The level above the battlefield in the castle—the place where the staircase from the front hall led to―was a huge open space several stories high.
Large, thick pillars supported the faraway ceiling, some of the columns having grown crooked by now or already crumbled into rubble. And since this seemed to be where the fire that had burned most of the castle had originated from, the entire level was swathed in a thick, gloomy black, the acrid and dry scent of smoke seeming to still linger in the stagnant air.
Currently, two beings were shooting through this still air on swift wings, one of them a black dragon and the other a gold wyvern.
The space in this level was large enough to let Zheng Xuan and Wei Xiang fly freely to some degree as they maneuvered around the pillars and fought fiercely, exchanging their flames now and then or trying to fight using their teeth, claws, and even tails.
Due to his inherent dark color, Zheng Xuan had an easier time blending into the just-as-black surroundings. But undeterred, Wei Xiang still followed closely on his tail, refusing to let the black dragon sneak away towards the staircase and down to where the demonic deity was in the process of being trapped by Qinghe and the others.
On the other hand, as the only non-dark entity in this entire space of black, Wei Xiang seemed to shine an especially brilliant gold, the brightness of his scales undimmed by the all-consuming black around him as he sliced through the air and clashed again and again with the black dragon in aerial combat.
After a few more rounds of intense battle, Wei Xiang finally managed to pin his opponent to the coal-black floor with his limbs, his wings pressing down on Zheng Xuan's giant leathery ones to restrict their motion. Both of them had several wounds on their bodies, their sharp teeth and claws stained with each other's blood.
Below Wei Xiang, Zheng Xuan thrashed and roared furiously. He had inarguably sustained more wounds than the golden wyvern since he had unthinkingly kept rushing towards the opening that led to the staircase, his predictable actions giving Wei Xiang a lot of methods to use against him.
Zheng Xuan wanted more than anything to go and shield his beloved with his own tougher body, but here he was, lying helpless.
Though the one Zheng Xuan was fighting against was his former master's—the noble dragon queen's—son, and even though he wouldn't have wanted to hurt him if given another choice, for Xie Xingye, there was no taboo Zheng Xuan wouldn't break and no line he wouldn't cross.
Right now, all that filled his mind was that he had to get free and protect Xie Xingye! He had to guard his future mate from harm at any cost!
Understanding Zheng Xuan's frenzy, Wei Xiang spoke in a strained voice, "Old man, calm down! We're not trying to kill and eat your deity. My little lover is not as insensibly savage as you to shed someone's blood without thought. As long as you let my master seal your deity as per Qinghe's plan, you can accompany that deity and enter the heavenly gates. He will be given fair treatment, and if he is determined to not be a threat anymore, he might even be unsealed and get the chance to meet the person he is seeking. Because of his bond with my lover's mother, my little lover is willing to fulfill your deity's wish. Do you understand?"
As the words filtered through the haze of his urgency, Zheng Xuan's struggles slowly stopped. His slitted inky black pupils contracted as if in surprise, fixed intently on Wei Xiang's earnest and exasperated expression.
The black dragon opened his massive jaws, and rather than spitting flames at him as Wei Xiang had expected, Zheng Xuan laboriously forced out a strained word, "…Why?"
Hearing the extremely gravelly and mangled voice of the older being, Wei Xiang blinked in surprise. "Huh, so you can talk."
Then thinking about the dragon's question, he finally spoke, "I'm supposing you want to ask me why we are going through such great lengths to help the enemies who not only want our lives, but the lives of everyone in the entire world as well?"
Zheng Xuan nodded, his eyes focusing sharply on the golden wyvern's face to catch his every reaction.
However, Wei Xiang could only shrug helplessly as he replied, "If we want to talk about the reason why my beloved does the things he does, then not even Heaven might know. It might be because my little lover has a hidden scheme that needs your goodwill, but it can also just be his empathy making him sympathize with you. No matter the reason, he has chosen to help you in a way that does not harm his conscience or anyone else, so what do you have to be worried about?"
Then grinning sharply, Wei Xiang confessed, "But truthfully, if it were up to me, I'd have killed you and scattered your pieces all over some wretched and cursed place for trying to hurt my little lover, of that you can be sure."
Hearing this, Zheng Xuan lightly growled, but he couldn't deny that the young wyvern's stance was something he could very much understand. But the fact that the golden wyvern wasn't killing him when he had the chance proved more than anything that he and his lover truly did not seek bloodshed.
Zheng Xuan carefully contemplated for a few minutes, weighing the youngster's words against his own beliefs.
