Chapter 734 - 779: Soul Scattering, No Regrets...

It took nearly all of Shen Lang’s strength to finally condense and form his Vermilion Bird Divine Fire Elements Mansion.

It was already incredibly difficult for an ordinary King Martial Realm expert to condense an Elements Mansion. Yet, the hardship Shen Lang endured to condense his Vermilion Bird Divine Fire Elements Mansion surpassed that of an ordinary expert by ten, or even a hundred times!

Even after borrowing the power of the World Tree, he had nearly destroyed the delicate balance between it and the Tribulation Thunder.

Although he had successfully broken through to the King Martial Realm Second Heaven, the ordeal had left him utterly spent. His Divine Thought was completely exhausted, the Spiritual Power in his Nascent Soul was nearly gone, and he was weakened to his very limits.

Calming his mind, Shen Lang sat cross-legged once again. He took out a pile of Top Grade Spirit Stones and arranged them before him into a Spirit Gathering Array.

He then activated the Star Absorption Technique, frantically absorbing the Spiritual Power within the stones.

A single Top Grade Spirit Stone contained more pure Spiritual Qi than even ten thousand Low Grade Spirit Stones.

Even a King Martial Realm expert would need at least five days to fully absorb and complete the Refinement of its Spiritual Qi.

Yet, there were over fifty Top Grade Spirit Stones laid out on the ground before Shen Lang!

WHOOSH...

Amid a furious howl of wind, Shen Lang pushed his hands forward. A massive vortex instantly enveloped all the Spirit Stones on the ground.

The surging Spiritual Qi from the fifty-odd Top Grade Spirit Stones was instantly drawn into the vortex, as if a great whale were swallowing the ocean.

Furthermore, the surrounding Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi began to converge on him in a continuous stream, as if it had been summoned.

It was just like when he used the Netherworld Demon Tribulation—wind howled and clouds gathered, a force like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea...

An endless stream of Spiritual Qi flowed into the Tai Chi Diagram, to be refined and absorbed by the World Tree.

Meanwhile, a smaller portion circulated through his meridians, replenishing his Primordial Qi. The exhausted Shen Lang began to feel much better.

...

As Shen Lang frantically absorbed Spiritual Qi, less than two hundred miles behind him, Shen Jianfeng was riding a Fiery Demon Wolf in a desperate flight for his life.

At this moment, Shen Jianfeng was clad in the Xingtian Battle Armor and wielding the Nine-Phased Divine Dragon Spear. Two Magic Shields spun rapidly around him, enveloping both him and the Fiery Demon Wolf. He cut an imposing and majestic figure.

Except, right on his heels, a pack of powerful Demon Beasts was in relentless pursuit, kicking up a terrifying, sky-blotting cloud of dust.

"Shui Ningxin, are you fucking insane?! I’m your savior, not your enemy, aren’t I? Why are you trying so damn hard to get me killed?!"

"Son of a bitch! I just took a little nap, and you sneak off to the Third Floor... What do you take me for? Did you even bother to ask me? Now there’s a pack of Demon Beasts behind us trying to ram it up my ass, and I’ve fought so hard the webbing of my hand has split and my whole body is numb! So tell me, what the hell do we do now?!"

"You better give me a damn good reason, or I’m done being nice!"

Shen Jianfeng practically roared.

His voice was filled with indescribable resentment and anger, as well as fear and helplessness.

Shui Ningxin’s timid voice sounded out, "Jianfeng, I know you’re a good person... I’m sorry..."

"You’re about to get me killed! I’m about to die, and you say sorry? What damn good is sorry! Good person? Good person my ass!" Shen Jianfeng said, his voice cracking. "To think that I, Shen Jianfeng, am handsome, suave, exceptionally talented, and always striving for more... Heaven finally gave me a cousin like him, a chance for me to finally shine, and now you’re going to get me killed... Did I wrong you in a past life or something?"

"I... We’re not dead yet, are we?" Shui Ningxin replied timidly, not quite daring to speak.

Shen Jianfeng roared again, "You better explain yourself! Why did you sneak out at night, and why did you have to run to the Third Floor? If you don’t tell me, I won’t be able to rest in peace!"

"Son of a bitch! They always say getting tangled up with a female ghost ends tragically—you either die of exhaustion or get your life force sucked dry. But look at me... I get led straight into a Demon Beast nest by a ghost... How many Demon Beasts do you think this tender-skinned, big-boned body of mine can feed? Are those Demon Beasts your relatives or something? Why are you being so good to them?"

Shui Ningxin: "..."

Shen Jianfeng sighed and looked to the heavens. "Oh, Heavens! Oh, Earth! You gave me such a badass cousin, couldn’t you have thrown in a beautiful woman for me too? If you couldn’t give me a beauty, you shouldn’t have given me a female ghost! And if you had to give me a ghost, did it have to be one that wants to kill me?"

"I was planning on becoming a Xuanwu Realm expert, a King Martial Realm expert, then returning home in glory to honor my ancestors, and you’re getting me killed... I won’t let you off even if I die!"

As he spoke, Shen Jianfeng frantically waved his Nine-Phased Divine Dragon Spear at the sky.

CRACK!

A bolt of lightning exploded high in the heavens. The colossal boom echoed endlessly through the valley, a deafening rumble that made Shen Jianfeng’s eardrums ache.

Shen Jianfeng flinched and said weakly, "Can’t a guy even make a joke? What, no sense of humor...? Shui Ningxin, are you going to talk or not? Why did you do this? Why are you trying to get me killed?"

