Chapter 1957 Four Direction Expedition VI

Wu Hong opened her eyes from her throne, and Rune Shadow handed her a scroll. After reading it, a frown hung on her face. It's been 15 yuan epochs since the Five Element Harmony Holy Land fell, and the world has changed drastically. All the holy land's previous territories have been occupied by the Heavenly Court; all the Qi Paragons have been forced to convert to the Emperor Path; all the resistance has been squashed, and the people who kept resisting were forced into the Slave Legion to prepare for the expedition against the Red Cloud.

However, in all this time, the True Qi Path Holy Land has remained calm and peaceful, with no appearance or interference. The only move they've made is abandoning all control of the Three Path Arrays and surrounding the Three Virtue World—their home base—with their sect protective array, preventing anyone from interfering or even knowing what they are planning.

"Is there really no way to penetrate their barrier?"

"I'm sorry, Lord, but we've tried everything."

Wu Hong squinted. She didn't blame Rune Shadow, even though she had technically failed. Grand Dao started analyzing their array a while ago, but for some reason, midway through the process, everything drastically slowed down, almost stopping entirely. Wu Hong tried to analyze the barrier herself, but the result was the same.

"I guess we'll have to do this the hard way," Wu Hong muttered. With a flicker of her wrist, the order to invade the True Qi Path Holy Land's territory flew away in the form of a talisman. Then, it began. The terrifying war machine known as the Heavenly Court mobilized its elite troops and began to systematically conquer the only remaining part of the Central Area still under the control of the Qi Paragon Path.

Wu Hong paid no attention to this conquest. The court was powerful enough to function without her, and as they had previously planned, the Qilin Sovereign would lead the invasion and keep an eye out. If something truly happens, Wu Hong can still step in and deal with it.

"Anything else to report?"

"Yes," Rune Shadow said, nodding. "Xu Yuhan has remained stable, with no signs of becoming a vessel. However, our methods are likely unable to detect the truth."

Wu Hong understood this since even her methods were successful. The Qilin Sovereign revealed he sensed a connection between Emperor Sui and Xu Yuhan, but even he wasn't too sure; that connection might just be bloodline or a karmic one.

"The second thing is about Long Aojing — he's ready."

"Oh? Show me."

A screen appeared in front of Wu Hong, revealing Long Aojing reading a scroll intently, his aura quite dark and eerie.

"Now that the expedition is distracted, he should be acting in the next few days."

"Very well. You're dismissed."

For the next few days, Wu Hong watched the screen, observing everything Long Aojing did. With the Rune Shadow's operation, most of his wives had turned on him, except for the seventh madam, the ninth madam, and Nie Rouxin. Unfortunately, the commander had lost everything else: the people's respect and adoration, access to the Destiny Hope Array, and the last remaining control of the Borderworld. Even his ally —the True Qi Path Holy Land— stopped responding to him.

No matter which perspective he looked at his life from, everything was bleak. Luckily for him, "fate" didn't abandon him. He accidentally found an incomplete technique that allows him to increase his chance of sanctification, and the only price is to kill the people closest to him. Long Aojing spent years completing the technique and finally had the opportunity.

The seventh and ninth madam stood no chance. With their absolute trust in him, they were easily tricked, killed, and their essence absorbed. Next, it was Nie Rouxin's turn. As wise as she was, the poor girl immediately sensed something was wrong — especially since Long Aojing couldn't control his dark and eerie aura. After a few quick tests, Nie Rouxin figured out what had happened to the other madams, and the rest was history.

Long Aojing lost patience and attacked her. The two fought ferociously, and Nie Rouxin was no match for Long Aojing. After years of studying Wu Hong's inheritance and after switching to the Emperor Path, she was a Peak Primal, but not a Quasi-Saint. With her emotional instability in facing the man she loved, Nie Rouxin stood no chance.

Fortunately for her, destiny had already been written. Long Aojing's technique was designed to boost his strength and create the illusion of improvement. But at the right time, his life energy and soul would suddenly become erratic, followed by his [Existence] self-deleting itself. Nie Rouxin lasted long enough for that to happen, and after surviving Long Aojing's last desperate attack, the battle ended.

"Xin'er, please, don't do this." Long Aojing lay on the floor, his expression as pale as paper, his aura on the verge of collapsing, and his life rapidly passing away. Nie Rouxin paused.

"That's right. Xin'er, you love me the most. You can't kill me. I was just possessed by that technique. Once I'm healed, we can run away and leave far away from this mess. Just help me with this one time."

"Husband — I'm going to call you that one last time. I won't kill you, but I won't save you either. Anyway, I don't think you'll survive for long."

"You!"

"Thank you for all the wonderful times we had together. Things might have turned into a nightmare toward the end, but I still remember the good times fondly." Nie Rouxin turned around, preparing to leave.

"Am I going to be disappointed?" Wu Hong thought calmly.

"You bitch! How dare you! After everything I've done for you, after I saved your family from being killed, after I brought them wealth and power, after I pampered you — you dare do this?"

Tears trickled down Nie Rouxin's face, but she remained resolute. With one step after the other, she walked toward the exit.

"No, no, I refuse to accept this. I am the Chosen Son of Heaven. I am destined to save and rule this world. All the men must bow to me, and all the women will belong to me. I can't die like this. No, since I'm going to die, you should accompany me."

Using his last bit of power, Long Aojing launched himself from the ground; his hands formed a claw targeting Nie Rouxin's neck. More tears dripped down from her eyes, but she did not turn around. A rune appeared behind her back, releasing a plethora of spears that turned Long Aojing into Swiss cheese.

"You…bitch!...I…hate you."

Nie Rouxin sensed the last breath leaving his body, and she immediately lost all the strength in her body; she knelt on the ground, head deep into her knees as she sobbed uncontrollably. Trillions of years together as husband and wife, and this is how their story ends — how pitiful.

"Why did it have to come to this?" Nie Rouxin kept repeating. Her sobbing drowned out the room for more than an hour before it stopped. "Sister Wu, are you here?"

"I am."

"Be honest with me: is this your doing?"

"Do you think it matters?"

"Yes, your actions just revealed who he was at his core. But tell me, why are you doing this?"

"What can I say? I have a love for talent. Plus, I've been looking for someone to inherit my Rune Dao."

Nie Rouxin raised her head to look at Wu Hong. "Aren't you afraid I would refuse you? Maybe hold a grudge."

"Nothing ever goes as planned — that is a default setting of life. I've already done my best, and if it doesn't work, I'll just accept it. The world is vast, and I have a long life ahead of me. One day, I'll find the one I'm looking for."

Nie Rouxin looked into those calm eyes for a few seconds, then suddenly lost control; she rushed into Wu Hong's arms and began to cry again. "Sister Wu, please take me away from here."

Wu Hong gently caressed her head. "Of course."

The two disappeared from the commander's mansion, returning to the Heavenly Court. After what Nie Rouxin had just experienced, Wu Hong decided to delay her work for a while to tend to her new disciple's Dao Heart. As she had predicted, the last bit of Long Aojing's destiny was transferred to Nie Rouxin, but the damage done to her state of mind was more significant than imagined.

Long Aojing had saved Nie Rouxin when she was at the lowest point of her life; her parents were so desperate that they wanted to set up an arranged marriage with someone horrible just to survive the ordeal. Then, the handsome, powerful, and talented Long Aojing showed up to save the day, leaving a lasting impression on the young Nie Rouxin.

Since then, she had been both in love and deeply grateful to him. And after living for so long as husband and wife, it's hard to tell which is which. Regardless, Nie Rouxin never imagined in her wildest dreams that their relationship would end so tragically.