Chapter 473: Dark Sun Descends

Fire roared like the wind, surged like emptying waves. Heaven and Earth were instantly engulfed in flames. At the heart of countless fiery clusters, the temperature skyrocketed to an unimaginable degree, stirring up endless high-temperature whirlwinds at the center.

In the fierce blaze, everything, visible or invisible, spontaneously combusted.

Zhao Xiang'er and Vermilion Bird's figures were also swallowed by the firelight, or rather, they were the very source of the flames.

Zhao Xiang'er drew her white blade, its mirror-like surface reflecting her face. Vermilion Bird gazed at her with watery tenderness, but behind her, a dark shadow abruptly surged.

Nine Feathers!

The jet-black Nine Feathers swirled around Vermilion Bird, transforming into the sword in her hand.

"Xiang'er, you've been waiting for this day for a long time too, haven't you?" Vermilion Bird's voice was faint and ethereal, like a woman on a stage holding a folding fan.

"Yes, I've waited for a very long time."

Zhao Xiang'er wasted no more words. Her figure moved instantly, leaping into the air and striking at Vermilion Bird.

Vermilion Bird watched her, her gaze unwavering in its tenderness. She tilted her slender neck, her eyes intoxicated: "Such a good daughter... truly our daughter..."

Her words were infinitely gentle, yet the Nine Feathers in her hand parried the incoming sword with lightning speed.

The wind of flames blew against their faces.

The white blade reflected the shadows of these two divine birds on its sides.

Zhao Xiang'er's fierce killing intent and Vermilion Bird's captivating smile were both consumed by the flames.

Sword clashed against sword. After their first collision, a furious blaze shot skyward. The Three Thousand Worlds became their battlefield, and this divine war, dormant for three thousand five hundred years, reignited!

At this very moment, in the sky above Nanzhou, Bai Zang manifested her true form, tearing across the snow-laden heavens.

She didn't know the exact situation within the Three Thousand Worlds, but the moment Vermilion Bird appeared, even through the water mirror, she felt a chill run down her spine. She was certain Vermilion Bird had come prepared. How could that foolish girl, Zhao Xiang'er, be a match for that old woman?

Bai Zang gritted her teeth.

As she raced, the biting cold wind lashed at her face. She calmed herself, knowing that if Vermilion Bird was truly prepared, her returning might be futile. And now, Sisheng and Lu Jiajia were in the north, eradicating Ti Mountain.

Ti Mountain...

This monster, renowned among the Twelve Divine Lords for its absolute defense, appeared precisely at this moment. It was clearly meant to draw everyone's attention.

But under Qitian's authority, Vermilion Bird couldn't be exempt either. While Vermilion Bird wasn't foolish enough to willingly walk into a cage like she herself was, why did the Dark Lord believe Vermilion Bird could definitely defeat Zhao Xiang'er? Bai Zang knew Zhao Xiang'er's strength all too well!

Bai Zang's unease grew stronger.

She could also sense a pair of eyes above, watching her as she sped through the Void Realm.

Quan Lin, perhaps...

As Bai Zang streaked past, her gaze swept upwards.

Beyond the Ruined Sea, on the shattered stone Buddha of the Saint, Quan Lin's dark scales gleamed with a faint green light. Her enchanting face was like a blossoming evil flower. She watched Bai Zang from above, flicking her tongue lightly, as if observing a play.

"Bai Zang, are you a tiger, a cat, or a dog loyal to its master?" Quan Lin's voice echoed distantly from the sky, traversing the Ruined Sea and the Void Realm.

Bai Zang heard her question.

Bai Zang's sharp fangs clenched. She stared at the sky, her eyes stark white.

Hiding there, just as expected...

"What did you say?" Bai Zang retorted fiercely.

"Oh, little white cat, can't you hear me clearly?" Quan Lin mocked. "Defeated once, and now you willingly become a slave? Has Zhao Xiang'er treated you well all these years? Or is it that a cat like you, though once cloaked in the false shell of a Divine Lord, is essentially just a pitiful creature yearning for affection and a master?"

"Shut up!" Bai Zang roared. "What right do you have to speak to me? When the Divine Kingdom fell, you hid in Ju Fu's stone Buddha, clinging to life? How did you slander Ju Fu when he was alive? How did you sabotage the divine war five hundred years ago? And now you use his corpse to shield yourself! If you have even an ounce of a Divine Lord's dignity left, come down now and fight me to the death!"

