Behind was the primordial spirit battlefield, with flying swords and mystic arts flying about, physical bodies and supernatural powers clashing.
Stirring up the winds and clouds, the sky was falling and the earth splitting - these were no longer mere figures of speech.
Tushan Youyou held Qin Ran in one hand and dragged Li Shiyin in the other as she fled this primordial spirit battlefield without daring to look back even once.
After flying for who knows how long and for who knows how far, she suddenly heard Li Shiyin crying, "Master? Master?"
Then calling to her again, "Stop, my master can't go on!"
Only then did Tushan Youyou stop. She looked to Qin Ran and saw that the countless wounds split open on his body could no longer be stopped, madly splitting wider. It was horrifying to behold, as if at any moment Qin Ran would shatter into countless pieces.
She was covered in Qin Ran's blood, but paid it no heed. Looking around below, she found a barren mountain to fly to. On a large flat rock she placed Qin Ran down.
"Master..." Li Shiyin cried as she knelt at Qin Ran's side.
But she only looked at Qin Ran, not daring to reach out and touch him, because right now Qin Ran seemed as if he would crumble at the slightest touch.
To withstand a supreme art of primordial spirit splitting with a golden core body and last until now, Qin Ran should feel proud of himself.
He now only had one last breath left. He clearly felt himself nearing death.
Death was an extremely dark, deep and cold abyss, but within that abyss were endless temptations, beckoning one to sink into oblivion...
The abyss of death was comfortable.
"So this is death?" Qin Ran thought. "It seems I'm going to hell."
He slowly looked towards Li Shiyin, who had cried herself into a tearful mess. He wanted to smile, but couldn't manage it.
"Don't...cry." He said in a weak voice.
Hearing him speak, Li Shiyin hurriedly held back her tears, only letting them flow as she raised her head to look at him.
"You are...Female...Swords...Immortal!" Qin Ran's voice was feeble, but he pronounced each word clearly. "You are...Li...Shi...Yin!"
He thought back on his twenty dull and uneventful years of life, and on the two thrilling and dangerous months.
"Apprentice...I don't...regret...accepting you..." He said his last words. "But you must...find your brother...and return home together. Don't seek vengeance...don't step foot in the cultivation world again.
"Go back to Northern Chu...you will be a female general."
Qin Ran's words flowed more smoothly the more he spoke, but his voice grew ever fainter. The cracks on his body grew larger, but less and less blood flowed out.
"Shi...Yin..." He wanted to say something. "I...I..." But in the end he didn't say it. He closed his mouth, only looking at Li Shiyin with a pair of bright, gentle eyes.
"Master..." Li Shiyin looked into those eyes, her heart stirred. She knew what Qin Ran wanted to say.
She kept softly calling out to Qin Ran, calling out repeatedly, hoping this moment would not arrive...hoping it would come later.
Suddenly she started singing, because her master had said she sang beautifully:
"My will is pliant as a reed; my ambition remains unfulfilled; My heart seems close yet distant; As if I will go, only to return again; Please let me serve; I wish to give my all; Cherishing chastity and purity; We are destined to be at odds; Kind words and fragrant breath..."
Still the Songs of Chu. Her singing was still clear and melodious, extremely pleasing to the ear, completely unlike her rough and crude image.
"To die listening to my silly apprentice's singing, that is also a kind of blessing." Qin Ran thought. The trace of a smile clearly appeared on his face before he weakly closed his eyes.
Li Shiyin felt Qin Ran stop breathing. She choked up as well, sitting on her knees as she covered her face and wept.
She didn't know how much time passed when someone suddenly tugged at her clothes. She raised her head towards the person.
Chasing the Wind had somehow caught up without her noticing. He crouched beside her, looking sadly at Qin Ran with tears in his eyes. Long Qiqi stood next to Chasing the Wind, her expression complex as she looked at Qin Ran. Tushan Youyou was still here. And there was one more person who had appeared from somewhere - Bai Ruoxi!
