That night felt incredibly long for Su Su.
After falling into a deep sleep, she dreamed of Changze Mountain, back when she had just been born with damp feathers, still unable to shapeshift.
A green-robed immortal elder carefully carried her down the mountain using Sword Control, wrapped in a hundred-brocade cloth.
"From now on, Hengyang will be your home. Father will take good care of you."
The little spirit bird poked her head out from the hundred-brocade cloth, curiously observing her surroundings. The gloomy, oppressive sky was filled with Chimei Wangliang roaming freely.
The immortal elder patted her head and waved his sleeve, instantly transforming the area around them into a scene of birds singing and flowers blooming.
Senior brothers and uncles gathered around, all looking at her with joyful surprise: "Little junior sister has finally hatched!"
"Little junior sister, I'm your senior sister Yaowei. This is a gift from your senior sister, may it protect your peace and health."
"I'm your senior brother Qiyue. This is a gift from your senior brother."
"Me too, me too! I'm also your senior brother. Little junior sister, this is spiritual dew I found from Penglai. I wonder if little junior sister can drink it like milk..."
The Immortal Sect was in decline, but this newborn, vibrant life was like clear spring water injected into stagnant mud, instantly making Hengyang Sect lively again.
Senior sisters would secretly gather spiritual honey for her, senior brothers would sneak her into Secret Realms to play.
Some taught her Sword Control, others taught her Sorcery. Whenever she made mistakes, the eldest senior brother would sigh helplessly while shielding her behind him, bearing all the punishments on her behalf.
In that chaotic and bloody era, the space around her remained forever clear and sunny.
There was also the perpetually frozen snow and spiritual springs of Buliang Mountain.
The world was terrible, yet they gave Su Su the best of everything.
Her dreams were filled with blue skies, the joy of flying on swords, the tinkling sound of spiritual springs, and glittering, drifting snow...
She couldn't help but curl her lips into a faint smile.
But when she woke up—
Su Su heard the dripping sound of water. She opened her eyes.
Her body ached as if it had been crushed. She was covered with torn clothing, with nothing beneath the garments.
Su Su moved her fingers, and sharp pain shot through them. The broken finger bones made her break out in cold sweat.
A sliver of faint light came through a crack—dawn had broken outside. Su Su clutched the clothes tightly with her uninjured hand, staring at that glimpse of daylight, lost in thought.
The water sound came from there too—it was raining outside.
No one had cleaned her wounds or the marks of intimacy on her body.
Her burning breath told her she had a fever.
Su Su struggled to sit up from the stone bed, wrapping herself in the clothing.
Ruoshui emitted a silvery glow in the dark environment. Su Su walked beneath the crack and weakly leaned against the wall in the corner, opening her mouth to catch the rainwater.
Her dry lips moistened slightly, making Su Su feel somewhat better.
She hugged her knees, burying her face in her arms.
In this life, she rarely felt so desperate and vulnerable. Not just because of last night, but also because of the shattering of the three Soul Extinguishing Nails.
She had watched helplessly as they struck the heart protecting scale, turning into dust, while the heart protecting scale now bore golden cracks.
She had failed, sacrificing both herself and all living beings in the world.
The Soul Extinguishing Nails were gone, the young Demon God's affection had turned into overwhelming hatred, and the situation had reached a dead end. Would she... be imprisoned here forever?
Su Su had never experienced such negative emotions before.
She thought, perhaps her sect shouldn't have given her this mission. She was merely a young immortal who had just reached a hundred years old—how could she bear such a responsibility? She couldn't even prevent the Soul Extinguishing Nails from shattering!She had just stepped out of the Immortal Realm where she was cherished by all, only to fall and be covered in wounds before the young Demon God.
But she had truly tried her best.
Less than two years in the mortal realm felt longer than the centuries she had lived before.
She held back her tears, bearing the weight of the world five hundred years in the future every moment. She tread carefully, as if walking on thin ice, not even daring to cry for more than a brief moment after being forced to kill Xiao Lin, wiping her tears to guard his city. She didn’t even dare to develop overly warm feelings for anyone, afraid it would interfere with the purpose of her journey.
But she was also one of the beings of the Three Realms, a being of flesh and blood. She could feel pain, fear, and confusion.
Raindrops fell on her face.
The Dao Heart she had steadfastly maintained was on the verge of collapse.
A voice seemed to whisper—
“Don’t persist anymore. Just let it be. You can’t do it. He is the Demon God. He’s already discovered you deceived him. If you keep going, you’ll only die five hundred years in the past.”
“Go home. None of this was ever your burden to bear. Follow fate’s course, return to your own time. Even if you truly die, it will be peaceful and easy.”
