132: Chapter 132 Slaying

"Frost Stillness!"

Yan Qingning raised her blade, lifting the sword in her hand high toward the canopy of the sky.

Then, the wind and snow of the entire world ceased, and the falling ice and snow abruptly came to a standstill.

It was as if they had been suddenly frozen in place.

As if the cold Qi within the ice and snow itself had frozen them.

Preventing them from falling any further.

The freeze lasted only a short moment before the ice and snow began to move again, but now they started to rise.

As if time were flowing backward.

The ice and snow returned once more to the sky above.

Above the cloud layer, a dull rumbling sound echoed.

The red sea of stars above the sky canopy ebbed and flowed like ocean waves.

The sound was deep, like massive objects colliding with one another.

Jiang Xun looked up; he could feel the laws between heaven and earth undergoing a transformation.

He knew what this power was.

He had once possessed it as well.

To grasp, to manipulate—this was the mighty power of an Ascension Realm Cultivator!

A massive hole was torn through the cloud layer as an iceberg began to take shape.

Hundreds of feet wide, it hung inverted in the sky, its peak pointing downward.

Vast currents of clouds swirled around the mountain peak, as if draping a layer of grayish-white gauze over this gargantuan entity.

The lanterns from the red sea of stars shone upon the iceberg, reflecting a piercing, cold light.

If that mountain were to come crashing down...

Jiang Xun didn't dare think further.

Jiang Hongling stood in mid-air, more and more black mist gushing from her body.

The black mist crawled out from beneath her skin like living creatures, churning and writhing as it crept over her face, entangled her limbs, and bored into the seams of her bridal gown.

Her gaze became hollow and filled with madness.

At this moment, only one thought remained in her heart.

"No one can snatch anything away from my side."

Yan Qingning looked at her with indifference.

There was no emotion whatsoever.

In her heart, anyone other than Jiang Xun was a worthless straw dog.

She swung the shuang hua sword downward.

Above the clouds, that inverted iceberg seemed to lose its support and plummeted straight down.

Jiang Hongling grinned hideously.

"You think you can kill me with just this?!"

She spread her hands, and countless strands of Red Silk erupted from behind her.

Those silks were like snakes come to life, shooting toward the iceberg and blotting out the sky at extreme speeds, letting out sharp whistles.

The two collided.

Boom—!

The massive explosion made one's eardrums go numb.

The Red Silk wrapped around the iceberg, layer upon dense layer. Then, all the silks tightened simultaneously, cutting deep into the ice.

Crack.

Cracks appeared on the iceberg. They spread rapidly, crawling across the entire mountain body like a spiderweb.

And then...

Boom!

The iceberg was strangled into fragments.

Huge chunks of ice scattered and flew in all directions, smashing into the surrounding snow mountains and creating craters several feet deep.

Even more ice shards turned into hail, pelting down relentlessly.

Jiang Hongling did not stop.

The Red Silks behind her brandished themselves like countless tentacles. Behind her, that massive ghostly shadow grew increasingly solid.

Flesh could vaguely be seen growing, blood vessels could be seen pulsing, and a blurry face was beginning to manifest.

Jiang Hongling's expression was one of great pain.

She desperately suppressed the churning Devilish Qi within her body; the black horn on her forehead grew longer, the cracks on her face deepened, and dark red blood began to seep out in some places.

But her eyes never once left Yan Qingning.

"Today!"

She spoke, her voice extremely low and hoarse.

"I shall take your head and use it to share a wedding toast with my husband."

There was no extra expression on Yan Qingning's face as she uttered only two words, "Ignorant ant."

From beginning to end, she had never regarded Jiang Hongling as a threat.

The two were no longer on the same level.

They couldn't even be considered opponents.

Yan Qingning's heart was set on Jiang Xun.

Since her Breakthrough to the Ascension Realm, it seemed that except for when she faced Jiang Xun, she had lost her original emotions regarding everything else.

