Two youths carried a coffin behind them in a hot desert, miles above them, countless golden crystals lit up the desert with extreme heat and light. The youths were surrounded by a blue field that protected them from the heat. The coffin was not included, however...
As they flew past, one could see molten pieces of weapons and burnt bones on the ground. The desert was extremely hot, a normal man would not survive it for a minute...
The coffin was being dragged by a chain, each end in the hand of one of the youths. The one in the front sighed, "What a drag... I especially hate these kinds of missions..."
The youth in the back snorted in disdain, "That bastard... He hates us so he gives us these labor missions in the castle, just wait! I will teach him a lesson one day."
"Sure! I will join you if you step up that is."
The young man who held the backside of the chain remained silent for a moment before changing the subject, "What is inside this thing anyway?"
The one in the front shrugged, "It is supposed to be a prisoner but I think whoever it is must be dead, I know I wouldn't survive this heat especially in a coffin!"
"Right... Why don't we open it?" The other one suggested.
Both remained silent for a while and the front youth suddenly stopped flying, "I am curious as well, let's do it."
They put the coffin down and approached it, they finally pried open the lid after a few minutes... It was very hot so they used gloves and even then, their hands were burnt a bit...
A rotten stench along with a green gas left the coffin, both of them instantly threw up after inhaling it, it was truly horrible.
Both of them hurriedly backed away and watched from afar as the gas slowly left the coffin until nothing remained, the stench was there but they blocked it with Qi. They slowly approached the coffin and peeked at what was inside.
Their eyes widened in horror as they quickly backed away...
Inside was what seemed to be a humanoid figure yet it lacked any limbs whatsoever, it was just a trunk and head. Countless chains went through the trunk of the body through the places where the limbs were supposed to be and kept the body in suspension in the coffin.
Many worms crawled all over the body but they didn't seem to eat it, rather, giving it lifeforce to prevent it from dying. The skin of the body was filled with horrible scars and only the head was left seemingly untouched but kept in place by a collar of sorts.
A pair of blank and lifeless eyes stared at the two as they approached again and gulped at the sight, even as devil cultivators, the 2 young men had never laid eyes on such a situation.
One of them got closer and gasped, "I think this is a girl?! I have seen her before! Right, I remember, she was the leader of the group that was captured!"
If not for the head, it would have been impossible to identify anything about the person in the coffin due to the situation of the body...
The other one seemed to quickly get used to the situation as he approached very close at looked at the head with a strange smile, "Her face is really pretty... Maybe we can make some use of it?"
"Ewwww! What is wrong with you?!" Asked the youth that was further away in disgust.
The closer one to the coffin extended his hand and touched the face, "Her body is ruined along with all her cultivation but her mouth is not..."
This seemed to get a reaction of the dead eyes of the girl, they widened a little, the young man that was against the idea snorted, "Can't you see it? There is an Escape Talisman on the body, otherwise, why would we take it to a divine king?! I think if you do that, it will activate. That must be why she was tortured in this particular way..."
"You are right... What a waste..."
Both of them slowly lifted the lid and tried to reseal the coffin, just as they were about to close it, they heard a loud boom in the distance...
Both turned to look at the source but they only saw a massive sand storm approaching, "What is that?" One of them pointed at the center.
The other youth used Qi to enhance his eye and looked at the spot and saw someone coming toward them with such a speed that as a result, the sand storm behind was created. He wore a black robe and stood on a thin black sword, his hair fluttering like crazy as his red eyes locked with the observer for a moment.
Both of them panicked as they quickly resealed the coffin and flew away, they knew that if they failed their mission it would result in death. The only option for them was to run away with the coffin.
Alas, how could they compete with Ling Tian? They weren't even in the Heavenly Awakening realm...
He caught up to them in less than 10 seconds; before they could even talk, both of them noticed they couldn't use their voice and their vision tilted as if the world was tilting and they were stationary... They had been beheaded instantly from far away.
Ling Tian ignored the two falling to the ground and waved his hand, the coming sand storm was instantly halted as if time was stopped, he lowered his hand and the sand sat on the surface of the desert as if it was never there... His Telekinetic powers had grown a lot after his breakthrough.
He scanned the surroundings with his Divine sense and felt a dark presence underground, he paid it more attention and smiled, 'Little scorpion wants to eat me?' he thought with amusement.
He brought up the serpent sword and from it, a red serpent came out, it was a hundred feet long with very sharp teeth and deadly eyes. The serpent seemed to have its own intelligence as it seemed to understand Ling Tian's intent and headed underground.
Beneath his feet, the scorpion and serpent seemed to begin fighting as the surface of the desert began shaking.
He ignored it all as he approached the coffin, the lid flew off on its own with a mere look from Ling Tian. He saw the scene inside and frowned...
Lian RuXue recognized him but she was too far gone to react, she only managed to say one thing with a hoarse voice after struggling a lot, "Kill me..." She seemed indifferent yet her eyes showed extreme despair.
