A blood-red Qinglian Sword imprint bloomed upon Li Zhexian's brow.
He slowly raised his palm.
From the void, the Qinglian Sword emerged.
At this moment—
The twelve lotus imprints along its blade all turned scarlet.
The Qinglian Sword quivered, releasing a sorrowful cry.
"Forgive me, Qinglian Sword…"
"From today onward, I fear we can no longer wander the rivers and lakes together…"
Li Zhexian brushed his hand along the searing spine of the blade, his lips curling into a free, unrestrained smile.
His organs had already been ground into pulp, his meridians snapped like withered vines, his life hanging by a single, fragile thread.
This body was nothing more than a guttering candle in the wind—
Ready to be snuffed out at any moment amidst the blood-soaked rain.
"Calamity Rebirth."
"Only on the brink of death can it be awakened."
"But once unleashed, this brocken body's injuries will erupt beyond repair."
Li Zhexian's heart was as clear as a mirror.
He cast one last glance at Qian Renxue, Zhu Zhuqing, and the despair-stricken faces of his closest friends.
That single backward look—
Shattered the unspoken farewell caught in his throat.
"Enough."
"I've never been fond of partings steeped in sorrow."
Turning his head away, his blood-stained eyes locked onto Pope Bibi Dong, who wore a cold sneer in the distance.
He stepped forward.
Where his toes touched—
Ripples of strange scarlet energy spread out.
The blood-soaked cracked ground, touched by the ripple, blossomed into twelve-petaled Calamity Bloom.
Step by step, Li Zhexian advanced.
Blood-flowers surged forth, then suddenly swept upward with a roar.
In an instant—
Before the grand square of the Pope's Palace, a rain of crimson blossoms fell like mourning petals.
Heaven and earth themselves—
Were sending off one fated to depart.
Li Zhexian walked beneath that rain of blood-flowers.
His fingers brushed the crimson Qinglian Sword, as a deep violet Spirit Ring coiled around the blade.
Boom——!
An even more violent surge of blood-colored energy erupted from his body,
condensing above his head into churning layers of scarlet clouds.
The terror of Calamity Rebirth—
Lay in how it could stack upon other amplifying Spirit Abilities!
Under countless horrified gazes—
Li Zhexian reached into the void with his left hand, drawing forth the Clear Spring Wine Gourd.
He tilted it.
Scarlet wine poured down, cascading over the Qinglian Sword.
The liquid seeped into its edge.
The sword, already crimson like blood, now shone an even more sinister shade.
The wine bubbling violently on its blade.
The sword in his hand thrummed with an intense, piercing hum.
On this day, in this moment—
Li Zhexian unleashed his most transcendent strike, once more bringing forth—
Wine-Boiling Sword Song.
Everyone present felt the overwhelming aura, akin to that of a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, and their faces turned pale with shock.
With two amplifications combined—
The ripples emanating from Li Zhexian,
That hidden, sinister sword intent—
Even the four Titled Douluo—Dugu Bo, Yu Yuanzhen, Chen Xin, Feng Bailong—felt their hearts lurch with dread.
Their expressions grew even grimmer.
Such forbidden power, so far beyond one's level,
could only demand a price too dreadful to imagine.
Bibi Dong's expression finally shifted from mockery to grim solemnity.
Li Zhexian's unyielding aura had locked onto her completely.
"Gui Mei! Yue Guan!"
Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo stepped before her, eyes filled with uncertainty as they faced the blood-clad youth.
"What in the world has this boy done?!"
As soon as the words fell, Li Zhexian finally raised his sword!
Whoosh—
The rain of blood-flowers swirled around him like a tornado.
Under the darkened sky—
The scarlet clouds churned like boiling water.
The whole world was dyed red, as if all present had been cast into a sea of blood.
Li Zhexian's hoarse voice resounded across the land:
"Three Swords of Elegance…"
"Wine-Boiling Sword Song…"
With each word spoken—
A torrent of thick, almost tangible blood-colored Spirit Power, like a dammed sea of blood bursting its banks, erupted wildly from Li Zhexian's body.
