Chapter 470: Long Qi at Death's Door, the Painting Scroll Falls

"A mere Sword Spirit, yet you dare to toy with this seat!"

The Demon Lord held down the Longyuan Sword with just two fingers, his eyes slightly narrowed, radiating a dangerous aura.

It turned out that the one manipulating Long Qi was the Longyuan Sword Spirit.

Longyuan seemed completely indifferent; he raised a hand to rub his nose, his expression one of utter disdain.

"Look at how you put it—dare or not, haven't I been toying with you for quite a while now?"

But one has to admit, he is the Demon Lord after all; his eye is truly sharp to be able to see that he is not that brat Long Qi.

Longyuan used the momentum to backflip, kicked the Demon Lord's hand away with a somersault, and retreated several steps, putting distance between himself and the Demon Lord.

It seems he must handle this with caution.

It is just that he is only a Sword Spirit, and what he can do is limited; seeing that the time limit for occupying the body is almost up, he wonders if Long Qi has figured it out yet.

If he still cannot understand after such an obvious hint, then he truly is rotten wood that cannot be carved!

Longyuan curled his lip: That muddled brat, it's really hard to say.

In fact, Long Qi was not having an easy time either; he had to contemplate the Sword Spirit's intent while resisting the fear of the monster in his heart. Under such circumstances, concentrating was still very difficult for him.

However, it did not take long before the Sword Spirit floated out from the water vat, giving the struggling, focused Long Qi a start.

"You... why have you returned?"

"Oh! Naturally, I lost." The Sword Spirit said nonchalantly, as if what he spoke of was merely a game.

"Lost?! You..."

Long Qi was extremely surprised by the Sword Spirit's frankness and was momentarily tongue-tied, not knowing what to say, while the Sword Spirit also wore an indifferent expression.

"Hey, he is the Demon Lord after all, and he occupies a body with a Chaos Spiritual Root. I am but a mere Sword Spirit; it is normal that I couldn't beat him. What is there to be so surprised about?"

The Sword Spirit spoke nonchalantly, but Long Qi became panicked instead.

"If you didn't beat him, then what about Lingxiang?"

Long Qi hurriedly leaned over the edge of the vat to look inside, but could only see a vat of water; there was nothing else.

The Sword Spirit curled his lip and floated to sit on the edge of the vat: "Instead of worrying about others, you'd better worry about yourself." As he spoke, he gestured toward the doorway with his chin, "Your Qi Pool is about to be unable to hold on."

Long Qi looked back; the invisible wall blocking the monster had already begun to show cracks, and with the monster's pounding and crashing, they continued to spread and intersect, in imminent danger.

"Whether I win or lose doesn't matter, but it is your physical body being used. Now that the body is severely injured, the last line of defense for this small courtyard of yours is about to collapse."

As the Sword Spirit spoke, the small courtyard gradually grew dark, and everything around them became blurred; only the two vats in front remained clearly visible, the water within them shimmering.

Yet Long Qi did not care at all, only pulling at the Sword Spirit and asking nervously: "Lingxiang? Where is Lingxiang?"

The Sword Spirit rolled his eyes helplessly—at a time like this, he was still thinking of that little girl.

But the Sword Spirit still complied with Long Qi's wish; he lazily tapped his little finger, and ripples immediately spread across the water's surface. Within the ripples, a scene slowly unfolded.

In the scene, Long Qi was on the verge of death, lying in Lingxiang's arms, while the Demon Lord was closing in step by step.

That palm strike from the Demon Lord just now, even with the sword raised to block it, could not be stopped. The force transmitted through the blade shattered Long Qi's meridians, and even the Longyuan Sword developed cracks.

Watching Long Qi hit the pillar and fall like a broken puppet, even the cloth strip binding the Painting Scroll on his back was snapped by the impact, and the Painting Scroll rolled away to the side.

After instructing Adao to take good care of Xin Yi, Lingxiang ran toward Long Qi without looking back, but by the time she arrived, Long Qi was already breathing his last.

Lingxiang tremblingly held Long Qi in her arms, her expression blank.

As expected...

This ending could not be avoided...

Lingxiang stroked Long Qi's face, examining his features carefully.

Though stained with blood and dust, it could not hide his refined handsomeness. Compared to three years ago, he had shed a little of his youthful air, and his features had become much more defined.

Yet Lingxiang would rather the person in her arms still be that unbridled youth, high-spirited, flamboyant, and unrestrained.

Caressing Long Qi's eyelashes, Lingxiang smiled through her tears.

She remembered once upon a time, she had envied him intensely, yet still sarcastically mocked Long Qi, saying that for a man of seven feet, he had a pair of womanly brows and eyes, which once angered Long Qi so much he nearly plucked them all out.

Now, however, his eyes were tightly shut, and she would never again see that shimmering movement of his pupils.

The most painful thing is knowing that fate is thus, yet having exhausted all one's strength, one still cannot change it.

Lingxiang lowered her head and kissed Long Qi's eyes; the teardrops she had held back for so long fell, blooming into a sorrowful flower on Long Qi's cheek.

This kiss made even the flickering firelight seem desolate.

And within this firelight, the Demon Lord's figure approached step by step, the heat waves billowing his black robes, as if struggling to block his path.

"Xiang'er, come back with Father."

The Demon Lord seemed to hold Long Qi in great contempt; he stopped at a distance of seven steps, reaching his hand toward Lingxiang, his whole body filled with an irresistible aura.

Lingxiang looked up at the Demon Lord, her eyes red, yet she was neither sad nor happy, just staring straight at him, as if wanting to imprint the Demon Lord deeply into her heart.

But after looking for a long time, Lingxiang finally came to her senses; what she had imprinted was only her father, the father who had doted on her in those few memories.

As for the true appearance of the Demon Lord, it was the youth lying in that glazed coffin alongside her mother.

Lingxiang smiled, making no effort to hide her look of disdain: "Father? After telling lies for so long, I fear you have even come to believe them yourself."

"My mother is Tumi, my father is Lingxiao, and you, what kind of thing are you?"

Lingxiang's tone was unhurried, but her gaze stung the Demon Lord; a sudden surge of sadness welled up in his heart, yet he did not understand why he was sad.

The inexplicable feeling made the Demon Lord very annoyed; he shouted sternly: "Shut up!" But this feeling lingered and would not fade.

"Come with this seat!"

The Demon Lord's anger flared, and just as he was about to step forward to pull Lingxiang, Lingxiang's eyes turned sharp, and she reached into her waist and took out five Pills.

"In your dreams!" As she spoke, Lingxiang flung the Pills out.

As Lingxiang threw them, the five Pills turned into five colors, rotating and distributing themselves in five directions, floating around Lingxiang and Long Qi, forming a Five Elements Dharma Array.

Although Lingxiang was not skilled in arrays, this was the only way she could delay the Demon Lord for now.

But how could the Demon Lord be an ordinary person? Facing Lingxiang's array, he merely flicked his index finger lightly, and the Dharma Array developed several cracks.

"Hmph! Mere parlor tricks!"

The Demon Lord sneered, his former appearance as a loving father entirely vanished; he tapped his knuckles lightly against the fissure, and the Dharma Array suffered an immediate Collapse.

The five pills shattered into two halves one after another, falling to the ground, appearing all the more powerless.

Yet, watching the Demon Lord, whose expression had suddenly changed as he broke through the array, Lingxiang showed not a hint of panic; instead, she wore a thoughtful look.

The Demon Lord's momentary trance just now had been seen entirely by Lingxiang, and now his temperament had suddenly changed drastically; if she guessed correctly...

The Wandering Soul Grass added to the Huitian Pill was finally about to take effect...