Chapter 2486 - When the Hum of a Sword Rings Out

The middle-aged man in the feather coat and his allies could tell that Luo Qingdi was almost finished.

For him to use the last of his strength to save that girl at a time like this would unquestionably make his situation even worse. It was to the point that if things went on like this, they wouldn’t even need to attack. Luo Qingdi would break without their intervention!

Thus, they chose to surround but not attack him. The longer this situation lasted, the greater their advantage would be.

Luo Qingdi disregarded all this. He was focused on the dying girl in his arms, his heart full of grief and fury.

He now completely understood. All of this was part of his enemies’ schemes. Xiao Xiao had been exploited, all for the sake of targeting him!

“Big Brother Luo, I...” Xiao Xiao said with great difficulty. But before she could say anymore, Luo Qingdi stopped her.

He gently tousled her hair, then said, “Xiao Xiao, haven’t you always wanted to become a grandmaster of talismans and formations? Rest assured that I’ll help you realize this dream. I’ll make you the greatest master of talismans and formations beneath the heavens!"

“Rest for a little while. Don’t think or do anything at all. When you wake up, this will all be over,” said Luo Qingdi, his voice full of heart-soothing power. Xiao Xiao quickly fell fast asleep.

The middle-aged man in the feather coat watched this entire exchange. “Your soul origin is all but depleted, yet here you are, wasting the last of your strength to save that little girl’s life. Why was that necessary?”

His voice was full of confusion and disdain.

The powerfully built spear-bearer in warrior robes said staunchly, “Your efforts are in vain! Both you and that girl shall die today!”

Luo Qingdi hefted Xiao Xiao onto his back, then slowly turned his head.

Everyone’s expressions shifted slightly.

Because Luo Qingdi’s aura had changed!

His soul origin was battered, riddled with holes, and covered in startling wounds, but his aura was rumbling and booming like a thunderstorm of the nine heavens, and it emanated explosive, destructive power.

It was as if his whole soul body had caught ablaze!

“Be careful!” roared the middle-aged mn in the feather coat.

The warning was extraneous. All of them were Nine-Tribulation Master Gods with years of combat experience. How could they possibly have missed that Luo Qingdi was about to risk it all?”

“You think Xiao Xiao is as lowly as a blade of grass, and you see me as injured prey,” Luo Qingdi said calmly as he scanned his enemies. His gaze was full of disdain. “But in my eyes, you Nine-Tribulation Master Gods are nothing but scum. All of you combined aren’t worth even a single hair on Xiao Xiao’s head!”

Boom!

Countless dark flames interwove over Luo Qingdi, creating a the figure of a divine phoenix beating its wings!

When the phoenix took to the skies, it presided over all other living things. It was bathed in dark flames of the natural order that burned the heavens and destroyed the earth!

The Nine-Tribulation Master Gods’ pupils constricted.

This was Luo Qingdi’s true source power! They didn’t even need to think to know that he was about to risk it all. He was aiming for mutual destruction!

The group was instantly on high alert. They readied themselves for battle and prepared their life-saving trump cards.

“Hah! These are the last-ditch efforts of a man on the brink of death, that’s all, yet he dares boast even now? Truly ridiculous!” A man in a scholarly headcovering said with a cold laugh.

As mercilous as his tongue was, he prepared the most thoroughly of all, drawing multiple Undying Weapons.

Luo Qingdi’s gaze was cold and indifferent. He said no more.

Boom!

He took a step forward and punched.

The divine phoenix beat its wings, stirring up dark divine flames to accompany Luo Qingdi’s fist. They threatened to melt the entire stretch of heaven and earth and destroy everything in it.

The scholarly man who’d laughered earlier now looked stricken. His eyes widened, and terror was written all over his face.

It was just one punch, but the scholar’s eight Undying treasures burnt up like paper, instantly reduced to ash. It was as if his defenses, his body, his soul, and his very life itself had been plunged into a fiery abyss.

He couldn’t feel agony, nor could he sense anything at all. All that remained was endless terror. He felt like an ant who’d carelessly fallen into a sea of flame.

Within moments, the scholar had been reduced entirely to ash. He vanished into the air. Not even a trace remained.

It was as if he’d been wiped from existence, reduced to nothingness!

The others’ hair stood on end. Their expressions filled with horror.

He effortlessly defeated a Nine-Tribulation Master God in a single punch!?

This is the power of a badly injured soul origin!?

“Quick! Attack with everything you’ve got and stop him!” roared the middle-aged man in the feather coat.

He drew the killer weapon he typically kept in reserve, a purple jade ruler shrouded in mist. It was mystical and unfathomable.

Then, he attacked with all his might!

The other Nine-Tribulation Master Gods dared not be negligent, either. All of them followed their leader’s excample and attacked without reservation.

Kaboom!

Heaven and earth were in chaos. The skies collapsed on all sides.

The searing light of Undying treasures was like radiant arcs tearing through the firmament, erupting with immeasurable ferocity. All of them were aimed at Luo Qingdi.

Luo Qingdi shifted through space, bringing with him endless dark flames.

Bang bang bang!

Those wondrously powerful Undying treasures were all sent flying, their wails shaking the heavens.

Luo Qingdi, meanwhile, had long since appeared in front of one of his opponents. He used his hand like a blade and slashed furiously.

The opponent in question was an old man in yellow robes and a tall hat, an ancient Nine-Tribulation Master God.

