"It's dangerous outside?"
Hearing that, Qi Yuan grew anxious.
"Then... I have to come out even more."
If Shen Lingxuan was in danger, Qi Yuan naturally had to step in. After all, it had taken so much effort to cross paths with her again; how could he let her vanish now?
Was he supposed to imitate some Dragon King matrilocal son-in-law web novel—where the wife gets kidnapped and humiliated, only for him to erupt with cosmic power and rescue her at the very last second?
That kind of son-in-law was not Qi Yuan's style.
"Don't... come out!" Shen Lingxuan's moon-chilly face was fraught with panic. The violent gusts blew her black gown tight against her shapely figure, outlining the jade-smooth curves of her thighs like a black swan ruffled in a tempest. She was tall, and her most striking feature was that pair of long, slender, perfectly straight legs.
The gale generated by that single sword strike piercing the defenses of the Divine Wood Abyss was simply too ferocious. Even as a Heaven-rank weapon wielder, she could barely keep her footing in the aftershocks, teetering on the verge of being swept away.
Such terrifying might was on an entirely different plane from her own. Qi Yuan would surely die if he came out. She did not want him to throw his life away on her account.
"Husband and wife are birds of the same grove, scattering when calamity strikes. Alas, I am no bird; I am a matrilocal husband," Qi Yuan said. "I am your husband. How could I abandon you?"
Qi Yuan slid into the role with ease. Of course, it also reflected his genuine feelings.
"I..." Shen Lingxuan felt a surge of warmth in her heart. She never anticipated that Qi Yuan would actually step out from the safety of the Divine Wood Deep Abyss.
Right then, heaven and earth seemed to crack open. Fengti's figure hung suspended in the void, a longsword hovering horizontally across the horizon, radiating an aura that made the world tremble.
Fengti's gaze swept over Shen Lingxuan, a flash of murderous intent glinting in his eyes. Before he even moved, his overwhelming presence crashed forward.
Shen Lingxuan instantly felt a powerful shockwave barrel into her. As a Heaven-rank weapon wielder, she felt utterly insignificant in this moment; just a wisp of his leaking aura sent her flying like a butterfly with severed wings. Blood seeped from the corner of her lips as her body hurtled violently toward the distant mountains.
Just then, an arm swept around her waist, catching her firmly. A gentle voice sounded in her ear: "Don't be afraid. I'm here."
"Qi... Qi Yuan?" A complex mix of emotions crossed Shen Lingxuan's cold, porcelain face—delight mingled with hidden worry, blooming like a black rose.
"Television really is full of lies. I thought catching you like this would spin us around in the air, followed by... an accidental kiss." Qi Yuan's thoughts were completely calm as he spoke his mind aloud.
Held in Qi Yuan's arms and hearing his words, Shen Lingxuan pursed her moist lips, an odd emotion stirring within her. But she quickly warned him, "Be careful. He's from the Radiant Society."
High in the sky, a smile surfaced in Fengti's eyes.
"I never expected both Mandate bearers to gather here. It seems I've been saved some time."
He resembled a deity perched high above the dome of heaven. The longsword in his hand hummed with a resonant chime, primed to strike at any moment and cleave the firmament.
Qi Yuan held Shen Lingxuan, looking up toward the sky. All that met his eyes was a blur.
According to the behavioral guidelines of a matrilocal son-in-law, what was he supposed to say right now?
*If you dare break her wings, I shall demolish your heaven?*
*Touch the dragon's reverse scale and die?*
Better not. Too cringe.
"You're somewhat strong," Qi Yuan offered his evaluation.
The man was indeed stronger than typical Great Venerables. In fact, none of the ordinary Great Venerables Qi Yuan had encountered in the Sixth Heaven of the Immortal Realm had exerted as much pressure on him as the man before him.
"However, with me here, you are not permitted to act brazenly or break the law!"
As Qi Yuan spoke, he gently set Shen Lingxuan down onto the ground and stepped in front of her.
