Only then did Chi Fengli turn toward Tie Ci, raising an eyebrow to glance at her. It was the first time Tie Ci had seen such an expression on her face—wild and unrestrained with three parts wickedness, her gaze blazing bright, bright enough to overwhelm.

Beautiful enough to overwhelm as well.

In the beginning, it must have been this vibrant version of her that attracted Gui Haisheng.

In the end, however, Gui Haisheng grew tired of such vibrancy and deadly beauty, turning instead to favor the gentle and graceful Xuanqiong, forcing Chi Fengli to restrain her sharp edges, erase her killing intent, fold her razor-sharp wings, and confine herself in the cage he had carved for her.

The foolishness in human nature was truly pitiable.

Chi Fengli raised her eyebrow at Tie Ci, smiling, “So what if it’s true? I didn’t scold her wrongly, and you didn’t scold me wrongly either. Since we’re both right, let’s each do our own scolding.”

Tie Ci said, “Who hasn’t encountered a scumbag or two in their lifetime? Who hasn’t done something foolish when young? It’s nothing serious. Three-legged toads are hard to find, but two-legged men aren’t so scarce.”

Feiyu’s face darkened…

Chi Fengli laughed, saying, “See, your own daughter isn’t as satisfying as an outsider.”

Tie Ci just smiled.

Pingzong ultimately didn’t understand her parents—she understood no one.

Chi Fengli had been stifled for half her life. Now, she only wanted to live freely for a moment.

Laughing and cursing, everything casual, with those around her treating her casually too, just like many, many years ago.

Chi Fengli turned to gaze at Pingzong, her eyes gradually filling with affection. She sighed and said, “But you’re right. We wronged her first, then blamed her—that was rather willful of us.”

She reached out to caress Pingzong’s face, saying gently, “Mother will be willful just this once. Accept it—who told you to be so unlucky as to be my daughter?”

Pingzong vaguely understood something, her eyes misting over as she gritted her teeth, “Then let me be unlucky for a lifetime.”

Chi Fengli smiled at this.

She smiled and smiled, watching as the wrinkles around her eyes continued multiplying, spreading like an ever-expanding web.

Those marks gradually carved up her smooth cheeks and skin.

Pingzong looked away.

But at this moment, Chi Fengli’s hand slowly slid down, coming to rest on Pingzong’s vital point at her back.

The next moment, heat waves surged. Pingzong’s face paled as she softly collapsed onto her mother’s knees.

Chi Fengli sat cross-legged without moving, her robes flowing without wind, crimson brilliant in the breeze.

Yet her body was slowly withering, as if the endless source of heat was gradually drying up her flesh and blood.

Those wrinkles continued contracting and tightening, dense and terrifying to behold.

In Tie Ci’s eyes, she could see deep red flowing along the bright red blood vessels within Pingzong’s body, gradually expanding her meridians in an endless turbulent rush.

She felt somewhat envious.

This was what they called winning while lying down.

She sat beside Chi Fengli, protecting her during the process, watching as that bit of deep red gradually faded to nothing.

She had never used her penetrating vision to observe the flow of true qi in human bodies before. Now, concentrating on watching, she found the trajectory of that true qi flow contained profound mysteries, becoming completely absorbed.

Suddenly, Chi Fengli’s free hand grasped hers.

Tie Ci startled, instinctively trying to break free.

But immediately a hot current surged in, scorchingly intense. Realizing what was happening, her expression changed slightly.

Chi Fengli was actually giving her a share of true power too!

In that instant, thoughts raced through her mind.

Grandmaster-level true qi was no trivial matter—a significant increase in martial prowess was inevitable.

But if it couldn’t merge with her body’s existing true qi, there might be consequences over time.

Even worse would be complete inability to absorb it, with the foreign true qi overwhelming her own, ultimately leading to death by explosion.

Moreover, struggling desperately to break free now would certainly injure her.

These complex thoughts flashed by in an instant, and she immediately made her decision.

She signaled with her eyes to Feiyu, who was about to rush forward, indicating he need not act.

Feiyu stopped, seeing red and white qi flashing across her face, her eyes showing a moment of struggle.

Clearly he too understood the risk Tie Ci was taking.

Tie Ci felt somewhat anxious—she had made her choice, but what if Feiyu didn’t want her to take this risk and intervened?

Fortunately, Feiyu’s hesitation was also brief. He then turned around to protect Tie Ci during the process.

Tie Ci breathed a sigh of relief, mentally awarding him ten points.

Though he could be somewhat chauvinistic in speech, this person actually understood her and knew how to respect her.

