Chapter 225 His Heart His heart had long ago belonged to the one he loved. ...
That's not how it works.
She only wanted to avenge Liyue Village and herself, so how did it all end up being her fault?
When she broke those seals, she only wanted to save people, she only wanted to survive...
It was clearly his doing that Dayong obtained such weapons. From prospecting for minerals to forging weapons, and finally, turning Dayong against the cultivators…
He had been planning this calamity for many years.
Using her, using Qin Yuqi, using Bai Hui, using the Great Zhou... turning everyone in the world into stepping stones on the path to godhood.
Isn't he the one who deserves to die the most?
She gazed at the endless Heavenly Pillar.
She was burdened with sins; she was destined to die.
But on what basis can such a person become a god?
"There should be no more gods in this world."
Jiang Yuhuo stood up, sword in hand, her gaze fixed on Tianzhu. She activated her sword technique, and fierce flames ignited on the sword, her hand wielding it dripping with blood.
If it were a strike that exhausted all spiritual power, it might not be unable to sever the pillar of heaven.
But Wen Yizhan always stood in front of her sword.
We can't hurt him, otherwise he'll be thrown into the fire by Jia Qianyang just like those other cultivators, and we can't kill him... He's the best senior brother in the world.
As the two swords clashed, an opening appeared behind her, and other cultivators seized the opportunity to launch a sneak attack. With a heavy blow, blood spurted out.
Scalding blood splattered into Wen Yizhan's eyes.
In the firelight, she looked into Wen Yizhan's eyes.
"Senior brother...I am your...junior sister..."
Those eyes didn't blink, and the blood droplets that splattered in flowed out with the water, like tears of blood.
Is he crying?
Did he recognize her?
Someone crept up behind her, but the attack didn't land. She heard Li Mengbai's voice.
“A person afflicted by the puppet silk will not move aside unless killed…” He sneered. “Jiang Yuhuo, if you want to destroy the Heavenly Pillar, you must kill him first. Can you bring yourself to do it?”
"Give up. As long as you don't touch the Heavenly Pillar, you can save his life, and you can save yours as well."
He suddenly softened his voice, speaking in a tone only the two of them could hear, "Fishing Light, let go, trust me one last time..."
It sounds like he's really looking out for her, but with so much deception and manipulation in the past, how could she possibly trust him anymore?
She only regretted not killing him sooner.
Jiang Yuhuo parried Wen Yizhan's sword and slashed at Li Mengbai with his own.
The sword strike was abrupt and lacked sufficient spiritual power, but whether due to its suddenness or other reasons, Li Mengbai was struck down heavily by it. He stopped at the edge of the crevice; had he exerted even a fraction more force, he would have been plunged into the scorching subterranean fire by the sword's energy.
He seemed much weaker.
Jiang Yuhuo hesitated for only a moment before charging forward with his sword once more.
This time, however, Wen Yizhan intercepted them midway, and the two powerful sword energies converged in the air, instantly dispersing the thick smoke from the earth fire.
Jia Qianyang manipulated the silk thread in his hand and landed next to Li Mengbai, his gaze gloomy.
"Useless thing, you've never truly let her go!"
He smiled contemptuously at the person on the ground, "She might not kill her senior brother, but she will definitely kill you."
Li Mengbai clutched his chest, his face even paler than the spirit before him, yet he merely curled the corners of his lips into a slight smile.
Of course he knew, otherwise, why would he have brought Wen Yizhan over?
Knowing that Jiang Yuhuo would no longer show him any mercy, he had no choice but to let Wen Yizhan act as the one who could stop her from destroying the pillar of heaven.
"Don't think I can't see it. You went there to shield her." He glanced at Li Mengbai's bleeding chest, his expression grim. "Stay put and don't try anything funny. You're still useful. It's not time for you to die yet."
"Don't forget, your life is also in my hands."
He moved his finger, and a transparent puppet thread connected to Li Mengbai's back.
A single puppet thread is not enough to make Li Mengbai lose his mind completely like Wen Yizhan, but it is enough to destroy his life.
He trusted no one, so how could he possibly trust Li Mengbai, a person who would do something as crazy as a blood transfusion for Jiang Yuhuo?
Knowing that Jiang Yuhuo would show no mercy to Li Mengbai, Jia Qianyang did everything in his power to control Wen Yizhan and the remaining Li family cultivators, determined to kill Jiang Yuhuo.
No one can stop him from connecting heaven and earth and reaching the realm of gods; he will become a new god.
Jiang Yuhuo kept dodging Wen Yizhan's sword moves. In the midst of their tight exchange of blows, she was still able to spare some attention to deal with the others.
With only a handful of the twelve most elite cultivators from the Li family remaining, Jia Qianyang gradually lost patience. Too slow. Since he couldn't kill her, they might as well die together.
Just as Jiang Yuhuo was about to leap away to avoid the sword energy, he saw Wen Yizhan suddenly being pulled by an invisible force and falling rapidly towards the crack in the earth, where boiling earth fire lay below.
