The elder’s hands surged with spiritforce and struck violently at Little Gui’s right leg.
With a crack, the leg was completely shattered.
Little Gui let out a muffled groan, gritting his teeth to keep from screaming. He shouted toward Xu Zimo, “Senior Brother, don’t worry about me. In the next life, I’ll still follow you!”
“Alright,” Xu Zimo nodded. “Go in peace. The pain he gave you, I’ll repay him a thousandfold.”
“Don’t come any closer!” the elder shouted in panic, retreating several steps while warily watching Xu Zimo. “Or I’ll break his other leg!”
“And what’s that got to do with me?” Xu Zimo asked with a curious look.
“Aren’t you two brothers? Don’t you care if he lives or dies?” the elder asked in disbelief. “I never meant to kill him. Just let me go and I’ll release him.”
“So what if we’re brothers?” Xu Zimo replied, shaking his head. “As the saying goes... Better him than me.”
He stepped forward, his aura surging like a tide. His blade, Shadow Tyrant, crackled with thunder and fire as it tore through the air.
Staring at the elder, Xu Zimo smiled.
“Have you ever felt death? The kind where you can’t live and can’t die, trapped in agony?”
As the light of the blade intensified, the elder’s face filled with desperation. His voice trembled. “You really don’t care whether he lives or dies?”
Before his words could even finish, the blade's radiant energy burst forth with a brilliant flash, streaking down from the heavens.
“Madman…” the elder whispered, his face pale. The blade moved too fast, he had no time to dodge.
In that moment of panic, the elder shoved Little Gui in front of him, trying to use him as a shield against the incoming slash.
Just as the blade was about to strike Little Gui, a dragon’s roar echoed across the sky.
In midair, the blade energy transformed into a colossal dragon. Its roar shook the heavens.
Endless spiritforce surged as the dragon, seemingly sentient, deliberately swerved to avoid Little Gui and charged straight at the elder.
The elder’s own energy erupted. One arm held Little Gui in front of him, while the other summoned a massive bear-shaped phantom.
The bear collided with the dragon, and a deafening explosion rang out from all around.
Within moments, the bear phantom was obliterated.
The dragon continued its charge. Xu Zimo stepped through the air and brought his blade down, slicing cleanly through the elder’s arm that held Little Gui.
Snatching Little Gui aside, Xu Zimo tossed him away to safety.
The dragon, having shattered the bear phantom, now surged forward with unstoppable might.
Its roar echoed loudly, and a storm of spiritual wind erupted around the elder.
Then, with a thunderous BOOM, the elder exploded, chunks of flesh flew through the air in all directions.
Xu Zimo turned toward Little Gui, who had still taken heavy damage from the dragon’s residual force.
His body was a mangled mess, and he was barely clinging to life.
If Xu Zimo hadn’t acted in time, Little Gui would’ve shared the elder’s fate.
Xu Zimo shook his head slightly and pulled a pill from his storage ring, placing it in Little Gui’s mouth.
He had more healing pills than he could count, both high-grade and low-grade.
As the pill dissolved, Little Gui’s torn flesh began to regenerate at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The medicine didn’t just heal his body, it restored his internal injuries as well.
Little Gui opened his eyes slightly. The intense pain had completely vanished.
He even felt a surge of strength throughout his body, he was more energized than ever, stronger than before.
“Senior Brother,” Little Gui looked at Xu Zimo and greeted him.
“Do you resent me for attacking without holding back just now?” Xu Zimo asked.
“No,” Little Gui shook his head and replied, “I may not be anything special in this life, but I’ve always known my place. I knew Senior Brother would never compromise for anyone. From the day I chose to follow you, I understood my role, I’m here to help you with trivial things, basically to run errands. In return, you give me benefits I never dreamed of, like the Grand Emperor cultivation technique I’m practicing now. If it weren’t for you, I’d probably still just be an ordinary inner court disciple.”
“Do you remember when we first met?” Xu Zimo asked.
“Of course. You were at the mission hall, picking up your first assignment,” Little Gui nodded.
Xu Zimo smiled faintly and gazed toward the distant sky.
“Everyone who comes into this world leaves something behind. Family, love, friendship. Sometimes I wonder… am I too coldhearted? Should I open up and let others into my world?”
He let out a soft laugh and went quiet for a while before speaking again:
“But deep down, I have this feeling, a strange premonition I can’t explain. It tells me that in this life… I’ll walk alone. I’ll sing a battle hymn of one. I’ll step onto a path of no return, alone. Until the very end of darkness… until the world ends. That premonition has only grown stronger since I awakened the Hell-Suppressing Deity Physique. It’s like something out there is calling me... guiding me toward some distant celestial path. I’m destined to walk a different road.”
Hearing this, Little Gui fell silent as well. Then he said, “Senior Brother, don’t think too much. No matter what happens, I’ll follow you.”
“Come on. Hopefully I’m just being paranoid,” Xu Zimo smiled.
Gentle sunlight bathed the Grand Myriad Mountains. This ancient range now lay in quiet solitude, untouched by human activity.
As autumn neared its final verse, the season’s last festival of colors played out.
Even under the cold sunlight, the weather remained crisp and biting.
Northern winds howled through the mountain passes.
Barren branches stood solemn and alone.
It was as if all of nature was preparing for winter’s arrival.
Xu Zimo and Little Gui began their journey from the mountain’s midpoint.
The Darksky Tiger and Azure Flood-Stallion galloped into the distance.
Their figures soon disappeared into the swirling dust of the horizon.