Jiang Xi didn’t say a word. Xue Meng didn’t say anything either.

     After a long time, Jiang Xi spoke stiffly with an extremely uneasy expression: “You’ve heard it all. There’s no need for me to say anything else.”

     “...”

     “Go and take care of the rest of your affairs, in accordance with the rules of Sisheng Peak.” Jiang Xi turned his gaze away, unwilling to even look at Xue Meng too much. “Your mother has entrusted you to me. I will wait for you at the foot of the mountain.”

     Xue Meng moved, but it was only a meaningless movement.

     It was as if all the blood in his body had been drained out of him, and just two or three movements of his knuckles were enough to exhaust all of his strength.

     Xue Meng suddenly stared straight into the deep darkness of Loyalty Hall. The bloodstains on the carpet were no longer so clear against the flames, but his father was still lying on the ground. When he wasn’t smiling, his face appeared a little older, with distinct wrinkles and gray hair at his temples.

     Jiang Xi, on the other hand, looked to be less than thirty years old, always in the prime of his life.

     Xue Meng slowly took a few steps forward, then stopped.

     “You can go now.”

     Jiang Xi turned his head and saw Xue Meng’s lonely back. 

     Xue Meng said, “I don’t recognize you. You are not my father.”

     After he finished speaking, he slammed the door shut. After a while, Jiang Xi heard Xue Meng’s hoarse, mournful cries coming intermittently from inside, piercing his heart.

     “...”

     Jiang Xi stood in the cold wind for a long time, until his hands and feet were cold, before he slowly walked down the mountain.

     At the foot of the mountain, most of the cultivators had already dispersed in fear of the Phoenix Heavenly Fire. Only a few disciples from Taxue Palace remained; among them was Mei Hanxue.

     Seeing Jiang Xi come out, the juniors of Taxue Palace bowed to him in a courteous manner and said softly, “Sect Leader Jiang.”

     Jiang Xi felt that the muscles on his face were very stiff. He pursed his lips, and his brown eyes turned to Mei Hanxue, who was leading the group. “Why aren’t you leaving yet?”

     Mei Hanxue said in a gentle but cold tone, “Waiting for an old friend.”

     Jiang Xi understood who he was referring to and said, “He won’t be able to come down for a while.”

     Mei Hanxue said, “Then I’ll have to wait a while, even three or four days. There is nothing else to do, so I’ll just stay here.” He paused, then continued, “Also, Sect Leader Jiang, the Palace Master has a message for me to bring to you.”

     Feeling restless and unable to vent, Jiang Xi suppressed his anger and asked, “What?”

     Mei Hanxue saluted and said, “The Palace Master has decided not to blindly follow the descendants of the gods, Tianyin Pavilion, nor cooperate with the other sects of the upper cultivation world. Sect Leader Jiang is the leader of all the immortal sects and, from today onwards, does not have to consider our Taxue Palace for future actions.”

     Jiang Xi was silent for a moment, an unreadable expression on his face. “Are you planning to become independent from the immortal sects?”

     “Being isolated and helpless is certainly frightening.” Mei Hanxue’s eyes were still full of spring waves, but his expression was somewhat cold. “However, blind obedience to the beliefs of the gods is the most deplorable thing.”

     Jiang Xi stared at him.

     He felt indignant and suffocated for no reason.

     In the past, when he saw Nangong Liu sitting in this position, he only thought that many of Nangong Liu’s decisions were ridiculous and laughable. But when he really reached this point, he discovered that there were many things beyond his control.

     Was it his intention to deal with Mo Ran?

     Was he sincere in blindly trusting Tianyin Pavilion?

     He had tried his best to dissuade the attack on Sisheng Peak, but the other sects argued that he was the leader of all immortals, so what could he do in the end? In the past, he could still lead Guyueye to stay out of this matter and have his own attitude. But when he ascended to the position and Guyueye became the greatest sect under the heavens, he found that he already had nowhere to turn back to.

