Parting

　　The world was filled with nothing but sword light.

　　Brilliant, dazzling sword light!

　　It sliced through the entire sky, revealing a profound void.

　　This was a Quasi-Emperor wielding an Immortal Sword, a strike that could rival even an ordinary Great Emperor's power.

　　The great yellow dog's palm was cut by the Immortal Sword, blood dripping onto the ground, carrying immense and terrifying bloodline power. Each drop of blood seemed like a world unto itself, reflecting all things and countless lives.

　　"Condense." The great yellow dog suddenly curled two fingers and shouted.

　　The imperial blood that had fallen instantly coalesced, wrapped in spiritual energy. Thirteen drops of imperial blood appeared before Chen Xia.

　　"Take them; they will be useful," the great yellow dog said softly without turning to look at Chen Xia.

　　The fractured sky stirred again, and a massive eye emerged, followed by an entire body squeezing out from the hundred-mile sky, enveloped in thick pale mist, vaguely resembling a bird.

　　"A Quasi-Emperor wielding an Immortal Sword, somewhat interesting, worth a try," the bird-shaped figure made of pale mist said, its voice hollow, causing surrounding spiritual energy to mistify and become part of its body just by speaking.

　　Holding the Immortal Sword, the great yellow dog's gaze was sharp. With one hand gripping the sword and the other pulling as if dragging the heavens, it roared,

　　"Reverse Heaven!"

　　The heavens abruptly twisted, reversing not only spiritual energy, spells, treasures, and cultivators but everything!

　　Standing amidst the distorted heavens, the great yellow dog saw the gap.

　　This was the weakness of heaven, the weakness of all things.

　　It gripped the Immortal Sword, bent its waist, and delivered a simple yet powerful slash.

　　Thus, within the middle realm, a long streak of sword qi lay horizontally, as if ready to tear apart the entire middle realm.

　　The misty bird split into two halves, but no blood flowed; only mist swirled within.

　　Far away in the seventh forbidden zone, deep within the earth, a low dragon roar echoed. Then, an orange-yellow eye larger than any star condensed, looking outward, accompanied by the sound of chains rising. When it emerged from the dark hidden place, its true form was revealed—a Quasi-Emperor old dragon!

　　Its head intruded into the middle realm, emerging from the sky, occupying most of the space, staring at the tiny figure of the great yellow dog, emitting an ancient voice.

　　"A Quasi-Emperor should not wreak havoc in the realms; return quickly."

　　The great yellow dog's eyes were locked on Li Guang and the hunched old man far away, saying gravely, "First, I need to kill them."

　　"Foolish thoughts; outsiders have no right to kill great cultivators of the realms," the old dragon snorted coldly.

　　The misty bird's split body fused back together rapidly, becoming a pale white bird once more, whispering,

　　"Such a domineering Immortal Sword; this isn't your life-bound sword, is it? Otherwise, that strike would have cost me at least thirty percent of my essence."

　　As it spoke, its gaze fell upon Chen Xia, having seen him throw the sword to the great yellow dog.

　　"Enough to slay you is sufficient," the great yellow dog snorted, raising another spell seal, ignoring the Heavenly Retribution, ready to strike Li Guang and the hunched old man.

　　The misty bird called out, and the old dragon lowered its head.

　　Both unleashed devastating attacks at the Quasi-Emperor level, first blocking the sword qi, then joining forces with the Heavenly Retribution to encircle and kill the great yellow dog.

　　Though the Immortal Sword's killing power was immense, it wasn't a complete sword, merely a tip.

　　The killing power of the sword tip was strong, but without the handle for control, both sword intent and qi were reduced, and the full force couldn't be achieved.

　　Meanwhile, a million spells descended from the sky, condensing into a twisted figure. With a single wave of its hand, myriad spells converged, holding off the misty bird and the old dragon's attacks. It turned to look at the great yellow dog, uttering two complex words,

　　"Cang Mang."

