Chapter 558 498: Shang Miaoyan's Belated Awakening, the Regret of Watching Pei Yuhang Be Taken Away

It was just that since her return to the mortal realm, all the opponents Ji Shenyun had encountered were far weaker than her. She could often defeat them with a single punch, so she had never realized there was a problem with overusing her power.

But today, after breaking through the Xuanyuan Dao Sect's Thirty-Three-Layered Sect Protection Array to capture Pei Yuhang alive, the side effects of overusing her power finally washed over her like a tidal wave.

Just as Ji Shenyun let out a muffled grunt, trying to suppress the rising exhaustion and the excruciating pain that felt like ten thousand ants devouring her body...

"Your Excellency, you have recklessly invaded my Dao Sect."

"What do you intend to leave behind to pay for your transgression?"

The voice, like the toll of a great bell, rolled in from the heavens, making the clouds churn and the very land tremble.

The dark eastern night sky was suddenly torn asunder by thousands of golden rays, as if a brilliant sun was breaking through the dawn.

However, at the center of that resplendent golden light stood a breathtaking, jet-black spire—its body was as dark as ink, solemn and grim, and even the boundless golden light could not stain it in the slightest.

Feeling the Suppression from the black tower, Ji Shenyun's playful, childlike mood about capturing Pei Yuhang finally turned serious, even grave.

'I didn't expect a Sect in this era... to still possess a Saint's Treasure of this caliber!'

Nearby, the Void Refining True Monarchs, who had been struggling to breathe under Ji Shenyun's aura, saw this and cried out in unison.

"It's the Taoist Lord! The Taoist Lord of our Xuanyuan Dao Sect is here!"

"And the Ancestral God Pavilion! With the Ancestral God Pavilion at his side, the Taoist Lord will surely suppress all the Demon Fiends in the world and uphold the Righteous Dao!"

Sensing the morale of the surrounding Dao Sect disciples soaring once more, Ji Shenyun, who was somewhat weakened by her power's backlash, couldn't help but sneer.

She looked up at the sky and muttered to the empty air.

"How ridiculous... how utterly ridiculous..." A trace of desolation crept into Ji Shenyun's voice.

"It seems the world's fortune still resides with the Human Race. As for me, rejected by the mortal realm's destiny, my efforts... are always just a hair's breadth from success."

But in the next instant, a cold light flared in her eyes, and the Evil Qi around her erupted like a volcano!

"However—"

She snapped her gaze upward, a crimson light exploding in her eyes. From her exhausted, withered body, she once again squeezed out a tsunami of power. She spoke, enunciating each word:

"No one has ever been able to stop me from taking who I want!"

"Not even the heavens themselves!"

Before her voice had even faded, her five fingers formed a claw and she swiped through the air—

BOOM!!

A terrifying suction force, like the maw of the Abyss, tore through space and shot straight for Pei Yuhang!

"Xiaohan!"

Shang Miaoyan cried out, ready to risk her life to shield Pei Yuhang.

"Shang Miaoyan, are you insane? Do you have a death wish?!"

Yin Wanqing couldn't stop Ji Shenyun, who was dead set on taking Pei Yuhang, but she could stop her own Saintess, Shang Miaoyan.

She forcibly restrained Shang Miaoyan, preventing the love-addled woman from being caught in the shockwave of Ji Shenyun's power and instantly turned to dust.

"No, let me go! Xiaohan! Xiaohan—"

Shang Miaoyan desperately stretched out a pale arm, reaching for Pei Yuhang as he was pulled away by Ji Shenyun, like a drowning person grasping for a final straw.

"Xiaohan... don't leave me... I'm begging you, don't take him... Don't hurt him..."

The once proud, arrogant, and domineering Yin Yang Saintess could only watch as her beloved was stolen away by another woman.

Her heart twisted in agony. An unprecedented sense of powerlessness washed over her, and she began to cry like a helpless child.

Meanwhile, Pei Yuhang, trapped by Ji Shenyun's power, was still struggling fiercely.

His face was pale, beads of cold sweat forming on his brow. His long fingers gripped the Silent Sword so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

Despite having no Cultivation, his gaze was as cold as ice, filled with a sharp, unyielding resolve.

'Since I can't escape... I can't let her win!'

In the instant just before he was pulled in front of Ji Shenyun—

Pei Yuhang suddenly twisted his wrist, reversing the blade and unhesitatingly slashing it toward his own throat!

"Ji Shenyun! I don't know what you want from me..."

Pei Yuhang's voice was hoarse, a stubborn fire burning in his eyes. "But I would rather die than let you get what you want!"

