Chapter 850: Revived (1)

A single, indistinct figure appeared above Doushuai Palace. It was Li Xiaofei. But his condition was exceedingly strange at that moment.

His entire body was drenched in blood. Three gaping, bloody wounds had been torn open at his dantian, his heart, and between his brows, destroying the foundational three essences of any cultivator. As a result, there was almost no trace of life force emanating from him.

He was unimaginably weak. And yet, beside him, a faint red pillar radiated a staggering crimson light. The vast and overwhelming energy wave that Little Aunt and the others had sensed earlier was emanating from this pillar.

Countless threads of blood-red light spread through the skies, endless and unceasing, as though trying to mend the very fabric of space that had been torn apart by the Mother of All Beasts.

Astonishingly, the power radiating from that crimson pillar seemed to be faintly capable of contending with the Mother of All Beasts.

“What... what is going on?” Little Aunt struggled to comprehend the sight before her.

Tan Qingying, on the other hand, attempted to fly toward Li Xiaofei several times, but she was forcefully repelled by the terrifying pressure exuding from the energy each time. She simply couldn’t get close to him.

“Little Aunt, what’s happening to Brother Xiaofei?!” exclaimed Tan Qingying. She was frantic with worry.

Anyone with eyes could see that Li Xiaofei was in a terrible state. The destruction of all three essences meant that his life’s cultivation had been completely obliterated. There was no possibility of cultivating ever again.

Even Luo Ge vaguely deduced that Li Xiaofei must have paid an enormous price to activate that mysterious Heavenly Pillar and unleash its power to temporarily protect Doushuai Palace. This unexpected development had clearly provoked the Mother of All Beasts, who had just broken free in the distance.

It let out a hellish roar. The icy breath of death itself was imbued in that soundwave. After being imprisoned for hundreds of years, it had finally shattered its seal and returned to the real world. Now, it sought to destroy everything connected to the human race.

The murderous and violent aura within its body made it akin to an enraged god of death. Wherever the roar swept past, all living things were reduced to lifeless silence. Even the hordes of mutated Ruos were instantly turned to blood mist and powder, vanishing completely from existence.

Doushuai Palace shook violently. Its outermost foundational structures began to collapse, disintegrating into fine powder and scattering in the wind. They drew long, comet-like trails of white in the void.

Little Aunt, Tan Qingying, and Luo Ge instinctively covered their ears. The Black Emperor coiled its tail around Lin Yi’s head and covered its own ears with its front limbs... If not for the protective barrier of Doushuai Palace still holding, they too would have been completely erased from the world in an instant.

At that moment, the crimson Heavenly Pillar blazed even more brilliantly. Countless red threads began to spread out from its surface like radiant filaments of light, weaving through the surrounding ruins and the shattered void of the Thirty-Three Heavens like the silken strands of a weaver goddess.

These crimson threads reached everywhere. They even extended toward the Mother of All Beasts, forming layer upon layer of thin, translucent red cocoons around its vast, boundless body.

It was as if it was attempting to seal it once more. The Mother of All Beasts roared again, its sonic waves piercing through the cocoon layers without causing any damage. The cocoon’s unique structure allowed the sound to pass through like a mad gale blowing through a fishing net.

“

Graahhh

!” The Mother of All Beasts roared again.

Scorching golden light erupted from the layered scales across its body. Golden flame flashed and the red cocoon layer instantly vanished. It had been incinerated.

The monstrous aura radiating from the Mother of All Beasts surged like a tidal wave of terror. It seemed nothing could halt its advance. The immense body pressed forward, as if another world were tilting and grinding itself into this one.

It was only when facing this monster directly that one could understand the depth of despair it wrought. This was a nightmare beyond human comprehension. Doushuai Palace continued to tremble. Layer after layer of white dust flaked off the tower and drifted into the void behind. There was only one word that could describe this scene.

Annihilation.

It was as if everything around the Mother of All Beasts was being swiftly annihilated. The surviving Ruos were unafraid of death’s arrival. Instead, they fervently worshipped the Mother of All Beasts as they knelt in the void. They welcomed the tide of annihilation, embracing it gladly, even if it meant turning to ash in the very next breath.

They came from the Mother, and so they would return to the Mother's embrace. This was the faith of the Ruos. The Mother of All Beasts seemed to harbor deep hatred for Doushuai Palace. It launched continuous waves of chaotic, terrifying energy, one after another, to assault the palace with relentless fury like an endless tsunami surging across a boundless sea.

