Chapter 326

Xiao Qidi brought Ning Jinli flying down from the high platform, arriving at a street within a cluster of tall buildings.

Ning Jinli walked while looking around; everything here felt like the future world from a sci‑fi movie, but the further she went the more uneasy she felt—though many places showed traces of human activity, not a single person could be seen.

Xiao Qidi had the axe‑shaped combat aircraft release a swarm of small reconnaissance drones.

After hundreds of palm‑sized drones flew in, they whooshed away in all directions.

Next, Xiao Qidi opened his right hand; his cuff flickered slightly, and then he projected a holographic image in front of him.

As the drones continuously fed back reconnaissance data, the holographic image gradually formed a three‑dimensional structural diagram of the mother ship's interior.

"Strange…… the scanning reconnaissance progress is already ninety‑nine point four percent, yet it hasn't detected any biological information," Xiao Qidi frowned slightly, "Could it be that they are all soldiers, having mobilized en masse, leaving no one inside?"

Ning Jinli said: "What about Ning Hai and his daughter? One is their supreme ruler, the Descended Heavenly Sovereign, the other is the Heavenly Sovereign's daughter—her status is extraordinary; surely she wouldn't personally come down to the battlefield… Could it be that they abandoned this place and slipped away secretly?"

As they were discussing, a red dot suddenly lit up on the holographic screen, indicating an extremely strong biological signal.

"The scan is complete, only one living thing detected," Xiao Qidi's face suddenly darkened, "It's moving extremely fast, approaching us."

"Ning Jinli, I was just about to look for you, but you came to me yourself!"

A sharp, piercing sound rang out.

A blood‑red shadow flashed like lightning and appeared in mid‑air more than ten meters in front of Ning Jinli.

"You are…… Ning Yao?"

Ning Jinli took a few seconds to recognize her.

At this moment, Ning Yao's eyeballs in her eye sockets had all turned blood‑red, and her long, dense dark‑red hair spread behind her, drifting without wind.

Moreover, her slender body seemed to be clad in a special tight‑fitting combat suit, its fine scale‑like pattern covering a gold‑red hue that shimmered with a shifting metallic luster.

This appearance was extremely alluring and also extremely eerie.

Ning Jinli felt the powerful aura emanating from her and couldn't help tensing her nerves.

"Huh? You brought a handsome guy? Is he your boyfriend?" Ning Yao's gaze swept over Xiao Qidi, "Handsome guy, you look a bit familiar—have we met before?"

Ning Yao had once, a hundred years ago, swept through the Daxuan dynasty of her world together with Lu Xingfeng, and indeed she had seen the Xuanzu emperor of that time.

But too much time had passed, and she did not connect the Xiao Qidi before her with the Xuanzu emperor whose head she had chopped off with a single blow.

Xiao Qidi's expression was cold, he said lightly: "I haven't seen you."

"Let me introduce myself," Ning Yao extended her hand with sharp, long nails, pointing at Ning Jinli, "I am her paternal cousin; we grew up together."

Xiao Qidi said nonchalantly: "Oh? And then?"

"Then, I am going to kill her now," Ning Yao said with a feral smile, baring two ghastly white fangs, "I find your bearing exceptional, your looks and figure the finest among the countless men I've seen in over a hundred years; why not, after I kill her, you stay by my side as my companion?"

Faced with Ning Yao's wanton provocation, Ning Jinli snapped: "Ning Yao! Stop spouting nonsense here—your father's delusion of ruling this world has completely collapsed! You lost! Have your father come out; you and your father should admit defeat and surrender!"

Ning Yao suddenly flew into a rage: "How dare you mention my father?! If it weren't for your family, my father… my father wouldn't have died! Ning Jinli! I will make you pay with blood!"

Before her words even finished, a strand of Ning Yao's hair turned into a blood‑colored tentacle, swelling to over ten meters and lunging straight at Ning Jinli.

Xiao Qidi quickly grabbed Ning Jinli's hand and stepped back a few paces.

Bang!

The tentacle pierced the ground where Ning Jinli had just been standing, and the hard alloy pavement was actually punctured with a hole.

Ning Jinli's face showed shock.

Just from Ning Yao's appearance and that attack, she has become powerful to an unimaginable degree—let alone that I am currently injured internally and unable to use my abilities; even if I were unharmed, a head‑on clash would probably not be a match for her.

"Heh heh, surprised?" Ning Yao, pleased with Ning Jinli's reaction, said arrogantly and ferociously, "I once waged war for a hundred years in another world, killing more people than you have eaten salt; now I have not only devoured Lu Xingfeng, gaining his over‑hundred‑year‑deep Internal Strength, but also devoured the millions inside this mother ship, evolving into the ultimate mutant form. I alone can match the entire Descendant Army! I no longer need anyone; I can still fulfill my father's cherished wish, avenge him, and slaughter everyone I want to kill as offerings for my father."

