Chapter 54: From Beginning to End

In the blink of an eye, Patriarch Song vanished from before Junior Brother Bai Ming's eyes and appeared high in the sky.

A deep, resonant voice rang out.

Looking down from above, Patriarch Song said, "If you can withstand this strike, I will pursue this no further."

An unparalleled aura began to emanate from Patriarch Song, and terrifying ripples of spiritual energy radiated from him.

Without a moment's hesitation, Junior Brother Bai Ming hurriedly mobilized his own spiritual energy while summoning the Qingming Storm Soul.

His brows were tightly furrowed; he dared not hold anything back any longer.

A strike from the Golden Core Stage was no laughing matter; one slight misstep and he would perish, his soul extinguished.

Cyan spiritual winds swirled around Junior Brother Bai Ming's body, while surging crimson flames burned upon his skin.

The spiritual energy meridians within his body had circulated countless times, poised and ready, waiting for the strike from above.

Finally.

The space produced a subtle ripple as that monstrous attack bore down upon him.

The powerful impact knocked over the nearby Song family cultivators; Song Jin and the Purple-robed Youth had already left upon seeing the situation, yet they were still swept up by the shockwave and tumbled to the side.

As the powerful spiritual energy attack slowly pressed down, Junior Brother Bai Ming's tied-up hair was blown loose, and a heaven-shaking pressure rushed toward his face.

He gritted his teeth and formed hand seals with both hands.

The spiritual winds swirling around him began to spin on their own, pulling the surrounding air into a rotation.

A columnar whirlwind formed around Junior Brother Bai Ming, and the spiritual energy attack from above struck directly at the eye of the storm.

The moment they made contact, the columnar whirlwind showed signs of collapsing.

"It's not over yet!" shouted Junior Brother Bai Ming.

The dark green Qingming Storm Soul merged into the wind core, and the power of the columnar whirlwind suddenly doubled; its size grew twofold, and its color shifted to a deep green.

A hint of crimson appeared at the base of the whirlwind, and after a few breaths, the entire surface of the columnar whirlwind ignited with dazzling flames.

The massive pillar of flame illuminated the entire city wall, and the shadows on everyone's faces flickered and swayed with the fire column.

Junior Brother Bai Ming extended his right hand forward, "Dragon Whirlwind Break!"

The columnar pillar of fire shot toward the spiritual energy attack in the sky like a shockwave.

The speed at which the spiritual energy attack was pressing down slowed, but it still continued to bear down on the youth below.

His clothes were torn to shreds under the impact, and with a ferocious expression, Junior Brother Bai Ming increased the output of his spiritual energy.

Because he was channeling spiritual energy that exceeded the limits of his meridians, the surface of Junior Brother Bai Ming's body began to heat up, turning his entire person a fleshy red.

The meridians within his body were damaged by the massive influx of spiritual energy, with some areas even beginning to tear open.

Watching the youth below struggle to resist, Patriarch Song shook his head, feeling a touch of regret.

"Ming'er, if you give up now, my previous words still stand."

The heat waves generated by the flaming whirlwind surged outward, bringing a scorching sensation to the Song family cultivators outside the city.

And right at the source of this heat, the youth's face was bleeding profusely, and his body was covered in a dense network of torn wounds.

He stretched his arms straight forward, desperately resisting that monstrous strike from the sky.

The spiritual root in his abdomen emitted a searing heat, maintaining his last shred of sanity.

Boom.

The columnar flaming whirlwind struck high into the sky.

Patriarch Song casually dissipated the incoming flaming whirlwind, "You win."

Hearing the answer, Junior Brother Bai Ming bent over and gasped for breath, nearly collapsing to his knees, but his last shred of sanity managed to control his body.

He staggered, wanting to leave, but Patriarch Song slowly flew over, causing him to stop in his tracks.

Junior Brother Bai Ming did not speak, only staring with his eyes fixed on the approaching Patriarch Song.

Patriarch Song shook his head, "Do not overthink it; I will not stop you again. From this day forward, you owe my Song family nothing."

