"San Lang!" Xie Lian was shocked.

He wanted to go rush and check up on his lover, but instead, he was swept over by a tremendous energy. It felt like the sky was pressing down on him, oppressing him, and ruling over him. Xie Lian, too, was flung into the nearest boulder.

Shen Qingqiu was rooted on the spot.

He watched how the malicious dragon loomed overhead. It just stayed up in the dark sky, with its long and scaled body levitating. Its tail moved back and forth, as if debating whether or not to demolish the three couples into mere dust.

The malicious dragon didn't move much.

It just breathed out from its nostrils, then utilizing the air, it slammed both Hua Cheng and Xie Lian into the nearest boulders.

Hua Cheng heaved from the pressure.

The malicious dragon only needed to breathe, and the Ghost King could be defeated instantly! Hua Cheng didn't care. He got up, and ran over to check on his lover. Xie Lian coughed up dust, with dirt seamlessly muddying his white robes.

Luo Binghe frowned.

The remaining two couples ran over, checking up on both the Crown Prince and Ghost King's condition. "This isn't good." Wei Wuxian stated.

"No shit, Sherlock." Shen Qingqiu muttered underneath his breath.

They turned to look at the malicious dragon, who just loomed in the air with a lazy aura. How could they defeat a heavenly being...?

"Maybe we can convince it to leave." Lan Zhan came up with an idea.

"...how?" Luo Binghe opposed.

All of a sudden, the ground trembled. The malicious dragon let out a feisty roar, which was capable of shaking both the mountains and oceans at once. Then, it swooped down.

"Dodge it!" Hua Cheng gritted his teeth.

The three couples darted away. In the nick of time, they avoided the malicious dragon's body slam. The earth cracked, and hints of lava rumbled underneath. The smell of molten rocks had permeated in the air, with a disgusting odour of the malicious dragon's hot breath.

The malicious dragon was angry.

It let out a roar, then breathed out fire. An ocean of hot seeping flames had spewed all over the ground, demolishing the grass until they dwindled unto ashes.

Wei Wuxian held his breath, as he felt his world shaking.

The healthy soil had been burnt into magma, looking like a solid plate of hard black rock; igneous. The smell of burnt ashes had lingered in the air, reminding the three couples of the pure destruction, which only seemed to make the tension solidify and rise even higher.

"It's attacking us," Luo Binghe said, "It looks like we don't have a choice but to fight back."

After hearing him, the three couples quickly separated into different directions. They all ran towards the malicious dragon, as if their thoughts were connected and relayed onto one another.

"Go!" Shen Qingqiu threw his fan outwards, with a whoosh of breeze sweeping by.

Luo Binghe easily stepped onto the fan, projecting himself higher up. Instantly, Luo Binghe had jumped high enough to reach the malicious dragon.

He unsheathed his Zhengyang sword, then pointed it at the malicious dragon—

As if sensing a dangerous presence, the malicious dragon let out a defensive snort. In merely a short second, Luo Binghe felt like he was swept away by a hurricane!

Gritting his teeth, the Demon Lord persisted.

His muscles tightened underneath his black and red robes, with tension reaching to its peak. Every ounce of fibre and blood rushed in his body, running like waters racing down a steep waterfall. Luo Binghe's veins bulged, with the colours purple and blue dancing by his strenuous neck.

"...TAKE THIS!" The Demon Lord yelled.

He threw the Zhengyang sword. Luo Binghe's body fell backwards, but his bloodshot eyes were keen and stayed onto the figure of his flying sword—

The Zhengyang sword had accurately pierced itself into the malicious dragon's left eye!

A loud cry had reached throughout the entire world—then was swallowed whole by the hollow sky. Luo Binghe felt like he almost fainted from that harsh sound. His body fell down from the sky, and was captured by a warm pair of arms.

Shen Qingqiu enveloped his lover's body in his arms.

They dropped onto the ground, and landed safely. "Don't faint on me." The Peak Master huffed, hugging his lover close to his own chest.

Luo Binghe bit his bottom lip, averting his eyes.

His earlobe was red.

All of a sudden, the sound of strings being plucked had rummaged through the surface. Lan Zhan player his guqin, and Wei Wuxian blew into his flute. Their sounds had angered the malicious dragon, and it loomed over to strike a blow at them—

The malicious dragon didn't get away with it.

Instantly, something had fell onto its scales, like raining pellets. Shen Qingqiu gritted his teeth, as he threw down another handful of spiritual energy infused leaves.