     He would eventually become the next Nangong Liu after all.

     Jiang Xi closed his eyes, then swept his sleeves and left without a word. Mei Hanxue was knowledgeable and polite, so he saluted again and said lightly, “Farewell, Sect Leader Jiang. May we meet again in the cultivation world.”

     He did not reply but walked away without looking back in his green robe, embroidered with gold threads and dark patterns.

     In the past, he ascended the throne at Spirit Mountain and replaced Nangong Liu’s former glory. There was a great deal of applause and cheers from the crowd. At that time, he thought he would be different from his predecessor and that he could change the sun, moon, and earth with his own strength. At that time, he was ambitious, hot-blooded, and aspiring.

     But only now did he understand.

     It turned out that the applause and cheers that day were not to welcome a great and wise immortal leader but to bury a free and easygoing soul.

     From then on, the world was vast, and the rivers and lakes were far away. It was easy for them to meet Sect Leader Jiang, but difficult to find Jiang Xi.

     After Xue Meng buried his parents, he never left Sisheng Peak. Later, the heavenly fire was extinguished, and Mei Hanxue was ordered to go up the mountain to search for him. Finally, he found the unconscious Xue Meng in Frost Sky Hall and brought him back to Kunlun Taxue Palace.

     At that same time, the Palace Master of Taxue Palace announced that from then on, the sects would no longer have to support Kunlun, and Kunlun would no longer be bound by the laws of the cultivation world. They were now completely separated.

     Later, Jiang Xi summoned everyone to Spirit Mountain to discuss the recent events. At this meeting, Jiang Xi proposed that major cases should be assessed by three trials, namely a court hearing, a public court, and a public hearing, instead of listening to the opinions of only one party.

     Although he didn’t specify which sect the “party” referred to, everyone already understood that he was somewhat dissatisfied with the status of Tianyin Pavilion. Therefore, Jiang Xi’s move was met with strong rebuttal—

     “Tianyin Pavilion was created by the gods, and Pavilion Master Mu used the holy weapon scale left behind by the gods for the interrogation. Nothing can be more just than the gods of the heavens.”

     “If Sect Leader Jiang is so willful and presumptuous, I’m afraid you will be punished by the heavens.”

     There were even some people who believed in Tianyin Pavilion’s actions and held Mu Yanli’s every word and action as dogma. They were so emotional that they didn’t know where they got the courage from, but they unexpectedly rose to speak out at the meeting.

     “Tianyin Pavilion has been the glory of the cultivation world for thousands of years. They have cleared countless unjust crimes. It is because of Tianyin Pavilion that many people in the cultivation world hesitate before committing treachery. Sect Leader Jiang, do you want to extinguish this sacred fire of the cultivation world?”

     Jiang Xi said grimly, “In your opinion, is Tianyin Pavilion an immaculate place where no mistakes can be made?”

     “Tianyin Pavilion has existed for thousands of years and was founded by the gods, so naturally, there can be no mistakes.”

     “We all cultivate immortality so we can ascend to the heavens after death. If Sect Leader Jiang believes that the gods of the heavens can also make mistakes, then where is your faith in cultivation?”

     There were too many people who held conventional opinions. They were all in a frenzy as they fought to defend Tianyin Pavilion, left behind by the gods. In the end, Jiang Xi's face was ashen, but he was powerless to oppose them.

     In the end, it was left unresolved.

     But paper could not contain fire, and the truth would eventually surface. After Sisheng Peak was dispersed, the chaos was not appeased, but instead intensified. Three days later, a riot broke out in the middle Shu region.

     Wuchang Town was the first that couldn’t hold back. A group of common people dressed in mourning clothes went to Tianyin Pavilion in the upper cultivation world to protest with curses.

     “When has Sisheng Peak even taken young boys and girls?”

     “Where did Tianyin Pavilion find these animals to accuse Sisheng Peak of being a thief?! Can you have a clear conscience?!”

