Chapter 488: The Last Moment

Shangguan Lingxiu nodded, her eyes weeping warm tears. She uttered in a soft voice, "Old Marshal wants all of us to leave. Only Yun Yang is to stay. Let us head out, quickly."

She knew that time was running out, especially for the old marshal. Without further elaboration, she urged everyone out, pushing everyone far from the tent so that they were five hundred feet away from it.

The old marshal was at the last stage of his life now. What he was about to say to Supreme Cloud, whose identity was unknown to the masses, before he passed on must be important; no one should ever hear it.

If it were possible, Shangguan Lingxiu would have loved to chase everyone down the mountain to ensure confidentiality.

With how softly they were speaking inside, in addition to the deafening drums and the faint battle cries from the battlefield, it would be impossible even for God to eavesdrop over the five hundred feet of distance.

Shangguan Lingxiu believed that to be true, but the grief grew in her, her tears falling unceasingly. For a moment, she felt powerless and bereft of hope.

Old Marshal Qiu Jianhan was the pillar of the Empire of Yutang! Now, this pillar was about to collapse. What about the current war which was raging, what about the future Yutang? Would their future be dim?

Yun Yang swallowed the throbbing pain in his heart and pushed himself closer, calling out to the old man, "Old Marshal, I'm here, I'm here."

Qiu Jianhan's gaze was starting to lose focus but it was trained on Yun Yang's face. Carefully and seriously, he was focusing his vision to look at him clearly; finally, a sad smile appeared as he said softly, "They've... gone out..."

"Yes, they're all outside now," Yun Yang replied.

Qiu Jianhan was obviously still concerned as he uttered weakly, "Go... look... S - see... Have them... them... go... farther..."

Yun Yang moved immediately, coming to the entrance of the tent, and looked outside. Everyone was already hundreds of feet away from the tent; they would definitely be unable to hear what happened inside. Upon confirming their privacy, he shot back to the bed.

"Old Marshal, everyone's very far away."

"Mm..." Qiu Jianhan's gaze suddenly turned sharp, but he was still breathing harshly; then, he lowered his voice and said, "This old man... this time... I can't make it... Before I go... I have... an unfulfilled wish..."

Yun Yang replied at once, "Old Marshal, don't hold anything back. Yun Yang will complete this wish of yours, no matter what it takes."

Qiu Jianhan murmured weakly, "No need... I only have a question... I want to make something clear... If not... I... can't rest... in peace."

"Please ask, Old Marshal. I will tell what I know." Yun Yang answered fervently.

Another bout of hacking racked through Qiu Jianhan, almost choking him. Yun Yang's Endless Divine Art continued to course through him, but the strong flow could barely ease the ailing man's cough. As the hacking subsided, Qiu Jianhan looked even worse than before.

Yun Yang concentrated all his attention and finally discerned the old marshal's soft question. "Yun Yang... you... are... you..."

Qiu Jianhan's eyes brightened as they looked at Yun Yang's, the former asking airily, "Are... you... Supreme Cloud?"

Are you Supreme Cloud? This was Yun Yang's biggest secret of all, one that Yun Yang had never exposed to anyone on his own volition!

Now though, gazing into the old marshal's eyes, Yun Yang did not hesitate. He bent close to the old man's ears and said in a low voice, "Old Marshal, you're right... I'm Supreme Cloud, the sole survivor of the Nine Supremes."

Color washed across Qiu Jianhan's face as his gaze turned brighter; he stared at Yun Yang delightfully, the more he looked at him, the more affectionate he felt towards him. The old marshal then said in relief, "It isn't the end of the Nine Supremes after all... This old man... can finally... be relieved... God... God still... blesses... Yutang..."

His hand moved about and finally found Yun Yang's hand; he gripped Yun Yang's hand tightly with a strength he should not have possessed and stared right at the youth. "This old man... I... I didn't guess it wrong... but this secret... you... you must... always... keep it... forever... forever... don't let - don't... let others... know... don't..."

"Yes!"

Yun Yang's tears coursed down in streams; he felt like his heart had been shattered into pieces. The pain was suffocating him. Time and again, he had to bid farewell to elders who loved him. Was this to be his ultimate destiny?

"Keep... this secret... Yutang... stays... if not... if not..."

"I know, I won't let anyone else know about my identity!" Yun Yang assured the old man.

Qiu Jianhan's breathing gradually weakened but his face was still wearing a contented smile; his hand was still gripping Yun Yang's tightly while his gaze was still lovingly trained on Yun Yang. He said softly, "Good child... good child..."

Unable to take it any further, Yun Yang suddenly broke into a wail.

The mighty Lord Supreme Cloud, who had triumphed over the world, was sobbing like a child. "Old Marshal... don't die... I've - I've lost too much... You can't die..."

"I can't take it... I can't take it anymore..."

Yun Yang was wailing, his image discarded together with the tears and snot running down his face.

Qiu Jianhan watched him warmly and affectionately as he said gently, "My poor child... How can... a person escape death?"

His eyes took on a distant look as he mumbled, "To think about it... this life of mine... has been enough... Just... dying now... the nation's safety... my old wife at home..."

Pure longing tinged his gaze as he continued in a low murmur, "I can't let it go... can't let them go... but... in this chaotic times... this life of mine... not worthy of..."

Yun Yang, who was listening intently to the old marshal's murmuring, sobbed with a broken heart. Suddenly, the sounds of a galloping horse came from far outside the tent; a voice could be heard shouting anxiously, "Marshal! Urgent military intel!"

Fu Baoguo's voice erupted in anger, "Stop! What are you shouting at! I'm not dead yet! Come down, will you?"

Fu Baoguo was obviously afraid that the sudden noise would disrupt the old marshal's words before his death, but the sound of the galloping hooves tickled a faint memory within Yun Yang.

His wailing stopped with a frightening suddenness as he lifted his head abruptly.

"Horse... military intel? Reddie?"

The old marshal was losing his clarity as he subconsciously answered Yun Yang's murmuring, "Wh...at..."

Yun Yang was stunned for a minute before he suddenly jumped up in ecstasy. "Old Marshal, you have hope! You are not beyond saving I I've got it! How could I be so stupid? The miracle medicine is within me and I almost forgot about it!"

Tears of extreme happiness flowed down his face but Qiu Jianhan was already drifting away, mumbling, "Your Majesty... Old Qiu... is leaving..."

Then, he fell unconscious. His limit had been reached and it appeared that he would pass on anytime now.

Yun Yang dared not hesitate. He picked himself up and stretched out his arm. A small, gleaming knife appeared in his hand. Without preamble, he cut his sleeves away and placed his wrist in front of Qiu Jianhan's mouth; with a quick slash of his knife, blood poured from his wrist.

Yun Yang's other hand pried the Old Marshal's mouth open to allow his blood to drip in.

The fact was that his blood was magically effective on Reddie, but the old marshal was on the brink of death; his body might reject the potent medicinal effect. Yun Yang could only drip blood gradually to see if there was a possibility for the old marshal to be revived and stabilized.

The self-healing ability of an ace cultivator was extremely strong; Yun Yang had only bled for a while before his wound began to close on its own. He slit himself again to open his wound, repeating the process until he had collected three full bowls of blood before he stopped.

He was cautiously confident that such a large amount of blood would be able to resurrect Old Marshal!

As Yun Yang considered his chances, he began to relax, stepping down from his high-strung state. Unfortunately, with his sudden descent into a calmer state of mind came a wave of vertigo and the agonizing feeling of his internal organs erupting. No longer able to hold on, he staggered before collapsing into an unceremonious heap.

Fatigue and an endless darkness consumed him almost immediately...