The leaves didn't cut through the scales, but it did irritate the malicious dragon.

The malicious dragon let out another angry roar, which had overwhelmed the guqin and flute playing. The music had went silent.

Wei Wuxian and Lan Zhan has put away their instruments, grimacing at the dragon.

However, that grimace quickly turned into a smile.

Right behind the malicious dragon was Xie Lian and Hua Cheng. Xie Lian had thrown out a handful of needles, which were infused with his spiritual energy. Those needles seemed to levitate in the air. Hua Cheng had indifferently jumped upwards, and rapidly ran up those needles, as if he was running up a staircase.

The needles were like levitating stairs. As soon as Hua Cheng's black boots had stepped on them, the needle dropped back down into Xie Lian's palms.

Hua Cheng didn't blink. He took out E-Ming, then mercilessly pierced it into the malicious dragon's right eye—

Another angry roar bellowed out from the dragon.

It had lost both of its two eyes. Zhengyang and E-Ming were pierced in both of its eyes, forcing the dragon to cry in excruciating pain. The malicious dragon felt a tearing pain, gnawing at its eyes. It lost its sight, and had to endure every strike of ache.

Its body flung around in the sky, spasming and overturning in agony.

Hua Cheng fell back down.

He was quickly caught onto a flying sword—it was Bichen! Lan Zhan controlled his flying sword with merely one finger. Hua Cheng got the gist of it, and stood indifferently on the blade.

Lan Zhan guided the Ghost King around in the air, avoiding every thrash of the malicious dragon.

"Now...!" Wei Wuxian called.

Hua Cheng had jumped off of Bichen, and landed swiftly onto the back of the malicious dragon. Without mercy, he grabbed onto the dragon's hair, stabilizing himself.

However, this only made the malicious dragon thrash even harsher.

The dragon spun upside down, and steered in every possible angle. Hua Cheng pursed his lips, trying to endure every single spin, and forcing the nausea back down his throat. He quickly got ahold of his sword, E-Ming. Hua Cheng gritted his teeth, and ripped his blade out of the dragon's right eye—

Another roar had shook the earth.

Hua Cheng noticed how pools of blood began to leak from the dragon's injured eye. The Ghost King didn't care, and pulled out Zhengyang from the left eye.

He took ahold of both swords, then slashed mercilessly at the malicious dragon's back—

Instead of slicing into the dragon's back, the swords had fallen out of Hua Cheng's grip! The rebound of the dragon's scales were so large, Hua Cheng felt like his wrists may have dislocated! At the bottom, Luo Binghe quickly caught both swords.

He groaned, "Is it impossible to pierce the dragon?"

"It's possible," Shen Qingqiu analyzed. He noticed something, and yelled, "Hua Chengzhu! Aim for its belly! There are no scales there!"

Hua Cheng naturally heard that.

However, he was holding onto his life—I mean—holding onto the dragon's back. If he let go, he would be thrown off...!

All of a sudden, the malicious dragon twisted in agony. It swept down, turning a sharp angle. Hua Cheng didn't hold on tight enough, and was thrown off the dragon!

"Wei-xiong, Suibian," Xie Lian looked over at the Yiling Patriarch.

"...whatever?" Wei Wuxian blinked in confusion. "Xie-xiong, why did you just say whatever to me?"

Lan Zhan gently nudged his lover at the ribs. Feeling this, Wei Wuxian felt like he understood something. As if his brain was linked to his lover's, Wei Wuxian unsheathed his sword, Suibian.

"Climb on, dear Your Highness!" He laughed.

Xie Lian jumped onto the flying sword. With a mere direction of his finger, Wei Wuxian controlled Suibian to fly to higher heights.

The Martial God had quickly reached Hua Cheng.

Instead of staying obediently on the sword, Xie Lian jumped off! His white robes danced in the wild winds, and the Crown Prince grabbed onto his lover's pair of callous hands. "Spin." Xie Lian laughed, showing off a cheeky smile. Hua Cheng blinked, unsure of what was happening—

He didn't have a chance to think, as a strong momentum descended.

Xie Lian and him spun around in the air. Utilizing spiritual energy, Xie Lian gently pushed his lover higher up into the sky!

Hua Cheng was pushed back onto the dragon's back! He grabbed onto the dragon's mane, and controlled himself. He hurriedly looked back to find his lover—Xie Lian had landed onto Suibian's blade, and descended back down onto the land safely.

Hua Cheng's one eye glowed crimson red.

