Chapter 161: Fighting to the Bitter End (4)

Seeing that Landis, too, had ignited her soul flame, Li Ren’s heart clenched violently. The burning of Shadow's soul had already exhausted all of his creative power. If Landis were to burn her soul as well, the damage would be entirely beyond repair.

Gazing at the flickering, blazing white flame igniting upon her shoulder, Li Ren felt an inexpressible wave of pain strike deep within his heart.

Just when he thought all hope of a solution was lost, a new change suddenly manifested within Shadow's body.

The creative power that had previously integrated completely into his form began to pulse once more, causing Li Ren's heart to tighten even further.

It must be known that this creative power had already fused with Shadow's soul. A Shadow missing half his soul could never merge back into his former physical body. If the creative power failed to integrate with him now and instead broke away once again, it would inflict irreversible damage upon the fragments of his remaining soul.

At the very instant the creative power detached, Shadow’s soul would completely shatter and dissipate.

Li Ren kept his gaze locked desperately on the changes within Shadow's body; not the slightest tremor escaped his perception. That mass of creative power writhed and shifted, slowly shrinking into a sphere of golden light that appeared upon Shadow's chest. What brought Li Ren a brief sense of relief was that, despite contracting, the creative power still left behind a wispy, nearly invisible layer of energy that blended into Shadow's originally missing soul.

Thanks to this almost transparent creative power, Shadow's soul maintained its stability, continually merging with his physical body. Though it remained unclear what kind of lasting damage this would inflict upon his essence once the integration was complete, at the very least, he would survive.

Looking at the abruptly materialized creative power, a slight surge of excitement stirred within Li Ren's heart. After all, Shadow was no longer in mortal danger, and he now possessed the strength to halt Landis in her current state. Dealing with a Skeleton King certainly did not require both of them to consecutively sacrifice their soul flames.

The Skeleton King naturally laid eyes upon that suddenly surfaced creative power as well. He braced himself in intense caution and retreated a few steps. In his view, the appearance of this creative power was undoubtedly Li Ren extracting it from Shadow's body himself. Or rather, from the very beginning, Li Ren had never intended to save Shadow; instead, he had gone to every length to lure the Skeleton King into staying, solely to devour the half of the soul flame he had consumed.

Different people viewing the exact same event would naturally arrive at different conclusions. Li Ren and the Skeleton King were fundamentally two entirely different kinds of beings. It was precisely due to the Skeleton King's dark and sinister nature that his cautious and cunning self had inadvertently granted Li Ren a window of time that the latter deemed infinitely precious.

The creative power returned once more into Li Ren’s body. That thread of golden energy entered his frame and began to gently radiate tendrils of warm, restorative springwater, soothing his severely overdrawn physique.

The return of this creative power restored strength to Li Ren's body once again.

Without even glancing at the Skeleton King, Li Ren walked directly toward Landis, whose body was already being encroached upon by the spreading soul flames.

The Skeleton King made no move to obstruct Li Ren's actions.

He was undoubtedly well aware of Li Ren's objective, yet doing so would ultimately yield immense benefits for himself. Anyone lacking better judgment would actually attempt to stop Li Ren right now.

In the Skeleton King's eyes, Li Ren's actions were truly utter foolishness.

If utilized properly, someone who had burned their soul could serve as a formidable asset in combat; yet now, Li Ren actually wished to forcefully extinguish the soul flame.

One must realize that the soul flame was reputed to be one of the trickiest forces in existence. If it could be resolved so easily, Tian Xie would not have suffered such catastrophic losses to it back then.

The Skeleton King retreated a few more paces, demonstrating that he had not the slightest intention of interfering with Li Ren's attempt to save Landis, almost as if he were egging Li Ren on to hurry up and finish saving her so they could resume their battle afterwards.

Li Ren was well aware of what schemes that fellow was plotting.

If Landis unleashed the power born from burning her soul, it would indeed pose a major threat to their current situation. By choosing to save Landis, Li Ren would undoubtedly lose a powerful combat asset, not to mention the massive expenditure of energy required to extinguish an ignited soul flame.

On one hand, it weakened his own strength; on the other hand, it eliminated a potentially powerful fighting force. From the Skeleton King's perspective, this was a win-win scenario in every regard, so naturally, he would not intervene.