With tightly pressed lips, Junior Brother Bai Ming passed by Patriarch Song and staggered toward the outside of the city.

Patriarch Song waved his hand, "Take this; consider it an apology for erasing your memories."

A golden jade slip appeared before Junior Brother Bai Ming.

[Bingyan Art]

Ignoring it, he flew away without looking back, yet the golden jade slip followed on its own and slipped into his storage bag.

Watching the youth leave, Patriarch Song stood with his hands behind his back, silently calculating the force he had just used, "Is letting him go a good thing or a bad thing?"

Song Jin was even more shocked; although Patriarch Song might not have had any intent to kill and merely struck casually, the fact that one could withstand a Golden Core strike with a Foundation Establishment body was still jaw-dropping.

He calculated in his heart that if it were him facing such an attack, he would likely have already perished, his soul extinguished.

Outside Canglan City.

After crossing the city wall, Junior Brother Bai Ming could no longer hold back his tightly pressed lips.

A mouthful of blood spewed out.

That strike just now had caused immense damage to his internal organs.

The blood and qi from before had already surged into his throat, and a metallic, rusty taste filled his mouth; he feared that if he so much as took a breath, it would all come gushing out.

Yet he had stubbornly held it in until now.

The massive loss of blood had made his complexion somewhat pale.

After coughing for a while, Junior Brother Bai Ming summoned the Qingming Storm Soul and swallowed it in one gulp.

The Qingming Storm Soul transformed into a streak of green light, wandering through his damaged spiritual energy meridians and helping him recover from his internal injuries.

With this, even though his body was covered in wounds and some meridians were ruptured, he still retained enough strength to fly.

"Cough, cough, cough." Junior Brother Bai Ming coughed emptily a few times, no longer spitting up blood, and his complexion began to improve.

His consciousness was somewhat muddled, and he did not know how much time had passed, but he knew he could not stop yet.

Not until he exhausted all his spiritual energy and drained the last ounce of strength from his body.

He could not stop.

With less than thirty percent of his spiritual energy remaining, he had no choice but to fly at a low altitude, utilizing every wisp of spiritual energy within his body as best he could.

A faint roaring sound echoed in his ears; Junior Brother Bai Ming did not know how long he had been flying. Blood scabs had formed over the wounds on his body, and the bloodstains on his clothes had long since dried.

It was approaching noon, and the sun was bright.

The dazzling, warm sun cast itself upon the earth, draping the ground in a veil of pale gold.

Junior Brother Bai Ming lightly touched the wound on his left arm, "I suppose I have managed to escape."

He could not sense anyone pursuing him from behind, and he was some distance away from the gates of Canglan City.

Yet, an untimely, soft voice rang out.

"I did not expect you to be able to make it this far."

Hearing the voice, Junior Brother Bai Ming looked up in alarm, but he saw nothing; the voice seemed to originate from within his mind out of thin air.

A touch of cyan slowly appeared, manifesting into the figure of a woman.

Upon seeing who it was, Junior Brother Bai Ming wanted to turn and leave immediately, but the excruciating pain in his body erupted all at once, forcing him to clutch his left arm and come to a halt.

He spoke with difficulty, "Are you playing with me? I have already escaped Canglan City. According to our agreement, you should not be stopping me."

Song Wanqing's delicate brows furrowed slightly as she shook her head gently; she took out a map and placed it before Junior Brother Bai Ming.

"It is a pity; I never said I would stop blocking you once you escaped the city gates. This territory is still within the sphere of influence of Canglan City." Song Wanqing raised the corners of her mouth slightly, "Besides, the two hours have already passed."

Overcome with anger, Junior Brother Bai Ming accidentally coughed a few times, "Are you playing with me? From beginning to end, have you ever truly intended to let me leave!"

"Song Wanqing, I do not understand when I, Junior Brother Bai Ming, have ever offended you to warrant being treated like this!"

Song Wanqing sighed softly, "This is the result of our agreement; didn't we agree that we would always be together?"