Chapter 29

Xie Chang’an finally found a sprig of Lingpu grass.

In this land of ice and snow, the Lingpu grass was indistinguishable from the surrounding whiteness. Relying solely on the naked eye was impossible; she had to use her spiritual perception to search. Fearing she might miss even the smallest patch where it could grow, she did not dare overlook a single inch of ground, which made her progress agonizingly slow.

After an indeterminate amount of time, she finally discovered a single stalk in the crevice of a glacier. The seedling was delicate and trembling, and she plucked it immediately.

Without lingering, Xie Chang’an turned and flew back on her sword toward the direction she had come. Lingpu grass could not remain fresh for long after being uprooted; it had to be used quickly, or it would wither within a quarter of an hour. She had a persistent feeling that something might go wrong with Zhu Xuanguang’s current condition, and her heart only settled when she finally caught sight of his ethereal figure in the distance.

"Master!" she called out.

Zhu Xuanguang was sitting cross-legged with his back to her. At the sound of her voice, he stirred slightly and turned his head.

"Are you all right?" Xie Chang’an was covered in falling snow, no longer wasting precious spiritual power to repel it. "It took me forever to find one stalk of Lingpu grass. Let’s try this first; if it works, I’ll go find more!"

Zhu Xuanguang smiled faintly. "You’ve learned to use honorifics now, have you? When we reunited, you looked as if you were ready to commit the ultimate betrayal."

Xie Chang’an had previously worried that he might be taken advantage of by the Demon Lord while she was away. Seeing him capable of reminiscing about the past, she couldn't help but exhale in relief.

"That’s only because you were gone so long that I almost forgot I even had a master like you. Now that we’ve been together for a while, it naturally came back to me."

She brushed off the remark, crushed the Lingpu grass into a powder, and had Zhu Xuanguang consume it. She then channeled her spiritual power to help him circulate his energy, accelerating the medicine’s effect throughout his body to minimize the time it took to kick in.

"Now you talk back to me with every word I say. You’re hardly the trembling little palace maid you were when we first met, terrified I might knit my brows," Zhu Xuanguang said leisurely. He formed a seal and closed his eyes, still having the leisure to bicker with his disciple. "Back then, if I pointed east, you wouldn't dare head west. If I told you to hold the God-Devouring Mirror and meditate on the peak, you would stay there honestly without moving a muscle. You’ve certainly grown."

Xie Chang’an laughed, too. "I was respectful and afraid back then, but once I realized you tended your own cabbage patch by hand, I wasn't afraid anymore."

Zhu Xuanguang asked, "What does that have to do with cabbages?"

Xie Chang’an replied, "Someone who can't bear to let go of a few cabbages—how could they treat their disciples or others like weeds? You’re just cold on the outside and warm on the inside, sharp-tongued but soft-hearted."

Zhu Xuanguang chuckled. "How bold of you. You’re becoming increasingly insolent."

Xie Chang’an was about to say something else when her expression suddenly flickered with shock.

Zhu Xuanguang’s words just now had truly lowered her defenses, causing her to lose track of whether he had successfully absorbed the medicine. As her heart stirred, she reached out with her spiritual sense to investigate, only to be met by a force like a lone boat crashing into a tsunami. A monstrous, overwhelming demonic energy surged from behind his spiritual power, lashing back at her!

Xie Chang’an tried to pull away, but it was too late. Zhu Xuanguang had turned around at some point, gripping her wrist firmly, a sinister and meaningful smile on his face.

"Since you are so filial, why not present your cultivation to your master as well?"

The Demon Lord had actually eroded Zhu Xuanguang’s consciousness—he had even merged with his memories!

Horrified, Xie Chang’an channeled her will, and the Liutian Sword slashed toward him with lightning speed!

She knew the person before her was a demon wearing Zhu Xuanguang’s skin; there was no room for mercy. She poured her full strength into the strike, nearly emptying her spiritual reserves. The Demon Lord, seemingly not expecting her to be so decisive, did not meet the blow head-on, choosing instead to dodge and retreat.

Xie Chang’an would not let this opportunity slip. She pressed forward, unleashing three more sword beams, then leapt into the air. With her other hand, she summoned the Zhaohuang Sword. The blade moved as if guided by a god, a rainbow-like arc piercing straight toward her opponent’s brow!

The Demon Lord gave a soft laugh. "How can a disciple slay her master? You’re making me sad!"

A dazzling light erupted from his hands, as if he held a cluster of stars. The constellations of the four directions swirled within it, shifting through light and shadow, wind and rain, in endless permutations.

Xie Chang’an only had to glance at it to find her mind uncontrollably drawn in. She could not describe what the star cluster in his hands truly was, but it carried the overwhelming power of the universe, evoking both awe and dread.

It seemed as though he intended to use the star cluster to summon something formidable, yet he hesitated. A slight abnormality in his body was immediately spotted by Xie Chang’an, who had been watching him intently.

