68: ascend to immortality

Jiang Xun spread his palm.

The mirror flew over just like that, hovering in his palm and rotating slowly.

The mirror's surface shimmered with golden light; as it spun, it looked like a small lamp flickering on and off.

The patterns on the back of the mirror glowed with a dark verdigris, ancient and primitive, as if settled by time for tens of millions of years.

White Fox Jiu froze.

She watched helplessly as that mirror—the one she had sought for hundreds of years and thought she could finally hold in her hands—simply flew away.

It flew toward that masked man.

Bai Ci was also pale with shock, murmuring as if she had lost her soul:

"How can this be... Hasn't that mirror already recognized a master? How could it still..."

It was as if the three lives mirror had finally found its true master.

With a soft call, it went over on its own.

White Fox Jiu stared at Jiang Xun, her golden vertical pupils contracting violently.

After a long while, she spoke slowly, saying self-mockingly:

"Have you forgotten..."

"...who it was that brought us into the Cangwu Secret Realm?"

Bai Ci looked at Jiang Xun, somewhat in disbelief.

"Does Master mean..." Her voice trembled, "that man... came here a long time ago?

And even defeated that Wild Ghost?

The three lives mirror was... his to begin with?"

But how was that possible? The Qi Jiang Xun released was too weak; could he really defeat that monster?

Furthermore... among all the existing Ascension Realm Cultivators in the Eight Desolations and Five Regions, none were like him.

White Fox Jiu didn't answer.

She just looked at Jiang Xun and asked coldly:

"Who exactly are you?"

Yan Qingning pressed against Jiang Xun's back, scrutinizing the mirror in his hand.

Hearing White Fox Jiu's words, she smiled.

The corners of her mouth curled up with a sense of suppressed joy.

Then she laughed incessantly at White Fox Jiu.

"Hahaha... You're actually still asking." Yan Qingning clutched her stomach as if White Fox Jiu had told a very funny joke.

"How truly pitiful."

Yan Qingning stopped laughing, her hand resting on Jiang Xun's shoulder again as she spoke as if bestowing a favor.

"The person you love, you detest, and you hate."

"Has actually always been..."

"You know this mirror," Jiang Xun suddenly interrupted her, his voice calm.

"Do you know why it's spread out here so vastly?"

Yan Qingning's laughter stopped abruptly, and she looked at Jiang Xun gloomily.

"You want to change the subject again."

She turned her head, her eyes staring straight at Jiang Xun. "Unfortunately... I won't indulge you this time."

The moment the words fell.

She raised her hand and snatched the mask off Jiang Xun's face.

Jiang Xun didn't have time to stop her, nor could he.

The mask was torn off, spinning in the air before falling heavily to the ground.

Jiang Xun's face, which had been hidden away so tightly, was finally clearly revealed to everyone.

He closed his eyes.

He stood tall and elegant, his skin a cold white from years of not seeing sunlight; his brows were sharp, and the corners of his eyes were slightly upturned.

His features were well-proportioned, with a straight nose and thin lips lightly pursed.

It wasn't a breath-taking beauty, but looking at him simply made one's heart tremble for no reason.

It was because his face always bore only one expression: indifference.

Like the water of a deep pool, without a ripple.

White Fox Jiu was stunned.

"You..."

She felt as if someone had slammed a heavy hammer into her chest; her whole body swayed as she stumbled forward two steps.

Her eyes stared fixedly at that face, her golden vertical pupils slowly dilating.

Her body began to tremble.

Her fingers curled and uncurled, like a drowning person trying to grab onto something but catching nothing.

Then her eyes turned red.

The golden pupils were encased in bloodshot veins, which spread like a spiderweb until nearly the entire whites of her eyes were stained red.

"Dao..."

She opened her mouth, her voice stuck in her throat, only managing to squeeze it out after several attempts:

"Dao Xun...?"

Her voice was very soft, as soft as a sleep-talker's murmur.

But in the next second, her entire being erupted with a violent power.

Her body transformed into a meteor of blood mist!

The crimson light of burning essence blood mixed with golden Demonic Qi; like a meteorite, she tore through the air and charged straight at Jiang Xun!

The speed was so fast that Bai Ci behind her only had time to cry out "Master" before she had already rushed to within three feet of Jiang Xun!

The immense power drained her entire spiritual sea; this strike, carrying a thousand years of accumulated hatred and obsession, was enough to level a mountain.