As things stood now, he clearly couldn't win against this young one while he remained worried and distracted due to Xie Xingye's plight. But could he really trust his beloved's wellbeing to these people who could be considered to be his and his beloved's enemies?
Wei Xiang sighed. "Stop being so hesitant. Zheng Xuan, captain of the dragon queen's guard, I know of you. I've read records of you written in my mother's hand that she left for her future hatchlings in the dimension she made. She wanted us to know about and be grateful to every single dragon that helped her with laying our eggs while she was in that place. Though I did not know my own identity as her son while I read those records, I remember what was written in them very clearly. I remember reading that you stood guard over her escape route and let not even a single of her enemies pass. I know that she was beyond grateful to you and your unwavering loyalty. As her son, I swear on your queen's name that I'm not trying to trick you. Believe me."
Zheng Xuan blinked up his eyes in abject surprise.
His queen hadn't forgotten his service? And she had even made sure that her offspring would remember him?
As complex emotions battled with each other inside of him, Zheng Xuan finally forced out, "Which one…was your egg?"
Wei Xiang took a moment to understand what he meant before chuckling, "The one with bright-gold swirls on a darker gold shell."
Zheng Xuan closed his eyes as he let out a heavy breath.
Even now, he could clearly recall the memory of his queen's eminent features softening into a small smile as she pointed her golden tail at an equally as golden egg.
"Lord Zheng, see this one? It reminds us of our own egg. Our royal mother had once shown us our eggshell, and it was almost the same as this child's. Only, ours was a lighter gold. Do you think this one shall take after us in temperament?"
And then she'd chuckled in her low and mellow voice, her eyes holding a rare warmth and her expression affectionate. Her love for her as of yet unhatched children shone through, both tender and blinding.
But soon after, she had to leave all her painstakingly laid eggs and return to the dragon clan, resuming her duties as its Sovereign despite not having fully recovered from her childbirth. She had sent all of her most trusted and valued people out of the true dragon clan's territory, not wanting them to end up under the court's control.
In Zheng Xuan's mind, his queen was a regal, powerful, intelligent, and noble personage unparalleled by any other Sovereign of their race. She never shirked responsibility and always carried out her duties with unquestionable competence, but she also treated each of her people with integrity and humanity. Her strong character and unimpeachable morals had drawn in even the most difficult-to-impress people, making them give her their absolute loyalty and dedication.
And till the end, when she died in battle, she had firmly upheld her beliefs and remained a staunch protector of her people, sacrificing her own life for theirs without the slightest of hesitation.
It was with this same determination that she had traded her own autonomy after laying her eggs in return for Zheng Xuan and his fellow guards' freedom and lives. If not for her, then the dragon court that had managed to capture them would have executed them for their 'contribution to their queen's betrayal in a lower realm with a man of non-approved lineage', as they had called her love affair and eventual mating.
But though the guards were spared due to their queen's actions, this also meant that her children would never know her, that she would never have the chance to hold her babies and coo at them affectionately. She would never get to spoil them and play with them, or spend time teaching them about the world and its little wonders. She would never be able to see them grow up as she looked on with pride in her eyes. Their queen had given it all up, willing to take all the blame, just so that Zheng Xuan and his fellow guards would be able to live on freely.
And now, as he recalled all this while faced with his queen's son, Zhen Xuan felt his heart unintentionally soften.
This was his queen's child, his little prince. If he had inherited even a fraction of his mother's integrity, then he would keep his word. And since he had already shown through his actions that he would not harm them unreasonably, Zheng Xuan finally, reluctantly, let his reservations go.
Wei Xiang suddenly felt the rigid dragon under him grow limp as if in acceptance. Then opening his mouth, Zheng Xuan finally said, "Very well. But…take care of him."
His brows rising in surprise that his persuasion actually worked this easily, Wei Xiang nodded. "We won't kill your deity or permanently maim him, so don't worry. Anything else we do to him is purely for self defense, so don't blame us for it."
Zheng Xuan's face twitched. How did his queen's brat turn out so obnoxious?!
But Wei Xiang didn't care about the black dragon's grievances as he quickly let go of Zheng Xuan and stood up, turning back to his human form as he made for the staircase.
At the base of the staircase and within the not yet activated formation, Qinghe still fought Xie Xingye, the strengthening pills he'd consumed before giving him more edge to work with as he struck hard and fast.
