On the Holy Staircase, Ding Meng's body grew dimmer and dimmer, like a mirror image disappearing. The lower half of his body was gone, and the degeneration had spread to his chest. Gradually, half of his body disappeared, leaving only his head. Then, his head became translucent.
At the last moment before Ding Meng completely disappeared, the divine light necklace hanging around his neck fell to the ground with a "ding", falling onto the platform of light.
This was Ji Chenxue's relic. She left it with him as a gift and also as a form of protection.
"Woo —"
The necklace made a strange Sanskrit sound, as if it had received a command and was activated. Then, the pearl glowed with a strong golden light.
"Boom!" An earth-shattering explosion rang out. The void and the Holy Staircase were completely covered by the strong light of the explosion. No one could open their eyes in this kind of light.
The miracle had finally appeared. The necklace made a buzzing sound, and the energy inside it surged out. It was Ding Meng's shadow. The white figure of light stood up again, resolutely, and raised its head. Its energy was so strong that Queen Ming Yan's expression changed. She retreated as expected.
However, the shadow did not give her the chance. It stepped on the spot and leaped forward, like a fish leaping through the dragon's gate, and slashed with its blade. This was the same scene from before. The shadow turned into the shape of a hero's knife and mercilessly slashed at Ming Yan's forehead.
This slash was unstoppable, and no one could stop it. This was the ultimate killing move hidden at the end.
Ming Yan probably sensed that this ball of energy was too strong. It was too late for her to dodge. Her hands formed a heart shape in front of her forehead, and then she suddenly parted them to the side. A crimson bud-shaped shield immediately wrapped around her body.
Unexpectedly, the light form of the shadow miraculously penetrated the shield, and then directly sank into her forehead. Its entire body drilled into her body.
Ming Yan's expression changed. She also became indescribably frightened.
She could not help but shout, "What is this?"
No one answered her, because as soon as she finished speaking, her entire body exploded with a "boom". This explosion caused countless Peach Blossom Essences to fly all over the place, drowning the entire Saint Staircase. The martial artists, demons, and demons below all turned into nothingness while howling in grief. This power was so strong that it could be compared to the Big Bang of the universe. The Saint Staircase was completely engulfed in a pink interstellar storm.
No one knew how long it took for the dust to settle down. On the 90th step, two translucent figures, one white and one black, were floating in the air. They were Ding Meng's spirit body and Ming Yan's spirit body.
Both of them had disheveled hair and looked battered and exhausted, but Ding Meng was surprisingly calm, while Ming Yan was furious. "What did you do to me?
You actually destroyed my physical body! "
At this moment, Ding Meng was no longer submissive. He stared coldly at Ming Yan and snapped, "Do you really think I'll submit to you?
Dream on!
Never — "
His roar gave Ming Yan a fright. Ming Yan looked at him in disbelief. "You … How did you do it?"
Ding Meng sneered. "You calculated well. With my strength as an Interstellar Martial Master at that time, it was impossible for me to absorb all the energy of the True Essence Divine Crystal. I just integrated most of its remaining energy into the Divine Light Necklace. That was my real trump card."
Ming Yan was extremely shocked. Then, she suddenly understood. She immediately figured out the key to this.
Ding Meng had obtained the True Essence Divine Crystal of the Black Dragon King. As a Martial Master, he could only forcibly absorb the energy of the True Essence Divine Crystal. If he absorbed it as a Martial Master, he would probably be on the same level as Ming Yan. However, that would still be a situation where both sides would suffer. Of course, the latter situation was impossible because it was just a hypothesis.
The truth was that Ding Meng had cultivated the Diamond Starfusing Art. He had integrated the remaining energy of the Divine Crystal into the Divine Light Necklace. The capacity of the Divine Light Necklace was determined by the strength of the user. Only when Ding Meng became a Martial Master would he be able to bring all the energy to the Divine Staircase. Only then would he have the ability to deal with Ming Yan. This was also the fundamental reason why Ji Chenxue was willing to sacrifice himself.
"At certain special moments, when the rationality of values prevails, humans will risk their lives and do their best for someone, something, or a goal. They will even sacrifice themselves. This trait can sometimes cause irreversible disasters, but it can also create indescribable miracles!"
In order to create a better future, Ji Chenxue's rationality of values prevailed and he sacrificed himself.
And now, a miracle had really been born. Even Queen Ming Yan, who was so strong that she could break through the sky, was defeated!
This was why human Martial Artists could always amaze everyone!
However, Ming Yan still seemed to be unwilling to believe it. She said in a trembling voice, "You knew that you would die together with me. How dare you choose to do this?"
"I know!"
Ding Meng regained his calm and said casually, "I knew from the beginning that no one could defeat you. I had no chance of winning!"
