Chapter 122

Chapter 122: Absurd Ending
Teng Xiao would stop at nothing to extend his lifespan.

He let out a cold snort, and his Soul Force surged again.

Yu Zhao’s face twisted, blue veins bulging on her forehead, and her Sea of Consciousness, unable to bear the huge power, was on the verge of collapsing.

“Ah!!”

A line of bloody tears slid silently down her cheek.

Just as Yu Zhao thought she would die when her Sea of Consciousness shattered, a ball of blue spiritual light suddenly appeared within it. It quickly spread out, wrapping her entire Sea of Consciousness in a complete layer.

Her Sea of Consciousness, which had been on the brink of breaking apart, instantly calmed down.

At the same time, Teng Xiao’s soul was bounced out.

He was not angry. Instead, joy flashed in his eyes.

“As expected, the Water Spirit Jade is inside your body!” he laughed.

He was just about to launch another Soul Attack at Yu Zhao when a streak of white light flashed past.

Bang!

Teng Xiao staggered back several steps.

Yu Zhao used the chance to break free of his control and dropped to her knees.

Because her Sea of Consciousness had just taken a heavy hit, her mind was muddled and hazy. Thankfully, the bit of reason she had left forced her to stay awake so she did not pass out, but she had completely lost the strength to fight, at least for now.

Teng Xiao stared at the huge shell that had blocked his attack. Its outer surface was already cracked, but it still stood in front of him. A cold smile slowly spread at the corner of his lips.

It could block him for a while, but could it block him for a lifetime?

Anyone who dared get in his way had to die.

“Watch me roast you!” Teng Xiao shouted.

He spread his hand, and a ball of black flame instantly appeared in his palm.

The temperature around them shot up, rolling out in a wave of heat.

Then he swung his hand forward, and the flame flew off his palm, transforming in midair into a black Fire Phoenix. With a sky-shaking screech, it dove toward the shell.

The shell seemed to sense the danger. In spite of its size, it shot forward like lightning and rammed straight toward Teng Xiao.

“Courting death!” Teng Xiao roared.

Just now, his focus had been scattered by the Water Spirit Jade, which was why he had been caught off guard and hit by the shell once.

And this thing actually wanted to try again.

Spirit Power surged inside Teng Xiao’s body. A terrifying pressure exploded outward, and the shell was forced to a stop ten zhang in front of him, unable to move even an inch closer.

Right above them, the Fire Phoenix, carrying scorching heat, dropped rapidly from the sky.

Pop!

At that critical moment, the tightly shut shell suddenly snapped open. A figure shot out of it like a sharp blade, piercing through the Barrier Formation in front of Teng Xiao.

Teng Xiao was stunned.

When had that merfolk gotten inside the shell?

But he did not have time to think. His body blurred and vanished from where he stood.

The old merman flicked his tail, changing direction almost without pausing, and swam faster and faster.

Up above, the Fire Phoenix had already swallowed the shell. A burnt smell spread through the air, mixed with a cry like a baby wailing, echoing high overhead.

The old merman’s eyes were full of tears, but he never looked back.

Back then, to preserve the last spark of his clan, he had chosen to live in shame and hide in the underground palace for hundreds of years.

Today was the day he should finally avenge his clansmen.

A soul-piercing sound suddenly rang out.

Invisible sound waves spread through the sea, making the ocean roll and crash in towering waves.

Teng Xiao’s gaze went blank for a moment.

Right after that, he felt a new binding force appear on his body.

He focused and looked up, and saw a pair of blue eyes that only the merfolk possessed.

He had seen similar eyes countless times before.

Sometimes they were full of sorrow, sometimes rage, sometimes despair.

But never had he seen a pair like this one. Inside them burned a wild joy and a resolve to set the whole world on fire.

A shadow of death fell over Teng Xiao’s heart.

Fear flashed in his eyes. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something.

But the old merman did not give him that chance.

The old merman’s lips stretched into a wide grin, and a crazed aura erupted from his body without warning.

Boom!