It was Bai Ruoxi who had tugged her clothes.
"Move aside." Bai Ruoxi said to her.
Li Shiyin was startled, then overjoyed. She asked: "Can you save my master?"
"Let me try..." Bai Ruoxi said. "He can't die yet. Only he knows what happened with my martial uncle."
Li Shiyin immediately stood up and gave way to Bai Ruoxi. Seeing Chasing the Wind sitting there taking up space, she gave him a kick and told him to move aside as well.
Bai Ruoxi went to stand by Qin Ran's side and beckoned to Tushan Youyou.
"What is it?" Tushan Youyou asked in puzzlement.
"A Dao Fruit." Bai Ruoxi said.
"I don't have any!" Tushan Youyou replied.
"None?" Bai Ruoxi asked.
"None..." Tushan Youyou shook her head.
"Nevermind then." Bai Ruoxi sighed. She turned to leave. "I thought you had a Dao Fruit. I'm sure you've tried ordinary pills and elixirs, given he's an alchemist himself. But they were useless, right?
"Only a Dao Fruit can save him now... The power of a Dao Fruit can get rid of Elder Ning's primordial spirit splitting force and reconstruct his physical body. It can save his life if his soul hasn't dispersed yet."
Tushan Youyou hesitated. "You can use a Dao Fruit?"
Although she had obtained many Dao Fruits, to be honest she didn't know how to utilize them.
"Naturally." Bai Ruoxi replied. "We came for the Dao Fruits. If we got Dao Fruits but couldn't use them, wouldn't we be a laughing stock?"
That was reasonable. Tushan Youyou thought for a moment, then squeezed out one more Dao Fruit from her bosom.
Clutching the Dao Fruit, she handed it to Bai Ruoxi, extremely pained as she said: "This is my last Dao Fruit!"
"Mm..." Bai Ruoxi nodded perfunctorily.
She accepted the Dao Fruit and discerned it was real before using her mystic arts to make the Dao Fruit float above Qin Ran. She further utilized her mystic arts to form several incantation seals that she projected onto the Dao Fruit.
Suddenly the Dao Fruit shone with light, forcing the others to look away. When the radiance faded, they saw that the outer glass-like shell of the Dao Fruit had vanished, leaving only the interior willow fluff.
Below the willow fluff, the primordial spirit splitting force on Qin Ran's physical body had also disappeared.
Bai Ruoxi cast another mystic art, causing the white willow fluff to drift down into Qin Ran's body until it faded away inside him.
Qin Ran's physical body then visibly started healing at a rapid pace.
In a short while, the cracks on Qin Ran's body were completely mended. Only the bloodstains remained to indicate his previous injuries. But he still hadn't woken up.
"Is it done?" Li Shiyin anxiously asked when she saw Qin Ran's wounds healed.
"Awoo... Awoo..." Chasing the Wind also howled at Bai Ruoxi twice.
"He really did die earlier. His soul was just strong enough not to have dispersed yet." Bai Ruoxi said. "His body is restored but his soul still needs time to awaken."
"How long will it take?"
"I don't know." Bai Ruoxi shook her head.
Tushan Youyou was still calm. She said to Bai Ruoxi: "Speak plainly with me. Is he dead or not? Can he still wake up?"
"Not dead, just not alive yet." Bai Ruoxi replied. "I'll keep watch over him too. I still want to know what really happened with my martial uncle."
Li Shiyin squatted by Qin Ran's side and picked up his hand, silently praying.
This place was originally part of the primal forest, but after the willow fluff of the World-Devouring Demonic Willow passed by, it became desolate. Only now were a few sprouts growing after the life-giving wind blew through.
This group did not linger long on the barren mountain before discussing plans to go to Dao Sword Sect's Danfeng.
Yet while flying towards Dao Sword Sect, they suddenly sensed a disturbance deep within the Hengduan Mountains. They all looked back to see countless wooden spikes waving in the air high above, with swarms of colorful butterflies fluttering among them...
