Chapter 457: Empty Hunt

The sky tore open, and torrential rain poured down—it was a month of disaster.

The rising water merged with the sky, and a foul stench churned from the depths. Hundreds of thousands of houses were instantly demolished. Wild animals, rats, snakes, insects, and spiders—all living creatures—scurried away from the disaster, climbing trees and scaling mountains, but most were swallowed by the floodwaters.

Tiny wooden tubs drifted on the water, their occupants crying for help and weeping. Many who had climbed tall trees watched in despair as the water level slowly rose and the trees gradually tilted.

This was a cleansing unleashed by a furious world, and everything was slowly descending into chaos.

Amidst the disaster, Mingzheng, in its spiritual form, gazed at the monstrous waves sweeping across the human world and smiled contentedly.

In its eyes, disaster was an unparalleled work of art.

It hid within the disaster, reveling in its beauty, confident that no one would detect its presence. It believed that even if the calamity were eventually quelled, it would have fully integrated into it, becoming a god as indestructible as Evil and the Prime Lord.

Dawn had long passed, and though it was midday, the sky remained dim and overcast.

Mingzheng traversed the world, riding the hurricanes, floods, and earthquakes, awaiting the arrival of the Empty Hunt Year.

Outside the Sword Pavilion, Luo Xiaopei stood among the crowd, watching her senior brothers and sisters hurry back and forth on their flying swords. She had bitten her lips until they were almost bleeding.

The previous month had been Luo Xiaopei's happiest time.

She had been the first to meet the Sword Pavilion Master, a fact that filled her with immense joy. But bound by the principle of secrecy, she kept it to herself, only teasing her companions about having met a very important person. When they pressed her for details, she refused to say. Though others accused her of bragging, she remained smug and even proud of being misunderstood.

This childlike joy didn't last long. A natural disaster descended from the heavens, and though young, she deeply understood how powerless humans were in the face of such a catastrophe. She recalled how the Eighty-One Cities would have been utterly destroyed if not for the protection of a great lion.

As the heavy rain lashed the ground, Luo Xiaopei stood on the muddy road, her mind elsewhere, filled with the faces of her family. Before she joined the Sword Pavilion, her family hadn't been particularly kind to her, which was why she hadn't even gone home for New Year's Eve. Now, she began to regret it.

Suddenly, the figures ahead began to stir. Her senior sister seemed to have finished speaking, and when Luo Xiaopei asked her companion, she learned that they were returning to the Eighty-One Cities to combat the disaster.

Most of the disciples in the group were from the Eighty-One Cities, and they were all eager to return home.

Luo Xiaopei's cultivation was considered outstanding among the young disciples of her generation, and she had initially been full of confidence. But when she truly witnessed the scenes of hurricanes sweeping through and floods engulfing everything, she deeply felt how powerless her sword was.

Splitting mountains and severing rivers were feats only achievable by top cultivators. Even a collapsed house could potentially claim her life.

Upon returning to the Eighty-One Cities, she couldn't find her parents. She joined the team led by her senior sister to evacuate disaster victims, then immediately returned to the city to help dig channels.

On their way back, the disaster arrived faster than anticipated.

The small group Luo Xiaopei was with encountered the flood sooner than expected.

Countless rivers ahead had already breached their banks due to the earthquake and heavy rain. The water surged forward like a mythical gluttonous beast escaped from legend, charging with the force of a thousand armies. The churning, muddy waves swallowed everything in their path. Luo Xiaopei felt the ground beneath her feet tremble, her mind went blank, and she could hear nothing but the roar of the water.

"I'm going to die here..." That was her only remaining thought.

She inwardly chided her own cowardice. Glancing around, she saw many people trembling with fear, their fighting spirit completely gone, frantically running towards the Eighty-One Cities.

But Luo Xiaopei knew clearly that, at their current level of cultivation, they couldn't possibly outrun the flood.

Just as she resigned herself to certain death, the surroundings suddenly grew quiet. The monstrous floodwaters seemed to have been halted right in front of them.

A nearby disciple pulled her, urging her to retreat, but she, as if possessed, pulled free and ran forward.

Then, she witnessed an unforgettable sight.

Before the vast floodwaters, a woman in a green dress floated, holding a whisk.

The woman floated like a leaf in the air, seeming utterly weightless. Though she appeared as insignificant as a speck of dust before the flood, the surging, muddy waves obediently halted. This goddess-like figure seemed to be facing a challenge; while she could control the river, she didn't know where to divert it.