Looking at his tall, straight back, Shen Lingxuan felt the complex emotions in her heart—along with all her past imaginings—melt into tender affection. She recalled the time he had wielded the rain sword, slaying a den of scoundrels with a single strike. Back then, she had only found him dangerous; now, she found him heroic.
"A blind man dares presume to judge this Venerable?" Mockery filled Fengti's eyes. "You lack the qualifications!"
An ant possessed no right to evaluate an eagle.
Shen Lingxuan's heart clenched with a sudden pang. "Your eyes?"
She had only just noticed Qi Yuan's eyes. Shy as she had been, she had felt something was off, yet she hadn't dared to meet his gaze directly.
How had he... gone blind?
Shen Lingxuan stood up, a resolute expression flashing across her cold face. "I will face him with you."
Qi Yuan shrugged. "Dealing with him... doesn't require your help."
Qi Yuan felt he had demonstrated high emotional intelligence once again. After all, it wasn't toxic masculinity; it was just that with Shen Lingxuan's current strength, intervening in this fight was impossible. He couldn't very well just say, *Shen Lingxuan, you're too weak.*
"Hmph, courting death." Disdain flickered in Fengti's eyes.
Without making a physical move, the flying sword suspended in midair shot from its scabbard.
Aurora Flying Sword!
The flying sword moved with unbelievable swiftness, leaving only a streak of radiant light behind.
This strike was one Fengti had conceived upon comprehending the Heart of the Singularity Rule. The singularity was a rank-one Rule Heart. It represented the condensation of all matter into a single point, embodying the world's most absolute offense. Space held no distance before this strike, and all defenses were rendered nonexistent. It could pierce the void and even penetrate the Dark Void.
Such a Rule Heart was uniquely terrifying. In the future, should Fengti step into the third tier of the Yang God realm and condense nine rank-one Rule Hearts into nine rank-one cosmic rules, he would be capable of opening the heavens and creating a universe atop the singularity.
One could say that having comprehended a rank-one Rule Heart, he was qualified to aspire toward the pinnacle of the Yang God realm's third tier.
Of course, that applied to his original prototype. He himself could not; he was merely a replica.
From this sword strike, Qi Yuan caught the scent of the embryonic form of a Heaven-grade ultimate principle.
He felt a faint trace of surprise. His opponent truly possessed real skill.
The formidable sword pierced toward Qi Yuan's temple with the sudden speed of a thunderclap, concentrated entirely at a single point to represent the ultimate tyrannical penetration. Qi Yuan had no way to evade this strike. Rather, an ordinary Great Venerable wouldn't be able to block it at all.
However...
*So God-rank can also comprehend the embryonic form of an ultimate principle?*
Qi Yuan gleaned an insight.
*Wait, I could comprehend Supreme Ultimate Principles back in the Purple Mansion realm. Why shouldn't I be able to comprehend one now that I'm at God-rank in this game?*
Fengti's strike opened a new line of thought for Qi Yuan. Since he was already at God-rank, comprehending the embryonic form of a Supreme Ultimate Principle... shouldn't be an issue, right? If Fengti could do it, so could he.
In that instant, enlightenment struck Qi Yuan like a thunderbolt.
"Absolute Adaptation!"
Countless thoughts surged, and Qi Yuan's form shifted in that very heartbeat.
As the mighty Aurora strike pierced through, he abruptly transformed into a patch of nothingness.
"What happened?" Surprise flashed in Fengti's eyes.
Among the natives of this world, virtually no one should have been able to withstand this strike of his. One had to realize that the Yaoguang Universe was a universe presided over by a Dao Lord. Their cultivation system had reached perfection. At the Great Venerable realm, they could cultivate a Divine Domain and subsequently condense a Rule Heart. In ordinary universes, one might only touch cosmic rules upon reaching the second tier of the Yang God realm.
Yet this strike of his had actually been deflected.
For the first time, he looked upon his opponent with genuine gravity.
