Bengtie: My death fueled their madness.

"Mother...?" Qi Zhimu's voice trembled slightly.

Qiu Zhiyan froze for a moment, her frantic gaze tinged with a hint of confusion, as if trying to recognize him.

"...Zhi Mu?"

His voice was hoarse, almost inhuman.

"It's me." Qi Zhimu stepped forward: "Mother, you..."

Before she could finish speaking, Qiu Zhiyan suddenly clutched her head and screamed.

The demonic body's erosion of his mind was intensifying, and his facial expressions began to distort unnaturally.

The golden wood-like texture beneath the skin is becoming increasingly prominent, showing a tendency to break through the flesh and grow.

Even so...

Even as her consciousness nearly collapsed, she remained firmly in place, protecting the ruins behind her.

Qi Zhimu then noticed a small figure huddled there.

Mirror flow.

She is still alive and well protected.

"ah--!"

Qiu Zhiyan roared again and swung her sword into the void.

His movements were completely erratic, a frantic hacking and slashing as if he were fighting an unseen enemy.

Qi Zhimu's heart sank to the bottom, and he gripped the sword in his hand tightly.

On the battlefield, the Cloud Cavalry had only one way to deal with their comrades who had fallen into the demonic realm.

Cut off its internal organs.

But she was his mother, his only relative.

She was the one who taught him swordsmanship.

Before his first battle, she was the one who stayed up all night to impart practical combat experience to him and explain the weaknesses of the abundant monsters.

Even after his father and sister died in battle, she was still the one who stayed by his side for hundreds of years.

"Mother..." Qi Zhimu choked up.

Qiu Zhiyan suddenly stopped what she was doing and turned to him.

Those cloudy eyes stared at him for a long, long time.

Then, she made a gesture.

With trembling hands, he pointed his sword at Jing Liu behind him, then at Qi Zhimu, and finally—at himself.

once.

twice……

She was using her remaining consciousness to transmit a message.

Qi Zhimu closed his eyes, powerless.

Qiu Zhiyan's lips curled up almost imperceptibly with difficulty, a mixture of relief, pleading, and worry.

Finally, his face was completely contorted with pain, and he let out inhuman howls.

The demonic erosion has reached its final stage, and the human part will completely disappear.

Qi Zhimu nearly crushed the sword hilt; his arm had never trembled so violently before.

Suddenly, Qiu Zhiyan raised her sword and charged madly towards Qi Zhimu.

He suppressed his myriad emotions and awaited that moment.

puff!

The dull thud of a sharp blade piercing flesh rang out silently.

Both of them froze at the same time.

Blood welled up in Qi Zhimu's eyes and trickled down his cheeks.

Qiu Zhiyan slowly raised her head, the madness in her eyes began to fade, and a hint of clarity gradually emerged.

"Zhimu... Mother has been waiting for you to return..."

She called softly, her voice gentle and apologetic.

"Forgive my cowardice and... my cruelty towards you..."

She closed her eyes and leaned forward.

Qi Zhimu caught his mother stiffly with both arms, hugged her and knelt down on the ground, his throat felt like it was blocked by something, and he couldn't say a word.

My vision gradually became blurry.

The sky was still blood red, and the flesh and blood of Rahu writhed from afar, accompanied by the roar of the Star Chariot's engines before its departure.

The world seemed to consist only of the weight in my arms and the tearing pain in my heart.

"We, the Cloud Riders, swear to be like clouds obscuring the sky, protecting and sheltering the immortal vessel..."

Mother, you are not weak.

They fought to the very end for one city and one man, living up to the oath of the Cloud Cavalry.

They did not disgrace the Qi family, nor were they cruel to the child.

You who once taught me to wield a sword will not remain on this blood-stained land, nor will you become nourishment for evil.

"Mother, Zhimu is taking you home."

Jingliu staggered over, her knees buckling and splattering blood on the ground. She grasped Qiu Zhiyan's gradually cooling hand, unable to stop her tears.

