The entire world had become so novel, as if seen for the first time. Sounds, scents, and colors surged forth in overwhelming detail—not the slightest change escaped her heightened senses. Li Fei was momentarily stunned.
Only now did she realize how dull and confined her former body had been. The sky, the earth, and the inexhaustible spiritual qi of mountains and rivers—this was what it truly felt like.
As if by instinct, her body began greedily absorbing the boundless spiritual energy. The Spiritual Qi Net above the prince's residence was drained completely in an instant. There was too little qi here. She could sense the reserves hidden within the immortal abodes deeper in the Central Land.
Li Fei stirred slightly. She needed more—much more. Her body was like a parched desert, desperately craving the nourishment of spiritual energy.
Suddenly, the trembling, hate-filled voice of Cuixuan Xianren rang out behind her: "You monster! To think No Moon Court nurtured a viper in its bosom, letting you hide among us all these years!"
Li Fei turned and silently observed these celestials who, stripped of their qi, had become as fragile as mortals. Kill them? To her, eliminating these powerless immortals would take but a blink. Ah, and here was the betrayer—the one who claimed to love her yet whose actions always defied understanding.
Her gaze fell upon Ji Tongzhou. Leaning against the wall, his face was gaunt with qi depletion, his lavish robes soaked through with sweat. Yet his expression remained eerily calm.
That black Profound Splendor Fire—he'd once unleashed it upon Zhen Yunzi to save her. Just moments ago, he'd let those same flames ravage his own body without mercy. He was right. Everything he'd ever sacrificed for her, he'd now taken back—along with all affection from their seven years of acquaintance.
He no longer needed any tender warmth. The Gluttonous Maw had opened—a ravenous desire that couldn't be sated, that would stop at nothing. This was his own choice.
Li Fei raised a hand to touch her hair. Freed from its final constraints, her tresses cascaded like woven satin down to her waist—the last chignon he'd tied for her now gone. That wooden comb, those careful motions as he'd styled her hair, the last remnants of his tenderness—all consumed by his own Black Fire. The Scarlet Hibiscus lay at her feet, reduced to a pile of dark ash.
She withdrew her gaze, the white glow of source spiritual qi seeping from her skin gradually retracting into her body. Approaching Cuixuan Xianren, she found the aged celestial collapsed on the ground, unable to move but glaring fiercely. The surrounding elders cried out—some pleading for mercy, others shouting warnings to flee.
Bending down, Li Fei picked up the black ledger that had fallen beside him, dusted it off, and tucked it into her sleeve. Softly, she murmured, "This records little about my origins. Mostly, it details my master's overseas experiences—his life's work. You could never understand his heart. I can't let you have this."
Cuixuan Xianren sneered, "Kill me if you will! No need for demonic lies! Five centuries ago, how many did your kind slaughter?"
Li Fei smiled wordlessly. The assembly barely registered her movement before she vanished from the residence. Cuixuan Xianren rasped hoarsely, "Disaster! She's escaped! Quickly, absorb spiritual qi! Return to report to the four sect leaders! This is no longer No Moon Court's affair alone—all celestials must unite against this threat!"Ji Tongzhou sat for a long, long time, until there wasn't a single sound left around him. Only then did he stir his arm as if awakening from a dream. The Spiritual Qi Net above the prince's residence had vanished, and the old Celestials like Cui Xuan had all left in pursuit of Jiang Lifei. He had done all he needed to do... Ah, right, the courtyard needed to be cleaned, and he should change his clothes. Where was Miaoqing? He wanted to hold her, so badly—to embrace her tightly in her white dress with red flowers.
Leaning against the wall, he slowly stood up. He hadn't absorbed enough spiritual energy yet, and his steps were still unsteady, as if he were walking in a dream. Staggering forward a few steps, he suddenly heard someone calling his name from behind. The voice seemed to come from a great distance, hazy and indistinct.
Then, a piercing chill shot toward his back. Instinctively, Ji Tongzhou dodged slightly, but a sharp pain erupted in his shoulder as a golden light sword pierced through it. The force sent him crashing to the ground, pinning him there. Immediately, two pairs of feet appeared in his field of vision.
Dazed, Ji Tongzhou lifted his head. The sunlight was blinding, but he could just make out two familiar faces—Ye Ye? And Baili Changyue? Why were they looking at him like that? With such disgust and hatred. They didn’t look well either—faces gaunt, clothes stained with blood. Though barely able to stand, leaning on each other for support, their eyes burned with fierce hostility.
Baili Changyue opened her palm, another light sword forming in her grasp. Without hesitation, she aimed for his vital point, but Ye Ye quickly stopped her, sighing, "There's no need to kill him."
Baili Changyue snapped, "He allowed them to torture us like this!"
She and Ye Ye had been bound by the Dragon Imprisoning Lock, rendered immobile and imprisoned in the prince's residence's dungeon for days. Treated as high-profile criminals, they endured daily beatings and abuse from the guards. If not for their cultivator physiques, stronger than ordinary humans, they would have died long ago. Just moments ago, some commotion in the residence had caused the Dragon Imprisoning Lock to dissolve into a surge of spiritual energy and vanish. The remnants of their own energy had been drained like a waterfall, leaving them lying in the dungeon for a long time before they could barely gather enough energy to escape.
Ye Ye sighed again. "It probably wasn’t his order. Just the cruelty of his subordinates."
Baili Changyue seethed, "I heard Xiao Bangchui's voice earlier! He actually tried to kill her!"
Xiao Bangchui? The name felt so familiar.
Squinting, Ji Tongzhou studied the two standing before him. Their cold detachment and loathing weren’t unfamiliar to him. Ah, yes—this was how they had looked when he first met them in Lu Gongzhen.