"You really are naive, little white cat." Quan Lin giggled. "It seems you've truly been tamed into Heng'e's camp. Tsk, what's so good about that woman that you'd willingly become traitors?"

"Aren't you a traitor too?" Bai Zang's voice was icy.

"I've never been loyal to anyone, so how can I betray?" Quan Lin's words were consistently laced with a mocking laugh.

Bai Zang reached her limit. In the vast sky, her small figure suddenly halted, her snowy white hair bristling and dancing.

She longed to charge into the heavens, tear down that large black serpent, skin it, and pull out its sinews!

Quan Lin watched her from afar and said, "Finally couldn't hold back, could you? Come on, let Big Sister see what's left of your strength after being a cat for so many years?"

Bai Zang took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down in the face of Quan Lin's provocation.

"Where's your star? Where did it go?" Bai Zang asked.

Quan Lin narrowed her eyes and said, "Big Sister doesn't know either, but I think it should go where it's supposed to."

"Uranus?" Bai Zang pondered, asking herself.

Quan Lin couldn't see the scene on Uranus, but she had the same guess.

"The Dark Lord will always do what's most important," Quan Lin said with a smile.

For the Dark Lord, preventing the opening of the Thunder Prison Divine Kingdom should be the top priority.

Bai Zang narrowed her eyes, entertaining a different conjecture.

She gave Quan Lin a deep look and said, "I will kill you with my own hands, sooner or later."

Quan Lin smiled. "We haven't seen each other for thousands of years. When we finally have the good fortune to meet, you utter such cold and hurtful words? Cats are truly more coldblooded than snakes."

Bai Zang said faintly, "Ju Fu's stone Buddha won't last much longer, and you can't keep hiding forever."

Quan Lin replied indifferently, "At worst, the dark sun descends. Anyway, I won't be a pet like you. Hmph, is it really comfortable to be cradled and stroked?"

Bai Zang ignored her, once again cutting through the wind and snow, plummeting towards the vast human world.

Quan Lin called out a few more times, but Bai Zang didn't respond.

Quan Lin also found it rather uninteresting, clinging tightly to the stone Buddha as if trying to extract some warmth from it, but she gained nothing.

She straightened up, making a roaring gesture towards the Great Void, but she dared not make a sound, for she could sense the Dark Lord drawing ever closer, its swirling vortices like countless devouring eyes.

In the Three Thousand Worlds, the great fire seemed to burn eternally.

Every flickering flame was like a dancing snake or scorpion, or a centipede with a hundred legs moving in unison, while larger conflagrations were like battling lions and tigers, tearing at each other until blood flowed.

Since assisting Heng'e in slaying Yuanfu back then, this was Vermilion Bird's first true engagement.

The throne had rested for a thousand years, but she had never forgotten the stench of blood.

The Umbrella Sword and Nine Feathers continuously clashed in the sky. Their figures intertwined, recoiled, transforming into phantoms, and at each point of collision, space tore open, and all things turned to nothingness.

Xue Yuan and Shi Yu's arcane arts were not weak, but in such a world-destroying battle, they both retreated to the corners of the Three Thousand Worlds, daring not make any rash moves. "Who do you think... will win?" Shi Yu whispered.

"Is there even any suspense in this battle?" Xue Yuan scoffed. "Mother has been planning for years, descending here, so she naturally has victory firmly in hand!"

"I hope so..." Shi Yu's voice was very soft.

Xue Yuan frowned and said, "Are you still holding onto some illusion about Zhao Xiang'er? Do you still believe she has any sisterly affection for you?"

Shi Yu remained silent. After a moment, she chuckled softly, "You're right, I may not be Xiang'er's sister, but I am certainly Mother's daughter."

However, within the Three Thousand Worlds, the outcome of this great battle defied their expectations.

In sword clash after sword clash, it was Zhao Xiang'er who gained the upper hand!

Over the past few years, Zhao Xiang'er had watched the battle between Xihe and the Wild River Dragon Sparrow countless times. Regardless of whether Vermilion Bird was friend or foe, she treated her as an imaginary enemy. These years, she had swung her blade countless times against the air, and in her mind, she had simulated this future battle untold times.

More crucially, she had grasped the secret of Vermilion Bird's immortality at an astonishing speed.

Vermilion Bird intended to construct a spirit mountain in the Western Kingdom, becoming a true master of the spirit realm.

Therefore, her body had transformed into a spirit entity after her Nirvana!

Renowned blades and divine swords were merely means to suppress an opponent in battle; only another spirit could truly kill a spirit!

