Because of her words, everyone's spirits were lifted, and they flew toward the Eastern Sea despite the raging wind and hail.
They had all seen the beauty of the Eastern Sea under clear skies, but the sea under this stormy weather was entirely different from what they had witnessed before. The azure waters had turned a murky gray, churning and frothing like a boiling cauldron, with countless white waves spraying into the air. The roar of the waves was deafening, an awe-inspiring spectacle.
Su Wan was practically beside herself with excitement, exclaiming, "Back at home, I read some biographies and anecdotes that mentioned Celestials practicing various Immortal Techniques by the sea during storms like this. They said the Spiritual energy during such weather is chaotic and abundant, which greatly aids cultivation!"
"Really?" Ji Tongzhou was skeptical. He had read just as many, if not more, biographies, yet he had never heard of such a peculiar method.
"Who cares if it's true or not? Let's try it!" Su Wan conjured a fiery lotus and ruthlessly hurled it into the churning sea. Instantly, tongues of flame erupted alongside the waves, creating a breathtaking sight.
Baili Gelin also got into the spirit, tossing small leaves into the water. Baili Changyue curiously threw her Flying sword into the sea, while Ye Ye sent an ice dragon coiling around it. Even Ji Tongzhou, half-convinced, summoned a black fire dragon to join the fray. The sea roared under their antics, each wave higher than the last.
Li Fei stood silently at the back, watching them engrossed in their play. Lei Xiuyuan stood nearby with his arms crossed, lost in thought. She mounted the Horn of the Rhinoceros and quietly slipped away, speeding toward the cliff.
The wind howled, and fist-sized hailstones pelted her Earthen Guardian. Li Fei's face and hair were soaked, but she barely noticed as she flew toward the cliff. When she arrived, she found only devastation—just as Lei Xiuyuan had said, everything had been burned clean by the Profound Splendor Fire, and the massive boulder by the cliff was gone.
She lowered her head, slowly sifting through the scorched remains. There was nothing but blackened ash. After wandering aimlessly in circles, her foot suddenly struck something. She bent down to pick it up—a palm-sized piece of rubble, its deeply carved inscription now blurred by the flames.
Her wrist trembled slightly as she summoned the Spring Rain Art, washing the fragment over and over until the charred marks finally faded. Only one word remained: "Stay."
Her heart seemed to stop.
Countless images flashed through her mind, settling at last on the withered face of Qing Cheng Xian Ren in the Outlander Tomb.
She racked her brain, trying to recall her Master's familiar features—his square face, his large nose. But the unrecognizable Celestial from Azure City had a sharp chin, and his nose was nothing like her Master's.
Was it him? Or not?
Hu Jiaping's words suddenly echoed in her mind: Master was a renowned Celestial—how could he have been hunted down and killed? Instead of worrying about him, you should focus on yourself.
A renowned Celestial...
She thought of the books beneath the bed in the Green Mound cottage—ones she had never noticed before, all about lands beyond the sea. And Green Mound... Ri Yan was from Green Mound. On the very day Master left, she had coincidentally encountered Ri Yan, fleeing back to Green Mound after being hunted. Was it deliberate? Or just chance?
And Lei Xiuyuan—in the Outlander Tomb, he had forced her to pay respects to the corpse of Qing Cheng Xian Ren, a stark contrast to his usual aloof demeanor. Had he, too, guessed something?Li Fei suddenly stumbled back several steps, her hand instinctively reaching into her bosom where the black notebook lay. She yanked it out, feeling her wrist tremble uncontrollably as her chest tightened, as though she couldn't breathe. Slowly, she opened the notebook. Unlike last time, the pages were no longer blank but filled with intermittent ink marks—though large sections remained empty, there were words now!
Her eyes fixed on the familiar slender script, her hand went slack, and the notebook fell to the ground. She slowly crouched down, feeling as though she were plummeting into an inescapable abyss, endlessly falling. Her vision darkened in waves, her mind swinging between utter confusion and piercing clarity.
Kneeling on the ground, Li Fei flipped through the yellowed pages—all covered in Master's handwriting. The further she read, the more characters inexplicably appeared, detailing the various wonders of the Overseas Thousands of Continents and Myriad Islands. She turned each page meticulously, absorbing every word until the very last entry.
"18th day of the 12th month, Gengwu Year. Ri Yan and I arrived at a nameless mountain where stood a single tree, towering between heaven and earth, its height and girth beyond measure. We ascended along its trunk, reaching the crown after three days. Amidst lush green leaves hung an enormous white fruit, three to four feet tall, requiring two people to embrace. I cut it down—instantly, the earth split, and tsunamis raged as a sea of fire erupted! How bizarre! How strange! In panic, we fled. By the time we returned to Man Mountain, we were barely alive, but the fruit remained. I shall devote my life to studying this marvel."
The handwriting afterward inexplicably softened, strokes becoming round and pleasant, the once-proud, angular script nowhere to be seen.
