Chapter 244: Funeral (Part 2 Unity)
Chapter 244: Funeral (Part 2 Unity)
"If this continues, we will all die!"
Someone stepped forward, angrily shouting, facing the threat of death, they were ready to fight Ji Qingqing to the bitter end.
Ji Qingqing's face was cold, but she knew that stopping them wouldn't solve anything. She said:
"If you want to live, help me pull them up."
"Help them? That's a death sentence. They're definitely beyond saving, they're too far away!" someone shouted angrily.
"If they die, we all die!"
Ji Qingqing didn't back down, forcing them to comply.
If she were alone, she would have already risked everything to go down and help. But once she left, Ningma of the Dao Mind Realm wouldn't be able to keep these people in check.
Then the Abyssal Heaven Stele would be pushed aside, and they would all die.
"Don't you want to live either?!"
Someone couldn't help roaring, "At least we can save ourselves, why should we sacrifice everyone?"
"Either help them up, or we all die together!"
Ji Qingqing's eyes were cold, and she didn't argue. Any debate would waste time. She only gave them a choice.
Everyone was angry, but no one acted. The chain was swinging so violently that they dared not step on it easily.
As they argued, a sudden, intense tremor came from below.
Heavenly Prison Island was pulled off balance again. A tentacle from the Abyss grabbed Li Hao's chain, while two others lashed out at Li Hao and Ji Yunyue.
Li Hao's face changed abruptly. He growled and burst into the Divine Power State, climbing as fast as he could.
But the Demon Sage's suction was like a black hole, easily pulling mountains into its mouth. If Li Hao's power weren't strong enough, he would have been sucked in long ago.
"Go!"
Li Hao roared, pulling Ji Yunyue and sprinting forward.
However, they were still a thousand miles from Heavenly Prison Island. Under normal circumstances, they could reach it in a few minutes, but now it felt like an impossible distance.
"Child, don't worry about me. Go on without me."
Ji Yunyue suddenly released Li Hao's hand, gripping a link of the Abyssal Chains tightly. She shouted, "Don't look back, keep going forward. The Three Ancestors will surely notice the commotion and come to help!"
Li Hao felt his hand go slack and was momentarily stunned. He turned to look at the old woman, who had always been kind, her face resolute and encouraging. His heart felt like it had been struck.
Emotions surged within him, but he suppressed them. He knew that turning back would betray her.
Li Hao clenched his teeth and climbed forward at twice the speed.
Rattling sounds echoed as the chains shook violently.
The Blood Lotus, about to emerge from the Abyss, suddenly seemed to pause, pulled downward. Thick chains, similar to the Abyssal Chains, appeared behind it, binding it and preventing it from breaking free.
The Blood Lotus seemed enraged, extending more tentacles to pull the chains and attack Li Hao.
Tentacles slapped against the chains, sweeping across. Li Hao quickly climbed to the other side of the chain, hiding in the gaps between the links, using the Supreme Technique to enhance his evasion.
Though he didn't know if it would work, he had no other options.
The stinking tentacles whistled past, grazing Li Hao but causing no harm. He relaxed slightly and continued climbing the chain.
On Heavenly Prison Island, the people watched as the island was pulled down further. Finally, someone couldn't take it anymore and roared:
"Let's all go together. Even if we die, it's better than dying at the hands of the Demon Sage."
"Go, push over the Abyssal Heaven Stele!"
A dozen people simultaneously burst with their remaining energy, charging at Ji Qingqing.
Ji Qingqing's face changed. She hadn't figured out a solution, and these people were losing patience. In this life-or-death moment, she had little time to think of a plan.
"Unless I die, no one will push over this stele!"
Ji Qingqing shouted angrily.
Her Divine Soul erupted, and she flew forward with her sword, unleashing her secret technique without hesitation. She struck down two people and sent seven more flying.
Her Divine Flame enveloped her like a fierce female warrior, and she managed to hold the line, defending the Abyssal Heaven Stele.
Beneath the island, the Demon Sage was closing in, while on the chains, people were desperately climbing to escape. On the island itself, a battle involving over a dozen people was raging.