"Fourth Spirit Ability—Calamity Rebirth!"
Three amplifying Spirit Abilities stacked together.
The power of the Qinglian Sword in his hands was pushed to an unimaginable peak.
A blood-sea surged to the heavens!
The Qinglian Sword, held horizontally before Li Zhexian's chest, became a crimson streak tearing through the skies!
Behind him, an overwhelming tide of roaring blood-sea surged forward, straight toward Bibi Dong!
The entire divine mountain quaked violently!
Scarlet pillars of light shot skyward,
dyeing heaven and earth in apocalyptic crimson.
Even Titled Douluo paled at this world-ending might.
Ghost and Chrysanthemum Douluo stared in disbelief.
"Impossible!"
"How can a Spirit Ancestor wield such force?!"
Both poured out the last of their Spirit Power, hands striking in unison,
trying to block that blood-soaked strike.
But just then—
From the peak of the divine mountain—
Two streaks of light shot down like falling stars.
One was a mountain-heavy staff.
The other, an ice arrow sharp enough to pierce marrow.
Boom—!
Boom—!
Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo were blasted away,
smashed into the mountain behind, rubble flying, dust soaring skyward.
Bibi Dong, gravely wounded, stood exposed.
Her eyes twisted with venom as she looked toward the mountain peak.
"Worship Hall!"
"So—you finally chose to intervene!"
Boom! Boom!
Boom! Boom!
The incoming blood-drenched sword strike, wreathed in the might to rend the heavens, forced her to snap her gaze back in shock.
"Li Zhexian—no matter how monstrous you are, you still can't slay a Titled Douluo, can you?!"
Bibi Dong clenched her teeth.
Behind her—
The vast but flickering phantom of the Death Spider Emperor rose once more.
Burning the last of her Spirit Power—
She condensed it into a scythe spanning heaven and earth.
Arms swung, pouring in everything she had.
She met that world-ending sword head-on, slashing to collide.
The blood sword, carrying an endless sea of blood, crashed against the Rakshasa Scythe!
A terrifying Spirit Power storm instantly exploded, stirring up a hurricane that tore apart everything.
The sea of blood surged, containing the ultimate sharpness that could cut down everything.
And then—
Under countless horrified gazes—
That towering phantom scythe, under the blood sword's tip…
shattered inch by inch!
Ping—!!!
A piercing crack split the air!
The scythe broke apart in a thunderous crash!
The Spirit Power hurricane tore and danced wildly at Bibi Dong's hair and tattered white cloak.
Her expression changed drastically.
A wisp of the Rakshasa God's dark power began to stir within her—
But in the next moment—
It was quietly eroded away by another divine force.
"What—?!"
In Bibi Dong's suddenly constricted, horror-filled purple eyes—
That sliver of fatal crimson sword-light—
Expanded!
Closer, closer!
Until it filled her entire vision!
Szzzt—!
Pchhh—!
The blood-drenched Qinglian Sword, carrying ultimate sharpness that pierced all,
drove straight through her heart!
The sheer momentum lifted her body hundreds of meters,
nailing her into the mountainside.
Dark purple blood trickled from her lips.
Bibi Dong strained to lift her blood-stained face.
The Qinglian Sword impaled in her heart still thrummed and hummed.
Her fading pupils focused one last time—
Toward the distant, blood-shrouded figure that was already beginning to fade.
"Li… Zhe… xian…"
Bibi Dong suddenly lowered her head.
The Pope's crown crashed to the ground with a loud noise, smashing out a breathtaking echo on the silent square.
Everyone felt their throats seized, their breath halted…
The Pope of Spirit Hall, Bibi Dong—
was nailed to the divine mountain by the sword of a dying youth, who wagered his very life.
Ink spread on the paper.
A Heaven Dou City Spirit Master's hand trembled as he recorded:
"In the year 679 of the Spirit Master Calendar,
the Pope Bibi Dong was nailed to the divine mountain…
by Lord Sword Wine."