Chapter 1317: The Swan Song of Stars and Moon, Hidden Bitterness Chasing Light

Settling accounts after autumn!

The Illusion Extinction Finger, combined with the condensed power of the Saint Emperor, unleashed an energy capable of erasing both human forms and gods, erupting at the rear of the battlefield.

Just as Dao Qiongcang had anticipated, this was indeed a thunderbolt!

When the Saint Emperor Wang Ze first descended, he hadn't chosen to erase it outright. Instead, he used a method akin to "exile" to temporarily confine it.

In his world, such an action was simply too laborious and unrewarding, completely unnecessary.

He only needed to erase Xu Xiaoshou first, and then the people from the Saint Divine Hall would have ample time to clean up the rest.

Yet, he never imagined that as a mighty Saint Emperor, not only did he fail to eliminate Xu Xiaoshou with that finger, but he ended up being swallowed by it instead.

So now...

This Illusion Extinction Finger, which even the Saint Emperor Wang Ze had considered troublesome to clear when it first appeared, had its power beyond doubt.

With its user gone, this thunderbolt's second eruption became an absolute killing move that no one could counter.

"Danger!"

Below, people craned their necks in anticipation, their eyes filled with despair.

From Xu Xiaoshou's earlier battle with the Saint Emperor Wang Ze, it was clear that once the Saint Emperor's power erupted, scarcely anyone in this realm could survive.

Naturally, the crowd lost all impulse to flee, merely waiting quietly for death to arrive.

And perhaps harboring a tiny hope that a turnaround might occur?

For instance, maybe Dao Qiongcang could still act, or another Saint Emperor might descend, or perhaps at the critical moment, Xu Xiaoshou would consider the lives of these innocent bystanders and choose to hold back?

No one paid them any mind!

Dao Qiongcang saw only Rao Yaoyao.

But after his warning, he hadn't even had time to act when a secondary realm gate unfolded above his head.

The forbidden laws and barriers belonging to the Inner Island were invoked.

Along with it came the voice of the invisible figure, Shui Gui, who had been lurking outside the battle:

"Xu Xiaoshou's killing intent is already ignited. Why do you insist on struggling?"

At that moment, Dao Qiongcang's ears were almost deaf to sounds, and his eyes gained a touch of melancholy.

His sacred thoughts were unusable, yet his gaze swept across the entire Xuankong Island, as if witnessing the arrival of "death" foretold by the Seven Trees Great Emperor.

Everything was unfolding toward the worst possible outcome.

Just as he had seen the hesitation in Saint Emperor Wang Ze when heading to the Absolute Ember Fire Domain, and thought of the endgame in their chess match.

"Ba Zun'an, you've been far too ruthless..."

A thunderous boom shattered Dao Qiongcang's silent murmur.

In the high sky, the energy storm bloomed like a beautiful epiphyllum at night. It was late in coming, yet it unleashed all its brilliance in an instant.

"No—"

Beneath Sin One Hall, countless people let out wails of agony.

Relying on Saint Emperor Wang Ze's Wind You Send technique, the Illusion Extinction Finger had indeed been pushed higher into the sky, no longer brushing the ground.

Even so, with the power of the Saint Emperor Jin Zhao and the soul-erasing force exploding simultaneously, the surging pressure, wave upon wave, still crushed figures on the ground from a great distance, their defenses crumbling.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

One after another, bloody flowers bloomed across the ruins of Sin One Hall.

Even the spirit refiners hiding in ancient structures, shielded by some old defensive arrays, couldn't escape.

The power of a Saint Emperor was no joke.

Even if it was just the aftermath, how could ordinary Dao Cutter or Supreme Void experts withstand it?

"Xu Xiaoshou, it's you again..."

In the nine heavens above, the storm swallowed the voice.

Rao Yaoyao, teleported to the storm's center by the Great Shift Technique, never imagined that the climax of the battle she anticipated would come so swiftly.

By her judgment, after Dao Qiongcang's warning, she had already started guarding against the Seven Trees Great Emperor, Divine Prison Azure Stone, and other strange forces. She should have exchanged another dozen rounds with Xu Xiaoshou before being pushed to her limit.

At that point, either Xu Xiaoshou's power would be exhausted, leading to his downfall, or Dao Qiongcang would be prepared to counter any assault.

But this thunderbolt buried at the rear of the battlefield, combined with Xu Xiaoshou's Great Shift Technique, buried all her hopes.

Bang!