     “Cultivating to immortality—you’re only cultivating to immortality with your eyes closed! Wuchang Town is right at the foot of the mountain. Why didn’t you dare come to the foot of the mountain to implore justice? The group of heartless traitors and ungrateful dogs you found are nothing more than cause to justify your own atrocities and ugliness! A bunch of murderers!”

     “Please clear Sect Leader Xue’s name!”

     The former people of the upper cultivation world who were previously rescued from the tribulation fire in Linyi had tears in their eyes and were filled with rage as they shouted, “You want to frame others. You aren’t human at all, but evil spirits! You’re evil spirits!”

     Some cultivators couldn’t bear to watch it any longer and shouted angrily with swords in hand, “Have you said enough? Tianyin Pavilion was established by the gods. With all these filthy words, aren’t you afraid you'll go to hell after you die?”

     Everyone was silent for a while. Suddenly, a storyteller holding a paper fan pointed at the plaque on the door of Tianyin Pavilion and sneered, “Go to hell? …Then, immortal cultivators, listen carefully—” He cleared his throat and continued in a controlled voice, “Tianyin Pavilion is no better than a pigsty!”

     The crowd laughed and applauded in approval.

     A young master sighed and said, “Xiansheng, this is the best passage I’ve heard in your ten years of storytelling.”

     “That’s right! Tianyin Pavilion is no better than a pigsty!!”

     Shouts rang out one after another. The cultivator was so angry that his face was as pale as a pig’s liver, but he could neither beat nor scold the man, so he just stood there for a long time, then left with a sullen face.

     Since these people were ordinary people without any spiritual power, Tianyin Pavilion didn’t take them seriously at all and let them make a ruckus. But unexpectedly, more and more people came from all corners of the world, and on the second day, the disciples in the pavilion finally couldn’t help it anymore and reported it to Mu Yanli.

     “Pavilion Master, the square is already full of people who have come to appeal for the justice of Sisheng Peak. Do you think we should go out and say something?”

     Mu Yanli said indifferently, “There is no need to explain to them. People like this will give up after yelling a few times and leave.”

     “But there’s already…” the disciple stammered, “more than a thousand people blocking the doors…”

     Mu Yanli was slightly startled. “Over a thousand people?”

     She gracefully stood up from the rosewood cough and stepped over the thick animal skin carpet to walk to the window.

     Looking down from the carved window, the square at the main entrance of Tianyin Pavilion was covered in a vast expanse of white. The common people gathered here were all dressed in mourning clothes. Some were cursing loudly, while others were sitting on the ground, looking stubborn and determined to take root here.

     A crease appeared between Mu Yanli’s brows.

     The disciple said cautiously, “It’s been two days, and not a single person has left. Rather, more and more people have come. People from all the large and small towns and villages of Shu have begun to rush to Tianyin Pavilion. If this goes on, we may not be able to hide the fact that we found people to give false testimony, and we might be exposed.”

     Mu Yanli: “...”

     “Pavilion Master, what should we do?”

     Mu Yanli pursed her lips, but before she could answer, she heard a voice as gentle as jade behind her: “If you can’t take it anymore, then don’t.”

     The jade-beaded curtain clinked, and Shi Mei walked into Nuan Pavilion. When the disciple saw him, he bowed his head and saluted. “Shengshou-qianbei.”

     Mu Yanli frowned. “Why are you here? Aren’t you keeping watch over Taxian-Jun?”

     “The spiritual core fragments have all melted into his heart. But he won’t wake up for a while.” Shi Mei walked to the window and glanced down lightly. “It looks like there’s quite a lot of people. They really have a lot of time on their hands.”

     Mu Yanli looked slightly worried. “You’re still making sarcastic remarks at such a time. Now, it’s thanks to Tianyin Pavilion's reputation that the situation hasn’t gotten out of hand, but I don’t know how much longer it can last. There are many fools among those cultivators, but there are also those who are not. If this group of people continues to make trouble below, I’m afraid that the situation will change dramatically before Taxian-Jun even wakes up.”