E-Ming had levitated out from Luo Binghe's arms, and swiftly flew into Hua Cheng's hands. Hua Cheng held onto the hilt of E-Ming, then stabbed cleanly onto the malicious dragon—

The malicious dragon let out a roar, capable of collapsing the skies.

Hot blood splashed onto Hua Cheng's eyepatch. The Ghost King didn't have time to render what'd had happened, before he was thrown off of the malicious dragon's back. Hua Cheng was once again thrown into the nearest boulder.

The three couples hurried and rushed to check on the Ghost King.

"San Lang!" Xie Lian's eyes reddened. He worried over his lover, whose chest heaved up and down from fatigue.

"I'm fine." Hua Cheng groaned.

He turned to look at the malicious dragon, which was spitting out fire from left and right. "The problem is... how do we kill that thing..."

"Dear ancestor, I have an idea."

The new foreign voice had made the three couples shudder. They whip their heads around, and finally noticed the two women next to them.

"What!" Yi Ran was shocked. "You never knew that we were here?"

The three couples dumbly shook their heads.

"Anyways," Nu Wang came up with an idea. "I can fight the dragon."

Yi Ran turned a weird look at the female ghost. "...you can?" The three couples had the same scepticism written across their faces.

Nu Wang nodded confidently. "Yes. After all, I am the wielder of the Strongest Sword. There is nothing in this world that I haven't slain. It's just that... I might die. So," her eyes began to water. "Before I die, I hope that you can light a stick of incense for Bo Fan and I?"

The three couples were stunned at her naive wish.

"Wait," Shen Qingqiu frowned. "How can we trust you?"

Nu Wang shrugged. She turned to look at the malicious dragon. The latter seemed to notice her gaze, and directed a fierce mouthful of fire at them—

The fire was blocked.

In Nu Wang's hands was the Strongest Sword.

"I thought that it was sent back to the Heavenly Capital?" Xie Lian's brows furrowed, as he exclaimed his thoughts aloud.

"It was." Nu Wang answered, not looking back. "But the Strongest Sword flew back to me. It and I have parted for over a century. It misses me to use it. It's will for me to wield it again is strong. A sword's passion cannot be underestimated, can it?"

Xie Lian's expression sunk. He seemed to remember a certain sword's ambition—and the name Fang Xin returned to his mind.

"I will pay back my debt." Nu Wang explained. "I've done a lot of bad deeds, so I hope that my sacrifice will make up for all I've done." The Strongest Sword trembled in her grip.

"I will go now, dear... ancestors?" She didn't know what to say.

Nu Wang turned to look at the malicious dragon, whose flames were stopped by her sword. In her eyes were a grave expression—she knew that this was the end for her. Yet, it wasn't exactly that bittersweet. In fact, she couldn't wait to fall into a never-ending slumber.

"I will use my soul to seal this malicious dragon till it's death."

The Strongest Sword shook, as if it was experiencing a seizure. Its blade shone, and quivered. "So, please lend me your strength before I go." The Strongest Sword stopped shaking. It seemed to realize something, and fell quiet.

Nu Wang laughed. "Let's go!"

Her figure disappeared on the spot. In an instant, she was swiftly behind the malicious dragon. The Strongest Sword lent her strength. Nu Wang swung the sword, then felt her soul shaking, as if jumbling around in her rib cage.

Her eyes thinned, then using all of her energy—Nu Wang slain the malicious dragon.

1 year later

"Yup, the female ghost that we thought were our enemy... had slain a malicious dragon to protect us." Shen Qingqiu laughed. He was dawdling in the bamboo house, and recited everything that had gone over.

「I cannot compute.」

"Naturally, you cannot." Shen Qingqiu sneered. "You're my system, and don't understand the concept of human emotions. Oh yeah, I still can't believe how a year ago, you ditched me during the earthquake! How irresponsible of you!"

「At that time, I have lost contact with host. I couldn't connect back until a year ago.」

"Well," Shen Qingqiu rolled his eyes, folding his sleeves back. "I suppose I can forgive you. Even without my own system, I managed. After all, I had Binghe, and my new friends."

「Well, where are your new friends?」

"Shh!" Shen Qingqiu pressed a finger on his own lips, appearing quite silly. "Allow me to finish my recollection of the past."

The three couples were wide-eyed, as they watched the malicious dragon degenerate into a mere pile of bones.

"Nu Wang..." a cry broke out amidst the silent cheers.