Without hesitation, Fengti gripped his sword hilt and flickered away. When he reappeared, he materialized inside the Divine Wood Abyss, slashing a devastating strike straight through the void.
*Clang!*
A hand covered in blood-red armor reached out from the void, seizing the blade.
A towering, armored heavenly god manifested, thrusting a blood-red, eerie sword in return.
Surprise flickered in Fengti's eyes. The markings on his forehead pulsed with a bizarre, blood-red luminescence. "How bizarre. You've actually comprehended a Rule Heart before reaching the Three Steps of Sky Treading. Just what rank is the Rule Heart you comprehended? Why have I never heard of it?"
This clash between them was a pure test of raw power, devoid of any trickery.
Fengti felt a measure of admiration. Clearly, his opponent had not possessed a Rule Heart moments ago; yet merely by watching his Aurora Flying Sword, the man seemed to have experienced an epiphany and comprehended one on the spot. If this conjecture held true, it was utterly terrifying—enough to shake Fengti to the core.
Qi Yuan said nothing, pouring his entire focus into the battle.
Fengti's strength was formidable. The gap between a Great Venerable and an ordinary Venerable was immense. Had this taken place in the Sixth Heaven of the Immortal Realm, Qi Yuan might have already suffered defeat. But this was the embryonic Divine Wood Universe, where the disparity between a Great Venerable and a Venerable was not quite so pronounced.
On the other side, Insect Maiden Caidie watched the battle unfolding above the Divine Wood Abyss, her face pale with horror. "They're too fast! Ordinary Great Venerables couldn't even intervene in a fight like this!"
She knew Fengti was powerful, but she had never expected Shen Lingxuan's husband to go toe-to-toe with him.
Beyond Sunset Cliff, Xianling Yingjun narrowed his eyes. "Qi Yuan can actually hold off Fengti!"
This completely exceeded his expectations. One had to understand that if Fengti's original prototype came to the Zhou Universe, he would qualify to become an honorary disciple of the Void Realm Lord.
Ji Wuyun's eyes widened. "I can't see anything at all."
Chen Kangbao continued munching on his steamed bun, an indolent look on his face. "No need to watch. The young master will surely win this battle."
He possessed blind confidence in Qi Yuan.
Xianling Yingjun's expression grew fraught with concern. "Even if Brother Qi Yuan is monstrously talented and can gain the upper hand over Fengti, victory... will still be nearly impossible. Because..."
He knew the terror of Fengti. Those from the Radiant Society could hardly be considered human.
Just as his words fell, a smile bloomed in Fengti's eyes within the Divine Wood Abyss.
"You are a worthy opponent, worthy of me trading a life for a life!"
Qi Yuan's raw power was far inferior to his, yet his opponent's Rule Heart was far too bizarre, clinging to life like an unkillable cockroach.
In this instant, Fengti held nothing back.
Heaven and Earth Share Longevity!
Unleashing his most devastating technique, he clamped tightly onto Qi Yuan like an exploding, blazing sun.
He was trading his life for a life!
Such a horrific blow was enough to injure a Mythological entity at the Seven Steps of Sky Treading.
In the distance, Xianling Yingjun's eyes darkened with complex emotion. "The replicas of the Radiant Society possess more than one life. When they trade a life for a life, opponents of the same rank can hardly endure it."
*Boom!*
A deafening explosion rang out. The churning thermal shockwave sent Insect Maiden flying.
Fresh blood seeped from the corner of Shen Lingxuan's mouth, her snow-white face fraught with anxiety. If the mere aftershocks could injure her, what kind of pressure was Qi Yuan facing at the epicenter of the blast?
"People from the Radiant Society have multiple lives. Trading life for life... he cannot be defeated!" Insect Maiden Caidie warned frantically.
Shen Lingxuan stared at the center of the battlefield. As the explosion died down, another figure of Fengti condensed from thin air, his body completely intact.
He stood in the void, eyes flashing with sharp light as he looked toward the center of the previous detonation.
