siming.

Lu Jiaojiao listened intently.

Ning Changjiu said, "I didn't tell you before mainly because I was afraid you'd overthink it."

Siming watched him coldly from the side, thinking, 'Are you trying to fool a little girl? Who would believe such clumsy words?'

Yet, Lu Jiaojiao nodded gently. She knelt on the ground, her graceful back straight, her head slightly bowed, her small, half-clenched hands resting on her knees, gently pinching the soft fabric of her sleeve.

"Husband, we have known each other for so long, we should have been of one mind. Yet I wrongly believed the words of others and doubted you. It was Jiaojiao's mistake," Lu Jiaojiao apologized sincerely.

Ning Changjiu looked at her, and with a pang of heartache, embraced her. He said, "It's not your fault. It's all this wicked woman's fault for deceiving and exploiting Jiaojiao's trust. Of course, your husband is also at fault; I shouldn't have hidden the matter of the 'green-faced and fanged' from you."

Lu Jiaojiao gently shook her head. The more gentle Ning Changjiu was, the more she regretted her previous attitude and words.

She whispered, "My thoughts have become muddled. Perhaps it's because my husband hasn't forged his sword for too long, causing Jiaojiao's sword-heart to become less clear. Husband, please don't be lax from now on; you should frequently chastise me to prevent me from being swayed by others' words and making grave mistakes again."

Siming, standing by, was dumbfounded, thinking, 'What kind of sheep willingly throws itself into a tiger's mouth like this?'

Ning Changjiu was also stunned for a moment. He thought, 'This is truly the most reasonable request I've ever heard in my life.' He feigned reluctance: "There's no need, is there? Jiaojiao is already a young woman in her twenties, and nominally, she's also my master..."

Lu Jiaojiao lowered her head, her smile bitter: "Jiaojiao is not as intelligent as Sister Xiang'er, nor as powerful as Sister Siming. Only by constantly self-reflecting can I keep my sword-heart clear and barely keep up with you."

Listening to her words, Ning Changjiu felt boundless pity. Under Siming's resentful gaze, he tightly embraced Lu Jiaojiao and reluctantly accepted her proposal.

The dust settled for the moment.

The Asura hovering behind Ning Changjiu transformed into golden light and returned to his body.

Many days passed within the Luoshu, but only a brief period—about half an incense stick's time—had elapsed in the outside world.

Mu Lingtong's sea-like robe billowed in the smoke and dust, not a speck of dirt clinging to it.

Her cultivation realm was above Luo Cangsu's, and the fatal backstab had severely wounded him, giving her the confidence to stand in an invincible position.

She reached out her hand and decisively struck towards Luo Cangsu.

Luo Cangsu had a sword lodged in his chest, and his half-scaled body was already weakened. After several blinks and dodges, his figure was once again caught by Mu Lingtong. Mu Lingtong's steps appeared light and slow, but in reality, she moved almost by touching the void, shattering countless tiny realms with a single sway of her body.

The woman's snow-white wrist gleamed brightly in the sunlight.

She effortlessly passed through the "Eternal Night" hastily formed by Luo Cangsu, directly tearing open the authority symbolizing the Day of Judgment with her bare hands, and delivered a punch to his chest where the sword had ultimately wounded him.

Luo Cangsu groaned in agony.

Mu Lingtong grabbed the sword piercing his body with one hand and choked his throat with the other. His half-scaled body glowed with the color of volcanic lava, but the lava now seemed covered by a layer of ash, and the light grew dimmer.

"I brought you into being, and you've enjoyed hundreds of years of glory. Now it's time for you to repay me," Mu Lingtong said coldly. She grabbed his body and carried him high into the sky.

The sea of clouds ripped open.

Mu Lingtong broke through the clouds.

From within her sea-silk-like robes, countless black streams of energy shot out, like feathered serpents with severed wings, tearing and biting at Luo Cangsu.

Killing a cultivator of the Five Paths realm was not easy.

So she directly suppressed him with the authority symbolizing death.

Luo Cangsu knew he was doomed. He spoke with difficulty, saying, "The authority of the Primordial Gods can only be held by deities... What you are doing is an overstep. Before long, divine retribution will surely descend upon you!"

Mu Lingtong remained unmoved.

Snake-like black energy, like arrowheads, pierced one by one into Luo Cangsu's scaled body, draining his power.

She carried him up to the true high altitude.

The air there was cold and thin, and the Hidden Void Sea behind the firmament seemed as if it could be pierced open with a mere touch.

Mu Lingtong killed him.

She propelled him, along with his sword, high into the sky.

Only the sword returned in the end.

The Master of the Luoshu Pavilion thus met his end.

Mu Lingtong glanced at the sun overhead. Its light shone dazzlingly upon her. She stared at the sun for a while, without blinking.

Nearly three thousand years ago, Tianzang and Mingjun were killed for the first time. Tianzang, the master of metal and stone, had his remains buried deep within the earth's veins, awaiting decay. Mingjun, the source of death, fell into the deepest part of the netherworld, using the underworld as his coffin.

The fall of the two Primordial True Gods also symbolized the complete failure of the first Nation-Hunting Plan. The world was transformed, entering a new era.