     But Shi Mei smiled. “Mu-jiejie, don’t worry. No matter how drastic the change, Tianyin Pavilion is stable.”

     “Why do you say that?”

     “The ultimate goal of cultivating immortality is to ascend to the heavens and become immortals. They cannot offend the descendants of the gods on earth.” Shi Mei said, “In fact, don’t those cultivators know in their hearts whether Sisheng Peak is guilty or not? Could it be that they don’t know whether it’s perjury?”

     “...”

     “At that time, they chose to believe it because they were afraid of a scheme at Sisheng Peak, afraid of Mo Ran’s homeland. It was their own desire to eradicate this sect that made them willing to believe the testimonies of those dozens of people.” Shi Mei’s fingers touched the window frame, and he said lightly, “They know it clearly in their hearts.”

     The disciple next to him said, “But, but it’s not a good idea to just let these commoners shout here. We still need to give them an explanation, right?”

     “That’s why I just said if you can’t take it anymore, then don’t.”

     Mu Yanli asked, “What do you mean?”

     “Just drive them away.”

     Mu Yanli said, “...Tianyin Pavilion never forbids people from speaking out, nor does it drive people away without reason. I’m afraid you'll attract a lot of criticism if you do this.”

     Shi Mei said indifferently, “Didn’t I explain everything just now? Whether Tianyin Pavilion is right or wrong, they already know. But they won’t rise up for a while. By the time they turn this corner, our Taxian-Jun will wake up. Do you know what that means?”

     “...” Mu Yanli seemed to want to say something but felt a little conflicted. Finally, she closed her eyes, turned back to her disciple, and said, “Go and disperse them.”

     Her direct disciple left, leaving only Mu Yanli and Shi Mingjing in Nuan Pavilion.

     The two of them stood by the window, looking at what was happening below.

     Disciples from Tianyin Pavilion walked out in a line, their white and gold robes gleaming in the sunlight. When the white-clothed common people saw them coming out, they thought they were finally going to speak and all stood up. They gathered around the disciples.

     Because they were so far away, Shi Mei and Mu Yanli couldn’t hear what they were saying, but their anger could be seen with the naked eye.

     Suddenly, for some unknown reason, a commoner rushed forward, grabbed a disciple of Tianyin Pavilion, and raised his hand to give him a resounding slap in the face—

     The scene instantly turned violent!

     Mu Yanli’s eyes suddenly widened. There was a crowd below, pushing and shoving each other. More than ten disciples of Tianyin Pavilion were in the midst of a flurry of fists and kicks.

     How could this be tolerated? Even if Mu Yanli was calm, she couldn’t stand by and do nothing when she saw her disciples being blatantly abused and beaten. She was about to push open the window and tell the disciples to use spiritual energy to defend themselves, but her hand was caught.

     Shi Mei said, “Let them fight.”

     Mu Yanli said, “Tianyin Pavilion has a decree that cultivators may not fight back against the common people without an order. If I don’t say anything and the fists and kicks are too merciless, they may be in danger of losing their lives.”

     Shi Mei said calmly, “Then one will die.”

     Mu Yanli: “!”

     Anger could make people lose their rationality, especially when a group of people gathered to beat a few people. Otherwise, the attacks wouldn’t usually be that severe.

     Soon, Mu Yanli saw the crowd freeze.

     They slowly spread out in a small circle, and within the circle was a new disciple who had just entered Tianyin Pavilion; Mu Yanli didn’t even remember his name. The disciple was lying on the ground, a pool of blood gradually spreading out beneath him.

     Shi Mei let go of Mu Yanli’s hand and said, “Okay, now we have a reason to crush all these ants to death. Let’s do it.”

     The difficulty in using violence to suppress others was finding an excuse.

     As long as there was an excuse, violence and suppression could easily be carried out.