There, the blood-red armor had vanished. A blood-stained, robed figure still stood tall, the blood-red sword in his hand humming with boundless eerie power.
"You truly fought me to a standstill. As expected, one life wasn't enough to take yours. But now that you are gravely wounded, how will you fight me in my peak state?"
With that, Fengti vanished with his sword, reappearing directly behind Qi Yuan as his blade pierced toward a single, focused point.
*Clang!*
The strike was blocked by Qi Yuan once again.
Blood was seeping heavily from Qi Yuan's arms. Deflecting this blow caused even more blood to spill forth.
Yet Qi Yuan's expression remained utterly composed.
"As long as I don't die, I am invincible."
He was exceptionally confident.
He hadn't anticipated that Dying Radiance and Absolute Adaptation would produce such a miraculous reaction when combined. One was clearly a Supreme Ultimate Principle, while the other was merely a major skill he had mastered during his Qi Refining days. Yet the two could actually fuse together.
Absolute Adaptation kept him permanently in a near-death state, while Dying Radiance pushed his combat potential to its absolute limit.
The lower his health, the stronger he became.
*Rrrrip!*
Blood cascaded from Qi Yuan, yet he simply would not die.
A casual swing of his sword, amplified by Dying Radiance, carved a massive fissure across Fengti's chest, blood gushing forth in torrents.
Disbelief flooded Fengti's face, though he refused to concede. "Nothing more than a spent force!"
In the void, his form multiplied into thousands, all launching coordinated strikes at Qi Yuan simultaneously. While he could resurrect after death, every single life was precious to him, requiring an immense price to obtain. Furthermore, they were not truly infinite.
The battle raged on.
The expression on Fengti's face gradually shifted from calm composure to anxiety, and finally to sheer agitation.
"Just a little more! Just a sliver!"
He felt as though Qi Yuan were an old man like a candle flickering in the wind, his life force ready to extinguish at any second. Yet that final sliver of life remained stubbornly out of reach.
It was just like playing a video game where the opponent's health bar was already completely empty—a casual skill or even a basic attack should have finished him off, yet every hit somehow missed.
It was infuriating.
"You're not just a little off—you've still got a long way to go!" Qi Yuan borrowed Ryoma Echizen's catchphrase, swinging his longsword like an unyielding low-health berserker who refused to play it safe unless his HP was in the red.
Dying Radiance and Absolute Adaptation erupted in a magnificent collision at this moment.
Another of Fengti's lives was snuffed out.
Yet within the span of a breath, an intact Fengti reappeared once more, fury marring his features. "Let's see how much longer you can hold on!"
From this point forward, he altered his strategy, shifting from offense to defense in an effort to grind Qi Yuan down to death. He refused to believe that this grievously wounded man could engage in such high-intensity combat without making a single mistake.
The clash continued. Qi Yuan's robes were shredded and steeped in blood as he held his eerie crimson sword. No matter how many injuries accumulated on his body, he remained standing.
As for Fengti, his earlier arrogance and confidence had completely evaporated.
Below in the Divine Wood Abyss, Shen Lingxuan watched this scene unfold, her heart trembling with profound grief and tenderness. Sustaining such injuries, anyone else would have long since collapsed. Yet her husband, Qi Yuan, still stood firm, resembling a titan propping up heaven and earth.
The wind howled, the mountains trembled, and blood fell like rain.
The sounds of slaughter and battle continued unabated.
Qi Yuan had never fought a battle with his health bar so consistently depleted. Yet in his current state, he had entered a profoundly mystical condition. Dying Radiance and Absolute Adaptation were continuously fusing together. His aura grew weaker and more faint, yet his combat prowess grew ever more formidable.
Qi Yuan felt that once they truly merged, something completely unexpected would occur.
*Turns out... my health isn't low enough yet.*
At this moment, an idea struck Qi Yuan.
Suddenly, before everyone's dumbfounded eyes, he drew his sword and plunged it viciously into himself.
Seeing this, the attacking Fengti was visibly shaken. "What are you doing?"