In the decisive battle, Zhao Xiang'er summoned her innate spirit, the Fire Phoenix.

The Fire Phoenix circled her small figure.

This was the true spirit of the sun. In terms of bloodline, it even held a suppressive effect over Vermilion Bird. Moreover, Zhao Xiang'er had now awakened the Fire Phoenix almost perfectly.

Under the power of the Fire Phoenix spirit, Vermilion Bird's immortal body was no longer immortal.

In the flames, Vermilion Bird's elegant and beautiful red dress tore into shreds, fluttering like blood-red butterflies.

Blood oozed from her brow, veins throbbed on her arms, and blood seeped from the fair skin beneath her red dress. Only her extremely vibrant red lips maintained a faint smile, like a wandering ghost that had long forgotten life and death.

She held the Nine Feathers and tidied her tattered garments.

"Xiang'er is even more powerful than Mother imagined now," Vermilion Bird couldn't help but praise. "The wild girl who once sat by the banyan tree watching sunsets has now become a true sun..."

Zhao Xiang'er remained expressionless. Her previous series of strikes had been executed flawlessly. Now, she retracted her sword, gathering momentum for the next fierce assault.

Previously, they had clashed over three hundred times, each ending in a minor victory for Zhao Xiang'er.

And these minor victories, accumulated, had become an absolute winning advantage.

If not for the Nine Feathers sword in Vermilion Bird's hand being stronger than her Umbrella Sword, Vermilion Bird would likely have already collapsed!

Zhao Xiang'er stared at Vermilion Bird. Her emotions, accumulated over many years, wanted to unleash some harsh words, to roar them out in catharsis. But having met Sisheng over the years, Zhao Xiang'er increasingly understood the wisdom of careful speech and action. Even with victory assured, she wouldn't celebrate prematurely.

Vermilion Bird, however, had no such reservations. A smile played on her lips, but sorrow lingered in her eyes.

"Fathers killing sons, mothers slaying daughters... we are truly products of the deep palace courtyards, ultimately unable to escape such an end."

Vermilion Bird spoke with a gentle smile, but this time, she was the one who initiated the attack.

The black blade of Nine Feathers sliced vertically, aiming directly for Zhao Xiang'er's brow and eyes.

Zhao Xiang'er stared coldly at her. The instant the blade was about to strike, Zhao Xiang'er's figure vanished from her spot. The next moment, she appeared behind Vermilion Bird without warning, her long-prepared move unleashing tens of thousands of blade-rays, raining down on Vermilion Bird's back.

Vermilion Bird blocked with a swift turn of her blade, sweeping Nine Feathers to parry most of the sword qi, but some still grazed her back.

Her already torn red dress became even more riddled with holes, exposing the divine lady's beautiful jade-like back, where blood shimmered like red poppies swaying in the snow.

Sword clashed against sword, their edges grazing and deflecting off each other.

After that single strike, the immense energy wave generated pushed both of them back again.

Vermilion Bird's long, beautiful hair fell loose, covering her bleeding back, where her butterfly bones appeared desolate.

Recalling Zhao Xiang'er's instantaneous vanishing and reappearance, she murmured, "Is this the power of the Three Thousand Worlds?"

"Yes," Zhao Xiang'er replied casually.

Her movement between spaces was not teleportation but blinking. Like moving from one to ten, teleportation crosses the distance from two to nine at incredible speed, while she directly reaches ten from one, with all numbers in between vanishing into thin air!

"Truly a coveted power..." Vermilion Bird said with a smile.

And her response was merely a flash of sword light aimed at her face.

Originally, Zhao Xiang'er and Vermilion Bird shared this realm of Three Thousand Worlds. Zhao Xiang'er only needed to expel her, to take complete control of this world. Then, even Vermilion Bird would become a chicken on a chopping block, at her mercy.

Blades clashed incessantly.

The spirits of the Fire Phoenix and Vermilion Bird also writhed and tore at each other in fierce aerial combat.

Countless worlds were created and destroyed in their clashes.

In the Western Kingdom, the long night was drawing to a close, and dawn was about to erupt in fire.

They had battled for an entire night.

Vermilion Bird stood lightly, her snow-white body covered in blood. The flames behind her grew weaker and weaker, and her sword-holding posture seemed powerless, like a songstress about to conclude her performance. The Nine Feathers in her hand also seemed to wail.

Vermilion Bird gazed at the sky, her eyes still showing no trace of fear, as if she had long grown weary of this mortal coil.

