Chapter 1748: Curtain Fall

When "Li Li Lingjing" led the forces of the Guiyi Association off the field, the tide of aberrations that had been madly charging toward the Withering-Glory Prime, having lost their target, erupted into countless furious roars, and finally, under the overwhelming assault of the Outer Shenzhou Allied Forces, retreated in disarray once more like a tide.

The Outer Shenzhou Allied Forces gave vigorous chase. These aberration armies were a scourge after all, and they had to take this chance to exterminate as many as possible, easing the pressure across Outer Shenzhou.

The sounds of slaughter and roars swiftly shifted outward, beyond the Tianxing Great Plains.

And in the central region of the Tianxing Great Plains, the top experts of every faction exhaled in relief, but then they were somewhat at a loss. In this decisive battle, they had repelled the invasion from the Dark World, yet in the end the Withering-Glory Prime had fallen into the hands of the Guiyi Association.

Such an outcome made it impossible to say whether it was good or bad.

At this moment, two figures on the horizon descended slowly—Li Luo and Li Taixuan—and their movements drew countless reverent gazes.

In this decisive battle, if Li Luo had not stepped forward at the final moment and slain several Evil-Kings, the "Barrier" would long since have been broken, and the Allied Forces would have paid an even more terrible price.

Even later, when the Guiyi Association's unrivaled Ninth-Grade appeared, it was Li Luo who intercepted them, buying time for Li Taixuan's return.

It could be said that without Li Luo's propping up of the heavens in this decisive battle, the fate of the Ten Outer Shenzhou would have slid into a despairing abyss.

As the two figures descended, the dazzling light around Jiang Jiang Qinge swiftly receded, and she was the first to step forward, her usually composed and calm eyes brimming with joy and emotion.

"Haha, look at my little E, just a few short years and her radiance is already unmatched under heaven." Li Taixuan studied the graceful young woman before him, unable to resist clapping his hands in admiration, his eyes full of gratification.

"You've been gone for over a dozen years, not just a few short years," Li Luo corrected unhappily.

Li Taixuan gave a dry cough and said, "Wasn't it all to teach you two to be independent and strong? A fledgling eagle striking at the vast sky still needs to rely on itself to weather trials, and the fact that you've achieved what you have today only goes to show that my method of cultivation was a great success."

Li Luo pursed his lips, but he didn't mind Li Taixuan's sophistry. After all, why they had left in such haste had already been explained by Dantai Lan earlier—everything they did was for him.

Jiang Jiang Qinge's lips curved in a gentle smile as she looked at Li Taixuan and softly called out, "Dad."

That single "Dad" instantly delighted Li Taixuan beyond measure; no matter how one looked at this daughter before him, she was utterly lovable.

"Good, good, good!"

Li Taixuan laughed excitedly, then clapped Li Luo on the shoulder and said, "You rascal, now do you realize how important that marriage contract your daddy begged for back in the day was?"

Li Luo was half-annoyed, half-amused. Li Taixuan actually dared bring up that marriage contract—back then, to have it annulled, he had no idea how much effort and heart he had spent.

Li Luo ignored Li Taixuan and instead turned his gaze to Jiang Jiang Qinge. Just then, she too cast her bright eyes toward him; their gazes met, and both were filled with boundless warmth and memories.

Only they two knew clearly that back when they had been guarding the wind-and-rain-tossed House Luolan House, supporting each other through countless hardships, their hearts had gradually come to recognize each other's true feelings.

In the end, when Li Luo took back that marriage contract from Jiang Jiang Qinge's hands, the girl's status in his heart transformed from something like an elder sister-younger brother relationship into that of true lovers.

On the surface, taking back the marriage contract seemed meaningless, but in truth, what it contained was the transformation of their feelings for each other.

And just as the family of three was immersed in the warmth of reunion, several more urgent gusts of breaking wind came rushing over.

"Li Taixuan! You bastard, all these years without a word, I thought you'd died on the Wang Hou battlefield!"

An excited curse arrived first, followed by a gleaming bald head and a face full of flesh coming into view—it was Niu Niu Biaobiao.

He glared with eyes like bronze bells, glowering at Li Taixuan. Back then, that couple had simply walked away, leaving him behind at House Luolan House as a nanny—truly infuriating. Earlier, when he'd seen Dantai Lan, he hadn't been able to open his mouth to curse, but now that he'd finally caught Li Taixuan, he could no longer hold back.

Li Taixuan, seeing the furiously charging Niu Niu Biaobiao, was the first to darken his expression and said, "A-Biao, I heard you actually laid hands on Xiao Yun? You're truly sick in the head. Back when we were traveling through Tianyuan Outer Shenzhou, Xiao Yun was still just an innocent little girl!"

Niu Niu Biaobiao, who had been blazing with fury, instantly faltered; the fierce look on his face turned to an awkward one, and he laughed dryly, "You can't blame me for that. The main thing is, A-Yun used to admire me back in the day, and later when we worked together at the Dragon Fang Vein, she couldn't hold back her feelings and pursued me—ow!"

The moment his words fell, he suddenly yelped. From behind him, Li Li Rouyun walked out with a flushed face, glared daggers at the unfiltered Niu Niu Biaobiao, and at the same time released her grip on the soft flesh of his waist.

