Cheng Xi suddenly looked up!
Not far ahead, beneath the shadow of an old, gnarled tree, a figure stood silently, though no one knew when they had appeared.
At some point, a fissure had opened in the lead-gray clouds. A cold crescent moon hung in the sky, stingily scattering a faint glow that outlined the newcomer's figure. A loose moon-white robe patterned with stars flowed like water, concealing her form. Her face was covered by an equally moon-white, featureless mask, revealing only a pair of eyes.
What kind of eyes were those?
Cold! Ethereal! They seemed to reflect an eternal river of stars, so deep they could draw one's soul inside, yet devoid of even the slightest human warmth. Deep within her pupils, a point of silver moonlight slowly revolved.
The Yin Yang School! The Moon Goddess!
She simply stood there in silence, as though she had merged with the shadows of the forest. That fatal needle from before had clearly been only the prelude to a test. Now, she was the true killing move.
"What an excellent display of 'using poison to fight poison,' and what a fine 'Sky-Severing Sword Intent.'" The Moon Goddess's voice came through the mask, clear and cold without a trace of mortal warmth, every word piercing straight into the soul. "Lord Chang'an Cheng Xi... the 'surprises' on you truly are becoming more numerous. No wonder... even the cult leader has taken an interest in you."
Her gaze swept over the terrifying wound on Cheng Xi's back as it healed, then fell upon the Qingping Sword Sheath, which had lost all its light, before finally resting on Cheng Xi's pale yet exceptionally bright eyes.
"What a pity..." The Moon Goddess slowly raised a hand, white as snow and frost. Her fingers were slender, and a faint, dreamlike silver moonlight curled around her fingertips. "Your 'surprises' end here. His Excellency the Eastern Emperor does not like variables beyond his control."
Before her words had faded, the silver moonlight around her fingertips suddenly surged! There was no earth-shattering display, only an ultimate cold capable of Soul Freezing! The moonlight condensed and twisted before her, instantly turning into an illusory ancient Bronze Mirror whose edges flowed with starlight!
The mirror did not reflect reality, but distorted light and shadows! Within them was Ying Zheng's stern, profound face, carrying the majesty of an emperor! Yet those eyes were now filled with merciless killing intent, locking firmly onto Cheng Xi through the illusory mirror! At the same time, a terrifying pressure as heavy as a mountain, carrying the murderous aura of clashing steel and charging cavalry, crashed down through the mirror! It was like the judgment of an emperor!
"Rebellious younger brother Cheng Xi! You colluded with demons, brought chaos to Mount Li, and coveted the imperial mausoleum! Your crime—must be punished!"
The voice of "Ying Zheng" in the mirror was icy and imposing, like a decree from Above the Nine Heavens, savagely smashing into Cheng Xi's mind!
Illusionary arts! And top-tier illusionary arts at that, directly targeting the flaws in one's heart and stirring fear within the soul! Using moonlight as the guide and the human heart as the mirror, it reflected the image of the judge one feared most in one's subconscious! The Moon Goddess actually intended to exploit Cheng Xi's wariness toward Ying Zheng and the secrets of his journey to Mount Li, destroying him directly on a spiritual level!
The terrifying Imperial Dao Pressure mixed with the cold illusory power of moonlight, like invisible shackles, instantly wrapped around Cheng Xi's soul, which had just suffered severe wounds and was already frail beyond measure! The merciless gaze of "Ying Zheng" in the mirror and the icy words "must be punished" struck the depths of consciousness like giant hammers!
Cheng Xi's entire body shook violently, and his pupils instantly lost focus! The remaining Corpse Fiend Ghost Qi that he had just suppressed seemed to have been provoked, stirring restlessly through his meridians! The agonizing pain in the wound on his back became clear once more! Ying Zheng's suspicion, the jade pendant of the Empress Dowager Xia, the secrets of Mount Li, the bronze giant skeleton in the secluded valley... countless dark thoughts and fears were infinitely magnified by the illusionary arts, threatening to drown him completely like a tidal wave!
