The Nightshades’ domain treasure continued to emerge. It was the darkest black imaginable, and emanated boundless evil that could ravish heaven. It was a long, sharp weapon that was infinitely vicious.

Sea-Sealing County’s taboo treasure net pulsated. The spirit automatons of the various taboo treasures howled as they were wiped out. The net was about to collapse.

Emperor Moonmist only had half his body left. Threads of flesh and blood were already wriggling out to form a new lower body for him. He looked up at Palace Lord Kong, fear in his eyes.

“Do you have another sword, Kong Liangxiu?” Emperor Redspirit had lost his entire fleshly body and couldn’t build another. He floated there in soul form. However, his soul wasn’t like other ordinary soul shadows. It was covered with countless red threads that filled the soul, protecting it but also merging with it. It was a lifesaving aid to Holytides provided by the Nightshades. However, it would only sustain the soul for a limited time. Emperor Redspirit looked at Palace Lord Kong. “Your swordsage power devastated my physical form. It shattered my major world. It severed my dao foundation. It wiped out half of Moonmist’s body. It shook my soul. You’re an amazing person, Kong Liangxiu!”

Palace Lord Kong looked up, his eyes filled with regret as he smiled. Cracks spread across his face, extending to his armor, like a spider web. He ignored that. Nor did he respond to Emperor Moonmist’s words. He turned to the crumbling net protecting Sea-Sealing County. As he walked toward it, he got bigger and bigger, his armor eventually ceasing to function. The armor started collapsing, falling to the ground, piece by piece. He left the battlefield and walked to the crumbling net. By that point, he was several tens of thousands of meters tall. He looked through the net at the retreating human army.

“Palace Lord….”

Many such cries rang out from within the army.

Kong Xianglong nearly fell to the ground, but Xu Qing was there to help him stand. Kong Xianglong’s eyes were red. Though he couldn’t see everything clearly, he could see enough to know what was going on. It was the same with everyone else.

Outside the net, Palace Lord Kong looked at these scions of humanity and said, “Everyone dies, so why cry? Stand tall and straight!”

In their grief, everyone in the army stood a bit taller and straighter!

Palace Lord Kong nodded. He scanned the crowd, stopping to look at Xu Qing for a moment, anticipation in his eyes. His gaze came to rest on Kong Xianglong for two moments. He looked regretful but also gratified. He looked at the deputy palace lord for three moments. Though no one else knew what he meant by that, the deputy palace lord knew exactly what he was indicating. The deputy palace lord nodded, his heart filled with brief loneliness.

As Kong Xianglong trembled even harder, Palace Lord Kong looked in the direction of the county capital. As he did… the final piece of his armor fell off.

Terrifying and destructive fluctuations from the domain treasure pulsed out of the vortex, and the army of Holytides advanced….

Palace Lord Kong turned so his back was to Sea-Sealing County. Stretching out his arms, he leaned back into the great net and fused into it.

As he did, countless minor worlds appeared on the net. Endless amounts of them flowed into a burning major world that belonged to Palace Lord Kong. The coldness in all the taboo treasures in the net flowed to Palace Lord Kong’s major world, converging there. He was fusing with the taboo net! He had sacrificed his longevity and sacrificed his cultivation base. He had unleashed his final sword strike. Then, just as he was about to die, he sacrificed his own life. He had made himself a part of the taboo net, and had used his warmth to delay its crumbling.

“Notify all human forces in Tidefall Prefecture… to retreat to the county capital.”

As the intense coldness converged on him from all directions, he howled, until finally he turned into a statue of ice. Yet he still stood there propping up heaven and earth. He was still protecting Sea-Sealing County from that intense coldness. Down to the last, his tone of voice and his facial expression had not betrayed the slightest weakness.

The taboo net was once again the color of gold. After fusing with the net, he ensured that the net would last for longer, and would continue to protect all of the county. The northern front, the western front, and all of the scattered armies everywhere else were once again protected by the golden net. The advance of the Holytide army was halted. All of the occupied territories were once again covered, temporarily ending the deadly scenarios that had been playing out.

The source of all that, Palace Lord Kong, was starting to fade from existence. The frigid cold from the domain treasure was a destructive force that caused indescribable pain. To Palace Lord Kong, that didn’t matter. His limbs crumbled into dust, as did his torso. His head slowly lowered, and his eyes seemed about to close.

On the battlefield, Emperor Redspirit and Emperor Moonmist both raised their hands to stop the army from moving. They stood in place in front of the golden net, as did all the forces behind them. Then the expressions of the two emperors flickered as they looked into the air just in front of Palace Lord Kong. A raspy voice spoke out of nothing.

“Kong Liangxiu. There was no need for me to appear here, but to see you die in this way has earned you my respect. Thus, I’ve come here to ask you something. Are you holding on to your last breath of life in the hopes that I would show up?”