     The gates of Tianyin Pavilion opened wide, and soon, a large number of disciples emerged, each armed with weapons, and rushed towards the group of people who had no spiritual power.

     The crowd was suddenly thrown into a state of chaos.

     They first drove them away, then wielded their swords to stab them. Screams, curses, and reprimands were heard everywhere. People dodged, shouted, and huddled, but no one turned around and fled.

     “If you continue to hopelessly tangle with us, don’t blame Tianyin Pavilion for being ruthless!”

     “When has Tianyin Pavilion ever had any feelings?” Suddenly, a shaky voice rang out from the crowd. It was actually the Village Chief of Yuliang Village. “This old man is here to seek justice today. Even if I die here, I won’t have any regrets.”

     The girl, Ling-er, from the village was even more sorrowful and angry. She stood together with the seven aunts and uncles of the village and refused to retreat. “If you want to stab or kill me, come on. Let’s see if you have the ability to kill all the people of the middle Shu region today to shut the mouths of the people!”

     The Tianyin Pavilion elite disciple in the lead gritted his teeth and said, “A group of vicious and unruly people, lining up to seek death.” Seeing the group attack together, spiritual spells flashed.

     Suddenly, with a “whoosh,” a feathered arrow pierced the ground and exploded with golden light! Then a bright yellow barrier soared into the air, blocking the two sides with a bang.

     The Tianyin Pavilion elite disciple shouted angrily, “Who is it?!”

     A white light flashed through the air. In the blink of an eye, a horned bow pierced through the clouds, and a wolf’s howl resounded in the sky! In the midst of this astonishing spiritual power, a heroic and handsome cultivator leapt down, holding a bow and standing coldly in front of the people from the middle Shu region, with wind and smoke lingering around her. Behind her, a faewolf as large as two adult men stood in the wind, with snow-white fur and golden claws, baring its fangs and panting fiercely, its eyes red.

     The leader narrowed his eyes. “Ye Wangxi…”

     Ye Wangxi raised her hand and swiftly put away the bow. With her other hand, she drew her sword and stood alone in the wind, her eyes firm and fierce.

     “It’s you again?!” Someone from Tianyin Pavilion recognized her and glowered. “You are the remnant villain of Rufeng Sect.”

     Ye Wangxi said nothing and took a step forward with her slender legs.

     “I knew there was something wrong with you when I saw you insisting on bringing Mo Ran water last time!” the Tianyin Pavilion elite disciple said. “You really are on Mo Ran's side! You're both villains!”

     The longsword was unsheathed, like flowing water.

     Ye Wangxi narrowed her eyes and said, “You all know who the true culprit is. But there is one thing you said that’s correct.”

     She paused, then spoke again:

     “This Ye is indeed on Mo-zongshi’s side.”

     The Tianyin Pavilion elite disciple in the lead sneered, “Ye Wangxi, you are just a woman. Do you want to fight against us alone?”

     Ye Wangxi was clearly very resentful about the incident at Sisheng Peak. Her eyes flashed with a fiery light, and she suddenly threw her sword in front of her. The spiritual current actually drove the longsword, which was not a holy weapon, directly into the stone floor, piercing a terrifyingly long crack along the ground!

     She gritted her teeth and said, “I have tolerated you all for a long time. Stop saying ‘woman, woman’ all day long!”

     “...”

     Whenever the cultivators met Ye Wangxi in the past, she had always endured silently and kept a calm attitude.

     This was the first time they had seen her rage.

     “Listen to me carefully.” Every inch of Ye Wangxi’s body was tense, like a cheetah. She stared at the men without backing down. “In the past, Sisheng Peak never took advantage of Rufeng Sect, hitting someone when he was down, and even protected people of Linyi from the sea of fire. Although Sisheng Peak is no longer here, this Ye will not let you hurt the survivors of the middle Shu region in the slightest!”