"25th day of the 12th month, Jiashen Year. Decades have passed since returning to the Sweet Splendor Realm. At midnight, the shell suddenly cracked, transforming into a jade-colored swaddling cloth. Within it lay a whimpering infant girl, still bearing traces of amniotic fluid and blood—how utterly extraordinary! Born from the fruit—is she human or not? Uncertain how to nurture her, yet her celestial grace refuses human milk. Fortunately, the fruit's juice sustains her. Initially delicate and fair, she bore striking beauty, yet within half a year, her features grew increasingly similar to the illusion spell I wear. How peculiar, how peculiar!"
So that was why she resembled Master. Li Fei let out a hollow laugh. So his face had always been an illusion spell—no wonder, no wonder... Her fists clenched as she focused on the next passage.
The following entries detailed the peculiarities of her constitution. In the first two years, the demon qi around the Green Mound cottage had been nearly purified by her presence—only Ri Yan remained unaffected, likely due to consuming the fruit. As she grew older, her once-rampant Source Spiritual Qi gradually receded into her body, yet it still instilled fear in demons. She could not consume meat, not even cow's or human milk. Born with abundant spiritual energy, she could circulate it naturally before age three without needing to draw it in externally. Ri Yan named her unique breathing method: Spirit Inhalation and Exhalation.
After turning three, she suddenly became indistinguishable from ordinary children, losing even the ability to manipulate spiritual energy. All her anomalies were concealed within an unremarkable body, and she began displaying mischievous tendencies, much to Qing Cheng Xian Ren's exasperation. Ri Yan complained endlessly, seemingly at his wit's end with her antics.The last line read: "How is she any different from humans? How is she any different? Ri Yan claimed this girl would one day become invincible under heaven, commanding me to teach her the path of cultivation. Yet the mistake I made was grave indeed. Affection had already taken root—I could not bear it. For my own selfish desires, I made her leave her homeland. Her extraordinary nature will surely bring her a lifetime of unrest. The great wrong is already done. I can only give my all, protecting her for the rest of my life."
The handwriting gradually blurred. Li Fei gasped helplessly, looking around as hailstones struck her head and face, as if trying to smash her apart. She recalled the emaciated corpse in the Outlander Tomb, the way he had looked at her in the end, the hand that had grasped hers. Suddenly, she let out a loud cry and clutched the notebook tightly to her chest, holding it with all her might.
She didn’t know where to go. Turning around, she ran wildly for a few steps before suddenly tumbling violently off the cliff. Her body slammed into sharp rocks, only to be bounced back by the Earthen Guardian, rolling onto the rough, muddy ground. One moment she was sprinting, the next she was rolling on the ground. One moment she wanted to scream, the next she wanted to wail.
If only her body could be torn apart—then she could release everything raging inside, freeing herself from this agony. The day he left had already been their final farewell. She had been kept in the dark for seven years, seven whole years of sweet dreams. Why hadn’t anyone told her? Ri Yan, Lei Xiuyuan, Hu Jiaping—they all knew, yet none of them said a word. Not a single word.
She knew the reason. She had been too fragile—too fragile to recognize her own Master when she faced him, too fragile to bear such a tragedy.
All she had left was this black notebook. Even if she searched heaven and earth, she would never see him again. That ragged, roguish old liar. That peerless, unyielding Qing Cheng Xian Ren of Azure City. She would never see him again.
Li Fei collapsed face-first into the mud. She felt as though she could no longer stand, as if all her strength had been drained. The pain left her with no way out. She could only slam her head against the ground, wanting to cry, wanting to scream—but no sound escaped her throat.
A soft white glow gradually seeped from her skin. Slowly, she lost all physical sensation. Again—should she cast all of this aside? Let her wield supreme power, slaughter the Celestials of No Moon Court, kill Cui Xuan, Shouzhong, kill everyone who had caused her Master’s death.
And then what? Return across the seas, back to that colossal tree between heaven and earth—the place of her birth. Return to the end of solitude? That would be the best punishment for her.
Dazed, she rolled onto her back and stared at the ashen sky, at the churning, roaring black-gray sea. Hailstones fell endlessly upon her, but she could no longer feel anything.
A broken red dagger was suddenly tossed beside her. Li Fei stared blankly as a pair of feet entered her field of vision. Lei Xiuyuan stood there, holding a weakened red-haired weapon spirit, gazing down at her. His long hair was loose, two slender black horns growing at his temples, resting gently against his ears. His eyes blazed with golden light, cold and dazzling.
The red-haired weapon spirit gradually dissolved into green smoke, vanishing in his grasp. The broken red dagger also lost its spiritual glow, turning into nothing more than ordinary iron.Lei Xiuyuan suddenly crouched down and gave her head a firm pat. Li Fei felt all her lost senses rush back into her body, her chest so stifled it nearly killed her. She opened her mouth and began coughing violently, unable to catch her breath, gagging as she curled into a ball on the muddy ground like a dead thing.
He took off his outer robe and wrapped it around her, lifting her gently. Li Fei’s cheek brushed against his cold, hard horn as she murmured, “You…”
Lei Xiuyuan pressed the back of her head, holding her against his shoulder, and said quietly, “Don’t speak. Let’s go.”
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