Ji Tongzhou straightened his posture. In front of Lei Xiuyuan, he always instinctively squared his shoulders and stood tall.
Once, Lei Xiuyuan had been the one person in the world he least wanted to lose to. From their days at the Academy to their years in the cultivation sects, he had indeed never lost. Back then, facing Lei Xiuyuan, he had been righteous and single-minded. Later, Jiang Lifei chose him, and his pride wouldn’t allow him to engage in the absurdity of two men fighting over a woman. He hesitated, wavered, suffered—yet when he saw Lei Xiuyuan, he still lifted his chin higher, as if he had never been defeated.
Now, all his old friends were long gone. His own hair had turned white, his heart as hard as iron. Yet when the illusion of Lei Xiuyuan suddenly appeared before him, unchanged from memory, he still instinctively straightened up. Four hundred years, and this habit remained unbroken.
Ji Tongzhou suddenly felt weary. He didn’t want to see Lei Xiuyuan. Even now, he couldn’t bear the sight of him and Jiang Lifei together—that had been the greatest shadow of his youth.
The Profound Splendor Fire abruptly spread outward, like a massive black flower blooming from the ground. The mist instantly scattered, but the two illusions did not vanish. Instead, they soared into the air, hovering above him, looking down.
Annoying.
The Black Fire surged hundreds of feet high, engulfing the entire Man Mountain. He refused to believe the Mirage Dragon could evade this. Yet Jiang Lifei’s voice rang out clearly from beyond the flames: "The Mirage Dragon is already dead. These are just lingering remnants of mist. What, after four hundred years, are you so guilty that you mistake us for illusions?"
Persistent ghosts! The qilin bone slung across Ji Tongzhou’s back shot forward, and he lunged like lightning. Countless black fire serpents coiled around the bone, its elegant arc cutting through the air with a force like wind and thunder. Cold, jagged bolts of lightning split the forest, black flames erupting from the fissures, searing and unbearable.
He thrust the bone toward Lei Xiuyuan—only for the man to ignore the Black Fire entirely, reaching out with an open palm and effortlessly catching it. Ji Tongzhou barely had time to react before Lei Xiuyuan kicked him square in the chest, sending him crashing to the ground. He tumbled several times before regaining his footing.
"...Quite the fire." Lei Xiuyuan looked down at his hand. Tiny tongues of Black Fire had already seeped into his skin, burning with an excruciating sting. Worse, the flames carried something unsettling, something venomous, worming its way into his Eight Extraordinary Meridians.
The white-haired immortal, forced back, attacked again. The sky filled with Black Fire as it surged toward him. Seeing how relentless the flames were, Lei Xiuyuan simply scooped Li Fei into his arms and retreated several li. Yet Ji Tongzhou pursued them relentlessly, as if determined to settle this once and for all.
In a flash, Lei Xiuyuan transformed into a streak of golden light, fearlessly piercing through the Black Fire. His hand shot out like lightning, seizing Ji Tongzhou by the throat and hurling him to the ground once more. His sleeve caught fire, and he tore off half his robe, exposing his right arm—already licked by the Black Fire. Even with his speed, he couldn’t evade it completely.
Li Fei carefully took his left hand, gently healing the burns with the Jade Snow Technique. She and Lei Xiuyuan had come to hunt the Ferocious Beast, the Mirage Dragon. They had just slain one—only to sense Ji Tongzhou’s spiritual energy fluctuation in this desolate wilderness.She watched him quietly—this once bright yet volatile, generous yet careless young prince had now become a cold, white-haired Celestial. After that initial glance, he never looked her way again. His gaze remained fixed on Lei Xiuyuan, his expression strange. After a moment, he even laughed and spoke: "What, is this an illusion meant to humiliate me as a defeated dog? Hah! Hahaha! Lei Xiuyuan, don’t hide—come down and continue!"
Lei Xiuyuan replied coldly, "Who are you?"
Ji Tongzhou’s expression darkened, his voice icy. "Pretending not to know me? Only you could come up with such a despicable trick. Even in an illusion, I could never lose to you!"
Lei Xiuyuan studied him for a long time. This person, this face, this aura of Black Fire—familiar yet foreign. Something stirred deep within him, an urge to fight. Only this man’s provoking gaze and tone could ignite such an impulse.
Slowly, he pushed Li Fei aside. Golden light clashed against Black Fire, swift and elusive.
Li Fei didn’t stop him, nor did she say anything more. That year, as they were about to leave the Academy for new cultivation sects, parting ways with their friends, the clever and adaptable Ye Ye had suggested a playful idea—a duel between Lei Xiuyuan and Ji Tongzhou atop the mountain six years later.
What was meant as a jest was taken seriously by the two youths who had always been fierce rivals. In their letters, they never failed to mention that promised battle.
