Chapter 496 468: Lu Ruoxi's Struggle and Atonement

"Damn you, Pei Yuhang! You ruined my plans!"

Rage blazed in Ji Shenyun's eyes, her beautiful face twisting in fury. She gritted her teeth, her silver hair whipping wildly in the wind while her blood-stained, dark robes snapped in the churning waves of energy.

Just as Ji Shenyun was about to dive down and unleash her fury on Pei Yuhang, a brilliant golden Sword Qi appeared before her, as vast as the celestial river pouring from the heavens.

"You—"

Feeling the terrifying power within the Sword Qi, Ji Shenyun whipped her head around, her pupils contracting sharply.

Bathed in the golden light of the collective will of the people, Qing Yueqiu looked as holy as the Nine Heavens Profound Lady. But her once-clear eyes now brimmed with icy killing intent.

"Demoness! You dare defile my Master? I will suppress you!"

Qing Yueqiu's lips parted. Enraged to her limit, her voice was like shattering ice.

"All citizens of the Zhao Kingdom, lend me your strength!"

Golden Patterns flared across her body as she summoned a golden longsword, raising it high above her head. In the next moment, countless streams of golden light surged from all directions, converging upon the blade.

VMMMM—

In an instant, the sword in Qing Yueqiu's hand erupted with a blinding light, stretching for several kilometers to form a colossal blade that seemed to span the entire sky.

Before the Sword Qi even struck, its piercing Sword Intent had already shredded the clouds for miles in every direction.

A flicker of horror crossed Ji Shenyun's face, quickly replaced by a savage snarl. "You think a junior like you is worthy of judging and suppressing me!"

With a sharp cry, veins bulged on her arms as she formed her fingers into claws to meet the oncoming sword light.

But the descending Sword Qi was impossibly heavy, carrying with it the force to overturn the very heavens!

Ji Shenyun's body trembled violently, fine beads of sweat forming on her temples. Her nails, suffused with black and gold energy, and her dark robes shattered inch by inch.

'I... actually lost!'

As the terrified citizens of the Capital City watched, the golden blade that spanned heaven and earth pressed the impossibly arrogant Demoness down toward the earth, inch by inch, like a phoenix with broken wings.

Finally, with a world-shaking boom—

BOOM!

Outside the Capital City, dust and smoke plumed into the sky as the towering city walls trembled. When the dust settled, a massive ravine could be seen gouged into the plains.

In the sky, only the lone figure of Qing Yueqiu remained.

"Prince Ning's daughter won! Prince Ning's daughter won! The Demoness has been slain! Our Great Zhao is saved!"

"Thank you, Miss Ling..."

It is unknown who knelt first, but soon, overcome with emotion, countless citizens rushed to their knees. They kowtowed to Qing Yueqiu in the sky above, thanking her for saving their lives.

In the Imperial Palace, Prime Minister Liu let out a long sigh of relief as he watched the silver-haired young woman standing alone in the sky.

He looked at Pei Yuhang, his chubby face full of apology.

"My apologies, you two Immortals. Our Empress was deceived by the Demoness, which led us foolish mortals to hunt you down.

Thankfully, we saw the error of our ways and managed to atone for our mistakes, preventing an even greater disaster."

Pei Yuhang pressed his lips together. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Prime Minister Liu's body begin to turn ethereal.

It wasn't just Prime Minister Liu. The entire Capital City began to distort and fade, its colors slowly draining away.

The vermilion palace walls bled like water-smudged rouge. A hazy mist rose from the bluestone paths. The people, frozen in their various states of excitement, faded like ink wash paintings, until everything dissolved into pure white.

The Illusion Realm forged by Ji Shenyun had finally reverted to the primordial state of the Sea of Consciousness.

The hem of Pei Yuhang's robes fluttered, though there was no wind. He watched the world collapse around him, a complex emotion flickering in his eyes.

"It's finally over."

He murmured, his voice so soft it seemed afraid to disturb the dissipating dream.

Just then, a silver light drifted down from the sky. Qing Yueqiu descended gracefully, treading on empty air. Against the pure white background, her snow-white hair was still as dazzling as Moonlight.

"Yueqiu, are you alright?"

Pei Yuhang hurried forward, instinctively reaching out to check his disciple for injuries.

Qing Yueqiu allowed her Master to examine her. A faint smile touched her lips as she did a little spin in front of Pei Yuhang.

"Don't worry, Master. I'm perfectly fine."

As she spoke, she suddenly turned to look at the Abyss she had carved, a cold glint rising in her crimson eyes:

"However, Master, please wait a moment while I deal with that Demoness for good. Then we can leave."

Pei Yuhang nodded, his robes fluttering as he followed.

The two stood at the edge of the Abyss, looking down at the battered yet still defiant figure below.

Ji Shenyun was kneeling on one knee at the bottom of the Abyss. Her dark daoist robes were in tatters. Though she bore no obvious wounds, her aura had weakened to its absolute nadir.

"Hee hee hee... You think this is over?"

"I'll be breaking that damn seal soon... and when I do, I will hunt you down!"

Ji Shenyun stared at Qing Yueqiu and Pei Yuhang, her voice cold. "I will take everything from you!"

Qing Yueqiu suddenly stretched out a hand and made a grasping motion toward Ji Shenyun.

With a deafening rumble, the Abyss that had been split open began to tremble and close, burying the proud Empress of the Asura Race within.

Ji Shenyun's curses were cut off abruptly.

Looking down, Qing Yueqiu was the very image of a deity passing judgment. Her silvery-white eyelashes cast faint shadows on her face:

"Just the howls of a defeated cur."

She said softly, her voice filled with an icy indifference.

But when she turned back to Pei Yuhang, her face broke into a radiant smile, full of warmth and affection.

"Master, let's go home."

"Alright."

...

...

In the Cold Palace Sword Mansion, moonlight as pale as frost filtered through the window lattice, casting a pure, bright glow upon the floor.