Chapter 11

"More words are useless. It is a fact that you slaughtered our Spirit Hall's Titled Douluo. Today, you will pay the price!"

Qian Daoliu no longer cared whether his Angel Domain would erode Bibi Dong's Divine Slaughter's Domain. He unleashed the full might of his Angel Martial Soul, hovering high in the sky with six pairs of pure-white wings spread wide. Golden light blanketed half the heavens, and nine Soul Rings pulsed slowly around him.

The Angel Domain spread outward in layers. Wherever its golden light passed, all dark-attribute Soul Power hidden in the air dissolved. Together with Bibi Dong's Divine Slaughter's Domain, it squeezed Lan Changsheng's Blue Silver Imperial Emperor Domain from two directions.

Faced with the two domains, the Blue Silver Imperial Emperor Domain's reach shrank again and again under the pressure. The plants it had brought forth were either swallowed by the Divine Slaughter's Domain or dissolved by the Angel Domain.

Lan Changsheng felt as though he were being crushed between the alternating sun and moon, one side cold and sinister, the other blazing hot. He could only rely on the continuous reinforcement of Life Divine Power. The plants within his domain all rushed to its edges, bracing their bodies against the pressure, wanting to shoulder some of his burden.

"Hah... ah!"

Lan Changsheng unleashed his full power. Behind him appeared the phantom of an immense blade of grass that reached into the heavens, roughly a thousand feet tall, forcing Qian Daoliu's and Bibi Dong's domains apart.

This phantom surpassed any ancient tree Qian Daoliu and Bibi Dong had ever seen. It was the true form of the Blue Silver Imperial Emperor Grass.

It was neither pale blue and slender like ordinary Blue Silver Grass nor shaped like a Blue Silver Willow Tree, as Ah Yin was. It resembled a colossal tree formed from the very concept of plants, in which every imaginable plant's color could be seen.

Its trunk consisted of hundreds of silver vines wound together in spirals, their surfaces covered in fine golden patterns through which the Law of Life flowed like blood.

Each leaf was roughly thirty feet long, with veins arranged in a web. Shaped like sharp swords, they had tiny golden serrations along their edges. Their surfaces were smooth as mirrors, reflecting an entire starry sky, dazzling and dreamlike.

It brought life energy so dense it could gather into water, flooding the entire Blue Silver Imperial Emperor Domain and easing the pressure Bibi Dong and Qian Daoliu exerted upon it.

"So this is Life Divine Power?" A complicated expression appeared on Bibi Dong's face: desire, yearning, jealousy, and resentment.

"If I devour you, will I gain everything you have and free myself from that curse?!" Beneath the calm in Bibi Dong's voice lay a trace of madness she could not suppress.

Too many things had battered her nerves today, finally leaving her struggling to control herself.

The madness in Bibi Dong's eyes peeled away like shattered ice, revealing a stillness beneath that sent chills down the spine.

The air around her solidified within her thick killing intent, and even the light around her warped. Scarlet divine power seeped upward from the roots, gradually staining the six Spider Spears behind her red.

The Divine Slaughter's Domain withdrew inch by inch, constantly shrinking and condensing. Pressed tight against her skin, a sinister suit of gray-white armor grew from top to bottom: pauldrons, breastplate, bracers, and skirt armor, with dark-red divine power flowing throughout.

All six Spider Spears thrust forward at once, their scarlet divine power tracing six bloody paths through the air. She took a step, her armor striking the ground with the clang of metal against stone. The entire space trembled slightly with it, as though the world itself were making way for her.

Even when Qian Daoliu's Angel Holy Light shone upon her, it produced only a few sizzling sounds.

Qian Daoliu's brows knitted tightly. Small crackling explosions sounded where the Angel Holy Light collided with Bibi Dong. Unwilling to have their powers cancel each other out at this juncture, he could only snort coldly and withdraw his Angel Domain several dozen feet, standing to one side to cover her and leave her the battlefield.