The young girl watched her nervously. The floodwaters were still surging in wave after wave, and she was afraid this immortal might not be able to hold on.

Then, she saw the immortal woman ascend into the sky.

She hadn't given up control of the flood; instead, she directly pulled an entire muddy river into the sky. It was a true displacement of turbulent waters!

This goddess's method of diverting the river was to simply move the entire waterway!

Luo Xiaopei stood rooted to the spot, watching the remaining, diminished river flow. In the mist-filled forest, it was a long time before the young girl finally regained her composure.

It was a month of disaster, yet in various times and places, many people like Luo Xiaopei witnessed miracles unfolding across the ravaged land.

These were scenes typically described only in creation myths.

Some saw golden arrows flying through the air, slaying gale-force winds. Others witnessed a fairy in snow-white robes cleaving tsunamis. A man carrying an ancient sword was seen using his bare hands to forcibly close fissures in the earth. In many flood-stricken regions, countless mysterious roots extended from the soil, absorbing vast quantities of water.

These were the manifestations of Evil, the World Tree growing beneath the earth.

This catastrophe, which Mingzheng considered an apocalypse, had indeed dealt a tremendous blow to the human world when it began. Yet, after just over ten days, this world-sweeping disaster began to show signs of weakening.

This was unexpected for Mingzheng, which suddenly felt a sense of fighting alone.

Throughout this time, Ning Changjiu had also never given up his pursuit.

With Ning Changjiu hot on its heels, Mingzheng couldn't find the time to merge itself with the disaster.

Before fully integrating into the disaster, it couldn't perfectly conceal its aura. These past few days, Mingzheng could feel its pursuer's steps drawing closer and becoming more distinct.

Once the disaster truly subsided, it would have no way to hide.

In mid-to-late February, Mingzheng began to mobilize its remaining power, preparing to unleash a second disaster.

It was winter, and the land was frozen solid.

Ning Changjiu stood in an untouched expanse of snow, holding his Silver Sword, looking gaunt.

Liu Xiwuan walked beside him, her eyes unable to hide her exhaustion.

Nearly twenty days had passed since the battle in the Northern Nether. The enraged land was gradually returning to peace, but Mingzheng had hidden too well, never revealing any obvious trace.

Ning Changjiu walked to a riverbank, knelt in the snow, cupped the icy water to splash his face, then took a drink, as if trying to find a clue within it.

Liu Xiwuan stood beside him, observing their reflections in the river.

"If we can't find it soon, the Empty Hunt Year will begin, and it will likely become even harder to locate," Liu Xiwuan said, a hint of discouragement in her voice.

Ning Changjiu stood up and said, "Don't lose focus."

"Hm?" Liu Xiwuan looked puzzled.

Ning Changjiu explained, "It's Mingzheng who should be truly anxious now, not us."

Gazing at the vast, wild landscape, Ning Changjiu continued, "There isn't much space left for Mingzheng to hide. Before the Empty Hunt Divine Kingdom arrives, it's bound to unleash a second disaster to disrupt order once more. That will be our chance to expose it."

Liu Xiwuan asked, "If it uses its power, will we be able to find it?"

Ning Changjiu shook his head. "I can't say for sure," he admitted.

Liu Xiwuan pursed her lips. Looking at the ravaged land, she knew full well how much of a needle-in-a-haystack endeavor it was to search for a mere dog across this vast expanse.

Ning Changjiu tucked his hands into his sleeves and walked across the snow, venturing deeper without a thought of giving up.

Even if she could enter his sea of consciousness, Liu Xiwuan couldn't fully grasp Ning Changjiu's true intentions.

She followed closely beside him as they ventured deeper into the mountains.

Over the next few days, Ning Changjiu and Liu Xiwuan did indeed discover many traces left by Mingzheng. However, these clues were jumbled, many of them intentionally misleading, guiding them down winding paths.

Liu Xiwuan diligently collected these clues, trying to analyze them, but Ning Changjiu seemed unfazed, as if he had a deeper plan.

The further they traveled from the Northern Nether, the fainter the traces of disaster became, replaced mostly by scenes of mountains sealed in heavy snow.

Time quickly advanced to the end of February.

They ascended another snowy mountain.

Ning Changjiu swept away the snow piled inside a cliff cave, and he and Liu Xiwuan temporarily rested there.

"Could you be mistaken? Perhaps Mingzheng has no intention of unleashing a second disaster at all." Liu Xiwuan looked at Ning Changjiu's increasingly gaunt face, even suspecting he was acting impulsively. Her worry grew heavier.

