As the silver bracelet broke, a distant phoenix cry rang out, and flames formed like glittering bird feathers behind Madam Wang. In an instant, a red light rose, and the fierce and violent flow of spiritual energy rushed into the sky, swallowing everything in its path!

     She stood in the fire and raised her pale, slender hand. Immediately, a large stream of fire gathered and poured into that hand, circling in her palm with a hissing sound.

     “What's going on?! Isn't her spiritual power weak?”

     “Xue Zhengyong married a woman who clearly couldn't learn any spells... What happened to her?!”

     Xue Meng was frightened. “Mom?!”

     Jiang Xi also took a step forward and said sternly, “Chuqing! Stop now! Now that things have come to this, what can you achieve by going to such an extent?”

     It had been a long time since anyone called Madam Wang by her courtesy name. Her eyes, which were red from the blazing fire, flashed with an inexplicable emotion, but it soon disappeared as she looked at Jiang Xi and said, “Sect Leader Jiang, if I don't go to this extent, will you all retreat?”

     “...”

     “Will you let Sisheng Peak go? Will you let Xue Meng go?”

     Jiang Xi gritted her teeth and said, “Stop first. We can talk about everything else later.”

     Madam Wang shook her head and said, “You have already dug my heart out once. I have already given my life before Loyalty Hall. There will not be a third time.”

     “Chuqing!”

     “Sect Leader Jiang, that’s enough.”

     The phoenix called, and Madam Wang’s robe fluttered violently in the wind as her pupils gradually took on a blood-red hue. Someone with sharp eyes noticed that an intense orange-red light began to emit from around her waist, visible through her clothes. He couldn’t help but exclaim, “What is that?!”

      Jiang Xi cursed inwardly. He turned around and shouted at everyone, “Go down the mountain!”

     “But this isn't over yet, Xue Meng still…”

     “Stay if you want to die!” Jiang Xi said angrily, “This is Guyueye’s Phoenix Heavenly Fire! Do you all want to die?!”

     When they heard the words “Phoenix Heavenly Fire,” almost everyone's face turned pale in an instant. It was well known that high ranking female disciples of Guyueye had phoenix tattoos on their waists, which could detonate Phoenix Heavenly Fire in times of crisis. However, although they knew about it, no one had ever seen this evil fire with their own eyes.

     Because the price to be paid was too great. It would cost, at least, their entire lifetime of cultivation and, at most, their life.

     A group of cultivators rushed out of Loyalty Hall in a panic, like stray dogs, and rushed towards the foot of the mountain on their swords. In an instant, there were only a few people left in the hall, which was filled with swords just now.

     Jiang Xi hadn't left yet. The silk ribbon that bound his hair fluttered in the wind as he looked back at Madam Wang. “...Your spiritual core simply can't handle it.”

     He was almost perplexed, narrowing his brown eyes.

     They were filled with anger but also sadness.

     “You have the kind of violent spiritual core that can ignite Phoenix Heavenly Fire? You can protect your son today, but what about after that?”

     “If I don't ignite the heavenly flames, I won't be able to protect my son's safety today.” The flames on Madam Wang's body intensified. Once this evil fire was ignited, it would explode and could not be extinguished.

     She walked up the jade steps and stood in the place where Xue Zhengyong had stood with a smile on his face countless times when he was alive. Her red eyes swept over all the disciples and elders of Sisheng Peak in the hall.

     “My fellow disciples.” She bowed slightly and said, “Before Zhengyong died, he and I both believed the truth of what Ran-er said before we parted. Today, everyone is closing in on us, and Tianyin Pavilion has shown a great deal of strange behavior. You have all seen the truth, and I believe you have all already made up your minds about what is right and wrong, what is black and white.”

     All of the disciples looked sorrowful. Their eyes were all on this woman, who was once gentle as catkins.

     Sparks showered on her robe, shining brightly and casting mottled shadows.

     “Sisheng Peak has stood for more than twenty years and has never harmed the innocent or committed any injustice. Even if it has been slandered and framed, it will still remain clear in its heart. However, I am too weak to attest to the truth and restore justice. I am leaving today and have three requests to make. I hope that you will be kind enough to help me for the sake of our friendship in the past.”

     All the disciples lowered their eyes and said with tears in their eyes, “We will follow Madam’s instructions.”

     Xue Meng choked with sobs and murmured, “Mother…”

     “After the Phoenix Heavenly Fire explodes, it will last for at least three days, and no one else can get close. The first thing is that I hope you can all stay alive, temporarily leave Sisheng Peak, and make a living on your own."

     “This…”

     Tanlang shook his head and said, “I would rather guard the sect until death than become scattered running dogs.”

     Madam Wang smiled when she heard this and said, “This is not scattered running dogs. I once heard that the Immortal Sect Leader Nangong Changying of Rufeng Sect had a saying that was very true.”

