You've Lost!

Xu Changqing held the bone saber, gazing at the petals around the woman in white. His entire aura shifted, becoming eerily strange.

He cast the bone saber out, letting it stand silently before him. His hands formed seals, ten fingers fluttering like butterfly wings, and the five Dao Palace Divine Beings materialized once more.

"Divide!"

The bone saber seemed to be stripped apart by some force. Its milky white blade split into five, each flying into the hands of a Dao Palace Divine Being.

Finally, the Dao Palace Divine Beings jointly executed the Reincarnation Saber Technique, linking into a circular line that enveloped the woman in white.

Xu Changqing slid his hands, tracing an arc through the frigid cosmos. A streak of white radiance appeared wherever his hands passed, never fading.

Dense clusters of Silver Runes began to emerge, hovering above the woman in white's head before sinking into her body.

She was astonished—she couldn't block those eerie Silver Runes. They seemed intangible, entering her body as if she were empty air.

The next moment, the Dao Palace Divine Beings struck in unison.

The woman in white's A Thought Blooms and Reign Over the World secret techniques danced forth in response, crashing straight into them.

"Boom!"

It was a terrifying collision. The starry sky trembled, heaven and earth inverted. Below lay an Ancient Life Land, situated on the human race's Trial Path.

In that instant, the Ancient Life Star suffered Heaven Collapses and Earth Cracks. Its once-warm world was obliterated. Magma erupted everywhere, the sky blazed bright, the sun and moon vanished completely, and the starry sky burned with intense light.

Xu Changqing, struck by the woman in white's final blow, was sent flying directly into a passing comet. The comet exploded. His entire body split open, blood gushing like rivers.

All his bones were broken. His arms and legs twisted at grotesque angles. His back was torn open, his chest caved in.

His Primordial Spirit also suffered severe damage.

But he had already completed his technique. The seven forms of the Reincarnation Saber Technique were unleashed one by one.

They instantly sealed the woman in white's memories. The Silver Runes wove together the things she least wanted to face.

When the white light faded, the woman in white stood silently in the starry sky. Blood streamed endlessly from her body. Her eyes were closed, and tear tracks marked her delicate face.

Now!

Xu Changqing seized the opportunity. While the woman in white was trapped in his Dao method's illusion, he charged forward with the bone saber.

One strike pierced straight through the woman in white's chest. Then he grabbed her hair and leaped violently down from the starry sky.

"Boom!"

A harsh sound rang out. Xu Changqing yanked the woman in white by the hair, slamming her heavily into the ground. She bounced up.

He pressed his large hand against her face, squeezed hard, then moved his feet, sprinting wildly across the ground. The back of the woman in white's head scraped against the earth, her hair falling out in clumps, her scalp sticking to the ground.

Xu Changqing stomped on her stomach, launching himself high into the air. With a side kick, he sent her flying upward. He leaped again, gripping the bone saber with both hands.

A cold gleam shone in his indifferent eyes. He held the saber with both hands, the tip aimed at her chest, and stabbed it in again fiercely.

"Pfft!"

The bone saber pierced through the woman in white's chest. Her eyes were still closed. Tears continued to flow. Pain twisted her face.

A black nail appeared in Xu Changqing's hand. He drove it into the Crown of her Head.

Sealing her Primordial Spirit!

It seemed to take a long time, but it was fast. All these actions happened in an instant.

The woman in white was pinned to the ground by the bone saber. Blood poured from her body endlessly.

At that moment, she had no memory of the recent battle. Her body shrank. Barefoot, she stood in a wide-open space, crying and shouting.

"Older Brother..."

"Little Sister!"

"Immortal Master, please take my little sister with us too."

Ahead, an old man led a boy of about twelve. Several young men stood nearby.

Little Nannan chased her older brother, crying. Finally, the group grew impatient and shoved her down. Her forehead hit a roadside stone. Her head split open, blood welling out.

She felt wronged, but to wait for her brother, she chose to stay in that place. She waited for years.

She grew up slowly, learning about the Feathered Dynasty. But mostly, she felt rage. Her memories returned bit by bit.

In the end, her fury blazed, shattering the illusory world.

But what awaited her was intense pain and exhaustion. Her Primordial Spirit felt bound by something.

She opened her hazy eyes and saw the dark red sky. She couldn't move, only lying still on the ground. A milky white bone saber was lodged in her chest. Her Crown of the Head throbbed with sharp pain.

The back of her head felt both cold and burning hot.

"You lost." A cold voice came. The woman in white turned her head weakly and saw the white-haired man standing not far away.

Tears still clung to her face. She gave a bitter smile, but she didn't mind.

Losing was losing.

During the time she was trapped in the illusion, Xu Changqing could have killed her. But he hadn't.

The nail in her Crown of the Head was a Soul Sealing Nail, sealing her Primordial Spirit so it couldn't escape.

"Cough, cough..." The Woman in White gasped heavily, her proud chest heaving as blood continuously spilled from her mouth and nose.

Xu Changqing walked over to the Woman in White, grasped the Bone Saber, and gently pulled it out.

Gurgle...

As the Bone Saber was withdrawn, blood flowed freely as if it cost nothing, streaming outward endlessly, turning her white robes into Blood Robes.

"Why not kill me?" the Woman in White asked. In her current state, Xu Changqing could have killed her.

Xu Changqing didn't respond, merely staring quietly at her face. He was a man who had seen the Sacred Ruins Patch—kill her? Impossible.

He was nothing but an Outer Domain Heavenly Demon; would he dare to kill an important figure of this world?

Even if no one stepped in to stop him, just her belongings alone—who knew if she had life-saving items?

He couldn't kill her, and if she escaped, that would be troublesome.

But Xu Changqing still spoke calmly: "Because on the journey to the Emperor's Road, there's no opponent."

"If I hadn't used a trick to make you face what you least wanted to, perhaps I wouldn't have won either."

"So, we learn from each other and grow together."

But a loss was a loss; the Woman in White had nothing she couldn't accept.

If she lost, she'd just win back next time.

Moreover, she believed that as long as she didn't admit defeat, she hadn't lost.

"Let's go." Xu Changqing turned around and took out the Spaceship.

The Woman in White lay in a pool of blood, silently retrieving a Divine Medicine from the Sea of Bitterness and consuming it. Her injuries began to heal, and she regained her ability to move, following Xu Changqing into the spaceship.

Xu Changqing was right. If she continued alone on the Ancient Trial Path, it might take a long time, and she might not encounter an opponent who could match her along the way.

It was better to follow Xu Changqing to the Emperor's Road. When she made breakthroughs in Secluded Cultivation, she could also find a Sparring Partner.

Moreover, after this battle, the Woman in White was determined to create a technique specifically to counter Xu Changqing's last move—one that targeted her Primordial Spirit and mind.

Although she had been recalling her Older Brother, whenever that obsession resurfaced, she would fly into a rage and lose her reason.

If Xu Changqing hadn't suppressed her strength and she hadn't been unfamiliar with their first fight, she would have long broken free of the Soul Sealing Nail and continued the slaughter.

But unfortunately, trapped in the illusion and battered by Xu Changqing from the Outside World, her Physical Body was already exhausted, and so was her Primordial Spirit.

The Woman in White silently swore to herself that she would create a spell to protect her Primordial Spirit.

But the best defense was offense.

With the experience of her first fight with Xu Changqing, she had also come to understand her own shortcomings.