The absolute defense of the Mountains and Seas Relic couldn't hold for even half a breath against the Saint Emperor's power and the Illusion Extinction Finger.

The creatures and undead spirits bound to Sin One Hall were all blasted into dust, returning to nothingness.

The aura of destruction was like the most chaotic wind Rao Yaoyao had ever seen upon entering the innate realm, howling toward her.

Grass, trees, stone mountains, ruins, space, rules... Everything from the tangible to the intangible was being destroyed!

The heat wave rushing at her face hadn't even unleashed its first burst of energy, yet Rao Yaoyao felt everything about herself melting away.

Including her dress, her flesh, her blood and bones, even her soul...

Her vision blurred.

Her hearing faded.

Her sacred thoughts were ignited and burned away bit by bit.

Even the strength she used to wield her sword as an ancient sword cultivator seemed about to shatter completely under this strike.

"Am I really going to die?"

In an instant, Rao Yaoyao's thoughts wandered, flashing through all the memories of her past life like a lantern.

She was a prodigy of heaven, the pride of the Saint Emperor Rao clan, the leader in red robes, and an unparalleled genius on Guizhe Sacred Mountain.

From birth, she had a golden spoon in her mouth. Opening her eyes, she was the brightest pearl on the Shengshen Continent, listed on the beauty rankings, with unmatched elegance.

She awakened wind attributes innately, possessing the strongest wind affinity. With endless resources, she advanced all the way to Supreme Void without bottlenecks, her path of spirit refining knowing no hardships.

With ample time, when she wanted to cultivate ancient sword techniques, the Saint Emperor Rao clan found her the best mentors and the ideal training grounds.

Though she didn't enter the mortal world, she could experience it through the Saint Emperor's secret realm, gaining life insights, and ultimately mastering emotional sword techniques to claim the title of one of the Seven Sword Immortals.

She...

She had so many more "excellences" that others couldn't compare to.

But now, reviewing her countless glorious experiences, it all felt like a gold-embossed life scroll, its content outlined by outsiders, just like most so-called "prodigies," tasteless to savor, yet a pity to discard.

Beyond excellence, there was only excellence.

It seemed the only fitting end for someone like her was to meet a final defeat.

"What have I truly lived for?"

As the storm approached and Xu Xiaoshou's killing intent was fully revealed, Rao Yaoyao saw for the first time a person who didn't disguise themselves in front of her.

She had experienced the mortal world and seen through it, specializing in emotional sword techniques, yet she had no deeply engraved romance, nor any heartfelt familial bonds.

No one around her was trustworthy; she could only rely on herself, even among her clan peers and elders.

She had too many pursuers, too many enemies, but each wore heavy masks—pursuits that weren't real pursuits, enmities that weren't true enmities.

All of it was like an invisible hand guiding her growth, planning how she should become excellent.

Step by step, all the same.

Looking back, Rao Yaoyao realized the most genuine person before her was Xu Xiaoshou.

Only he dared to show his true hostility, shed his persona, and reveal his killing intent.

Everything before had been puppets under the Saint Emperor's manipulation, mere toys!

"What if I weren't me? What if I were someone else?"

In the storm, Rao Yaoyao lost everything, then suddenly awakened to the fact that if there were no Rao Yaoyao in the world, it wouldn't matter much.

There would be another Rao Yaoyao, or Rao Tiaoyao, or Rao Yaoyao variant, repeating her life.

Her excellence could be replicated.

The failures of Ba Zun'an that she looked down on, the decadence of Hua Changdeng... All the setbacks that others had but she lacked were actually the real marks of a human life, unique leaves, irreplaceable lights.

Was that so?

But if the era evolved to the point where even excellence must blend into the masses, and only setbacks could forge true glory, wasn't that also an absolute, a tragedy?

Rao Yaoyao couldn't find the answer.

She hated such questions. In the past, she might have struggled to seek one, but now she simply closed her eyes.

"I have nothing at all..."

The storm had birthed her and was about to destroy her.

In the final moment, even the divine sword Xuan Cang began to protect itself, struggling to break free, unwilling to perish under such power.

Rao Yaoyao, however, laughed.

A lifetime of sword cultivation, and now even the sword abandoned her—it was quite a wonder.

But then, Xuan Cang never truly belonged to her. Forcibly possessing it didn't mean she had everything.

When the facade of glory stripped away, what should leave would leave, what should depart would depart—it was only natural.

Yet, just as Rao Yaoyao fell into complete despair...

Buzz!