At this moment, Zhao Xiang'er even had a fleeting illusion—that Vermilion Bird was using her to shatter her own physical body.

But an illusion was just an illusion.

Zhao Xiang'er could clearly sense that Vermilion Bird's spirit was indeed weakening. She had been pushed to a desperate edge, and before long, her soul would be utterly destroyed.

Zhao Xiang'er would show no mercy.

"I'll send you on your way."

Zhao Xiang'er's words were like a soft chant, and the pure white blade light slashed towards Vermilion Bird's graceful figure.

At this moment, Bai Zang had also traversed the entire Nanzhou from Zhao State, crossed the Sea of Ill Fate, and was continuously moving westward.

Quan Lin's voice lingered in her ears, disturbing her all night.

Many times, she had felt the urge to charge into the Ruined Sea and engage Quan Lin in a decisive battle directly. She did not believe Quan Lin was her match.

But Bai Zang was no longer the impulsive girl she once was.

Fighting Bai Zang would not only bring her dangerously close to the Dark Lord, constantly putting her in peril, but Quan Lin would also likely seize the opportunity to accelerate the destruction of the stone Buddha. And this, precisely, was the root of Quan Lin's incessant provocations.

She absolutely could not fall into the trap!

And at this moment, as the long night neared its end, Bai Zang looked eastward, her ominous premonition growing stronger.

Would it be today...?

It couldn't be today, could it...?

Bai Zang's unease intensified.

In her memory, a grand decisive battle between two sides should involve years of meticulous planning, a vanguard leading the way, supplies closely following, and armies arranged in a mighty formation, raising flags and beating drums on the battlefield, then charging into combat at the peak of their morale for a fight to the death.

But in reality, the timing of their war with the Dark Lord was often not within their control.

At one point, Bai Zang looked up.

At the same instant, many people across the world also looked up, gazing at the approaching dawn sky.

Even in the Realm of Eternal Life, Ye Chan Palace sensed it, looking up at the dome.

Only the golden butterfly on the back of her hand remained quiet, oblivious to life and death.

In the firmament, explosions echoed once more.

Before the explosions began, Quan Lin was still mocking Bai Zang, insulting her with terms like "running dog" and "cat slave."

The next moment, a world-destroying aura from above her head pierced through the Dark Lord's obscuring darkness and struck her.

It was a falling star!

Quan Lin's vertical pupils instantly narrowed into two lines, too fine to discern.

A falling star...

The Ti Mountain Star!

Why was it crashing towards her?

Why did the Dark Lord want to kill her?

No! The Dark Lord didn't want to kill her; it... it wanted to destroy the stone Buddha!

Earlier, Quan Lin had said that the Dark Lord's main goal was to prevent the Thunder Prison Divine Kingdom from opening, so the Quan Lin star must have shattered on Uranus. But there was also the Ti Mountain star... Besides that, the Dark Lord's greatest desire was, of course, to destroy this stone Buddha that had blocked it for nearly eight years!

It wanted to kill the Buddha.

Quan Lin, seemingly hiding in the safest place, was actually beneath a mountain that could collapse at any moment.

She began to flee desperately.

Firelight suddenly filled the sky.

It was a true world-ending red lotus.

The entire sky was scorched red.

Shattered pieces of rock, aflame, rained down upon the human world.

The Buddha, born of compassion, died in flames. Already broken, it was utterly annihilated, shattered into countless pieces by this impact. It had blocked the demon for eight years, granting humanity eight springs, but it stopped here, leaving the rest to all living beings.

In the center of the stone Buddha, Ju Fu's face faintly emerged. He looked towards the human world from afar, a smile still on his face.

Matter is not destroyed, merely pulverized.

Ju Fu dissipated in the firelight.

In the firelight, Quan Lin fled in panic. Every one of her scales was burning, and half her body was blasted away. She shrieked as she plummeted towards the human world, her descent heading precisely for the Sea of Ill Fate that Bai Zang had just passed.

And higher still, the Dark Lord, having accumulated power for eight years, with the stone Buddha now gone, finally released the bow that had been drawn to its extreme, pressing down upon the human world.

On the horizon, the first faint light of dawn was just spreading, and the red sun had not yet risen, but the dark sun, prophesied in the evil scriptures, arrived prematurely.

Legend said it was the end of the world, the finality of all laws. In that catastrophe, the World Tree would be uprooted, the earth would become an endless purgatory, and all life would be turned into puppets worshipping the dark sun.

