Lightning gathered above the heavens, growing brighter with every passing second until the entire sky looked as though it would split apart.The floating land fragments trembled violently, and even the mirror-like lake below rippled with countless cracks of light.Yue Ning's eyes widened as she stared upward at the enormous heavenly formation above them. "No..." she whispered before looking toward Li Cang in disbelief. "Li Cang... what are you doing?"
Li Cang stood beneath the formation, his robes swaying in the wind while golden light gathered around him. His expression remained unreadable as he slowly raised his hand. "The Heavenly Court has made its decision. The Flower Demon King, Shou Heng, has violated Heavenly law, resisted judgment, attacked Heaven's officials, and disrupted the balance between realms. His existence can no longer be tolerated."
The golden light intensified, causing the surrounding air to tremble. Yue ning shook her head, panic spreading across her face. "No."Her voice trembled before she suddenly shouted, "No!" Ignoring the immense pressure pressing down on her shoulders, she rushed forward desperately. Tears fell down her face as she pleaded,"Please stop... please..."Mu Qing's expression briefly wavered before hardening once again. He clenched his fists tightly at his sides and said, "Yue Ning, stand down."She froze and stared at him in disbelief. "Stand down?" Her voice cracked as more tears fell from her eyes. "You're trying to kill him."Mu Qing inhaled deeply before answering,"We're trying to prevent something worse."
Yue Ning looked at him for several seconds before slowly shaking her head. "No!" she whispered. "No, you're not." Her gaze then shifted away from him and swept across all of Heaven's officials gathered around the battlefield. "You're afraid." Despite the tears covering her face, Yue Ning's voice gradually grew stronger. "You're afraid because he refuses to obey."Several attendants frowned. One of them stepped forward and shouted sternly, "Watch your words!"
However, Yue Ning ignored him completely. Her eyes slowly turned toward Shou Heng, and her voice trembled with both anger and heartbreak. "He loved someone. He protected someone. And now all of you are treating him like a disaster." She pointed directly at him before looking back at Heaven's officials. "He isn't the monster here."Yue Ning pointed toward Shou Heng, her entire body trembling as tears streamed down her face. "He isn't the monster here."
The Heavenly attendants exchanged glances while Mu Qing's expression darkened. Yue Ning slowly looked around at every familiar face standing before her. "All of you watched him protect me." Her voice shook but she refused to lower her head. "All of you saw him getting hurt over and over again." She clenched her fists tightly. "Yet none of you asked if he was in pain. None of you asked what he wanted. All you saw was a demon standing against Heaven." Hua Lin's gaze lowered slightly. A complicated emotion flashed across her eyes. Mu Qing frowned. "Yue Ning, you're allowing your emotions to cloud your judgment." Yue Ning looked at him. "Then what about yours?" Mu Qing froze. She took a step forward. "You keep saying this is Heaven's judgment. But whose judgment is it?" Her eyes reddened further. "Did Heaven ever once ask him what he felt?"
She turned toward Li Cang. "Did Heaven ever ask him why he was fighting?" Li Cang remained unmoved."His reasons do not alter the law." Yue Ning stared at him in disbelief. "Then your laws are cruel." Gasps echoed among the attendants. One stepped forward angrily. "Yue Ning! Mind your words!" But she no longer cared. Years of obedience, years of following rules, years of suppressing herself suddenly burst out all at once. "What words should I mind?" she asked, tears falling faster now. "Should I pretend I don't see this happening? Should I stand quietly while the person I love is punished for loving me back?"
Mu Qing's face tightened instantly. "Enough." Yue Ning shook her head. "No." Her voice cracked. "I've listened all my life. This time, no." Everyone fell silent again then suddenly a soft laugh echoed across the battlefield. Yue Ning turned around. Shou Heng was standing there, blood dripping slowly from his fingertips onto the white flowers beneath him. His clothes were torn, several wounds stained his robes crimson, and his breathing was visibly uneven. Yet somehow he was smiling.
Yue Ning walked toward him. "Why are you laughing?" Her voice was filled with both anger and heartbreak. Shou Heng looked at her quietly for several seconds before answering. "Because you're scolding Heaven for me." She blinked once before her expression immediately twisted into frustration. "How are you still joking right now?" He chuckled softly despite the pain. "I don't know." She slapped his arm lightly. "This isn't funny." He hissed quietly from the pain but his smile remained. "Ow." Yue Ning's eyes widened instantly. "See? You're hurt!" Shou Heng nodded obediently. "Very hurt."