The corner of the Moon Goddess's mouth beneath her mask seemed to curl into a cold arc. The moonlight at her fingertips grew brighter, and light flowed across the illusory Bronze Mirror. "Ying Zheng" in the mirror slowly raised his hand, where a Son of Heaven's Sword entwined with Purple-Gold Dragon Qi condensed! Its blade pointed directly at Cheng Xi's soul!
The true killing blow descended only now! Wounds to the body could heal, but if his soul were destroyed by this Imperial Heart Reflecting Moon illusionary sword, he would be doomed beyond redemption!
Just as his soul was about to be destroyed by the illusory imperial sword, at that critical moment—
Buzz!
The Qingping Sword Sheath in Cheng Xi's arms, its light completely gone, unexpectedly let out another exceptionally faint resonant hum, carrying defiance and fury!
Immediately after, a weak yet incomparably pure sword intent, carrying the will to sever all falsehood, emerged not from the sword sheath, but... seemingly from deep within his battered meridians, which had just been "cleansed" by the Sky-Severing Sword Intent. Under the stimulation of this life-and-death crisis and the Moon Goddess's illusionary arts, it abruptly erupted!
This newborn sword intent was exceedingly weak, far inferior to what Lord Tongtian had left behind, yet it carried a nascent attribute of "breaking illusion" that belonged to Cheng Xi himself! Like a spark suddenly lit in the darkness, tiny though it was, it carried the resolve to burn away all falsehood and violently crashed into the imperial-pressure illusion engulfing his soul and the cold moonlight shackles!
At the same time, Yan Lingji, still unconscious, seemed to sense the fatal danger confronting Cheng Xi's soul. The blazing white witch fire that had just fallen dormant inside her twitched extremely faintly under instinct's command. That tiny flicker passed through the tightly held sword sheath like a candle in the wind. It was not meant to attack, but rather resembled... a warm resonance carrying the meaning of protection, originating from deep within her bloodline.
Pop!
A faint sound that only Cheng Xi himself could "hear" rang out, like a bubble bursting!
The seemingly impregnable imperial-pressure illusion and moonlight shackles were actually torn open by a tiny crack under the combined assault of the weak yet attribute conflict-born sword intent and the resonance of witch fire!
Cheng Xi's unfocused pupils abruptly sharpened! An unwillingness and fury from the depths of his soul erupted like a volcano!
"Break!!!"
A beastlike roar tore from his throat! It did not rely on strength, but was a cry of pure will! Using that torn crack, he gathered every last scrap of his remaining spiritual power, combined it with the faint newborn sword intent within him, and slammed it fiercely against the illusory Bronze Mirror!
Crack!
A fine fracture suddenly spread across the mirror's surface, centered on the wrist of "Ying Zheng" as he raised his sword! The entire illusion shook violently!
For the first time, an exceedingly subtle ripple appeared in the Moon Goddess's cold, starry eyes beneath her mask! Was that... a hint of surprise?
"Hm?" A nearly inaudible sound of puzzlement.
She had clearly not expected that a man severely injured and on the verge of death, with a soul weakened to the extreme, could erupt with such tenacious will beneath her "Imperial Heart Reflecting Moon" illusionary arts, even drawing out the embryonic form of his own sword intent and the resonance of that Witch Maiden bloodline!
It was this instant of surprise and the illusion's instability!
Cheng Xi seized the fleeting opportunity, using his last trace of strength to bite through the tip of his tongue! Intense pain mixed with the strong scent of blood rushed into his mind, clearing his muddled consciousness! He no longer tried to resist the powerful illusion. Instead, he crazily poured all his focus into the Qingping Sword Sheath in his arms!