“You protect the Three Realms, but who will protect you?”
Su Su hugged herself tightly, clenching her teeth.
Her hand touched the cold stone wall. The stone was as cold as ice; even though it was summer, it chilled her to the bone.
There was no way out in any direction. The curved jade had fallen silent, and the incantations she had drawn with her bitten fingertip were utterly useless.
—She was trapped in a chaotic space.
This place was like the cage Yan Ran had once used, imprisoning her here, unable to go anywhere, not even the curved jade could remain awake.
Su Su covered her eyes as the World-Toppling Flower began to ache again.
From fear and illness, the pain was more intense than ever before. She endured it for a long time, and when she opened her eyes again, she could barely make out the faint glimmer of light.
Su Su rubbed her eyes. A terrifying silence enveloped her; for a moment, even the sound of dripping water faded away. Curled up on the stone bed, she remembered what the curved jade had once told her about the consequences of the World-Toppling Flower.
A tragic fate, dying without a whole body.
Nian Muning asked worriedly, “Bai Yu, how is His Majesty?”
Nian Bai Yu shook his head, his expression heavy.
“When he returned this morning, he vomited blood and hasn’t woken up since. The imperial physician said his heart meridian is damaged, and he won’t live past this winter.”
Nian Muning staggered back a step. “How could this happen? It’s all my fault. If I had kept a better watch on Third Miss Ye, this wouldn’t have occurred.”
Nian Bai Yu steadied her. “There’s no use in saying more. Wait for His Majesty to wake up; perhaps he will have a solution.”
Long ago, someone had predicted that Tantai Jin wouldn’t live past sixteen. Yet, over the years, by paying some unknown price, he had survived until now.
If that was the case, there might be a way to change things.
Nian Bai Yu didn’t tell his sister about the scene he had witnessed this morning. Even now, recalling it left him with complicated emotions.
His Majesty’s lips were stained with blood, his eyes hollow and vacant, yet his dark pupils seethed with overwhelming resentment.
A dark stain seeped through his chest.
He clutched his heart tightly, fleeing back to Chengqian Palace, where he vomited blood and fell unconscious.
The summers in Zhou Kingdom were often rainy.
The light rain showed no sign of stopping by the afternoon. Lady Zhaohua came to visit Tantai Jin. Nian Bai Yu, like a shadow in the darkness, followed Ye Bingshang in silence.
Ye Bingshang said, “Lord Nian, this humble concubine only wishes to speak with His Majesty alone.”Nian Baiyu shook his head slightly, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on the ground.
Ye Bingshang, left with no alternative, allowed the Night Shadow Guards to watch as she took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from Tantai Jin's brow.
Beside him, she noticed the heart-protecting scale covered in cracks.
Her expression shifted abruptly as she quickly picked it up.
Indeed, the originally silver heart-protecting scale was now densely covered with golden patterns. When she tried to sense its energy, she found it completely unresponsive.
In an instant, Ye Bingshang's face turned extremely grim as she realized the irreversible truth—the heart-protecting scale had shattered!
What had happened to Tantai Jin?
How could the Hidden Dragon Guards have truly broken the heart-protecting scale?
Her expression shifted through several shades of distress, her heart aching so sharply she gasped for breath. Yet under the watchful eyes of Nian Baiyu and the others, she was forced to regain her composure. What was done was done, and no amount of regret could change it.
The shattered heart-protecting scale had eliminated the threat from Su Su.
To Tantai Jin now, Su Su was nothing but a traitor wielding the Hidden Dragon Guards. As a mere mortal, Ye Bingshang couldn't utilize the heart-protecting scale to its full potential and would only attract demonic creatures.
The current situation wasn't entirely unfavorable.
Having convinced herself, Ye Bingshang moved to adjust Tantai Jin's blanket, but a sword blocked her hand.
Nian Baiyu said, "Madam should return now that you've seen His Majesty."
A flicker of humiliation crossed Ye Bingshang's face before she nodded with a smile.
Tantai Jin woke on the afternoon of the second day. Aware of his deteriorating condition, he summoned the old Taoist from the Soul Devouring Banner.
"Can the thing in my heart be removed?"
The old Taoist attempted but shook his head. "Your Majesty, this humble Taoist is powerless. I've never encountered such a sinister object before—it seems embedded in Your Majesty's heart and cannot be extracted."
Upon hearing this, Tantai Jin touched his chest, his expression icy.
Just as the old Taoist expected an outburst of rage, he instead curled his lips indifferently and said, "Then let it remain."
At worst, it was just pain.
Just a little more pain, that was all.