Moreover, the Skeleton King placed zero value on the lives of others. Even if Li Ren managed to revive her now, it would merely prolong their time of death by a fraction. Once he secured ultimate victory, it was certain that everyone else would meet a doomed end regardless.

He held nothing but utter contempt for Li Ren's approach.

Regardless of what the Skeleton King was thinking, Li Ren quickly reached Landis's side. The ignited soul flame indeed possessed an immensely potent effect, driving Landis's aura to a formidable peak within the blink of an eye—a mighty presence that even filled Li Ren with a faint sense of astonishment.

Yet, despite this overwhelming power, Landis's peerless, exquisite face was etched with profound exhaustion.

Upon seeing that Li Ren had absorbed the creative power and approached her, Landis bit her lip, shook her head, and instead took a step back.

She knew that if her current strength were added to the mix, dealing with the Skeleton King would be effortless. However, if she sat out and Li Ren was forced to exhaust his own energy to save her, the outcome remained unpredictable, making it utterly impossible to leave the Skeleton King behind even if they managed to defeat him.

She was deeply unwilling to let that half of the soul flame be handed over to the Skeleton King for nothing.

Seeing Landis—who was always so unyielding—display such intense reluctance, Li Ren smiled. For the first time, he showed himself to be even more stubborn and resolute than her in her presence.

Before Landis could react, he lunged forward abruptly. His jade-white hand bones, coated with a faint layer of golden luster, pressed firmly downward, landing directly upon the raging soul flame on Landis's shoulder.

The blazing white flame flared violently, yet under the formidable oppression of the creative power, it recoiled and shrank inward. Landis paused for a split second, instinctively trying to step back, but Li Ren seemed to have anticipated her intentions all along. His free left arm swept out, scooping Landis directly into his embrace.

Clasped tightly in Li Ren's arms, Landis did not dare to struggle fiercely; she knew all too well how terrifying the soul flame was, and coming into direct contact with it would spell trouble for Li Ren as well.

She could only remain trapped in this bizarre posture, held firmly against him. Having never experienced anything like this before, Landis's entire body stiffened. Though the creature before her was merely a damned skeleton, she had no idea why she allowed herself to be held like this.

The soul flame finally dissipated into faint wisps. The suppression of the soul flame marked the second time the creative power showcased its formidable might.

It was only then that Li Ren realized how improper their current posture was. Although Landis, with her soul flame suppressed, had not suffered severe physical trauma, the sheer toll of having once ignited her soul flame was astronomical.

Now, as the flames vanished, it felt as though her body had been hollowed out entirely; she hung limply without an ounce of strength, her mind plunged into chaos, and her eyelids growing unbearably heavy. An abyssal darkness descended over her consciousness, pressing down endlessly.

Sensing Landis's extreme weakness, Li Ren gently lowered her down. The commander of the Falling Cloud Legion, that perpetually powerful, majestic, and breathtaking woman, still wore a complex expression. Her pale blue eyes were dreamlike, and a rare blush dyed her cheeks with an incomparable allure, whether from sheer exhaustion or other emotions, it was impossible to tell.

Li Ren offered an embarrassed smile and murmured softly by her ear, "Rest easy. I've got everything handled."

As he spoke near her ear, he failed to notice that Landis bit down lightly on her exquisite, rosy lips, which then curved into a breathtaking, stunning smile that vanished in an instant.

By the time Li Ren raised his head, Landis had already slipped into unconsciousness.

He moved to Lania's side, placing his golden palm over the gaping hole on her chest where the Skeleton King's beam of black light had pierced straight through. Wisps of black miasma were drawn out, and the wound healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. However, due to severe blood loss, Lania remained unconscious. Fortunately, sustained by the formidable vitality of a Vampire Queen, her life was not in danger.

Once Li Ren had settled all of this, the Skeleton King off to the side actually had the leisure to clap his hands in applause.

Li Ren's expression remained completely devoid of emotion, a bone-chilling coldness blazing across his face.

The Purple-Gold Winged God materialized in his hand once more, and the two figures surged forward simultaneously. The battle that would decide their fate began anew!