Shui Ningxin began to cry softly. "Jianfeng, I know you’re a good person. Even though you’re so angry, you never once said you’d abandon me. I’m truly grateful to you..."

"Flattery will get you nowhere. Get to the point!" Shen Jianfeng interrupted impatiently. "Are you trying to save the Third Prince? Didn’t my cousin already promise to help you? Why are you in such a goddamn hurry? With my low-level Cultivation, I’d probably lose a few limbs or end up as Demon Beast food before I even reach the Dragon Scale Divine Hall! You still expect me to go pick a deadly fight for the Third Prince?"

Shui Ningxin was silent for a moment before she said, "I... I don’t know how to say it. It might... It might already be too late..."

"Too late for what?" Shen Jianfeng was taken aback.

Shui Ningxin burst into tears. "It’s too late for Shen Lang to save the Third Prince... For the past few days, I keep hearing him saying goodbye to me. He... I’m afraid he’s about to leave this world... I’ll never see him again..."

Once Shui Ningxin started crying, it was as if a floodgate had opened, completely uncontrollable.

Her deep affection, regret, remorse, and sorrow—at this moment, she held nothing back, pouring it all out to Shen Jianfeng through her tears.

Her desperate sobs made Shen Jianfeng’s heart race with anxiety; it was unbearable to listen to.

Their souls were connected. Even without hearing her cries, Shen Jianfeng could clearly feel the despair and helplessness in Shui Ningxin’s heart.

Shen Jianfeng wiped away a tear, his eyes wide. He put on a ferocious expression and barked, "What the hell is your Cultivation level? How could you possibly sense anything with such a pitiful level? Besides, you’re nothing but a wisp of a soul... That’s just a hallucination born from you constantly thinking about the Third Prince!"

"It’s not a hallucination..." Shui Ningxin said softly. "I can really, clearly feel what’s in the Third Prince’s heart."

"Jianfeng, I know that in your eyes, I’m just a spoiled and willful young lady from a Noble Family, just a little kid who doesn’t understand anything... The Third Prince always treated me like a little sister, too..."

"But I’m not his sister... Ever since that Royal Family hunt many years ago, when he held me and took the claw of a Split Claw Demon Ape on his back for me, I stopped seeing him as an older brother..."

"I’ve always felt that in this world, everyone is really only half a person. Somewhere, in some corner of the world, our other half is waiting for us."

"Only when we find that other half and become one can life be complete... And the Third Prince is my other half."

"For his sake, why would I fear having my Soul Scattering?"

"But I can’t do anything. I can only wait quietly, waiting for despair..."

"But I can’t wait any longer. There’s no more time. Jianfeng, you have to believe me! Right now, you’re the only one who can help me... I’m afraid the Third Prince is about to be devoured by that Demon... Waaaah..."

Hearing Shui Ningxin’s plea, Shen Jianfeng fell silent.

He reversed his grip on the Nine-Phased Divine Dragon Spear, and with a burst of sharp, Powerful Qi from its tip, he pierced through a wolf-like Demon Beast that was pouncing from behind.

Tossing aside the Demon Beast’s corpse, Shen Jianfeng said softly, "So you rushed to the Third Floor, risking your life, because you sensed the Third Prince was about to disappear?"

"But..." A bitter smile touched Shen Jianfeng’s lips. "But what can we do? A King Martial Realm expert... could crush me with a single finger. What could I possibly do for you?"

"No... you don’t have to do anything, Jianfeng!" Shui Ningxin’s voice grew a little louder. "You just have to get me in front of that Demon. You don’t have to do anything else."

Shen Jianfeng was stunned again. "What do you mean?"

Shui Ningxin said softly, "Since I can’t save the Third Prince, then just let me become one with him. Let that Demon devour me too. That’s all. I have no regrets."

As she said this, Shui Ningxin stopped crying. Her tone even became remarkably calm.

It seemed this was not a rash decision, but one she had carefully considered.

It was as if she wasn’t preparing to accept her Soul Scattering, but to be with her beloved forever... Her tone even held a hint of anticipation, a hint of sweetness...

Shen Jianfeng’s body stiffened, and for a moment, his mind went blank.

’Shui Ningxin did all this just to go and die?’

’Just to let that thing devour her?’

’Her Soul Scattering, never to be reborn...’

"AHH, YOU BEASTS, DIE!"

Shen Jianfeng roared, his Nine-Phased Divine Dragon Spear tracing a brilliant flourish. In a backward-thrusting attack, he pierced the body of a Golden-winged Python that was lunging at him from behind.

The Long Spear pierced the Golden-winged Python’s vital spot. With a powerful swing, he slammed the massive python’s body into the ground, sending up a cloud of dust.

At that moment, Shen Jianfeng didn’t even notice...

...that this Golden-winged Python was already a Seventh Level Demon Beast, equivalent to an expert at the First and Second Heaven of the Xuanwu Realm.

"Let’s go. I’ll take you to the Third Prince, HAHAHAHA!" Shen Jianfeng laughed wildly. "I might as well see for myself just how terrifying this Third Floor really is! A real man fears neither life nor death!"

His high spirits and indomitable, forward-charging demeanor made Shen Jianfeng seem like a completely different person.

The goofball who used to carry a small notebook to record Chu Qingcheng’s pretentious phrases and constantly tried to imitate her—that person had suddenly transformed into a peerless hero who stood with his head to the heavens and feet on the earth!

The moment this pure, resolute will emerged, even the pack of Demon Beasts in relentless pursuit subconsciously slowed their pace, as if they had been stunned by his aura!