Xie Xingye tried to push away this sticky youngster and flee the encirclement, but Qinghe always managed to hinder him in the nick of time. It made Xie Xingye feel more and more of a sense of crisis, heightening his frustration and desperation as he began to uninhibitedly lash out. But since he was still using his powers to maintain the giant army of dwindling ghouls, Xie Xingye could only spare so much of his energy to fight.
Meanwhile, Qinghe's defensive robes had already lost their luster as they bore more and more abuse in his stead. His hands were chafed and bleeding from how many strong blows he had to weather with his swords as he kept them moving continuously. Though his muscles had grown stronger, this constant battle still wore down on his body.
Just when he was busy deflecting a blow of Xie Xingye's sword and cutting apart a group of vines trying to wrap around him, Qinghe suddenly felt something strike him from behind.
With the strained sound of ripping fabric, his overtaxed outer robe abruptly tore under this stealthy vine's assault, its defenses finally exhausted.
As if encouraged by this, the vine began flailing and slicing at Qinghe's back with more gusto, trying to cut through his dark inner robes as well so that it could finally get to his vulnerable flesh underneath.
Qinghe gritted his teeth and finished cleaving through the black vines that had been blocking his way, but Xie Xingye had already begun thrusting his sword at him, aiming to pierce through his chest. Qinghe tried to quickly move to the side, but felt more of the rough vines suddenly wrapping around his ankles and climbing up his legs.
With a start, Qinghe realized that the last bit of his ability to perceive changes in his surroundings using the keen senses he'd honed due to all these years of cultivating had finally faded away, leaving him unable to detect it when these vines crept near him.
His feet thus held in place, Qinghe was unable to move to avoid the vine trying to rip into his back or the sword coming at him from the front. He could only use the flat side of one of his own swords to push aside and redirect the momentum of the blade aiming for his chest. But taking this time, the vine at the back finally succeeded in tearing through.
Without his robes' defensive abilities or his own cultivation to protect him right now, if that vine stabbed through his back, Qinghe knew that there was a good chance he would die, or at least be very grievously injured.
Also realizing this, Xie Xingye's eyes showed a moment of hesitation before he firmed his resolve, then he quickly sent the command for the vine to strike and pierce through this youngster's unprotected back and rip out his heart in the process―
―but nothing happened.
Xie Xingye frowned uncomprehendingly while the tight expression Qinghe wore till now suddenly melted into a smile.
The black vines wrapped around his legs and the one aiming at his back had all suddenly stiffened, then began dissolving away into dark smoke.
Turning his head, Qinghe saw that as expected, the final blank place on the formation had been finally filled by Wei Xiang, completing the spell and rendering all spiritual energy within the circle null.
Xie Xingye finally noticed the glowing white lines of the activated formation, and his face went white. He could feel his connection with the ghouls abruptly being cut while his entire body felt heavier and more cumbersome than he was used to it being. It was almost as if…he couldn't use his cultivation at all.
Glaring at Qinghe, he snarled, "What did you do?!"
Now freed from the vines that had been restraining him, Qinghe slowly straightened and rotated his wrists in a leisurely motion to relax them a bit. Without the vines to get in his way, this would now be a battle of pure martial arts skills, and despite his worse physical condition, he was confident that he wouldn't lose.
With a smile, he replied, "Uncle Xie, now that we're in an even playing field, why don't we continue where we left off?"
Xie Xingye's expression turned black. Though his opponent must be physically drained by now, why did he look so confident and at ease?
However, not giving him the time to think any further, Qinghe directly struck with his swords, forcing Xie Xingye to immediately go on the defensive.
But as he struggled to guard himself against flurry after rapid flurry of blows, Xie Xingye soon realized with widened eyes that his opponent was not as weak or exhausted as he had imagined.
Indeed, Qinghe had been shoring up most of his strength just for this moment.
And so, as he unrestrainedly used his strengthened muscles and swung his sword with both cunning and might, each of his strikes brought with it the crushing pressure of a mountain lifted high up and dropped onto the ground, exploding into a massive shower of debris with an earthshaking rumble.
Unlike his slippery and elegant style before, Qinghe wielded his dual blades with an unrestrained savageness this time, his blows powerful and decisive, his slices precise and steady. His arms swung constantly with efficient coordination, striking again and again without leaving a moment's gap for retaliation. And with his feet held apart and his footing stable, he easily deflected or absorbed any blows that Xie Xingye managed to send his way.
The rhythmic clash of weapons was like the beating of an ancient heart, violent and primal. The mad dance of battle itself was like a flash of fire igniting Qinghe's bloodstream, capable of burning him to ash from within if he didn't let it out through his blades as they carved through the air.
