Pain scorched across his back like fire, yet Mo Shougui still soared through the underground palace with ghostlike shadows trailing behind him. A wisp of spiritual energy wrapped within his dantian, infused from the tempest of a self-detonating ancient cultivator. He had successfully drawn in qi, for the first time truly tasting the marvels of a celestial encounter.Therefore… he refused to die.
At first, he coveted only the crystallized core left behind by that ancient cultivator's self-destruction — a treasure clearly brimming with spiritual power, veiled in spiraling auras. If he could obtain it, perhaps his cultivation would rise another level.Yet he knew that, on his own, seizing it was nearly impossible — after all, the strength revealed by Ning Zhao and Nie Changqing far surpassed his own. So, he schemed to incite Xiang Shaoyun to fight for it, hoping their clash would result in mutual ruin, allowing him to reap the spoils.
But the result…That upright fool Xiang Shaoyun actually forfeited the treasure because someone had saved his life!And now, it was he, Mo Shougui, who had drawn Nie Changqing's murderous attention.
Though seething with curses, survival was his sole priority.
A sharp whistle tore through the air — Nie Changqing's butcher blade came slicing in.Mo Shougui turned and drew his sword, clashing steel against the massive blade. At once, his weapon shattered inch by inch, his palm burst open, blood spraying in the wind.Terror clenched his heart. He fled in panic, rushing toward the exit of the underground palace.
...
Outside the Palace
The governors of the various provinces had already withdrawn. They had all witnessed the terror of the Immortal Palace — without the token of Heaven and Earth Qi, no one could force their way inside. Even human lives, heaped like kindling, could not buy access.So now they could only dispatch their agents across the land to search for the Qi Token.Remaining in Wolong Ridge was utterly pointless.
Yet, though the officials had left, their spies remained.
Mo Ju stood among the ridges, feathered fan in hand, carrying himself with languid grace.
Suddenly—The Immortal Palace, tranquil till now, shuddered.The gate creaked open.Three blood-soaked figures shot out from within.
Mo Ju's lazy gaze sharpened instantly."They're not Xiang Shaoyun's party… These are the others who held the Qi Tokens and were drawn into the palace."
From their disheveled state, it was clear — things had not gone well.Their respective sects came forth to receive them. The survivors spoke not a word, vanishing quietly.But many present saw the strange flow of energy faintly coiling around them.
"These people… must have acquired a celestial inheritance!"Mo Ju gripped his fan tightly, inhaling deeply.
Just as emotions tangled within him, the palace gate yawned open once more.Another figure burst out, staggering and bloodied.
"Mo Shougui of the Mo Clan!""Why is he so wretched?""The Immortal Palace… is it truly so perilous?""Wait — someone's chasing him!"
The crowd buzzed in alarm.
Then came another ripple — two silhouettes emerged from the palace like snow in the wind.A white gown billowed like moonlight — Ning Zhao.A white robe more dazzling than frost — Nie Changqing.
Ning Zhao's face was expressionless, her black hair fluttering, her fingers wrapped around a sword as thin as cicada wings.Nie Changqing, though clad in white, bore a timeworn visage — solemn and strange.
Mo Shougui turned, glimpsed them at the palace threshold, and his heart clenched.
"Great One, save me!" he howled, his cry echoing five miles beyond the palace."They've seized the supreme inheritance — the ancient core left behind by the self-immolated cultivator! One step and they'll ascend to immortality!"
As he fled, he bellowed again and again.
"Courting death!"Nie Changqing's brows furrowed. He had known the truth could not remain hidden long, but Mo Shougui's open shouting ignited a killing intent.
Indeed, as the Young Master once said — for the irrational, the blade is the only cure, just as it had been with those Confucian scholars.
Mo Shougui's words were like thunder — shocking all outside the Immortal Palace.
The ancient cultivator's immortal core?A single step to immortality?!
Greed stirred. Eyes reddened.They knew well the horrors within the Immortal Palace — which only made the value of such a treasure all the more staggering.
