In a hidden mountain hollow far from the border, corpses piled like mountains, blood flowed like seas, a human hellscape.
Xiao Shan planted his spear into the ground, propping up his exhausted body.
Three days and three nights, he no longer knew how many people he had killed, ten thousand, twenty thousand, or thirty thousand? He had lost count.
All he knew was that it was worth it.
The nearly million-strong army of the Three Kingdoms had also been nearly depleted by him.
However, Wu Zhou Bai was dead.
Yuan Bu Fei was dead.
Chen Kui and Du Ling were dead.
Yutou had died blocking a bullet for him.
And countless brothers were dead.
The vivid smiling faces from the banquet flashed through his mind, and Xiao Shan realized he wasn't as heartless as he thought; his heart actually ached.
Even the black dog, Xiao Hu, had lunged forward to bite the enemy soldier who had ambushed him from behind, only to be pierced by a spear.
Qian Hang had trampled a circle of enemies to death, his limbs severed.
Now, only he and his old companion, the Xuan Tie Spear, remained.
But he, too, had lost an arm.
He was a broken man.
The surrounding enemy soldiers cautiously approached, and when Xiao Shan moved, they recoiled in fear.
It was because he was like an Asura from hell; whenever they thought he was utterly exhausted, he would still go on a mad killing spree.
He was truly terrifying.
Xiao Shan cast a mocking glance at those people and sat down, leaning on his spear.
He was truly too tired, allowing himself a moment's rest.
His left arm was crudely bandaged, already soaked red with blood. Xiao Shan murmured, "How will I ever hold you again!"
"Never mind, perhaps there won't be a 'again'."
He drew out the jade pendant from his chest. The pendant, soaked in his blood, was now even redder.
If the jade pendant was fine, she wouldn't be hurt. He would die soon, so he had to find a place to bury it first, lest someone else pick it up.
He looked towards the direction of the imperial city, and the pain in his heart began to spread.
Would he really never see her again?
But he was so unwilling!
He hadn't had enough time with her yet!
Didn't the fortune teller say he would live to 110?
What a charlatan of the martial world, not accurate at all. It would have been fine if he had lived half that long; he wasn't even thirty yet!
He reached into his embrace again, pulling out a blood-stained drawing.
Even the drawing was soaked through; it had cost him an ounce of silver!
"Grow old together, grow old together... I've seen what you look like when you're old. Let's consider this life, growing old together with you!"
He looked at the mottled painting, depicting two old men and women with wrinkled faces, their teeth all gone, yet they were still smiling with puckered lips.
"You were the smart one, having two little cubs early. That way, if I'm gone, they should still live well!"
"If Song Bei Ting can wait, let him wait three years. For these three years, I forbid you from falling for someone else. After three years, I won't bear to see you alone. If he still likes you, I, I, I will agree."
What was he muttering to himself? He truly had no strength left this time, right?
The enemy forces were drawing closer.
"You don't know, do you? I never liked being called the Great Yao Divine Monarch. I asked, people can't reincarnate; once dead, they are dead. Your Great Yao Divine Monarch from your past life definitely wasn't me, it was that guy named A Ye, truly enviable."
"Xue Niang, Ling Yao, my women... I'm leaving."
Xiao Shan gripped his spear and stood up again.
His tiger-like eyes blazed with a terrifying ferocity, and a long roar shook the heavens and earth: "Kill—"
He charged towards the enemy, like a fierce lion entering a flock of sheep, but after a moment, his movements began to slow.
"He can't hold on, he's really finished this time! Kill him quickly!"
All the arrows were aimed at the man standing tall in the center.
That was when the change occurred.
Flames erupted from his chest.
Xiao Shan felt a searing heat in his chest, and his previously clouded eyes cleared once more.
The jade pendant, the jade pendant had ignited, and as if alive, it rushed towards the enemy.
The remaining hundred-plus enemy soldiers were all set ablaze, and the flames grew larger and larger. The慘烈 screams and the smell of burnt flesh vanished before they could be fully processed.
Only ashes remained.
The jade pendant also turned to ash.
Xiao Shan could no longer hold on, and he collapsed onto the ground.
The jade pendant had protected him once again. Had Xue Niang been injured this time?
...
In front of the Taiyi Hall, Emperor Mingde stood on the steps, watching the approaching figure, his thin lips tightly pursed.
His hands clenched into fists, he wondered what she would do when she learned the truth.
To what extent would she go for Xiao Shan?
Would she question him, curse him, or would she fall out with him, severing all ties?
However, he had misjudged everything.
Ling Yao didn't even give him a chance to speak.
And he finally understood clearly that he had no comparison to Xiao Shan whatsoever.
His neck was gripped, and his body was lifted uncontrollably into the air.
He looked at Ling Yao with difficulty, almost not recognizing her for a moment.
The imperial guards swarmed forward, but no one dared to advance. Leading them was Lei Hua, temporarily acting as commander. He was loyal to Emperor Mingde, but he was also helpless.
Because around the goddess, there was an invisible wall, or perhaps an unknown energy, that caused his skin to sting and tear just by getting close.
That seemed to be the same energy contained beneath the altar.
Ling Yao's hair flew wildly, her red eyes brilliant. Her right hand held Emperor Mingde's neck from a distance, and behind her, a giant red lotus totem slowly rose.
Emperor Mingde, clutching his neck, looked down at the scene with despair.
The gentle imperial sister, the noble and sacred goddess, seemed to have vanished.
Only this strange, terrifying Ling Yao in a state of madness below existed.
It was his doing.
"Feng Shijin, give him back to me, give him back to me—"
She had fallen into demonic possession!
Ling Yao's voice echoed through the entire imperial palace.
What rolled in from the sky was no longer auspicious clouds and radiant colors, but layers of dark mist, plunging the entire palace into night.
The civil and military officials, having finished their morning court, watched this scene in terror, prostrating themselves and begging for mercy.
The Grand Shaman, trembling, was helped forward by his disciple.
He was old, his health declining, and he hadn't attended court for a long time. His chosen junior disciple was about to take over as the new Grand Shaman.
"Goddess, please calm your anger, Goddess, please calm your anger!"
"The Great Yao Divine Monarch can still be saved, he can still be saved!"
The Grand Shaman shouted with all his might.
Towards the end, the civil and military officials joined in: "Goddess, please calm your anger, the Great Yao Divine Monarch can still be saved! Goddess, please calm your anger!"
Ling Yao, amidst her rage, finally heard the shouts. The wind lessened slightly, and her hair settled gently.
Her dazzling red eyes looked at the Grand Shaman.
"He can still live?"
"Yes! He can live!" The Grand Shaman stepped forward a few paces and shouted, "The Goddess and the Great Yao Divine Monarch share the same fate, living and dying together. Nirvana is rebirth!"
However, the goddess of a hundred years ago had failed to achieve Nirvana and had perished along with the Great Yao Divine Monarch...
The Grand Shaman's cloudy eyes were filled with uncontainable heartache.
The Emperor, how foolish!
Emperor Mingde, who had just caught his breath, was stunned.
The Goddess and the Great Yao Divine Monarch shared the same fate.
Living and dying together.
Xiao Shan was the Great Yao Divine Monarch.
His harming Xiao Shan was harming the Goddess.
Was that it?