There was nothing holding him back now. He didn't have to just restrain his opponent or divert his attention anymore, he didn't have to keep concentrating on making sure that none of the deity's blows would fly out into the ranks of the battling cultivators and hurt them. He could let himself go and freely indulge himself in matching his skills against that of a deity trained in another world.
And so, fighting with renewed energy, Qinghe dominated the fight like a vengeful war god, his eyes burning with fierce excitement as he pushed forward. His blades reflected light and danced through the air in a wild rhythm, clashing against Xie Xingye's saber with deafening sounds, the vibrations of the violent blows reverberating through their weapons and sinking into their bones.
However, even as Xie Xingye continued to try and match Qinghe's rhythm, he felt himself slowly being pushed back under the unrelenting attacks that fell upon him like rain, their power whipping over him like a wrathful storm filled with the primal rage of nature itself.
But Xie Xingye unrelentingly kept going on, all his attention focused on his opponent as he did his best to utilize every move his sister had taught him and every advice she'd ever given him.
As Xie Xingye's concentration was thus completely focused on his opponent's blades and his movements, Qinghe suddenly yelled out, "Father, do it now!"
Xie Xingye's attention immediately snapped to Feng Huixin in alarm as the formation was suddenly deactivated.
What was that bastard husband of his Chunyi's planning now? Was he going to try and cast the sealing spell on him despite these uncertain conditions? As if he'd let him do that so easily!
And so, Xie Xingye quickly began gathering his own power to retaliate, his entire attention focused on Feng Huixin.
But before he had mustered even one-tenth of his strength, he suddenly felt a pair of strong arms wrapping around him as a slender body hugged him close.
Qinghe looked up at a startled Xie Xingye with a grin despite the pain beginning to churn in his dantian, ripping him up from the inside out. In a playful whisper, he said, "Uncle Xie, let's break together, shall we?"
And before Xie Xingye could react, Qinghe forced his core to eject a large amount of spiritual energy, making it rip through the shell of spells that Wu Xiao had woven over it. The level of his cultivation that he'd barely managed to halt at demigod the last time now flew up to that of a deity in an instant.
But before his realm could be consolidated, his core began creaking in abject agony, unable to bear so much power tearing through it at once.
And so, just as Qinghe finished bracing for it, his core exploded, unbridled energy shredding its way out of his dantian.
A bright burst of power blasted outward in a shockwave of energy, pure and utterly uncontrollable. Qinghe gritted his teeth and labored to concentrate all this power on the man he was clutching onto.
Meanwhile, Xie Xingye merely had an instant to widen his eyes in reaction to Qinghe's words, and before they could fully register in his mind, he already felt Qinghe's hands tightening on his clothes as inexpressible pain tore through his belly.
Qinghe almost collapsed onto Xie Xingye, who was too stunned by the sudden agony to do anything. His face whitened as he felt the excruciating feeling of his spiritual pathways unraveling and his core straining due to the blast of power the brat in his arms had sent into him.
And so, for an instant, Xie Xingye was utterly unable to mobilize his spiritual energy at all as a ragged wave of torment swept throughout his entire spiritual self.
But before his deity level cultivation could patch up the monumental damage, Feng Huixin leapt towards them, disentangling his barely conscious son and letting Wei Xiang take care of him while he quickly began casting the sealing spell.
Feng Huixin's mellow voice rang out with the weight of authority, "The Deity of Judgment beseeches the Throne, bind this being and let him defy justice no more."
A faint wisp of a voice floated into Feng Huixin's mind as it responded,
As the voice faded away from a startled Feng Huixin's consciousness, the space around Xie Xingye stretched out thin and fragile tendrils towards him, their tips delicately brushing over his skin as if tasting his energy. Once they assessed him, the tendrils of stretched space quickly wrapped around the demonic deity as if sensing the urgency to neutralize this threat.
Before all the damage to his spiritual self could be healed, Xie Xingye felt his whole body freeze up and fall to the side, his consciousness receding before he could understand the situation.
And thus, within a few moments of Qinghe self-detonating his core, Xie Xingye was finally, successfully, sealed.
Seeing this, the entire front hall full of cultivators let out shuddering breaths in inexpressible relief.
The ghouls had long since dropped down lifelessly after the formation cut off Xie Xingye's connection to them, leaving their bodies littered on the ground.
Exhausted from this ordeal, the cultivators either took themselves out to the healing camp set up by the Lightning Sky Sect or plopped down wherever they were standing, too tired to move. Some of them still held expressions of disbelief on their faces while others already started smiling with triumph.
