180 The Endgame

The heart that was still beating strangely fell to the ground. The poison of the Three Lifetimes Flower and the powder from the colorful butterflies were all on it.

The colors did not restore the heart’s vitality. Instead, it beat even weaker.

This was because both the Three Lifetimes Flowers and the colorful butterflies were poisonous.

Although the heart’s beating slowed down, there was no doubt that Xin Yu’s black heart was still beating.

Ling Qingyun was on guard against Xin Yu, who had disappeared, as she prepared for the attack on the Fourth Heaven. At the same time, she spared some spiritual energy to bombard the black heart.

Swish! The spiritual energy transformed into countless wind blades, which continuously cut the black heart into pieces.

The gale blades whizzed past, and the black heart was nowhere to be seen.

All that was left was a black breeze mixed with a few Three Lifetimes Flowers that were faintly pulsating.

A few colorful butterflies chased after the Three Lifetimes Flowers in the air and followed the black breeze to the two small mounds.

Thump. Thump. The black powder eventually landed on the two small mounds, and the pulse of the heart became weaker and weaker.

The Three Lifetimes Flowers fell to the ground with the seizing wind and neatly arranged themselves in front of the two small mounds.

Two colorful butterflies fluttered in the air and finally stopped on the two broken swords in front of the two small mounds.

The colorful butterflies moved and they briefly touched where the two broken swords made contact.

Thump… In the end, the black powder slowly stopped pulsating and no longer made any sound.

“The Fourth Heaven of the Divine Gate’s Nine Heavens Array, Void! Ling Qingyun was extremely focused on her surroundings. She didn’t let any movement slip past her notice. She was afraid that Xin Yu was hiding somewhere, preparing to launch a sneak attack.

The Divine Gate’s Nine Heavens Array had 100,000 cultivators to distribute damage. However, compared to nascent soul cultivators who could communicate with heaven and earth, they were still too weak. If they were not careful, they would be completely annihilated.

“Where is Xin Yu? She should have dodged the attack of the Third Heaven. Damn it, is this what a nascent soul cultivator is like? She is actually so difficult to deal with!” Ling Qingyun, who couldn’t locate Xin Yu, was extremely nervous.

Zhou Yun had already exhausted himself to delay Xin Yu’s attack. Aside from the last sword, he was useless for now.

Now, all the cultivators had fallen into a deep sleep in order to channel all their spiritual energy into the Divine Gate’s Nine Heavens Array.

Ling Qingyun could only rely on herself now!

“Where is she? Above? Below? Or is she hiding in a place that I’ve overlooked!” Ling Qingyun gritted her teeth. In the end, she decided to use her Divine Sense.

Between cultivators, unless it was absolutely necessary, they would not use their Divine Sense.

This was because, when facing a cultivator who was higher level than oneself, using one’s Divine Sense would result in backlash. They would be considered lucky if their minds were merely muddled.

They would be considered lucky if their minds were merely broken. The worst case scenario was instant death.

If Ling Qingyun wanted to use her Divine Sense against a nascent soul cultivator, she would be courting death.

However, she had no other option. The Fourth Heaven was ready. It could be unleashed at any moment.

If Ling Qingyun didn’t quickly locate Xin Yu, she might lose this battle.100,000 cultivators would be slaughtered by Xin Yu.

“Divine Sense, activate!” Ling Qingyun shouted internally. The Divine Sense of a golden core cultivator could cross mountains and rivers. It could even locate a grain of rice within a radius of 10,000 miles.

For a powerful cultivator like Ling Qingyun, who was also the sect leader of the five upright sects, her Divine Sense was even more terrifying.

She frowned, and her Divine Sense began to spread out from the two small mounds under her feet. She left no stone unturned.

“Where is she?” Ling Qingyun’s Divine Sense swept through every ditch that was created after the battle, every broken rock, and every suspicious place.

As she continued to use her Divine Sense, Ling Qingyun’s face started to turn pale and she began to tremble.

“She is not within a 10 mile radius. Could it be that she already escaped beyond this range? Or has she left?” Ling Qingyun was panting heavily! Controlling the Divine Gate’s Nine Heavens Array required a lot of willpower. Now, she was even using her Divine Sense to search. She couldn’t hold on much longer.

Ling Qingyun gritted her teeth and held the array back from unleashing the attack of the Fourth Heaven. At the same time, she had no choice but to slowly descend to catch her breath.

She landed in front of the two little dirt mounds. Her tired eyes swept over the Three Lifetimes Flowers, the two intertwining colorful butterflies, and the faint layer of black powder.

To motivate herself, she bit her lips so hard that they bled. She then forced herself to stand up.

“She must be around here. I can’t let everything go to waste.” Once again, Ling Qingyun forcefully activated her Divine Sense to scan the surroundings.

Her hair was soaked with sweat, and the messy ends of her hair even stuck to her face. Her clothes were also drenched. However, right now, she no longer had the luxury to care about anything else.

Ling Qingyun stood up straight and scanned the entire Perilous Stronghold with her Divine Sense.

With the Divine Gate’s Nine Heavens Array, if Xin Yu had escaped the range of the array, she would have known.

Xin Yu must still be hiding in some corner.

“I absolutely will let another disciple die!” Ling Qingyun’s lips were dry and her head was dizzy. She had already bitten her tongue, and blood was flowing out from the corner of her mouth.

“I … I must lead the disciples to escape this world.” Ling Qingyun felt her vision blur. She slowly mumbled and persevered.

…

In a land far, far away, a black-robed man was sitting on a chair on a mountain. On the table in front of him was a small pot of wine and a small plate of peanuts.

From time to time, the black-robed man picked up one or two peanuts and tasted them along with the wine. He would let out a few exclamations, nod his head in satisfaction while sipping wine.

In the end, the black-robed man looked into the distance. He could see everything that was happening in the Perilous Stronghold of the Myriad Flower School.

He observed as Ling Qingyun, whose eyes were already bleeding and whose entire body had withered, slowly fell to the ground in front of the two small mounds.

In her final moments, Ling Qingyun reached out with a trembling hand towards the black powder on the two small mounds.

Her dry and wrinkled hands grabbed a handful of the soil stained with black powder.

“Finally… I’ve found you.” Ling Qingyun’s voice sounded hoarse and extremely fragile.

Her golden core had been completely destroyed, and her Dao Foundation was completely gone. Her body was even weaker than that of an ordinary old woman.

Regardless, the corners of Ling Qingyun’s mouth slowly curled up.

Woosh. Just as Ling Qingyun’s hand was about to fall, the black-robed man ignored the distance between them and appeared in front of her.

“The heretic cultivator is dead. The furnace, which has been sealed for 1832 years, might be able to see the light of day again,” the black-robed man said, his face emotionless. He looked at Zhou Yun, who was at the end of his rope, and finally revealed a strange smile.