Chapter 997: Shattered (Requesting Moon Tickets)

Hearing this, despite the dire situation, the tail couldn't help but curl into a smile.

After spending these days together, she had come to understand Qi Ba Jiu Daren a little.

Though Qi Ba Jiu Daren often displayed inhuman calmness, it didn't mean she had no heart—she simply didn't care about many things.

She checked the "corpse" in her arms; still no reaction. The tail felt a flicker of worry.

"By the way, Qi Ba Jiu Daren, could you have beaten that woman just now?"

【That You Long? If I were still at Xian, I could fight her.】

The implication was clear: she couldn't beat her now.

After all, how much power Qi Ba Jiu can unleash depends on the tail's endurance, not merely Qi Ba Jiu's upper limit.

"I'm holding Qi Ba Jiu Daren back…"

【If you feel guilty toward me, leave Jingcheng soon, heal your injuries, and cultivate to the Rain-level Stage—so I may perfectly Advent into your body.】

"... Sorry, I can't leave yet. Not until Ye Ge wakes up."

No one knows Fang Yue is still alive. Before Fang Yue truly comes online, she must guard his body!

Suddenly, the tail sensed something and clutched Fang Yue tightly, holding her breath.

Skin-to-skin contact made her cheeks flush slightly, her heart stir—but soon, the thudding sound from the bridge silenced all her thoughts.

The presence on the bridge seemed not to have noticed the tail, merely passing through. From the sound, it fled hastily—as if fleeing rain.

When the sound faded, the tail exhaled deeply, then asked: "Qi Ba Jiu Daren, do you think You Long could beat those Mo-level Weird of the Wu Rain Clan?"

【The other three are manageable, but one Wu Rain Clan royal—his power might even surpass what I had at Xian...】

"Even Qi Ba Jiu Daren at Xian isn't a match?! Then isn't that… a Mo-level Weird?!"

【You overestimate me. To you, my power may seem unfathomable, but in truth, I'm still within the Rain-level range.】

【Rain-level is a peculiar realm—there's only one stage, 【Rain】, with no early, middle, or late phases. Thus, the gap between its upper and lower limits is enormous. If you must divide it, only 【Rain-level】 and 【Rain Grade Peak】 exist.】

【Back then, I thought many times I'd reached Rain Grade Peak, pushed my power to its absolute limit, possessed invincible strength—just one step away, just one Spirit Root away, from that unfathomable Immortal Realm. But reality told me I was still far from those four words: "invincible under heaven."】

【Because… the monsters stuck in this realm are too numerous. To break free of the Spirit Root's chains, these ancient beasts stuck at Rain-level have devised countless heretical methods, endlessly inflating the upper limit of Rain Grade Peak. In a sense, reaching Rain Grade Peak is merely the starting point of this realm's power.】

【If a normal Rain Grade Peak cultivator is defined as 1, those ancient heretical beasts might have power levels of 10, 100, even 1000 or 10,000—absurd gaps! The disparity in power made me question whether breaking into the Immortal Realm was even necessary—or whether those monsters had already forged an entirely new cultivation path equal to the Immortal Way.】

【But I was wrong. Immortals are Immortals—beings who transcend flesh and bone through orthodox cultivation! Breaking through that realm changes the entire world; nothing can compare to Rain Grade Peak.】

【Thus, 【Rain Grade Peak】 is an extremely ambiguous realm, with absurdly wide upper and lower limits. Without actual combat, it's nearly impossible to determine true power differences.】

【The Wu Rain Clan royal we encountered earlier—we saw it briefly while it fled using your body—so we can be certain: it, too, is at Rain Grade Peak, and… likely far stronger than me. But it's still within this realm. I'm certain it hasn't reached the legendary Mo-level.】

Qi Ba Jiu recalled the Wu Rain Clan First Prince. The moment she saw him, Qi Ba Jiu Daren sensed ill omen.

The First Prince radiated an aura of ill fortune; his power was even beyond her full perception!

Still, he remained within the Rain-level range—this was unquestionable.

"Rain Grade Peak… just a starting point?"

The tail opened her mouth slightly. She had never heard Qi Ba Jiu Daren speak of Rain-level power divisions like this before.

She had always believed reaching Rain-level meant reaching Xian.

Now she saw: even within the single 【Rain-level】 realm, the depths were so great they made her hesitate to step forward.

【Don't overthink it. If you reach Rain-level, my Advent will impose no burden on you, and I'll immediately unleash my full peak power. If you reach the conventional Rain Grade Peak, I can surpass even my former peak strength! Combined with your power, we might truly challenge Immortal Realm combat power!】

"My power?"

【Yes. Your Void Spirit Root—your physique is unique. One day, you'll understand…】

At this, Qi Ba Jiu Daren's voice suddenly halted.

【He… is beyond saving.】

What?

The tail froze, then realized—she looked down, eyes widening, her body trembling uncontrollably from emotional shock.

Because the corpse in her arms was paperizing again.

This time, the paperization came swiftly and irrevocably—but soon, like time reversing, it reverted to normal.

Then the tail saw: in her friend list, Fang Yue's avatar had turned fully gray—the color of death.

Simultaneously, she felt a chilling aura swirling around her.

【Life span exhausted. 【Yin Cha】 appears.】

【Though I don't know how Yese Liming kept the corpse intact, there's no doubt—he exhausted his yang life. He's beyond saving. Tail, stay away from him. If you attract 【Yin Cha】, even I can't protect you.】

"No… no!!"

Memories of meeting Fang Yue flooded the tail's mind. Her eyes turned red. She clutched Fang Yue's corpse tightly, burying her head against his chest, facing its coldness head-on.

"He won't die… he… he still has to save You Sisi… he still… he still…"

As the tail squeezed Fang Yue's corpse fiercely, she suddenly felt nothing in her hands—then a loud *boom! * Her arms had crushed Fang Yue's chest to dust.

The fragments shattered like particles, disintegrating into the air.

Her expression went blank. The tears she'd held back finally spilled from her eyes.

"How could this happen… how could this happen… I couldn't even protect his corpse…"

As Fang Yue's chest shattered and dissolved, the rest of his corpse followed—dissolving into dust, particleizing, ascending in a double helix, vanishing.

The tail only wept, endlessly checking her friend system.

"System Prompt: System check confirms no such person. Please clear from friend list."

"System Prompt: System check confirms no such person. Please clear from friend list."

"System Prompt: System check confirms no such person. Please clear from friend list."

Listening to the system voice echoing in her ears, her red-rimmed eyes finally understood.

Fang Yue was dead.

Fang Yue's corpse, as if it had never existed in this world, shattered completely.

……

(End of Chapter)