When Song Qianji heard "choose again" in the darkness, an intensely dangerous intuition flashed through his mind.
He had initially thought some rare treasure had emerged, with the Underground Palace passage opening, causing the earth to shake and mountains to tremble. For some reason, the Sprites both feared and craved this treasure, and Wuxiang had also come for it.
He was confident he could kill Wuxiang before the other could seize the treasure.
But now, it seemed the situation was far more troublesome than he had anticipated.
Song Qianji said coldly, "I had bad luck before, making wrong choices at every step. I no longer wish to choose."
Before his words faded, the Sprites dug through the icy rocks, clearing a path amid shrill screams.
Song Qianji was about to strike when he saw the calm, indifferent expression on the person opposite him and forcibly halted his action.
"Deceitful and vicious human cultivators, it's your turn to die this time!" a Sprite shrieked, her eyes blood-red.
Her long nails nearly stabbed into Female Wuxiang's eyeballs, but in the next moment, her gaze grew vacant as she twisted and broke her own neck.
Song Qianji was startled, watching helplessly as Sprites rushed into the Ice cave one after another, tearing at each other's flesh, biting through throats, and collapsing to the ground.
Wave after wave of Sprites surged in, initially attempting to attack the two inside the cave before seemingly losing control—frantically assaulting their own kind or mutilating themselves to death.
Blood gushed forth, forming a river that seeped downward. The cave's poor ventilation made the thick metallic scent of blood difficult to breathe.
Even having witnessed various extreme and ruthless combat methods, Song Qianji couldn't help but feel his hair stand on end at this bizarre, frenzied spectacle.
Female Wuxiang watched unblinkingly, actually smiling: "They can't control themselves. Their flesh and blood are meant to nourish what lies below."
The earth trembled as if a massive living creature were turning over deep underground. Soaked in blood, the entire cave underwent a strange transformation—the ice surface glowed with a faint blue light, yet it wasn't the radiance of Runes or formations.
Song Qianji stared intently, as if trying to see through the ice layer: "A restriction? There's a seal underground?!"
What could make the Sprites afraid to enter the cave by day, yet relentlessly attack cultivators night after night?
Countless scattered clues surfaced, flashing through his mind.
"Correct." Female Wuxiang laughed. "The Blood River Patriarch's Underground Palace holds many treasures, even the 'Inexhaustible Fire.' But inanimate objects are dull—what's sealed here is a living creature.
"Two hundred years ago, the Blood River Patriarch's mount was about to awaken. That fierce beast, named 'Chaos,' delights in devouring Sprites. When starving, it isn't picky—it could consume the entire Underground Palace. Fortunately, Xian Jianchen arrived in time and sealed it underground with a single Talisman. Pity—"
She sighed again with genuine regret: "Seals naturally weaken over time. The one who cast it should return every twenty years to reinforce it, but Xian Jianchen is too lazy. Lazy people always find lazy solutions."
Song Qianji said, "He tampered with the seal. A mechanism that lures Sprites to self-destruct, using their blood and life force to reinforce the seal. But... how did he achieve this?"
Truly inhuman, Song Qianji thought.
Female Wuxiang was happy to enlighten him: "It's a sound—one we cannot hear, but they can. This is the cruelty of primordial nature: predators emit specific sounds or scents to lure particular prey. Xian Jianchen engraved Chaos's call into the seal. Whenever the seal weakens, this sound automatically activates.""The sealing array designed by Xian Jianchen has been maintained for two hundred years. How could the Sprite clan willingly serve as sacrificial offerings? To break free from their fate, they've tried substituting with the flesh and blood of various living creatures and demon beasts—only human cultivators remained untested. This time, you happened to cross paths with them."
Song Qianji frowned: "At night, Sprites possess their strongest power and willpower. They want to break into the cave, kill the human cultivators here, and use them as substitutes for their own sacrifice, hence their relentless attacks. During the day, they're at their weakest, afraid they'll go mad and harm themselves if they enter the cave, which is why they don't dare come in. They just don't know that Xian Jianchen designed this seal to specifically require their blood and life force to complete the reinforcement. All their efforts are in vain."
He felt somewhat conflicted.
In his previous life, after he led the team into the Underground Palace, the Sprites rushed into the cave, the seal was reinforced, the tremors ceased, and everything returned to calm.
Only in this life did he learn the truth.
Female Wuxiang said: "Your guess is correct. Now guess again, why have I come here?"
Song Qianji said coldly: "To break the seal."
Female Wuxiang replied: "The current number of Sprites is far from sufficient, and the seal is at its weakest in the past twenty years. If I wish, I can release Chaos to devour most of the living beings in the Underground Palace. Judging by your expression, Xian Jianchen certainly didn't tell you any of this."
Song Qianji shook the Domain Wheat Field, startling a group of laboring spirits: "Such crucial matters, why didn't you say so earlier?"
The laboring spirits cried out in protest.
"If we knew, we would've spoken up long ago to earn merit points," Patriarch Hantian said sarcastically. "Look at the youngest here, Pingyuan Zhenren—he's been dead for two hundred years, trapped as a guardian spirit in the ancestral hall after death. Who cares how many glorious deeds your master has left behind!"
Pingyuan Zhenren gloated: "Just find yourself a good master, and you'll never lack messes to clean up after them!"
"Enough." Song Qianji was getting a headache from the noise.
He thought he was temporarily Xian Jianchen's ally, with Wuxiang as the enemy.