     No one in Tianyin Pavilion had even fought Ye Wangxi head-on, so they didn’t know her strength and felt that she was just a little girl crying beside her young master. Therefore, someone couldn’t help but sneer, “Little girl, do you know what you’re saying? …You think that just you alone can protect every feather of that flock of quails behind you? You sure talk big. Where did you get the ability?”

     “Then open your eyes and see if I have the ability to do it!”

     The sheath was thrown aside, and the sword’s edge was as sharp as frost.

     Ye Wangxi didn’t waste her breath on them anymore. She snapped her fingers and leapt onto the faewolf’s back with her slender legs. Then she raised her hand to pull out the sword that had been stabbed into the ground and rushed towards the group of Tianyin Pavilion disciples who either despised or looked down on her.

     In Nuan Pavilion, Shi Mei looked at the bustling chaos below calmly. His moist lips moved as he sneered, “Hmph. I thought I’d never see the goddess of war from my previous life again. I didn’t expect that she would still be forced onto this path in the end.”

     “Goddess of war?”

     Shi Mei didn’t answer, but looked at Ye Wangxi with a hint of pity and irony. “Jiejie, look. In this life, one may take many wrong turns, but ultimately, the ending is the same. She is destined to be unable to escape the kind of person she was in her previous life.”

     Blood gushed out, flames and lightning clashed, and in an instant, the sound of killing shook the sky. She was alone among the endless sword light and shadow, and the barrier behind her protected all the common people who could not use spells.

     The woman was dressed in black, with a slim waist and long legs. When she held the sword, she was Ye Wangxi.

     But Naobaijin was in perfect harmony with her, and Madam Rong’s embroidered arrow quiver hung from her waist.

     The moment she held the bow, she was also Nangong Si.

     In this life, she had experienced much more than she did in her previous life. She had been helpless, lost, and even had a brief period when the clouds and fog cleared, with deep love between a young man and woman.

     On the evening Nangong Si gifted her with the jade pendant, the clouds were just right over Naihe Bridge. She thought that from then on, she could finally relax her tense chivalrous spirit and return to being the gentle girl who could cry and laugh freely.

     But Nangong Si died.

     He died without warning, and before he left, he even said to Ye Wangxi, who stayed behind to kill the enemies, “I know you’re afraid of the dark. I’ll be back soon.”

     But he never came back.

     Therefore, Ye Wangxi, like in her previous life, eventually lost the weakness in her armor. She slowly scattered the remaining tenderness and affection and slowly accepted that she was all alone. In her heart, she silently held two funerals for herself—

     Elder Xu died, taking Xiao Yezi with him. She personally buried the peaches and plums she had shared with her adoptive father along with a cup of wine in the spring breeze.

     Nangong Si died, taking Miss Ye with him. She personally extinguished the torch she had carried for A-Si through the night rain of the cultivation world for ten years.

     The goddess of war sealed the tombs of the girl and the woman.

     She turned around and came alone before Tianyin Pavilion to confront the soldier cultivators.

     Shi Mei looked at the fierce battle below and said to Mu Yanli, “Call all the elite disciples of Tianyin Pavilion to fight. This woman cannot be left alive.”

     Mu Yanli was slightly surprised. “All the elite disciples? She, she’s just a girl…”

     Shi Mei smiled. “It’s just this girl that caused Taxian-Jun to suffer extensively in his previous life. If you underestimate her, you will learn how hard her bones are in the future.”

     The door opened, and all the elite disciples of Tianyin Pavilion came out in droves. Ye Wangxi kept the barrier intact while fighting fiercely with the swarm.

     She was still wearing the royal blue headband of Rufeng Sect, which fluttered as she dodged forward and backward. Mu Yanli issued a death order, so Tianyin Pavilion’s disciples attacked her every step of the way. Although one person could not defeat a group attack, she still gritted her teeth and refused to retreat. With Naobaijin’s bravery, she wasn’t at a disadvantage for a while.

     “Add more people.” Shi Mei looked at the situation below as if he were watching a fish by the pond and said indifferently, “Anyway, she delivered herself to my doorstep today. She can’t be allowed to return alive—”

     “A-Nan, look over there!”