"State your name. You are worthy of being remembered by me." Bibi Dong's voice was cold and numb, carrying a faint tremor like the low murmur of a vengeful spirit.

"Lan Changsheng."

"Good."

Bibi Dong forced her way into the Blue Silver Imperial Emperor Domain step by step. Every plant that tried to stop her was shredded by those six Spider Spears before it could get close.

She did not walk quickly, but each step stamped spiderweb-like cracks into the domain. Yet Lan Changsheng discovered that she had already locked onto him, her tangible killing intent surrounding him.

"Seven minutes left..." Just as Lan Changsheng was silently counting in his heart.

[Host, why not ask Ah Yin?]

The system's voice sounded in his heart again, but this time its words stunned Lan Changsheng.

"What did you say? Is Ah Yin awake?" Lan Changsheng's voice was anxious, but this time the response came not from the system, but from a voice he knew all too well.

"Brother..."

"Ah Yin, how are you?" Lan Changsheng kept his voice as gentle as possible, but that trace of trembling was unmistakable.

"I'm fine, Brother. Knowing you're still here, knowing Tang Hao and San'er are well too, makes me very happy." Ah Yin's voice came intermittently.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Ah Yin. I came too late. Your brother came too late." Lan Changsheng, who had shown no fear before Bibi Dong and Qian Daoliu, now spoke with a trembling voice.

As though sensing Lan Changsheng's distraction, Bibi Dong spoke with a hint of anger. "What are you thinking about?!"

Scarlet points of light gathered at the tips of the six Spider Spears behind her. Six rays merged into one before Bibi Dong, breaking through every obstruction and shooting straight toward Lan Changsheng's chest.

Lan Changsheng raised his hand, stacking layer upon layer of blue silver spears before him.

The first layer was pierced...

The second layer was pierced...

The third layer was pierced... The beam punched through six layers of defense and struck his right palm. The flesh of his palm burst apart, silver blood spraying. Lan Changsheng staggered back three steps before barely regaining his footing.

Life Divine Power gathered at the wound. With a flash of light, it returned to normal.

"Do you think you aren't dying fast enough?"

She closed in again, six Spider Spears stabbing simultaneously from different directions, sealing off every angle through which Lan Changsheng could dodge.

Forced to respond with all his strength, he formed the Blue Silver Emperor Spear in his hand. He parried the two spears on his left, flicked aside the two on his right, deflected the two before him, then swept the butt of his spear across, finally forcing Bibi Dong back five feet.

"Brother, I had a dream." Ah Yin's voice sounded again in that brief opening, a little clearer than before. "In the dream, someone told me that you needed my help, that I should become your Oath of Protection."

Those words nearly made Lan Changsheng drop the spear in his hand. "System, what are you doing?!"

But the system gave no response. Only Ah Yin's voice continued to surface intermittently.

"Brother, I'm willing." Her voice carried the same certainty as always.

"Do you know what the consequences will be? Our lives will be linked, our fates shared. If anything happens to me, you'll be in danger too. What will your beloved and your child do then?!" Lan Changsheng spoke anxiously, for Bibi Dong was still pressing closer step by step.

The six Spider Spears swept and slashed. Every blow carried the destructive power of the Divine Slaughter's Domain compressed to its utmost.

Lan Changsheng retreated while parrying. The energy released as spear met spears lit up two faces, one cold and one anxious.

"Brother, I'm the family you chose, aren't I?" Ah Yin's voice came through clearly. "Besides, with someone to care about, you'll cherish your own life more too, won't you?"

Ah Yin's words made Lan Changsheng pause. "All right. You've thought this through more clearly than I have."

He turned sideways to evade Bibi Dong's piercing Spider Spear, then thrust back with his own spear, its tip scraping across her armor. Taking advantage of that opening, Lan Changsheng said quietly, "Ah Yin, repeat after me."

Bibi Dong had already finished gathering power for her next attack. Her six Spider Spears rose high, scarlet light converging once more.

"Together in life and death, never to speak of regret."

"Together in life and death, never... to speak of regret."