Chapter 1347: I Will Remember, No More Friends

Bloody light filled my vision, accompanied by countless corpses—the corpses of myriad races! After regaining my cultivation, I unleashed a slaughter in a frenzy. But… my enemies were boundless.

Now, I stood amidst the ruins of the Purple-Green Sovereign Nation, letting the viscous blood plaster my face, the coppery scent of rust almost choking my nostrils. Every ragged breath pulled at a knife-like pain deep in my lungs, yet the long-extinguished flame within my chest, now flickered back to life, faint but stubbornly persistent.

“Your Highness… please accept our condolences!” A hoarse cry ripped through the heavy scent of blood. “But we cannot stay here. Feng Hai Commandery has Bai Xiaozhuo, who can offer you refuge.”

It was Old Luo, the captain of my personal guards. His weathered face, etched with lines, was now smeared with grime and blood, whether his own or an enemy’s, it was impossible to tell. His left arm hung limply, clearly broken. With his only remaining arm, his right, he gripped a chipped battle-saber, its blade still dripping dark red beads of blood.

Behind him, a ragged line of dozens of figures followed, each one wounded, stumbling as if they had just crawled from a pool of blood. Their armor was shattered, and their robes, soaked with blood, clung to their bodies, outlining their utterly exhausted forms. Yet their eyes, like tempered blades, stared past my shoulder, fixed intently on the horizon behind us, where ominous dust clouds billowed.

It was another wave of myriad races, a foul wind, sweeping closer and closer.

Watching the rapidly approaching foul wind, my gaze swept over the ruins that held the graves of all my kin. Finally... I looked at the personal guards beside me.

“Follow me to South Phoenix Continent! Jing Yun will activate a grand domain teleportation array there, connecting it to Feng Hai Commandery and other locations. He will also arrive then!”

“Emperor Jing Yun!”

The name struck like a silent bolt of lightning, instantly cleaving through the pervasive gloom of death. Dozens of pairs of eyes suddenly lit up, not with joy, but with the desperate will to survive of a drowning person clutching at a final piece of driftwood. South Phoenix Continent was the agreed-upon escape route, planned by Jing Yun and me!

Jing Yun, my only true friend in this life, had once sworn a solemn oath with me: to dedicate everything to the revitalization of humanity! Even though the myriad races were powerful now, and his army couldn't openly provide aid without inviting disaster upon themselves, he had planned ahead. In a hidden corner of South Phoenix Continent, he had set up a direct teleportation array leading to the human realm!

I believed in him! As much as I believed in my own heartbeat. This trust, forged through years of trials and the crucible of war, was now harder than refined gold. I understood his constraints, recognizing that as the Human Emperor, he bore the heavy burden of countless human lives. We, one in the south and one in the north, each guarded a corner of our realm, like two pillars supporting the human firmament, burning brightly and echoing each other across the distance. That hidden teleportation array was our silent pledge, spanning thousands of mountains and rivers, the sole beacon of life in the darkness—and unknown to the myriad races!

“Move!” I took a deep breath and spoke abruptly, my voice imbued with unquestionable resolve. I transformed into a faint streak of light and sped southward, leading the way. Old Luo and the dozens of remaining subordinates unleashed their last reserves of strength, following close behind. The piercing sound of their passage tore through the air, thick with the stench of blood and burning, like dozens of arrows shot towards salvation.

Behind us, the shrill cries of the myriad races’ pursuers and terrifying energy fluctuations clung to us like maggots to bone, relentlessly. The earth faintly trembled under their furious pursuit. We raced onward, our path stained with blood, crossing the Forbidden Sea and finally reaching South Phoenix. Each brief halt meant that more familiar figures fell in the bloody rearguard actions, swallowed by the surging tide of death behind us.

Yet, as dusk fell and the destination, Peerless Plain, finally emerged on the horizon within South Phoenix Continent, a flicker of hope ignited within my chest. It was then that an unprecedented, bone-chilling premonition, without warning, pierced deep into my consciousness like a venomous ice pick!

“Stop!” I forcibly halted in mid-air, and almost simultaneously, the seemingly calm void ahead suddenly twisted and tore open! Earth-shattering roars tore through the twilight's tranquility. Space was violently ripped open by unseen giant claws, and hundreds of massive figures, exuding an overwhelming aura of malevolence, descended with a vengeance!