But reality was harsh—the enemy's understanding of Xian Jianchen was ten thousand times deeper and more detailed than his, a false disciple and temporary ally.
That night Xian Jianchen stayed at Song Courtyard, he could have said many useful things but chose to chat about trivial matters instead.
Song Qianji cursed Xian Jianchen ten thousand times in his heart, but not a trace of anger showed on his face. Instead, he appeared confident, fearless, and composed:
"Xian Jianchen didn't tell me these things, but he gave me this sword." He rotated the thin blade in his hand. "This sword is fast. The moment you raise your hand, I can pierce your heart. You won't have time to break the seal. If you don't believe me, feel free to try."
"Of course I believe you! Xian Jianchen has a fondness for fine swords. Besides his own Lifebound Sword, he collected twelve famous blades from across the land. These twelve swords were made of different materials, each with its own strengths. He destroyed three in his battles across the world, leaving nine remaining. The one in your hand, 'Shadowless,' is the fastest sword for killing..."
Her tone shifted: "But you also know that no killing sword, no matter how fast, can outpace someone determined to die. The power of my self-destruction is more than enough to shatter the seal."
"Madwoman." Song Qianji's grip on the sword hilt tightened until his knuckles turned white.
He was talking to Wuxiang to buy time, allowing Ziye Wenshu to lead the others further away.In the previous life, casualties were heavy, and only those who entered the Underground Palace escaped with their lives.
He had instinctively believed that passage led to safety, merely requiring some time. Could it be that these very assumptions had trapped him in the enemy's snare in this life?
Had his judgment of people and situations after rebirth also been confined by the preconceptions of his past life?
A chill ran down Song Qianji's spine.
For the madness of his opponent, and even more so for his own wavering in this moment.
"Last time, I made you choose between killing one and saving ten thousand. This time, no matter how many Amplifying Talismans you have, it's useless. You can't save everyone, and you certainly can't make them save themselves."
Her voice was clear and melodious, her demeanor charming, carrying a kind of innocent cruelty. "If I live, tens of thousands live. If I die, tens of thousands die. What will you choose?"
An even more extreme environment, higher stakes, greater pressure.
The Shadowless Sword surged with killing intent, humming incessantly.
Since his rebirth, Song Qianji had rarely been truly enraged.
Most of his thoughts were devoted to his vegetable patch, garden, and other things that seemed trivial to other cultivators.
The smaller the things one cares about, the easier it is to satisfy one's desires, and the less likely one is to anger.
Only when he encountered something he cared about but couldn't protect did he begin to feel rage.
"If you choose to kill me, more than half of the people in the Underground Palace will be devoured by beasts. They will all die because of you. Will you be able to sleep peacefully at night? If you choose not to kill me, we can make a mutual vow to never raise arms against each other again. I am not your enemy; we can cooperate."
Song Qianji found it utterly absurd: "Cooperate? You and I?"
The female Wuxiang said, "You've already seen that Xian Jianchen's methods are no less cruel than mine. Abandoning him and choosing my side holds no disadvantage for you. You're so clever; you must know what to choose."
Song Qianji was momentarily stunned, suddenly understanding why this avatar had taken the form of a female cultivator.
Her voice was gentle, possessing a mesmerizing charm, yet also motherly in its affection:
"We should stand together, not oppose each other. The sky here is about to collapse, destined to be beyond saving. But we can let it die to be reborn, start everything anew. I choose you to be the only cultivator in the new world, Song Qianji. You will become the sole god of the new world."
"God of the new world?" Song Qianji lowered his head, turning the sword hilt as if in thought.
"I know you're stalling for time, waiting for the seal to be reinforced. I'll count to three. If you haven't made a decision by then, I'll destroy the seal immediately. One, two—"
"Fine. I'm willing to make the vow." Song Qianji's voice was calm, almost emotionless.
The female Wuxiang smiled, the expression of a victor achieving her desire appearing on her face.
The next moment, that smile twisted abruptly into a scream:
"Ah—"
The Shadowless Sword pierced through her chest. A single thrust through the heart, blood gushing out.
Almost simultaneously, the female Wuxiang gritted her teeth and, true to her word, detonated herself without hesitation.
"You're the mad one!" Song Qianji heard her furious scream.
Blinding white light and a massive shockwave temporarily deafened and blinded him.
The ice shattered, and he plummeted downward.
"Roar!" The heavy breathing of an ancient ferocious beast echoed like a furious roar.
He still uttered the unfinished latter half of his vow: "I swear that no matter where you flee, across the ends of the earth or through multiple avatars, I will hunt you down and slay you with my sword!""After the enemy died, his words finally came from the heart: 'I take back what I said earlier about coming to kill you because of Xian Jianchen. I kill you because I want to kill you.'"
Then he applied an Amplifying Talisman to himself and took out a small box.
The box was not large, resembling a young lady's vanity case.
...
"Did you see the sky shaking?" Tonight, under the bright moonlight, countless people inside the Underground Palace looked up at the moon.
Meng Heze said helplessly, "Have you had too much to drink? There's only ever been earthquakes, never sky quakes."
Ji Chen pointed it out to him, "Look carefully, it really is the sky shaking. This is the Underground Palace—the ground above us is our sky here."
As soon as the word "sky" was spoken, a fierce wind swept across the land, tearing the night apart as an immense shadow descended upon the world.
"Roar!"
The colossal figure resembled a dog, with four wings on its back and six legs beneath its belly.
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