Desire festered in many hearts.
Mo Ju twirled his fan. He knew Mo Shougui was trying to draw a scapegoat.Yet the bait he tossed — a step to immortality — was far too tempting.
Mo Ju narrowed his eyes at the peerless Ning Zhao and hesitated… then silently withdrew his orders.
Boom!
Nie Changqing moved — his butcher blade, like a meteor in the night, arced through the sky, wreathed in qi and aimed straight for Mo Shougui's skull.
Sword Control Technique.
Nie Changqing's robes danced in the wind, spiritual energy coiling around him.Ning Zhao's figure flashed — like a white horse crossing a narrow chasm.
A chilling wind whipped at Mo Shougui's back — the sense of a ferocious beast pouncing.Ning Zhao's beautiful face remained cold.In her grip, the cicada-wing sword shimmered with a pale blue aura, descending gently but lethally toward his throat.
Within the forest—A sudden explosion sounded.
A silver grappling claw screamed through the air, seizing Mo Shougui's waist and yanking him away.
But Ning Zhao's sword accelerated — Mo Shougui's arm flew from his body, blood staining the yellow earth.
Agony beaded his brow with sweat, but he uttered not a cry. He merely stared at Ning Zhao, eyes cold and venomous.
Nie Changqing's blade whistled in pursuit.
Another massive crossbow bolt shot forth from the forest, crashing into the butcher's blade. The impact sent it spinning.
Nie Changqing caught it deftly and stood beside Ning Zhao.
"Mo Clan mechanisms…" he murmured.
Ning Zhao sheathed her sword, brushing a lock of hair from her face, expression unmoved.
"Let's finish this quickly. If we keep the Young Master waiting, his temper won't be pleasant."
Nie Changqing nodded.The spiritual energy in their qi cores surged. Together, they strode toward the crowd beyond the palace gate.
Five Miles Away—
Soldiers and commanders from every province surrounded the exit, nearly a thousand strong.All eyes fell upon the snow-robed pair.
They carried the celestial core of the ancient cultivator — the lure of immortality.
Greed kindled in those gazes.They had no intention of letting the two walk away.
The wind rose, stirring the blood-laced air before the Immortal Palace.Wolong Ridge — a place of slaughter.Once shaken, it had buried countless corpses and bones.
The call to arms exploded.As Ning Zhao and Nie Changqing stepped beyond the gate, soldiers and generals lunged forward.
Today, white robes would be stained red.
…
North Luo, Heart of the Lake
Lu Fan lounged in his wheelchair, calmly feeling the changes in his body.
He allocated five attribute points to physique, but noticed little immediate change.If anything, his blood surged more fiercely, his skin… tougher.
Stronger than the flesh of most grandmasters.
If he were to assign hundreds of points to physique — would he truly become invulnerable to blade and flame, an unkillable warrior in a chair?
That image made Lu Fan pause in strange contemplation.It… didn't sound bad.
Adding thirty points to soul, clarity surged through his senses — he could almost hear the bubbles of fish rising in the lake.
Perhaps one day, with enough soul strength, he could truly forge a mythical divine spirit.
On the island, the wind whispered.
The sunset stretched long rays across the lake's rippling surface — a tapestry of shattered flame.
Ni Yu and Jing Yue chatted nearby.
Assassin Mo Liuqi meditated, drawing qi into his body.Yi Yue still struggled to find a sense of spiritual energy.
Ten blooming Spirit Chrysanthemums swayed gently in the breeze.
Suddenly—Ni Yu and Jing Yue turned toward the lake.
A solitary boat drifted toward them.
"It's Sister Ning and Old Nie!"Ni Yu ran joyfully to the shore, cheeks flushed in the sunset glow.
But her excitement quickly faded.
The boat drew near.A thick stench of blood rode the wind.
Two figures stood silently aboard.
Nie Changqing and Ning Zhao returned…