"Boom!"
The Phoenix Emperor crashed into the ruins, kicking up dust.
A huge impact crater suddenly appeared.
She lay quietly at the bottom of the pit, her White Flame Battle Armor shattered and dissipated into streams of light.
The will-o'-the-wisp flickered in its eye sockets, about to be extinguished completely.
Did I... lose?
The Phoenix Emperor murmured weakly.
She could clearly feel that her vitality was irreversibly fading away.
But even in those final moments before death, the [anger] that had been controlling her reason resurfaced.
Finally, it dissipated as her power waned.
Phoenix Emperor's muddled thoughts cleared.
She suddenly realized her emotions just now...
It was guided by that ant.
"I... I actually did such a thing..."
Phoenix Emperor turned the skull away, its gaze sweeping over the devastated ruins of Soul Return Town.
This was once her home, which she had painstakingly built up over a thousand years.
It was the paradise she created with all her might while waiting for that man to return.
But now, she has destroyed all of that with her own hands.
She eventually...
I still haven't been able to fulfill that long-held wish.
"Tap... tap..."
Footsteps sounded at the edge of the pit.
The next moment, Jiangnan emerged from the swirling dust and stood before her.
Do you regret it?
When the Phoenix Emperor saw him, it shook its head.
"What good is regret?"
"Just like you said before, this... is my obsession."
I don't regret anything I've done for you.
"The only regret I have in my life is..."
Phoenix Emperor stared intently at Jiangnan's face, as if trying to etch him into the deepest part of her soul.
"It's because I didn't decisively take you down back then in the Great Xia Imperial Palace!"
"On the contrary... on the contrary, you've gotten away with it!"
"Jiangnan... you are the only man I have loved but could never have in the past thousand years."
Phoenix Emperor's words were tinged with bitterness and self-deprecation.
She gazed at Jiangnan and uttered a question.
Tell me, did you... ever love me?
Answer me... even if it's just a lie, even if it's a hoax... that's fine.
Jiangnan stood quietly, looking at the woman at the bottom of the pit who had given up all her pride, seeking only a lie.
For some reason, his heart, which was as firm as a rock, suddenly felt heavy.
He knew very well that he was a reincarnated being and had no memories of his previous life as the Dragon God.
He couldn't say he had any deep, unforgettable love for the woman in front of him.
But... this body is in pain.
At that moment, Jiangnan suddenly felt a crystal-clear drop of water slide down his cheek.
Is it raining?
Jiangnan subconsciously raised his head and looked at the dim, lightless night sky.
But the sky was dry, and there wasn't even a drop of rain.
However, his vision became increasingly blurry.
Jiangnan reached out and touched his cheek, his fingertips still warm.
It's not raining.
Instead, he... cried.
This has nothing to do with Jiangnan's own rationality or emotions.
This is the body that carries the bloodline of the Dragon God and the karma of cause and effect, and it reacted autonomously when faced with the impending demise of the Phoenix Emperor!
Those deep-seated bonds within our genes and souls transformed into silent tears at this moment.
The Phoenix Emperor at the bottom of the pit was slightly taken aback when it saw this scene.
Then, she suddenly burst out laughing.
"So... you can be sad because of me too."
"I understand... I understand everything."
No words are needed; this uncontrollable tear is the best proof.
Phoenix Emperor took a deep breath and began to activate the last bit of energy remaining in its body.
A hazy halo enveloped her skeletal body.
She wanted to change her ugly appearance and transform back into the stunningly beautiful princess.
"Jiangnan..."
Phoenix Emperor raised its head and stretched out its hand, which was reshaping flesh and blood, towards him with all its might.
In these final moments... could you... give me one last kiss?
Jiangnan remained silent for a moment.
Looking into those expectant eyes, he knelt down and nodded. "Okay."
However!
At this most heartwarming moment!
"Cough cough cough... Pfft!"
The Phoenix Emperor suddenly burst into uncontrollable coughing!
The remaining energy in her body was simply insufficient to support her in completing this final transformation!
The halo flickered wildly as her body leaped back and forth between exquisite flesh and blood and stark white skeletons!
Ultimately, the energy was completely depleted!