The leader, nearly three zhang tall, was covered in dark, gleaming chitin. Sharp bone spurs protruded from its joints, its head was elongated, and its compound eyes glowed with cruel, crimson light. It was the Emperor of the Void-Rending Insect Race, renowned among the myriad races for its ferocity and cunning! Beside it, a colossal giant formed of rough rock and seething with flowing lava landed heavily on the earth, instantly cracking the ground and sending molten rock spewing forth. It was the Emperor of the Lava Giant Race! Further off, more figures, shrouded in distorted auras, materialized one by one, each radiating a soul-shaking pressure that encircled the entire area. Their collective aura became a tangible set of shackles, instantly locking down the space behind me. The icy killing intent was more piercing than the autumn night wind blowing from the depths of South Phoenix Continent.

“Prince of Purple-Green, your journey ends here.” The Void-Rending Insect Emperor’s grating psychic wave slammed directly into my mind, laden with undisguised mockery and greed.

The path of retreat was severed, and the pursuers were imminent! Despair!

“Form ranks!” Old Luo’s roar, flecked with blood, tore through the air. He lunged forward, his only remaining arm, his right, bringing his battle-saber across his chest. The dozen or so remaining members, without a hint of hesitation, instinctively formed a ragged but resolute battle formation, protecting me at its center. There was no fear in their eyes, only an insane, burning battle intent, reaching its zenith. Like torches about to gutter out, they unleashed their final burst of light and heat.

I gazed upon them, my eyes piercing through the monstrous forms of the myriad races' powerhouses, looking out at the plain. This was the very location I had agreed upon with Jing Yun! The hidden teleportation array was here.

But why... were these powerhouses of the myriad races waiting here, with such precision...?

“Jing Yun...” My heart turned bitter, unwilling to believe, yet in the mocking gazes of the myriad races' powerhouses, I took out a smooth jade pendant. This was a gift from Jing Yun himself, given years ago. It contained a wisp of his elemental essence and was also the key to activate the teleportation array. Once on Peerless Plain, activating it would open the portal. Without hesitation, I poured my spiritual energy into it!

The jade pendant abruptly glowed! A faint, ethereal blue thread of light, like a delicate lifeline, instantly rose from the pendant, attempting to connect with the hidden teleportation array within the earth.

But just then... the thread of light flickered for only an instant. Like a dying candle in the wind, it swayed violently, then rapidly dimmed! Inside the jade pendant, the wisp of Jing Yun’s elemental essence, so achingly familiar to me, rapidly dissipated, then vanished! Just like my heart.

“You can keep trying, Prince, to see if Jing Yun of the human race will open the portal.” A voice echoed from among the alien powerhouses. “Prince of Purple-Green, you... have been abandoned. Or perhaps, your dear friend... wishes you dead even more than we do!”

The pendant’s light extinguished completely, leaving it cold, lifeless, and no different from an ordinary stone. The thread of light that connected us to the north was completely severed. It wasn’t severed by external interference, but rather... from the other side, it had been unilaterally and decisively shut down. And the array’s authority had been taken over by the myriad races.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment. The ragged breathing of my subordinates behind me, the low, sinister laughter of the myriad races’ powerhouses, the desolate outline of Peerless Plain... everything became blurred and distant. Only the excruciating pain of my heart being savagely clutched and crushed by an unseen giant hand remained, sweeping through my entire being with vivid clarity and chilling reality.

“...Haha... hahahaha...” A bitter, uncontrolled laugh escaped my throat, dry and hoarse, thick with the scent of blood. The laughter grew, echoing louder and louder across the silent, desolate twilight plains.

I lifted my head, my gaze seemingly piercing through thousands of mountains and rivers, fixing on the direction of Jing Yun, the heartland of humanity.

Jing Yun... My only true friend in this life... If there is a next life, I will remember this: I shall have no more friends!

My laughter intensified.

At that moment, the powerhouses of the myriad races raised their hands and activated the teleportation array on Peerless Plain. As brilliant light flared, countless alien beings materialized from within! Instantly, a furious torrent of energy ripped through the air, crashing towards us like an overwhelming tide!

Old Luo’s roar, laden with a suicidal resolve, was the first to charge into that devastating torrent! The remaining subordinates, like moths drawn to a flame, unleashed the last vestiges of their life force, roaring as they surged towards the overwhelming enemy. As for me, the frenzied laughter on my face was instantly replaced by cold, hard killing intent.

Death lay ahead, and death lay behind. So be it... I would fight!

The cultivation that had reignited within me surged forth, exploding with no reservations! Dull purple flames instantly shot skyward, like a dying star unleashing its final, brilliant flare! I transformed into a burning bolt of purple lightning and defiantly plunged into the heart of that destructive torrent!

Peerless Plain instantly became a grinding mill of flesh and blood!