Ji Tongzhou listened intently for a long time, finally grasping the gist of the situation. Three days ago, the Spirit Stele had suddenly vanished from this place, along with the surrounding spirit energy network. Ordinary people, unaware of the Spirit Stele’s origins, regarded it as a divine miracle. As a result, the number of visitors coming to see the Spirit Stele has increased over the past few days.
His feet remained rooted to the ground as countless muffled thunderclaps seemed to strike his mind. The Spirit Stele’s disappearance—could it mean she had returned?!
Jiang Lifei had come back!
Ji Jingwu noticed his master suddenly stop, motionless. He cautiously raised his head to steal a glance, only to be shocked by what he saw. His master, who normally remained unperturbed even in the face of calamity, now had a face as pale as snow and eyes that shone with an extraordinary brightness.
“Master…” he murmured.
Ji Tongzhou’s chest heaved violently several times. Suddenly, he stirred slightly and said coolly, “Let’s go.”
Without waiting for Ji Jingwu’s response, he turned and strode away quickly.
Four hundred years had passed, and the town once belonging to the Guangsheng Association had been absorbed by the Wanxian Association. The marketplace remained as bustling as ever. Besides the rows of large shops, there were many small stalls, just like before, peddling strange curiosities and passing them off as exotic goods to deceive the ignorant.
Once again, Ji Tongzhou caught sight of those bizarre, fierce-looking masks on the stalls. Vivid memories surfaced unbidden. He clearly remembered that afternoon when he had encountered Jiang Lifei, whom he hadn’t seen in five years, at one of these stalls. She had recognized him instantly, cheerfully calling out his name.
At this moment, the image of that beautiful young woman in Wuyue Palace disciple attire seemed to materialize vividly by the stall once more, waving and smiling at him.
An illusion… Ji Tongzhou kept his gaze straight ahead, brushing past her.
“Tongzhou!” This time, it seemed someone was calling out this long-unheard name. Two spirited young men approached—it was Ye Ye and Lei Xiuyuan from his memories. Ye Ye raised his hand as if to punch him playfully, grinning, “Well, look at you! You’ve grown so tall!”
Ji Tongzhou remained unmoved, silently passing through their bodies. His steps were slow and steady, each footfall on the ground feeling as though he were treading on clouds. In an instant, the sky darkened, and lanterns along both sides of the narrow street danced in the wind like two strings of shimmering pearls.
A weight settled on his shoulder as Ye Ye patted him twice. At the height of their drinking revelry, he had consoled him: “Life is long, and with your talents, you’re bound for great things. Set your mind at ease and don’t let illusions cloud your vision. No matter what, we friends will always have your back.”
Enough.
Ji Tongzhou suddenly halted, squeezing his eyes shut.
Ji Jingwu noticed that since arriving here, his master’s demeanor and actions had been vastly different from usual. Though confused, he felt an inexplicable sense of dread. Timidly, he called out again, “Master?”
This time, Ji Tongzhou didn’t answer. His tightly closed eyes trembled violently. After a long while, he wearily opened them, revealing bloodshot eyes. Without a word, he continued forward.
After turning three corners, the familiar tall building of the inn came into view. Its gaudy colors and ornate flying eaves remained unchanged, with countless demon beasts still lingering and resting upon it. Two fierce tiger demons sat properly at the entrance, calm and indifferent to the comings and goings around them.
Ji Tongzhou silently gazed at the colorful, tiered railings in the main hall. He saw a young couple, as beautiful as immortals, walking hand in hand with sweet smiles, oblivious to his presence. Back then, he had screamed countless times in his heart, his emotions nearly driving him mad, yet unable to convey anything.
It was also here that he had first kissed a woman. With so little time, how could he make her remember him?
