Chapter 53

"Why do you think he could never leave?"

With the Ghost King dead, Xie Chang'an used the Sealing-Zen Brush to write four decree characters in the air, scattering them to the east, west, south, and north.

Zhu Huan and Zhe Er heard a crisp, resonant chime as the City of Reiterations before their eyes began to collapse and shatter.

A faint light emerged and spread from behind the fragmented world.

It was no longer the Four-Response Bells, but the true Bone-Reflecting Mirror.

The Nine-Nether Heaven-Reaching Flowers, born beside the Yellow Springs, swayed gently in the gloomy wind, as if puzzled by their sudden appearance.

The pair of Four-Response Bells, which Zhu Huan had only recently repaired, suddenly fell to the ground and shattered into dust.

Zhe Er felt his tension ease, and unable to endure his injuries any longer, he slumped down in exhaustion.

"Because he did not know that what truly trapped him was never the Four-Response Bells," Zhu Huan replied.

"Indeed."

Xie Chang'an picked up the curled-up, shrunken fox and placed it upon a bed of crushed Nine-Nether Heaven-Reaching Flowers.

The Heaven-Reflecting Flowers could only be touched by ghosts, but she discovered that even after refining the Golden-Thread Umbrella, she could still pluck the flowers without any obstruction.

The flowers she picked seemed to transform into ordinary blossoms, no longer withering or vanishing when touched by others.

"After the Yinglong died, its soul formed an obsession within the Four-Response Bells. The Ghost King consumed the Yinglong's demon core, and thus swallowed its obsession. While his cultivation surged greatly, he was forever bound never to leave the Four-Response Bells, unless he was willing to cast away that power."

However, Xie Chang'an figured that given the Ghost King's greed, he would never have relinquished it even if he had known the truth.

Many people always wished to have the best of both worlds, but fickle fortune usually meant they ended up with nothing in the end.

Lost in thought, she briefly drifted away, her gaze resting on the flowers, yet appearing ethereal and distant.

Little did she realize that while she watched the flowers, someone was watching her.

...

When the fox woke up, she was still somewhat dazed.

She had thought she was surely dead, or at least reduced to a state where her soul had left her body.

Yet, her paws could still feel her own furry belly, as well as smooth, soft fabric.

And beneath the fabric, the exquisitely contoured thighs.

"If you keep petting, I cannot guarantee I won't chop off your paws."

A familiar voice sounded by her ear. The fox instantly retracted her paws and blinked dazed and confused, pretending she had just woken up.

"W-what happened to me? Could it be that I'm already dead?"

"Wanting to die is easy. I'll grant your wish."

A hand as cold and merciless as Xie Chang'an's voice pressed down on the back of her neck. The fox let out a yelp and sprang up, but unexpectedly triggered the wound on her chest and abdomen. The searing pain brought tears rushing to her eyes, and the fox collapsed limply back down.

She remembered now. The Ghost King had clawed out half her heart, and she should have died without a doubt. Somehow, she had actually regained consciousness.

"Stop whining. She cut out a piece of paper and patched up that half-heart for you first, barely making it usable. Anyway, it makes no difference to you whether you have a heart or not!"

Zhe Er said lazily from the side, speaking with sarcastic detachment. A faint scent of blood drifted in the gloomy wind, and it did not belong solely to the fox.

The fox wanted to retort, but lacked the strength, so she simply rolled around in the soft Heaven-Reaching Flowers beneath her, flattening the blossoms stalk by stalk while listening to their conversation.

She heard Zhu Huan say that the Four-Response Bells were completely shattered beyond repair, meaning this celestial-grade magical treasure was utterly destroyed.

The fox almost laughed out loud with schadenfreude.

Zhu Huan had collected the Four-Response Bells solely for the Yinglong demon core within them. Now that his efforts had come to nothing, how could that not be pleasing?

Then, in the next sentence, she heard Zhu Huan say that his breakthrough to a higher realm would happen within these few days. Ascending to the Demon Immortal realm in the mortal world would trigger worldly anomalies, easily drawing unwanted attention. He intended to enter secluded meditation right by the Yellow Springs, and asked Xie Chang'an to guard him on the spot.