CLANG—!!

The ear-splitting metallic screech nearly tore through their eardrums.

Ji Shenyun's eyes narrowed. With a flick of her finger, a stream of Black Gold Evil Qi shot out like a viper and instantly knocked the Silent Sword from his hand.

The sword carved a lonely arc through the air before embedding itself deep into a distant rock face.

"Heh..."

Ji Shenyun's red lips curled slightly, and a flash of admiration appeared in her eyes as she looked at Pei Yuhang.

"Pei Yuhang, your courage to seek death has earned you a sliver of my respect."

She stepped forward slowly, raised a slender finger, and pinched his chin, forcing him to look directly at her.

"However..."

She leaned in and whispered by his ear, her voice carrying an undeniable authority, "With me here, not even the gods and ghosts of the Netherworld would dare come for your soul!"

Before her voice faded, her palm struck the side of Pei Yuhang's neck with the speed of lightning.

Pei Yuhang's pupils dilated. His tall frame, though unwilling, could only collapse limply, and Ji Shenyun caught him in her arms.

Just as Ji Shenyun turned to leave, her gaze happened to sweep over the unconscious Nangong Jin on the ground.

Nangong Jin's pale fingers were still defiantly gripping her Spirit Sword, her slender body shivering slightly in the cold wind.

Ji Shenyun's steps faltered. She hesitated for a moment, but then with a sweep of her sleeve, she scooped Nangong Jin into her arms as well.

However, that single moment of hesitation—

—cost her the last chance for a swift escape.

BOOM!!!

The world itself seemed to change color!

"You dare snatch people right before my very eyes? Do you take me for dead?!"

The enraged roar was like a clap of thunder, shaking the entire sky.

The black Ancestral God Pavilion, carrying world-shattering power, came crashing down. The void fractured, lightning and fire intertwined, and it was as if the apocalypse had arrived!

But Shang Miaoyan could see none of this.

Her tear-blurred eyes were fixed on the handsome, white-robed figure held in Ji Shenyun's arms.

She watched until that figure was completely engulfed by the immense, dark Ancestral God Pavilion.

She collapsed to her knees, tears rolling down like pearls from a broken string, soaking the front of her robes. Her slender fingers dug deep into the earth, her nails breaking and bleeding without her even noticing.

"No... Don't! Xiaohan—!"

Her voice was unrecognizably hoarse, like a mournful wail squeezed from the depths of her chest.

In her blurry vision, all that remained was the white-robed figure held captive by Ji Shenyun, being devoured by an endless darkness...

"Shang Miaoyan! We have to go!"

Yin Wanqing gripped her arm tightly, her voice sharp with anxiety. "You can't even withstand the aftershocks of a battle at this level!"

"Let go of me! I have to save him... I have to go..."

Shang Miaoyan struggled frantically, tears mixed with streaks of blood sliding from the corners of her eyes.

Yin Wanqing gritted her teeth and chopped the back of her neck. Watching the Saintess instantly go limp in her arms, she closed her eyes with a bitter expression.

Amidst the howling wind, she picked up Shang Miaoyan and transformed into a streak of light, speeding off into the distance.

Behind her, a destructive storm of energy from the clash of the Power of the Saint was already sweeping across the land...

...

...

An unknown amount of time passed. Pei Yuhang felt as if he had been drifting day and night on a pitch-black river.

His body was cold and numb.

Until...

"Brother Pei? Brother Pei!"

The two soft calls made Pei Yuhang's eyelids tremble, and he struggled to open his eyes.

The first thing he saw was a dark, rocky ceiling. The only source of light came from two torches mounted on the wall.

'It seems I'm in some kind of dungeon.'

"Brother Pei, you're awake."

A cool, clear female voice spoke. Although the tone was as placid as still water, he could still detect a faint note of relief.

"Junior Sister Nangong?"

Pei Yuhang recognized the owner of the voice as his familiar junior sister and quickly lifted his head to look in her direction.

He still couldn't sense any Spiritual Qi, so it was difficult to see in the dim environment.

But by the faint light of the torches, he was able to make out what Nangong Jin looked like.

The Fairy, once as cool and remote as the moon, was now covered in dirt, her white robes stained and grimy. Her slender limbs were bound tightly by four thick chains, making her look like a beautiful butterfly trapped in a spider's web, unable to move an inch.

"Junior Sister Nangong, you—"

"Brother Pei, please don't worry. I'm fine."

Sensing Pei Yuhang's concern, Nangong Jin offered words of comfort. Suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching, and her beautiful eyes instantly sharpened.

"Be careful, Brother Pei... That woman is here!"