She glared at him through tears. "Then stop fighting!" He looked at her and smile on his face slowly softened into something deeper. Something much sadder. "I can't." Her eyes immediately filled again. "Why?" His answer came without hesitation. "Because they're trying to take you away." Her lips trembled. "And if you die?" He paused. His expression shifted ever so slightly before he answered honestly, "Then at least I died protecting someone important to me." Yue Ning shook her head rapidly. "No." She grabbed his hand with both of hers. "No. Don't say things like that." He looked at their joined hands. Then at her face."Yue Ning." Her eyes met his instantly. "Hm?" He gently brushed a tear from her cheek with his thumb. "Do you regret meeting me?"
Tears fell from her eyes again. She shook her head without even needing to think. "Never." His breathing visibly paused for a moment. Then a small smile returned to his face. "Good." Another thunderous explosion suddenly echoed overhead.*BOOOOM!*The enormous heavenly formation above them grew even larger. Golden lightning began spreading through the sky like giant cracks. The floating islands trembled and mirror lake below erupted into massive waves despite having no wind. Li Cang slowly raised both hands. His voice echoed throughout the entire realm. "Flower Demon King Shou Heng." The pressure instantly multiplied tenfold."This is your final opportunity."Golden chains began forming in the sky one after another. Thousands of them.They glowed with immense heavenly energy. Li Cang's eyes remained cold. "Release Yue Ning." "Submit yourself to Heaven." "Or be erased alongside your existence."
Yue Ning's grip around Shou Heng's hand tightened. She looked at him fearfully. But Shou Heng simply stared at the heavens for several seconds before slowly laughing.Then he lifted his head and met Li Cang's gaze directly. His eyes were calm now. Too calm. "You know…" he said quietly, "…for beings who call themselves Heaven…" Flower petals slowly began gathering around him once more. Thousands upon thousands circling in a growing storm. His voice became colder. "You all seem very afraid of love."
Crimson light exploded outward from Shou Heng's body, forcing everyone to shield their eyes.The white spiritual flowers covering the floating islands bloomed all at once before their colors slowly deepened into shades of red.Yue Ning's eyes widened as the words left his lips, her breath catching in her throat like something had suddenly tightened around her chest. "Shou Heng…" she whispered again.
The petals around them shifted into a slow. Above them, Li Cang's expression darkened as the golden formation continued to expand across the sky, its symbols burning brighter with every passing second. "Enough!" he said coldly, lowering his hand, and in that instant the suspended chains of light in the sky responded.The world shattered with a deafening* BOOOOOOM* the sound swallowing everything as Yue Ning's face turned pale and she screamed, "Shou Heng!"
But before the chains could even reach them, the flower petals surged upward like a living tide, colliding with the descending divine weapons and exploding into a shockwave that tore through the floating islands.The ground fractured, drifting pieces of land breaking away into the abyss as Mu Qing shouted orders for the barriers to be reinforced, while heavenly attendants rushed to stabilize the collapsing formation lines, their golden shields trembling under unbearable pressure.
Yet Shou Heng did not move. He stood still in the center of destruction, his gaze locked on Heaven itself then his voice came,"I gave Heaven respect." The words echoed across the battlefield, not as defiance but as truth, and the petals around him responded, rising slowly as if remembering every moment he had restrained himself. "I gave Heaven patience," he continued, as vines of flowers began wrapping around shattered pillars and broken platforms, not repairing, but reclaiming them. His expression grew colder and said, "I even gave Heaven time." The sky above turned deeper red as the petals multiplied into impossible numbers, tens of thousands becoming hundreds of thousands, until the entire world felt drowned in crimson bloom.
Slowly, he turned his head toward Li Cang, his eyes reflecting the collapsing heavens without fear. "But Heaven gave me only one answer," he said softly, "Separation." Yue Ning's tears fell faster as she grabbed his sleeve tightly, her voice breaking as she pleaded, "Shou Heng… please… don't destroy yourself because of me."Shou Heng looked at her properly."Yue Ning," he said softly, lifting his hand to brush her hair behind her ear with painful tenderness. "If someone precious to you was about to disappear… would you stand still and watch?" Her lips parted, but no answer came, because she already knew the truth she didn't want to speak aloud. Shou Heng gave smile. "See?" he whispered, and then turned back toward Heaven. "I can't either." Yue Ning lowered her head as tears fell freely.
And suddenly massive formation expanded further, golden symbols spreading like an unending verdict across the sky, and Mu Qing's face changed as he shouted Li Cang's name in alarm. Li Cang remained unmoved, his voice cutting through everything. Yue Ning's face drained of color as she stepped forward instinctively, but Shou Heng caught her before she could fall into panic, holding her steady.The petals around them froze midair.Then, in that unbearable quiet, he asked, "Yue Ning… if Heaven leaves me no path…" His gaze never wavered as the entire battlefield held its breath. "would you be afraid if I created one myself?"