The fox could no longer smile.

She tossed and turned as if lying on a frying pan, pricking up her ears to continue listening to their conversation.

Zhe Er chimed in, saying he had once heard his master speak of a method of resurrection. Given Xie Chang'an's current state, she could actually seek out the vessel of someone on the verge of death to house her soul and restore a human body. Now that his injuries were mostly healed, he could accompany Xie Chang'an back to the mortal realm to search for such a suitable vessel.

Xie Chang'an refused almost without hesitation, stating that she was doing well now and would henceforth use her umbrella and sword as her physical form, needing no other shell. She was no longer accustomed to wearing someone else's skin to roam about.

Zhu Huan also agreed, saying that for Chang'an, unless it was the body of a Sword Immortal, any other vessel would offer no benefit. Both the Golden-Thread Umbrella and the Lingtian Sword were celestial-grade treasures; lodging her soul in artifacts and refining them into a body would not hinder her current realm. It would be better for her to stay in the Bone-Reflecting Mirror and cultivate properly.

Zhe Er sneered, saying that since the Ghost King was dead and the Bone-Reflecting Mirror was now without a leader, he would offer early congratulations on securing the throne of the Lord of the Bone-Reflecting Mirror. As for where he and Xie Chang'an would go, there was no need for Zhu Huan to worry.

The fox ignored the gunpowder-laden tension between them, and the moment she heard this, she was miraculously resurrected from her injuries.

"The Ghost King is really dead? Then Xie Chang'an, go for it! You be the new Ghost King!"

Xie Chang'an: ...

She had no idea where this fox's relentless drive for career advancement came from, especially since the creature only ever pushed others to succeed while never expending any effort herself.

The fox protested: "What is that look on your face? Pretending to be the Ghost King before was out of necessity, but now such a great opportunity is right in front of you. You can be a real Ghost King! Surely you aren't going to just hand it over to someone else!"

Zhu Huan actually nodded. "If you become the realm lord, I am willing to pledge my allegiance and follow you."

The fox hopped around in excitement. "Look, look! Even Zhu Huan says so! Back in the Four-Response Bells, if you hadn't thought of that reverse-luring trick to draw the Ghost King out of formation, we never would have gotten out. Everyone has witnessed your strength. Now that Murong Wuming and the others are all dead, the only great demons of any renown in the Bone-Reflecting Mirror are us. Absolutely no one else will object!"

Zhe Er sneered. "Who says no one will object? Am I not a person? The Bone-Reflecting Mirror is desolate and secluded with sparse spiritual energy, making cultivation difficult. How can this be a place to live long-term? She ultimately has to return to the mortal world to uncover the truth and clear her name!"

The fox flew into a rage. "You can go back yourself, why drag Xie Chang'an along! She was wronged, slandered, and subjected to utter humiliation, while that Zhu Xuanguang went off to become an immortal. Unless she can storm the celestial realm, how can she exact revenge? Making her return to the mortal world is simply sending her to her death!"

Xie Chang'an was utterly annoyed, feeling as though five hundred flies were buzzing miserably by her ear.

"Shut up, both of you!"

The two fell silent.

Taking advantage of her small, pitiful appearance, the fox quietly laid her fluffy tail across Xie Chang'an's lap.

"Chang'an, my chest hurts so much!"

Seeing that Xie Chang'an did not brush her away, the fox shamelessly leaned her chin against her lap as well.

"Thank you for saving me. Have you ever read storybooks? They all write it like this: a vixen is saved by a scholar, so she repays him with her body. I'm repaying you with mine now."

Everyone: ...

Zhe Er sneered; he had truly never seen a fox so utterly devoid of shame, phrasing freeloading in such a refined and graceful manner.

"After helping Zhu Huan ascend realms, I do indeed need to make a trip to the mortal world."

Xie Chang'an pulled the fox by her ears to push her away, ignoring her nonsense.

Everyone looked toward her.

The fox panicked. "What's so good about the mortal world? It's full of people with ulterior motives—mm-mm!"