"No," Ning Changjiu replied, his expression unwavering. "Once the disaster completely subsides, it will have nowhere to hide. When the Empty Hunt Year begins, my senior sister and the others will hunt it down. As for me... I will not let Mingzheng escape, no matter what."

Liu Xiwuan leaned against the cliff wall, involuntarily recalling the brief time they had spent in the Southern Wilderness. She gazed at the snow still swirling outside the cave, her expression distant, and remained silent for a long time.

"But it's already the last day. Why hasn't Mingzheng unleashed a second disaster yet?" Liu Xiwuan murmured to herself.

Ning Changjiu didn't respond.

Liu Xiwuan turned her head to look and found that he had actually fallen asleep.

Liu Xiwuan froze for a moment, thinking, *How can he be asleep at such a critical juncture? If the enemy unleashes the disaster now, won't it just escape again? You...*

The young girl clenched her fists, feeling a surge of annoyance. She looked at the sleeping boy, wanting to stuff snow into his clothes to wake him up. But then she remembered how he had spent the past half-month helping to quell the disaster while relentlessly tracking Mingzheng's whereabouts, barely closing his eyes. A pang of sympathy struck her.

Liu Xiwuan knelt beside him, gazing at Ning Changjiu's peaceful sleeping face, her mind in turmoil.

Reason told her she *must* wake Ning Changjiu, that so many days of effort couldn't be wasted. Yet, she secretly hoped he could rest a little longer.

She was the spirit of the Heavenly Oracle Sword Scripture, which contained sword techniques designed for instant kills. Yet, when faced with a situation, she was always so indecisive...

Liu Xiwuan wished she could slap herself.

Outside, the snow lessened, and the sky grew darker.

This might also be the last snowfall of the year.

Night had fallen.

Ning Changjiu quietly opened his eyes.

Liu Xiwuan breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him wake up.

"Catastrophe is upon us! How can you be sleeping?!" Liu Xiwuan immediately scolded him sternly.

Ning Changjiu replied with a hint of apology, "I just had a pleasant dream."

Liu Xiwuan found this even stranger. She touched his forehead and asked, "You haven't been demonized, have you?"

Ning Changjiu gently took her wrist and lowered it. "Don't worry," he said.

"But you..." Liu Xiwuan said, still skeptical. How could she possibly be at ease?

Ning Changjiu took her wrist, stood up, and walked out of the cave.

"Where are we going?" Liu Xiwuan asked.

"To find Mingzheng," Ning Changjiu replied.

On a high snowy mountain, a wild wolf lay prostrate.

This was the wild wolf possessed by Mingzheng.

It had been hiding in the human world for a month, initially planning to chant its authority and unleash chaos when the Empty Hunt Year began. But time was running out.

Mingzheng crouched in the snow, gazing out from the mountaintop.

It opened its mouth, mobilizing the authority it had painstakingly recovered over the past month, and began its final chant.

Then, its movement froze in the cold wind of late February.

Someone had arrived.

It wasn't Ning Changjiu, but a searing flame.

Mingzheng looked back.

As the flames dissipated, a girl in a phoenix-patterned dress emerged, holding an umbrella sword.

Mingzheng immediately tilted its head back, only then noticing the many bubble-like transparent worlds that had appeared above the snowy mountain at some unknown time.

A dangerous alarm blared wildly in its mind.

Mingzheng immediately guessed her identity: "Zhao Xiang'er?"

Zhao Xiang'er looked at the wild dog lying in the snow, ignored it, and directly drew her sword, slashing towards it.

Mingzheng's fur bristled. As it gazed at the girl's cold, indifferent face and felt the terrifying sword intent whistling towards it, it mobilized all its strength to resist while simultaneously planning its escape.

The white snow at the base of the peak exploded, revealing the black rock face.

After a momentary clash, Mingzheng fell out of the flames, half its body incinerated. The blood in its ravaged form writhed like countless worms.

It had vastly underestimated the girl's power!

Mingzheng had lost all will to fight; it wanted to escape at any cost.

But Zhao Xiang'er, as a Fire Phoenix whose lineage stretched back to ancient times, wouldn't give it such an opportunity.

As Mingzheng leaped with its ravaged body, several flames swept towards it at even greater speed. Mingzheng's fur instantly singed, and then the flames sliced through it in a perfect arc, piercing its body from the front. Heart-wrenching screams echoed through the snowy mountains.

Mingzheng had been a deity for thousands of years, always considering itself a demon at heart. But at this moment, it felt that those who were killing it were the true devils.

