Chapter 324: If I can

Jinli…… Jinli……

Where are you……

A voice both intimately familiar and deeply missed rang out, calling over and over.

"Qidi! I'm here!" Ning Jinli exclaimed, snapping her eyes open.

After regaining her senses, she realized she had been dreaming.

Being alive was a hallucination produced when her body was utterly exhausted.

Yet those repeated calls felt so real that her heart began to race, and she inexplicably gained some strength.

In the pitch‑black darkness where she couldn't see her own fingers, Ning Jinli felt around to check Shangguan Ying's condition.

Her breath was faint, she had multiple severe fractures throughout her body, and she was essentially on the brink of death.

However, a trace of Internal Strength still protected her heart meridian.

Ning Jinli still wanted to pour more Internal Strength into her, but her own internal injuries were severe; she was willing but unable, and the little strength she had just mustered was merely a final flicker.

Thud…… thud……

In the darkness, a dull thudding sound came from afar—that was the soldiers of the Descending Legion trying to break open the entrance.

Ning Jinli braced her hands on the ground and dragged her body to lean against the rock wall.

She could do nothing now; she could clearly feel her life slipping away rapidly, and she feared she would die before the Descending Legion even captured her.

"Could it be… that I'm really going to die like this…" Ning Jinli sighed softly.

She did not fear death.

But she was unwilling to let Shangguan Ying die unsaved, unwilling to see the Descending Legion not driven back, and even more unwilling to have failed to find the First Parallel World and bring back Huaxia's top scientists of old.

And……

She still hadn't seen Xiao Qidi.

Just as her consciousness was about to fade, her back suddenly gave way, she lost support instantly, and she fell flat on her back without warning.

Immediately afterward, light appeared before her eyes.

She couldn't see clearly at first, but she barely made out a few blurry figures approaching.

Several people reached out and lightly placed their hands on her shoulders, and a powerful yet gentle warm current slowly flowed into her meridians throughout her body.

Ning Jinli felt her vitality return, her vision cleared, and she instantly sprang up in a carp‑leap, bursting with vigorous energy that shoved the several people back.

"Jinli Fairy, don't be nervous, we're not bad people," one of them said, raising both hands and speaking softly.

Ning Jinli froze.

"Jinli Fairy……" that title……

The next second, she suddenly realized the surroundings were very familiar.

Stone cave, statue, candlelight……

This is the Xianzi Temple of Lin Xian Cheng?!

Everything around her was no different from the Xianzi Temple as she remembered, except she felt there were some indescribable changes somewhere.

The few people who had just rescued her all wore simple, plain‑style clothing, but the fabric was special, not ordinary cloth.

"Where is this…" Ning Jinli's mind went blank for half a second, "Who are you……"

"Thanks to me keeping this place as unchanged as possible, you don't even recognize it? Hmph, truly a heartless woman." A low voice sounded.

Ning Jinli hurriedly turned her head.

A tall, straight figure appeared before her eyes.

Although his demeanor had matured greatly compared to before, the youthful look from their first meeting still lingered in his brows.

Ning Jinli seemed frozen, only her pupils trembling violently.

She never expected that the First Parallel World she had painstakingly sought would actually be found at this moment.

For a moment, too many emotions surged in her heart; countless words she wanted to say clogged her throat, she could not speak them, and unintentionally she let out a choked sound.

Xiao Qidi had originally been wearing a stern face, intending to ask her properly when they met—whether it was some other reason that had caused her to close the Spacetime Portal, or whether she truly was so ruthless as not wanting to see her again.

This had caused him to worry and fret over countless years, unable to understand, often making himself half‑dead with anger.

Anyway, he first had to give her a slap in the face.

However, upon seeing Ning Jinli standing frozen, her large trembling eyes misty, and hearing her choked sound, Xiao Qidi instantly lost his anger, and instead a surge of pity welled up.

"Forget it, sigh……"

Xiao Qidi sighed helplessly, relaxed the stern face he had forced on, walked up to Ning Jinli, then opened his long arms, preparing to give her a big hug.

"Jinli, you know I've waited for——"

"Sister Ying is about to die!" Ning Jinli, anxious and furious, cut off Xiao Qidi's affectionate words, "Quickly call a doctor!"

Having said that, she turned and rushed toward the place she had just come through, and in the blink of an eye she was back inside the cave.

Xiao Qidi's arms remained stiff in mid‑air, his cheeks twitching a few times.

Soon, Ning Jinli arrived carrying Shangguan Ying on her back.