     Suddenly, Mu Yanli interrupted Shi Mei’s words. Following her words, Shi Mei saw a cloud of blue and silver smoke rising into the sky in the distance.

     It turned out that the elders of Sisheng Peak had arrived with their disciples!

     Those who survived because of Madam Wang’s protection still wore the battle armor of Sisheng Peak and stepped on their gleaming silver swords, emerging from the depths of the hanging cloud. They unfurled majestically in all directions, led by Tanlang and Xuanji, their robes fluttering in the wind.

     Behind them, there were more than a thousand disciples, all with their eyes wide with anger as their armor reflected the sky!

     Xuanji Elder said loudly, “Is this how the descendants of the gods in Tianyin Pavilion bully the few with the many?”

     Tanlang, on the other hand, was gloomy and merciless, his brown eyes focused on the ground. He didn’t have so many flowery words to say, but his anger was apparent with only a few words: “Go to hell!!!”

     “...” Facing the onslaught of such a torrential storm of soldiers, Shi Mei’s face was slightly pale, and it was unclear whether the curve at the corner of his lips was a smile or a sneer.

     “It’s truly a bad fate. Every great battle, victory or defeat, must first be fought with the people of Sisheng Peak.” As he spoke, he looked at the rolling swarm.

     There was no sign of Chu Wanning in the group… After the theft at Tianyin Pavilion’s punishment platform, where did Chu Wanning and Mo Ran go? Mo Ran had his heart dug out so many times that he had certainly died, so what about Chu Wanning?

     Was he staying by Mo Ran’s new grave, or had he simply died along with Mo Ran, just like he did in his previous life?

     Either possibility made him irritable, and Shi Mei felt a vague sense of unease in his heart. He turned around and walked towards the inner room.

     Mu Yanli asked with concern, “Where are you going?”

     “To go check the situation with Taxian-Jun.” Shi Mei paused. “Find a way to wake him up earlier. When he wakes up, the Gate of Time, Space, Life, and Death can be opened again—no one will be able to stop us.”

     A slender finger caressed the runes of Tianyin Pavilion, and the secret room opened with a rumble. Shi Mei walked down the long steps, along the walkway engraved with exquisite ancient spells, passed through three doorways, and came to the deepest part of the stone chamber.

     The ground was covered with ice, and mist filled the air. There was a blue-gray arch inlaid with a jade stone, which was flowing with holy light. Under this jade stone was a cold crystal coffin. Shi Mei stopped in front of the coffin, lowered his head, and looked at the man lying clothed inside.

     “Emperor Taxian-Jun, Mo Weiyu…” he said in a deep voice, his eyes falling on the array of light on the man’s chest. “You have slept for a long time. It’s time for you to get up, right?”

     His words obviously had no effect, and Taxian-Jun’s eyes remained closed, his lips bloodless.

     “The spiritual flow is disrupted.” Shi Mei put his hand on Taxian-Jun’s forehead, and after perceiving it carefully, he stared at the handsome face thoughtfully. “Are you having a nightmare?”

     Naturally, the man in a coma wouldn’t answer him.

     Shi Mei stroked his hair, his expression very gentle, as if he were looking at a holy weapon that was about to be forged. He said slowly, “Although this is your own spiritual core that you’ve taken, the spiritual core is closely related to the heart, so it will make you feel uncomfortable when it’s fused together.”

     His voice was bewitching, casting a spell that hypnotized one’s will.

     “Taxian-Jun, no matter what you dream of, don’t believe it. It’s all fake… Come, wake up. Wake up, and you can have everything.”

     He lowered his body so it was almost to his ear. His voice was extremely enticing and alluring.

     “Whether it’s Shi Mingjing, Chu Wanning, or even your mother, they will all come back.”

     “Wake up soon,” he murmured to the emperor in his dream. “I’ll wait for you.”