And Xiao Bangchui... For some reason, long-forgotten memories now flashed through his mind. He recalled the misty forest during the Academy's Second Selection, where a ragged, androgynous little beggar had told him her name was Xiao Bangchui. She was ugly, coarse, and had rebellious eyes.
Those same eyes were staring at him now. The seven years of shifting illusions felt like a delusional dream. From beginning to end, everything had returned to how it once was.Dark flames seeped from the wound, dissolving the golden light sword into ethereal spiritual energy. Ji Tongzhou clutched his injury as he slowly rose, the Profound Splendor Fire raging from the wound burning even himself with unbearable agony. No—perhaps the pain was only in his soul, dragging him down, making him reluctant—all of it displeased him.
Burn it all away. Let the pain stop. Let him find peace.
A flash of golden light streaked before his eyes as a flying sword came whistling toward him, only to be ensnared by his Profound Splendor Fire and instantly reduced to wisps of spiritual energy. The ice dragon roared, countless glaciers freezing the prince's manor once more. Then let his fire burn amidst the ice. No one could stop it. No one at all.
Shadows flickered before him. Ye Ye and Baili Changyue were saying something, but he couldn’t make out the words. Instinctively, he pursued and burned everything that disgusted him.
The glaciers melted under the Black Fire, and the flying swords ceased their hum. At last, everything grew silent—only his Profound Splendor Fire continued to blaze. The clouds in the sky could be burned away, and perhaps even his own body could be consumed.
Black ashes drifted down from the sky, clumps and strands scattered slowly by the wind. With a clink , a lump of metal, scorched beyond recognition, fell at his feet. As if waking from a dream, Ji Tongzhou bent down slowly to pick it up. The twisted lump of metal still bore a single engraved character at its base: Ye .
Ah, this was Ye Ye’s dagger. He had once been the prince of Gaolu, and this blade had accompanied him through his flight—from Gaolu to Yue, from Yue to the Academy, and from the Academy to the Earth Treasury Gate.
His wrist trembled, and the lump fell back to the ground. Ji Tongzhou looked around blankly. Under the bright daylight, the courtyard stood empty—no one else remained but him. He stood there dazed for a long time until clamoring voices approached from outside the courtyard. The steward, guards, and servants, seeing the Black Fire recede, had come to assess the situation.
"Your Highness," a girl called out to him.
Ji Tongzhou turned and saw only a white dress adorned with red flowers. She rushed forward anxiously. "Your Highness, are you all right? You're injured?! So much blood..."
He pulled her into an embrace, but no strange fragrance filled his senses. His heart felt hollow, as though everything had vanished.
"Hold me," he murmured, utterly exhausted. "Don’t let go."
The Golden Winged Roc lay collapsed on the Cloud Sea, wailing in agony. Its once-glorious golden feathers had been sheared away, leaving it a pitiful sight. Guiyuan Zhangmen parted the blood-soaked plumage over its chest, examining the critical wound.
He had underestimated that Yaksa. No matter how he strategized or attacked, the creature ignored him entirely, focusing solely on the Golden Winged Roc. The Yaksa’s body was like tempered steel—killing it completely with Immortal Techniques was no easy feat. In the end, he had nearly let it slay the Roc instead.
"How did this Roc end up plucked like a hen?"
The teasing voice came from behind. Guiyuan Zhangmen’s snow-white brows furrowed as he coldly regarded Jingyuan Zhangmen approaching him.
"Our sect has taken in several foreign disciples, among them two Yaksa who once slaughtered Central Land Immortals. This is an extremely grave matter, yet you still find time to jest?"
Jingyuan Zhangmen chuckled, about to reply, when he noticed Cui Xuan and the other Celestials hurrying over. Surprised, he asked, "Weren’t you supposed to be waiting for that girl by the Eastern Sea?"Cuixuan Xianren panted heavily. Despite their long lifespans, having their spiritual energy drained once left them unable to shake off the exhaustion, even after quickly replenishing it. Trembling, he reported, "I inform the two Zhangmen, Jiang Li Fei has escaped!"
After hastily recounting the events at the royal residence, he continued, "This matter is no longer just an internal affair of our No Moon Court. If they escape, what losses will this Sea Fall suffer? And what about five hundred years from now? I urge the Zhangmen to reconsider!"
Guiyuan Zhangmen fell into contemplation, while Jingyuan Zhangmen asked curiously, "That girl could still absorb spiritual energy while bound by the Dragon Imprisoning Lock? And she shed her skin? What is that about?"
Cuixuan Xianren sighed. "The ledger hidden by Azure City was beyond our comprehension, and now she has taken it. The secrets within remain unknown to us."
Jingyuan Zhangmen chuckled. "Ah, Azure City. If not for his severe injuries and sudden disappearance back then, he would have been one of the Zhangmen."
At this moment, Guiyuan Zhangmen spoke up, "Let us set aside idle talk. This matter is indeed grave. We cannot allow them to escape overseas. Immediately send word to all major sects—before the Heavenly Thunder Fire Sea arrives, we must eliminate the Yaksa and Jiang Li Fei."
Jingyuan Zhangmen immediately shook his head. "Eliminate? The Yaksa is one thing, but Jiang Li Fei is extraordinary. Wouldn’t capturing her alive be better? For years, we’ve known nothing about the lands beyond the sea. Now, with Azure City’s ledger and Jiang Li Fei as a key, isn’t this a heaven-sent opportunity?"
At these words, all the Celestials nodded in agreement, except for Cuixuan Xianren, who frowned deeply.
After a moment of thought, Guiyuan Zhangmen sighed. "Let us send the messages first. This is not a decision our No Moon Court can make alone."
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