At the summit of Doushuai Palace, Li Xiaofei's condition remained strange. He clutched the Heavenly Pillar tightly with both hands, his blood flowing from the gaping wounds at his three essences. The crimson stream dripped down his arms and hands and poured into the pillar.

He was not dead, but neither was there much life left in him. The energy radiating from the Heavenly Pillar was vast and majestic, forming a protective shroud over Doushuai Palace and temporarily safeguarding those within.

Li Xiaofei’s body swayed unsteadily. His consciousness was now nearly gone. He had no strength left. And yet, even in such a state, he held tightly to the Heavenly Pillar, refusing to let go.

The Heavenly Pillar, at this moment, was like a greedy child ravenously suckling its mother’s milk. It was draining every last trace of energy from Li Xiaofei’s body. It wasn’t just blood anymore. It was his flesh, his essence, and his very life force. Li Xiaofei was like a sponge being rapidly dried. He was shriveling at a pace visible to the naked eye.

Eventually, he resembled a skeleton. His skin was a thin layer over his bones. His veins had turned into faint black lines. Even the energy and moisture from his bone marrow had been consumed by the Heavenly Pillar.

When Ximen Qianxue asked what price he was willing to pay, his answer had been everything. Now, he was fulfilling that promise. He gripped the Heavenly Pillar, allowing it to strip away every last part of himself.

Below, Tan Qingying was weeping uncontrollably, her tears falling like rain as her body teetered on the edge of collapse. Was there anything more agonizing than watching the person she loved most in this world slowly and cruelly edge toward death?

She kept rushing toward Li Xiaofei like a moth drawn to flame. Yet again and again, she was forced back by the overwhelming energy radiating from the Heavenly Pillar.

“Woof!” The Black Emperor suddenly let out a fierce bark.

Every strand of fur on its body stood on end as it crouched low, allowing Tan Qingying to climb onto its back. Then, it charged toward the Heavenly Pillar with a desperate snarl.

The terrifying pressure slowed the Black Emperor's advance almost immediately. It was like a snail trapped in a swamp. It dug its claws into the ground as it advanced inch by inch, paw over paw.

Tufts of its fur began to fall away one by one. The sound of cracking bones echoed from within its body.

“Just a little closer... a little more...” Tan Qingying reached out with all her strength, now just a few meters away from Li Xiaofei.

If she could just grasp his hand, she could activate her Damage Transfer ability and breathe new life into him. She could save him. Even if it meant trading her own life in return, so be it.

So please, Black Emperor... Just a little closer. Just a little more, just enough for me to hold his hand.

Tan Qingying’s body strained forward, her arm outstretched like a drawn longbow. Her fingers pointed straight ahead, trembling, desperate, trying to touch Li Xiaofei... just one touch.

The Black Emperor’s fur was flying away. Blood poured from its limbs, as well as from its nose, mouth, eyes, and ears.

But there was no longer a trace of the usual playful mischief in its eyes. Gone was the hesitant cunning of a self-serving trickster. In this moment, its unwavering determination to reach Li Xiaofei, at all costs, made it resemble a devout zealot charging forward with sacred resolve.

In the blink of an eye, the Mother of All Beasts was now less than five thousand meters from Doushuai Palace. Compared to its colossal body, the palace, standing a hundred meters tall, seemed as insignificant as a grain of corn.

But just then, Tan Qingying’s fingertip finally brushed against Li Xiaofei’s lower leg. Without hesitation, she channeled her own life force into him. His leg, once withered and skeletal, began to plump up visibly, as if revived with flesh once more.

But the sight was no more than a fleeting illusion of hope. The Heavenly Pillar continued to ravenously drain Li Xiaofei’s energy. The fullness of his leg rapidly withered again, shriveling as though he had never been healed at all.

Tan Qingying’s support was not enough to reverse anything. Worse yet, her own finger began to dry up. The sight was ghastly. That once elegant and tender finger shriveled like a dried branch stripped bare by the wind.

Yet even so, Tan Qingying did not retreat. Her withered fingertip remained pressed against Li Xiaofei’s leg, allowing the terrifying force pulling from within him to drain her own energy, flesh, and life force without resistance.

Her finger, her hand, her arm... Her once-beautiful, youthful body was rapidly withering away. But thanks to the Black Emperor’s relentless struggle, they had at last reached Li Xiaofei’s side.