She was becoming like a stone. The Heavenly Dao is ruthless; neither gods nor immortals can be swayed by emotion.

No, she didn't want to become a stone.

Jiang Xun, Jiang Xun... Yan Qingning now only wanted to deal with this bug and return to Jiang Xun's side.

She wanted to make her heart beat wildly once again.

The Red Silk behind Jiang Hongling moved.

Countless strands of silk shot toward Yan Qingning like arrows, letting out sharp sounds as they pierced the air.

Each strand of Red Silk carried enough power to pierce through mountains.

Yan Qingning moved.

Her figure shuttled through the gaps between the silks; every time a strand was about to touch her, she would appear in another location.

Neither fast nor slow, but with leisurely grace, those silks couldn't even touch the corner of her clothes.

After a few steps, she was already standing in front of Jiang Hongling.

The two were less than an arm's length apart.

Yan Qingning looked at the bright red bridal gown on Jiang Hongling, a trace of disgust flashing in the depths of her eyes.

She raised her hand.

It was time to end this boring duel.

The shuang hua sword slashed ruthlessly toward Jiang Hongling's head.

Jiang Hongling's pupils shrank; facing this strike, she didn't even have the chance to make a defensive move.

The sword fell.

The blade swept across Jiang Hongling's neck, clean and decisive.

Her head tilted to one side, the neck mostly severed, with only a wisp of black mist keeping it attached.

Reasonably speaking, this strike was enough to take anyone's life.

But a massive amount of black mist gushed from the wound.

The black mist was like countless hands drilling out from the wound, deathly grasping the head that was about to fall, refusing to let it drop.

Black mist and flesh churned together, looking exceptionally gruesome.

Yan Qingning frowned.

She felt that something was wrong.

...

Standing in the main hall, Jiang Xun saw Yan Qingning slash and kill Jiang Hongling, and his heart suddenly tightened.

It was worry.

He didn't even understand why he would have such an emotion.

Jiang Hongling was a Devil Head.

She deserved to die.

How many sins had she committed, and how many innocent people had she killed? She was supposed to die.

Those who kill must have the resolve to be killed.

If she died, he would have one less trouble; he should be happy!

But why...

Many images suddenly flashed through his mind.

Staying up late in his dormitory to look up guides, remembering her likes, remembering her personality.

Trying again and again in the game, reloading saves over and over, just to max out her favorability.

At that time, he felt it was just a game, just a pile of data.

And then there was the time they spent together these past few days.

Her madness when she choked him, her greed when she kissed him, her tenderness when she released those lanterns.

Those were all real; they were things he had experienced personally.

What did the people she killed have to do with him? On what grounds could he, Jiang Xun, be so self-righteous as to think it was just Karma?

As if Jiang Hongling's death now was entirely due to her own many evil deeds.

He actually felt a faint sense of reluctance in his heart.

It was very faint.

So faint that he almost couldn't detect it.

But Yan Qingning detected it.

She suddenly turned her head, her gaze piercing toward Jiang Xun like a knife. That gaze was so sharp that it could be felt even through the red bridal veil.

Jiang Xun was startled and turned his head away, not meeting her eyes.

Yan Qingning withdrew her gaze, but the sharpness in her eyes remained.

"Heh!" she chuckled softly.

Her heart felt very uncomfortable; her Jiang Xun was actually reluctant to let go of another woman?

She raised the shuang hua sword again and delivered a fierce vertical cleave.

The sword fell.

It was clean and decisive, so smooth there wasn't the slightest resistance.

The blade split down from the top of the head, passing through the bridge of the nose, through the chest, all the way down to the crotch.

Jiang Hongling was split in half.

The Sword Qi didn't stop; carrying a full measure of resentment, it carved out a small canyon below.

Her eyes were still open, but they had lost their luster.

Her body fell from high in the air, trailing Red Silk like a meteor, and crashed heavily onto a snowy patch beside the canyon, splashing up a large cloud of snow mist.

A few pieces of severed Red Silk drifted down, covering her body.

...