Starforce Warriors-Chapter 598: Reapers

Tan Qingying's entire body was now as black as ink. Black mist curled around her small frame like the whispers of death itself. The darkness seemed to flicker as if countless demons were ready to burst forth from her body at any moment.

“Little Ying!” Li Xiaofei shouted.

Li Xiaofei rushed forward and cradled the fallen Tan Qingying in his arms. He quickly concentrated, and a purifying energy imbued with the strength of the Flame Blade surged into her body. But it failed. The black mist enveloping Tan Qingying’s body instantly repelled the Flame Blade's energy.

Li Xiaofei felt a sharp pain in his palm. When he raised his hand to look, his palm and fingers were blackened. Fortunately, the purifying energy of the Flame Blade began to slowly dispel the corpse-like black energy.

But Li Xiaofei had already realized that all the vitality within Tan Qingying’s body had been completely extinguished, leaving her entirely consumed by deathly energy. Panic overwhelmed Li Xiaofei. He resolved to act, prepared to risk injury to himself in order to dispel the corpse energy within Tan Qingying.

But at that moment, Little Aunt gently stopped him. Li Xiaofei turned to look at her. She shook her head.

“Little Aunt, do you... have a way to save Little Ying?” Li Xiaofei asked urgently.

Little Aunt lightly pinched her fingertip. A drop of crystalline blood formed at the tip of her finger. Faint light shimmered within the drop of blood. Upon closer inspection, countless intricate runes seemed to interweave and flow within the blood. She placed the drop of blood on Tan Qingying’s forehead.

Sizzle...

The black mist hissed as it ignited. Moments later, a patch of skin on Tan Qingying’s forehead about the size of a fingertip regained its fair color. A faint golden flame-shaped mark flickered in and out of existence on the newly revealed skin.

This small patch of skin seemed like the last spark of light in an endless darkness. It shielded the final thread of life within Tan Qingying.

“This is all I can do,” Little Aunt said quietly. “Her condition is... unique. She awakened the bloodline of the Holy Emperor Sun Fei, which grants mastery over necromancy. If she had been given enough time, she could have become an existence akin to the Underworld Emperor, and even perhaps awaken the other six abilities of the Holy Emperor.”

“But when she overused the corpse-control techniques that she had yet to fully master, the bloodline turned against her. Now, she’s showing signs of demonic corruption that even I cannot resolve. If it’s left untreated, she will become the most terrifying death god this planet has ever seen.”

Li Xiaofei felt a heavy weight settle in his heart.

Even Little Aunt cannot fix this!

He knew all too well that Tan Qingying had ended up like this because she had sacrificed herself to protect Xiajing City. She had burned her own vitality and triggered the mutation in her bloodline.

She had willingly stepped into hell for the sake of humanity. And yet, the one who had robbed her of her final shred of hope was none other than himself. His heart felt as if it were being torn apart.

He had crossed paths with many women after journeying into this era. But the softest corner of his heart would always belong solely to Tan Qingying. She was his white moonlight. Even if he traversed countless mountains and rivers, witnessed the vicissitudes of the mortal world, waded through seas of corpses and rivers of blood, and journeyed across endless galaxies, he would never forget even a single strand of her hair. Yet, she was now lying in his arms, on the line between life and death.

“It’s all because of Eden, those damned monsters!” A surge of murderous intent boiled within Li Xiaofei, his teeth nearly shattering from the force of his clenched jaw.

One day, I will destroy Eden, slaughter every one of those self-proclaimed gods, and turn their so-called paradise into a desolate wasteland!

He silently vowed to himself.

“Little Aunt, is there any way to save Little Ying?” asked Li Xiaofei as he lifted his head, desperation filling his voice.

Little Aunt replied, “In her current condition, only the Holy Emperor Sun Fei can reverse the deathly energy. Lord Sun Fei wields the seven primordial powers, one of which is the power of necromancy.”

Find Sun Fei?

Li Xiaofei pressed on, “How can I find the Holy Emperor?”

Little Aunt sighed, “You are not currently strong enough to escape this prison. Moreover, Lord Sun Fei is on the cosmic battlefield... It will be exceedingly difficult.”

Li Xiaofei gritted his teeth and declared, “No matter how difficult it is, I will take Little Ying and find him. Even if I must traverse the stars, I will find him.”

Though his words seemed intended only for himself, Little Aunt, who had cared for this boy since he was small, could hear the unyielding determination in his voice.

"I used my primal force to preserve a sliver of her vitality, so you don't need to worry. You still have plenty of time to prepare," Little Aunt said.

Li Xiaofei nodded.

That was for the best. Since Great Xia was crumbling and Xiajing City was on the brink of collapse, he truly couldn’t afford to leave. The rise and fall of the nation were the responsibility of every citizen. He steadied his mind and organized his thoughts.

Li Xiaofei took a deep breath and asked, “Little Aunt, what exactly is Eden? What kind of force is it? Why have I never heard of it before? Moreover, how can they suddenly send out a creature like the Xie family’s ancestor, someone who should’ve been long dead?”

Little Aunt raised her hand and waved. A faint silvery moonlight enveloped the entire Corpse Emperor’s Abyssal Tower.

“Eden is an organization of traitors,” she began.

As she looked at the young man before her, she decided it was time to reveal some of the world’s hidden truths.

“The Xie ancestor must have told you something,” she said.

Li Xiaofei recalled the encounter and replied, “Yes, he said, ‘The crops in the field are ripe. It’s time for harvest.’”

“Exactly,” Little Aunt said slowly. “Earth is Eden’s field of crops, harvested over and over again.”

“Harvest what?” Li Xiaofei pressed further.

Little Aunt’s cherry-red lips parted slightly, and she uttered two words, “The population.”

“The population?” Li Xiaofei was taken aback.

He had assumed it would be something like minerals, star cores, or other valuable resources. But to his surprise, it turned out to be the simplest and seemingly cheapest commodity.

The population! What value could a population hold?

This time, Little Aunt withheld nothing. She explained, “Five hundred years ago, Earth ceased to be what it once was. It became a pasture for soldiers meant to combat the Reapers.”

Li Xiaofei’s mind raced as he recalled something a so-called Divine Envoy had said outside Xiajing City.

You corpses buried in the sands of time cannot defend Base 89876.

“Is Earth Base 89876?” He asked, his voice filled with disbelief.

Little Aunt corrected him, “To be precise, the Earth you inhabit is Eden’s Base 89876, designated as a soldier production facility.”

“The Earth I inhabit?” Li Xiaofei asked, his voice trembling slightly. “Does that mean... there are other Earths as well?”

Little Aunt replied calmly, “From Base 000001 to Base 100000, they are all Earths.”

Li Xiaofei was stunned.

A hundred thousand Earths?

If anyone other than Little Aunt had said this, he would have thought it was a ridiculous joke.

“You’ve likely heard of Sun Fei, Ye Qingyu, Lin Beichen, Li Mu, and Ding Hao,” Little Aunt continued. “And you’ve probably seen the tombstones in the Cemetery of the Ancestors behind White Deer Academy.”

Li Xiaofei nodded.

Little Aunt went on, “The story begins with the invasion of the Reapers. They are the locusts of the universe, the despisers of life, and the virus that resets everything to zero. The Reapers are our greatest enemy. They once nearly annihilated Earth. If not for the emergence of the Five Great Heroes...”

Her voice trailed off, heavy with the weight of untold history.