Ji Tongzhou chuckled a few times. Ji Jingwu watched in horror as his master’s chest heaved violently several times. Suddenly, he raised his hand and struck his chest forcefully. A glob of jet-black blood spewed from his mouth onto the ground, quickly transforming into small flames of black fire. Ji Tongzhou stomped out these black flames, and the strange, bright look in his eyes returned to its usual calmness. He said softly, “Don’t worry.”
It was merely a momentary surge of emotion triggered by the familiar scene. He had once been so brave, pouring out his feelings without any hope, even if he received no response. But all that had long since passed. It was all in the past.
He requested two upper-floor rooms and instructed Ji Jingwu, “Stay in your room. If you feel stifled, you may go for a walk, but be careful not to cause any trouble. You must return before nightfall.”
Ji Jingwu nodded in agreement and was about to go upstairs when he realized his master didn’t intend to accompany him. He anxiously asked, “Master! Where are you going?”
Ji Tongzhou replied coolly, “Demons don’t just wait around for you to kill them. I need to scout out their whereabouts first. You wait for me at the inn. Don’t wander off until I return.”
Ji Jingwu, uncharacteristically bold, asked, “When will Master return?”
Ji Tongzhou frowned impatiently and gave him a cold look. The boy’s face reddened as he lowered his head helplessly, fiddling with his belt. He mumbled, “Disciple… disciple is just worried… You coughed up blood earlier… You’ve seemed strange since we arrived here.”
Touched by this usually mischievous and willful young boy’s concern, Ji Tongzhou felt a slight warmth in his heart. But his next words caught him off guard: “If something were to happen to Master, what… what should I do? And our Yue Kingdom also…”
Ah, yes, Yue Kingdom… Ji Tongzhou looked into his naive eyes, and for some reason, the eyes of his royal brother and Xuanshan Zi from years ago flashed before him. Since he was old enough to understand, Yue Kingdom had always been his responsibility, and he had always treated it as his goal for cultivation.
Along with obtaining power above millions, he also shouldered a mountain of responsibility. Once, climbing ever higher had been his sole focus. Now, having attained everything, a thoughtless remark from a stubborn child had stirred up countless memories.
The warmth he had once discarded and scorned now tempted him with its allure.
Ji Tongzhou was lost in thought for a moment. Without further acknowledging Ji Jingwu, he turned and slowly walked out of the inn.
Suddenly, a hand landed on his shoulder, and a familiar voice spoke cheerfully in his ear, “Tongzhou, how about a drink at that small tavern tonight? Let’s drink till we drop!”
“Sure,” Ji Tongzhou replied instinctively. Ye Ye and the others beside him smiled kindly, then abruptly transformed into black flames and vanished before his eyes. He felt a wave of dizziness, and his chest surged with roiling qi and blood, threatening to spew forth that great mass of suffocation once more.
He forcibly held it back, staring blankly at the distant, shimmering East Sea. The long-absent white-robed young woman came riding the wind and waves. Where in this vast Central Plains was she now? It hadn’t been five hundred years yet; why had she returned early? Would he be able to see her again?
Black flames scorched his soul, making him dizzy and causing constant hallucinations.
What do you seek? A voice asked in the void.
Ji Tongzhou suddenly summoned the Qilin Bone and sped away. He couldn’t remember how long he had flown until he reached a sparsely populated forest. The laughter and voices from years past still accompanied him. Jiang Lifei was always waving to him from afar, Ye Ye calling out to him, Lei Xiuyuan smiling at him, and the Bai Li sisters teasing him about his fear of centipede spirits.
Enough.
He suddenly let out a great roar. Xuanhua Fire poured out from within him, instantly enveloping an area of ten li. All illusory images dissolved into nothingness. The dense forest was forcibly burned clear by the black flames. Ashes danced in the sky as the wind carried the fire, turning this world into shades of black and white.
He had already buried everything that could be buried with his own hands. He was no longer the fragile Ji Tongzhou who could still feel heartache. With boundless rivers and mountains, unrivaled in battle across the world, he had everything. What need did he have for a heart that could still feel pain?