Yi Ran clasped onto her companion's hand, which was slowly fading away. A ghost without their soul is basically just a dead spirit.

On the ground was Nu Wang, sprawled across. She couldn't move a muscle. Her body was gradually fading into nothingness. However, there was a smile on her lips. "Could you help me burn my sword? I really don't want to see it ever again."

Yi Ran just nodded like a meek hamster. "Of course!"

The three couples were quiet. They sat next to the female ghost, who was slowly leaving the world. Shen Qingqiu felt quite sad. Everyone's mood was quite low.

Wei Wuxian pouted.

Luo Binghe felt conflicted.

Lan Zhan just remained cold to the dying female ghost, but his heart couldn't help wavering.

Xie Lian clasped onto Hua Cheng's hand.

Hua Cheng clasped back.

"Make sure to not let a single ash go." Nu Wang's volume had decreased. "Burn it until there are no ashes remaining... burn it... burn... burn... burn..." She suddenly seemed remember something. "Burn a stick of incense for me too."

Yi Ran remembered the temple back in Square Town.

She bowed her head, trying to squeeze back her tears. "Mhm. I will burn as much as you'd like."

Nu Wang stopped talking. She disappeared from the surface of earth. All that remained were the chains which she'd worn.

Yi Ran clutched onto the chains. She discarded her own jade bracelet, which Ping Sha had given to her. Instead, she replaced the jade bracelet with those chains.

"The Strongest Sword." Xie Lian nodded dumbly. "I think that Ling Wen would be happy if she knew that the Strongest Sword is burned to ashes."

Yi Ran was surprised.

She nodded, then placed a hand over the sword. "This is a precious artifact. It is stronger than any other strong I've ever seen." Yi Ran explained. "I might need to... expend my soul to burn it. Would you let me... first burn a stick of incense for... Bo Fan and Nu Wang first?"

Hua Cheng took a box of incense sticks out.

Yi Ran took the box of incense sticks, "..." Had this Ghost King come prepared the entire time?

She shook her head, and quickly lit two sticks of incense. "We killed a lot of people, so we deserve to die." Yi Ran smiled gloomily. "But we actually were just following our Boss' orders. Too bad he died from the malicious dragon. I wished that I could kill him myself."

She laughed. "I shouldn't talk too much."

Yi Ran took the Strongest Sword, then burned it. The blade wouldn't melt. However, Yi Ran increased the temperature of her blue fire. Her skin began to melt into dark obsidian, with her veins melting at an accelerated rate. The Strongest Sword melted.

"No ashes." Yi Ran begged.

The three couples watched her on the sidelines, silently. They watched how the Strongest Sword melted into merely a pool of metal, then slowly dwindled until even its ashes no longer remained.

Yi Ran also dwindled into ashes. Her dying blue flames were wiped off the surface of earth.

The three couples sat there, not moving.

Shen Qingqiu rubbed the corners of his eyes. He sniffed. Hearing him, Luo Binghe worriedly caressed his lover by his cheek. "Shizun..."

All of a sudden, the earth began to shake again—

Wei Wuxian's eyes widened. "What is going on..."

Cracks began to take form, crumbling the lands into mere dust. "We have to get up!" The three couples panicked. Without any more words, Lan Zhan picked up his lover in a bridal carry. He rushed over to one side of the cracking land.

"Could it be..." Xie Lian analyzed the situation. "Bo Fan, Yi Ran, Nu Wang, and the Boss had all died... is the earth re-piecing itself?"

His heart seemed to sink.

"The world is splitting into three!" Xie Lian yelled. "Our worlds are going back to... their original self."

Hearing that, all of the three couples had frowned. "But..." Wei Wuxian felt sad. But I haven't spent enough time with you guys. I want to adventure more with my friends... we can soak in the hot springs more, we can ride Little Apple together, we can laugh and sleep over, we can train and spar, and more...

"Get to safety first!" Lan Zhan made the decision.

The three couples quickly fled. The cracks in the earth began to burrow even deeper. At last, the worlds began to separate into three pieces...

On the spur of the moment, Xie Lian gritted his teeth.

He quickly conjured up four pieces of paper. He wrote something on each of them, then thrusted two into each couple's arms. "Take this! When you see it, think of me...!"

The world darkened, and the three couples were knocked out.

"And so, our worlds returned back to their original and normal self. Then, you came back to me... you ungrateful system!" Shen Qingqiu huffed.

He felt irritated, having to relay everything back to his system.

「Did you ever read what was on the paper?」