This battle was finally over! They had won against the demonic deity!
Feng Huixin also felt as if an immense burden had been lifted from his shoulders. Now all that was left was to heal his son.
But just then, Wei Xiang lifted his face from where it had been buried in the crook of his little lover's neck. With his face gone white and bloodless from shock, he whispered to Feng Huixin, "M-Master, he's… Qinghe's not breathing."
Hearing this, the five sect masters, Hei NingYu, and Feng Huixin all looked stunned. Then they quickly rushed towards the Qinghe still held in Wei Xiang's arms, worry and apprehension written large on their faces.
Fu Cangyun immediately took Qinghe's wrist in his hand to assess his condition. But letting go within moments, he closed his eyes and lowered his head solemnly. In an instant, he seemed to have aged several years.
"Sect Master Fu, what's wrong with my son?!" Feng Huixin asked in a rare frantic tone. His eyes burned with more intensity than any time before, his usual blank expression nowhere to be found in the face of such a situation.
Already guessing the answer, Zhen YiLan started trembling, his expression aghast. His precious second disciple, his Qing-er… How was this possible? How could something like this happen to him so suddenly!? His Qing-er… This…no, he couldn't accept this…
Wu Xiao felt his chest suddenly aching as he understood. Due to the shock of his core shattering, Xiao Feng must have… Wu Xiao pressed his lips tightly together as he glared at Qinghe with blame-filled eyes that looked suspiciously watery. He had told this brat not to endanger himself recklessly! Why didn't he listen!? His shoulders curving inwards, Wu Xiao let his face twist into a mask of open grief. Ah, his Ah-Shui would be so angry at him for not protecting his friend.
Liu Xue still looked disbelieving. After all, how could that cunning and strong Xiao He she knew just… No, it couldn't be true…
Lu Feiyu bent his head and pressed the back of his hand against his lips as if to stop himself from letting out any undignified sounds. His eyes grew red-rimmed. Though he and Qinghe never acted like they knew each other, their paths had already crossed quite a few times. How could that little boy with haunted eyes he'd once seen hiding alone in a corner of Heavenly Peak Sect, someone who'd grown up into such a powerful and shrewd existence, end up like this?
At the side, Hei NingYu stared at Qinghe's pale face that remained unmoving to the point of seeming like an illusion, something fragile that would dissipate at any moment. His hands clenched into fists inside his sleeves as his mind rapidly went through the numerous demonic cultivation techniques he knew, trying to see if there was something about reviving the dead or at least making a recently departed soul inhabit a new body. His frenzied thoughts surprised even him, but he decisively continued thinking, searching for any way to negate this situation.
Soon, the twins and Chen Xiande also joined the crowd of people around Qinghe with puzzled frowns, with Jing Shui still outside and just beginning to deactivate the Water Prison.
Not caring about the growing number of people around them, Feng Huixin grabbed Fu Cangyun's shoulder, his expression stark as he asked again, "Sect Master Fu, please answer me. My son…is he really…"
But he couldn't get the words out.
Sighing heavily, Fu Cangyun nodded. "I'm afraid that per my examination, Feng Qinghe is truly dead. His life essence is already beginning to dissipate."
Hearing this, Chen Xiande's eyes widened in understanding as he slowly began shaking his head subconsciously. "No, no, you must be mistaken. It can't… He can't… He isn't the type to just… Feng Qinghe won't d-die this e-easily―"
As his voice trailed off due to his throat choking up with unshed tears, Hei NingYu silently walked to his side and held him tightly. Chen Xiande buried his face into the crook of his beloved's shoulder, his body beginning to shudder with quiet sobs.
The twins clutched at each other, their intent gazes only fixed on their beloved senior brother's face. It seemed as if nothing else existed in their world. A slow madness bloomed in their dark eyes that were filled with indescribable depths and inexpressible emotions.
But before it could get far, Wei Xiang's voice suddenly spoke, "No, this isn't right. If Qinghe truly…died, then I wouldn't be alive. We have a soul bond, so he shouldn't be able to leave me behind like this."
Hearing this, surprised and hopeful expressions filled the faces around them.
"Then why does he have no breath? What's happening?" Lu Feiyu quickly asked.
Feng Huixin's face turned grim with realization as he replied, "It seems that Heaven is interfering."
Lying still in his lover's arms, Qinghe's body remained lifeless and unresponsive, his face relaxed as if in peaceful slumber.