But Jiang Lifei had suddenly returned when he was completely unprepared. She was his greatest karmic tie, awakening the Taotie in his heart, making him helplessly indulge in memories. Was it nostalgia? Now that he had everything, he began to miss those naive times when he had nothing.
Absurd. Ji Tongzhou laughed self-mockingly. He recalled the rampaging Xuanhua Fire, glancing around. Suddenly, his heart stirred—could this be the place called Man Mountain?
He mounted the Qilin Bone and slowly searched for the cliff with the giant boulder from years ago. He had burned it clean with a burst of black fire. Zhengyun Zi’s corpse and that boulder had all turned to ash. Four hundred years had passed, yet not a single blade of grass had grown from the scorched earth. While the entire Man Mountain was lush with greenery, only that cliff remained charred and black, devoid of life, standing out starkly.
Ji Tongzhou’s feet touched this dead land. His vision blurred, and suddenly, a young woman bound by the Dragon-Binding Chains appeared on the cliff’s edge. The mountain wind blew her bloodstained white dress, making it flutter incessantly like a white mountain camellia flower on the verge of falling.
He gazed silently for a long time until he could no longer see her, yet he was never able to truly make out her features. He hadn’t forgotten her face; he even remembered the small red mole hidden in her left eyebrow. He just wanted to see her one more time, but for some reason, he could never see her.
Time passed swiftly and silently. The distant, shimmering East Sea gradually lost its bright blue color, enveloped by a blood-red glow. Huge white clouds hid the setting sun in their crevices, their vivid fiery hues dyeing them red. The brilliant clouds of the sunset sky were like the countless wildfires he had released over the East Sea that year, grazing the edge of night and sea, igniting even the wind.
A faint mist began to gather before Ji Tongzhou’s eyes. At first, he paid it no mind. Since coming to the East Sea, his emotions had been too volatile, causing his inner demons to run wild and conjure numerous illusions. He no longer cared if there were a few more. However, the mist quickly grew thicker, and in the blink of an eye, it had obscured even the fiery sky.
Faint, ethereal singing drifted from afar. The sound was mournful and enchanting, mesmerizing to hear. Ji Tongzhou’s body shook as he suddenly realized this was the harbinger of the fearsome beast, the Shen, that he had been seeking.
The Shen had no demonic aura, making its lair extremely difficult to find under normal circumstances. It would only appear suddenly when encountering cultivators with deep spiritual energy, exhaling mist to induce various illusions while taking the opportunity to feed on their essence. Ji Tongzhou had originally thought it would take considerable effort to find it, but unexpectedly, it had come out on its own.
Earlier, preoccupied with his thoughts, he had failed to guard against it and inhaled countless wisps of mist. Realizing the danger, he immediately held his breath. Xuanhua Fire encircled his body as he mounted the Qilin Bone, intending to retreat temporarily.
However, shadowy figures began to emerge from the mist, approaching leisurely. He instantly recalled his first encounter with the Shen, which had been similar—the illusions behind the mist were ever-changing and indescribable. A surge of pride welled up in his heart; he refused to believe he would be deceived again by these fantastic illusions.
Come on! Let him see what would appear!
Faint footsteps gradually drew near. A hand parted the mist, revealing the figure of a white-robed woman. She was slender and graceful, though her features remained indistinct.
After a moment, she suddenly spoke: “Ji Tongzhou, it is you.”
Was it Jiang Lifei again? Ji Tongzhou sneered. Such childish illusions held no surprise for him.
But soon, another figure emerged beside her—tall and elegant. Ji Tongzhou felt as if struck by lightning on a clear day, his eyes fixed on the man whose features gradually became clear. He wore a long, luxurious black robe, his face handsome and refined, with an indescribable coldness in his expression that made one hesitate to approach. Even more bizarre were the two slender black horns protruding from the sides of his head.
Lei Xiuyuan!