"You... how did you find me?"

Mingzheng was utterly perplexed.

It was pinned against the cliff by flames, its spirit continuously burning. Its host body quickly disintegrated, and the hidden spirit twisted and screamed, slowly rotting under the corrosive phoenix fire.

All the suffering it had inflicted upon the world over the past month now backlashed into its own body.

Mingzheng screamed incessantly, its questions unanswered. Through its blurring vision, it could only see the girl's cold, exquisitely beautiful face.

*Is this truly the end of everything...?*

Mingzheng couldn't accept such an inexplicable death, yet it was already a reality.

The phoenix fire seared its spirit, and its consciousness grew increasingly dim.

Unconsciously, it recalled the little girl lying in firewood and a pool of blood. The girl gazed at it from afar, her blood like fire ignited on kindling. It seemed as though it was returning to her side.

*How could I die like this...?*

Mingzheng's contorted spirit managed a strained smile. It suddenly opened its maw and let out a furious roar.

The roar, just as it began, abruptly ceased.

What destroyed it was a whistling golden arrow.

The arrow plunged into its wide-open mouth, blasting its entire head into fragments. The phoenix fire immediately surged in, preventing its spirit from ever re-forming.

Mingzheng's pupils burned in the flames, gradually turning to nothingness. At the moment of its true demise, its throat twitched, as if it was trying to utter in a strained voice, "Too late."

Ning Changjiu arrived at the mountain peak.

Zhao Xiang'er looked at him and said, "Don't worry, it's already doomed."

Ning Changjiu looked at the girl in the phoenix-patterned dress and nodded gently, a hidden worry still lingering in his heart.

Liu Xiwuan looked at the ground strewn with broken rocks and belatedly asked, "What exactly happened? And why is Sister Xiang'er here?"

Zhao Xiang'er looked at her. This was their first true meeting.

Liu Xiwuan's heart leaped, and she declared righteously, "Back when I was still a sword spirit, I often argued with that red-headed chicken, and I was always a firm supporter of Sister Xiang'er!"

Zhao Xiang'er smiled faintly, not bothering to expose her.

Ning Changjiu began to explain what had just happened: "Did you forget? Over the past two months, we left runes on all the high peaks in the human world. As long as Mingzheng approached, we would be able to sense it. My guess was correct: Mingzheng would return to the high mountains when activating its power for the second time. In short, our previous efforts weren't in vain."

Liu Xiwuan still had questions: "But only you can sense it. How did you convey that to Sister Xiang'er?"

"Didn't I just take a nap?" Ning Changjiu replied.

Liu Xiwuan suddenly understood.

Dreams were part of the Master's authority. He must have silently chanted the Master's name earlier, asking the Master to activate her power and connect his dream with Zhao Xiang'er's. Then, in the dream, they confirmed Mingzheng's location and the timing to kill it.

*It's a good thing I didn't rashly wake him up then...*

Zhao Xiang'er walked to Ning Changjiu's side, looked north, and said, "I'm still a little worried. Just before Mingzheng died, it seemed to have hastily activated its power one last time."

"That should only cause a localized disaster, right?" Liu Xiwuan said. "Now that everyone in the human world is on high alert, Mingzheng's dying strike shouldn't have much impact."

Ning Changjiu touched his chest, also feeling a sense of unease.

He glanced at Zhao Xiang'er, and she understood him instantly. She leaped lightly into one of the bubbles of the Three Thousand Worlds, then extended her hand, drawing a perfect circle in the void as if with a brush.

It was a water mirror.

Ning Changjiu and Liu Xiwuan came to stand behind her, gazing at the surface of the water mirror with her.

In the water mirror, countless images flashed by at high speed.

Zhao Xiang'er stopped the display when it landed on a particular image.

The image froze, displaying the Northern Nether.

After Mingzheng's divine kingdom was annihilated, it sank into the submarine mountains of the Northern Nether, then exploded like a bomb.

Instantly, hundreds of volcanoes on the Northern Nether seabed erupted simultaneously, and the calm sea was once again engulfed in unprecedented turmoil.

And near the Northern Nether, the figures of Siming and Shao Xiaoli also appeared!

Shao Xiaoli felt the sudden tremor of the earth and saw the Northern Nether's waters stirring once more, momentarily unable to comprehend what was happening.

Siming's icy eyes narrowed slightly. Gripping her black sword, she immediately leaped up, intending to cut through the waves.