Ming Yan was still in shock. She was waiting for Ding Meng to explain.
"Because I know my limits. I know very well what I'm capable of. Even the Heaven Defying Sovereign King was defeated by you. What am I?
If I challenge you, I'm just courting death! "
Ding Meng said unhurriedly, "You were right. I've been acting all this time. Even when I surrendered to you in the end, I was also acting. If I hadn't acted so realistically, you wouldn't have been fooled. For me, my only chance was to get close to you and have physical contact with you. Only then could I activate the Divine Light Necklace and kill you!"
Ming Yan's face darkened. "So, you didn't surrender just because you were lustful?"
Ding Meng shook his head and said, "No, you're wrong. I'm lustful, but you're even more lustful than me. Because I know you're like those generals. Once you defeat me, you won't let me go. You'll make me your slave. This is the instinct of Night Phoenix Martial Artists. I can't be wrong about this. So, I could only pretend to surrender and ask to have physical contact with you. Only then did I have this chance."
"You!"
Ming Yan was furious. She had never expected Ding Meng to be so treacherous. In terms of acting, he was indeed her ancestor, but in terms of acting skills, he was her grandson.
Ding Meng continued, "The power of the Divine Crystal hidden in the necklace is the true power that can deal with you. The other Divine Light Essences, the power of the Demons, and Ai Ji's star energy are all useless against you. So, when I came here, I set it up. As long as I die, the necklace will automatically activate. It will explode and deal the final blow to the strongest person nearby."
Ming Yan was still in disbelief. She was shocked again. "You knew the final result, no matter what?
You were going to die anyway, so why did you still enter the Saint Staircase? "
Ding Meng said, "Yes, I knew that from the moment I came in, I was already dead."
Ming Yan was shocked. "Aren't you afraid of death?"
Ding Meng revealed a rare expression of emotion. He shook his head and said, "You're wrong again. I'm afraid of death. I'm scared to death. But I still came!"
Ming Yan was really curious. "Why?"
Ding Meng sighed and said, "Although I've lived a very tiring life, I've lived it openly. Even if I'm going to die, I want to die with a clear conscience. Only in this way can I be worthy of those who have sacrificed so much for me. Their friendship, love, and family, I've never let them down. Only in this way can my death be considered worthy."
Ming Yan seemed to have calmed down. She sighed softly. "I've always thought that there was no one in this world who wasn't afraid of death. It seems that I was wrong. Until today, I finally believe that there really are people who aren't afraid of death!"
Ding Meng revealed a proud expression. "So, you've lost this battle!"
Ming Yan suddenly laughed disdainfully. "Who said I've lost? The one who lost is not me, but you!"
Ding Meng said in surprise, "Oh?"
Ming Yan smiled and said, "You're really smart. Your strength is outstanding and your courage is commendable. Although you used the True Essence Divine Crystal to destroy my physical body, you still can't destroy my spiritual body. This Saint Staircase has its own thin Divine Crystal energy. I can rely on this energy to refine the Heavenly Strategy Body sooner or later."
Ding Meng said, "With your absorption rate, even if you can refine the Immortal Aperture, Origin Spirit, and Heavenly Strategy Body, it will take at least hundreds of thousands of years, millions of years, or even tens of millions of years."
Ming Yan smiled happily. "So what?
My foundation is much deeper than yours. My absorption rate is much faster than yours. My spiritual body will always be one step faster than yours, or even several steps faster. When the time comes, destroying a small Divine Light martial artist like you will be a piece of cake. No matter how you calculate, you'll never know that the Sacred Butterfly will still be mine. "
Ding Meng looked at her with a cold gaze. He shook his head helplessly. "You're wrong. The one who lost is still you!"
Ming Yan was stunned. "Why?"
Ding Meng asked meaningfully, "Do you know?
You, Ling Tian Sovereign King, Demon King Xie Yu, your generals, those Demon Generals, you so-called experts, why can you live for so long?
It's because you're afraid of death. That's why you keep cultivating and becoming stronger. You even want to pursue eternal life. In a word, you're afraid of death! "
Ding Meng said firmly. Ming Yan didn't answer because she knew that Ding Meng's words were very reasonable. The purpose of becoming stronger was to not be stepped on by others. It was to protect one's life.
Ding Meng sighed. "The reason you're afraid of death is because you haven't truly lived!"
Ming Yan found it funny. "I haven't truly lived?
Do you know my birthday this year? "
"I know!"
Ding Meng nodded. "I've already seen it in your Divine Sense. You've lived for more than 1.2 million years. You're an out-and-out Old Monster of the Universe. But I still have to say that you haven't truly lived."
Ming Yan's expression was a bit ferocious. She was obviously not convinced. "Haha, could it be that you've truly lived?"