"Senior brother!"
Without a second thought, Jiang Yuhuo spun around and leaped down to chase after Wen Yizhan. Although they were still some distance from the fire, the intense heat that rushed towards them seemed to want to burn their flesh to ashes. Huge rocks kept falling from the scorching cliff face.
Amidst the flames and rubble, she caught up with Wen Yizhan and caught his falling body.
With one hand she held him tightly to his body, and with the other she plunged the tip of her sword deep into the cliff face, gritting her teeth as she fought against the force pulling him down, leaving a trail of sparks on the cliff.
She finally stopped when she was less than three zhang away from the ground fire.
But before she could even catch her breath, the person she had saved suddenly sprang up, swinging his sword to slash at her sword-wielding hand, while the other cultivators on the cliff also arrived one after another, seemingly waiting for this moment.
Attacks were coming from in front of her and above her head, and Wen Yizhan was too close to her, leaving her with no way to avoid them.
Not only did she not avoid him, she even held onto Wen Yizhan's body tightly. If she let go now, she couldn't guarantee that Jia Qianyang wouldn't immediately plunge him into the fire.
She couldn't let go, even if Wen Yizhan's sword would sever one of her arms in the next moment.
The man wielding the sword stopped, his hand trembling.
Jiang Yuhuo saw the struggle in his eyes, as if he was desperately fighting against the force controlling him.
But the cultivators above wouldn't let her go. Several powerful spiritual energies struck, but instead of attacking her, they attacked Wen Yizhan, who was completely unprepared for what was happening above.
Seeing that he was about to fall into the fire, Jiang Yuhuo was terrified. Without thinking, she reached out to grab him.
He fell too fast.
A wave of heat splashed out, and Jiang Yuhuo grabbed the person before he could even close his eyes.
A sword rang out with a clang.
The tip of the sword swept across the ground fire.
Hot magma gushed from the crevice, but a figure leaped out before the fire could erupt. His black cloak was scorched and torn, and his back was burned. He was unconscious when he emerged from the cliff.
He was lifted up by someone.
What about the other person?
Li Mengbai was startled. Ignoring the puppet strings and the still-erupting subterranean fire, he rushed forward to search for the person.
Just as Jia Qianyang was about to stop him, Li Mengbai stopped.
Li Mengbai felt his heart beating; she was still alive…
A slender hand rested on the cliff face, and a red dress appeared below.
She climbed up, unharmed, but her eyes...
Those eyes, which always seemed so intense, were closed, and two bloody streaks ran beneath them...
Her sword broke.
My eyes can no longer see.
"Jiang Yuhuo!" Li Mengbai clutched his chest. Even though the pain had subsided, he still felt a hallucinatory pain, as if someone was squeezing his heart and twisting it violently. "You still won't give up?"
When the fire erupted from the ground, Jiang Yuhuo only had time to send Wen Yizhan out.
She could feel the scorching heat against the cliff face and couldn't see anything, but she happened to hide in a crevice in the rock, and the blazing lava passed right by her.
In that instant, she knew that her life still had a purpose.
On the scorched earth, she stood tall and straight in a red silk dress, holding a broken sword.
"Never give up, even if it means death."
Every word is clear.
"Ha... Just because you're blind?"
Seeing this, Jia Qianyang no longer took her seriously. He found her words laughable. "Are you sure you want to continue fighting me? Your sword is broken, what will you use to cleave the Heavenly Pillar?"
"If you're trying to stall for time and wait for someone to come and help you, then give up." Jia Qianyang's sneer deepened. "Demons roam the earth, and those immortal sects are all entangled with them... No one will come to help you."
Jiang Yuhu put away the broken Dingchun Sword.
No one will help her.
From the very beginning, she never expected anyone to help her during this ordeal.
Jia Yue must protect the Sea Kingdom, and the Immortal Sect must bless the human world.
And she has to face the mistakes she made with her own hands.
But who said she didn't have a sword?
She spread her fingers slightly, and a sword radiating a pale blue light appeared in her hand.
Jia Qianyang was slightly surprised, but he just smiled and assumed that Jiang Yuhuo was only carrying two swords because he was feeling uneasy.
Li Mengbai recognized it; it was given to her by the merman, and she had always cherished it every time she used it.
Jiang Yuhuo held the moonlit star in her hand, but her mind was on the broken sword.
It's a pity that Senior Bai Hui's sword cannot be returned to Kunlun.
The sword sliced through his palm, and the scalding blood began to burn on the cold blade, blazing blue flames.
She not only possessed a sword, but to her, it was the best sword in the world.
A blazing and sharp sword aura slashed towards the source of the sound without warning, as powerful as thunder and as swift as lightning.
In the blink of an eye, Jia Qianyang saw all the Li family puppet cultivators blocking his way from Jiang Yuhuo be annihilated by this sword.
A red figure soared through the air, a sword wreathed in deep blue flames, about to cleave down on him.