The atmosphere vibrated.

In the Three Thousand Worlds, Zhao Xiang'er's blade had cut through Vermilion Bird's skin and pierced her heart.

Vermilion Bird's heart was still faintly beating.

This pulsation was like a string plucking the blade, transmitting vibrations to Zhao Xiang'er's grip.

Vermilion Bird looked at this sword strike, at Zhao Xiang'er's porcelain-white face framed by dark hair and her resolute brows. As this sword pierced, the entire Three Thousand Worlds echoed with a desperate clang.

"This is Mother's final great test for you," Vermilion Bird said, her appearance like a concubine of a fallen kingdom awaiting death in a burning palace. "Heng'e's efforts to save you were not in vain. You've done very well in this life, Mother is very pleased, it's just a pity..."

"Today, the sun will not rise."

Vermilion Bird let out a sorrowful sigh.

Zhao Xiang'er looked at Vermilion Bird, also revealing a look of regret.

This should have been a killing blow.

Yet it failed to kill Vermilion Bird.

This was not because her swordsmanship was insufficient, but because just now, the stone Buddha had shattered, Qitian's influence vanished, and the remaining Western Kingdom once again became a supreme entity. The Three Thousand Worlds were within the Western Kingdom...

How could Vermilion Bird, the Divine Lord of the Western Kingdom, die within her own divine realm?

Even if she was covered in wounds and bleeding profusely, when the Divine Kingdom truly opened, she was a god!

She was the Vermilion Bird God.

Vermilion Bird looked at Zhao Xiang'er with compassion. Her hand grasped the blade of the Umbrella Sword, slowly pulling it out of her body.

Blood dripped, shattered on the ground, and transformed into flickering flames.

Large and small wounds on Vermilion Bird's body healed at a visible speed.

The surrounding flames also enveloped her body, transforming into her perfectly tailored red dress.

"You knew all along?"

Zhao Xiang'er looked up, her pale face devoid of color.

Even if it had been just a little later, she could have killed Vermilion Bird.

Vermilion Bird shook her head and said, "There is no true omniscience in the world."

Zhao Xiang'er's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she remained silent.

Vermilion Bird smiled. "Whether the Vermilion Bird Divine Kingdom opens or I am killed by you, I can accept either outcome. My ideal is freedom, but if one has an ideal, one must also always be prepared for its disillusionment. Whether soaring to the sky or shattering into pieces, I have long been resigned."

As she spoke, in a blink, she was once again a concubine in magnificent attire.

"Is that so..." Zhao Xiang'er looked at her, then at the sword in her hand, her eyes regaining their resolve after a brief moment of dimness: "You're right. No matter the outcome, I should have been resigned long ago."

The shadow of the Fire Phoenix rose behind the girl once more, illuminating her figure brightly.

Although Vermilion Bird had returned to the Western Kingdom, the Three Thousand Worlds were like a rebellious city within a kingdom. Even though the king's army had reached its gates, the city was still hers. She absolutely could not surrender! She would hold this place until the city fell and everyone perished!

Yet, Vermilion Bird did not make a move.

Holding the Nine Feathers, her red dress trailing, she turned and walked in another direction.

Zhao Xiang'er frowned, watching her back.

Vermilion Bird wielded a peerless sword, but at this moment, it looked more like a dancer's accessory, without a hint of killing intent.

"Xiang'er, come with me," Vermilion Bird said softly.

"Where to?" Zhao Xiang'er asked coldly.

"Years ago, you gazed at the sunset in Zhao State for so long, and I couldn't be there with you. Mother has always regretted that. But now..." Vermilion Bird smiled charmingly, "Now, Mother will watch a sunrise with you."

Zhao Xiang'er didn't move. She watched Vermilion Bird warily, seeing her gradually walk farther away.

At the edge of the Three Thousand Worlds, Vermilion Bird put away her sword, looked back at her from afar, and offered a smile.

"Sunrise..." Zhao Xiang'er mused for a moment. She, too, deliberately sheathed her sword and walked to Vermilion Bird's side.

It was as if the great battle had never happened.

They stood normally at the edge of the world, like a mother and daughter reunited after a long separation, gazing together at the rising sun.

But they knew the sun would not rise.

Even if a sun truly appeared above the horizon, it would no longer be the red sun.

Instead...

"The dark sun rises."

Vermilion Bird looked at the flowing fire in the sky and the seemingly boiling atmosphere, and slowly said.