Chapter 30

Xie Chang'an was finally roused from her trance.

After spending a few days at Meihou Valley to regulate her internal energy, she reasoned that the world outside must have been turned upside down. However, since the Demon Lord had not yet come to seek revenge, it suggested that he, too, was severely wounded. Rather than waiting for him to recover fully, it was better to strike now while she still held a shred of an advantage. With that, she took up her sword and flew toward Mount Fuguang.

At the foot of Mount Fuguang, two figures stood in the distance, waiting for her as if they had anticipated her arrival.

As Xie Chang'an landed, her pace slowed.

She recognized them as Yu Chunshan and Zhe Er.

Yet, both had perished not long ago at the Baizhan Tuishan Assembly. She had seen their lifeless, staring corpses with her own eyes when she ascended the mountain.

Yu Chunshan remained patient, but seeing her hesitate, Zhe Er couldn't help but hurry over.

"Something terrible has happened!"

"What is it?"

Xie Chang'an remained calm, her hand hidden in her sleeve silently forming a seal, ready to strike at any moment.

"Sect Leader Biyang of the Nanyue Dongtian has suddenly gone mad. He wounded a host of disciples and killed Cao Sui, the head of your Zhaoxue Peak."

After Zhe Er finished speaking, he looked back at her, seeing no reaction from Xie Chang'an. "It's one thing that you're slow to arrive, but how can you be so calm when your own sect members are in such trouble?"

Xie Chang'an offered a casual fabrication: "Cao Sui is still at Mount Chishuang. I saw him just before I left. He didn't come to the assembly, so how could he be dead?"

Zhe Er was taken aback. "Then who died on the mountain?"

Xie Chang'an countered, "Zhe Er-gen, do you remember what we did back then on Mount Beihuifeng?"

Zhe Er did not answer. Instead, he kept urging her to hurry up the mountain, claiming it was a sea of blood and that they had only escaped through a gap in the chaos.

Xie Chang'an did not hesitate any longer. She drew her Liutian Sword and struck. The sword light swept across the air, and the two collapsed with shrill screams. Blood splattered onto her face, yet it was cold and carried no scent of decay.

Zhe Er hated being called "Zhe Er-gen" and would flare up every time it was mentioned; how could he be so indifferent? From the moment she saw them, she had subconsciously identified this as a crude illusion.

Sure enough, as the two fell, their surroundings began to crumble and shatter.

Xie Chang'an had no time to breathe a sigh of relief.

She saw Shen Xi standing before her, staring at her.

"You have been lost in thought for a long time. I spoke to you, but you didn't respond," Shen Xi said.

Xie Chang'an looked at him. "Where is this?"

"Mount Chishuang, Tianyi Peak," Shen Xi replied.

"What time is it?"

"You just finished your seclusion. I brought you here to tell you that something might have gone wrong at the Baizhan Tuishan Assembly. Cao Sui hasn't sent any messages back, and a disciple's life lamp has gone out. As soon as I finished speaking, you went into a trance and didn't move. Did something happen?"

Xie Chang'an exhaled deeply and asked him a completely irrelevant question.

"Do you believe there exists an artifact in this world that can rewind time, allowing one to amend mistakes and regrets?"

Shen Xi found the question abrupt, but answered, "Perhaps a great master could achieve it, but even if you returned to the past, it might not be the past you desire. By mending some regrets, you might inadvertently create others."

Xie Chang'an nodded. "You're right—"

Before she could finish, the Liutian Sword appeared in her hand. Before Shen Xi could retreat, the blade had already pierced his chest.

Shen Xi’s blood surged, and he looked at her in disbelief.

Xie Chang'an said, "I have many regrets in this life, and I have wanted to mend them countless times. But as you said, to gain some things, one must inevitably lose others. I don't possess the luck to achieve perfection, so I have no need for such illusory retrogression."

Hearing this, Shen Xi revealed a strange smile, as if to tell her that this game was far from over.

In a flicker, the Shen Xi before her transformed into Wang Ting, and the sword in her hand became the weapon piercing his body.

Wang Ting looked down as blood spilled onto the blade. He gazed at Xie Chang'an with sorrow, like a helpless prey waiting for the slaughter.

