"Boom!" A deafening blast.
There was no miraculous escape, nor was there anyone who could stop it in time. It happened too quickly, with King Xieluo's tail striking Ping Yang's frail body with such incredible force without the protection of her Red Flame Flower Armor.
In that moment, it seemed as though time came to a standstill.
Everyone's eyes were glued to Ping Yang's face. Her face showed grief, glistening tears, and a sense of liberation - a powerless liberation.
"Your Highness!"
"Princess Ping Yang!"
Both the Mountain Breaking Army and Yan Yunqi yelled out in unison upon witnessing this scene. They could clearly see how terrifying this strike was.
Even if Ping Yang donned the Red Flame Flower Armor … she wouldn't have possibly endured such an attack.
"Princess!" Xing Yuanguo's eyes turned red as he clenched his fists tightly. His body shuddered incessantly as he knew too well how important Ping Yang was to Lin Mubai.
Ping Yang, dead?!
This happened right before his eyes. How could he convey this to Lin Mubai?
"Mother …" Ping Yang's body fell from the heavens as fresh blood spurted from her mouth, cascading down from the skies like raindrops. Her face was pale but her eyes were wide open.
Her crystal clear eyes stared silently at the night sky, gazing up at the stars above until her body fell into the arms of another person.
"Shameless bastard, I … I think …. I saw Mo … Mother …. Really …. I …. I really saw Mother .... Mother has come to fetch me …"
"But I feel a little cold. Are you cold?"
"Drip!" A glistening tear slid down her cheek and dropped to the ground.
Ping Yang's body was no longer falling as the person holding her has already reached the ground. She subconsciously grabbed onto him tighter.
"Hahaha … Fang Zhengzhi, seems like everyone is dying one by one in front of your eyes. How does it feel to be unable to save them?" King Xieluo chortled maniacally, "Mother? Haha, you weak humans are certainly amusing!"
"Amusing?" Fang Zhengzhi replied.
"Isn't it amusing?" King Xieluo mocked.
"I don't find it amusing!" Fang Zhengzhi's tone exuded fortitude and grit.
"You foolish … Eh?!" Just as King Xieluo wanted to rebut, he stopped midway through his sentence because he realized that Fang Zhengzhi seemed to be munching on something. This took him by surprise.
One could do many things before one's death - screaming for one's mother, leaving a few last words … but, eating? Isn't that a little too mundane?
Fang Zhengzhi didn't reply King Xieluo's question. He continued to chew his 'food' slowly as he gazed up at the night sky.
"Do you wish to live?" A figure appeared in his mind.
"Of course!"
"That' easy, just eat this and you'll survive, but you won't be able to keep your strength."
"Is there something which allows me to keep my strength and survive at the same time?"
"No!"
"How could you call yourself one of the Four Sages when you don't even have anything useful? Helping oneself is always better than relying on others. I'll find another way out myself, bye!"
"Wait!"
"What else do you want, you lying old duff?"
"Lying? You little brat, do you know how many people cry and beg just to meet me, and I still refuse them?"
"So? Are you crying and begging to save me?"
"... You insolent brat, do you really wish to keep the state of your mastery intact?"
"You don't say."
"Alright, I'll let you keep your strength, but I can't save your life."
"Are you mocking me?"
"Do I look like I'm mocking you? I have an elixir that can protect your strength and save your life, but exactly how long can it keep you alive, that I do not know."
"What's the minimum amount of time I can stay alive for?"
"Two years!"
"What's the maximum?"
"Three years!"
"Are you kidding me?"
"It's up to you whether you want to eat this. If you don't, you won't have both your strength and life after one month!"
"How can I ensure that I live for three years?"
"Take this at regular intervals."
"Take this at regular intervals?"
"Yes, consume one elixir every month. I'll give the elixirs to Wu Yuer, and she'll give them to you at fixed intervals. You must never consume more than what you need. If you eat more than one in a month, your lifespan will shorten by one month!"
"I'm not stupid, why would I eat more than one?"
"Who knows?"