But this tsunami was even more massive than the one at the very beginning of the disaster. The entire world seemed to be overturning. Along the horizon, all the waves rose together, instantly soaring hundreds of feet high, rushing towards the land.

Even with Siming's cultivation, she couldn't quell the fury of an entire ocean.

Lu Jiajia also arrived, drawn by the sound, and joined the battle to quell the tsunami.

But without the Golden Crow Divine Kingdom's blessing, their combined strength was still insufficient to neutralize a natural disaster of this magnitude.

Over the previous month, Shao Xiaoli and Siming had spent a great deal of time trying to pacify the sea. However, they hadn't anticipated the divine kingdom suddenly exploding. The force of this explosion directly destroyed hundreds of thousands of miles of seabed, causing volcanoes that had been dormant to erupt once more. A devastating impact was unleashed in an instant!

*What to do...?*

*Sister Xueci and Sister Jiajia won't be able to stop it in time. The surrounding villages, towns, and cities we painstakingly saved are going to be submerged again. So many people are going to die...*

*No! I can't wait any longer!*

Shao Xiaoli closed her eyes. Between her brows, the mark of the Luo River Goddess clan glowed once more.

*I am the Luo River Goddess. I was born from the Luo River, and protecting the people on its banks is my destiny.*

She took a deep breath, gazing at the rolling tsunami, her pupils suddenly turning pale and indifferent.

"Xiaoli?"

Lu Jiajia was desperately fighting against the unprecedented tsunami. In her peripheral vision, Xiaoli's red-dressed figure flashed past.

"Xiaoli! What are you doing?!" Siming, too, noticed her movement and cried out loudly.

Shao Xiaoli didn't answer.

She plunged into the monstrous waves.

The Luo River Goddess's power extended outwards.

Sili had once told her that everyone hoped she could master the scattered powers of the rivers and become the future co-ruler of all waterways.

Unfortunately, despite cultivating for so long in this life, she had only recovered the power of the Luo River. She was still far from embodying the grand destiny of uniting all rivers' powers.

She had no confidence she could stop the tsunami. On the contrary, attempting such a feat with her current strength was undoubtedly a suicide mission.

Still, Shao Xiaoli plunged forward without hesitation.

She disappeared into the tsunami, her power spreading out like a spiderweb, attempting to restrain the waves.

She miraculously slowed the tsunami's advance, but under the immense strain, her body felt as if it were being torn apart by a thousand horses. She was instantly on the verge of being ripped to shreds, and fresh blood gushed from her red dress, drenching her entirely.

Excruciating pain surged through her instantly. Shao Xiaoli opened her mouth wide, and salty seawater poured in. She couldn't even let out a scream.

Her entire sea of consciousness was overwhelmed by pain. In the young girl's mind, only the memory of Ning Changjiu kissing her forehead and asking her to wait for him remained.

*I can't wait any longer...*

Shao Xiaoli's eyes slowly lost their pale color, and her vitality gradually faded.

*I tried my best to slow the waves' advance. I wonder if I bought them any time... I hope my death was meaningful...*

Shao Xiaoli could no longer form any other thoughts. The monstrous waves were about to devour her.

Siming and Lu Jiajia rushed to her.

The tsunami continued to surge forward, and the girl's body was like a fossil embedded within it, impossible to extract.

Siming's red lips trembled. She couldn't bear to watch Xiaoli be torn to shreds by the waves before her very eyes.

Lu Jiajia tilted her head back, looked at the moon in the sky, and cried out desperately, "Master!"

Instantly, moonlight descended.

Just as Shao Xiaoli's life force was on the verge of extinguishing, the miles-wide tsunami suddenly dissipated.

Lu Jiajia looked ahead in astonishment, thinking her desperate cry had been answered.

But the one who arrived wasn't the Master; it was a creature she had never seen before.

It was a corpulent creature with four limbs but no discernible facial features, and a pair of wings. It resembled the legendary "Chaos."

"Konglie?!" Siming recognized it.

Unbeknownst to them, midnight had passed, and the Empty Hunt Divine Kingdom had opened.

Konglie looked at them and said, "I am here by Chang'e's command to quell the sea. All past and future grievances are hereby absolved. People of the human world, do not seek me, nor harm the children of my divine kingdom."

With those words, Konglie sank into the sea.

The waves gradually dissipated. Siming embraced Shao Xiaoli's cracked body from the receding waters; Xiaoli had already fallen unconscious.

Moonlight gently fell, shining upon her.

The power of life arrived with the moonlight, repairing her body and stabilizing her soul.

Beyond the Black Cliff, the great sea finally became completely calm.