...Meanwhile…

Whoos.h.!.+

A tremendous battle intent burst out from Qin Nan’s figure as he unleashed the Destruction Domain which crashed downward at his target. The Heaven-Shattering Saber in his hand emitted a shocking flicker as he slashed forward!

“d.a.m.n it, this G.o.dd.a.m.ned Heaven-Shattering Saber.”

The South-Heaven Spirit Envoy was startled seeing the attacks. He let out a curse and immediately relocated himself.

He was not afraid of the Destruction Domain or the G.o.dly Exterminator Scripture, but the Heaven-Shattering Saber was able to shatter anything in the world, thus it was efficient against his South-Heaven Flesh.

“Senior Brother, Bilan, Mu Mu, Sima Kong, Xuan Yue, you guys go ahead to compete for the Monarch Horoscope. I’ll...”

Qin Nan yelled.

However, before he could finish, a familiar imperious voice echoed in his mind.

“Qin Nan, go and claim the Monarch Horoscope now, let Tang Qingshan and the others deal with the South-Heaven Spirit Envoy! This South-Heaven Spirit Envoy is difficult to deal with, and I won’t be able to intervene with the Monarch Horoscope Contest. If we let things drag on, something horrible will happen!”

Qin Nan was startled. He immediately recalled the voice to belong to the spirit of the Monarch Ranking.

“Senior, I can’t, I won’t let myself be a burden to Tang Qingshan and Jiang Bilan.”

Qin Nan shook his head.

His friends had sacrificed too much for him. How could he abandon them for his own benefits?

“Don’t worry, I’ve kept that in mind. As long as you manage to claim the Monarch Horoscope and destroy the South-Heaven Gate’s plan, I’ll reward both Tang Qingshan and Jiang Bilan with a Monarch Horoscope.” The Monarch Ranking said.

“Mm?” Qin Nan was stunned, “How about Sima Kong, Xuan Yue, Mu Mu...”

“I can only give you two. Twelve is definitely my limit, not to mention that even if they managed to defeat the geniuses and ascend to the altars, they wouldn’t be able to earn the approval of the Monarch Horoscopes.” The Monarch Ranking said.

“Qin Nan, you should go!” Tang Qingshan suddenly turned around.

“Following you is always the better choice, saving me the trouble of competing for the Monarch Horoscope.” Jiang Bilan giggled.

Qin Nan came to a realization after seeing their reaction. It seemed like the Monarch Ranking had already explained the situation to them.

“Alright, I’m counting on you!”

Qin Nan made up his mind after hesitating for a moment. He brought his fists together before heading towards the back.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

The South-Heaven Spirit Envoy let out a scream and charged forward, but it was immediately stopped by Tang Qingshan and Jiang Bilan. Meanwhile, Sima Kong led Xuan Yue and Mu Mu as they attacked from the sides.

The South-Heaven Spirit Envoy was completely trapped between them.

Qin Nan returned to the altar with a calm mind.

The Monarch Ranking was right. The South-Heaven Spirit Envoy was unpredictable, thus his priority now was to claim the Monarch Horoscope.

Only by claiming the Monarch Horoscope would he be able to protect himself and crush the South-Heaven Gate’s plan.

“But how do I even achieve the Martial Monarch Realm?”

Qin Nan suddenly realized the problem.

Even though he could still inherit the previous Monarch Horoscope which had given him its approval, a single Monarch Horoscope was not enough for him.

Normally, a cultivator would only have one Martial Tree, thus a Monarch Horoscope would be sufficient.

He had nine Martial Trees, thus one Monarch Horoscope would not be enough for him. He would need at least…

Qin Nan’s figure shuddered as a crazy thought crossed his mind!

Nine Martial Trees!

He could go and claim nine Monarch Horoscopes!

If he were able to claim them, wouldn’t it make him as strong as nine Martial Monarchs?

“That’s right! Nine Monarch Horoscopes! I will be able to achieve the Martial Monarch Realm after obtaining nine Monarch Horoscopes!”

Qin Nan’s heart beat rapidly as his blood began to boil.

There was no way anyone in the history of the Canglan Continent would come up with such a crazy thought?

Having this thought, his eyes looked at the other nine altars.

However, as he looked around, he happened to witness something that would be unforgettable for the rest of his life.

The geniuses were still fighting one another in a crazy manner for the remaining Monarch Horoscopes. Their Divine Sense continued to take note of the situation on the first, second, and third altars.

