The leader of the newcomers turned out to be Skylight Princess. She led numerous ancestors to this battlefield, seemingly ready to fight to the bitter end.
“Skylight Princess!” People exchanged glances.
In reality, she has been here the entire time without showing up. She came out in order to buy time for Bai Jianchan.
“Go!” She shouted without looking at him while exuding a heroic and decisive aura.
“Rumble!” The portal was next to him so he could flee at any moment.
Alas, hesitation struck. He was the heaven’s favorite, the number one genius of the north, the successor of Yin Yang Gate. Any of the above stopped him from running.
His personal reputation would be ruined; Yin Yang would also be shamed.
Everyone watched with bated breath. Bai Jianchan was clearly not a match for Li Qiye - this was as clear as day by this point.
However, he was in a tough situation. Even if people were to understand the decision, he found it excruciating to make a choice.
“Go! There is always firewood as long as the verdant hill remains. Take him away!” She looked back at him and shouted.
With the last command, the portal rushed towards him. The choice was no longer his. The entrance sucked him in and brought him away from the battlefield.
She didn’t bother to look back while feeling a bit of pain. From today on, she would never be able to see her lover again for they would be separated by two realms - life and death. However, tears would never shed because she was willing to sacrifice everything for him.
“Leaving so soon?” Li Qiye was amused, evident by his smile.
“Get ready for battle!” She didn’t wallow in sadness and summoned her weapon, the same with the ancestors nearby.
“Kill him!” She served as the vanguard and the ancestors followed her lead.
“Rumble!” They formed a wall around Li Qiye, wanting to separate the domain to stop him.
This bought enough time for the portal to shrink into a single point then disappear from sight.
“You’re courting death.” Li Qiye chuckled and waved his phoenix feather.
A flame swept by with enough intensity to immolate the firmaments. It swallowed everything in no time at all.
“Boom!” The wall made by the princess’ force couldn’t stop the flame so they were sent flying. One ancestor after another screamed. The fall of the wall meant they were susceptible to the heat.
“Ahh!” All were reduced to ashes with the exception of the princess who slammed into the ground and vomited blood.
The crowd shuddered at this sight.
“What a powerful love.” One spectator commented. The engagement between Skylight and Yin Yang was there long before the one with Ancestral.
Contrary to Pearlstone Saintess, Skylight Princess and Bai Jianchan grew up together and were childhood sweethearts.
Thus, this engagement went smoothly without any opposition. The two of them were practically husband-and-wife, just lacking a formal ceremony. Thus, she knew many things about him and was in charge of certain matters pertaining to administration. Today, she fulfilled the responsibility of a wife, making a tough decision for him.
Many respected her for this virtuous trait during a perilous moment.
She climbed up and looked back to find that the portal was no longer there.
“Goodbye.” She whispered; her eyes slightly moist.
The years spent together fostered a strong love. This allowed them to always be together regardless of the danger and difficulties.
Alas, she would need to leave him today. He would walk alone on the path towards the dao in the future. Perhaps he would be able to find someone else who can love him the same way…
Many noticed the tears in her eyes and became emotional. They showed respect by not speaking.
“Surrender and I’ll think about sparing you out of consideration for this rare sacrifice.” Li Qiye nonchalantly said.
The crowd stared at her with bated breath.
“Surrender.” Someone said softly since they have been touched by her.
At the very least, she would be able to survive. Plus, it wasn’t humiliating to lose to Li Qiye given the circumstances. Her courage and sacrifice made up for this.
She took a deep breath and declared: “I, Bai Jianchan’s wife, will never surrender.”
“How courageous.” Li Qiye didn’t make fun of her and continued: “Very well, I’ll see you off. Don’t worry, you won’t be lonely for long.”
The princess trembled but mustered enough courage to raise her halberd again.
“Die!” She roared and the halberd released a terrible beam filled with murderous intent.”
“Clank!” She flew into the air, thrusting the halberd downward to crucify him with lightning speed.
Alas, she alone couldn’t do anything to Li Qiye. He gently raised the feather to stop the halberd in its track.
The scene became frozen; she was still in the air while pushing down with her halberd.
“Poof!” A flame erupted from the feather. However, it didn’t light her on fire. A small buzz could be heard and it disappeared.