"Stop!"

"It was just a spar! Now that the victor has been decided, how dare you kill him!"

"I was right after all! You are a narrow-minded woman who remembers grudges but forgets kindness. You resort to murder at the slightest disagreement—I shouldn't have let you live in the first place!"

Xie Chang'an remained expressionless, her gaze scanning the surroundings.

They were at the apprenticeship ceremony before Mount Chishuang's Chongming Peak.

That year, she had just joined the sect. Daoist Wenqin had brought Wang Ting along to watch the ceremony and provoke her, hoping to dampen her spirit, but she had turned the tables on him instead.

Now, this scene had been forcibly dragged back.

It was ever-changing, preying on the human heart.

Layer upon layer of illusions surged forth. Breaking one only led to the next—endless and infinite. This was the Demon Lord’s specialty.

But these were ineffective against Xie Chang'an. Having endured the long, desolate years within the "Never-Ending Night," she feared no illusions that sought to disturb her spirit.

Ignoring the chaos around her, she addressed the empty space in front of her. "Since you can manifest countless illusions, why don't you dare come out and fight me yourself? Is it because you suffered irreversible wounds in that battle at the North Sea?"

As the words fell, everything collapsed. A figure slowly emerged—handsome, standing with hands behind his back—it was none other than Sect Leader Lin Mengdu of Mount Fuguang.

But Xie Chang'an knew this was not Lin Mengdu; it was a demon wearing his skin.

The real Lin Mengdu had long ago chosen to surrender and defect during the daily erosion of his inner demons, allowing himself to be assimilated by the demon. Unlike Zhu Xuanguang, who had maintained his consciousness despite decades of torment—which was exactly why the Demon Lord hated and remembered him so vividly.

"You wish to attain immortality; why not worship me?"

The Demon Lord spread his sleeves. The faint black mist swirling around them transformed into specks of golden light, and even the smile on his lips took on a layer of holiness.

"Look, the world values strength. Immortality and demonhood have always been one. Is your obsession with surface-level differences not the greatest taboo for cultivators? Lin Mengdu and the others saw this clearly, which is why they reached enlightenment. Why do you still refuse to understand?"

"I won't force you into submission with violence. How about we make a bet?" He coaxed her as if he truly wanted to reason with her.

Xie Chang'an knew that Zhu Xuanguang’s remnant soul was following her, but she didn't know if he was isolated from the illusion or simply refusing to reveal himself. He had not spoken since she arrived at Mount Fuguang and encountered the illusions of Yu Chunshan and Zhe Er. She acted as if he didn't exist and pondered the Demon Lord's words.

The Demon Lord was injured, and so was she. If they fought now, she had no guarantee of victory. Since he wanted to attack her heart, she might as well see what tricks he had up his sleeve.

"What kind of bet?" Xie Chang'an asked.

The Demon Lord wore an expression that suggested he had expected this question all along.

"You cultivate so bitterly, isn't it to pursue the mysteries of the Heavenly Dao? Not one of your human cultivators has successfully undergone the tribulation. Why is that? What is blocking your path to the Upper Realm? It’s not just you—Zhu Xuanguang, Lin Mengdu—anyone with any capability has had this doubt. But perhaps you will never find the answer, or rather, you will never think to look in that direction."

He smiled. "Coincidentally, I know the truth. I can help you return to the time when Canmiao Zhenren was undergoing her tribulation on Mount Fuguang. I will let you see it again with your own eyes and seek the answer yourself, so you cannot say I deceived you. How about it?"

The man clearly had malicious intentions, perhaps waiting for her to agree so he could drag her into a deeper abyss of consciousness. Xie Chang'an hesitated, until a very faint voice echoed in her ear:

"Accept his offer."

It was Zhu Xuanguang!

Her elusive master’s remnant soul had reappeared when she least expected it.

Xie Chang'an could not sense his presence, and the Demon Lord seemed unaware as well.

"This is indeed your opportunity for a breakthrough and to seek the truth," Zhu Xuanguang whispered.

In other words, even if the trap was malicious, she had no choice but to jump in.

After considering that there were no other options, Xie Chang'an sighed.

"I accept."

