At the critical moment between life and death, Murong Xiaoxiao struck without hesitation, her sword hand steady as bedrock, her gaze clear and focused. Even Yang Kai, watching from afar, couldn't help but cheer inwardly at the sight.
The Demon Heavenly Dao's Emperor Venerable Realm expert struck with vicious cunning, swinging both hammers at the two of them. If Murong Xiaoxiao protected herself, she couldn't shield her disciple; if she protected the disciple, she couldn't shield herself. No matter what choice she made, someone would be injured or killed. If she perished, the dozen-odd Azure Sun Divine Temple disciples around her would have no hope of survival. So she charged toward the enemy with killing intent.
It was the simplest tactic of all — a suicidal exchange.
The Demon Heavenly Dao's Emperor Venerable could kill her, or kill an Azure Sun Divine Temple disciple, but the price would undoubtedly be severe injuries at best. If his luck was poor, he might even be dragged down with her. This single sword strike contained every last shred of Murong Xiaoxiao's cultivation.
What even Murong Xiaoxiao understood, the Demon Heavenly Dao's Emperor Venerable understood just as well. Seeing the cold glint of her blade pointed straight at him, her posture screaming mutual annihilation, he inwardly cursed the bitch for seeking death. Rather than dodge or evade, he merged both hammers into a single devastating blow — not aimed at Murong Xiaoxiao, but crashing toward the Azure Sun Divine Temple disciple beside her.
The Demon Heavenly Dao's Emperor Venerable's face was full of mockery and ridicule. You want a suicide exchange? Fine — I'll give you exactly what you want...
Power surged wildly as the twin hammers plummeted like millstones from the heavens, blotting out the light before them. The stench of death bore down on them head-on, and the Azure Sun Divine Temple disciple's face turned ashen.
Murong Xiaoxiao froze. She had never imagined the enemy could be this savage and ruthless — willing to take her sword strike just to kill her companion.
In that instant of shock, her mind faltered, and a flash of panic crossed her previously clear eyes.
But it lasted only a heartbeat. The sword she had thrust forward was rapidly retracted, weaving blooming flowers of steel. She shifted her stance, reached out to shove the disciple aside, and placed herself directly in the path of the world-ending attack.
In that most critical moment, the young woman chose to shield her disciple, abandoning any thought of her own safety.
The Demon Heavenly Dao's Emperor Venerable seemed to have pierced through Murong Xiaoxiao's thoughts, his mockery deepening as the twin hammers smashed down without mercy.
Cries of alarm erupted. The dozen-odd Azure Sun Divine Temple disciples looked on in grief and fury. Watching Murong Xiaoxiao about to be cut down in the bloom of youth, how could they not want to rush to her aid? But their strength was insufficient, and their numbers too few — they could barely protect themselves, let alone rescue anyone. All they could do was watch, each one burning with anxiety, eyes splitting with helpless rage.
At the critical moment, however, the young woman's expression returned to perfect calm, without a trace of panic.
A cascade of images flashed through her mind like lightning. Taken in by the Azure Sun Divine Temple as a child, joining the temple to cultivate and learn — always by her side, a cold-faced young man progressing alongside her. The care of the elders, the warmth of her senior brothers, the mischievous energy of her junior brothers...
People always said that before death, a person sees many things.
So this is what it means to die? That's why these memories surface, these visions appear.
Were there any regrets? Surely not. Without the temple, she would have starved or frozen to death at who-knows-what age. Where would this healthy body have come from? Without the temple, even if she had survived, she would have been nothing but an ordinary person. Where would this remarkable cultivation have come from?
For the temple, she could die without regrets.
Her only small guilt was that she hadn't been able to lead the dozen-odd fellow disciples around her to safety. As an Emperor Venerable Realm elder of the Azure Sun Divine Temple, she should have shouldered that responsibility.
But... it no longer mattered. On the road to the Yellow Springs, they would keep each other company — chatting and laughing. And if they encountered fierce spirits or malevolent ghosts in the underworld's purgatory, they would simply fight side by side once more.
The flowers of sword light withered and scattered...
The hastily mounted defense could not withstand the enemy's ferocious onslaught. As the twin hammers bore down upon her, Murong Xiaoxiao caught sight of a familiar figure once more!
A man who did not originate from the Azure Sun Divine Temple, yet who was family within it.
Yang Kai was smiling at her. Murong Xiaoxiao returned a sweet smile of her own, thinking it was merely another hallucination before death. But in the very next instant, a towering figure appeared before her. The violent qi and howling gale summoned by the twin hammers vanished as if they had never existed, completely blocked by that silhouette. The raging storm transformed in that moment into a sky-wide serenity, and Murong Xiaoxiao felt as though she had become a boat returning to harbor, no longer needing to fear the tempestuous waves beyond.
A thunderous boom erupted. The two millstone-sized hammers were sent flying high into the sky, and the Demon Heavenly Dao's Emperor Venerable who had charged in was blasted backward like a tattered ragdoll, demonic yuan churning within him as blood sprayed across the heavens.
The change happened too fast. Murong Xiaoxiao couldn't react, and neither could the Demon Heavenly Dao's forces.
It was only after the Emperor Venerable crashed heavily to the ground that everyone came to their senses — two groups, two entirely different reactions.
The dozen-odd Azure Sun Divine Temple disciples were overwhelmed with joy and astonishment. How could they not realize that powerful reinforcements had arrived? A certain death trap had suddenly turned, and their spirits soared. The Demon Heavenly Dao cultivators, however, drained of color, stared at Yang Kai with abject terror, their bodies turning cold.
Though they didn't know how powerful Yang Kai truly was, the fact that their own Emperor Venerable had been sent flying outright — his Emperor Treasure knocked clean from his grip — told them this newcomer was formidable beyond measure.
The entire group of Demon Heavenly Dao cultivators retreated in unison, instantly putting distance between themselves and the Azure Sun Divine Temple disciples. They clustered together, wary and fearful, their eyes fixed on Yang Kai.
Yang Kai didn't even spare them a glance. He merely stared coldly at the fallen Emperor Venerable.
The man had been severely wounded after being blasted away. His internal qi and blood churned wildly, and for a time he simply couldn't get up. After several strained attempts, he finally staggered to his feet — though a large section of his chest had caved inward.