"Ah!!!"

White Fox Jiu could no longer speak; her emotions burst out first, a roar of fury echoing through the Cangwu Secret Realm.

But Yan Qingning, holding Frost Radiance, thrust the sword tip forward fiercely.

Piercing toward the blood mist.

The shuang hua sword lay across Jiang Xun's front, the blade humming as cold air condensed into an ice-blue barrier.

The blood mist meteor slammed into the barrier with a piercing roar, unable to advance even an inch further.

White Fox Jiu's figure emerged within the blood mist.

Her hand had turned into a sharp claw, her five fingers pressing hard against the sword tip; her nails cracked from the force, seeping blood.

But no matter how she circulated her true essence, her movement could go no further.

She looked at Jiang Xun, who was right before her eyes.

She looked at that face with closed eyes and no expression.

Tears welled up, mixing with the blood from the corners of her eyes and turning into blood droplets that flowed down both cheeks.

One drop, two drops, three drops... hitting the snow and blooming into vivid red plum blossoms.

Seeing her like this, the corners of Yan Qingning's mouth began to curl up involuntarily.

"Haha..."

She laughed so hard her shoulders shook.

"Hahaha... Hahahahaha—"

The laughter echoed in the desolate Secret Realm, piercing and crazed.

"Little fox."

"The person you've been longing for..."

She spoke while laughing, every word like a knife, "has been right in front of your eyes all along. Unfortunately, he never intended to recognize you at all!"

As soon as she finished speaking, her wrist gave a sudden jerk!

The shuang hua sword swept across!

White Fox Jiu was sent flying like a broken kite, violently blasted away by the Sword Qi!

She spat out a mouthful of blood in mid-air, her body tracing a tragic arc before slamming into the snow hundreds of meters away!

"Boom!!!"

A deep pit was smashed into the snow, revealing the black dust beneath.

White Fox Jiu lay at the bottom of the pit, her black robe shredded, the gold rings on her bare feet dull and lusterless, with blood still seeping from the corners of her mouth.

Bai Ci rushed over screaming.

She knelt by the edge of the pit, hurriedly pulling Medicinal Pills from her Storage Pouch and stuffing them into White Fox Jiu's mouth.

Large teardrops fell, mixing with the ash on her face to leave streaks of grime.

"Master... Master..."

She looked up and glared fiercely at Jiang Xun.

It was this person.

He caused Master to lose her tail, caused Master to hate for a thousand years, and now... even caused Master to be injured like this.

Supported by Bai Ci, White Fox Jiu struggled to sit up.

She didn't look at Bai Ci, nor did she wipe the blood from her mouth.

She only looked at Jiang Xun.

Looking at that man who still had his eyes closed, standing beside Yan Qingning.

"Now..."

She spoke, her voice hoarse, "do you not even dare to look at me?"

Yan Qingning's hand gently caressed Jiang Xun's face.

The movement was very tender.

Her fingers traced over Jiang Xun's brow bone, down his nose, and finally stopped on his tightly closed eyes.

"Don't flatter yourself."

She said softly, her voice carrying a sneer:

"My husband told me... his feelings for you aren't deep."

Her fingers brushed over Jiang Xun's eyes as she continued:

"And he also said that his eyes will only ever have me in them.

You, this wild fox... are nothing more than a little pet my husband kept on a whim."

"Pfft—!"

White Fox Jiu spat out another mouthful of blood.

This time the blood was mixed with fragments of internal organs; dark red and viscous, it splattered on the ground, a shocking sight.

She stared intently at Jiang Xun.

"Is it true?" she asked.

Countless memories flashed through her mind; sometimes she would naively think that the scholar cut off her tail because he had no choice or was coerced.

She didn't just have hatred for him... after a thousand years of obsession, in the end, she only wanted to ask one thing: "Why?"

Jiang Xun slowly opened his eyes.

His eyes were very calm, like two deep pools, devoid of any emotion.

He didn't look at White Fox Jiu, but at Yan Qingning beside him.

"Yan Qingning, do you find this very interesting?"

"Why wouldn't it be?" Yan Qingning smiled.

"I just want to tell you that no one else should even have a single thought about what belongs to me, Yan Qingning."

Jiang Xun's voice gave a slight sigh as he said:

"But it's exactly because of this... that I want to escape from you."

Yan Qingning's hand froze.

