The little mutt had actually been bewitched by the soul-infused voice and had sunk his teeth into Li Xiaofei’s calf. Li Xiaofei immediately slapped him across the muzzle.
"Woof!" The Black Emperor instantly snapped back to his senses.
He stared at Li Xiaofei with his round black eyes, as if asking, Why did you hit me?
Li Xiaofei couldn't be bothered to explain. He simply flicked his finger again and a burst of finger wind struck Luo Ge squarely, knocking her unconscious. He couldn't risk her ending up like the Black Emperor. It would be impossible to guard against her stabbing him in the back.
Time continued to pass. The sunlight pouring in from the hole atop Lingxiao Hall gradually began to shift. Daytime in Heaven was drawing to an end and a new round of darkness was about to fall.
Li Xiaofei knew he absolutely could not wait for the next night to come. He had less than ten hours left to find a way out of this crisis. Otherwise, once sub-primal or silver Ruo level descended, he would have no chance of survival.
At this moment, he had only filled a third of the black jade ornament. In other words, slaying the longsword black Ruo could indeed grant him the so-called power of life.
But at the current rate, even if he fought through the next period of darkness, no, even if he lasted two cycles of darkness, it would still be impossible to accumulate enough energy to summon a soul of the ancestors once more.
The looming emergence of sub-primal and silver Ruo signaled one thing clearly, the sealed Mother of All Beasts was gradually awakening.
It was unimaginable to think that the terrifying Reaper, the one who had destroyed Heaven, might appear right before him when the next night fell. He had to move quickly and head to Doushuai Palace. He could only hope to seal it by using the Blood-Drinking Sword.
At this stage, every second counted. Countless ideas flashed through Li Xiaofei’s mind, but he rejected them one by one. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵·𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮·𝓷𝓮𝓽
No, it wouldn’t work.
Although this level of battle was extremely helpful in digesting the Immortal Peach’s energy and rapidly advancing his Three Origin Realm cultivation, he could not continue any longer...
Li Xiaofei looked at the beautiful, supremely confident woman seated on the throne, his heart filled with deep conflict. If she died, the whereabouts of his wife and daughter might forever remain a mystery.
But if he didn’t kill her, he, his aunt, and even the Black Emperor could all die here. Heaven would become a nest for the Reapers, and all the efforts of humanity in the Star Battlefield would be destroyed. It might even affect the ultimate fate of the human race itself...
Li Xiaofei hated making such choices. He had never thought of himself as a noble or selfless person. Quite the opposite, in fact, many times, his motivation and goals were simply to make life better for those around him, without any particularly grand or lofty ideals.
He saw himself as an ordinary man. Greedy for wealth, fond of beauty, yet filled with righteousness. But at this very moment, he knew he had no choice but to decide. Perhaps this was not even a particularly difficult choice. The correct answer was singular and painfully clear. And yet, Li Xiaofei truly didn’t want to choose it.
Time slipped away and the light beam overhead gradually dimmed. Li Xiaofei knew that he could no longer delay.
"Stop." Li Xiaofei shook his spear violently, forcing back the surrounding longsword-wielding black Ruos. He turned to face Song Yu and shouted, "I have something to say."
Song Yu smiled faintly and raised her hand lightly. The black Ruos immediately ceased their assault, slowly clearing a space of about ten meters around them.
"You’ve made up your mind?" Song Yu asked. "I hope you make the right choice."
Li Xiaofei said, "When I crossed the Heavenly River aboard the Youming Ferryman’s bone boat, I saw a terrifying vision. It was about you."
"About me?" Song Yu’s expression shifted slightly. "What do you mean?"
Li Xiaofei replied, "I saw you sink into the waters of the Heavenly River. Your flesh and bones dissolved as countless monstrous tentacles stretched out from the black depths, tearing at your body again and again. I watched as you eventually died in the river, your white bones sinking to the bottom..."
"What are you saying?" Song Yu frowned slightly. "I clearly crossed the river safely. I never fell into the water... Wait, what is this?"
She suddenly felt a stream of cold liquid slide down the center of her forehead. Song Yu instinctively reached up to touch it. It was a thick, reddish fluid, mixed with fresh blood.
"What is this?" She asked in confusion.
But Lin Yi, who had been kneeling at her side, suddenly reacted as if she had seen something unimaginably horrifying. Her eyes widened in disbelief, and she pointed at Song Yu, her mouth opening and closing soundlessly in utter shock.
From Lin Yi’s perspective, the once youthful and beautiful Song Yu was melting like a burning candle. Her fair, delicate skin dissolved, mixing with blood into a sickening, horrifying liquid that dripped from her bones...
The sight threw Lin Yi, who had been entranced by the soul voice just moments earlier, into a state of utter terror, leaving her mind blank with fear.
"What did you do to me?" asked Song Yu frantically. At that moment, she finally realized the horrifying state she was in. She let out a sharp scream, but it was useless.
Very quickly, the woman who had, just moments ago, been in complete control as a senior member of Eden, began to melt away atop the Jade Emperor’s throne, like a candle burned to its end, until all that remained was a pale skeleton.
She was completely dead!
Lin Yi was almost scared out of her wits. It wasn’t that she had never seen death before. Nor was it that she hadn't witnessed gruesome corpses. What she couldn’t accept was how Song Yu had died. She had clearly been in complete control of the situation. Yet had no idea how Song Yu had died.
Li Xiaofei hadn’t done anything; he merely spoke a few sentences. Killed with words? There shouldn’t exist such an earth-shattering and unfathomable secret technique in this world.
Li Xiaofei immediately took advantage of Lin Yi's stunned reaction. In the instant Song Yu perished, the light wall that had been blocking the ninth stage of the nine-tiered staircase also vanished. Li Xiaofei thrust his spear as fast as a lightning strike. Lin Yi, whose strength had never been on par with Li Xiaofei’s to begin with, stood no chance.
Blood bloomed in the air. Lin Yi was struck by the spear, her limbs turning limp as her cultivation was sealed as well. Only then did Li Xiaofei finally breathe a sigh of relief.
"How do I open the light prison?" He pressed the spear tip against Lin Yi’s throat, his voice cold and forceful.
Lin Yi seemed to awaken from a dream at that moment and raised her head. The once-peerless beauty of Chongque City, with her stunning eyes, met Li Xiaofei’s gaze. Her expression was complicated, somewhat dazed, but there was little fear within her.
"I don’t know," she said softly.
Li Xiaofei frowned and said, "No matter how beautiful you are, you’ll still just be a pile of rotting flesh after death."
Lin Yi laughed bitterly as she said, "Why would you think that a puppet controlled by strings would know its master’s secrets? Do it."
Li Xiaofei couldn’t help but study the woman more closely.
If someone is not afraid of death, how could death be used to threaten them? Is she acting, or is this genuine?
Either way, Li Xiaofei knew he could not truly kill Lin Yi. Aside from Song Yu, Lin Yi was likely the only one who knew the whereabouts of his wife and daughter.
Li Xiaofei slowly approached the Jade Emperor’s throne. He turned around and solemnly sat down. In that moment, the gears of fate began to turn.