The Demon Lord occupying Zhu Xuanguang’s shell seemed to be wavering.

Xie Chang’an looked at him, and his eyes were fixed on her as well. In the other eye—the one that had not yet turned red—there seemed to be a message he was trying to convey.

Xie Chang’an’s heart skipped a beat. Had Zhu Xuanguang not been completely possessed?

He wanted her to strike. Now.

His ink-black eyes revealed a look of enduring agony; he was telling her he could not hold on much longer.

***

Xie Chang’an made her move.

The Liutian and Zhaohuang swords flared with brilliant light, splitting into thousands of blades. A silver rain of needles descended upon him.

The Demon Lord looked up abruptly!

In his eyes, these sword beams moved at a glacial pace. He flicked his sleeves and raised his hands, shattering the beams and blocking them outside his protective aura. Yet, there was no smug satisfaction on his face; instead, he slowly frowned.

He realized that Xie Chang’an had vanished from his sight.

A faint, ethereal aura lingered around her, so negligible amidst the sword light that it was hardly worth mentioning, yet he could not find the source. She must have used some artifact to hide nearby, planning to strike when the moment was right.

A cold smirk played on the Demon Lord’s lips. "Your master’s soul hasn't completely vanished yet. I left him a glimmer of survival. Since you value him so much, why not trade your cultivation for his? I can spare his life, and you two can be free from now on."

No one replied. But he knew Xie Chang’an could hear him.

"He has endured much suffering struggling against me all these years, yet he always thought of you. He even snuck back to Chishuang Mountain to see you while I was in a deep slumber. Can’t all that sincerity earn your mercy? Your cultivation was taught to you by him. Now that you have a chance to save his life, are you really going to hold back?"

Every word was calculated to stir the heart and find a weakness. But Xie Chang’an kept her aura completely hidden, revealing nothing; she seemed to have vanished entirely.

The Demon Lord began to suspect she had used the opportunity to escape. He narrowed his eyes and clenched his fist, drawing the torrential sword beams into his sleeves.

All around was a vast, white expanse—nothing but glaciers, howling winds, and ice.

Suddenly—

His fingers twitched. The aura in the surroundings stagnated, and the raging snow condensed into ice blades, piercing toward his rear right!

A spray of blood erupted as the ice blades pierced through Xie Chang’an, who had just materialized.

The Demon Lord chuckled.

But before the smile could fully form on his lips, he was struck with a sudden jolt!

A sword had pierced through his back.

He lowered his head slowly to see the blood-stained blade, along with wisps of demonic energy and white light escaping from his body. A chilling sensation like a dragon slithering down his spine—it was the Soul-Locking Talisman Xie Chang’an had drawn on him.

She intended to trap both the souls of Zhu Xuanguang and the Demon Lord within this shell and destroy them together!

She had risked life and limb to bring her master this far, yet when the moment came, she was so ruthless and decisive—ready to abandon him at a moment’s notice. The curse on the Demon Lord’s lips turned into a scream as his soul was torn to shreds and carried away by the icy wind. Zhu Xuanguang’s eyes went blank, his body collapsed, leaving only a blood-gaping hole where the Liutian Sword had pierced him, which quickly froze over in the biting cold.

Xie Chang’an knelt, gasping, one hand cradling the body that was rapidly losing its warmth. The only thing supporting them was the Zhaohuang Sword, driven deep into the ice.

Was Zhu Xuanguang dead?

But her own journey was not yet over.

The Demon Lord’s soul that was shredded was merely a remnant attached to Zhu Xuanguang, much like the avatar she had killed in the ruined temple. The demon was cunning; the true main soul was still within Lin Mengdu.

Only by killing Lin Mengdu could the problem be truly solved.

But she was so tired.

From the foot of Fuguang Mountain, she had waded through blood, killing gods and demons alike, only to fail to save Zhu Xuanguang in the end. With her spirit broken, she only wanted to lie down and sleep.

Blood meandered from beneath them, staining the ice a deep red, slowly seeping into the frozen layer as if taking root.

Xie Chang’an felt light, her soul yearning to leave her body. Yet, it remained tethered to the shell, hovering between presence and absence, scattered but not yet gone. Even lying down, she felt the world spinning. Her limbs were drained of all strength; even if the Demon Lord were to return, or if a mere Sword-Qi realm cultivator were to arrive, they could easily finish her off.

So be it. This place was quiet and undisturbed, with ice for a coffin and the howling wind for a funeral—not a bad final resting place.

*Wake up.*

A drop of cold fell upon her brow—colder than snow, colder than ice.

Xie Chang’an tried to turn her head to shake it off, but she had no strength.

*Wake up. If you keep sleeping, you will never be able to leave.*

In the void, someone seemed to say this, the voice coming from many layers away, its origin unclear.

*If I can’t leave, so be it,* she replied in her heart. *This place is good. It is fit for burial.*

*Dreams lead to death, leaving dreams brings life. Do you understand the meaning of these words?* The voice was persistent.