"Brother Taixuan." Li Li Rouyun nodded to Li Taixuan and called out somewhat reservedly.

Li Taixuan smiled and nodded, saying, "A-Yun has grown up too. A-Biao, although we once called each other brothers, propriety cannot be discarded. From now on, you may just call me Brother Taixuan as well."

Niu Niu Biaobiao, hearing this, immediately rolled up his sleeves, but then came to his senses—the current Li Taixuan had long since left him far behind; there was absolutely no way he could win a fight. He could only mutter sulkily, "Dream on."

But the fire in his belly to settle scores with Li Taixuan had been thoroughly suppressed, and he could muster no trace of it anymore.

"Third Brother! You've finally come back!"

At this moment, the crowd from the Li Li Tianwang line also hurried over, with Li Li Qingpeng and Li Li Jinpan at the very front, their faces alight with excitement and wild joy.

"Big Brother! Second Brother!"

Li Taixuan laughed heartily, stepped forward, and gave his two elder brothers a heavy embrace. After so many years, the brothers were finally meeting again, and even Li Taixuan could not stop the glimmer of excited tears from surfacing in his eyes.

Li Luo watched this reunion without disturbing them. He exchanged a glance with Jiang Jiang Qinge, and their figures drifted down toward a certain spot on the battlefield below.

"Li Luo! Senior Sister Jiang!"

Seeing Yu Lang spotted their figures and hurriedly called out.

"Are you alright?" Li Luo's figure appeared before Seeing Yu Lang, who was now covered in wounds, clearly having gone through many bitter battles.

"Still okay, won't die." Seeing Yu Lang wiped the bloodstains from his face; his eyes revealed exhaustion. Although he had, under the push of many fortuitous encounters, stepped into the King realm he had once dreamed of, in a decisive battle concerning the survival of the Ten Outer Shenzhou, he had still nearly perished.

"Actually, I owe it to them, otherwise I'm afraid I would have been casually erased by that Zhuyin Mingwang."

Seeing Yu Lang stepped aside, revealing behind him two extremely frail graceful figures seated beside a green stone—it was Lv Qing'er and Bai Bai Mengmeng.

At this moment, the two women's auras were withered to the extreme, their faces pale as paper.

Earlier, they had joined forces to intercept Zhuyin Mingwang from destroying the barrier gate, and had gone through a desperate battle that burned through every last card; they had truly fought themselves to utter exhaustion.

Li Luo hurriedly stepped forward, crouched before the two women, and asked with concern, "Are you alright?"

Lv Qing'er raised her eyes to glance at him; her Binghu-like eyes showed no ripple, she merely shook her head.

Bai Bai Mengmeng, however, said weakly with a hint of pride, "Captain, we held the gate!"

"Amazing, you've done Da Gong."

Li Luo gave a thumbs-up, his smile radiant.

On Bai Bai Mengmeng's pure and pretty face, there also bloomed a smile that made one feel utterly refreshed.

Li Luo could sense that the two women's condition was extremely withered at this moment; if not treated, they would inevitably suffer aftereffects. He immediately activated the Myriad Aspects Wheel, merged the aspects, and birthed a super Ninth-Grade Water Aspect. Then he extended both hands and said, "Take my hands. I'll use the super Ninth-Grade Water Aspect to restore your wounds and dissolve the aftereffects."

Bai Bai Mengmeng, quite naturally, extended her hand and placed her slender little hand into Li Luo's palm.

Lv Qing'er, however, remained silent and unmoving.

Li Luo was somewhat helpless. Lv Qing'er's current state of sealed emotions seemed to make her quite resistant toward him.

"Let me heal her. My Light Aspect can also soothe aftereffects." At this moment, Jiang Jiang Qinge suddenly spoke up.

Li Luo was taken aback, then, seeing that Lv Qing'er showed no reaction, he nodded, took Bai Bai Mengmeng aside, and circulated the power of the super Ninth-Grade Water Aspect to restore and heal her.

And Jiang Jiang Qinge sat down before Lv Qing'er and extended her hand toward her.

Lü Qing'er cast a cold glance at her, then extended her palm and clasped hers.

At Jiang Jiang Qinge's brow, the divine-image tree formed by her Light Aspect blazed with sacred, dazzling radiance, and ultra ninth-grade Light Aspect force, pure to the extreme, surged into Lü Qing'er's body, restoring her horrifying internal injuries.

And under the illumination of that sacred Light Aspect force, a faint luminescence flowed across Lü Qing'er's fair, lovely cheeks, making her appear even more radiant.

Gazing at the ice-sculpture-like girl before her, Jiang Jiang Qinge recalled the bright, clever, spirited young girl from back then at the Sacred Mystic Star Academy—at that time, Lü Qing'er had still believed the engagement between them was a task forcibly arranged by their parents, and had even bravely confronted her over it.

Yet in the blink of an eye, so many years had passed, and the feelings in the young girl's heart had grown so strong that only by sealing away her emotions could she cut off this attachment.

In Jiang Jiang Qinge's golden eyes, Lü Qing'er's fair, beautiful, cold face was reflected, with a faint, unusual light drifting within.

Suddenly, she spoke softly: "Do you really like me this much?"