Actually, glorifying self-sacrifice was a really stupid thing. Li Xiaofei had never considered himself a savior. Nor had he ever held himself to the standards of one.
He believed he had simply done what he thought was right, at the right time, in the right place, and under the right circumstances. Along the way, he had indeed made some impulsive decisions at a certain moment, or perhaps several, which ended up turning him into a hero who reversed the tides of fate.
But in truth, if someone had suddenly told him, “Go sacrifice yourself; your death will bring peace to the world,” Li Xiaofei would have spat in their face without hesitation, then followed it up with a solid kick.
Sacrifice your damn self.
Yet, in this moment, when faced with Ximen Qianxue’s question, Li Xiaofei suddenly made a decision as he looked back at the hardships he had endured.
Yes. I am willing to give everything for the people I love, and those who love me.
In that instant, he was struck with sudden clarity. Perhaps those great saints who sacrificed themselves for others were not morally flawless or inherently noble from the start. Maybe, it was simply that they were reluctant to part with the people and scenery they had encountered along the way. They didn't want to lose it, and so, they made what the world saw as a noble decision.
Was it the same for Li Mu, Ding Hao, Lin Beichen, Ye Qingyu, and Sun Fei?
Countless thoughts flashed through Li Xiaofei’s mind in a chaotic, tangled mess. But in the end, they all converged into a single answer.
Ximen Qianxue nodded and said, “There is a heavenly pillar at the peak of Doushuai Palace that supports the spine of the thirty-three heavens. It is also the most crucial part of the seal on the Mother of All Beasts. It must be nourished with fresh blood and essence to maintain its power. You are the new generation's Dual Sacred Body of Blade and Sword, carrying the fate qi of this era. If you are willing to offer the blood of your dantian, the blood of your heart, and the blood between your brows to nourish this heavenly pillar, and pour all your energy and spirit into it, then we can seal the Mother of All Beasts for another hundred years.”
"One hundred years?" Li Xiaofei couldn't help but ask, "What happens after that?"
"Leave the future to those who come after us." Ximen Qianxue replied calmly, "All we need to do is fulfill the responsibilities of our generation. That is enough. The human race has never been something that one person alone could save. The rise and fall of any race must be the result of collective self-redemption."
Li Xiaofei fell silent as the words resonated deeply with him. He took a deep breath and said, "Senior, please pass on a message to those on the twenty-ninth level. Tell them that I love them deeply. And if possible... it’s okay if they forget me forever."
With those words, he turned and left. He vanished completely from the drawer world.
Ximen Qianxue let out a soft sigh. "I'm merely a lingering trace of a thought, with little time left. How could I possibly deliver your message?"
Her figure gradually began to fade. It was unimaginably difficult for a race to survive in the dark and desolate universe. War and destruction between civilizations had always been the eternal theme.
If there truly existed a Creator in this universe, Ximen Qianxue wanted to ask, Since you created the intelligent human race, created all forms of life, and made existence so beautiful, then why did you also create a cruel species like the Reapers, meant only to destroy that beauty?
She had once seen countless passionate youths rush onto the battlefield. She had seen countless prodigies dye the galaxy with their blood. Those outstanding individuals were just like that young man who, after deep thought, had firmly declared he was willing to give everything. The finest sons of the human race. She hoped that young man... would have good fortune.
After stepping out from Ximen Qianxue’s chamber on the thirty-third level, Li Xiaofei immediately felt the entire Doushuai Palace trembling and shaking violently once more. The stench of blood wafted in from the windows as he shot into the sky.
Looking down, he saw countless mutated Ruos surging like multicolored waves, launching a frenzied assault. Several of Doushuai Palace’s formations had already been activated, unleashing Great Dao millstones that crushed the massive Ruos into pulp and minced flesh wherever they passed...
Outside Doushuai Palace, the ground had become a swamp of corpses and sludge, the blood forming a sea. The Thirty-Three Heavens had been completely transformed into an Asura blood prison.
In the far, unreachable distance, a golden vertical pupil remained bright, continuously shooting beam after beam of light toward Doushuai Palace. Each ray was violently destroying layer after layer of restrictive formations. The battle had reached its final moments.
Li Xiaofei could clearly sense that the Mother of All Beasts would truly be freed once Doushuai Palace fell. He immediately ascended through the passage at the topmost level and arrived at the summit of Doushuai Palace.