Who could have imagined it would be delayed for four hundred years? The friends who made that promise were long gone. She was no longer the Jiang Li Fei of those days, Lei Xiuyuan was no longer the genius disciple, and Ji Tongzhou was no longer the young prince. The playful duel of centuries past had suddenly become reality in this changed world, with her as the sole witness. The bitterness of it was beyond words.
She watched as Ji Tongzhou was thrown back again and again by Lei Xiuyuan, only to rise each time. Blood streaked his body, while Lei Xiuyuan, too, was wrapped in Black Fire, covered in wounds. The swift and relentless Yaksa seemed to have no solution for the Profound Splendor Fire except to endure it. One could imagine how arrogantly and unstoppably Ji Tongzhou had lived these four hundred years.
Ye Ye and Chang Yue, Su Wan and Deng Xiguang, Ge Lin and Lu Li… Her friends had all died, directly or indirectly, by this man’s hand. The cruelest irony was that he, too, had once been their dear friend.
Li Fei had thought she would be consumed by fury upon seeing him, but her heart was strangely calm—so calm it bordered on indifference. Why should she hate him? The person who hated Ji Tongzhou the most in this world was Ji Tongzhou himself. That was why he had driven himself to this state, unable to distinguish reality from illusion.
With her keen sensitivity to spiritual energy, she had long detected the violent, chaotic surges within him—a sign of impending doom. Left unchecked, he wouldn’t last much longer. Lei Xiuyuan, too, had clearly noticed his condition, his movements no longer as fierce as before, gradually slowing as if considering retreat.
Ji Tongzhou snarled, "The fight isn’t over! Who asked you to hold back? Come on!"
Lei Xiuyuan replied coolly, "Fighting a dying man is pointless. Save your breath and think about any unfulfilled wishes."
Ji Tongzhou laughed coldly. "...To think I’d take an illusion so seriously. All this is just to unsettle me. Killing you is the only way to vent my rage!"Lei Xiuyuan ignored him, simply raising his head to glance at the sky before saying, "Dawn is coming. Let's go."
Dawn? Ji Tongzhou stared at the fiery clouds stretching across the heavens, burning so fiercely they stained his eyes blood-red. Jiang Li Fei's voice murmured softly, "Ji Tongzhou, you'd best take care of yourself."
He instinctively turned to look at her. Everything around him was crystal clear, yet her slender figure remained shrouded in mist, impossible to discern no matter how hard he tried. Seeing Lei Xiuyuan pull her away, he immediately stepped forward to block them, raising the Qilin Bone across his chest as he said coldly, "Since you've shown yourselves, why not reveal your true forms openly! Hiding behind mist—what kind of trick is this?! Weren't you trying to bewitch me?!"
Mist? Li Fei glanced down at herself—her surroundings were perfectly clear, with nothing out of place. Ji Tongzhou suddenly pointed to the side and said, "So it is an illusion. There's another you over there. Right, this is Man Mountain, where you were nearly killed by Zhen Yunzi back then. No wonder."
His gaze fixed on the white-clad girl bound by the Dragon Imprisoning Lock at the cliff's edge. That day, he had risked his life to save her—a mere disciple daring to stand against an elder Celestial. The sky had been filled with fiery clouds then too. When he held her, it felt like embracing something heavier and more substantial than his own life. Even if he died the next moment, it would have been worth it.
Now, looking back, it all seemed laughable.
Li Fei studied him thoughtfully before speaking calmly, "Ji Tongzhou, first, this isn't Man Mountain. After I left the Spirit Stele behind, which recorded Qing Cheng Xian Ren's journey overseas from Man Mountain, the Ocean Sect sealed it off. This is just a remote wilderness far from the Myriad Immortals Assembly's towns. Second, there's no mist around me—the mist is in your eyes. Third, the Mirage Dragon was slain by me long ago. This isn't an illusion. So what is it that's making you hallucinate?"
"Nonsense." Ji Tongzhou laughed twice. "Enough. My mind is unsettled today—to argue at length with two illusions is absurd indeed."
Li Fei said softly, "Do you realize your tribulation has come? You killed Ye Ye and Chang Yue, killed Su Wan and Deng Xiguang. Lu Li died from severe injuries inflicted by your Profound Splendor Fire, and Ge Lin lived in sorrow all his life. Deep down, you know exactly what you've done. You don't dare face it, but what's happened can't be undone, nor will you ever forget. This emotional tribulation is the clearest proof."
Ji Tongzhou spoke slowly, "Whether this is an illusion or not, your face remains as detestable as ever. Trying to warn me? Or reform me? Do you think the proper way is to weep and say 'I regret it, I did wrong'?"
He shook his head, smiling mockingly. "Given another chance, I'd do it all again. It's not about daring to face it—if something needs to be done, I won't hesitate, even if it's wrong."
Li Fei was silent for a moment before suddenly asking, "In that case, can you see me clearly now?"
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