Nevertheless, Fengti's strikes rained down frantically. He sensed that Qi Yuan was currently at his absolute weakest. Such a golden opportunity could not be missed. Even if the man had some scheme, Fengti was not afraid—he still had five lives left.
"Die."
In that instant, a dazzling light erupted from Qi Yuan's feeble eyes.
An incomparably brilliant sword strike slashed forth.
Sheer horror filled Fengti's gaze.
"How... is this possible?!"
In that split second, he seemed to recognize something, panic seizing his face for the very first time. How could such a horrifying strike possibly be executed by a mere God-rank? His original prototype had once seen a towering entity at the third tier of the Yang God realm unleash a similar strike.
This was... the fusion of cosmic rules!
The sword fell.
Fengti's body shattered.
His form manifested once more, but that previous strike manifested out of thin air again, executing him instantly.
He resurrected, only to be slain once more.
"No!" Fengti cried out in sheer disbelief.
That strike transcended cosmic rules, striking directly at his very lives. However many lives he possessed, this strike would reap them all.
*Boom!*
Fengti's final life shattered, and all his memories disintegrated into fragments.
Meanwhile, within the stronghold of the Radiant Society, inside a pool of light, a humanoid shape suddenly coalesced into a thoroughly bewildered Fengti.
"I carried nine lives with me, yet I actually died? Just what happened?"
The moment this thought surfaced, his hairs stood on end as an overwhelming sense of doom washed over him.
Far across the distant void, a terrifying sword strike came cleaving through.
Facing this strike, Fengti looked on in terror, feeling an infinite threat to his existence. Just then, a beam of light flashed from within the pool. The sword struck the radiant light and ultimately faded away.
Lingering fear gripped Fengti's heart. *It actually forced the Realm Lord's contingency to retaliate... Could I have encountered a Realm Lord? Impossible. The Divine Wood Universe doesn't have a Realm Lord at all! Ah, what an enigma.*
Unfortunately, with all nine lives extinguished, he had no memory of what had transpired within the Divine Wood Abyss.
At the same time, in the Divine Wood Abyss, the blood-soaked Qi Yuan's aura soared rapidly before plummeting precipitously.
"I've glimpsed the path to the third tier of the Yang God realm..."
*Cough, cough...*
Blood trickled from the corner of his lips. His injuries were exceptionally severe, practically indistinguishable from death. In his battle against Fengti, he had merely been an ordinary Venerable. Rashly imitating Fengti to comprehend the embryonic form of an ultimate principle and fusing it with Dying Radiance had pushed his consumption to the absolute limit. Even Fengti, a Great Venerable, had not dared to spam the Aurora Flying Sword continuously.
Fortunately, upon reaching 100% roleplay completion as a kitchen knife, the final reward Qi Yuan had received—the kitchen knife handle—was continually infusing him with boundless vitality. Otherwise, he might have exhausted himself to death.
*Though heavily injured, my gains are tremendous. Not only did I comprehend the embryonic form of Absolute Adaptation, but I also fused it completely with Dying Radiance in the end.*
*Is this the path to the third tier of the Yang God realm?*
*As expected, I truly am a genius who breaks through in the heat of battle!*
During this fight, Qi Yuan had challenged someone above his realm, surpassed his own limits, and comprehended numerous skills. This was remarkably similar to true prodigies who achieved self-transcendence in combat.
*The more I fight, the fiercer I become!*
*From now on, I need to fight frequently!*
*Tomorrow, I'll go find an ant to duel!*
As this thought flashed through Qi Yuan's mind, a wave of profound exhaustion washed over him. The body that had stood resolute through it all finally collapsed.
*I'll nap for an hour. Once I get my strength back, I'll duel that ant.*
His body fell from midair, plunging into deep slumber before he even hit the ground.
"Husband..." A graceful figure lunged forward, catching him tightly in her embrace.
Alas, they still didn't fall over and kiss. Otherwise, Qi Yuan would have woken up instantly.
Chapter 540