　　The great yellow dog stared at him, its azure eyes flickering, replying softly, "After self-sacrifice, I didn't expect you to be here."

　　"All old news now. That old Daoist schemed much, and we all got duped. Now that you've come to the realms, it's probably part of his plan, possibly to absorb me and let you achieve Great Emperor status."

　　"I don't need you," the great yellow dog shook its head. "I can achieve it myself."

　　"Haha, I think so too," the Lord of the Fifth Forbidden Zone laughed, shaking his head. "But, to be honest, if that old Daoist wants you to achieve Great Emperor status, he likely doesn't have good intentions. Maybe achieving it would fall right into his trap."

　　The great yellow dog nodded, finding this very plausible. After all, that old Daoist was a cunning character, so it needed to investigate those secrets from back then.

　　"Dog Brother, why don't we stop fighting? Actually, I'm not seriously hurt," Chen Xia called out from below.

　　The great yellow dog glanced down, shaking its head.

　　"No, I can't let it go without avenging you."

　　The old dragon's massive head lowered, intoning deeply, "These are half-Saints and twelfth-heaven Heaven Mending realm cultivators; how can you, an outsider, slaughter them!"

　　"Why not?" the great yellow dog countered, holding the sword, its azure eyes narrowing, the Immortal Sword humming slightly, taking some interest.

　　"Since you both enjoy blocking, let's see how well you block!"

　　Roaring, the great yellow dog swung the Immortal Sword, slicing through the middle realm.

　　Moments later, brilliant sword light began to shine!

　　The entire middle realm crumbled!

　　Sword light locked onto Li Guang and the hunched old man.

　　In an instant, Li Guang's body shattered into dust under the tearing sword light, disbelief etched on his face.

　　The hunched old man lasted a bit longer, surviving for two breaths as his protective treasure quickly disintegrated, laughable against the Immortal Sword.

　　Together, they survived for two breaths, then their bodies vanished, divine souls utterly destroyed.

　　The great yellow dog, breathing heavily, had used its primordial power for this strike, leaving it extremely weak, even risking falling back into hibernation.

　　But it still lifted its head, looking at the misty bird and the old dragon disdainfully.

　　"Can you really stop me?"

　　The misty bird stared at it intently, while the old dragon growled, anger swirling in its orange-yellow eyes.

　　The Lord of the Fifth Forbidden Zone stepped forward, facing them boldly.

　　"If you're不服(not convinced), come fight; I haven't fought for many years!"

　　The misty bird said nothing, turning to vanish into the sky, clearly unwilling to waste time with the Fifth Forbidden Zone's lord.

　　The old dragon continued to watch them.

　　The great yellow dog raised the Immortal Sword, pointing at the old dragon with one hand and Chen Xia with the other.

　　"After I leave, if you dare touch my brother, when I achieve Emperor status and return, I'll kill you all, no matter the cost!"

　　Speaking these words, its tone was extremely serious, even raising a hand and swearing,

　　"On my Dao heart, life, and soul, whoever harms Chen Xia, I will kill!"

　　Having said this, the great yellow dog glanced at Chen Xia, opening its mouth but unable to find words, touching its cheek and smiling.

　　"I am Quasi-Emperor Cang Mang, but also the great yellow dog from the Heavenly Sword Sea. It's been nice meeting you, though peaceful days won't last long. After two lifetimes, it's time to step back onto the path to Emperor."

　　"Go," Chen Xia nodded lightly, smiling. "I'll wait for you."

　　Quasi-Emperor Cang Mang slashed open a portal in the realms, leaping through, leaving the realms.

　　The Immortal Sword tip reappeared in Chen Xia's mind, silent.

　　Chen Xia looked up.

　　All around was ruins. He still held the pill, refined but unused.

　　Next time, I'll give it to him.

　　Thinking this, he dragged his weary body toward the distant ruins.

　　He didn't know when they'd meet again, only that this was indeed a farewell.