Especially s.h.i.+ Qingfan, who would fail the process if he was unable to turn the situation around, which meant another Monarch Horoscope would be available for them.

Secondly, they had no idea why the Sage and the Sorceress were fighting each other, but once the outcome was determined, one of the Monarch Horoscopes would become available too.

...Meanwhile, on the first altar…

s.h.i.+ Qingfan wore a stern expression as he uttered a chant, “The unknown of the Heavens, the incessant reincarnation, the rebirth into the current world...”

“The unknown of the Heavens, the incessant reincarnation, the rebirth into the current world...”

Yu Qingtong who was sitting opposite s.h.i.+ Qingfan repeated the same chant.

As they repeated the same chant over and over again, a black symbol that looked like a vortex appeared on s.h.i.+ Qingfan’s forehead and Yu Qingtong’s neck.

“The never-ending path of cultivation, the eternal life.”

s.h.i.+ Qingfan let out a deep breath.

“The never-ending path of cultivation, the eternal...life!”

Yu Qingtong used all her strength to complete the chant, as the progenitor force in her body was swiftly emptied.

“Phew! It’s finally done! The curse is so impressive! Senior Brother, are you able to claim the Monarch Horoscope now?”

Yu Qingtong was overjoyed, causing her face to flush slightly. She was extremely happy as she was able to help s.h.i.+ Qingfan.

However, as soon as she finished speaking, several lotuses appeared under her feet and crawled upward.

“Senior Brother, this——”

Yu Qingtong was slightly startled. Before she could finish, her eyes widened.

BANG!

A giant hand suddenly reached out toward her abdomen and unleashed a terrifying force, shattering the meridians, bones, and organs instantly.

A line of blood ran down from Yu Qingtong’s lips.

“Se...Senior Brother...you...”

Yu Qingtong opened her eyes wide. At that instant, she entirely forgot the pain she was experiencing.

The reason being that the owner of the hand turned out to be s.h.i.+ Qingfan.

“I’m sorry.” s.h.i.+ Qingfan’s eyes were filled with a hint of unwillingness as he let out a sigh, “The condition I was given to claim the Monarch Horoscope is to kill you.”

“Kill...me? You are willing to kill me for the Monarch Horoscope?”

Yu Qingtong’s face was filled with disbelief.

This was her Senior Brother.

The one who had helped her and taken good care of her all this time.

They had shared countless great memories together, and now he was killing her with his own hand?

“Don’t be sad, in our past lives, I’d already known that the biggest challenge to the Heartless Taoist Art that I’m cultivating now is love. I can only master the art after I’m able to get rid of my love, allowing me to achieve the Martial Monarch Realm, and even the Martial G.o.d Realm.” s.h.i.+ Qingfan’s expression became calm, “I’ve also helped you to reincarnate into your current body. Therefore, I’ll help you to reincarnate again.”

“So...everything...was true...”

Yu Qingtong wore a wry smile.

“You already knew?”

s.h.i.+ Qingfan was shocked.

“Yeah...you killed me in our past lives. Even though you’ve achieved the Martial Monarch Realm, you did not manage to master the art, so you let me reincarnate...I never believed it, I didn’t dare to believe the memories in my mind, but I never thought, all of them...were real...”

Yu Qingtong’s eyes closed slowly as her aura weakened.

“It’s all my fault.” s.h.i.+ Qingfan wore a painful expression seeing this, “But don’t worry, you’ll reincarnate still. Once you return, I will achieve a great height in my path of cultivation, I’ll let you enjoy everything you want in the world.”

“Enjoy...everything? Sorry...Senior Brother...I know I’m playful...I like to buy stuff...I like to show off...but I don’t think I can do it anymore...You’ve killed me once, but I didn’t believe it...In the second stage, you killed me hundreds of times, but I didn’t believe it either... I can’t take this anymore...Farewell, Senior Brother...I hope you’ll...achieve the Martial G.o.d Realm...”

Two lines of tears rolled down Yu Qingtong’s cheeks.

She was stupid, so stupid.

A moment later, her tears stopped rolling as her eyes lost focus. Her body slowly shattered into pieces as the lotuses below her feet withered rapidly. A few seconds later, there was only a pile of sand left without any remains.

s.h.i.+ Qingfan stared at it with a blank face.

Countless memories surged into his mind even though he had practiced the Heartless Taoist Art.

He reached out his trembling hand, touching the pile of sand and feeling it with the tip of his finger.

“Qing...Qingtong?”

He asked, but there was no answer, only a pile of sand.

This time…

She was gone…

She was really gone, forever.