The Demon Lord smiled slightly and flicked a gust of breeze toward her.

Deeply wary, Xie Chang'an subconsciously took half a step back.

This retreat felt like stepping into an abyss, and the world began to spin as time and space shifted.

Before she could steady herself, she heard someone beside her say, "Zhenren, shall we bring this artifact?"

She turned to see a female disciple holding a jade whisk, bowing respectfully.

Xie Chang'an had seen this jade whisk before; it was the treasure of Mount Fuguang. On the day of Canmiao Zhenren’s tribulation, it had been placed on the altar atop the peak, though she didn't know why she hadn't taken it with her.

"No need," she heard herself say.

The sensation was profound—as if she were both participating and watching from the perspective of the person herself.

She glanced at a nearby bronze mirror and, sure enough, saw the face of Canmiao Zhenren reflected within.

The time was approaching. The tribulation was Canmiao’s ultimate fate. Even knowing the outcome, Xie Chang'an couldn't help but feel nervous.

She was about to personally participate in this catastrophe from Canmiao's perspective.

Soon, Canmiao Zhenren flew to the highest peak of Mount Fuguang. The other peaks were bustling with heads—among them, the young Xie Chang'an had once stood, but now, those were just external objects she had discarded and isolated.

Tribulation clouds gathered, and the thunder rumbled from afar.

Xie Chang'an knew the Demon Lord wanted her to relive this to achieve his own ends, but she couldn't resist the temptation. Watching a tribulation and experiencing it were entirely different; only by being in the midst of it could one truly comprehend the terror of Heaven's might.

She could even perceive Canmiao's inner state—a slight tension and excitement hidden beneath a calm facade. Even having reached the peak of mortal cultivation, there was still helplessness in the face of the Heavenly Tribulation.

The heavenly thunder crashed down, strike after strike.

When Xie Chang'an had watched from the outside, she had felt it was shocking, but experiencing it now, she realized the power she witnessed then was not even a tenth of what it was now.

The thunder was deafening, nearly splitting her eardrums. Even with a protective barrier around her, several strikes cracked it open. She was busy forming seals and holding her sword, with no time to spare.

Although other cultivators shielded her from some of the outer strikes, the most powerful blows landed directly on her. When the barrier finally shattered, she took a strike with her own body. Her back felt as if it had been whipped with barbed lashes; her skin tore, her bones charred, and her blood blackened. She nearly lost her soul, forcing her to re-erect the barrier with all her might.

But the thunder grew more violent, wave after wave. After eighteen strikes, it did not stop. Instead, Heaven seemed enraged by her refusal to yield, to the point where the sky itself appeared to split open.

Xie Chang'an looked up at the sky through Canmiao's eyes.

As the lightning flashed, the clouds scattered, and it was as bright as day.

Her body was exhausted to the limit, but her spirit became increasingly clear. Canmiao focused her lifelong cultivation into her brow, and her "Heavenly Eye" opened. All veils and illusions became transparent before her.

In the next moment, her expression changed drastically, as if she had seen the most unbelievable scene!

The heavy clouds dispersed, and the Heavenly Gate opened.

Only she could see it.

And what she saw was a monstrous sea of blood, churning and rolling like a mirror reflecting the landscape of Hell.

Countless evil ghosts and demons floated in the blood sea, baring their hideous grins at her, shouting silently, and waiting in anticipation for her to join them.

Xie Chang'an was not only shocked but terrified.

She didn't know if it was her own fear or Canmiao’s that had been transmitted to her.

Her heart raced, and she felt a chill through her entire body.

Was the ascension that all cultivators pursued their entire lives merely a journey to such a place?

The legendary Upper Realm, filled with fragrance and soaring divine birds, was instead a scene of dancing demons and mountains of corpses.

Could it be that all the cultivators who had ascended before had become sacrifices for these demons?

Or perhaps, they had already become part of them.

Xie Chang'an suddenly recalled the Demon Lord’s words when he sent her in.

He said there were no immortals in the world; immortals were demons, and urged her to recognize the truth.

Above was the madness of the demonic prison and the sea of blood; below was the sorrowful human world, filled with love, hate, and delusion.

