In Ling Luoyi's anxious gaze, the puppet, identical to her, began to disintegrate and dissipate. The process was swift; by the time the puppet finished speaking, only a sapphire-purple rhombic crystal remained floating in the air where it had stood.
Seeing this, Ling Luoyi sighed and helplessly extended her hand, softly calling out, "Return."
The moment the words left her lips, the rhombic crystal flew into Ling Luoyi's hand, its glow dimming.
Ling Luoyi glanced at the crystal in her hand. This was the puppet's heart. Every puppet had one, and it was also their other weakness. The previous Asura King hailed from the Demon Realm and should have known this. However, due to the limitations of the Heavenly Dao, he was unable to exploit it.
While the puppet gifted by the first War Saintess was indeed powerful, it was also troublesome to use. Not only did Ling Luoyi need to confine the puppet's movements with her own spiritual energy, but she also had to use her spiritual energy to awaken it. Even more regrettable was that this puppet could only be awakened once. After executing Ling Luoyi's command, it would dissipate.
Of course, not all puppets were like this. This puppet had such limitations because it was a flawed creation of the first War Saintess. However, despite being flawed, it was still very strong.
The moment the puppet vanished, the surrounding pillars of light also disappeared, and the dust settled, revealing a battlefield ravaged by the great battle. Various trees were snapped by the powerful impact, and the grass within was uprooted, leaving it unrecognizable from before.
Where the previous Asura King had unleashed his full spiritual power, the ground was now bare, with a half-meter-deep crater appearing as if from nowhere. The previous Asura King's corpse was not in the crater, only a red stone with some lines carved on it.
Ling Luoyi picked up the stone and examined it carefully, but she did not recognize the lines or what was carved on them.
Ling Luoyi knew that Asura warriors did not leave behind corpses after death, only a stone with their name carved on it. She also knew that these stones came in two colors: red for the Asura royal family and black for ordinary Asura.
Therefore, this red stone should be what was left after the previous Asura King's death, and the lines on it were his name. However, they were carved in the Asura script, which Ling Luoyi could not understand. Furthermore, Ling Luoyi did not know the previous Asura King's name, so she was even more clueless.
Ling Luoyi had no use for this item, but the current Asura King needed it to prove the legitimacy of his reign. Thus, Ling Luoyi stored it in her storage ring, intending to hand it over to the Asura King at some point.
After Ling Luoyi had collected everything, she could no longer hold on. Her eyes closed, and she fainted.
Sensing that Ling Luoyi was in trouble, Gu Yuncheng was extremely anxious and wanted to rush to her side regardless of the consequences. However, he was bound by the prohibition order left by the Domain Lord in the Luo Yun Palace. Just as he was about to forcibly break through the prohibition, he suddenly felt Ling Luoyi rapidly recovering. He then gave up, only silently praying that Ling Luoyi would be alright.
Three days passed before Ling Luoyi regained consciousness. When she opened her eyes, she saw herself lying in the medicinal spring of the Feng Xi Realm, with Little Feng Xi watching her intently.
"Little Feng Xi, did you bring me in?"
Only it had this ability. As expected...
"Master, you fainted at that time. I had no other choice, so I brought you in," Little Feng Xi explained.
"Thank you, Little Feng Xi."
Little Feng Xi smiled reluctantly, then chided Ling Luoyi with concern, "Master, you were too reckless this time. The previous Asura King has lived for tens of thousands of years. His strength is unfathomable. Even though he is severely injured now and his strength has not recovered, he is still not someone you can deal with at your current level! You could have retreated safely, so why did you have to kill him now?"
Knowing that Little Feng Xi was worried about her, Ling Luoyi did not get angry. Instead, she said softly, "Little Feng Xi, the human race and the Asura race have finally reached this point. Once the previous Asura King returns to the Asura race, this situation will surely be broken. The battlefield outside Xia Ning City is already unstable. At this time, the human race cannot afford to be attacked from both sides."
Little Feng Xi could understand what Ling Luoyi was saying, but it still couldn't comprehend, "But why now? Look at your left arm and your back. The wounds there were torn open by divine power when you fought the previous Asura King."
"Little Feng Xi, I cannot guarantee that I will have another opportunity to kill him after leaving this time, so I had to seize this chance."
"Master, are you really limited by your identity like this?"
"Ah?" Hearing this, Ling Luoyi was stunned, then she understood and smiled, "Little Feng Xi, I'm not doing this for the human race."
"What?" Little Feng Xi was also stunned, then remembered the reason, "For the Ling family? But they are not your family. You won't be able to keep this body either. By then, you will have no connection with them. Don't you understand, Master!"
"Little Feng Xi, I understand." Ling Luoyi had always understood. It was just that she was gradually becoming unsure whether protecting the Ling family was due to her promise to the original owner or because she genuinely wanted to do so. But she knew that if she failed to protect the Ling family, she would be very sad.
"Since you understand, you should start distancing yourself from the Ling family, even forget them. Didn't you tell me this?"
Hearing this, Ling Luoyi said with a wry smile, "Little Feng Xi, I am gradually distancing myself from the Ling family. Didn't you see that I haven't entered the Ling family? It's just that if the nest is overturned, no egg will remain intact. Consider this the last thing I do for them."
"Master." Little Feng Xi looked at Ling Luoyi, who was still smiling brightly, with heartache, lost in thought.
All along, Ling Luoyi had not experienced the love of family again. After experiencing the atmosphere of the Ling family, she gradually became immersed in it, even thinking that it would be good if she were truly the original owner. But she was not. Therefore, when facing the love the Ling family had for the original owner, she felt like a thief. Yet, she was still unwilling to let go, even though those things were not meant for her. But now, the wounds on her body told her that no matter how unwilling she was, she had to let go.
"Little Feng Xi, I'm fine. I grew up alone before, and I still grew up. Moreover, I am not alone now."
"Master..." Little Feng Xi wanted to say more, but it stopped. Instead, it changed its tone and said to Ling Luoyi, "Master, let me apply medicine to you."
"Alright."
Ling Luoyi had been soaking in the medicinal spring for these three days. Although the wounds torn by divine power could not heal, her stamina, spirit, and spiritual energy had recovered about seventy to eighty percent under the effect of the medicinal spring. Now, she lay on the couch next to the medicinal spring, letting Little Feng Xi apply medicine and bandage her, even though it was of little use.
Seeing the crystals embedded in the couch, Ling Luoyi thought of the crystal left by the dissipating puppet and said with a pang of regret, "The puppet given by Saintess Master was used up like this. It's a bit of a waste."
Hearing this, Little Feng Xi's mouth twitched, and it said sarcastically, "Yes, yes. I thought you would use it on the battlefield outside Xia Ning City, but I didn't expect you to use it on the previous Asura King. Truly 'a waste of precious resources'."
Ling Luoyi ignored what Little Feng Xi said and continued to complain, "But this puppet from Saintess Master consumed too much spiritual energy. My two dantian's spiritual energy were almost drained."
This time, Little Feng Xi didn't even want to speak.