If the Nanzhao musician hadn’t taken that risk back then, Ziqing and the others probably would have only reached Liuxian Island, never making it to the isolated island at all!
On Liuxian Island, they would have met the Nanzhao musician, learned everything about the past, and could have gone on to find the last remaining isolated island clan members.
But back then, unable to withstand the pressure Xinyun placed on him, the Nanzhao musician had taken the risk of bringing them to the isolated island.
Who would have known that the Great Gu Master had everything prepared, waiting for them.
Just as the Nanzhao musician was about to open the exit, the Great Gu Master, having laid her ambush in advance, unleashed the poison corpses in full force. As a result, to prevent the poison corpses and the Great Gu Master from escaping the illusion realm, the Nanzhao musician had no choice but to permanently seal the exit.
No one knew whether any of the Nanzhao clan members had actually managed to escape. In any case, it had been a chaotic battle, and the remaining Nanzhao clan members were wiped out entirely. The Nanzhao musician, utterly exhausted, had finally created the forbidden palace, intending to trap the Great Gu Master within it—only for the Great Gu Master to shove Nangong Jun inside instead!
Nangong Jun couldn’t get out, while the Great Gu Master, instead, gained free passage in and out.
Having exhausted the very last of his strength, the Nanzhao musician sealed himself on the isolated island, sent Xinyun back to Liuxian Island, and truly had no strength left to rescue Nangong Jun.
No one knew exactly how much longer the Nanzhao musician’s spirit could endure, nor did anyone know whether the Lishang illusion realm—or anything within it—would continue to exist once his spirit finally faded away.
Even the Great Gu Master didn’t know any of this, which was precisely why she was so desperate to see her brother, the Nanzhao musician.
She couldn’t reach Liuxian Island, nor could she get near the isolated island. Originally, her range of movement had been confined to this cliff area alone. But over these past years, as the Nanzhao musician’s spirit grew weaker and weaker, the fifth mountain’s palace had gradually lost its power to restrain her, and her poison corpses had ended up occupying the fifth palace!
She knew the Nanzhao musician’s spirit surely couldn’t hold on much longer—he must be waiting for descendants to come.
And she had been waiting too!
She simply hadn’t expected Xinyun to bring someone here so quickly.
Xinyun’s tone shifted between calm and agitated, but at last she had laid out the whole truth. Ziqing listened with a heart full of conflicting emotions—sympathy for this woman, yet also frustration at her foolishness.
If it hadn’t been for her, none of this would have turned out this way. Yet she hadn’t done it for herself—she’d done it all to help the one she loved find happiness.
If Ziqing had to fault Xinyun for anything, she could only call her foolish, call her infatuated—she couldn’t call her selfish, couldn’t call her stupid.
Surely, when the Nanzhao musician agreed to Xinyun’s plea back then, it must have been because he felt he owed Nangong Jun a debt of guilt.
After all, Nangong Jun was nothing more than a musician, a kindred spirit who understood his music—he had no connection to the grudges of the isolated island. He had no obligation to give up the one he loved and remain here for the rest of his life!
As a fellow musician who understood both music and feeling, Ziqing thought it through carefully—surely the Nanzhao musician wouldn’t have taken such a risk for Xinyun’s sake alone.
Ziqing was about to explain this to Xinyun, but just then, the Great Gu Master’s patience ran out. “Xinyun, are you going to hand the woman over or not!”
Clearly, if Ziqing was an exception to the Fusang Sacred Tree and the Five Mountains, she was probably an exception to the isolated island as well!
Ziqing could take them to the isolated island!
“Xinyun, think carefully—once you break the barrier, do you really believe she’ll spare you?” Ziqing quickly warned. Surely Xinyun understood the Great Gu Master’s true nature even better than she did.
Yet Xinyun didn’t even glance at Ziqing, staring instead at the Great Gu Master with an expressionless face.
“Xinyun, after all these years, you’re still just as foolish. Do you really think bringing her here means you can escape me?” The Great Gu Master’s smile grew ever more arrogant.
Since this forbidden palace had been created by the Nanzhao musician, then naturally Ziqing, as the exception, would be able to open it.
Xinyun had originally planned to bring Han Ziqing here to trade with the Great Gu Master, intending to kill Jun Beiyue and the others once they passed the fifth mountain. Yet even she herself couldn’t say exactly when it had happened—she’d lost the will to kill this group of people.
If she could successfully rescue Nangong Jun, that would naturally be best. But she’d also left herself an escape route—trapping Jun Beiyue and the others in a barrier while bringing Ziqing along herself. That way, if they encountered the Great Gu Master, she’d still have a choice: she could push Han Ziqing forward in her place!
Xinyun had never been a fool.
Nor was Ziqing a fool. Having now understood everything, she naturally worked out Xinyun’s intentions. Though the Great Gu Master was nothing but a spirit now, she was certainly no pushover—she’d bested even Xinyun, let alone the Great Gu Master herself.
Ziqing knew that her own life, and even everything the Nanzhao musician had sacrificed and worked for, all rested now on a single thought passing through Xinyun’s mind!
Yet Xinyun still showed no reaction at all. Her tear-streaked little face remained utterly expressionless, her tear-washed eyes exceptionally clear, yet all the harder to read for it.
What exactly was she planning?
The Great Gu Master had no patience left for this. Without wasting further words, she snorted coldly and began walking straight toward the tightly shut gate of the forbidden palace.
Xinyun spun around sharply, crying out in alarm, “Don’t!”
Yet the Great Gu Master remained unmoved, continuing forward.
“I agree! Bring Nangong Jun out, and I agree!” Xinyun said urgently.
“Xinyun, you should know that once I fall into his hands, she’ll never let either of you go!” Ziqing said coldly.
Xinyun ignored her entirely, her attention fixed solely on the Great Gu Master. “The moment you bring Nangong Jun out—the instant I see him—I’ll hand Han Ziqing over to you immediately!”
“Xinyun, think this through carefully—will Nangong Jun even allow you to do this?” Ziqing pleaded urgently, uncertain whether she could talk Xinyun out of it, but knowing she had to try. “Xinyun, if you do this, Nangong Jun will never forgive you—you’ll destroy every effort, every sacrifice that he and the musician ever made! Xinyun, join forces with me instead, and I promise you, I will absolutely get Nangong Jun out. I promise!”
“What right do you have to promise me anything.” Xinyun finally snapped, turning a cold glare on Ziqing.
But to her surprise, Ziqing’s gaze proved even colder than her own. She lowered her voice. “I promise on the lives of my husband and my friends. If you join forces with me, even if we can’t destroy her, we will absolutely get Nangong Jun out. Think it through calmly—do you really believe she’ll spare either of you? And I’ll tell you this much: even if it costs me my life, I will never help her enter the isolated island to find the Nanzhao musician, nor will I ever help her leave this illusion realm. But I am willing to help Nangong Jun leave.”
Though Ziqing knew what she was saying was cruel—after all, if Nangong Jun could leave, Xinyun herself could not!
Even as she used these terms to tempt Xinyun, Ziqing’s heart ached for her.
But just as Ziqing finished speaking, the Great Gu Master drew a long sword and, like a phantom, half-passed her body straight through the closed gate. Only then did she turn back, sneering coldly, “Xinyun, you have no right to bargain with me. Either hand that woman over, or there’s nothing to discuss.”
“No!” Xinyun cried out, and in that instant, she slashed viciously through the air—and truly broke the barrier.