Tie Ci closed her eyes, circulating her own true qi to receive Chi Fengli’s rushing power.

Chi Fengli truly lived up to the legend of being fierce as fire—her true qi was extremely domineering and powerful. Even though this was just a small remaining portion, Tie Ci felt her meridians as if fire were flowing through them, the burning pain intense.

At least Pingzong had cultivated her mother’s true qi and had a foundation for absorption. But Tie Ci had never practiced such techniques, so this immediately felt like being consumed by fire. Hot sweat poured down like rain, and even her lips became parched.

Feiyu took out a water pouch and a handkerchief, wetting it to constantly moisten her lips.

Tie Ci’s skin grew hotter and hotter, actually seeming about to be burned. Sweat poured from her entire body only to be instantly dried by her own body heat.

Feiyu signaled to Dan Shuang, who was anxiously watching from the great ship. Understanding, Dan Shuang wrapped large blocks of ice from the storage room and brought them down.

When Feiyu moved to receive them, Dan Shuang stepped aside, glaring at him as she opened Tie Ci’s collar to wipe her body, deliberately using her own body to block Feiyu’s view.

Feiyu stared at her back, then glared at Mu Si who had followed down.

Fool, still hasn’t won over this woman after all this time.

If he’d married this tagalong girl earlier, she wouldn’t be in the way here now.

Mu Si was glared at inexplicably, but this didn’t prevent him from immediately glaring back fiercely.

After all, he couldn’t be glared at for nothing.

While these few exchanged meaningful looks, Tie Ci felt as if she had fallen into a sea of fire. The wind on her face, the air currents around her, people’s breathing—everything became countless leaping flames, burning her inside and out again and again. Sometimes she could feel brief coolness, but instantly that mad conflagration would crash down upon her head again.

In the intense burning pain, even breathing seemed about to be choked off. Somewhere inside her body came faint cracking sounds as the smoothly flowing true qi suddenly reversed direction, once again flashing lightning-like through her entire body.

She could feel a hot current flowing in reverse, rushing toward that wild fire to devour it, wrap it, guide it, finally transforming it into gentle warm light.

The pain gradually faded, and the true qi flowing into her body slowly ceased.

Tie Ci opened her eyes.

The moment she opened them, she was startled.

Before her was a dried corpse, blackened all over, wrinkles covering it like a spider web.

The corpse was actually smiling at her, saying, “So you’re a woman after all—what excellent disguise.”

Tie Ci immediately understood this was Chi Fengli.

Beauty had instantly become skeleton.

Though she didn’t know how Chi Fengli had seen through her disguise.

From Tie Ci’s expression, Chi Fengli also realized how she must look now. Seeing that Pingzong was about to wake up, she raised her hand and summoned a mask from one of the pirates on the ship, covering her own face.

Pingzong had just opened her eyes when she heard her mother say, “Congratulations, my child. You are now a generation’s grandmaster.”

Pingzong sat up in confusion, but her movements were too large and she hadn’t adapted yet. True qi leaked out with a hiss, sending a flame shooting toward Mu Si’s crotch.

Mu Si: “!”

He leaped backward, nearly jumping into the seawater.

Chi Fengli then turned to Tie Ci: “My child has conflicting dual meridian true qi that I cannot resolve for her. I could only use this method to strengthen her Haoyang true qi to suppress that little ice block Xuanqiong’s influence. But because of the dual meridians, she couldn’t absorb all my true qi. The remainder has benefited you.”

Tie Ci naturally understood, sighing inwardly as she said, “Madam could have kept this bit and then…”

“And then lingered on miserably, living a few more years with this appearance?” Chi Fengli touched the ravines on her face, even she herself frowning in disgust. “Are you trying to harm me? Keep nagging and I’ll take that true qi back.”

Tie Ci smiled.

Someone as proud as Chi Fengli—asking her to live like this would truly be worse than death.

Or perhaps from the moment Gui Haisheng died, she had made her decision.

She already suffered from a terminal illness and couldn’t protect her daughter for many years. With Pingzong having been influenced to practice conflicting true qi, she could only exhaust all her strength to give her own power to her daughter, ensuring she could live safely and peacefully.

But regarding Tie Ci, though this was just leftovers, she couldn’t help but express her attitude.

Chi Fengli said, “But I did give you true qi after all. I’ve never in my life stooped to leveraging favors for repayment, but today I’ll do it once. My daughter has become a generation’s grandmaster, but she’s a foolish grandmaster who, aside from getting angry, killing people and fighting, can’t figure out much else clearly. An innocent man is guilty of possessing treasure—I fear she’ll cause trouble because of this, or be used by those with ulterior motives, ruining her life. And you are barely intelligent enough. I want you to care for her throughout your life.”