She had no time to ponder why the Spacetime Portal had suddenly appeared, linking her location with the Xianzi Temple of the First Parallel World; right now her only urgent concern was Shangguan Ying's safety.

When Xiao Qidi saw Shangguan Ying, almost beyond recognition from her injuries, his expression inevitably grew grave.

"First lay her down, let me have a look." Xiao Qidi said, giving a glance to the people beside him.

Ning Jinli carefully laid Shangguan Ying flat.

Xiao Qidi knelt on one knee, leaned forward to probe with his hand, and a ripple of air appeared between his fingers.

"Impossible," Ning Jinli quickly said, "Even with my strength, I can't pour any more Internal Strength into her; her body can't withstand any……"

Before she finished speaking, she saw Xiao Qidi's distinct‑knuckled large hand emit a faint golden light.

Strands of golden qi flowed into Shangguan Ying's body, and although she had almost ceased breathing, her chest began to rise and fall slowly.

Ning Jinli stared dumbfounded, "Qidi, you… your martial arts…"

Xiao Qidi withdrew his hand, "She's already on the verge of death; I just forcibly held onto her last breath. As for whether she can be cured, I'll leave it to the doctors to do their best."

Soon, professional medical staff arrived.

A two-meter-long silver-blue translucent capsule-shaped medical pod hovered midair, following alongside the medical staff.

Next, the medical pod automatically opened.

Inside, several soft white mechanical arms extended, gently lifting Shangguan Ying into the pod.

After the pod door closed, not a single gap could be seen.

Moreover, Shangguan Ying inside the chamber was in a stationary hovering state, her whole body motionless.

"Please do everything you can to save her life," Xiao Qidi instructed.

"Yes, Mr. Xiao."

After the medical staff took the pod away, Ning Jinli remained dazed for a while.

"That floating thing… you… what's going on here?" she said, pointing one hand at the retreating backs of the medical staff, her eyes wide as she stared at Xiao Qidi.

Xiao Qidi took a deep breath, locked eyes with Ning Jinli, then pulled her into his arms and kissed her fiercely.

"Mmm…" Ning Jinli's mouth was sealed, her whole body feeling as if countless currents were coursing through her.

Until she could frantically pound her fists, struggling for air, did Xiao Qidi release her.

"Hah… hah!" Ning Jinli gasped, her face flushed, "You… you're crazy?!"

Xiao Qidi gripped her hand, "If I can't see you again, I'll truly go mad."

Ning Jinli's cheeks flushed deeper, "Hmph… it's only been fifteen years…"

"Fifteen years?" Xiao Qidi shook his head, "Actually—"

"By the way, is your technology really advanced here?" Ning Jinli urged, "Just now that machine that put Sister Ying inside—we couldn't make something like that back home."

Xiao Qidi said, "Yeah, it's highly advanced, advanced beyond your imagination, because—"

"Then please help us quickly!" Ning Jinli pleaded, eyes full of entreaty, "Our world is on the brink of disaster!"

A flicker of helplessness flashed in Xiao Qidi's eyes.

Forget it—Ning Jinli had just barely survived severe internal injuries, and Shangguan Ying was still wounded and near death; clearly that world had suffered a major catastrophe. Let's settle the main issue first, then explain things later.

"Jinli, I'll first accompany you over there; tell me what happened on your side." Xiao Qidi took her hand, and together they approached the spacetime portal.

By the time the two reached the cave, the Descending Legion's genetically modified soldiers had already dug in, coming face‑to‑face with them.

Ning Jinli was about to act directly.

Xiao Qidi raised his hand to stop her, "Your internal injuries are severe; I've used Internal Strength to sustain your meridians. You can't fight now or you'll die—let me handle it."

Several of the Descending Legion's genetically modified soldiers were taller than Xiao Qidi by a head and broader by a large margin; just standing there they exuded a powerful oppressive presence.

Yet the moment they attacked, Xiao Qidi merely lifted his palm slightly, and several were slammed by an invisible force, flying backward and their massive bodies embedding into the rock wall.

"Interesting, they're quite sturdy," Xiao Qidi said, his eyes narrowing slightly as his fingers naturally curled into a grasping pose.

Crack!

Several genetically modified soldiers wearing specially made alloy armor were instantly crushed by an even stronger invisible force into a mass of minced flesh!

Ning Jinli sucked in a breath of cold air.

You should know, these are the Descending Legion's most formidable genetically modified soldiers.

Coupled with extremely advanced armor and weapons, just one of them could match the combat strength of thousands of Huaxia troops.

Yet in front of Xiao Qidi, they were hardly different from tofu.