And now, it was time for Tianzang to truly die.

Mu Lingtong stood at the cloud's edge, holding her sword with both hands. She descended from the clouds like a diver, falling towards the Riven God Valley, shrouded in the Luoshu's mist.

Her descent grew faster and faster.

At the tip of her sword, snow-white air surged.

Tianzang sensed the deadly danger. It raised its head, opened its mouth filled with dense teeth, and let out an earth-shattering roar.

The crumbling authority continuously seeped away.

The Luoshu Pavilion, which had stood for a thousand years, also tilted amidst the tremors, threatening to collapse.

There was no silver in Tianzang's body...

Logically, silver isn't a truly valuable mineral. So why did Tianzang's silver lineage completely vanish as if ripped out limb by limb?

This matter made Mu Lingtong feel a little uneasy.

But as long as she obtained Tianzang's divine heart and merged it with a body possessing Mingjun's authority, she would gain the divine powers of two Primordial Gods. She would instantly step into a new realm beyond the reach of thought. At that point, even the Lord of the Divine Kingdom might not be able to stop her, and unless she entered the Lord's Divine Kingdom, she would truly be invincible.

Only invincibility was true invincibility.

This was something she had planned for five hundred years.

On the sword's edge, five hundred years seemed to flow by in solitude.

Flames enveloped her sea-like dress, and a fiery tail streamed behind her in the air.

Tianzang raised its head, opened its massive mouth, and from its dark throat, a stream of snow-white particles coalesced into a perfectly spherical orb of light. This orb, gathering almost all its power, shot straight towards the fiery figure descending from the sky.

In the bright light, the two collided, rubbed against each other, merged, splashed, and within the shadow-consuming radiance, destructive power exploded terrifyingly in the air, spreading as waves.

Finally, Mu Lingtong's sword pierced through the orb of light and struck the body of Tianzang, who was making its final, desperate struggle.

The sword struck its lower jaw, then tore downwards along the broken opening, overturning its enormous body, and then sliced open its abdomen all the way down.

A Primordial Deity was disemboweled by a human.

From the exploded chest, the god's heart emitted dazzling golden light.

Mu Lingtong stood on Tianzang's collapsed body.

Tianzang still had a faint breath, but it could no longer muster any strength to resist.

She dug the divine heart out of its chest.

She raised her hand, and the divine consciousness of a Five Paths peak cultivator exploded in her mind.

Thousands of miles away, in the Ancient Spirit Sect, the stone bearing her divine consciousness imprint instantly ignited.

Next, the current Sect Master of the Ancient Spirit Sect would open the netherworld, awakening everything within.

By the time she returned to the Ancient Spirit Sect, the authority of the netherworld would have been released, and she could precisely take over everything, wasting no time at all.

This was a flawless plan.

She no longer paid attention to the heartless dragon, which was twitching like an insect. She turned and headed for the Luoshu Pavilion.

After unlocking the Luoshu, she could depart for her sect.

Inside the Luoshu.

The Day of Judgment had also arrived.

Ning Changjiu, Lu Jiaojiao, and Siming looked up at the sky together. The sky seemed to be covered by a fishing net, which was then set ablaze, forming lines of fire that crisscrossed the heavens from north to south.

In the hollow and desolate sky, ashes unique to the aftermath of a heavenly tribulation floated down.

They stood on the peak, looking around at the vast expanse.

The vast world was like a sandbox destroyed multiple times, scarred and devastated, with broken giant peaks, ruined cities, and foul-smelling corpses slowly burning under heavenly flames everywhere.

This was the final day of the Second Nation-Hunting Plan.

Ning Changjiu saw many people here who could have left their names for eternity, but five hundred years later, apart from some obscure ancient texts, there were no more records of them.

Each of them was a fleetingly stunning meteor that streaked across the firmament.

They failed to pierce the sky, so they remained merely meteors.

On the cliff, Ning Changjiu held the Luoshu, while Siming and Lu Jiaojiao sat on his left and right, together witnessing the most magnificent heavenly fire and meteor shower in history.

"It was merely the doomsday of five hundred years ago. The Second Nation-Hunting War concluded. The great demons who participated in the divine war had their physical bodies shattered and were suppressed beneath the nations of the world. Humans and ancient gods were also not spared. Afterward, the sky tilted to the northwest, and the earth sank to the southeast. Humanity, devastated and suffering, would endure another thirty years of calamity. This was divine punishment."

From within the Luoshu, a faint voice emerged, providing the final annotation for this era amidst the night as splendid as death. And they, like ordinary people of that time, never touched the true core, merely waiting at the cliffside for the war's conclusion.

Ning Changjiu, following Qiu Yue's method, channeled his divine consciousness into the Luoshu and extinguished its spiritual world.

"Thirty years later, humans, in their mortal bodies, would be called gods. The Heavenly Official would grant blessings, the Earthly Official would forgive sins, and the Water Official would resolve calamities. From then on, a new era finally arrived."

In the Luoshu's final annotation, the light vanished, and the Luoshu's mist also disappeared.

They returned to their original world.