*I don’t know, and I don’t want to know.*

The other party sighed at her stubbornness. *When you entered, you made a formidable wish. Therefore, the tribulations you face must be a hundred, a thousand times harder than those of others. Only by shattering the illusion and waking from this predicament can you achieve life through death.*

Xie Chang’an frowned slightly. The pain made it impossible for her to move, and even her thoughts grew sluggish.

She didn't remember what wish she had made. For so many years, she had been cultivating on the mountain, seeking the Dao... Right, the Dao. She seemed to have come for the Dao. Why did the Demon Lord and those like Lin Mengdu believe there were no gods in the world? No, that wasn't right. Why had the Demon Lord appeared out of thin air? She had never heard of him before...

Her mind was a jumbled mess. Strange memories, both real and false, swirled in her consciousness. Xie Chang’an could not tell what was real and what was an illusion.

The world seemed to shrink to the present moment. Time and space compressed, and she, with only one breath remaining, could only struggle to survive in the cracks. Her fate was like a fraying thread, teetering on the brink of collapse.

*You must wake up,* the voice persisted, refusing to let her go. *The journey is not over. Giving up halfway is not the style of Xie Chang’an. Back in the city of Chang’an, in that desperate situation, isolated and helpless, you still held out until the very last moment.*

She struggled to recall, vaguely feeling as if that had happened, but her reactions grew duller. She replied lazily in her consciousness, *Her friends and family were all dead. Even her master had been possessed by that demon and died by her own sword. Even if she were to kill the demon until not a trace remained, would those people come back to life?*

She had once believed that with a backbone of steel and hot blood, she could fight her way to victory. But when an opponent as overwhelming as the Demon Lord appeared, every effort ended in failure. Even a Sword Immortal realm cultivator was powerless before such a foe.

That was why the sects of the world would rather abandon the immortal path they had pursued for so long and pledge allegiance to the Demon Lord. And she...

Xie Chang’an felt a suffocating pressure in her chest and vomited another mouthful of blood.

The voice spoke again, *If you refuse to pull yourself together, I will expel you from the sect.*

Xie Chang’an scoffed, blood trailing from her lips and gleaming in the ice. She said, "Do you think you are Zhu Xuanguang? Zhu Xuanguang is already dead. Even if he weren't, he is a soft-hearted man; how could he bear to abandon his only disciple?"

The person sighed. *What will it take for you to wake up?*

Xie Chang’an remained silent for a long time.

She thought she didn't want much. If she wanted Yu Chunshan and the others to return, that might be too extravagant; she had never had such good luck, and everything she did was fraught with danger. Then, let Zhu Xuanguang alone return. She had painstakingly dragged him from Fuguang Mountain to the edge of the Northern Sea, dodging endless pursuits, only to have to plunge her sword into his body herself. Why was Heaven so cruel to her? No wonder the world didn't believe in gods or the Dao...

The voice seemed to hear her rambling, incoherent thoughts and said with a chuckle, *Why don't you try opening your eyes? Perhaps Zhu Xuanguang is not yet truly dead.*

She thought it impossible, but for the sake of those words, she pulled her soul—which was dying and living between life and death—back together. With the strength of a collapsing mountain, she pried open her heavy eyelids. A sliver of daylight leaked in, stinging her eyes and causing tears to spill out.

Yet, in that blurred vision, there was indeed a figure—familiar, and once known.

Xie Chang’an froze. She vomited blood again before rasping, "Why aren't you dead?"

"Does that tone imply you are disappointed?" A smile flickered across Zhu Xuanguang’s face. "This is the consciousness I once attached to the Zhaohuang Sword. When I struggled with the demon earlier, I split off a wisp of my remnant soul and merged it with that consciousness. For now, I suppose I am half a ghost."

*Why would your consciousness be on the Zhaohuang Sword?*

Xie Chang’an frowned, her throat too sore to ask, but Zhu Xuanguang understood.

"Shen Xi lent it to you, likely anticipating the unforeseen events that might follow."

Xie Chang’an: "...So, are you dead or alive?"

Zhu Xuanguang said, "Neither dead nor alive. If you can kill the Demon Lord, perhaps you can find a way to bring me back to life. After all, a wisp of my soul still remains. The sun is high; get up."

His tone was gentle. Xie Chang’an knew he wasn't a cold man on the inside, but she rarely heard him speak in such a tone. As he stood against the light, the corners of his mouth seemed to curl upward, as if he were back on Chongming Peak, calling her to wake up and practice.

Xie Chang’an sighed, feeling exhausted. "Usually, it’s the master doing all the work for the disciple. How did it end up the other way around for me?"

Zhu Xuanguang reached out as if to brush her hair, but his remnant soul had no physical form, and his hand passed through her cheek.

"Great responsibilities come with great trials. The road ahead for you is still long."