"Blood dragon bone?" Bai Ruoxi recognized the wooden spikes and couldn't help frowning, wondering what changes were occurring over there.
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
Resolve] Gu Yang was once a true disciple of the Falling Cloud Sect, but after failing to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, his cultivation regressed, his foundation was damaged, his lifespan was nearing its end, and he was about to be demoted to a menial servant. At his moment of despair, he awakened the [Daily Intelligence System]. By refreshing it daily, he could learn about countless hidden opportunities and secrets within the cultivation world! [Today's intelligence has been refreshed] [White Intelligence: One month ago, the Foundation Establishment spiritual item "Profound Ice Spirit Marrow" used by the host to attempt his breakthrough contained a trace of the poison "Bone-Corrobing Spirit-Dissolving Powder".] [Purple Intelligence: Tonight during the Yin hour (3-5 AM), a wisp of "Golden Crow Primordial Flame" will overflow... If this flame is devoured, it can recast the shattered cultivation foundation, fully restore cultivation, and awaken the one-in-ten-thousand—Primordial Supreme Yang Body. [Click to view coordinates]] [Golden Intelligence: Shen Qingyue, a Golden Core elder of the Falling Cloud Sect who possesses the Nine Yin Body, suffers from backlash of cold energy every full moon night, causing her strength to plummet and excruciating pain. Grand Elder Zhao Wuji has secretly bribed Shen Qingyue's personal maid, Hongxiu, and learned the rear gate array node of the protective formation "Clouds and Mist Veiling the Sun Array". Tomorrow late at night, he intends to take advantage of Shen Qingyue's flare-up of the cold poison, when she is weak and unable to resist, to use a secret technique to refine her into a cauldron and force her into a Daoist partnership. [Click to view coordinates]] The cultivation world is a jungle where the strong prey on the weak, and human hearts are as treacherous as ghosts? Sorry, but I can read the script! From then on, relying on his informational advantage, Gu Yang proceeded step by step with careful planning. Seizing opportunities, plundering fortunes. Selling intelligence. Playing rivals against each other. Step by step, he ultimately became the Immortal Emperor!
grated, and just when he finally managed to get into an elite academy, he discovered that he actually had a system, and the way to earn rewards was extremely ridiculous. So for the sake of rewards, he had no choice but to start acting ridiculous as well. Su Cheng: "It's nothing but system quests after all." But later, what confused Su Cheng was that while he was already quite ridiculous, he never expected those serious characters to gradually become ridiculous too. And the way they looked at him became increasingly strange... (This synopsis doesn't do it justice, please read the full story)
o a martial world and obtained a system that allowed him to draw one entry per year. Unfortunately, all he drew were useless white-tier entries. The probability for high-quality entries was extremely low, with the highest-tier mythic entry having a mere 0.001% chance! To increase the probability, he had to improve his martial realm, but he lacked the innate talent for cultivation. At the age of eighteen, Chen Yi fell into the hands of a gang and was forced into hard labor. Just as his life seemed destined for a bleak end, on his 18th entry draw, he actually pulled a mythic entry—Simulator! In the simulation, he could also draw one entry every year that passed, and upon ending the simulation, he would inherit all entries and his martial realm! In his first simulation, Chen Yi struggled desperately just to survive, knowing that living one more year meant one more entry draw! Finally, with hair turned white, he drew the entry he had longed for—Low-Grade Innate Talent! "Hahaha! Don't bully the old and poor! Time to cultivate and inherit my cultivation base!" ... From then on, Chen Yi continuously simulated and drew entries, his martial realm soaring higher and higher! Epic, legendary, and even mythic entries were gathered into his collection one after another! "What demon race or devil race? What dark turmoil? I don't know anything about that. They just charged at me screaming 'How can you possibly ascend to immortality?!' and got stuck to my fists, unable to be shaken off. Blind spots, speed bumps... go talk to my simulator. We're all struggling to survive out here. I'm trying so hard, so how are they still alive?"