“None of you will get close!”
Ji Qingqing’s aura was weakening, but she still had Enduring Power left. She retreated to the front of the Abyssal Heaven Stele, her eyes cold as stars as she surveyed the others.
“A group of pitiful fools.”
At that moment, the Old Madman, who was lying some distance away, burst into laughter. “You all could have lived, but you insisted on seeking death. Haven’t you noticed the Demon Sage’s abnormal state? It’s been stripped of its consciousness by the Holy Ancestor. Now, only its body remains, suppressed here.”
“Otherwise, if it truly acted, none of you would still be here to fight. You would all be dead.”
As everyone caught their breath and adjusted, his laughter pierced their ears, but his words made them all shiver with realization.
Indeed, the Demon Sage, though pulling on the chains, was still a Demon Sage. If it truly wanted to act, they would all be dead in an instant.
“It’s dead?”
Someone trembled, asking a question that seemed absurd even to them.
But the existence of a Sage Realm being was already beyond their comprehension.
Many people looked at the Old Madman. They all knew he had lived for a very long time, a figure from the era of the Three Ancestors.
Seeing their gazes, the Old Madman only laughed, not saying more. He wore a mocking, amused expression, seemingly indifferent to the swaying Heavenly Prison Island, which could be swallowed by the Demon Sage at any moment.
Seeing his expression, everyone felt a surge of anger, but his words had given them a warning. Someone noticed that the Demon Sage was bound by chains, unable to break free from the Abyss.
“I have an idea!”
Suddenly, someone shouted excitedly.
To become a criminal, one must possess intelligence that does not fall short of ordinary people; they simply took the wrong path.
“We don’t need to topple all three Abyssal Heaven Steles. We only need to topple two. This will cause the Heavenly Prison Island to tilt according to its buoyancy laws, pulling the Abyssal Chains into a straight line. The Demon Sage’s body isn’t long enough to reach all the way, and at most, only one or two of its Tentacles will be able to grab on. It might not be able to pull the island down!”
The person spoke with excitement.
The others ran to the edge of the island and looked down, seeing the terrifyingly beautiful face and the blood-red Blood Lotus.
Indeed, the Demon Sage had stopped ascending, restrained by the chains, struggling but unable to break free. The chains that bound its Physical Body seemed to anchor it to the center of the Abyss, forcing it to stretch its body to the limits to touch the walls at the edges of the Abyss.
If only one Abyssal Chain held the Heavenly Prison Island, it would be pulled into a straight line, and the island would shift away from the center of the Abyss, emerging outside like a wooden stake at the bottom of the Abyss.
At that point, the Demon Sage’s Physical Body would have even fewer points of contact with the chains, making it unlikely to pull the Heavenly Prison Island down.
This way, they would have a chance to survive!
Others grasped the idea, their eyes lighting up. Indeed, it was a good plan.
If this plan didn’t work, they would have to abandon the last Abyssal Chain, allowing the Heavenly Prison Island to rise into the air and be scorched by the Holy Sun’s flames.
Ji Qingqing was taken aback, but her heart eased when she heard the plan. If they toppled the other two Abyssal Heaven Steles, it would indeed be a solution.
“Now, you have no reason to stop us.”
Someone looked at Ji Qingqing, worried she might go mad again and try to take them all down with her.
“Go ahead.”
Ji Qingqing said.
Seeing her agree, the others breathed a sigh of relief and quickly dispersed, rushing to the other two Abyssal Heaven Steles on the island.
Ningma, standing beside her, turned her head and suddenly noticed two figures rapidly climbing another chain.
“What’s that?”
Ningma’s Divine Soul emerged, enhancing her vision. She immediately saw that there were people on that Abyssal Chain.
Ji Qingqing, hearing her words, also focused her Divine Soul. Her pupils contracted in shock as she stared.
About three hundred miles from the island, two figures were struggling to climb the chain.
They were very close to the island, having already climbed most of the thousands of miles of the Abyssal Chain, with only the final tenth of the journey left.
