Within the sea of gold, Ling Chen saw a red silhouette appear. It was a young girl whose face was white as snow; whose eyes were clear as crystals. She wore a flame red princess-style dress, which covered her whole body. She looked at Ling Chen, and sweetly smiled, “Master, I might... have to leave you now.”

It was Xi Ling... in her human form. When activating the Heavenly Wrath of the Nine Suns, she could once again temporarily take her human form.

Ling Chen looked at her slightly red eyes, his voice hoarse, “Xi Ling... why are you being so stupid, why would you use the Heavenly Wrath of the Nine Suns... don’t you know what the consequences are?”

Xi Ling continued to smile, but her eyes contained a hint of sadness, “I know I’m really dumb, and I know exactly what the consequences of activating Heavenly Wrath of the Nine Suns are. I know that even if Master dies, you’ll still be able to immediately revive... however, despite this, seeing Master about to die, I couldn’t help but activate these flames, because... this is the only way to save Master. Even if I know you’ll revive, I still don’t want to see you die...”

Ling Chen was speechless, “... Xi Ling, you...”

Xi Ling slightly shook her head, a cheerful smile once again appearing on her face, “Master must think I’m very dumb and disobedient right?”

Ling Chen: “......”

Xi Ling’s tears were immediately evaporated by the burning flames, and her eyes gazed into his, “Master, did you know... from the day I was born, I was by myself. I didn’t know who my father was, I didn’t know was my mother was. I didn’t know how I was born, or even why I was born. I only know that the first memory I have of this world were of billowing flames and a colourless sky... up until today, I still have no idea who my parents are...”

Ling Chen: “.....”

“I was born into solitude, and grew up in solitude. I never had any friends or companions. They were all afraid of me, and would run away from me whenever they saw me. There was not a single person or creature that was willing to speak with me or play with me... gradually, I became used to just being by myself. I would even begin to avoid other people, animals, Fairies... day after day, year after year... at that time, there was no colour in my life. Every day was for the sake of living to the next day. I grew to know this world little by little in my solitude.”

“One day, I was attacked by the Demon Emperor and the ten ancient demon beasts. I was defeated, and was sealed by them. Afterwards, I lost all of my freedom. Every minute and every second I was imprisoned. When I closed my eyes, there was only a perpetual darkness; when I opened my eyes, there were only black threads and an icy cold wall. Just like this, time went by: one day, two days... one year, two years... ten years... one hundred years... one thousand years... ten thousand years. Every second, every minute, the pain of not being able to move or speak at all just made me want to die. I even hated myself for being born... by that time, I had completely given up on freedom. Because I knew that no one would come to save me. I would be imprisoned for twenty thousand years, and then I would simply die. The me from back then longed for that day to quickly come.”

Ling Chen’s heart quivered. He had never known that the endlessly powerful Xi Ling had such a past. Xi Ling could no longer hold her smile, and her tears streamed down her face. She did not want to leave Ling Chen at all, but at the same time, she had no regrets either, “However, in my endless despair, what came to me wasn’t death, but Master... you, who did not know me at all, did not hold any responsibility to me, charged in and inconceivably rescued me, and gave me back the freedom I had so longed for. Perhaps to other creatures, freedom is something very insignificant, as they have never been without it. However, to me, it was something I could only dream about. It was Master who gave me my freedom, who gave me a new life... from that moment onwards, I decided that I would do whatever I could in order to repay Master. I decided that I would use all of my power to protect Master. Even if I had to give up everything, even my life, I would not hesitate in the slightest.

“Afterwards, I followed Master wherever he went... maybe Master doesn’t know, but becoming Master’s pet wasn’t a restriction or imprisonment, but rather something I desired... just as I told Master before that I wanted to follow Master forever, that was the absolute truth. Because of Master, I received my freedom, so I only wanted to do my best to protect Master. I didn’t ever want to be by myself again... from then, I’ve explored human cities with Master, I’ve met so many people, I’ve learned so much. Having someone to care for you, praise you and for you to rely on is such a wonderful feeling. Every second and minute with Master, I’ve experienced happiness that I’ve never even dared to dream to experience before. However, my time with Master was... so short... this time, I’m really going to... leave Master.”