A few seconds later, she lost consciousness.

Qi Zhimu noticed that Jing Liu had a very familiar silver moon jade pendant wrapped around his forearm.

…That was a protective jade he gave to his mother hundreds of years ago.

Qi Zhimu collected his mother's body, his face devoid of any emotion.

All the sorrow can wait until after the war; right now, he has things he must do.

There are still responsibilities to fulfill.

There are still people who need to be saved.

Even more wicked creatures must be killed.

No matter if the pain in my heart intensifies with each step I take, I cannot stop.

Some wounds will never heal.

Some partings are things we can never get used to.

Some hatreds can only be resolved with death.

In the starry sky, General Shafeng's attack continued, preserving the last escape route for the survivors.

Many starships, unable to maintain their formation and filled with survivors, escaped from Cangcheng, which had become a bloody inferno, under his protection.

Qi Zhimu picked up Jingliu and soared into the sky on his sword.

……

"Every time I overcome death, I experience supreme joy. Like them, your flesh and blood are insignificant, but your suffering may please me."

Suddenly, a shrill laugh rang out, each word coming from the mouth of a different head, piecing together into a nauseatingly complete sentence.

"Teng Xiao, what do you plan to use to kill me this time? I'm looking forward to it."

Teng Xiao hovered in the air, surrounded by an almost materialized imaginary energy storm.

His face had long since lost its anger, replaced only by calm.

A terrifying calm.

That was not indifference to everything, but rather the ultimate expression of all anger, grief, and resolve compressed into a single state.

He glanced at the last starship that had withdrawn from Cangcheng, and a golden light flashed in his eyes.

"Use myself."

The four words, spoken softly, pierced through all the noise.

The laughter abruptly stopped, and thousands of heads simultaneously frowned and narrowed their eyes.

This reaction was unexpected.

Based on past experience, Teng Xiao should have displayed that kind of delightful rage, charging forward recklessly, rather than being so calm.

A vast amount of imaginary energy gathered behind Teng Xiao, condensing into a gigantic phantom.

The phantom's giant blade, ignited with golden flames, slashed down from the sky, piercing straight into the earth.

In an instant, the flames burned the giant tree that had suddenly transformed into something completely.

Wherever the golden flames touched, flesh and blood scattered, and the monstrous creatures turned to ashes.

In a very short time, the flames not only incinerated the fleeting body.

Along with the Cangcheng Immortal Ship, which would have become part of Luo Hou, they were all burned to ashes.

Those who were devoured by Rahu and transformed into people with faces of agony were freed at the last moment.

They looked at the golden phantom, their eyes reflecting a sense of liberation.

"ah--!"

Teng Xiao let out a roar powerful enough to shatter mountains and rocks. The enormous golden phantom behind him shrank back into his body, and he transformed into a golden meteor—

boom!

The meteor pierced through Rahu in an instant, annihilating him in the boundless cosmic sky.

It seemed to vanish in an instant, as if it had died.

Neither Teng Xiao nor Sha Feng showed any joy on their faces.

Shuhu wouldn't die so easily, but Cangcheng... is gone.

From the moment Rahu devoured Cangcheng, even the most furious hunting envoys had to face a situation where they were hesitant to act rashly.

If the demon star is destroyed immediately, the remaining survivors of Cangcheng will die at their hands.

If they are not eradicated, countless others will die as well.

Someone always has to pay the price, and someone always has to make a choice.

The starry sky was deathly silent.

Qi Zhimu watched as the figure vanished in an instant with that attack, his eyes filled with nothing but deathly stillness.

One day, suddenly, there will be no more chance to escape.

He swore.

To achieve his sole purpose in life, he had nothing left to lose and nothing left to pay the price for.

……

I wanted to add more chapters, but my hands are freezing and uncomfortable. The heated mouse pad I ordered hasn't arrived yet. I envy those in the north who have central heating.

So there might be 0-2 extra chapters, or there might be none...