The suction force seemed weaker, and although the climb was slow, they would be able to reach Heavenly Prison Island in another four or five minutes.
However, Ji Qingqing recognized both of their faces.
When she saw them clearly, her mind seemed to explode with a loud boom, leaving her momentarily blank.
Li Tiangang!
Her husband!
Ji Yunqing, his uncle!
Ji Qingqing felt as if she had been struck by lightning, dazed and confused.
But after just a second, she suddenly snapped back to reality. Her Divine Soul shot up into the air, rushing toward the Abyssal Heaven Stele where the chains were.
"Stop!"
A sword beam whistled through the air, slicing in front of the four people who were about to touch the Abyssal Heaven Stele.
Seeing Ji Qingqing break her word, the four people were enraged. "Have you gone mad?!"
"Wait for them to climb up."
Ji Qingqing's Divine Soul trembled as she spoke.
Her Divine Soul quickly descended, guarding the Abyssal Heaven Stele, holding her sword to block, standing firm like a fortress.
The others were furious. "If we leave two Abyssal Chains intact, they won't be of any use, and the Demon Sage will still drag us down!"
"Give them some time."
Ji Qingqing gritted her teeth.
Her True Self looked at the two figures struggling to climb up the chains, tears welling up in her eyes.
She never thought Li Tiangang would be here too.
Earlier, Ningma had said Li Hao was alone, which made her feel puzzled. Given her understanding of Li Tiangang, he was extremely responsible and would never let his son come alone.
She assumed there was a hidden reason, but now she realized he had come as well; Ningma's information was just outdated.
"Why are you all so foolish...?"
Tears streamed down Ji Qingqing's face. She had warned him not to step into the Ji Family until he had broken through to the Fourth Establishment Realm, but now, she could see at a glance that Li Tiangang's cultivation was only at the Fate Reversal Realm.
There was no doubt that he had come to the Ji Family with the resolve to die.
Just like before, when he had shielded her from the entire hall.
A General who always followed the rules had broken them for her for the first time, defying the laws he had always adhered to. This was the reason she had decided to marry him and follow him for life.
Boom!!
Suddenly, Heavenly Prison Island shook violently.
One of the Abyssal Heaven Steles was pulled out, toppled, and thrown off the island.
The unbreakable Abyssal Chains also fell, dragged down by two tentacles into the Abyss, striking the Demon Sage's Blood Lotus.
With one of the Abyssal Chains lost, the island tilted, and the Blood Lotus seemed to be enraged. The tentacles suddenly burst forth, pulling the thousands-of-miles-long Abyssal Chains, causing the entire island to plummet rapidly.
"Oh no!"
Everyone on the island felt a sense of weightlessness as their feet left the ground. All were horror-struck, except for the Old Madman.
On the chains, Li Tiangang and Ji Yunqing, who were struggling to climb, felt the chains falling rapidly and were terrified. They burst with all their strength, climbing frantically upward.
Their eyes were fixed on the island, thousands of meters away, and the large stele wrapped in chains.
Though the distance was great, their vision was extraordinary, and they could already see the situation in front of the stele.
"Is that... Qing Qing?"
Suddenly, Li Tiangang saw the Divine Soul in front of the stele and was stunned, then shocked.
Even though it was just a silhouette, he could never mistake it. It was his wife, whom he thought about day and night.
At that moment, his wife seemed to be confronting someone, guarding the large stele wrapped in chains.
He immediately understood that she was holding the line of life for them!
"Qing Qing!!"
Li Tiangang shouted, climbing with all his might.
On the other end, Li Hao's body was covered in golden light. Despite the strong suction force from the Demon King's mouth, his Body Movement Techniques were extremely swift. The distance, which had been over a thousand miles, was now only two or three hundred miles.
He was almost there.
Li Hao's eyes glowed golden. Due to the influence of the Abyssal laws, his power couldn't leak out, and he couldn't use his Divine Soul. However, with his Divine Power eyes, he could clearly see the situation hundreds of miles away.
At the end of the chain, a woman stood, her entire body enveloped in Divine Flame, exuding a heroic aura.