Canmiao Zhenren had pursued the Great Dao with all her heart, only to find that everything she sought completely subverted her previous understanding—was that why she chose that ending?

Now that Xie Chang'an was in Canmiao's position, her own ending would be nothing more than walking the same path.

If you don't want to go to the demonic prison and become a lapdog for the Demon Lord, then your only choice is to perish.

In her confusion, Canmiao would undoubtedly choose the latter.

No.

But a voice sounded within Xie Chang'an's heart—

I am not Canmiao, nor am I Lin Mengdu. I do not want to walk the path they walked, nor do I want to be forced to make any choice. I am me, Xie Chang'an.

If people cling to the hope of ascension, it is like a lonely lamp in the night—even if it is just a dream, it is a desperate attempt to quench one’s thirst.

It is like boiling snow pouring into a river, burning away the last drop of hot blood. That is all.

But—

But, a lie is a lie!

Why must one choose between the Demon Lord and perishing?

In the city of Chang'an, through thousands of armies and life-and-death trials, she had never walked a conventional path.

Since she had died countless times already, why fear this trap within a trap?

The moment her thoughts became clear, Xie Chang'an felt as if the sound of shackles falling echoed. Whether it was a delusion of her heart or a trick of the ear, she slowly raised her sword and struck with all her might toward the demonic prison above—

The thunder and the sword light collided, erupting with the most violent force in the world!

She did not stop, holding the sword with both hands and driving it into the mountain peak beneath her feet!

With a thunderous roar, not only the sky but the very earth began to shake.

The trees on the mountain peak roared like dragons and tigers, and the vast rivers turned into a single, surging expanse.

Countless ghost faces showed terror, and even the demons in the blood prison above displayed astonishment, as if they hadn't expected her to be this stubborn—refusing both paths and choosing instead a path of mutual destruction.

Without hesitation, after exhausting her spiritual energy, Xie Chang'an pulled the sword out and drove it deep into her own heart!

Blood surged, and sharp pain struck. She stumbled backward, unable to maintain her footing, and fell off the cliff.

"Xie Chang'an, how dare you!"

"How dare you ruin everything I have woven!"

As she plummeted, the Demon Lord’s roar seemed to echo in her ears.

She did not fall to pieces. When she opened her eyes again, the shattered world had been pieced back together, but she was no longer in Canmiao’s perspective; she had returned to her own body.

The Demon Lord was staring at her, his face filled with irrepressible resentment and murderous intent. The skin exposed outside his clothes was cracking and bleeding, and even his eyes were weeping blood. He seemed to want to kill her but lacked the strength.

"As I thought, I won the bet."

Xie Chang'an smiled, her palm turning to grasp the Liutian Sword.

With a slight flash, she arrived before the Demon Lord. Before he could react, her sword light fell!

Only then did she finish saying the word, "won."

A single strike to end the spring of ten thousand mountains; with a heart of measure, even Kunlun can be conquered!

It was a beautiful, clean, and decisive strike. It was a pity that only the Demon Lord and Xie Chang'an witnessed it.

Xie Chang'an felt that this strike was a flash of spiritual insight, so brilliant and marvelous that it could be compared to her master, Zhu Xuanguang. But it was a fleeting sword intent, difficult to replicate or reproduce—a rare inspiration.

By the time the Demon Lord heard her complete the sentence, "I won the bet," Lin Mengdu’s body had already been split in two. Under the scorching heat of the sword light, the shell turned to ash.

The demonic energy shattered with it, all the blackness fleeing in every direction, not daring to come near Xie Chang'an again.

As the ashes drifted and swirled, pulling everything around her into the vortex, the world fractured and blurred. Heaven and earth inverted, but she stood firm in the gale, sword in hand.

With her clothes fluttering, she breathed slightly, facing the changing world with an unchanging heart.

The surroundings gradually calmed, as if the human world had been replaced.

The sky hung low, tinged with an inky blue.

A long-lost sense of familiarity washed over her, but she dared not trust it easily.

With her kin dead and monsters rampaging, even Zhu Xuanguang was left with only a remnant soul. Those fleeting, vivid memories made the peace before her feel as fragile as glass.