A resonant sword hum, brimming with intense emotions, rang out from the shattered spatial ring, from a pile of long-dust-covered miscellaneous items.

In the ruins of Sin One Hall, amid the storm, a faint light suddenly flashed, followed by a mournful cry.

It was a song of sorrow that had been suppressed for so long.

When high, it soared like heavenly music, stopping the clouds in their tracks; when low and resentful, it was like an earthly lament, full of grief.

This song halted the fearsome storm for a brief moment, revealing its formless essence amid destruction.

Countless people felt the sorrow deeply, lifting their tear-streaked eyes to see a ethereal, dispersing sword light.

"Sword light?"

Rao Yaoyao was stunned.

Was there still a sword willing to stand for her?

Gazing at the sword disintegrating before her, she seemed to grasp something, filled with endless regret, wanting to hold on, yet unable to do anything.

"Star Moon Singer..."

The sword that had accompanied her growth from the start.

From a third-grade sword to now a first-grade one, it had even birthed a sword spirit.

Rao Yaoyao might have no one to confide in or trust, but as a sword cultivator, this initial sword was absolutely reliable!

However, after becoming the leader in red robes and wielding a first-grade sword, it no longer suited her status—or so Rao Yaoyao thought.

More often, she repeatedly tried to control the divine sword Xuan Cang, one of the Five Great Chaotic Divine Artifacts—it fit her status, though she failed time and again.

Now, as destruction loomed, the divine sword Xuan Cang abandoned her, while Star Moon Singer took the initiative to appear and fulfill her.

Flesh shattered, soul shattered.

The transcendent state she, Rao Yaoyao, had yearned for countless years—Xuan Cang hadn't granted it, but Star Moon Singer could!

Even though its master had no will and had completely forgotten it...

This first-grade spirit sword chose to self-destruct at this moment, turning into a final elegy that carried a wisp of its master's divine soul into the transcendent state, fleeing far into the nine heavens.

"No!!"

Rao Yaoyao wanted to stop it, but she couldn't.

She finally understood that long-forgotten companion by her side.

She finally realized she wasn't truly without anything.

Not all companionship speaks, and no one says the path must always go forward—people need to learn to stop and look back.

But Rao Yaoyao hadn't.

She had always moved forward, looking ahead, ignoring the companionship behind her.

When she realized this...

She was truly left with nothing!

Transcendence—such a beautiful aspiration?

For ancient sword cultivators, transcendence should be a time of fame across the world, etched in history.

Yet, with the spirit sword self-destructing and carrying its master to transcendence from the battlefield, this was irreversible. It meant Star Moon Singer had silently passed away, never to be restored.

"Star Moon!!"

The heartrending song sent Rao Yaoyao's remnant soul out of the storm of the Illusion Extinction Finger, breaking through the shattered space of Xuankong Island, trying to escape the confines.

It was just a first-grade spirit sword, but it had a spirit. If Rao Yaoyao had valued it and given it another chance on the famous sword rankings, it could have been listed, endlessly nurtured by fame to evolve.

Its transcendence was a lament for the world.

It truly lived up to the name of ancient sword cultivators—unstoppable edge—from the fragmented space-time flows, it broke through, away from Xuankong Island's conflicts, carrying its master from the battlefield.

How could a person live a lifetime and leave no trace?

"This..."

On the other side, Xu Xiaoshou was baffled.

He never thought that at the brink of death, Rao Yaoyao would have such a divine object actively transcendent for her.

What a waste of talent!

If Cang Ku could do that, why would Xu Xiaoshou need four swords and the Flame Python? One sword could slay all enemies!

But Rao Yaoyao, fighting to this point, hadn't even revealed this sword or its name, always fixated on Xuan Cang...

"Rao Cutie, you're just too cute!"

Xu Xiaoshou felt indignant for that nameless sword.

With his Hand-Eye Sword Technique, he could clearly see the deepest resentment on that dying first-grade sword.

But...

How could he allow it?

Even for that sword's sake, he couldn't let Rao Yaoyao leave.

"Four Divine Pillars, aid me!"

Roaring madly in his heart, Xu Xiaoshou exhausted all his strength, trying to squeeze out a bit more power to cut down this transcendent elegy.

But...

It came to nothing.

He had reached his limit.

The power of the Four Divine Pillars could no longer help him much; input couldn't keep up with output.

Having forcibly taken on the Saint Emperor's power, now as it receded, Xu Xiaoshou's body was disintegrating.