     She looked at all the disciples and elders in the hall, just as she had done countless times when she appeared in front of the crowd before, her crimson gaze suddenly becoming a gentle, flowing water, rippling with light.

     “Nangong Changying once said that regardless of whether Rufeng Sect stands or not, as long as there is still someone in this world who remembers Rufeng Sect’s belief that ‘greed, hatred, deceit, murder, rape, robbery, and plunder are seven things a gentleman of Rufeng Sect must not do,’ the sect will not perish.” Madam Wang paused and said, “I am just repeating what he said. What I want to do today is the same.”

     “Madam…”

     “Everyone leave. When the truth is revealed and everything is settled, you may return to this place if you still wish.”

     No one in the hall said anything for a while—only the young disciples cried in despair, their clothes stained with tears.

     Madam Wang said, “The second thing is to ask you not to make things difficult for Ran-er and Yuheng. I believe that they have their own reasons for doing what they did, and I believe that what Ran-er said is true.”

     Led by the elders, all the disciples bowed their heads and said in low voices, “The disciples of Sisheng Peak will never be enemies of Young Master Mo and Yuheng Elder.”

     “Then the third thing.” Madam Wang sighed. “I fear that the Gate of Time, Space, Life, and Death will open again in the future, as Ran-er said. When the time comes…”

     She paused, as if she didn’t know whether her persistence was right or wrong.

     However, she still continued slowly, “I hope that you will be able to help each other and the people of the cultivation world.”

     Tanlang had a fierce temper and couldn’t help but say furiously, “They’re only beasts who will bite us back, what’s there to protect?!”

     “Madam wasn’t here just now; she has no idea how disgusting those people’s faces are!”

     “There are so many people in the lower cultivation world, including running dogs and villains. Good intentions may not always be rewarded.” Madam Wang said softly, “But Zhengyong established this sect back then not for praise and gratitude, but to live up to his sincerity.”

     The scarlet in her pupils grew deeper, and the phoenix tattoo on her waist became brighter and brighter.

     Madam Wang stood amidst the blazing flames. “Everyone, this world is so vast that the word ‘fair’ is too vague. But even so, I want to uphold justice and have a loyal heart. This is still a small thing we can do with our small bodies.”

     She closed her eyes and sighed softly.

     “Therefore, if Sisheng Peak were to collapse due to those dozens of traitors, because of the injustice it has suffered, and from then on disregards the lives of others and becomes a second Rufeng Sect… that would be Zhengyong’s greatest regret.

     “We cannot change evil, nor do we have eyes that can see people’s hearts. But we can at least not let malice and hatred change us.”

     Finally, Madam Wang said, “I hope that you will all remain loyal for the rest of your lives, your spirit forever unchanging.”

     As soon as her voice fell, flames covered the sky!

     The powerful seal of the Phoenix Heavenly Fire was finally completely lifted, and a powerful force poured out of Madam Wang’s seemingly weak body. In an instant, waves of heat and flame surged from Loyalty Hall like a mountain flood, rushing forward with indescribable might.

     Clear Sky Hall, Dancing Sword Field, Mengpo Hall, Naihe Bridge… the two mountain peaks, the flowing river, Frost Sky Hall, and the Red Lotus Pavilion…

     In an instant, they were all completely enveloped by the spiritual fire.

     These flames could recognize the will of their master and engulf every blade of grass on Sisheng Peak without burning it. Although the disciples and elders were still standing in the hall at this moment, trapped in the sea of fire, they were not burned by this heavenly fire.

     Madam Wang said, “Go.”

     No one moved.

     She sighed and urged the crowd again, “Go. Why are you still foolishly standing there? Hurry up and leave.”

     After repeating it several times, people gradually left one after another with their heads lowered. Loyalty Hall eventually emptied, and in the end, Xue Meng and Jiang Xi were the only ones left.

     Jiang Xi gave her one last glance, then turned to leave, but Madam Wang called out to him, “Wait a moment.”

     “...Do you still have anything else to ask for before you go to the underworld?”

     In the firelight, the expression on Madam Wang’s face was unclear; sometimes it was bright, sometimes cold, and sometimes warm. She hesitated for a long time, as if suffering from some kind of torment in her heart. Finally, she closed her eyes, steeled her heart, and said softly, “Shidi, come closer. I have something to say to you.”

     The moment she said these words, Xue Meng and Jiang Xi were stunned.

     Xue Meng couldn’t think of what Madam Wang had to tell Jiang Xi alone at this moment. Jiang Xi obviously thought so too. He narrowed his eyes slightly and didn’t move.

     Although he and Madam Wang were fellow disciples, they later parted ways and hadn’t personally met each other for many years. In addition, Xue Zhengyong had just passed away, and he was part of the group denouncing Sisheng Peak—he wasn’t wrong to feel cautious.

