I Had Nothing Left

Inside the Yangxin Hall of the Zhou Kingdom Imperial Palace.

Xiao Mo slowly opened his eyes.

He lowered his gaze.

A sense of loss welled up inside him. His heart felt strangely hollow.

Though this had only been an experience of another life, and Xiao Mo had merely been playing the role of "Xiao Mo,"

he had spent more than ten years in the Book of a Hundred Lives.

And he had all of "Xiao Mo's" memories.

Everyone in the Book of a Hundred Lives had feelings. They were flesh and blood.

So even if he had only been "playing a role," Xiao Mo had completely immersed himself in it. He had truly come to regard Jiang Qingyi as his own disciple.

Even though she was fake, a person invented by the Book of a Hundred Lives,

in Xiao Mo's heart, she was real.

It was like reading a novel or watching a TV series.

After reading over a thousand chapters or watching dozens of episodes, how could you not grow attached to the heroine?

Especially when he had raised her himself.

"Ah, I shouldn't dwell on it. Reality is what matters most."

Xiao Mo sighed and opened the Book of a Hundred Lives again.

That life experience had come to an end. Now he wanted to see what rewards he would receive this time.

[The Book of a Hundred Lives is calculating the mission rewards. The calculation is expected to be completed in one shichen (real-world time). In the meantime, the host may enter the Book of a Hundred Lives as an "observer" and watch Jiang Qingyi's experiences from here on. The host may not interfere.

Note 1: After one shichen, the first life's rewards will be calculated. The host will no longer be able to enter the first life.

Note 2: After entering the Book of a Hundred Lives as an "observer," the host will seem to step into the river of time. The flow of time will be at least a thousand times faster. Upon returning to reality, the host may experience some discomfort.

Would the host like to enter the Book of a Hundred Lives?]

"Yes!"

Xiao Mo didn't hesitate at all. He chose to enter the Book of a Hundred Lives.

He wanted to see what happened to Qingyi afterward.

Even if Qingyi was fake,

he still hoped she would have a happy ending.

In a moment of disorientation, Xiao Mo's consciousness entered the Book of a Hundred Lives once more.

Xiao Mo found himself standing before the gates of the Xiao Royal Mansion.

But something was different: his body was transparent, like a soul, and he couldn't touch anything.

Boom!

A tremendous crash came from the front courtyard of the Xiao Royal Mansion.

Xiao Mo drifted inside.

In the courtyard, Ye Sandao had already slashed twice at Xiao Mo's Sword Domain.

And just as Ye Sandao delivered his final strike, something no one had expected happened: Xiao Mo's Sword Domain shattered on its own.

The slash sent up a vast cloud of dust.

A young woman walked out of the dust, holding the Xuan Shuang Long Sword.

Tears streaked the corners of her eyes. Her gaze was lifeless, not a trace of light in it.

"Dead."

"They're all dead."

"They're all gone."

"I have nothing left."

She walked forward step by step, dragging her long sword across the ground. Sparks flared as it scraped over the marble.

She kept muttering something under her breath, looking as if she had completely broken down.

With every step Jiang Qingyi took, the Sword Qi around her grew denser and more ruthless.

Her cultivation realm kept climbing.

Xiao Jing furrowed his brow. "I never expected that even after his soul was scattered, he'd still return the Sword Bone to you. It seems Xiao Mo really did care about you."

"Shut up!"

Jiang Qingyi shouted and stepped forward.

Ye Sandao tried to stop her, but Jiang Qingyi had already passed him.

"So fast!" Cold sweat beaded on Ye Sandao's forehead.

Jiang Qingyi's speed was on a completely different level from before.

Was this the strength she'd regained with her Sword Bone?

"Prince, look out!" Ye Sandao shouted.

But it was already too late.

Jiang Qingyi appeared before Xiao Jing in an instant. Her icy gaze seemed to lock down his very soul. "You don't deserve to speak his name."

She swung her sword.

Blood sprayed from Xiao Jing's left shoulder, and an arm fell to the ground.

"Father!"

Xiao Han's heart lurched. He rushed to save his father.

"Don't come any closer!"

Xiao Jing shouted.

But it was already too late.

Jiang Qingyi turned her head and glanced at Xiao Han with eyes black as ink and cold as frost.

That single glance made Xiao Han feel as if he'd fallen into an abyss.

His body trembled uncontrollably, and he even took two steps back without thinking.

By the time Xiao Jing reacted, the frost-covered long sword was already before him.

Clang!

This time, Ye Sandao made it in time and blocked the sword.

The long sword struck the blade of Ye Sandao's saber.

Ye Sandao felt his body grow heavy, as if a mountain had crashed down on him. He flew backward, smashed through the courtyard wall, and finally slammed into the Xiao Royal Mansion Formation.

If the Formation hadn't covered the Xiao Royal Mansion like a wall of air, the force of that strike would have sent Ye Sandao flying hundreds of meters.

Ye Sandao sucked in a breath and opened his eyes. He felt as if every bone in his body had been shattered.

The Sword Bone had originally been taken from Jiang Qingyi's body, so the two were naturally a perfect match.

So Ye Sandao wasn't surprised that Jiang Qingyi had reached the Nascent Soul Realm thanks to the Sword Bone.

But he hadn't expected her to be so terrifyingly powerful despite having only just entered the Nascent Soul Realm.

Was this the Innate Sword Bone?

No wonder it was called a sacred physique seen only once in ten thousand years.

"Girl, what a pity. You had a boundless future ahead of you, but you can only die here. I'll send you to see your master right now."

Ye Sandao raised his saber, and a Manifestation of Law appeared behind him.

Only cultivators in the Jade Uncut Realm could use Manifestation of Law. Sword Cultivators could use it too, but Manifestation of Law consumed an immense amount of Spiritual Energy.

When fighting to the death, most Sword Cultivators chose to unleash the Sword Domain they had comprehended.

Ye Sandao's saber aura continued to gather strength.

At the same time, Xiao Jing swept out his hand, and the Xiao Royal Mansion Formation gradually took shape as the phantom of a Fire Phoenix.

This was the final Fire Phoenix Xiao Jing could conjure, drawing on every last bit of the Xiao Royal Mansion's Formation.

They would kill her with one decisive strike, even if it meant destroying the Sword Bone!

She absolutely could not be allowed to leave alive.

Otherwise, once she grew powerful, every one of them would die!

"Die!"

Xiao Jing pressed down with his hand. The Fire Phoenix cried skyward, its shriek echoing throughout the Liang Kingdom Imperial Capital as it swooped toward Jiang Qingyi.

At the same time, Ye Sandao brought his saber down on Jiang Qingyi.

But Jiang Qingyi remained where she was.

She seemed not to care about anything.

She merely lifted her head and gazed at the sky.

Tears slowly slid from the corners of her eyes.

"Master, can you see your disciple's Sword Domain?"

The instant the girl's tears touched the ground, the hard marble rippled in widening circles.

In a flash, the entire Xiao Royal Mansion was swallowed by the girl's Sword Domain.

The maids and servants throughout the Xiao Royal Mansion stared at everything around them.

Beneath Xiao Mu's sky,

the ground had become a vast lake.

But unlike an ordinary lake,

its water was as black as ink.