"They also have strong self‑healing ability," Ning Jinli worriedly whispered.

"Is that so?" Xiao Qidi smirked, then casually moved his palm again.

Swish!

Several masses of still‑twitching flesh instantly exploded into a blood mist!

Likewise, the similarly twisted and deformed Descending Legion armor was likewise pulverized into fine dust!

Ning Jinli was greatly shocked.

The Descending Legion's armor can even fully withstand conventional missiles, yet Xiao Qidi effortlessly shattered it from afar without even blowing away dust?

Just how formidable is this guy's martial arts?!

"Let's go," Xiao Qidi said, lightly taking Ning Jinli's hand.

When the two emerged from the breach in the cave, both sky and ground outside were already in the throes of an all‑out battle.

Ning Jinli quickly recounted what had happened during that time to Xiao Qidi.

After listening attentively, Xiao Qidi, while gazing at the distant battlefield, said:

"Fortunately, my side's science team managed to link to this world; otherwise you'd really be in danger. Judging from the battle situation, the Descending Legion's military strength far surpasses your era, and even the various civilizations rushing in from parallel worlds to support you are slightly inferior to this legion. If we look solely at the capacity to develop military technology, your uncle Ning Hai is a genius."

"What? Even those parallel‑world reinforcements with high‑tech cross‑spacetime transmission are inferior to the Descending Legion?" Ning Jinli gasped again, her heart nearly leaping to her throat.

Does that mean we still can't beat the Descending Legion?

Xiao Qidi made his judgment after merely glancing for less than a minute.

And indeed, just as he said, the battlefield situation began to show a clear shift; the parallel‑world reinforcements that had rushed in were starting to struggle to cope.

On the ground, the Surrender Legion was being slaughtered en masse by angry Huaxia survivors, but as more and more Descending Legion ground troops entered the fray, Huaxia's offensive was reversed into a fighting retreat.

The situation on the battlefield changes just like that—in an instant.

Xiao Qidi naturally couldn't waste time, so he said, "Send an unmanned mining ship over."

"Who are you talking to?" Ning Jinli asked.

Xiao Qidi pointed to his collar, "A micro communication device is implanted here; once the user activates it with thought, they can speak directly."

His words hadn't even finished.

From the cave behind the two of them, a beam of light shot straight up into the sky; the beam instantly widened to nearly fifty meters, and a shuttle-shaped flying vehicle flew out from within.

This unique flying vehicle is about forty meters wide, about a hundred meters long, silver-white in color, with a perfectly smooth streamlined body, and has nothing on its exterior.

"This is the mining spaceship you just mentioned?" Ning Jinli asked, "Are you going to use it against the Descending Legion?"

Xiao Qidi gave a slight smile, "Just using it will be enough."

The mining spaceship suddenly accelerated, making no sound at all, leaving only a light trail in the sky, and in the blink of an eye it reached the high altitude above the center of the battlefield.

Then it shuttled back and forth at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow; wherever it went, the Descending Legion's various large and small combat flying vehicles kept exploding.

Meanwhile, all the flying vehicles of the allied forces fighting alongside it remained completely unharmed.

Ning Jinli was utterly dumbfounded.

How could the technological level of Parallel World No. 1 be this advanced?!

With just a single mining spaceship, without using any weapons, relying purely on unbelievable speed and terrifyingly precise impacts, it destroyed more than half of the Descending Legion's aerial forces!

With the addition of this mining spaceship, the battlefield situation changed again in an instant.

"The ground! And those on the ground too!" Ning Jinli reminded.

Xiao Qidi said, "Don't worry, I just had the mining spaceship, in passing, collect the material of the ground-attack soldiers' armor worn by the Descending Legion, and I've already analyzed it; I'll take care of it right away."

Two seconds later.

The mining spaceship rippled with a gorgeous circle of light all over its body.

As the light kept spreading, all the genetically modified soldiers on the ground wearing the special armor rose uncontrollably into the air.

When they had flown to a height of a hundred meters, the armor encasing their bodies suddenly collapsed all at once into fist-sized spheres.

Countless ground troops of the Descending Legion had no chance to struggle and just died like that.

"Well, those armors contain some relatively rare special alloys that your era hasn't developed yet; they can be recycled." As soon as Xiao Qidi finished speaking, the countless spheres at a hundred-meter altitude instantly turned into fine powder, and then, as the mining spaceship retracted its light circle, it gathered them up cleanly, like drawing in a net.

Everything Xiao Qidi displayed one after another far exceeded Ning Jinli's understanding, and her inner doubts grew more and more.