“Xi Ling...” Apart from calling out to her, Ling Chen was unable to say anything else. This being that had caused the War Demon Beast to be so terrified, it turned out that she had grown up in complete loneliness and solitude, being feared by countless other beings. Who knew what she truly desired was so simple and pure?

“However, that doesn’t matter, it really doesn’t matter...” Xi Ling’s tears continued to flow as she shook her head, “Being able to stay with Master for this period of time, I’m already very content. Meeting Master was the greatest blessing in my whole life. Even if I know Master would revive, I still can’t bear see all your hard work going to waste... so please forgive me for being stubborn... if, if Xi Ling can still live after this, I’ll... I’ll definitely always listen to Master in future...”

The golden light’s intensity stopped increasing, and the nine ‘golden suns’ in the sky’s light had already reached their limit. These nine ‘golden suns’ were far inferior to those that had appeared above Lonely Spirit Ridge, but from the terrifying amount of power they exuded, Ling Chen was absolutely sure they could instantly annihilate the Warring Palace Skeleton.

Ling Chen placed his hand on his chest, feeling a wave of deep sorrow. He had not been with Xi Ling for a very long time, but the connection between Xi Ling and himself was not so simple as ‘Master’ and ‘pet’. He would never forget why Xi Ling had become his pet in the first place, and definitely would not forget the way she had saved him when they had first met with the Heavenly Wrath of the Nine Suns.

The reason he had taken in Xi Ling as a pet was to save her, so he could keep her by her side and protect this selfless and kind girl.

Back when he had released Xi Ling, he had done it on a whim, and did not expect anything from it. He would never have guessed that the beautiful bird would save his life over and over again, at the expense of hers. She was not some ordinary being, but rather a being that possessed rootless flames, a being that even the Demon Emperor and ten ancient demon beasts feared... while Ling Chen was just an insignificant player who had not even entered the Mystic Moon world for long.

Seeing Xi Ling’s face covered in tears, he wanted to say something, and yet nothing came out. The weeping Xi Ling began to smile again, and gradually came nearer... a small, soft body leapt into his. Xi Ling used all of her strength to hug him... this was the thing she wanted to do most since following him.

Xi Ling buried her head into his chest, and closed her golden eyes, enjoying this last moment of happiness... Ling Chen’s body slightly tensed, then tried to use his arms to hug her back, but his arms only met air... Xi Ling had already disappeared from his embrace, and a soft, gentle voice sounded out in his ears, “Goodbye... my Master...”

Boom!!!!!!

The nine golden suns in the air exploded, and golden flames consumed everything within the castle. The Warring Palace Skeleton’s pitiful cries boomed out in fear.

With a great crash, the ‘indestructible’ castle had been easily demolished, and light from outside shone in. However, the golden flames rushed out of the remains of the castle, dispelling the dark clouds overhead and dying the entire sky gold...

，-2227500。

The only person and thing that had not been affected by the golden flames was Ling Chen. He stood still as a statue, unable to move due to the shock. No matter how powerful Xi Ling’s attack was, it would never hurt him.

-2,227,500，-2,227,500。

The moment the golden flames swept over the Warring Palace Skeleton, two enormous damage figures appeared over its head, reducing its incredible amount of HP instantly to 0. Its body slowly fell down, and heavily smashed into the ground. As for the semi-spirit girl, the damage she should have taken was transferred over to the Warring Palace Skeleton, and so was probably still alive... however, she was no long as terrifying as she had originally been to Ling Chen.

The Eerie Castle had been reduced to rubble, and all of the white bones that made up this castle had been completely incinerated, unable to block Ling Chen’s way anymore.