Sweat dripped from her forehead. She blinked and slowly looked down.

There was no sword in her hand, but a lamp.

It was the Dream-Parting Lamp she had carried when she entered the city.

As if responding to her gaze, the flame within flickered and finally extinguished.

But there were other lights not far away.

Lanterns hung in strings across the towering city walls; it was the Dream-Parting City she had arrived at.

Two figures stood before the lights, backlit.

The silhouette of one was very familiar—so familiar that her heart suddenly rose, then slowly settled.

Zhu Xuanguang and Xie Chang'an looked at each other from a distance, silent for a moment, neither intending to take the first step.

Her mind was unsettled and filled with confusion.

One moment she was in the midst of a desperate, final struggle, and the next she was back at the gate of Dream-Parting City. Anyone would feel a sense of bewilderment, but the surrounding lights and the frost-like moonlight quietly told her that the chaotic past had been washed away—it was all just Zhuangzi dreaming of a butterfly.

Looking at the city gate, two inscriptions were carved in iron-like strokes, striking the eye.

*Roaming the Immortal Dream, a Single Drunkenness of Millet.*

So... she had completely emerged from the "Dahe Immortal Roaming"?

Though her heart was a mix of emotions and her mind had not fully detached from the previous scene, her body felt refreshed and clear, from her spirit to her bones. All old wounds were healed without medicine, and she felt light and nimble, as if she could ascend to immortality at any moment.

Before she could carefully ponder these changes, there was a great commotion above her head.

Clouds surged and gathered, moving more violently than before a storm, drawing many people from near and far to look up.

It was night, yet a touch of brightness appeared on the distant horizon. It was as if a paintbrush had swept across the sky, and the light quickly expanded, spreading toward her!

Xie Chang'an found it strange, but she felt a subtle sense that this magnificent morning glow was aimed at her.

Sensing no danger, she remained still.

Morning glow at night was not a common phenomenon, even in Dream-Parting City.

A clear, loud cry approached with the glow. A massive figure dove from the heavy clouds, swift as lightning and wind. It retracted its wings, then spread them wide, swooping directly toward her!

Xie Chang'an’s heart jumped, and she couldn't help but step back.

But she soon realized it was a Great Peng bird!

To be precise, it was a phantom of a Great Peng outlined in golden light.

*The Great Peng rises with the wind, soaring ninety thousand miles.*

The phantom crashed straight into her embrace—so swift that she had no time to react—before vanishing in an instant. Xie Chang'an felt a slight tremor in her body. The sense of lightness became even more distinct, and her spiritual consciousness expanded several times over, as if she had gone from owning a small study to owning an entire city.

The colorful morning glow churned and changed, withdrawing from the distance before falling into her embrace as well.

Xie Chang'an suddenly remembered something, her expression filled with surprise and disbelief.

"It’s a Dharma Manifestation!"

A cry of surprise from an unknown cultivator came from afar.

"A Dharma Manifestation appears, a Sword Immortal emerges! Is Dream-Parting City about to produce a Sword Immortal realm cultivator?!"

"Not necessarily, it could be a Martial Immortal or a Spirit Venerable..."

"It’s all the same thing, just different names. I didn't expect the Dream-Parting City trial to have such an effect. If I had known, I wouldn't have been so greedy for the bustle of the outer city—I missed the opening of the inner city, what a pity!"

"Junior brother, you were just afraid to enter at the last moment, don't make excuses..."

"What Sword Immortal realm? That’s a Sword Heart realm cultivator named Xie Chang'an! Her name already appeared on the Roaming Immortal Wall—Xie Chang'an of Mount Chishuang. Don't you pay attention? She is the first to come out of the Dahe Immortal Roaming!"

"Mount Chishuang? Could she be Master Zhu’s disciple?!"

"You mean Zhu Xuanguang?! Then that’s no wonder..."

"Nonsense, how can a Sword Heart realm cultivator have a Dharma Manifestation?!"

"That’s because you’re ignorant..."

Because of this manifestation, the entire Dream-Parting City was in an uproar.

Everyone thought they were witnessing the birth of a grand master, never expecting the phenomenon to come from Xie Chang'an, a cultivator who had just reached the Sword Heart realm.