     Jiang Xi said, “If there’s anything else to say, just talk about it here.”

     “...”

     “There is nothing between you and me that cannot be told to others.”

     Seeing that she could not persuade Jiang Xi, Madam Wang turned to Xue Meng and said, “Meng-er, you go down the mountain first. I have a few words to say, and only Sect Leader Jiang alone can hear them.”

     “Mother…?”

     “Go quickly. This matter is none of your concern.”

     Xue Meng’s face was dirty and covered in blood. Tears streamed down his face, leaving streak marks one after another. He wiped his cheeks in embarrassment and choked out, “I don’t want to leave… You’re both here… I don’t want to go anywhere! I just want to be with you both…”

     “If you don’t want to leave, then just wait in Frost Sky Hall.” Madam Wang sighed. “When Mother is done talking to Sect Leader Jiang, I will bring your father there.”

     “...”

     Madam Wang’s face was already very pale at this moment, and blood was seeping out from the corners of her mouth. She frowned and coughed lightly, then said softly, “Meng-er, be good…”

     Xue Meng kept shaking his head and wiping his tears with his hands, but he also knew that his mother had ignited the Phoenix Heavenly Fire and would not live long now, so he should not go against her wishes and waste her last moments.

     He finally left, and in the spacious Loyalty Hall, only the elder sister and younger brother of Guyueye remained.

     After Xue Meng left, the last breath of air that supported Madam Wang scattered. She slumped down on the high seat, no longer showing the composure she had earlier.

     She stared at the table in front of her for a long time, tears streaming down her jade-like cheeks, before she began to cough violently and vomit blood.

     Jiang Xi stood where he was. When he saw Madam Wang coughing up blood, he seemed to want to step forward, but in the end, he still remained motionless. After a while, he said, “There is no one else here. What do you want to say?”

     Madam Wang was coughing so hard that she couldn’t answer for a while.

     Seeing this, Jiang Xi frowned and said gloomily, “Because of your cultivation path back then, your spiritual core became increasingly violent. Later, it was even difficult for you to continue practicing spells, not to mention the detonation of the Phoenix Heavenly Flame. This will cost your life.”

     Madam Wang recovered her breath, her eyelashes wet as she looked at the table with a dazed look in her eyes. “Yes, I know.”

     The sea of fire was like a tide, drowning them but not burning them. It was as if there was a scarlet sea separating her and Jiang Xi.

     “Then what else do you have to say?”

     “...”

     “If there is nothing else, I will leave.”

     Jiang Xi waited for a moment, but seeing that she still kept her eyes down and said nothing, he finally lost his patience.

     He turned to leave, but heard a soft sound.

     “Shidi.”

     Raging flames danced in the air like rolling red dust.

     “Do you really look down on Meng-er?”

     When she said these words out of nowhere, Jiang Xi’s heart felt uneasy. “What?”

     “You had a disagreement with him the first time you met him at Rufeng Sect. If I hadn’t come later, I’m afraid you would have started a fight with him.” Madam Wang sighed softly. “Shidi, his temper is indeed not very good, but please take into consideration that he is so similar to you when you were young… Don’t argue with him…”

     Jiang Xi didn’t react for a moment. He turned his face to the side and asked, “What do you mean?”

     Madam Wang didn't answer immediately. The silence was like a rolling thundercloud looming over the two of them. It seemed as if a torrential rain would come at any time and the color of the sky and earth would change.

     In this silence, Jiang Xi suddenly recalled an event from his youth. His heart beat violently, but his face grew colder and colder. He remained silent, clenched his fingers into fists, and waited for Madam Wang to speak.

     “Xue Meng…”

     Madam Wang sighed softly, but it was like a bolt of purple lightning splitting the sky and thunder breaking through the air—

     “Xue Meng, he is actually very similar to you. Shidi, do you understand?”

     Even though he already had some foresight in his heart, Jiang Xi’s head still buzzed when he heard these words, and his mind suddenly went blank.

     Who was like him?

     Xue Meng?

     The young man who was always irritable and rude every time he saw him and whom he despised to the core?

     Ridiculous…

     The hall was deathly silent. Jiang Xi pondered over her meaning, the dusty truth breaking apart layer after layer like cracked ice. Jiang Xi’s face did not change, but his blood had already turned cold.

     He shuddered slightly and felt that it was so absurd.

     He turned around and suddenly stared at Madam Wang’s face, thinking he had heard wrong, but he knew it was impossible. Although the words were spoken softly, each word was pronounced clearly, as clear as water, rushing towards him through the raging fire.

     Before his eyes, it became a stormy sea of shocking waves.

     “Jiang Yechen.” Madam Wang slowly raised her wet eyelashes and looked at him with a pair of dark pupils. “Xue Meng, he is your child.”