Upon hearing that she had actually devoured millions of her own people, both Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi were startled.

No wonder no other life could be detected inside the huge headquarters mother ship of the Descendant Army!

She is truly ruthless!

"She's gone mad," Ning Jinli whispered to Xiao Qidi, "So crazy and yet so powerful—don't let your guard down."

Xiao Qidi's mouth twitched slightly, a hint of contempt flickered in his eyes, and he said softly: "Just a clown—don't worry."

"Handsome guy, I really like your appearance," Ning Yao said with a feral smile, "Once I rule this world, I'm willing to make you my personal servant to keep me company; stand back, I don't want to hurt you—such a superb body, it would be a shame to mar your face."

Xiao Qidi naturally put his arm around Ning Jinli's waist and chuckled: "Are you really that starved for love? Don't you have anyone who loves you left? To the point that you even want to steal my Jinli's man—how pitiful."

"You should die too! Die together!"

Ning Yao instantly flew into a rage; all her hair instantly turned into over a hundred barbed tentacles, which unfurled and swept over Ning Jinli and Xiao Qidi like a flood.

Xiao Qidi raised his right hand and released an invisible, mighty Internal Strength.

The tips of the hundreds of tentacles suddenly halted when they were about three to four meters in front of the two, unable to advance even an inch.

Ning Yao was somewhat surprised; she only now felt that the man beside Ning Jinli possessed even greater strength.

"Ha, this is more fun," Ning Yao said with excitement, "I was originally worried that Ning Jinli wasn't strong enough for me to unleash my full power, so I couldn't enjoy myself; now I finally have a somewhat worthy opponent, and I can let you see my true abilities before you die."

Having said that, Ning Yao circulated her formidable Internal Skill, likewise infusing the tentacles with a mighty aura.

In an instant, the space around the tentacles faintly showed signs of distortion.

But the next second, Ning Yao's face changed.

Because she had mobilized fifty percent of her Internal Strength, yet still could not break through Xiao Qidi's defense; the tentacle tips could not advance even a bit.

"Is that all your strength?" Xiao Qidi said lightly.

Ning Yao's cheeks twitched, and she suddenly pushed her Internal Strength to a hundred percent.

Meanwhile, Xiao Qidi kept his composure, clenched his fingers, and sent a powerful Internal Strength strike into the tentacles from afar.

Their Internal Strengths collided with a boom, and the hundreds of tentacles burst apart simultaneously, erupting in a vast spray of blood mist.

"Ah!!!"

Ning Yao let out a miserable cry and quickly retracted the half‑broken tentacles.

"Over a hundred years of Internal Strength, and that's it," Xiao Qidi remarked after his assessment, then thrust a palm forward.

In the air, a distinct distortion ripple appeared.

Before the palm strike arrived, Ning Yao already felt the terrifying pressure.

She immediately curled her body, her flesh and blood surging, quickly condensing into a thick carapace shield at the front.

Boom!

When the palm wind struck, the carapace shield that could even block an energy cannon shattered instantly.

Ning Yao was blown backward a hundred meters, crashing into the building behind her, and fell silent for a moment.

Ning Jinli lifted her head to look at Xiao Qidi's profile.

Xiao Qidi turned his head to meet her gaze, showing an expression seeking praise, 'How about that, I'm awesome, right?'

Ning Jinli felt a bit dazed, as if she saw again that eighteen-year-old boy from years ago.

Rumble——

A distant building suddenly collapsed.

A huge blood-red figure slowly rose from the ruins, roughly estimated to be about a hundred meters tall, still retaining a humanoid outline.

"Is it turning into a monster?" Ning Jinli said.

Xiao Qidi frowned directly, "It's really ugly."

What he said was indeed correct; that massive humanoid creature, aside from a faint humanoid outline, had become utterly grotesque, like a mountain of flesh covered in misshapen animal limbs and writhing tentacles.

Whoosh——

The monster-transformed Ning Yao extended two claws covered in carapace and spikes, swinging them down at Xiao Qidi and Ning Jinli.

Bang! The huge roar was like an explosive blast.

Ning Yao moved her claws away, leaving a large and deep pit on the hard metal ground.

But there were no crushed corpses inside the pit.

Ning Yao looked up and saw Xiao Qidi carrying Ning Jinli already soaring into midair, both unharmed.

A black fissure filled with crooked fangs quickly split open on Ning Yao's head, and immediately a beam that looked like both light and flame shot out.

Xiao Qidi dodged while holding Ning Jinli; the energy beam slammed into the mother ship's inner wall, instantly melting a hole several meters wide.

