National Guardian's Gone and We're Done

In the center of the construction site, a massive crater, like a demonic abyss, continuously spewed an utterly sinister and bone-chilling aura.

Amaterasu was like a golden sun suspended high in the night sky,

emitting a bone-chillingly cold light that no one dared gaze upon directly.

Her magnificent golden robes billowed in the night wind,

while the golden radiance surrounding her materialized into a raging inferno, its flames leaping madly, casting her as a supreme deity who held dominion over all life.

At this moment, her stunningly beautiful face was stern to the extreme, a cold glint flickering in her eyes.

They were like the sharpest, coldest stars in the night sky, and the killing intent they revealed was palpable.

She had clearly sworn a silent oath to not let Xu Fu live a single moment longer.

With a flick of her wrist, the legendary Grass Cutting Sword in her hand transformed into a fatal bolt of lightning,

carrying an endless, decisive sharpness as she stabbed down at Xu Fu, one merciless strike after another.

Each strike seemed to tear through the boundaries of space and time.

Its sharp, piercing whistle tore through the ink-thick night sky,

as if to rip the endless darkness itself asunder.

Xia Chengli’s eyes remained locked on the battlefield, not missing a single detail.

When the fifth stream of Sword Qi, like a meteor trailing an aura of destruction,

landed squarely on Xu Fu,

Xia Chengli shifted slightly, turning to Chu He and saying in a low voice, "The last of the Emperor’s Qi on Xu Fu has dissipated."

At the same time, an unconcealable flash of joy glinted in Amaterasu’s cold, starlike eyes.

Although she possessed transcendent power,

she couldn’t perceive the Emperor’s Qi with her naked eye.

However, her keen intuition as a powerful being allowed her to feel it with unmistakable clarity:

an indestructible shield had suddenly vanished from Xu Fu.

After all, that crucial protection

had held an absolute suppressive power over her in all their clashes throughout the long years.

Now that this suppression was suddenly broken,

how could she possibly conceal the elation and joy in her heart?

"If you’re willing to hand over the Eight-footed Jade Hook right now, I might consider,

after I cripple your power, letting you live out the rest of your days as an ordinary, peaceful man."

Amaterasu held the Grass Cutting Sword, its tip pointed downward.

Bright red blood dripped slowly down the cold, gleaming blade,

splashing onto the ground like shocking blossoms, like spider lilies blooming in Hell.

Her voice was utterly cold, devoid of any warmth as it cut through the air.

"Ever since you set foot in the lands of the White-Red Empire, you have never had a chance to leave.

You’ve been sealed on this tiny plot of land, like a turtle in a jar.

I am certain the Eight-footed Jade Hook is hidden here,

either on your person or buried deep beneath this ground.

If I have to search for it myself, it will surely be a hassle, costing me considerable time and effort.

However, you’d better think this through. If you know what’s good for you and hand it over now,

you’ll save me this unnecessary trouble, and we can avoid any further unpleasantness.

But if you insist on doing things the hard way...

Hmph, then I won’t hesitate to use my own methods to find it.

When that happens, don’t blame me for being ruthless and using this Grass Cutting Sword...

...to mince this flesh of yours, piece by piece, until you can neither live nor die!"

Her words carried an indisputable authority, like a high and mighty Judge announcing the final verdict to a condemned prisoner, sending a chill down the spine.

Xu Fu’s ancient robes were in tatters, the ragged, blood-stained strips of cloth fluttering in the wind.

However, his posture remained as straight as a pine, fearlessly facing the grim threat of death.

Though his face now showed a bone-deep weariness and the desolation of ages,

his eyes held a tranquility that had seen through the mortal world and transcended life and death.

All the world’s turmoil, its honors and disgraces, its gains and losses, were now like passing clouds,

no longer able to stir the strings of his tranquil heart.

"Life, death... what does it matter?"

Xu Fu’s voice was low and hoarse,

as if drifting through an endless tunnel of time, carrying the weight of ages and an endless, resigned sigh.

He tilted his head back slightly, gazing up at the dark-shrouded night sky,

lost in memories of a magnificent, bygone era.

"Perhaps, back then, during that fateful upheaval, I should have followed His Majesty to the underworld. It would have been better than wandering this world alone, enduring endless suffering..."

His words held both a deep nostalgia for that magnificent past and a calm acceptance of his cruel fate.

"Have you no self-awareness? Stop putting on this act of a loyal patriot!"

Hearing this, the corners of Amaterasu’s lips curled into a sneer. Her eyes filled with contempt as she mocked him mercilessly.

In her eyes, Xu Fu was nothing more than an ambitious, arrogant fool who sought to defy his own fate.

His so-called loyalty and patriotism were nothing but an elaborate, beautiful lie to achieve his own ulterior motives,

utterly hypocritical.

"Heh. Tell a lie enough times, and you start to believe it yourself. How pathetic."

Xu Fu merely gave a faint smile, tinged with self-mockery and detachment, unwilling to engage any further in this pointless war of words with Amaterasu.