The Phoenix Emperor's appearance was frozen in a state of duality.
Half of it is a human face, and the other half is a skeleton!
"No... don't..."
Phoenix Emperor was completely devastated.
She burst into tears.
"Why... why..."
"Why won't you even give me this last bit of dignity?!"
Why is this world treating me so cruelly?!
She desperately used her intact hand to cover her face, which was half skeleton and half flesh, blocking Jiangnan's view.
He was afraid that Jiangnan would see his monstrous and hideous appearance.
But.
Jiangnan did not retreat.
He knelt down on one knee, leaned forward, and grabbed the Phoenix Emperor's wrist, which was covering its face.
He then pulled her hands away and slammed her half-human, half-skeletal body against the rock at the bottom of the pit!
The Phoenix Emperor opened its eyes wide in alarm.
The next second.
Jiangnan lowered his head and kissed her directly, silencing all her cries and despair.
Phoenix Emperor was completely dumbfounded.
She stared wide-eyed at the one stunningly beautiful eye and the other, at the empty socket, both in disbelief.
After a brief but genuine kiss, Jiangnan raised his head and calmly gazed at her, directly piercing through her inner inferiority and doubts.
"Do you think I've always found your weird appearance disgusting?"
Jiangnan spoke at a measured pace, yet with resounding conviction.
Phoenix Emperor stared at him in shock, her voice trembling. "You... you don't hate how disgusting I look?"
Of course not.
Jiangnan sneered, his tone blunt and merciless. "It's you, Phoenix Emperor, who's deluding yourself, thinking I hate that you've turned into a skeleton."
"But actually, what I've always hated is your personality, this self-important attitude of thinking you're a superior being!"
"What I hate is that arrogant Phoenix Emperor, not this tormented body!"
Phoenix Emperor hearing these words, a rare blush appeared on the half of Phoenix's exquisite face.
"So that's how it is..."
A single, glistening tear slid down her cheek, and the shackles binding her heart finally shattered completely at that moment.
It turns out, it was all her own fault.
She was too arrogant and disdainful of others, taking everything for granted.
That's why I gradually pushed him away, and that's why he hated me so much.
What he hated wasn't that she had become a monster, but that she had lost her heart.
"It's a pity... now that I know I regret it... it's too late."
Phoenix Emperor smiled bitterly, her body beginning to transform into starlight and dissipate into the world.
"Who says it's too late?"
Jiangnan stood up, ripped the [Human Emperor Lamp] from his waist, and pointed the lamp at the dissipating Phoenix Emperor!
Once she enters the Great Love Factory, even if she only has a wisp of a soul left, he is confident that he can bring her back to life!
However...
A deathly silence fell.
The wick of the Human Emperor Lamp flickered only once, but it didn't generate any suction at all!
"What happened?!"
Jiangnan's expression changed drastically, and he quickly urged it to activate again.
Smack
The Human Emperor Lamp swayed innocently in Jiangnan's hand, and then a stream of information entered Jiangnan's mind.
[Target determination failed.]
[This target is a spirit! It is essentially a part of the original body.]
This magical artifact can only absorb the souls of living beings; it cannot devour higher-level Spirit Artifact spirits!
"What?!"
"A spirit artifact?!"
He had planned everything meticulously, but he overlooked this one thing!
Human Emperor Lamp is indeed a big capitalist, but it can't swallow its employees, nor can it swallow up capitalists who are even bigger than itself!
This is the feeling of having everything under control, only to fail at the last moment.
Jiangnan experienced an unprecedented, splitting headache.
Holding the Human Emperor Lamp, he watched the Phoenix Emperor below dissipate at an increasingly rapid pace, and at this moment he seemed somewhat at a loss.
Meanwhile, the Phoenix Emperor at the bottom of the pit, watching Jiangnan's anxious and even flustered appearance because of her, revealed a sense of satisfaction in its eyes.
"Jiangnan... don't waste your energy."
Half of the Phoenix Emperor's body had already transformed into luminous feathers as she looked at Jiangnan.
"I can see how worried you are about me..."
"Just being able to hear what you just said is already..."
The light completely engulfed her.
In that final, fleeting moment, a gentle breeze swept by.