Li Hao immediately recognized her as the Mother.
His heart trembled, and the words he had heard as an infant echoed in his mind:
“No matter what happens in the future, Mother will always stand before you and will never let anyone harm you…”
That promise from fifteen years ago seemed to have been kept.
With her frail body, she stood at the end of the chain!
Li Hao's eyes welled up slightly, and he let out a low roar, bursting with all his strength to increase his speed and rush forward at full throttle.
But at that moment, the chain behind him shook violently, yanking him down.
The Demon Sage seemed to have gone mad, unleashing an incredibly terrifying power, causing the chain to pull him down at an alarming speed.
Li Hao felt as if he were plummeting into the Abyss, but in the brief moment of shock, he roared and charged forward again, using the Heaven and Earth Traceless Technique along with the various attributes of his Tomes to speed toward the end of the chain.
The Demon Sage's tentacle swept behind him, chasing after him like a race against death.
On Heavenly Prison Island, everyone watched the rapid descent in panic and despair.
“Hurry, we need to overturn the Abyssal Heaven Stele, or it will be too late!”
“There's no time left!!”
The others, ignoring everything else, charged angrily toward Ji Qingqing.
“Just a little longer, give them more time!”
Ji Qingqing pleaded, but seeing everyone rush toward her without hesitation, she and the Divine Soul had to burst into action, fighting with all their strength.
“Don’t force me to burn my Divine Soul and unleash the Dao Domain!”
One of the elders growled in anger.
He exuded a transcendent aura, clearly a Great Peace Dao Realm powerhouse. At that moment, he ignited a bit of his Divine Soul, releasing a formidable presence.
He had been imprisoned here for too long, and his power had long been drained, which is why he had been acting low-key.
His original crime was conspiring with Demons to assassinate clan members and steal treasures, a serious offense. Only the glory of his ancestors had saved his life, and his descendants had been forbidden from visiting him, leading to his power being almost entirely depleted, leaving only his physical strength.
Seeing the elder's enraged expression, Ji Qingqing's face turned pale. If he truly burned his Divine Soul and unleashed even a moment of Dao Realm power, she would not be able to stand against him.
“Wait, give them a little more time!”
Ji Qingqing pleaded desperately: “Among them is the Ji Family Dao Seed, the hope of our Ji Family!”
“I don’t care about any Dao Seed. Whoever doesn’t let me live, I’ll kill them!”
“Exactly, we’re all locked up here. The Ji Family’s honor and disgrace have nothing to do with us. It’s definitely that Dao Seed who attracted the Demon Sage!”
Everyone shouted in anger.
Ji Qingqing's face turned ashen, watching as the elder's Dao Realm aura grew stronger. She could only beg:
“Please, elders, give them a little more time. I’ll kowtow to you!”
With that, she knelt down and knocked her head on the ground with a loud thud.
“Knowing we’re your elders, are you still trying to drag us to our deaths?”
“Kowtowing won’t help. I don’t want to die, get out of the way!!”
Everyone was furious, not accepting Ji Qingqing’s pleas, only wanting to survive and at least have a chance at reincarnation.
“Move aside, or we’ll all be buried together. You can’t save anyone!”
The elder's face was grim. His Divine Soul was burning, and if he truly unleashed the Dao Domain, he would be sacrificing his life. He took a step forward:
“If you’re not willing to give this up, we’ll overturn that. Choose, now!”
His angry shout made the chain vibrate, causing Heavenly Prison Island to shake violently, accelerating its descent.
Ji Qingqing, seeing the elder's enraged face, felt her heart constrict in pain.
She knew that if they delayed any longer, everyone might die.
But how could she choose?
On one side was her husband, and on the other was her son.
“Alright, I’ll choose.”
She stood up, her movements slow, trying to buy them a little more time.
The elder seemed to see through her intentions and shouted, “Choose quickly!”
“Hurry, it’s almost too late!”
Others, agitated, moved forward.
Ji Qingqing’s face was devoid of color, feeling as if heavy hammers were pounding her heart, her blood seeming to freeze.