The moment Luo Qingdi appeared, the old man reacted, taking out a scroll painting. It depicted tens of thousands of divine mountains, its rising and falling peaks full of majestic, unshakable charm.

It was like a natural barrier blocking Luo Qingdi’s path.

But when Luo QIngdi’s slash fell, that seemingly unstoppable “natural barrier” split in two.

“How... How is this possible?” the old man in yellow robes and a tall hat said in a daze.

A bloody line appeared on his forehead, then descended down his eyebrows until it reached his stomach. Then, he split it two.

He’d been cleaved in half!

Boom!!

Both the old man’s bissected corpse and the halved scroll painting were enveloped in divine flames and instantly reduced to ash. Nothing remained of them!

A second Nine-Tribulation Master God had died!

This tyrannical scene provoked the other Master Gods present. All of them looked stricken, and their courage threatened to fail them.

Even if you’d hit them over the heads, they wouldn’t never have guessed that a man reduced to a battered soul origin could be this powerful!

But at the same time, all of them noticed a long, thin gash on Luo Qingdi’s soul body.

The area near the wound was devoid of life. Death qi billowed from the wound. It was a striking sight.

Much of his enemies’ terror faded. Luo Qingdi might have been fierce beyond measure, but his vitality was rapidly fading away!

“Remember this: don’t clash with him head-on!” bellowed the middle-aged man in the feather coat.

The warning was entirely unnecessary. Two Nine-Tribulation Master Gods had just died before their very eyes; none of them were bold enough to clash with Luo Qingdi head-on.

All of them chose to fight from a safe distance.

Every time they sensed Luo Qingdi approaching, they dodged immediately. Their goal was to drag this out until they’d worn Luo Qingdi down completely!

And indeed, this strategy proved effective. Luo Qingdi attacked repeatedly, but his enemies managed to evade each and every strike.

More and more death qi was emanating from his damaged soul, and his life force was rapidly depleting. The Undying Divine Phoenix bathed in divine flames was growing dimmer.

Even his imposing majesty was showing clear signs of waning!

His enemies’ spirits soared.

He won’t last much longer!

But they were still on guard, like a cold, cunning pack of wolves. They encircled their prey and dragged the battle out.

The moment Luo Qingdi’s strength failed him, they’d all attack at once and end the battle once and for all.

Luo Qingdi sighed to himself. He’d hoped to kill a few more enemies, then use the last of his strength to escape the Tianxiu Sword Shrine and see Xiao Xiao somewhere safe.

But his wounds were too heavy. Even when he gave it his all, he couldn’t really turn the situation around.

He would die soon. Luo Qingdi could sense that clearly.

He wasn’t exactly bitter about it. He was, after all, someone from a lost epoch, someone who should have died a long time ago. He’d never been afraid to die.

But as his death drew near, he had a few lingering regrets. In particular, he regretted that he never got the chance to reunite with his little sister.

He took a deep breath, and his eyes filled with calm determination.

He would never admit defeat. He’d promised to get Xiao Xiao out of here safely, so he’d do everything he could to give her a chance at survival, even if it cost him his life!

Boom!

Luo Qingdi’s battered soul origin caught completely ablaze. Dark divine flames connected heaven and earth, incinerating everything on all sides.

Everything was destroyed within the blaze, and everything fell silent.

The indistinct figure of an Undying Divine Phoenix beat its wings and attacked the nine heavens, it cries booming like thunder.

But its sonorous voice had a mournful flavor.

Off in the distance, his poewrful enemies looked stricken. All of them immediately fled further away, creating distance between themselves and Luo Qingdi.

“Xiao Xiao, listen carefully. When you wake up, shatter the talisman I gave you, and someone will come find you. They’ll treat your wounds and save your life,” Luo Qingdi said gently, his body bathed in flames.

He was using his voice to imprint a message in Xiao Xiao’s soul.

“Tell the person who finds you that I, Luo Qingdi, spent my life in battle, and I never spoke of defeat. I will die on the battlefield today, but I have no regrets!”

When he’d finished speaking, he raised his hands, and...

Boom!

The divine flames filling the sky revolved, and a spacetime vortex appeared in the sky. The Undying Divine Phoenix beat its wings and floated beneath the vortex.

Meanwhile, Luo Qingdi lifted Xiao Xiao into the air and placed her onto the phoenix’s back from a distance.

No one in this world was truly unkillable. When their life force ran dry, even “Undying” divine phoenixes were destroyed.

Luo Qingdi was now using the last of his life force to manifest a phoenix to carry Xiao Xiao away. Even if he perished completely after saving her, he’d have no regrets.

Off in the distance, the middle-aged man in the feather coat and his allies looked stricken.

They could tell that Luo Qingdi’s last strike, the one he’d made with no regard for his life, wasn’t an attack, but rather, a taboo spacetime magic. He was trying to help that lowly, ant-like little girl escape!

All of them charged without the slightest hesitation, launching powerful attacks at the spacetime vortex in a bid to stop him.

Luo Qingdi snorted coldly, then leaped through the air and attacked.

He no longer had any intention of living through this, so he naturally had no reservations whatsoever. He wanted to settle this once and for all before the last of his life force ran out!

But it was then that the humming of a sword resounded throughout heaven and earth.

Like the clanging call of a phoenix.

And as this sword hum rang out, a figure appeared out of nowhere, raised his hand, and firmly seized the Undying Divine Phoenix carrying Xiao Xiao toward the spacetime vortex!