He needed his remaining power just to repair himself, let alone output more.

"Xu Xiaoshou, stop!"

Shui Gui's serious voice came from the secondary realm gate above Dao Qiongcang's head:

"You're at your limit. Rao Yaoyao's famous sword transcendence has already left Xuankong Island."

"The Four Divine Pillars' power can no longer interfere with forces outside Xuankong Island."

"But our goal isn't just one Rao Yaoyao—it's Xuankong Island. Remember that!"

The Saint Servant's goal was Xuankong Island?

In the remnants of Sin One Hall under the Illusion Extinction Finger, few people remained, but hearing Shui Gui openly state this purpose, they emerged from the mournful song, filled with shock and uncertainty.

Xu Xiaoshou fell silent for a moment, his eyes igniting with fierce flames, then his killing intent fully exposed.

Still the same words...

Rao Yaoyao wasn't worth it!

Even for that nameless sword, since he'd seen it, he couldn't ignore it.

"The Four Divine Pillars can't aid me? Then I'll aid myself!"

With a roar to the sky, Xu Xiaoshou gathered all his power and drew Cang Ku instead.

Whoosh!

Under the ten-thousand-zhang light, this black, twisted, and wildly excited fifth-grade spirit sword emitted a strange sound.

"Can you endure it?" Xu Xiaoshou asked, looking down.

Whoosh!!!

Cang Ku shook its tip in anger. As another nameless sword with a spirit, it couldn't tolerate that elegy's misery.

Even knowing it wasn't worthy, at that moment, it wanted to pursue, to slay saints.

"Then let's go, together!"

Xu Xiaoshou spun Cang Ku high and hurled it toward the distant sky, leaping into the air.

Cang Ku flew into the high sky but veered back.

Its speed increased with each distance covered, finally dragging flames across the sky and carrying Xu Xiaoshou, chasing toward the direction of Star Moon Singer's final elegy.

"Xu Xiaoshou, what are you trying to do?"

At that moment, everyone was shocked.

Having lost the Four Divine Pillars' power and entered a depleted state, was Xu Xiaoshou using a useless fifth-grade spirit sword to pursue the transcendent Rao Yaoyao?

Even if Rao Yaoyao was weakened, she was still in an ancient sword saint's transcendent state—the starving camel is larger than the horse.

Without external aid, wasn't Xu Xiaoshou afraid of being counter-killed?

"Rao Cutie, did I let you run?"

Riding his sword in reverse, Xu Xiaoshou felt like he was back on the arena of Tiansang Spirit Palace's storm of winds.

And Rao Yaoyao was just the next enemy he was about to defeat in his life.

Nothing more!

As he rode the sword, his sword momentum climbed higher and higher. When he entered the space fragments, he had already recklessly invested a skill point.

"Sword Technique Mastery (Throne Lv.10)."

"Sword Technique Mastery (Saint Emperor Lv.0)."

The difference of one level was like heaven and earth.

With a boom, Xuankong Island thundered loudly.

This time, it wasn't a clear-sky lightning bolt, but after the thunder, tribulation clouds gathered.

"Saint Tribulation?"

Even Dao Qiongcang was baffled by this.

Xu Xiaoshou was only at the Throne Dao realm—how could he provoke a Saint Tribulation?

What had he done?

What was he trying to do?

"Shui Gui!"

A voice boomed from the space fragments, and Shui Gui froze for a second, understanding immediately.

The secondary realm gate bloomed in the high sky, opening and closing, directly intercepting the fully formed Saint Tribulation.

Having absorbed the insights from the final level of Sword Technique Mastery, Xu Xiaoshou could be said to possess the purest and most orthodox foundation of an ancient sword saint, though he couldn't yet wield it.

But...

With his sword techniques, was there truly nowhere to apply them?

In the dark space fragments, without the Four Divine Pillars, Xu Xiaoshou relied solely on his sword intent to trace and see the sword marks left by Rao Yaoyao's departure.

He spun open the Sword Dao Disc under his feet, and in his mind flashed the elegance of Mr. She Ren's single sword from earlier at Sin One Hall.

"A mere wisp of regret—nothing more."

"Even to the ends of the earth, I will cut it down!"

In an instant, Xu Xiaoshou opened his eyes, his gaze empty of light, devoid of sorrow or joy, desire or fluctuation.

Yet, from the space fragments on Xuankong Island, fragmented and intermittent sacred sounds drifted out:

"Sword techniques have names, and this one is called Heart..."