She came too fast, so Jia Qianyang quickly retreated, and at the same time, he moved his fingers, trying to pull Wen Yizhan over to block her in front of him.
But then they heard a whooshing sound behind them, the tip of a sword piercing through the void.
"Who says no one will come to her aid?"
Jia Qianyang immediately dispersed his soul and out of the corner of his eye saw the person behind him, Wen Yizhan, who should have been under his control, wielding a sword to stab him.
The puppet threads binding him had broken.
Jia Qianyang's gaze shifted slightly; she had actually severed the puppet threads! At the bottom of the cliff, she not only rescued Wen Yizhan but also cut the puppet threads binding him!
"Junior sister, northwest by north."
Although Jiang Yuhuo could no longer see, she was fully aware of the surrounding movements. With a slight gesture from Wen Yizhan, she unleashed an even more powerful sword aura.
This time, Jia Qianyang had anticipated this and skillfully dodged the attack while simultaneously shooting the puppet silk in his hand towards Jiang Yuhuo.
"I'd like to see how many swords you still have left to use!"
"Is this all you know how to use?"
Jiang Yuhuo's sword tightly gripped the silk thread, and with her eyes closed, she coldly questioned, "All you can do is manipulate others to do things for you?"
Jia Qianyang looked at her bleeding eyes and smiled contemptuously, "Why would I need to do it myself to kill someone like you?"
The threads were impossible to pull or cut, and the two were locked in a stalemate.
"Is that so?" Jiang Yuhuo tightened her grip on the sword. "Then why did you have someone set up a barrier here? Why did you deliberately plant puppet threads in my senior brother? Why didn't you dare to fight me head-on? You only have one soul left, and your power needs to be supplied to the Heavenly Pillar. You are clearly very weak, aren't you?"
"You're clearly... also afraid that I'll come looking for revenge, aren't you?"
The blue flames on the sword grew even more intense with her words, and the seemingly indestructible threads gradually began to melt.
A flicker of shock crossed Jia Qianyang's eyes, but he quickly regained his composure.
Although he had dodged the attack, his soul was still struck by the two sword energies. Jiang Yuhuo was right; he was indeed different now. Without his original body, he was left with only a wisp of his soul. If it weren't for the soul power of so many dead people supporting him, he would have dissipated long ago.
Therefore, becoming a god is his only and last chance, and no one can stop him!
He discarded the puppet silk in his hand, leaving only the last one attached to Li Mengbai, and silently tightened it.
This one must never break.
Jiang Yuhuo wouldn't let him escape. The dense and scorching sword wind wrapped around him. If he wanted to break through the encirclement, he would have to withdraw his power from the pull of the earth's power, but this would stop the growth of the Heavenly Pillar.
Jiang Yuhuo is forcing him to fight her.
But he had meticulously planned for over a hundred years; how could he let it stop so easily?
He can't stop; no one can stop him.
Jia Qianyang's spirit shadow merely shifted and dodged the sword light, but did not retaliate.
That thing was meant to be saved for last, but now it seems we have to put it to use first.
He had once witnessed how Situ Xin's cultivation progressed rapidly through the Heavenly Palace, and he had also seen the demonic symptoms that eventually took hold of Situ Xin's body. It was precisely because he understood its effects and backlash that he decisively abandoned this method of becoming a god, and resolutely left the Heavenly Palace to explore other possibilities in the mortal world.
He was fortunate; the chaos caused by demons a hundred years ago provided him with a starting point for his search. While other cultivators were busy saving the world, he was someone who coldly observed the laws of the heavens.
Sure enough, he found it.
With a flick of his finger, Jia Qianyang sent the puppet thread, as if it had come to life, embedding itself into Li Mengbai's heart and pulling him back to Jia Qianyang's side.
"Now, it's time for you to repay me."
Li Mengbai's face was pale and his features were contorted, as if the pain was becoming unbearable.
But Jia Qianyang's next move was even more unbearable. He made claws with his five fingers and stabbed them directly into Li Mengbai's heart, trying to dig out what was inside.
The more he stirred his hand in that mass of flesh and blood, the more Jia Qianyang frowned, and he pulled out something bloody.
It wasn't a heart, but a butterfly-shaped jade pendant, or more accurately, a spirit blood talisman.
Li Mengbai's body has no heart at all; he relies on this talisman to sustain his life, living like a walking corpse.
"Where is your heart?" Jia Qianyang asked angrily, clutching the jade disc.
He didn't care about Li Mengbai's life or death; what he cared about was the Heavenly Pillar Marrow inside, which he had guided Li Mengbai to obtain from Situ Xinxin.
This is the power he has hidden, the final boost on his path to godhood.
He used Li Mengbai as a vessel, preserving him inside his body, yet he dared to rip out his own heart!
"Where did you hide it?" Jia Qianyang was furious, his grip on the jade disc tightening inch by inch. "Believe it or not, I can kill you right now!"
Li Mengbai's face was pale, as if he was in extreme pain. He didn't say a word, only smiled weakly.
His heart had long since belonged to the one he loved.
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