Even the black Qi on her body seemed slightly uncontrollable.

Finally, she whispered, "But you can't escape."

The shuang hua sword's blade hummed, its cold light flickering.

As she spoke, she took a step forward.

Instantly, she appeared behind White Fox Jiu.

The longsword slashed down.

White Fox Jiu was still waiting for Jiang Xun's answer, completely unaware that Yan Qingning's sword was already coming for her life.

Before the blade even arrived, the cold air had already frozen the air around White Fox Jiu into fine ice crystals.

"No!!"

Bai Ci lunged over with a scream.

She hugged White Fox Jiu, using her body to shield her from the blade.

The blade fell.

From Bai Ci's upper right shoulder all the way down to her left waist.

Like a torn bag.

The blood was frozen into red beads, and along with shattered flesh, it exploded in the air like a tragic, beautiful flower.

Bai Ci's entire body went limp.

She collapsed onto White Fox Jiu's back, her eyes still open, but her pupils were already beginning to dilate.

Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but only blood foam bubbled out.

"Master..."

Using the last of her strength, she squeezed out a faint whisper:

"Quick... run..."

White Fox Jiu was stunned.

She looked at the gradually cooling Bai Ci in her arms, at that face still carrying a hint of youth but now pale as paper; her mind went blank.

Then she began to howl.

Not a human's roar, but more like a beast's.

With the last trace of Demonic Power and despair in her body, mixed with her burning essence blood, she struck a palm toward Yan Qingning!

The palm wind was fierce, condensing into a blood-colored fox claw in the air!

But Yan Qingning only used one sword strike.

A horizontal slash.

The fox claw shattered, and the palm wind dissipated.

White Fox Jiu was sent flying again by the Sword Qi; holding Bai Ci, she tumbled over a dozen times in the air before slamming heavily a hundred meters away.

She struggled to get up, only to find she didn't even have the strength to lift her hand.

Yan Qingning carried her sword, walking over step by step.

"Enough."

Jiang Xun suddenly spoke.

His voice wasn't loud, but in the Secret Realm with only four people, it was exceptionally clear.

Yan Qingning stopped in her tracks and turned to look at him.

"What?"

She tilted her head; the black Qi almost completely enveloped her, yet her voice remained gentle. "You can't bear it?"

"In the future, if any other woman so much as looks at me," Jiang Xun looked at her, his voice sounding like an interrogation, "are you going to kill them all?"

Yan Qingning looked at him.

Looking at how he was still trying to protect White Fox Jiu, seeing that almost invisible but truly existing... pity in his eyes.

A fire suddenly flared up in her heart.

It burned until her eyes turned red and her sword-wielding hand trembled slightly.

"So what if I am?"

She raised Frost Radiance high, the sword tip pointing at White Fox Jiu.

But at that very moment.

The ground beneath their feet began to vibrate violently.

The entire Cangwu Secret Realm was shaking.

The dragon bones in the distance began to collapse, ribs snapping one by one and crashing onto the mirror surface with a deafening roar.

The ash in the sky was churned as if by an invisible hand, spinning wildly to form black vortices.

And the small bronze mirror in Jiang Xun's hand erupted with intense light.

It was no longer golden light.

It was a vast, ancient, chaotic white light that seemed to come from the beginning of heaven and earth.

Light poured from the mirror surface, enveloping Jiang Xun completely.

He stood where he was, letting the light wash over him.

Then he raised his head and looked at Yan Qingning.

"The reason the three lives mirror had to cover this place..."

He spoke, his voice somewhat distorted in the light, "is because only then could it reflect... this massive dragon skeleton."

"That Dragon Girl was not the guardian of the Cangwu Secret Realm, but a prisoner reflected by the three lives mirror."

The moment his words fell.

A blood-red vertical mark appeared on his forehead.

The line was very thin, yet deep as if carved into the bone; under the reflection of the chaotic light, it glowed with an eerie red.

Then, the aura on his body began to climb.

The shackles of the Late Stage Foundation Establishment were easily shattered, as he soared through Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Soul Transformation, Void Tempering... his power skyrocketing!

Finally... it stopped at a certain boundary.

Ascension Realm.

Peak.

Jiang Xun opened his eyes.

In those eyes, there was no emotion now. Only a bottomless darkness that seemed capable of swallowing all light.

He looked at Yan Qingning and said softly:

"Ascension Realm."

"Now, I am one too."