“When you showed yourself, how did Gu Yin react?” asked Li Xun.

“Chaos, as expected,” said Yin Wanderer. “Both Gu Yin and the Demon Phoenix lost their composure for a bit. That gave me the opening to rescue that old Kunpeng. And the Three-Headed Flood Serpent slipped away too. It was like being one step from success only to have it all fall apart. Now the entire Rogue Cultivators’ Alliance has been ordered to stay put; no one’s allowed to move around for the time being. As for Gu Zhixuan…”

Li Xun’s focus sharpened instantly. Yin Wanderer gave him a cautious look before continuing. “If Gu Zhixuan were still alive, things wouldn’t have gotten this bad. When I first spoke with Gu Yin, I told her to have Gu Zhixuan come out and take back the Spirit-Extinguishing Thread, then I’d stay out of it. But…”

She paused, watching Li Xun’s expression. Seeing that he remained calm, she went on. “Normally, Gu Zhixuan should have shown himself to stabilize the situation. But from beginning to end, there’s been no sign of him. That’s not like him at all. So, either he really is in seclusion, as Gu Yin and the others claim… or he’s truly…”

Even Yin Wanderer thought so!

From the Ox Warrior to Mistress Tianzhi, none had explicitly said that Jade Wanderer was dead... but from their reactions, everything pointed to that same conclusion.

Could it be… Gu Zhixuan really is gone?

For a moment, Li Xun just stood there, dazed and uncertain.

To be honest, Li Xun barely knew Jade Wanderer at all. Everything he’d ever heard about the man came from others. Stories colored by their own biases and emotions.

He’d tried piecing those bits of information together, but in the end, they always led to the same two impressions: powerful, and lustful.

It was a shallow, unsatisfying conclusion.

Even now, Jade Wanderer remained to him like a figure half-lost in fog. An outline without substance. A name without weight.

Maybe that was why Li Xun couldn’t truly bring himself to hate him, despite being his so-called enemy. His feelings toward Gu Yin, the Demon Phoenix, or Qingyin were far more real and immediate.

What complicated things even more was this: because of his childhood experiences, some part of him couldn’t help comparing himself to Jade Wanderer. And every so often, a strange thought would slip in, “Could there be some kind of connection between us?”

Still, if it were just anyone else, he wouldn’t have cared. But even the Demon Phoenix and Gu Yin hadn’t shown the slightest reaction. That alone was enough for him to start thinking...

Doesn’t matte, Jade Wanderer's still around.

He quickly shook his head, forcing that absurd thought out of his mind. Pretending not to notice Yin Wanderer’s searching gaze, he did his best to look calm and composed.

“So?” he asked lightly. “What about you? What do you think about Gu Zhixuan. Dead or alive?”

“Whatever happens, there’s nothing people can’t get used to,” Yin Wanderer said matter-of-factly. Then gave a small, self-mocking smile. “Heaven’s will is impossible to guess. If I can still stand here after everything, then whether Gu Zhixuan lives or dies… what difference does it make?”

Li Xun chuckled. He didn’t press the issue any further. “Come with me,” he said instead, and led the way toward the glacier that had been left in ruins.

When they arrived, he motioned for Yin Wanderer to stand guard while he descended alone. Landing lightly, he stomped a few times on the frozen ground, listening carefully to the echo that came back. Each sound made his certainty grow stronger.

I should really get something out of Shui Die Lan for this…

He smiled to himself, then his body shrank slightly as he used a technique and slipped beneath the ice.

....

So hot…

Even hidden deep under the thick ice, the searing heat surged through her like molten lava, burning from within and slowly consuming her internal qi.

Worse still, the Seven Passions Flame within her body had fused with the strange poison from the half-broken jade flute that had pierced her chest. The two forces twisted together, shredding her heart meridians almost completely and turning inward to ravage her mind. They were driving her, step by step, toward the abyss of death.