He was not drawing upon sword intent, but—resonance! A summons! With his body, which had just undergone the baptism of sword intent and been tainted by a trace of sky-severing aura, as the medium; using that faint newborn sword intent as the guide; using his boundless will to survive as kindling, he called out... called to the Supreme Sword Intent Imprint deep within the sheath, which had once cleaved open the heavens and originated from Biyou Palace!
Buzz... buzz buzz buzz...
The Qingping Sword Sheath trembled violently! This time, it was no longer a clear sword cry, but a deep, furious hum, like a sleeping giant dragon disturbed by ants! The dim cloud patterns on the sheath suddenly lit up with dazzling azure radiance! A terrifying sword intent, even more ancient, vaster, and more unruly than when Yan Lingji had drawn upon it before, was forcibly awakened like a dormant volcano!
Though it was only a trace, the Supreme Will of Lord Tongtian, to Seize a Thread of Life, instantly surged into the heavens!
Boom!
The imperial-pressure illusion and moonlight shackles enveloping Cheng Xi's soul shattered with a crash like glass struck by an invisible Giant Hammer! The illusory Bronze Mirror gave a mournful cry and instantly Turned into specks of silver light that scattered away!
"Mm!"
The Moon Goddess's body swayed almost imperceptibly, and an extremely faint muffled groan came from beneath her mask. Clearly, the forceful destruction of her illusionary arts in such a domineering manner had caused her some backlash as well. For the first time, her cold, starry eyes clearly revealed gravity, along with a hint of... disbelief!
The azure light flashed and vanished, and the sword sheath fell silent once more, as though it had exhausted its last bit of spirituality. Cheng Xi could no longer hold on. Before his vision went completely black and his consciousness sank into boundless darkness, he vaguely saw the Moon Goddess still standing in the moonlit shadows, her cold starry eyes staring deeply at him and at the Green Jade Sword Sheath in his arms, which seemed utterly ordinary but now emitting an aura that even she feared.
A cold, ethereal voice seemed to descend from Above the Nine Heavens, clearly imprinting itself upon his consciousness as it was about to sink away:
"Qingping... Sword Intent? Tongtian... cult leader? Lord Chang'an, your fate truly is an anomaly among anomalies... it seems His Excellency the Eastern Emperor must reassess you..."
The voice gradually faded.
At the last moment before Cheng Xi's consciousness completely sank into darkness, an exceedingly faint yet incomparably clear jade-green light spot suddenly lit up in the depths of consciousness, as though it had crossed endless time and space. The light spot swiftly expanded, and vaguely, it seemed to outline a magnificent and grand—illusory Biyou Palace—floating above endless waves and Chaos Aura!
The phantom flashed and vanished, yet carried an indescribable sense of summons.
Immediately afterward came the Moon Goddess's final words, carrying a strange trace of fluctuation. Like a stone cast into a deep pool, they sent out the final ripples through his sinking consciousness:
"The cult leader... wishes to see you."
Cold moonlight passed through the sparse branches and leaves, falling in mottled patches over the two unconscious figures and over the silent Qingping Sword Sheath. The forest was deathly quiet, with only the night wind whimpering. The Moon Goddess's white figure had silently vanished at some point, as though she had never appeared. Yet the remaining cold killing intent, the lingering echoes of the shattered illusion, and that whisper—"the cult leader wishes to see you"—weighed heavily over Mount Li's cold night like invisible shackles.
The savage wound on Cheng Xi's back slowly wriggled shut beneath the lingering sword intent and Jianmu Vitality. His breath was weak but steady. In her unconsciousness, Yan Lingji's fingers unconsciously brushed over the cold cloud patterns of the Qingping Sword Sheath. A faint blaze of white fire flashed and vanished beneath her pale skin, while deep in her pupils, an exceedingly faint, ancient Dark Gold pattern that did not belong to her quietly appeared, then swiftly vanished.
In the silence, only that Green Jade Sword Sheath, seemingly an ordinary object, flowed with a restrained, heart-palpitating sharpness beneath the clear glow of the waning moon.
Before you continue