Across the heavens, the immortals stared at him with widening eyes,unable to understand what exactly he was planning.Li Cang's expression darkened further as he looked at Shou Heng from above.The golden symbols behind him continued spinning endlessly, illuminating the heavens with an merciless light. "Don't do something you'll regret!" he said. Shou Heng slowly lifted his eyes toward him.Then, unexpectedly, he smiled faintly. "Regret?" he repeated quietly. "Lord li Cang…" He tilted his head slightly and glanced toward the enormous heavenly formation descending above them before speaking again. "Tell me." he paused then said, "When has Heaven ever regretted anything?"
Li cang remained silent.Shou heng continued speaking, "When Heaven separated families …" His gaze slowly moved across the countless immortals watching from afar. "When Heaven erased names…" The flower petals around him trembled softly. "When Heaven called suffering necessary…" His eyes sharpened slightly then, carrying years of disappointment buried beneath calmness. "Did Heaven regret any of that?" No one answered him because no one could. Mu Qing's expression tightened instantly, his brows furrowing.Several heavenly attendants unconsciously lowered their heads.Others avoided looking at shou heng altogether. Even Hua Lin slowly looked away for a moment, unable to meet his gaze. High above them, the heavenly formation continued descending without pause.
Yue Ning shook her head. "No." She grabbed Shou Heng's sleeve tightly. "Don't..." Her voice trembled violently. "Please don't to this! " Shou Heng lowered his gaze toward her.He simply looked at her then he looked toward Heaven itself. Then back at her again and smile appeared on his face despite the blood staining the corner of his lips. Slowly, he raised his hand and wiped away the tears on her cheeks with his thumb. "Yue Ning." Her eyes reddened further. She shook her head again. "Don't say goodbye." Shou Heng chuckled softly. "I wasn't going to." She stared at him for several seconds before her lips trembled again. "Then don't leave me either." His expression visibly softened. "I don't intend to." She grabbed his hand with both of hers. "Promise me."
He looked down at their hands. Then his fingers slowly intertwined with hers. "I promise." Yue Ning closed her eyes briefly, trying to stop her tears, but it only made more fall. The sight made Shou Heng sigh softly. "You cry too much." She instantly glared at him through her tears. "Whose fault is that?" He actually smiled. "Mine." She wanted to stay angry, but she couldn't.Yet before either of them could say anything more, another deafening explosion echoed overhead. *BOOOOOOM!* Golden lightning spread across the heavens. The gigantic heavenly formation above them rotated faster and faster. The floating land fragments trembled violently while the mirror-like lake below cracked with spreading waves of light.
Shou Heng slowly turned his head toward Heaven and smile vanished from his face.Flower petals surrounding him began multiplying at an impossible speed. They covered the entire sky until the world itself seemed painted crimson. Red lightning streaked between the petals while violent winds swirled around him. Yue Ning stared at him in shock. Even Mu Qing unconsciously took a step backward. Hua Lin's expression changed.Several heavenly attendants gripped their weapons tighter. Li Cang narrowed his eyes. Then Shou Heng spoke. "If loving her is a crime..." Every petal in the sky trembled simultaneously. His voice echoed throughout the heavens. "then let Heaven witness how far that crime can go."
The entire battlefield exploded with power. Countless petals shot upward like stars breaking free from gravity. Red and gold lightning collided instantly, sending massive shockwaves through every floating island. The chains of luminous beads hanging between celestial gates shattered one after another. Giant lotus platforms beneath them cracked apart. Even Heaven's own formation trembled. Mu Qing's expression completely changed. "He's getting stronger." Hua Lin looked toward Li Cang. "This can't continue." But Li Cang remained silent. His gaze never left Shou Heng. Yue Ning stood beside him.
Heaven moved and thousands upon thousands of golden symbols detached themselves from the heavenly formation and gathered overhead, swirling together like an endless golden ocean spreading across the sky. Every inch of the battlefield was illuminated until there was nowhere left for shadows to hide. Then, without warning, the entire ocean of light crashed downward. The heavens exploded with a deafening roar. Shou Heng stepped forward, placing himself between Heaven and Yue Ning. His robes fluttered violently as countless flower petals erupted around him in a magnificent storm.
Crimson vines burst from beneath shattered platforms, spiraling upward like giant dragons climbing toward the sky. The collision shook reality itself. Petals exploded into dazzling fragments. Golden light shattered apart. Entire chunks of floating islands broke loose and vanished into the clouds below. Several heavenly attendants lost their footing and stumbled backward in panic. One of Heaven's enormous celestial bridges snapped directly in half before crashing into the mirror lake beneath them, sending waves hundreds of meters high into the air.