In Tianzhi’s mind, it felt as if poisonous swamp fumes had filled her skull. The moment her inner fire rose, those vapors ignited, scorching her brain with a searing, maddening pain.

Only that single spark of icy clarity she had forged over hundreds of years of cultivation still clung stubbornly to her spiritual platform, refusing to fall.

She let out a quiet, shaky breath, feeling poisonous fire rising through her insides. Her mouth was so dry it hurt just to swallow. One gust of wind, and she felt like she might turn to ash.

Damn it… Skyborne Snow Flute! Gu Zhixuan... dead or alive, you still won’t let anyone have peace!

With a bitter, clenched smile, she forced her stiffened body to move and reached into her robes. Hidden there was a single Creation Gold Pill she’d once begged from Master Xuanhua. Her one and only chance to keep breathing.

Time seemed to drag on for an eternity. Perhaps whole a day had passed. Her numb fingers finally pried the stopper off the jade vial. As the pill’s aura escaped, it was like a splash of icy water pouring over her burning head.

The relief was fleeting. No more than a drop of water on a burning cart. But even that tiny reprieve was better than nothing.

Her movements for drawing it became a little less clumsy.

Some faint sound reached her ears, but the fire raging in her skull left no room for thought. Only one thing remained in her mind:

Swallow the pill!

The fragrance of the medicine grew stronger, even as her consciousness grew fainter. Her fingers, stiff as they were, began to tremble uncontrollably. She thought the jade vial had already brushed her lips. She only needed to draw in a breath, just one…

But all she drew in was the icy air seeping through the layers of ice above.

The vial slipped from her grasp and fell, cold and silent. She couldn’t even hear it hit the ground. Her body jerked as instinct drove her to reach out, but a thunderclap burst inside her head. The blood she’d forced down surged back in rebellion, sealing her senses one by one.

It was like being struck by a heavy hammer; everything went dark as she crashed once more to the ground.

The scent of medicine vanished.

Darkness swallowed her whole. The last glimmer of light seeping through the ice faded from her eyes. Her limbs were stiff and heavy now; she couldn’t even lift a finger.

The poison burned through her veins like fire. Tianzhi thought she could almost hear the whisper of ghosts. The fragile veins around her eyes were scorched, her sense of smell dulled. She couldn’t even tell where the pill bottle had fallen.

A dry sound came from her throat, something between a laugh and a sob, laced with bitter self-mockery. But there wasn’t a trace of surrender in her. With her cheek pressed to the freezing ice, she inched forward, little by little, relying on the faint numbness in her skin to feel her way toward the lost bottle.

A voice cut through the silence. “Oh? Looking for this?”

A soft clink echoed, like pearls tumbling over jade. It had to be the pills rattling inside the bottle. Tianzhi’s body went rigid. Then, from above, a low, tired sigh drifted down.

“Who would’ve thought? The proud, untouchable ruler of Nightless City… brought this low.”

Suddenly a sharp rip tore through the air. The clothes on her back split clean apart. A rush of cold bit into her exposed skin. So cold it almost disappeared into the deeper numbness spreading through her body.

A spark of resistance flared in her chest, only to be crushed by wave after wave of dizzy exhaustion. Her mind swirled, shrinking down to one fragile thought: Whose hands have I fallen into… and will I make it out alive?

Through the haze, she felt someone lightly tap her back. Once. Twice... Warmth spread from the touch, like water slowly soaking into her veins. The burning poison that had eaten through her was quietly pushed back, tamed into a faint heat that settled over her failing heart, keeping it alive.

In that instant, her shattered senses began to return. More than half of them, at least. Her skin tingled, sharp and alive again, though her eyes still saw nothing but darkness.

What… what incredible technique!

Even through the haze, she could tell the person behind her wasn’t ordinary. His technique was far too refined, too practiced. But who it could be, she couldn’t begin to guess.

Still, if she took this “poison cleansing” as an act of kindness, she’d be a fool.