"Find more demons for me. Capture any cultivators you encounter too."
The old Taoist hastily assented, understanding that Tantai Jin intended to sustain his life by consuming the inner cores of demons. Whereas he previously needed to kill one demon per year to maintain his lifespan, he would now likely have to extract demonic inner cores monthly to replenish his fading vitality.
When Nian Baiyu prepared to leave with the Soul Devouring Banner, Tantai Jin coldly instructed, "Send Ye Chu Feng."
"Your Majesty?"
Tantai Jin explained, "Ye Chu Feng possesses half of a fox demon's inner core. He'll be more useful than any of you in capturing great demons."
Nian Baiyu and the old Taoist exchanged glances, both filled with disbelief.
Ye Chu Feng actually had half of the fox demon Yanran's inner core within him?
No wonder His Majesty had kept this man in his service. Nian Baiyu nodded and went to find Ye Chu Feng with the Soul Devouring Banner.
Tantai Jin remained silent, his face pale and detached.
Nian Muning stayed in the hall, head bowed as she stared at the ground, her heart heavy with sorrow. The Emperor who had been preparing for his coronation and empress inauguration just days ago had shone with bright vitality in his eyes, but now, nothing remained in his gaze.
She expected His Majesty to inquire about the girl from the chaotic secret chamber, but he merely turned away indifferently, showing no concern whatsoever.
As if that person's life or death held no connection to him at all.
Nian Muning waited until dusk, but His Majesty never asked about her.
Hesitantly, she finally spoke in a soft voice, "Your Majesty, she has fallen ill. From yesterday until now, she has only consumed some rainwater."The young man opened his eyes, gazing at the silver patterns on the dragon bed as he chuckled softly, "Send someone to check on her. Don't let her die—she doesn't deserve such an easy death."
Nian Muning replied, "Yes."
Su Su remained ill for a long time.
Unable to harness the power of the World-Toppling Flower, she had become completely mortal. Cut off from her connection with the curved jade and stripped of her sorcery, she drifted in and out of consciousness, unable to distinguish day from night.
At regular intervals, a maidservant would enter to bathe her and administer medicine.
When the spoon was offered, she swallowed reflexively.
Though her tenacious will drove her to cling to life, the backlash from the World-Toppling Flower gradually worsened her condition.
She could no longer eat, her stomach aching with emptiness.
The maidservant, mistaking her refusal for defiance, shot her a cold glare. "Still fancy yourself the future empress? Do you think starving yourself will earn His Majesty's pity? Save your efforts. His Majesty said if you don't wish to eat, you're free to starve to death."
With that, the maidservant took the food box and left.
No one listened to Su Su's explanations or sought treatment for her.
Day after day, Su Su grew increasingly haggard. During her rare moments of clarity, she would carve tally marks on the wall when sunlight seeped in, until she had completed six sets of five.
Only then did she hazily realize that Tantai Jin had imprisoned her for at least a month.
It was already July in the mortal realm.
Driven mad by the silence and oppressive darkness, Su Su sometimes beat hysterically against the secret chamber's door. "Let me out! Release me..."
Born from the radiant Heavenly Pool, she now shuddered under the twin torments of claustrophobia and the invisible erosion of the World-Toppling Flower. The Divine Artifact lurking within her gradually shattered her psyche, plaguing her with endless nightmares.
Just like Tantai Jin who had once possessed the World-Toppling Flower, she fell into nightmares from which she struggled to wake.
Her very nature craved freedom, and this hopeless confinement steadily eroded her will.
Yet she refused to die—she still wanted to live. Though her Dao Heart wavered, it wasn't enough to destroy her. Each time she awoke from the World-Toppling Flower's nightmares, she mustered every ounce of willpower, yearning for the brief sunlight that would grant her respite.
Tantai Jin never once visited, as if he had forgotten the girl he had once loved to life and hated to death.
Su Su's deterioration became visibly pronounced.
One day she awoke to find her right eye nearly blind.
When the maidservant handed her water, Su Su groped for the bowl, which shattered on the floor.
"You!" The maidservant began angrily, but upon seeing Su Su's dull, lifeless eyes, she stammered in panic, "You... you've gone blind?"
Su Su pressed her lips together, remaining silent. The flustered maidservant fled without even clearing the broken porcelain.
Wide-eyed yet engulfed in darkness, Su Su now feared sleep.
Once cracks formed in her Dao Heart and fear took root, the World-Toppling Flower began its work. Through the endless stretch of time, each time she fell asleep, she dreaded she might never wake again.
Hugging herself tightly, she thought: There was still one final chance left.
To live, or to die.
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