Chapter 11 Putting an End to Everything

The final battle had finally begun. Li Moqing had now obtained incomparably formidable power—a strength so immense that even she herself had not anticipated it.
"How is it? You must be quite fond of your own power by now, right? With a power like this, even someone like you should be able to accomplish many things. It is only a pity that I will not get to witness the moment of your renown; it is truly somewhat regrettable."
"Father, you can rest assured. Now that I possess the ultimate strength, I can achieve anything I set my mind to. Yes, perhaps in the past I truly loved to escape! But now, I utterly despise such cowardice. Father, our homeland—I will surely protect it. I am leaving now. Do you truly have nothing left to say to me?"
"Nothing. Because everything I needed to say to you has already been said before. Good luck to you, and I also know that you will surely succeed in the end!"
Swish!
Li Moqing's movement technique reached the absolute pinnacle of speed. In a flash, she arrived at the Four Great Sects. The disciples guarding the mountain gates did not even notice that this woman had streaked past their eyes just a moment ago; they simply assumed it was a gust of autumn breeze.
"I knew you would come in the end. You little girl, you never cease to disappoint me. Now it seems that is indeed the case. What? Judging by your appearance, you seem to have truly acquired incomparably formidable power. However, do you really think that this strength of yours can defeat me? You should know that is an absolute impossibility. No matter how much time passes, I will always remain the most formidable one. This point will never change!"
Bang!
No sooner had those words left his mouth than the man was sent flying directly backward. What on earth had just happened? According to all conventional logic, such a thing should have been impossible. Yet, here it was, actually taking place before his eyes. How could a renowned hero of many years endure such humiliation?
"What? Do you find this outcome unacceptable? But if I were to tell you that I have been waiting for this very day for a very, very long time, what would you think? The one who dies today will undoubtedly be you. Of course, you are free not to believe what I say, but the real question is—can you defeat me now?"
"You were just struck by the Soul-Splitting Palm. The so-called Soul-Splitting Palm ensures that once you are hit, all your spiritual essence will completely dissipate. Do you know? I only had a single night, so I kept thinking about how someone like me could possibly defeat you. Later on, I truly understood: I only needed to master a single technique, and that would be enough. This technique may seem ordinary on the surface, but it actually carries immense and formidable power. I imagine you can feel it by now, can you not?"
Puff!
A mouthful of blood spewed wildly into the air. Xuan Huo never imagined that this would be the way he died. Yet, he truly did not want to die like this; what on earth was he supposed to do now? His spiritual core seemed genuinely on the verge of unraveling, and against such a method, he shockingly found himself completely helpless. "Damnable thing, could it be that there is truly no other way out now?"
"Indeed, you no longer have any way out. I know that saying this might sound very unfair, but you, this man, have been arrogant for so many years. You should have known what kind of end awaited you once you and I crossed paths. Of course, you possess quite extraordinary cultivation yourself, and my potent poisons shouldn't amount to much for a man like you, isn't that right?"
"I have actually been poisoned? How can such a thing be possible? I clearly mastered supreme divine arts long ago; why, in the end, did I still fail?"
"For all these years, you have relentlessly pursued powerful divine arts, never realizing that your physical body had long since reached the limit where it could no longer cultivate. If you persisted in forcing yourself to cultivate any further, it would simply become an unbearable burden to you. Naturally, I never truly wished for things to turn out this way, but isn't the present outcome actually quite good? For only in this manner could a man like you finally find true peace! It seems that after the passage of so many years, you have truly forgotten what kind of person I am. You know, seeing you reduced to this state is what truly saddens me!"
"Who on earth are you? Are you not Li Moqing? No, that is utterly impossible! Just how formidable is Li Moqing's cultivation? I am well aware of it. How old is she? How could she possibly possess such terrifying strength? Speak! Who on earth are you?"
"Hahaha! Am I not Tian Chou, the one who was beaten to death by a single palm strike of yours all those years ago? What? Have you truly forgotten? Well, it is only natural; there was really no need for you to remember someone like me. Yet, not a single day has passed that I have forgotten your appearance. Over all these years, although I was reduced to a mere spirit body, I have never ceased my cultivation!"
"Have you truly forgotten my identity? No matter, since you have forgotten, I will tell you. In truth, I am the true guardian deity protecting the Suyi Pavilion. If it were avoidable, I truly would not have wished to reveal myself. However, there was genuinely no other choice now. You, this man, are simply too powerful; thus, I had no choice but to enter the spiritual world of this young girl, Li Moqing, and temporarily lend my cultivation to her. Perhaps by doing this, she will inevitably suffer a severe backlash, but did you really think that I would fear such a thing?"
"What? You should be entirely out of options by now, shouldn't you? I am rather curious to see what you intend to do next."
Xuan Huo finally understood the whole picture. "Ah, I remember now. So it was you! I had foolishly thought that after so many years, a man like you might have learned to be a bit wiser, but to my utter astonishment, you still refuse to give up! That's right, you mastered a venomous art from childhood, and back then, no one could find a counter to your poison. If not for my own profound cultivation, there truly would have been no way to deal with it!"
"It is a pity, however, that you were never my match in the end. What I never expected was that even after becoming a mere spirit body, you would still retain such formidable power. Did you think that doing this would lead to my defeat? You are wrong. I will never fail, under any circumstances. Let alone your current diminished state—even if you were still at the absolute peak of your prowess, I would not fear you in the slightest!"
"Is that so? Even when you are about to die this very instant, you do not fear me in the least? How is it that I never knew you were such an interesting person? Ah well, you have always been exceptionally bold; there is probably nothing in this world that could ever frighten you. Yet, I suppose that no matter how powerful you are, there must still be things you are utterly incapable of achieving? Just like right now—clearly, there is a towering fury burning within your heart, but because you are poisoned, your cultivation cannot truly erupt. You must be feeling intensely angry right now, aren't you?"
"How does it feel? You have been arrogant enough over these years, and you should have met with such an end long ago, shouldn't you? To be honest, you are truly finished now. Originally, I did not wish to resort to this, but I had no choice; you were simply too formidable. Now, all the grievances and grudges between us can finally be brought to an end!"
"A person like you is no longer qualified to be my opponent. Perhaps you were truly formidable in the past, but everything you do now has lost all meaning. The Four Great Sects should have completely vanished many years ago; allowing you to survive for this long has already been showing you immense mercy!"
The power of the Transforming Spirit Palm was simply too terrifying, and he now found himself utterly helpless. It seemed that death was truly upon him. Damn it all, things were never supposed to turn out this way; why did everything end up completely contrary to his imagination? So be it. Since he was completely out of options, he had no choice but to concede defeat. These powers had long since ceased to have anything to do with him!
"Actually, ending up like this is quite fine after all. Li Moqing, you truly are formidable. I knew all along that a woman like you possessed extraordinary, boundless fortune. Very well, this time I concede the superiority of your cultivation. However, you should not gloat just yet, because someone like me will never simply perish like this!"
"Hahaha!"
A wildly manic laugh echoed through the heavens. Such an immensely powerful man had ended up dying in this manner—perhaps even he himself had never expected it. Oh well, for the sake of the Four Great Sects, he had struggled for so long; it was finally time to let himself rest properly!
He had never had the opportunity to rest well in the past, so now that such a fine opportunity presented itself, why should he cast it aside? That would go against nature itself!
No one could have anticipated that the master of the Four Great Sects would meet his end in such a fashion!