A shadowy figure appeared in the air in front of Palace Lord Kong’s face. The dark form caused all onlookers to be shocked to the core, whether they were Holytides or humans. Only the two emperors didn’t seem to be very surprised.

As for Xu Qing, his eyes went wide as he stared at that shadowy figure. It made him think about the mission Palace Lord Kong had assigned him. Using every ounce of ability he possessed, he tried to commit that figure’s image to memory.

Unfortunately, that shadowy figure was nothing but a blur.

Palace Lord Kong’s closed eyes suddenly opened, and he looked at the shadowy figure. Voice hoarse, he asked, “You’re the one who killed the governor?”

The shadowy figure nodded. “Yes. It was me. You assigned someone to investigate, didn’t you? What a pity you were looking in the wrong direction.”

Palace Lord Kong didn’t say anything in response.

“Aren’t you going to ask who I am?” the figure continued.

“Would you answer?”

The shadow figure shook its head and sighed. “In that case, goodbye, Kong Liangxiu.”

The shadowy figure stepped back a few paces, clasped hands, and bowed. Then it began to fade from existence.

However, just before it disappeared, a dazzling light suddenly erupted from Palace Lord Kong’s eyes. It was an astonishing Emperor’s Sword that had been converging there, and it slashed right toward the shadowy figure. It moved with such astonishing speed that it seemed impossible for anyone to dodge it. In the blink of an eye, that sword reached the shadowy figure’s forehead. It could track the essence, and could pierce through the endless void. It could find the shadowy figure’s true form, and slash it down regardless if it was in the past, present, or future. All those things were in the range of this sword. 𝘪𝘳𝒶.𝘤𝑜𝓂

The shadowy figure shivered, then vanished, leaving behind only a whisper.

“So, you did have another sword left. However, I have no past. I have no future. Nor do I have a present. There are not many people I admire, Kong Liangxiu. But you’re one of them. This sword of yours ensures that you’ll remain in my heart. I won’t forget you.”

Palace Lord Kong’s gaze froze for all eternity. Frost covered his face. He collapsed into dust. He had been annihilated.

“Palace Lord!!”

The human army wept blood in their hearts. Tears flowed from the eyes of all the cultivators. Each and every one felt overwhelmed with infinite grief. Palace Lord Kong of the Swordsage Palace had perished. The leadership of Sea-Sealing County had once again fallen. The sky also seemed to grieve, and rained blood onto the ground.

Within that icy blood, Xu Qing shivered. His eyes were full of sorrow, and his heart felt like it was being squeezed by a giant hand. It hurt. Badly. He couldn’t stop thinking back to all his interactions with Palace Lord Kong.

The sound of weeping echoed out. Kong Xianglong slipped out of Xu Qing’s arms and dropped to his knees, tears streaming down his face. Helplessness and sorrow were the only things in his heart. He eventually fell prone on the ground, sobbing.

Right then, intense rumbling sounds filled heaven and earth as the taboo treasure net collapsed. It started in the northern front, then continued to the western front. It was an official indication that Sea-Sealing County had been defeated. Intensely cold storm winds blew in, sweeping in all directions. The ground quaked.

At the same time, the Holytide army advanced again. Frigid energy filled the air, making it hard to tell if it was night or day.

The reality was… it was dawn. Even if frost fills the sky, a rainbow can still appear. However, it only happens after the storm ends and the sun rises.

Palace Lord Kong’s blood was the rain. The despair and grief of Sea-Sealing County kicked up the wind.

The Holytide army crossed the fourth line of defense exactly as the sun rose into the sky.

Golden light converged into a sea that spread through the dome of heaven. However, it wasn’t just sunlight. Within that sea of light were countless flags streaming in the breeze. There were innumerable figures clad in golden armor. There were black dragons, howling, and countless spell formations sending out powerful fluctuations.

Wild colors flashed in heaven and earth. Winds screamed.

At the summit of heaven was a 300,000-meter four-clawed golden dragon, ripping through the air, its voice capable of shaking suns and moons. The lands shook, and the Holytide army stopped in place. Emperors Redspirit and Moonmist looked up.

On the back of that golden dragon, sitting in a golden throne, was a figure who seemed threatening without being angry. He wore a yellow robe, but was not an emperor. The four claws of the golden dragon indicated his identity. 1

“It’s the seventh son of the emperor. Seventh Prince!” 2

1. The number of claws on a dragon can be important. Although the significance of the claws changed throughout history, it was most common for the emperor to be associated with a five-clawed dragon motif, with princes and nobles having four-clawed dragons. ?

2. The title of the prince, in this specific passage, is literally “human emperor seventh son.” There are some other configurations of the various characters making up the name, some of which use the more proper configuration of characters to mean ‘prince.’ I’m going to refer to this character as Seventh Prince to make things simple. Just bear in mind that he’s specifically an imperial prince, and of course, is human. It goes without saying that if he’s the seventh prince, then there are other princes as well. ?

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