She could feel it clearly. While purging the toxins, that person had also sealed several of her vital meridians. The fingers resting lightly at the back of her head could, with the smallest motion, end her life.

When the poison of the Seven Passions Flame finally dispersed, a surge of powerful, pure trur breath gathered in her chest. Then burst outward. The shock rippled through her whole body, forcing the broken flute that had pierced her heart out through the wound in her back.

With the heart-gnawing poison finally purged, Tianzhi felt a sudden, dizzying lightness. But almost at once, the fingers pressed to the back of her head tightened slightly. A quiet reminder of the danger that still hovered over her. Whoever stood behind her… his intent was growing harder and harder to read.

Someone with cultivation like this… there are only a handful in the whole world. Could it be...

A shadow of a name flickered through her mind, then vanished before she could catch it.

Just then, a strange sound drifted into her ears, like wind whistling through cracks in the ice. Yet there was a strange twist to it, something so odd it made her want to listen closer.

She had barely formed a thought about it when a laugh rang out from outside. “Gu Yin, really… did you have to be so heavy-handed?”

That voice... it sounded familiar. But how…?

Her mind was swimming when the sound suddenly warped, twisting unnaturally in the air. It splintered into layered echoes that bounced around the small, icy space until even the words lost their meaning, leaving only that half-familiar voice lingering beside her ear.

A faint light seemed to flicker before Tianzhi’s eyes. Shapes shifted within it. Blurred, impossible to make out. As her attention instinctively focused on that glow, the voices by her ear grew suddenly clear again.

“Didn’t think she’d actually go this far…”

Gu Zhixuan!

A shock tore through her mind like a thunderclap. The world flipped. In an instant, she was no longer trapped in that freezing cavern. The darkness around her melted into a boundless night sky, cold and star-strewn.

The crescent moon drifted above rippling waters, its reflection weaving with the lake’s gentle waves. Somewhere, wind chimes rang softly, and then, blending perfectly with their lingering notes, a calm, almost taunting voice echoed...

“You couldn’t reach my Yuanhong, so you’ll use this one instead… won’t you?”

Gu Yin. Mo Xuanye.

Tianzhi screamed desperately, and the shock that erupted from deep within her shattered her already fragile mind. Her thoughts spun out of control, tumbling endlessly into an endless, chaotic swirl of memories. Memories she never wanted to face again.

Mist veiled the lake; moonlight shimmered on a small tower. It should have been a dreamlike scene, but instead, it was a nightmare. Filled with pain and humiliation.

It felt as if her soul had been split into countless pieces. Each fragment was tied to its own moment of agony, all echoing together in unbearable harmony.

Her body began to convulse uncontrollably. Then, from somewhere close by, that cool, mocking voice returned...

“I didn’t know anything beforehand. But don’t expect an apology. This is just the price you pay for using me as your whetstone.”

...

“Of course I won’t deny it. I was the one who overpowered you, the one who gave you that final push. And because of that, today I’ll save you. But first, you’re going to make a vow.”

…

“What vow? Simple. So long as I, Gu Zhixuan, still draw breath, you will never seek revenge on Gu Yin. If you do, Nightless City will fall into eternal darkness. Your clan’s line will end, and you’ll never rise again.”

…

“Not willing? Fine by me. You want to die. Or live?”

…

“Better hope I die soon. Who knows, that day might not be far off. Haha…”

The laughter rolled out. It was low at first, then wild and reckless, echoing until it felt like her insides were being turned inside out.

Her teeth clenched so hard she could taste blood. The sharp, metallic tang spread between her lips, sparking something primal inside her. A low, animalistic growl escaped her throat as her body thrashed instinctively. Then something in the air shifted, jolting her mind awake.

What… what’s happening?

The moonlit pavilion shattered. The cloying, perfumed warmth around her vanished, replaced by a void of darkness and biting cold. Her whole body trembled violently, and the haze clouding her mind was swept away.

From within the shadows came a sigh. “What a pity… you woke up so soon.”