549 The Holy Maiden's Redemption

The tall elderly man launched himself at An Lin before throwing a fist at him with an enraged cry.

His fist was entirely enveloped by golden flames, and the fearsome might behind the fist made entire space around him tremble. This was his full-power strike, and he was clearly trying to kill An Lin in one fell swoop.

He didn't know where the fragment of the realm core was, but the only thing he could do now was to keep everyone here, even if it meant killing them!

The tall old man was extremely quick, but a powerful white sword projection flew through the air en route to his back as he sprang into action.

Lü Dongbin finally attacked after seeing the tall old man move.

However, to his surprise, the tall old man completely ignored the sword projection flying toward him as he aimed his fist down at An Lin with a ruthless determination on his face.

The fist expanded in An Lin's field of vision, and the entire space around him was sealed, affording him no avenues for escape.

A pair of white wings flapped at this moment as a figure instantly positioned himself in front of An Lin. A golden ring began to revolve in front of the figure while attempting to redirect the monstrous power behind the tall old man's fist.

Boom!

The fist collided with the golden ring with earth-shattering force as a vast amount of force was redirected into the ground, where it created a bowl-shaped crater of over a kilometer in radius.

However, the tall old man's fist was still able to punch through the golden ring before striking Qin Sheng's chest, creating a massive hole in his chest with the power of annihilation imbued within his fist.

"Puah…" Qin Sheng's body swayed as if he was about to collapse.

"Seeing as you want to take the punch for him, then I'll kill you first." The tall old man had initially planned to leave the Return to Void Stage mighty figures alive in order to use them to revive the wandering spirits of Qi Lou City, but now that the fragment of the realm core had disappeared, he was no longer in the mood to spare anyone.

The white sword projection also pierced through the tall old man's body at this moment, leaving a hole in his chest where his heart should be. However, Lü Dongbin's pupils contracted drastically as he caught sight of the wound on the tall old man's chest. There was nothing, not even any blood or flesh, as if he were just an illusionary figure.

Right at this moment, the tall old man turned and unleashed another terrifying punch that knocked Lü Dongbin back through the air as blood gushed forth from his mouth.

"So you two are wandering spirits too…" Lü Dongbin wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. There was shock and sympathy in his eyes.

Golden flames once again burst forth from the tall old man's fists. "This was not our burden to bear. We must rescue this city that we once protected and lead them out from this hell on earth…"

The sound of a guqin suddenly erupted throughout the entire heaven and earth.

The stocky old man stroked the strings of his guqin as an extremely sorrowful song reverberated throughout heaven and earth, recounting a tale of countless years in limbo as well as endless loneliness and despair…

Divine punishment descended upon the world, reducing the flourishing city to ash and dust. Inexplicable death befell everyone as their bodies crumbled. However, these people were trapped in limbo and were unable to pass on to the afterlife.

Why? What did we do to deserve this?

Confusion, fear, resentment, despair…

The wandering spirits walked the ancient city, replicating the lively scenes of the past, as if nothing had ever changed.

The stars were obscured once again as a rain of blood descended upon the world.

An Lin felt as if the despairing cries of countless people were reverberating in his head, and his consciousness trembled violently as he was struck by a bout of intense dizziness.

Not only him, but all the Return to Void Stage mighty figures at the scene also experienced splitting headaches as they were struck by the fearsome spiritual attack, which was imbued with the indignation and despair of a huge city with a population of hundreds of millions.

The stocky old man's attack instantly took effect on everyone at the scene.

"Waah… they're all so miserable…"

A sob as pleasant to the ear as the call of an oriole pierced through the countless cries of despair before transmitting clearly into everyone's ears, as if it were a beacon of light in the darkness.

An Lin gripped his head in agony as he turned his eyes on Tina.

Tina sniffled as she wiped away the tears on her face. A brilliant white light glowed in her eyes as the image of a fragment appeared within her pupils, which lit up the world like a scintillating mirror.

Within the mirror was a bustling city in which countless citizens lived busy yet fulfilling lives.

Outside the mirror was a dilapidated ancient city in which countless wandering spirits roamed, forever trapped in limbo.

The white fragment in her eyes appeared both realistic and illusionary at the same time, and it seemed to phase between these two modes of existence.

Tina trembled slightly as her whole body began to glow with brilliant light.

A pillar of light burst into the air with her body as the source before dispersing the rain of blood in the sky and creating a white vortex in the sky that enveloped the entire city with boundless suction force.

The two red-robed elderly men were both dumbstruck upon seeing this.

"This… this is the aura of the fragment of the realm core?" the tall old man muttered to himself.

The ice doll in Yan Hua's hands pointed at Tina as it yelled incessantly.

Yan Hua was getting quite irritated, and she flattened the ice doll between her palms.

"I can feel that the fragment of the realm core has already fused together with that fairy… What a rare and enviable opportunity…" A bitter smile appeared on Su Jingxiang's face.

Within Qi Lou City, countless wandering souls began to fly toward the white vortex in the sky.

Even the two red-robed elderly men could feel the suction force emanating from the vortex.

Tina turned her gaze on the two elderly men. Tears flashed in her eyes as she spread open her arms with a smile and said, "Grandpa Lü Cheng, Grandpa Luo Cheng, thank you both for protecting the city through these countless, lonely years. I'll be taking you home now…"

Her white dress rippled in the wind as if it were a beautiful white lotus flower blossoming in the night sky. Heaven and earth were reflected in Tina's eyes, and at that moment, she was like a scintillating Holy Maiden who was providing redemption to all the wandering souls trapped in limbo.

The two elderly men could see the former, bustling Qi Lou City in Tina's eyes. It was a scene so beautiful that it brought tears to their eyes. Countless wandering souls descended from the sky before disappearing under the vibrant sun.

"So that's what happened. She's able to mirror the past and create a reality based on illusion… To think that the fragment of the realm core would be capable of something like this… It's not the same as the alternate world we were trying to create, but it's a fantastic home nonetheless…" The tall old man's body was already slowly floating into the air.

The stocky old man also stowed away his guqin as a relieved smile appeared on his face. "Who would have thought that we would be the ones to receive redemption in the end."

The tall old man nodded before turning to Tina, and his lips moved slightly.

Tina's expression faltered slightly before returning to normal.

All the wandering souls of Qi Lou City flew toward the white vortex in the sky before merging into the fragment of the realm core in Tina's eyes.

The two red-robed elderly men were both extremely relieved to see all the wandering souls flying into the vortex, and they stopped resisting the suction force as they too voluntarily flew toward the vortex.

"Old man Lü, we've been partners for a long time, and it appears I'll have to ask you to continue to look out for me in the future." The stocky old man smile.

"Of course. Remember to eat more when you cross over to the other world, Old Man Luo, otherwise, I might not be able to recognize you," the tall old man replied with a smile.

Thus, the two of them slowly disappeared into the white vortex.

The pillar of light slowly dissipated, and Qi Lou City fell into complete silence. There was no longer any chatter from the wandering souls, only the sound of the light breeze blowing through the air.

Tina blinked, and the white fragment disappeared as her eyes regained their emerald color.

Her tiny body swayed slightly before plummeting toward the ground, but her downward momentum was halted by a pair of warm, sturdy arms.

"Well done, Little Na!" An Lin praised.

A sweet smile appeared on Tina's face. "There's another treasure that I have to tell you about later!"