The last words that the Phoenix Emperor left behind were sent to Jiangnan's ears.
"... That's enough."
"Phew~"
It was like a dream shattered.
The Phoenix Emperor's figure transformed into a wisp of smoke, dissipating into the world she had created and then destroyed.
At the bottom of the empty meteorite crater, only a picture scroll with tattered edges remains.
The scroll depicts an ancient town that was once bustling with activity and brightly lit.
That is...
[Mortal Fireworks Painting].
The night wind howled, stirring up plumes of dust from the bottom of the meteorite crater.
Jiangnan stood still, looking at the ancient scroll in his hand.
The once bustling, vibrant atmosphere of the marketplace on the scroll has completely faded, leaving only a desolate grayness.
Just then, lines of information unfolded in front of my retina.
[Item]: Mortal Fireworks Painting
[Type]:???
[Level]: Demigod- level!
[Function]: Creates an absolute domain with a radius of fifty kilometers, which can transform the souls of the dead into special beings protected by the domain.
[Information]: It is neither a purely Spirit Artifact nor an evil Weird Artifact; it exists somewhere in between.
But the spirit within remained unchanged, and in order to maintain its youth and wait for its deceased loved ones, it forged itself into the Spirit Artifact.
[Note]: This item and its spirit are severely damaged and cannot be supplied with any energy in the current state!
Jiangnan's gaze swept over the first few lines, his brows furrowing, until his eyes fixed on the last line with the red text marked "[Note]".
"Severely damaged..."
"Energy supply is no longer available..."
Jiangnan's heart, which had sunk to the bottom, suddenly pounded!
Then, he exhaled a breath of stale air.
"He's not dead! He can still be saved!!!"
Jiangnan clutched the tattered scroll.
This means that although the Phoenix Emperor dissipated its physical form at the last moment!
But she remained trapped in the deepest part of this picture, in a deep slumber and self-isolation!
"As long as they're not completely dead, we can definitely bring them back to life."
Jiangnan gritted his teeth.
He absolutely could not allow a woman who claimed to love him to die right in front of him!
Even if...
This is just her one-sided obsession and love!
He carefully tucked the [Mortal Fireworks Painting] painting away from his body.
But after the initial excitement, a practical problem confronted him.
This is Demigod- level artifact!
Now that it's so badly damaged, where can we find a craftsman capable of repairing it to this extent?
Jiangnan felt a pang of distress.
He touched the Human Emperor Lamp at his waist; this thing was a capitalist that only took in and never gave out.
They're great at absorbing souls, but completely useless at repairing equipment.
"Are we just going to watch her sleep forever in this painting?"
Just as Jiangnan fell into deep thought.
His gaze swept over the [Godslayer Spear] he held in his left hand, then touched the [Human Emperor Lamp] at his waist.
"Etc..."
Capable of creating weapons like the Godslayer Spear, capable of God of Slaughter, and crafting spatial Weird Artifact like the Human Emperor Lamp, capable of containing countless souls...
He could even deceive everyone and conspire with him in his previous life to set up a grand scheme that spanned a thousand years.
A person who schemes against the entire world, all Evil God, and even the Phoenix Emperor...
There's only one like that in the whole world!
That master craftsman, that Emperor who stood at the pinnacle of power and strength!
"The Ancestor Dragon Emperor..."
Jiangnan murmured the name, and the confusion in his eyes vanished completely!
Yes!
If there is anyone in this world who can repair the Phoenix Emperor's [Mortal Fireworks Painting].
That means it's that old monster who has mastered the art of weapon crafting!
Moreover, the many mysteries surrounding himself, the truth behind the Dragon God's fall, and where this game of chess spanning a thousand years is headed...
All the answers are in that person's hands!
Jiangnan raised his head, facing the fierce wind blowing over the ruins of Soul Return Town.
He turned around and cast his deep gaze toward the distant northern horizon.
At the far end of that direction lies the most inviolable center of power.
Dragon Xia Imperial City!
"Debts from the past life, mysteries of this life... it's time to settle them."
Next goal, I've got it!
[Chapter 235 The Fallen Home (Blue Star), please forgive me because the image seems to be stuck in the review process]