"I'm staying!" Qian Renxue said with absolute resolve. She turned around and walked toward the black altar. Raising the Angel Scepter once more, the Heart of the Angel flared to life. She was going to inject the very last of her life force into the golden array, reinforcing the seal to prevent the Void Origins from breaking free.
"No! We can't leave you behind! If we leave, we leave together!" Lin Mo struggled to say. He tried to walk toward her, but his body refused to obey. He could only watch helplessly as Qian Renxue walked toward the black altar.
Zhao Feng also shook his head, a resolute gleam in his eyes. "That's right! We stay together! Let's reinforce the seal together and get out of here together!"
Qian Renxue looked back at them with a gentle, heartbreaking smile. "Don't be foolish. Our strength is completely gone. I am the inheritor of the Angel Clan; protecting this world is my duty. I must stay and reinforce the seal. You two need to go. As long as you make it out alive, you can tell the Soul Masters of the mortal realm what happened here. They need to be prepared so the Void can never invade again."
"No! We won't go!" Lin Mo and Zhao Feng shouted in unison. They painstakingly forced themselves toward Qian Renxue; though their pace was agonizingly slow, it was filled with unyielding determination.
Looking at them, a flash of deep emotion—and absolute finality—crossed Qian Renxue's eyes. "You must go! That's an order! If you stay, everything we've fought for will have been for nothing!"
Right at that moment, the black altar let out another massive boom. The fissures in the golden array widened drastically as the power of the Void Origins surged outward. A tide of black mist rushed toward the trio.
Panic seized Qian Renxue. She fiercely drove the absolute final wisp of her life force into the Heart of the Angel. The golden array blazed with blinding light, temporarily suppressing the thrashing Void Origins. "Go, now! It's too late if you don't leave!" she screamed at them, her voice breaking with a sob.
Looking into Qian Renxue's unwavering gaze, Lin Mo and Zhao Feng knew her mind was set. Tears streaming down their faces, they bowed deeply to her, then turned and staggered toward the exit of the black palace. They knew she had chosen to stay to protect the world—to protect them. They had to survive. They could not let her sacrifice be in vain.
Watching their retreating figures, Qian Renxue offered a faint, relieved smile. She turned back, focusing entirely on the black altar. Raising the Angel Scepter high, the light of the Heart of the Angel grew brighter and brighter. The golden array continuously contracted, ruthlessly pinning down the Void Origins.
The collapse of the black palace accelerated. Chunks of stone rained down upon her golden barrier, causing its cracks to multiply. Qian Renxue's face grew deathly pale, her breathing shallow and faint, but she refused to yield. A resolute light continued to burn in her eyes.
Lin Mo and Zhao Feng painstakingly fought their way out of the black palace and reached the black maelstrom. The collapse of the Void Space was accelerating, and the surrounding Void power was suffocatingly dense, relentlessly eroding their bodies. They looked back at the crumbling hall, tears in their eyes, their hearts heavy with guilt and agonizing reluctance. But they knew they had to escape immediately; they could not afford to let Qian Renxue's sacrifice be in vain.
Just as they prepared to leap into the vortex, the black palace suddenly let out a world-shaking roar. The entire Void Space convulsed violently as a colossal pillar of golden light erupted from within the palace, illuminating the pitch-black realm.
It was Qian Renxue. She had injected her very life and the entirety of the Heart of the Angel's power into the golden array, generating the light required to permanently seal away the Void Origins.
Immediately after, the black palace rapidly crumbled, dissolving into countless black fragments that vanished into the air. The entirety of the Void Space began to cave in on itself, collapsing inward toward the black vortex.
"QIAN RENXUE!" Lin Mo and Zhao Feng let out a heart-rending roar. They could no longer hold back their tears, which streamed down their faces. They knew she was gone. She had sacrificed her own life to permanently seal the Void Origins, stopping the Void's invasion and saving the entire world.
The Void Space was collapsing faster and faster, and the pull of the black vortex grew incredibly strong. Lin Mo and Zhao Feng knew they couldn't linger for another second, or they would be swallowed by the realm's destruction. They wiped away their tears, a resolute gleam returning to their eyes. They would carry Qian Renxue's hopes with them. They would survive. They would protect the world. They would ensure her sacrifice meant something. In unison, they leaped into the black vortex, racing toward the mortal realm.
Inside the swirling vortex, the Void power remained dense, but without the four Sovereigns controlling it, it had become much more docile. Supporting one another, Lin Mo and Zhao Feng navigated the chaotic passage. Their bodies grew weaker by the second, and their wounds throbbed with intense pain, but they refused to give up. Only one thought kept them going: Survive. Leave this place. Protect the world.
About half an hour later, Lin Mo and Zhao Feng finally burst out of the black vortex, returning to the center of the Void Desert. The desert had returned to a dead calm. The Void monsters that had prowled the area were entirely gone, and the residual Void power in the air had become incredibly thin. It was clear that with the four Sovereigns sealed away, the Void Space no longer had the strength to erode the mortal realm.
Lin Mo and Zhao Feng collapsed to the ground. Covered in wounds and with barely a pulse left, they finally succumbed to exhaustion and slipped into unconsciousness. Just as the darkness closed in, they both thought they saw Qian Renxue's smile—gentle, yet incredibly resolute—as if silently telling them that she had no regrets, and that she believed in their ability to protect the world.
They didn't know how much time had passed before Lin Mo and Zhao Feng finally woke up. They found themselves resting in a small oasis, surrounded by a large group of Soul Masters. These experts had come from various mortal factions, having rushed over after sensing the anomaly in the Void Space. Seeing Lin Mo and Zhao Feng battered and covered in blood, amidst the fading traces of Void power, they were filled with confusion and dread.
Lin Mo and Zhao Feng slowly sat up and recounted everything that had transpired within the Void Space, detailing Qian Renxue's ultimate sacrifice. As the surrounding Soul Masters listened, their expressions shifted from profound shock to deep reverence. They mourned Qian Renxue's tragic end, but at the same time, they were awed by the incredible bravery of the two men before them.
"Lady Qian Renxue gave her life to protect the entire world. We will never forget her sacrifice!" a Title Douluo said, his eyes glistening with tears. The other Soul Masters nodded in unison, turning to bow deeply toward the center of the Void Desert, paying their silent, profound respects to the fallen heroine.
Lin Mo and Zhao Feng gazed toward the center of the Void Desert, sorrow once again washing over their features. Yet, within their hearts, an unshakable conviction burned brighter than ever before.
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