She had been hit with a silencing curse.

Xie Chang'an continued, "I am now neither human nor ghost, with my soul split between the Golden-Thread Umbrella and the Lingtian Sword. Cultivation remains inconvenient after all. There is a magical artifact that might be able to fuse the umbrella, sword, and soul into one."

Zhu Huan, who was well-versed in the world's top magical treasures and spiritual artifacts, spoke up upon hearing this: "The Heavenly Artisan Furnace."

Xie Chang'an nodded. "If we can obtain this furnace, refining the artifact into a soul will also be of immense benefit to my cultivation and ascension."

"You are finally willing to continue cultivating."

Zhe Er experienced the most mixed feelings. When he had first found Xie Chang'an, she was devoid of the will to live and sought only death. Now, she was finally taking the initiative to live on and grow stronger.

He should have been happy, yet somehow felt a pang of bitterness.

Just how much hardship must a person endure to calmly tuck away the past and never easily reveal it to others?

He doubted he could fully achieve that, yet Xie Chang'an had done it.

Xie Chang'an fell silent for a moment.

"If given the chance, I also want to ascend to the Nine Heavens and ask those high-and-mighty immortals why the Heavenly Dao they dictate must sever other people's paths of survival."

She wanted to ask Zhu Xuanguang if he had felt even a shred of guilt or regret when he thrust his sword into her flesh on that day.

She also wanted Zhu Xuanguang to taste the agony of that heart-piercing pain.

"Good!"

With the silencing curse lifted, the fox was fired up again.

"Then becoming the lord of the Bone-Reflecting Mirror is even more necessary! Think about it, one day when you storm the Upper Realm, you'll need to reveal your status. If you just have the bare name Xie Chang'an, it would lack momentum. But adding 'Lord of the Bone-Reflecting Mirror' makes it different—it shows countless living beings in the Bone-Reflecting Mirror bowing in submission behind you, allowing you to effortlessly raise a massive army to contend with the Upper Realm on equal terms!"

Xie Chang'an: ...Just what kind of obsession with official titles did this fox have?

Zhu Huan said slowly, "I have also pondered this. Since ancient times, very few demon cultivators have achieved immortality. Are demon cultivators inherently considered a notch lower? In the past, when my cultivation hit a bottleneck and could advance no further, I tried countless methods in this world without finding the threshold of the Dao. If one day I can follow you to the Upper Realm, I too harbor countless doubts and desire an answer."

Xie Chang'an looked at him. "This path is long and difficult to walk. Perhaps halfway there, we will be cut down and die untimely deaths."

Zhu Huan smiled. "Even if I die nine times, I shall never regret it."

The fox hopped up and down, biting at her sleeve.

"Me, me, me, and me too! My Lord, take your Daji along!"

Zhe Er felt somewhat disgruntled.

He too wanted to make a promise, but the deep blood feud of Fuguang Mountain weighed heavily upon him. His current strength was not even enough to pursue the murderers of his fellow sect members, let alone boast of being able to help Xie Chang'an achieve anything.

Yet to remain completely silent would make him seem out of place, falling behind even these two half-way-run-in demons.

Just as he was about to say something, a butterfly fluttered leisurely over, its blue light shimmering with tiny starlight specks.

Zhe Er's expression changed drastically!

The fox let out an "oh" sound. "That doesn't look like a creature from the Bone-Reflecting Mirror."

Xie Chang'an was also somewhat surprised. "This is a transmission message from a mortal sect. Friends and family often use this method, linking spirit and blood to cross yin and yang across thousands of miles."

Aside from Zhe Er, everyone of Master Canmiao's lineage at Fuguang Mountain had been wiped out. Who could possibly be sending him a message?

The butterfly fluttered and landed on Zhe Er's fingertip, as if struggling to sustain itself. After a ball of blue light burst forth, the voice transmission entered his ear, and the butterfly instantly dissolved.

Zhe Er's expression shifted through a myriad of emotions, looking as though he had suffered immense grief or experienced overwhelming joy.

"It's my junior brother, Wu Qifeng. He sent word... saying he is not dead yet!"