Chapter 538: Chapter 538

Imperial City, suburban villa.

When Chu Yan faced her tribulation, she led the Thunder Punishment to a deserted and uninhabited area.

Qi Ling and Luo Han both followed her there.

But Qi Ling’s cultivation was not sufficient, and he still failed to detect Luo Han.

Luo Han’s attention was entirely on Chu Yan, eager to see if she could successfully transcend the tribulation and how powerful she would become after returning to her true form. Therefore, he couldn’t be bothered to confront Qi Ling.

To him, Qi Ling was like an ant in his hand.

He had countless ways to deal with him and was not in a hurry at this moment.

Qi Ling called out her name with worry.

Alas, the thunder was too loud, and Chu Yan was utterly unable to hear clearly.

Accompanied by the thunderclouds and the thunder, fine raindrops began to fall from the sky.

"Such a strong Ascension Thunder Punishment, could she be ascending?"

An uneasy feeling surged in Qi Ling’s heart.

Chu Yan’s cultivation was higher than his, but he did not know to what extent she had reached.

Now he was already at the Nascent Soul cultivation, and Chu Yan was even higher than him, which could only mean Divinity Transformation.

Isn’t Divinity Transformation’s advancement Ascension?

After Chu Yan ascended, would he never see her again?

At that thought, Qi Ling’s heart clenched tight.

He looked at the somewhat frail figure under the lightning, his eyes filling with reluctance, craving, and finally, anticipation, hoping she could advance safely. If need be, he would just go to the Immortal Realm to find her!

"You must succeed in advancing. Don’t get hurt!"

He prayed silently in his heart.

He remembered how he used to mock Chu Yan for his concern whenever Qin Zhao suffered the slightest illness.

But now, he wished the lightning would strike him instead so that his little fairy wouldn’t be harmed at all.

Time passed slowly, and the oppressive power of the thunder and lightning seemed to gradually weaken.

"Could it be... she succeeded?"

Qi Ling stared intensely into the distance, his heart filled with both joy and worry.

Glad for her success, yet anxious about not being able to see her afterward.

All the while, Luo Han was watching his anxious behavior with interest.

Luo Han’s lip curled up slightly as intrigue gleamed in his eyes.

"Each and every one is lovesick. Don’t they know women are the biggest distractions?"

The interest in his eyes turned into mockery.

He despised the behaviour of Chu Yan and Qi Ling, who seemed to lose their way upon encountering women.

What was this mundane love compared to supreme power and immense strength?

In the distance, the thunderstorm seemed about to subside.

Qi Ling was just about to breathe a sigh of relief.

At that moment, an anomaly suddenly occurred!

A shadow of a sword flew from afar, tearing through the very fabric of fate.

Accompanied by a tremendous force, this sword shadow struck Chu Yan.

Qi Ling watched, wide-eyed, as Chu Yan was hit squarely by the Sword Qi, her body disintegrating into dust in an instant.

His heart-wrenching cry echoed through the air.

Qi Ling attempted to move forward but collapsed to the ground, his legs giving way.

He lifted his head, eyes filled with despair and sorrow, bloodshot with deep red veins.

His hand stretched forward, weakly clenched, as if trying to grasp something.

He struggled to get up, staggering towards where Chu Yan had been.

But he found nothing.

"Chu Yan! Chu Yan, where are you?"

Qi Ling’s voice cracked with sobs as he continued to shout.

His little fairy had disappeared.

How could she vanish?

"Did she ascend to the heavens?"

He watched helplessly as her body disintegrated amidst the sword shadows, not daring to contemplate the possibility.

"Why are you crying?"

A cold voice descended from the sky.

Shangguan Qiu stood on her longsword, looking down at him from above.

Seeing Qi Ling’s tear-streaked face stirred something inexplicable in her heart.

What was there to cry about?

Did he think she was dead?

Shangguan Qiu furrowed her brows, withdrawing her sword heart. The events of the past few months seemed ever more real to her.

Looking at Qi Ling’s tear-streaked face, she found it somewhat endearing.

Shangguan Qiu flew down from above, handing him a tissue.

Seeing him stand there dumbfounded, Shangguan Qiu reached out to wipe the tears from his face.

Qi Ling roughly pushed her hand away, even glaring at her fiercely.

"Was it you who did this just now?!"

Seeing the hatred in his eyes, Shangguan Qiu felt bewildered.

"Was it you who killed her!"

He spat out each word with grinding teeth.

Shangguan Qiu smiled faintly, remembering their first encounters and how unlikable his disposition was.

She looked at him with layered meaning, "Qi Ling, you really are an idiot."

Having said that, Shangguan Qiu turned and left.

She had just retracted her sword heart and her soul was still somewhat unstable; she needed to quickly return and enter seclusion.

Shangguan Qiu’s swordsmanship had advanced at an astonishing pace. Before Qi Ling could stop her, she had already flown away.

"Shangguan Qiu! Where do you think you’re going? Explain yourself!"

Qi Ling raged, standing on the spot.

And she called him an idiot!

Idiot yourself, your whole family is full of idiots!

"Only getting anxious now, aren’t you a bit late?"

A mocking voice came from behind.

Qi Ling whirled around, and upon seeing Luo Han, his facial expression froze.

"Your Highness, you...", he started.

"How come I am here?" Luo Han smiled as he finished Qi Ling’s sentence, "I am naturally here to capture a traitor and incidentally to see for myself how formidable the person secretly protecting you is.

It seems I’m in luck, just having found you and she already died."

"No! She’s not dead!"

Qi Ling’s eyes widened, his rims red.

He refused to accept her disappearance.

Luo Han’s smile deepened, "Do you know where the sword in Shangguan Qiu’s hand is from? With such a sword strike, not just that woman, even I couldn’t withstand it."

He numbly asked, "Where from?"

"It is the War God’s sword from the Immortal Realm, known as the Changyuan Sword. Your friend was at a critical moment of Ascension when Shangguan Qiu came down with such a strike, killing her effortlessly."

"No... she can’t be dead."

Qi Ling covered his ears, not wanting to hear Luo Han’s words.

But the image of the sword heart’s power turning a body to dust was indelible in his mind.

"The body is definitely dead, you saw it just now."

Luo Han approached him, his mocking eyes tinged with a trace of pity.

"How tragic, to lose such a powerful ally so easily. Although her body is dead, her soul has not dispersed yet, some residual soul remains."

Luo Han extended his hand, and a few strands of faint blue light appeared in it.

These lights looked somewhat like the Netherworld Butterfly’s glow.

"This is her residual soul. If you can mend the residual soul, it might be possible to have her reincarnated." Luo Han chuckled, "Wasn’t Chu Yan’s wife resurrected in just such a way?"

"Do you think I’d believe you?"

Qi Ling, well aware of his many tricks, did not take him lightly.

"It carries her essence; feel it for yourself."

Qi Ling collected his emotions and took the flickering lights from Luo Han’s hand.

He stared at the lights, covering them with a spell.

Within the shattered lights remained residual Sword Qi, the very presence he was familiar with.