Li Xiaofei quickly located the so-called Heavenly Pillar from Ximen Qianxue’s description. It was a pillar of white jade that pierced through the entirety of Doushuai Palace. A two meter portion of the pillar stuck out from the top of the palace tower. The pillar was divided into three segments by engraved carvings. Each segment appeared smooth and lustrous, but that was merely an illusion.
Li Xiaofei leaned in close, channeling his vision to the fullest. He discovered that there were countless intricate and densely packed engravings beneath the seemingly flawless surface. Staring at them too long made his head spin and his vision blur. Even with his strength, it was overwhelming.
He also noticed that there was a fingertip-sized indentation that was shaped like a teardrop on each segment of the pillar. Li Xiaofei instantly understood that this was where the so-called dantian blood, heart blood, and brow blood had to be injected.
He did not think too much about it. There was no hesitation. He brought his fingers together like a blade and slashed directly at his dantian.
Fresh blood sprayed out as his dantian shattered. After sensing carefully for a long moment, he retracted his palm. The tip of his right middle finger held a single droplet of gently pulsating blood.
Brilliant and dazzling, it resembled a flawless gem, utterly pure. This was his dantian blood. It was not as simple as just extracting blood from the dantian. Googlᴇ search 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩·𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖·𝘯𝘦𝘵
Rather, it was the most refined energy within his dantian, the essence of one of the three vital centers, gathered into a single droplet. It was the condensed nucleus of the world Li Xiaofei had cultivated within his dantian over all these years. To extract one’s dantian blood meant the dantian had been destroyed.
One of the three essences had been destroyed. Li Xiaofei embedded that single drop of blood into the indentation on the lowest segment of the Heavenly Pillar, where it instantly merged with the recess.
He saw the blood begin to spread rapidly along the intricate patterns carved into that segment. In the blink of an eye, that tiny drop of blood had dyed the entire section a vivid crimson.
A strange and eerily enchanting transformation!
Li Xiaofei didn’t hesitate. He reached out and plunged his hand into his own chest. He crushed his own heart and condensed a single drop of heart blood. Just like dantian blood, heart blood was the concentrated life force and essence of the heart.
By extracting this drop, Li Xiaofei lost his heart. Two of the three essences were now destroyed. He embedded the heart blood into the second segment of the Heavenly Pillar.
It took only a single breath for the blood to spread along the fine engravings, dyeing this second segment red as well. Li Xiaofei could feel his vitality collapsing at an alarming rate.
Without the slightest hesitation, he brought his fingers together again and drove them into the space between his brows. His brain was pierced open. A crystal-clear, brilliant drop of blood was lifted onto his fingertip. It was the blood between his brows.
At this moment, the three essences of a martial cultivator had been completely destroyed. Only someone at Li Xiaofei’s level of cultivation could still remain alive after such a catastrophe. Even then, his sharp senses allowed him to remain conscious and clearly perceive the world around him.
He unhesitatingly embedded that final drop of blood into the uppermost indentation on the Heavenly Pillar.
Losing the three essences meant that, even if he survived, Li Xiaofei would be stripped of all the cultivation he had painstakingly accumulated over the years. He would fall from the heavens and would be reduced to a cripple.
Yet he still showed no hesitation. After injecting the three drops of blood, he still needed to pour his entire soul, spirit, and will into the Heavenly Pillar in order to complete the hundred-year seal.
Gripping the pillar with both hands, he let out a roar. All his power—his lifetime of vitality, spirit, and energy—was, in that instant, poured entirely and unreservedly into the Heavenly Pillar in his grasp.
The Heavenly Pillar suddenly trembled slightly, emitting a thunderous resonance of Dao laws. A faint smile appeared on Li Xiaofei’s blood-covered face. It was done. His body swayed unsteadily as his consciousness began to blur.
With the three essences destroyed and all his spirit and energy poured into the Heavenly Pillar, Li Xiaofei had reached a level of weakness he had never experienced before. His entire being was like a candle that had burned itself to the end. Even a single gust of wind could snuff out the flickering flame of his life.
Yet a smile lingered on his face. He could see nothing but darkness. Instinctively, he raised a hand and gently waved in a certain direction.
Goodbye, my beloved. Goodbye, my friends. When the evening breeze blows, that will be my song. Perhaps you will remember me. But it’s better if you forget me.
He could not resist the overwhelming weakness anymore. Li Xiaofei felt the world spinning around him as his consciousness sank deeper and deeper... into the abyss.