A deafening blast shook heaven and earth.

Yu Zhao was blown away by the impact of the Self-Detonation. She tumbled across the ground in a mess.

Bang!

She slammed hard into a jutting rock. Her mind instantly cleared a little.

The old merman had Self-Detonated to save her.

Biting her lip, Yu Zhao braced herself on the rock and slowly sat up, staring toward the direction of the explosion.

That place was covered in thick blood mist. She could not see anything clearly at all.

Just then, a mournful cry came from the sky, and the black Fire Phoenix collapsed. A charred, unknown object fell down from above.

Yu Zhao fought down the nausea and quickly gathered her Spirit Power, catching the unknown object and pulling it toward her.

When she looked closely, she realized it was a Glowing Shell Pearl, its surface covered in burn marks.

Yu Zhao held the Glowing Shell Pearl in both hands, her heart aching so badly she could not put it into words.

“Senior…” she whispered.

Before she could say more, she suddenly lifted her head.

From within the blood mist, a tiny infant no bigger than a fist shot out. Its features looked seventy to eighty percent like Teng Xiao’s.

Yu Zhao’s scalp went numb, and she sucked in a sharp breath.

Teng Xiao was still not dead.

The biggest difference between a Nascent Soul Cultivator and a Golden Core cultivator was that a Nascent Soul Cultivator’s Golden Core had already turned into a Nascent Soul. As long as the Nascent Soul was not destroyed, even if the body was completely smashed to pieces, the Nascent Soul Cultivator would not die.

Teng Xiao was in that exact state now. His body had been blown into a pile of bloody flesh by the old merman’s Self-Detonation, but his Nascent Soul was completely unharmed.

As long as he found a suitable body to seize, he could once again become a Nascent Soul Old Fiend who could stir up storms with a wave of his hand.

Yu Zhao’s eyes flickered. After a moment, she slowly shook her head.

She had been wondering if there was any way to keep Teng Xiao trapped forever in the deep sea. But she quickly realized it was almost impossible. Even if he was nothing but a Nascent Soul, Teng Xiao could still rely on his Teleportation Power to escape. There was no way she could keep him here.

After he recovered for a while, he would definitely come back stronger than before.

When that time came, there would not be a second person willing to use Self-Detonation to buy her a chance to live.

Yu Zhao’s mood was heavy. Teng Xiao’s mood was even worse than hers.

Again.

Even though he had clearly had the upper hand, he was the one who ended up wounded and losing out in the end.

He hated it so much he could barely breathe.

But in his current state, he could not continue the unfinished tasks from before.

A Nascent Soul was far too fragile and could not stay exposed for long.

His hateful gaze seemed to pierce space as it fell on Yu Zhao.

He swore a vicious oath.

“Shui Qing Yue, as long as I live, I will not rest until one of us is dead!” he spat.

Yu Zhao could feel the intense hatred directed at her, and her heart sank.

As long as Teng Xiao lived, she would never know peace.

Teng Xiao took one last look at Yu Zhao, then turned to leave.

There was a loud splash.

A soft, pink tongue burst out of the sea and shot straight toward Teng Xiao’s Nascent Soul.

Teng Xiao was shocked. He tried to use Blink Step, but found that space itself had been locked down by an invisible force. He could not open a Space Rift at all.

He could only watch helplessly as that pink tongue wrapped around his Nascent Soul and dragged it down into the water.

With a gulping sound, the sea bubbled with a large mass of air, then slowly calmed down again.

Before Yu Zhao could even react to what she had just seen, Teng Xiao had already become a meal in the mouth of some unknown Exotic Beast on the ocean floor.

Such an absurd ending left her stunned for a long time.

“Is it over?” Yu Zhao stared at the endless sea, her eyes empty, and muttered to herself.

The exhaustion and dizziness she had been suppressing inside her came crashing back. Her body swayed, and she fell backward.

Right before she lost consciousness, her hand tightened around the Glowing Shell Pearl. A clear tear slid down along the bloody scratch at the corner of her eye.