Seeing her strike miss, Ning Yao's whole body split open with hundreds of similar cracks.

Her speed was very fast.

But Xiao Qidi's speed was even faster.

Before she could release another energy beam, Xiao Qidi struck down from above with a palm.

The overwhelming force even condensed into a visible giant palm, carrying unstoppable might as it heavily slammed into Ning Yao.

Bang!!!

The hundred-meter-tall flesh mountain split apart, as if blood rain fell from the sky.

And the blood rain carried strong corrosiveness; wherever it landed, whether on buildings or ground, thick smoke rose, melting into countless dense pits.

Fortunately, Xiao Qidi promptly released Internal Strength, shaking off the blood rain around himself and Ning Jinli.

"She's over there!" Ning Jinli pointed to the rubble corner of the building ahead.

At this moment, Ning Yao, having suffered heavy wounds, revealed her original form; the blood-red color on her body had mostly faded, exposing deathly pale skin.

"Capture alive or kill?" Xiao Qidi asked.

Ning Jinli said: "Kill her."

Xiao Qidi flicked his fingertip, sending a sword qi straight toward Ning Yao.

The sword qi tore through the air, as fast as lightning, unstoppable.

Ning Yao was cut in half at the waist, letting out an unwilling, shrill scream, her hate-filled eyes fixed on the direction where Ning Jinli stood.

That hatred even made Ning Jinli feel a chill down her back.

In an instant, Ning Jinli recalled all the past; who would have thought that a once-close family would fall out to this extent?

"What's wrong? You can't bear to kill her?" Xiao Qidi asked.

Ning Jinli shook her head, "Killing kin is not my wish, but she is no longer my family; moreover, her sins are endless. I just feel… the world is impermanent. Give her a quick death."

"Hahaha!" Ning Yao suddenly burst into mad laughter, "Ning Jinli! I've activated the mother ship's self-destruct program! I won't survive, and none of you will either! Let the whole world die together!"

Woo——

Inside the entire mother ship, alarms suddenly blared and red lights flashed everywhere.

Xiao Qidi swiftly waved several sharper sword qi, chopping Ning Yao into countless fragments, then he tightly held Ning Jinli's waist and flew out together through the entry breach.

Upon reaching the outside and looking, the entire mother ship, even its exterior, showed strange energy fluctuations; countless currents surged, occasionally tearing nearby space into tiny black cracks.

Xiao Qidi carried Ning Jinli farther away, to avoid touching the black cracks and being affected by spacetime turbulence.

"Not good, we need to notify the base quickly!" Ning Jinli urged.

Xiao Qidi shook his head.

"It's too late; I used a drone to detect and analyze—this mother ship's core area has a spacetime shuttle device, with all the ship's energy being poured into it, and it will soon trigger spacetime turbulence via an explosion. Even just the power from the energy explosion alone could destroy everything within a tens-of-kilometers radius beneath it; your underground city couldn't escape. Moreover, the energy overload from spacetime turbulence would cause a chain reaction, exponentially increasing the energy, ultimately causing half the Earth to rupture. Her saying the whole world will die together is not alarmist."

Ning Jinli's face changed, but she still calmly said, "Then do you have a way?"

Xiao Qidi's mouth curled slightly, "Kiss me and I'll have a way."

"What time is it and you're still…" Ning Jinli glared at him, then anxiously and angrily bit his cheek hard.

"Hiss… a bit heavy." Xiao Qidi grimaced.

"Hurry up!" Ning Jinli raised her hand and pinched his ear.

"Okay, okay," Xiao Qidi touched the tooth mark on his cheek, "I have a way, but this mother ship can't be left for you to study; never mind, I possess far more advanced technology—I'll teach you slowly later."

Ning Jinli narrowed her eyes, as if she could swallow him whole if he kept talking nonsense.

Xiao Qidi gave a dry cough, recalled the drone swarm inside the mother ship, then issued a command via the drones.

Soon, tens of thousands of identical mining spacecraft flew out from the spacetime portal, encircling the mother ship, releasing an energy field to envelop it, then dragging the mother ship into the spacetime portal, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

The whole process took less than half a minute.

Ning Jinli stared at the suddenly empty sky, stunned for several seconds.

"Is it... over already?"

"Right," Xiao Qidi said with a smile, "We can tow this mother ship back, send it to my side's scrap recycling plant for processing, and the energy inside can be collected and used. Wasting nothing is a traditional virtue of our Huaxia."

"Hiss..." Ning Jinli sucked in a breath of cold air, sizing up Xiao Qidi from head to toe, "Tell me, what on earth is going on over there? How did your technology become so advanced? And your martial arts..."