Chapter 499: Seal Of Death
"This isnât over," Chen Li said coldly as she surged toward the opening in the barrier.
Li Lian scoffed. "What makes you think Iâll let you leave?"
The playful, scheming smile Li Lian often wore was gone. In its place was something sharpâunyielding. She understood exactly what Chen Li represented. Not just a threat to the sect... but to her clan, her family, and everything she held dear.
If Chen Li escaped today, there would be endless bloodshed in the future.
"No matter what," Li Lian declared, her voice ringing with finality, "you die today."
Deep within her soul, the dragon roaredâits cry echoing loudly enough for the entire Black Paradise Sect to hear.
Chen Li swallowed.
She wasnât afraidâshe had never feared anyone from this insignificant sect.
Yet the moment those words left Li Lianâs mouth, every instinct in her body screamed
danger
.
She fled.
Shooting straight into the sky, Chen Li pushed her speed to the limit. Li Lian followed instantly, flames tearing through the air as she gave chase.
From the ground, Ye Ming stared in disbelief.
"Chen Li..." she whispered. "Sheâs running?"
Speed was Chen Liâs pride. No one beneath the Heavenly Realm should have been able to rival herâyet Li Lian was closing the distance.
The entire Black Paradise Sect turned their eyes skyward as the two figures vanished into the clouds.
Moments later, only the sound remainedâ
demonic shrieks and dragon roars colliding violently above.
Chen Li had hated many people in her life, but none compared to the
Li clan
.
And worst of allâLi Lian.
Her stubbornness was beyond reason.
"If youâre so eager to die..." Chen Li snarled, smearing blood across her chest, "then letâs die together."
Her eyes burned crimson.
âFifth Seal â Seal of Death. Open!â
Li Lianâs aura took the shape of a charging fire dragon as she slammed forward, leaving Chen Li no time to prepareâbut preparation was unnecessary.
Chen Liâs power surged to an unimaginable level.
Li Lianâs attack struckâand did nothing.
Chen Li radiated death.
"Kill."
In the next instant, Li Lian was swatted downward through the clouds, coughing up blood as she regained her control in the air.
With the Entire Black Paradise sect watching her from below, she looked up at the clouds, eyes blazing with ferocity.
Above her, Chen Li hovered, gazing down at both Li Lian and the sect as she gathered her next attack.
Li Lian couldnât dodge it, she wouldnât want to even if she could afford to.
Only one thought filled her mind at that moment. The same stubborn thought she had since the beginning.
âI have to win.â
Heavenly fire erupted from her body once moreâbut just as it reached its peak, a sharp fiery light flashed across her eyes. With another push Li Lianâs flames continued to expand uncontrollably.
Her dragon roared again as she did.
This time, its dominance eclipsed everything before it.
Seeing Li Lianâs strength surge to nearly rival her own, Chen Li didnât hesitate. She thrust her hand downward, unleashing her attack in a torrent of power.
Li Lianâs battle power continued to climb. Thenâjust moments before Chen Liâs strike could reach herâLi Lian clenched her fist and fired a devastating blast upward, meeting the attack head-on as it tore through the sky toward Chen Li.
The two of them pushed with strength they never knew they had till the light was blinding.
From afar, Xue Jinghuaâs heart sank.
âThis isnât half-step Heavenly Realm battlepower anymore... This is true Heavenly Realm battle power.â
The collision was cataclysmic.
A deafening shockwave tore through the sky, slamming Li Lian into the ground and hurling Chen Li violently away.
Li Lian lay still, barely able to open one eye as she watched Chen Liânow reverted to her human formâbegin to fall as well.
A faint smirk tugged at her lips as she tried, and failed, to rise.
âI win.â
Even if she couldnât kill Chen Li herself, she knew there was no way the Matriarch would allow Chen Li to leave once she was captured.
However, just as that thought crossed her mind, another figure appeared in the sky. It was a woman, but her robes were all black.
Strangely, she didnât seem to be flying, she was walking on the air itself as if she commanded it.
Catching Chen Li effortlessly, the mysterious woman clicked her tongue.
âStupid child.â
Forming a swift seal with her hands, the woman pressed her palm against Chen Liâs back. A surge of Qi flooded in, forcing a pained groan from her lips.
"Opening the Death Seal in a place like this..." the woman said coldly. "Just wait until your father hears of it."
Chen Li lacked both the strengthâand the willâto respond.
The woman turned to leave.
Then paused when she felt something completely unexpected.
â...Killing intent? Here?â
Her gaze drifted downward toward the Black Paradise Sect. There, amid the ruined ground, Li Lian struggled to sit uprightâher body wreathed in a different kind of flame. Not Heavenly Fire, but the fire of unyielding will.
She wanted Chen Liâs life, as if that was the only thing that mattered in that moment.
Chen Li, also half-conscious, stared down at Li Lian coldly thinking,
âYou want my life, but I will
certainly
have yours!â
Chen Liâs killing intent was just as potent as Li Lianâs.
A low laugh escaped the womanâs lips as she understood what they both mustâve been thinking at that moment.
"Hahaha... not bad. It seems I shouldnât have interfered."
She tilted her head slightly. "Young girlâwhatâs your name?"
Li Lian, barely able to remain conscious, spat to the side in open defiance.
The womanâs smile widened, sharp and unsettling.
"Oh... I like you," she said softly, casting one final glance at Li Lian. "If you wish to fight my daughter again, come to the Land of the Dead Trials in two months. You may battle to your heartâs content there."
In the next moment, she took a single step in a certain direction, and vanished, almost as if she had traveled a mile in a single step.
The moment her presence disappeared, Li Lianâs strength finally gave out. Her consciousness slipped away, as if the sole thing keeping her awake had been the burning desire to kill Chen Liâand now that desire had nothing left to cling to.