She turned her head and saw a figure covered in golden flames rapidly approaching on the Abyssal Chains.
They were less than a hundred miles apart now.
With her naked eye, she could see the young man’s face.
Mother and son, separated for fifteen years, their gazes met, and they recognized each other.
Ji Qingqing gazed at the handsome young man. Could this be the son she had given birth to?
She felt a bit dazed. It had been over a decade since she last saw him. The baby in the cradle had grown so much, hadn't he?
With his Divine Power State, it's no wonder he became a Ji Family Prodigy...
Large tears welled up in her eyes, and she covered her mouth, her heart feeling as if it were being torn apart.
"Hurry, push it away!"
The others watched in shock and anger as Heavenly Prison Island was pulled and tilted downward. They rushed forward, pushing against the Abyssal Heaven Stele.
But this time, Ji Qingqing just covered her mouth and took no action.
Li Hao, who was struggling to climb upwards, saw this and froze.
Why... didn't she stop them?
His thoughts seemed to pause for a moment, but then he snapped back to reality, panic surging through him as he quickly summoned the Virtue Treasure Vault.
Golden light quickly emerged from the Gold Paper in his palm. Li Hao swiftly chose to exchange for a Fate-Defying Chance.
Soon, his Virtue decreased by ten thousand points.
He felt a strange power surge into his body. He tried to release it, and the power flowed out of him.
This was an extremely peculiar sensation, neither like Qi Power nor divine energy, but something indescribable.
As the Fate-Defying Power dissipated, Li Hao hurriedly looked at the Abyssal Heaven Stele being pushed.
But the group continued to push, and the Abyssal Heaven Stele was pulled out without any unexpected incidents.
The woman remained kneeling, taking no action.
A sudden realization hit him, chilling him to the bone.
Ji Yunge had said that the Enlightened Realm could conceal the Heavenly Mechanism, preventing the Fate Reversal Realm from using Fate-Defying opportunities. And the special laws of the Abyss prevented even the Dao Domain from acting. The Fate-Defying Power... was likely also blocked.
In other words, Fate-Defying was ineffective.
With a loud thud, the Abyssal Heaven Stele was finally pulled out and pushed down.
The chains beneath Li Hao's feet, which had been taut, suddenly went slack.
He reached up with all his might, but the entire chain lost its supporting power and fell with the Abyssal Heaven Stele.
He raised his hand, the blood-red Twin Flowers in his palm still vivid and fresh, but he would never have the chance to deliver them to the island.
Li Hao stared blankly at the falling Abyssal Heaven Stele, watching the woman suddenly get up and run in another direction. Following her path, he saw two figures climbing on the other side of Heavenly Prison Island, about ten miles away.
One he recognized.
The other, he also recognized.
Was it him?
Li Hao froze.
Suddenly, it all seemed to make sense.
Just like fifteen years ago, when the Imperial Edict was delivered to the Divine General Manor, the woman had released the hundred-day-old infant in her arms, donned her armor, and followed her husband to the battlefield, tens of thousands of miles away.
Now, fifteen years later.
She made the same choice...
The massive Abyssal Heaven Stele plummeted, striking Li Hao in the face, on his nose, and across his body, blood spraying everywhere.
He was slammed to the ground, the Twin Red Flowers in his hand slipping from his grasp. The petals fell like broken butterfly wings, slowly drifting in the air.
As the Abyssal Heaven Stele crashed down, Li Hao felt as if all his power had been drained. His body was dragged downward, toward the Demon Sage's mouth.
He had managed to run past the Demon Sage's tentacles but couldn't avoid the massive stele that came crashing down.
The tentacles that had been holding the chains now swung toward him.
Without the restraint of the Abyssal Chains, Heavenly Prison Island, like a bird spreading its wings, immediately rose. The island's natural buoyancy pulled the remaining chain from a seventy-degree angle to a vertical ninety degrees.
With a loud thud, the thick chain and the Abyssal Heaven Stele carried Li Hao's body into the Abyss.
(End of Chapter)
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