Yue Ning stared at the scene in horror. "Shou Heng!" she shouted, but he didn't answer. His eyes remained fixed on Heaven itself. Then he slowly raised one hand. Instantly, the sky responded to him. Millions upon millions of petals gathered behind his back, forming enormous flower wings that stretched across half the battlefield. Crimson light spread everywhere. For one brief moment, even Heaven itself looked small in comparison. Mu Qing's breathing became uneven as he watched. "This power..." Hua Lin's eyes widened in disbelief. "He's pushing beyond his limits."
Li Cang slowly moved without a trace of hesitation,he lifted one finger toward the heavens.Instantly, heavenly formation contracted. Every symbol,chain and every trace of divine energy condensed together into one single point.Then that point expanded into a colossal golden spear larger than an entire floating island. The surrounding space cracked apart and black fractures spread through the air itself. Even Yue Ning's face turned pale."No..." she whispered as she instinctively stepped closer to Shou Heng.Li Cang's voice echoed throughout Heaven. "This ends now."
Shou Heng instantly pushed Yue Ning behind him. The flower wings surged upward. The petals transformed into storms.The vines became gigantic walls reaching toward the sky. Everything collided together with overwhelming force. The heavens fractured. The mirror lake beneath them evaporated into endless white mist. Cracks spread through Heaven itself. Floating islands trembled and entire palaces tilted sideways. Celestial pillars shattered apart one after another.
For several seconds, nobody could see anything except light. Endless, blinding light swallowed the entire battlefield until even the boundaries between Heaven and earth disappeared. The explosions echoed endlessly, one after another, making the floating realms tremble without pause. Then a sharp cracking sound suddenly pierced through the chaos.One enormous flower wing shattered apart with a deafening crack that echoed throughout the heavens.
Crimson fragments scattered across the sky like countless dying stars falling toward the clouds below. Before anyone could react, a second flower wing exploded apart, sending a violent wave of petals spiraling through the battlefield.Then, one after another, the gigantic vine barriers that had been protecting him collapsed completely. The vines broke into countless pieces before dissolving into petals that drifted helplessly through the air, no longer carrying the overwhelming power they once held.
Yue Ning's eyes widened in terror. "Shou Heng!"
He gritted his teeth as blood instantly spilled from his lips. Yet he still refused to move. The veins along his neck surfaced as he continued forcing more and more power into the petals surrounding him. The crimson storm intensified until even the surrounding space began distorting unnaturally. Air twisted around him. The ground beneath him shattered. His body started trembling under the immense pressure. His breathing became uneven and blood slowly trickled from the corners of his eyes.He was trying to stand, forcing what little strength remained in his broken body, but it was already too late. His legs gave out, and Yue Ning rushed forward instantly, catching him before he could collapse completely. His weight fell into her arms as blood stained her hands the moment she touched him her entire body tremble."No!"she whispered "No no no…" She held him tighter.
Shou Heng's breathing had become uneven, shallow and strained, and blood continued to flow from his shoulder.His once elegant robes were now completely soaked in red.
Shou Heng slowly opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was her crying again. A faint, almost exhausted smile formed on his lips. "You cry too much." he said weakly. Yue Ning shook her head, tears falling harder. "This isn't funny." she replied, "Look at you… you idiot… why did you block it?" Shou Heng blinked slowly, and said,"Because you were there."
She lowered her head, gripping his robes tighter. "Don't say it so easily… you always say things so easily… what about yourself?" she asked, her voice breaking. "What about you?" He simply looked at her for a long moment, then exhaled softly. His hand rose slowly despite how weak it had become, trembling as he reached for her face. His fingertips gently brushed away her tears,"I am myself because you're here!" he said.
Yue Ning's breathing stopped for a moment, and her tears only fell harder. "You can't keep doing this!" she whispered desperately. "You can't keep sacrificing yourself… you can't keep protecting everyone… you're hurt… you're exhausted… and I'm scared." For a brief moment, everything around them faded the battlefield, the collapsing heavens, the distant chaos leaving only the two of them in a fragile silence. Shou Heng looked at her quietly, then gave gentle smile, the same one she had always known. "Yue Ning…" She looked up."Hm?" He squeezed her hand weakly. "If I become someone Heaven fears…" he paused, his voice softer now, almost fading, "will you still stay beside me?" Her eyes reddened instantly, but she didn't hesitate even for a heartbeat. She grabbed his hand with both of hers and pressed it against her forehead. "As long as you're still Shou Heng…" she said,"...I'll never leave." Shou heng touched her face and said,"I love you!" Then shou heng slowly closed his eyes.