"What's that supposed to mean? Can I still reinvigorate my strength after eating this?"
"Reinvigorate your strength? You certainly have wild thoughts. Does it matter? If you want to grow your strength, I have plenty of … Cough cough, what I meant to say was, consuming this elixir will allow to double your strength in an hour!"
"Double? It's this formidable? If my strength doubles when I consume one pill, will it jump four times if I consume two pills?"
"Eh, it merely doubles your foundational strength. In other words, if you take ten at one go, your foundational strength will increase tenfold!"
"Wow … is this some divine elixir?"
"Of course! This is the greatest masterpiece I've ever crafted. Unlike all those immortality elixirs, no one can craft this except me!"
"What is this elixir called?"
"The Heaven Oasis Pill!"
"Why does it have the same name as you?"
"Of course, this elixir is named after me!"
"I think it'll be better to name it the Zhengzhi Pill. After all, you're not consuming it and you're giving it all to me. Isn't that right?"
"Yuer said that you're a shameless brat, but I think that using this adjective to describe you is an insult to the word itself!"
"Eh? Well, which description do you think suits me better?"
"You really have no moral standards at all!"
"Thanks for the compliment, now let's save the bullsh*t for later. Bring the Zhengzhi Pill over!"
".... I already said before, I'll let Yuer give this to you at fixed intervals!"
"Yuer is so busy, what if she forgets about this? Or what if her relatives visit her and she delivers the pills late and I die? How about this - let me keep three to five hundred pills with me just in case."
"Three to five hundred? Are you treating these pills as rice?! I only have five pills with me now, and even if it's me, I can only craft a maximum of two or three new pills in a month. I'll let you keep one pill!"
"Just one? Am I a beggar? I can't have less than five pills!"
"At most, I'll give you two!"
"Four!"
"Three!"
"Deal!"
"Wait, why am I bargaining with you?"
"As the great Heavenly Oasis Saint of the Four Sages and as Wu Yuer's master, I'm sure you won't go back on your word, would you?"
"You brat, I'll give you three but you must not eat these Heavenly Oasis Pills unless it's absolutely necessary!"
"I'm not stupid, do you really think I'll just happily gobble down these deadly Zhengzhi Pills without restraint?"
"...."
"Gulp, gulp ...." After chewing the pills in his mouth, Fang Zhengzhi swallowed them down slowly. At the same time, he turned his gaze away from the night sky and looked at Ping Yang once again.
King Xieluo then jerked violently without knowing why. He suddenly felt as though Fang Zhengzhi seemed a little different from before.
He was still wearing the black court uniform from before, his face was still as pale as before, but he just felt different.
What was wrong?
King Xieluo looked down at Fang Zhengzhi who was carrying Ping Yang in his arms and gazing back at him. He puffed from his nose as his suspicions rose.
Then, he saw Fang Zhengzhi gently lay Ping Yang on the ground, very delicately and slowly.
Before this, King Xieluo would have lifted his hoof up without hesitation and stomp down on Fang Zhengzhi to turn him into minced meat, but he did not do so now.
There wasn't a particular reason for his change of heart; he just had a feeling, a unique sense that belonged to a Demon King. And this sense told him that he had to wait, or at least, wait until he identified what exactly was different about Fang Zhengzhi.
Then, Fang Zhengzhi finally laid Ping Yang down on the ground, and following that … he lifted his head up again.
"Eh?" King Xieluo's body shivered. In the moment he exchanged glances with Fang Zhengzhi, he finally realized what was off about his opponent.
His eyes!
That's right, it was his eyes!
He wore a pair of colorless eyes. There wasn't any black or white, neither was there any red, yellow, blue, green, indigo or violet. They were transparent, as clear as water droplets. It was a strange sight indeed.
Once someone's eyes become transparent, they would easily reveal whatever was hidden inside, but Fang Zhengzhi's eyes were different.
