Light Fortress
Chapter 697 - 196: Ashes (Long - )_4

Chapter 697: Chapter 196: Ashes (Long Chapter)_4

"It’s over..."

Chu Ling gently patted the little girl’s shoulder, softly consoling, "The turmoil in the cemetery is over."

Li Qingsui instinctively clenched her fist.

The token that symbolized the identity of the Li Family Master had been retrieved by Gu Shen from the great snows at the Giant Statue Ruins and placed back in her hands.

The moment she grasped the token,

she let out a long breath and her tense body relaxed all at once.

She was truly exhausted.

However, the tears that reached the rims of her eyes were held back tightly, as Li Qingsui forcefully wiped her cheeks and held her breath again.

After her father’s death,

Li Qingsui told herself not to shed another tear.

She was no longer a child.

At this moment, she was holding the Li Family’s Family Head Token; every word, every action, represented the image of the Li Family.

"The cemetery... was a conspiracy by the Wine God and Gu Lushen."

Gu Shen certainly noticed that minor detail.

The little girl hid her stubborn side well, known to very few, and he just happened to be one of them.

Gu Shen’s expression was gentle as he briefly explained what happened in Qingzhong, comforting her, "Now, both the Wine God and Gu Lushen have been executed, and the turmoil within the Li Family will also dissipate, you can be at ease."

Li Qingsui nodded, then she suddenly realized something.

"Uncle Gao..."

Li Qingsui reached out, gripping Chu Ling’s arm tightly, her complexion pale as she said, "Divine Sister, Uncle Gao is still in the ancestral hall."

...

...

The Li’s Ancestral Hall.

Fire had ravaged through here once.

At this moment, the sea of flames had already died down.

The six-hundred-year-old ancestral hall had been burned to charcoal, with only the dried skeleton of the wooden building remaining, teetering on the brink of collapse—a strong wind, and all the ancient houses of the Li’s Ancestral Hall would tumble down.

"This place... is completely ruined,"

muttered Gu Nanfeng softly.

In terms of the degree of damage, the Li’s Ancestral Hall had suffered even greater destruction than Qingzhong did.

"It can be rebuilt."

Li Qingsui looked at the scene, her eyes calm, showing no trace of heartache; the Flame Demon Umbrella that had caused this sea of fire quietly lay before her knees.

Only by completely burning those old, dirty things, could there be a rebirth.

If this was the price that had to be paid for victory—

then she would willingly burn down this ancestral hall a hundred times more.

"There are traces of Divine Power here."

frowned Gu Nanfeng, "It seems a great battle took place here; my spiritual power sensing is being interfered with."

He looked toward the inner part of the ancestral hall, at the small wooden tower.

It was the only structure spared from the sea of flames, for the powerful spiritual power fluctuated within it. Not a single spark could land within ten meters around the building, as the flames were crushed into bits by the force from afar.

Now, the entire ancestral hall had been burned down.

Only this small tower, the surrounding patch of grass, remained intact, just scorched with a grayish-white burn mark, clearly showing the spread of the Spiritual Domain.

"There’s the scent of death."

Gu Nanfeng stated gravely, "It’s strong... someone has died."

Li Qingsui’s expression turned pale as she pushed open the car door, arriving at the wooden doors of the Li’s Ancestral Hall, her fingers trembling slightly as she pushed open the dry doors.

The girl’s ruqun was stained with the ash of the fire, speckled with snow.

The wind blew through.

She pushed open the shattered, dark wooden doors.

On the other side, someone else pushed open the dust-sealed broken doors of the old wooden tower.

Gao Tian’s face was sallow, and he looked unwell, one hand covering his mouth as he coughed deeply, upon pushing open the door and seeing the young lady not far in front of him, he was taken aback.

Behind him,

in the darkness of the tower, a wicker chair sagged under the weight of a set of bones that had crumbled into ash.

In the Divine War at the Qingzhong Cemetery, the Wine God withdrew all the Divine Power, trying to survive in Gu Changzhi’s hands... at that moment, all the Believers lost the faith that had sustained them.

Some people could survive the loss of faith.

Others would collapse immediately.

Gao Tian and Elder Li were caught in a protracted spiritual tug-of-war... a battle that should have lasted even longer.

But after the Wine God’s Divine Power was withdrawn,

that elderly man, too old to withstand the slightest trouble, just... collapsed.

He became a pile of complete ash, maintaining a complete skeletal form without being touched by anyone.

At that moment,

the wind blew through.

What seemed to be the most intact tower was the first to fall; the young girl threw herself into the arms of the caretaker, and behind her, the sounds of a decaying and rotting building collapsing could be heard.

Sparks and ashes flew high into the sky.