He raised his hand and a simple sword Qi seemed to form on top of it, he asked her, "Is it really what you wish for? Don't you even want to know about your own brother before dying?"
She remained silent...
He said with complex feelings, "Your brother is dead... Even though you left him, he wouldn't want to see you die like this."
She replied in a whisper, "How could he die? He has a Talisman like me... Just release me from this misery... Kill me."
Ling Tian seemed to freeze as he realized something, 'There was not even ash remaining... It makes sense now, he was teleported back.' He suddenly sighed in relief as if a great burden was lifted from his heart, 'That is good news, he is not dead which means I can thank him and repay him...' He was overjoyed inside.
He then looked down and asked, "If I kill you, will you also be teleported back?"
She replied emotionlessly, "Just before it happens, the worm inside me will devour my heart and end me but that's good... I don't have anything to live for anymore... even if I survive, I will take my own life... just kill me..."
Ling Tian was not surprised, 'She must have gone through hell, and with all her cultivation gone, she won't be able to regenerate her limbs and since her Dantian is destroyed, she can't cultivate either... She will have to live like this for the rest of her life unless a miracle happens...'
Not even a light Lotus could repair a destroyed Dantian... He had heard of Light Lotuses as special treasures of the Dao Sect.
He was stuck and didn't know what to do, on one hand, he knew that she was done living with a mere look. On the other, he knew that Lian Qiu was a person who cared a lot about family and friendship so he would not take her death very well despite the past. She was his sister after all. He could already imagine the mother and father of the family feeling sorrow and the effect it would have on Lian Qiu, especially if she took her own life...
Ling Tian owed Lian Qiu his life in a way, he had to repay it somehow...
Suddenly, the badge of Dao Sect he had received from the wood heavenly king began shaking. He took it and inserted some Qi into it, a voice began talking through the badge.
"Disciples of Dao sect, those of you that are still alive... Rejoice for we have taken all the castles and The Earth Devouring Heavenly King alongside Poison Master Heavenly King have fallen! One slain by a mysterious man known as the serpent sword scion and the other by the Wood Heavenly King; The Dao Emperor has come out of secluded cultivation to battle the Devil Emperor! The time has come, regroup near the core of the enemy's base, the Grand Central Castle. We will raid it in 3 days' time."
Ling Tian put the badge down and smirked, 'This will be fun to join but first...' He looked at Lian RuXue. She seemed to find a little joy based on her eyes after hearing about the death of The Earth Devouring Heavenly King and yet, her gaze was still blank and dead. She had lost everything, from her cultivation to her beauty...
He sighed and crouched beside the coffin, "Don't give up on living yet, they say that the greater the adversity we overcome, the greater we will become. Live not for yourself, but for those who love you. Imagine their sadness and sorrow when you give up on living... Is that what you want?"
Lian RuXue remained silent. She thought about her family but the mere thought of living like a useless person and burden for them made her more determined to die... She did not want to be seen by anyone as she was.
Ling Tian was confused, he didn't know what to do. He knew that even if she was healed physically back to perfect condition, the loss of her cultivation and broken spirit would lead her to suicide...
He seemed to grow determined as he sliced his palm and blood flowed out, "You left me to die but I won't take revenge, I will save you because you are Lian Qiu's sister which makes you my sister for he is my brother in all but blood. Let this show my determination. So, please, live."
She turned to look at him but seemed unmoved, He finally snapped, "You don't get a say in this, I say you will survive so you will. I say that you will live, and thus you will. That is Final!"
He used a sword Qi to cut all the chains and easily put the collar aside, he picked her up, and with a wave of his Qi, the worms were exterminated, within and outside. Her eyes widened.
She was speechless and shocked as he had so casually killed worms of a heavenly king and chains put there by one. Only another Heavenly King could do such things...
He took a spare robe he had put in his storage treasure and covered her, then he tied her to his back and jumped on his sword, "Till I find a way to heal you and bring you back to your family, I will be your arms and legs. I can't let Lian Qiu see his sister like this... After saving you, I will have paid him back. It's decided."
He completely ignored her and flew deeper into the dungeon, a serpent jumped from underground and was absorbed into his sword. She was truly speechless and a bit angry, however, her mood was uplifted even if by a little. His sudden behavior distracted her from the cruel reality and terrible memories of torture...
Meanwhile, Lian Qiu and Huo Bing entered a dark and heavily guarded building with one purpose, to meet with the loyalists of the Xuan Empire... They were scheming something...
Mo Hui's eyes blazed with hatred as he looked at the pool of lava his body was soaked in, "Serpent Sword Scion, I will kill you!" His heart was filled with anger and his mind with the pain of his situation...
A large amount of red lava flowed down on his head as the Devil emperor watched in satisfaction, "You will soon breakthrough, go bring this scion to me... He seems very interesting. Killing a Heavenly King is no joke, try to negotiate with him. He might be related to why some old fools of the blue dream are coming here..."