Inside his eyes, King Xieluo could see many things, like his own reflection, the shattered palace walls, and the stars in the sky. It was like a mirror, except it wasn't one. Mirrors can only reflect a limited number of things, but Fang Zhengzhi's eyes not only reflected whatever was in front of them, but also showed much more - mountains, rivers, oceans, forests, flowers …
"This brat … just what is he?" King Xieluo looked into Fang Zhengzhi's eyes and felt a highly strange sensation. It seemed to be engulfing him, but at the same time it felt otherwise.
Then at this moment … his eyes opened wide.
A sword appeared in Fang Zhengzhi's hand. It seemed like an ordinary sword but it was definitely no ordinary sword. The sole reason for this was … a purple mark on the tip of the blade.
It looked like a bloodstain, but it seemed to have melded perfectly with the sword.
And now, as the sword appeared in Fang Zhengzhi's hand, the purple mark expanded swiftly and in an instant, it dyed the entire sword purple. It was a strange, cryptic shade of purple.
At the same time, an overwhelming killing intent surged forth from Fang Zhengzhi's body, radiating to his surroundings like a physical existence, creating swirls of energy akin to tornadoes.
"It's the Traceless Sword!"
"Isn't the Traceless Sword supposed to be in the Souther Region? Why does Fang Zhengzhi have it?"
"Could he have visited the Southern Region?"
When the Mountain Breaking Army saw the sword in Fang Zhengzhi's possession, they were taken aback. The sword's reputation was simply too great - it was once the sword of the Sagely Battle God Meng Tian, a sword that left no traces of its kills.
"This is bad! Is this brat … possessed by the sword?!" Xing Yuanguo was also astounded when he noticed the Traceless Sword in Fang Zhengzhi's grasp.
The Battle of the Southern Region.
At the Icy Monkey Settlement, Fang Zhengzhi wielded the Traceless Sword and massacred all the Demon powerhouses in the Rebirth State. That sight was still fresh in Xing Yuanguo's mind.
That wasn't an issue of strength … On the contrary, Fang Zhengzhi then was not Fang Zhengzhi at all. Hence, Xing Yuanguo could only describe him as 'possessed'.
"No, his eyes did not turn purple, they're still clear … Wait a second, they aren't just clear, they're … transparent?!"
Transparent! And strangely so.
Xing Yuanguo has never seen someone's eyes turn into such an extraordinary color, but Fang Zhengzhi's eyes were definitely transparent. They were as transparent as glistening water droplets.
"Boom!"
Fang Zhengzhi finally moved. He carried that vortex of materialized killing intent on his body and charged towards King Xieluo.
"Eh? You wish to seek death? Haha …" King Xieluo was indeed thrown off by Fang Zhengzhi's strange eyes, but he wasn't afraid.
He had already shed off all the blood-stained black scales on his body. His new coat of black scales glistened with a sinister glow under the cloak of golden light. His massive body propelled into the air and descended down at top speed, charging to intercept Fang Zhengzhi.
But then …
Fang Zhengzhi vanished.
Or to be more precise, he blended into the surrounding vortex of killing intent.
"Die!" A chilling voice erupted from the vortex. Following that, the cyclone of killing intent morphed into a seemingly real dragon.
As the dragon soared into the heavens, raindrops fell from the sky. One drop, two drops, growing heavier and heavier …
A torrential downpour.
It washed away the fresh bloodstains on the ground as well as those on Ping Yang's chest. With the rumbling of thunder, the flashes of lightning illuminated Ping Yang's pale face.
Then, a tinge of light lit up on Ping Yang's chest.
It was a pendant, a pendant shaped like a tear. It flowed with a faint glow, shining like a star in the stormy night. However, no one noticed the light as everyone's attention was drawn towards the dragon bounding in the sky.
It pranced in the air, flying up and down, swirling through the skies. It exuded an almighty sense of loneliness and rage.
Finally, the dragon dissolved into a winding ray of light, descending down from the heavens and charging towards King Xieluo who was now beneath him.
The dragon, the arrogant yet lonely dragon …
Even though it rose from the ground, it would never allow anyone to stand above him.