Before Tie Ci could answer, she continued, “I will have her be loyal to you for life as well, helping you when you need it, as long as you arrange her life well—let her marry when she should marry, bear children when she should bear them, and if she doesn’t want to marry or have children, she can spend her life unmarried and childless, as long as she isn’t controlled by others.”

Tie Ci sighed softly.

She hadn’t expected this Ghost Island journey to bring such an encounter—gaining a generation’s grandmaster as a permanent ally.

However, Tie Ci didn’t pay it much mind.

Seeking help from a grandmaster wasn’t as good as becoming a grandmaster herself.

But having taken someone’s gift, she had to repay it somehow.

She nodded, and Chi Fengli pulled Pingzong over, saying, “She should be younger than you, so let her acknowledge you as her…”

Before the unwilling-looking Pingzong could object, Tie Ci had already said, “Being a sister isn’t necessary.”

Chi Fengli: “Hm?”

“Being an aunt is acceptable though.” Tie Ci looked at Pingzong, saying benevolently, “I felt an immediate kinship with Madam and greatly admire her. I’m willing to become sworn sisters with Madam and care for my niece throughout my life.”

Pingzong: “…!!”

I don’t even want to be your sister, yet you want to be my aunt?

Chi Fengli: “…?”

Are women these days all so bold and audacious?

After a moment she burst into laughter, saying, “Agreed!”

She had been somewhat hesitant before, but just for this courage and character, she could rest assured.

Pingzong cried out in alarm, “Mother, I don’t…”

Tie Ci smiled, “Good niece, come now, call me aunt.”

Feiyu immediately chimed in, “Come now, call me uncle.”

Pingzong burst into tears, reaching to grasp her mother’s hand, but touching something like dried wood, she was so startled she stopped crying.

Chi Fengli held her hand, in a rare good mood as she spoke leisurely, “Go ahead and call them. Your tongue won’t wear out from it. As for those feelings you have for your uncle-in-law, put them away from now on. You’re no match for these two—don’t make yourself suffer.”

Her voice lowered, taking on a distant, reminiscent quality, “We women, it’s best never to fall in love. Once we do, we get tied down by men, lose ourselves, and then it’s all over. Isn’t it better to control our own destiny? Those appearances, temperaments, sweet words—ultimately they’re all illusions, all no match for a gust of heavenly wind… Remember this, don’t be foolish like your mother. If you are foolish again, next life mother will reincarnate as your daughter and torment you to death…”

Pingzong cried and laughed, laughed and cried again.

The dried wood-like thing in her palm—she dared not squeeze it hard, fearing one squeeze would crumble it in the sea wind, never to be gathered again.

Yet Chi Fengli’s voice grew softer and softer, leaning by her ear to whisper a few words. Pingzong froze slightly.

The next moment Chi Fengli pushed away her hand.

A flame sprang from her sleeves.

Pingzong lunged forward trying to extinguish the fire, but was yanked back by her newly appointed aunt.

In just that instant, the flames multiplied, enveloping Chi Fengli’s entire body.

She ultimately chose to bury herself with her own strength.

The Fire Emperor turned to flames, the Thunder Maniac died in lightning.

In the vast expanse of striking demonic red, Chi Fengli quietly watched the young woman outside the firelight.

That blurry, distorted shadow instantly transformed into Wanfeng Mountain from years ago.

Newlyweds beneath those mountains full of red maples, he gently inserted a red jade maple leaf hairpin into her temple.

Across from her, Xuanqiong smiled gently, “This jade maple leaf was personally carved by senior brother, wasn’t it? It truly couldn’t suit sister’s beauty more perfectly.”

She touched her temple, also smiling.

She didn’t actually like maple leaves—things that were red for only one season, no matter how brilliant, carried with them the rustling winter, letting people see hints of decay.

But she loved his thoughtfulness, loved his gaze focused solely on her, loved the smile at his lips and eyes.

Xuanqiong walked over, ice pearls condensing at her fingertips to decorate the red maple hairpin.

“Sister, look—doesn’t this red leaf look even more beautiful with this ice and snow?”

She raised her hand, touching the icy coolness, turning to see her husband nod and smile.

Red maples from the entire mountain kept falling, shattering against the hem of her red wedding dress.

Across from her, Xuanqiong was clothed in snow-white.

…

Gui Haisheng.

You dissolved in the thunder, I vanished in the flames.

We both scattered throughout heaven and earth.

From this day forward.

Merging with each other.

Never to meet again.