Zhi Xuan fell silent, his eyes as deep as the ocean, gazing at Ye Xishui—or Xishui—with a pure bewilderment that remained wrapped in a stiff, authoritative dignity. That name, Xishui, meaning Clear Water of the West, sounded so fragile when uttered by her lips, which trembled behind her veil.

  "Xishui..." Zhi Xuan repeated the name in a flat tone, as if testing the texture of the natural laws contained within it. "A beautiful name. Yet even the clearest water will become turbid if constantly stirred by unnecessary emotions."

  Ye Xishui clenched her fists beneath the sleeves of her green robe, her chest heaving with the overflow of feelings she had dammed up for two centuries. "You... you truly haven't changed! Back at the Flower Dew Bridge, you looked at me as if I were part of a meaningless landscape, and now, you stand there with the majesty of a God, yet your heart remains as rigid as mountain stone!"

  Zhi Xuan sighed, a breath that carried a trace of cold mist. "Fairy Ye—Xishui, I am a cultivator who carries the karma of death. Two hundred years ago, I was on the brink of internal collapse. If your guqin melody back then was a salvation, then let it be the only bond we share. Why must you drag your Dao Heart into the mire of futile longing?"

  "Futile?" Ye Xishui stepped forward, closing the distance between them until the faint scent of peach blossoms from her body brushed against the cold air radiating from Zhi Xuan’s robes. "To you, it may be futile. But to me, that night was when my melody found its true listener. You didn't just hear my music; you absorbed the sorrow within it! How could I possibly forget the only person capable of seeing my soul behind this veil?"

  Zhi Xuan looked into Xishui’s eyes, which were now brimming with tears. Beneath his Heavenly Eyes, he could see that this woman’s Dao Heart was indeed tied by a complex knot of fate. Her longing had become a sort of cultivation obsession—a subtle yet deeply rooted barrier.

  "Obsession is a hindrance to enlightenment, Xishui," Zhi Xuan’s voice softened, yet it still held the authority of a Soul Transformation master. "I do not wish to be the reason for you to fall into mental misery."

  "It’s too late!" Ye Xishui cried out, her fingers grabbing the edge of Zhi Xuan’s black-and-white robe, clutching it tightly as if fearing he would fade away again. "For two hundred years I have been restless; even the Elders of the Sky-Leaf Holy Pavilion sought to restrain me. And now you tell me to just let go?"

  Zhi Xuan felt a small tug on his robe. For the first time in a very long time, his Divine Soul, usually calm atop the Heavenly Samsara Wheel, felt a vibration—not a vibration of threat, but something foreign. He looked at Xishui’s slender hand clutching his garment, then slowly let out a heavy sigh.

  "The Sky-Leaf Holy Pavilion?" Zhi Xuan whispered, his eyes showing a hint of surprise. "The Holy Fairy hails from the Sky-Leaf Holy Pavilion?"

  "Yes! What of it?" Ye Xishui exclaimed fiercely, though her eyes remained mournful. "The Sky-Leaf Holy Pavilion is a power that equals the Ancient Clans!"

  Zhi Xuan was stunned. A flash of memory buried deep at the bottom of his Sea of Consciousness resurfaced. The Sky-Leaf Holy Pavilion—one of the three ancient factions holding authority over the laws of the Yao Gu Plains, alongside the Ancient Han Clan and the Holy Woman of Yao Gu.

  "Fate truly enjoys playing games," Zhi Xuan murmured, his voice now sounding more like the hiss of wind through old branches. "Two hundred years ago, I met Elder Qing He; now I stand before one of the pillars of sanctity from the Sky-Leaf Pavilion."

  He slowly raised his right hand, and this time, he did not pull it back. With a movement so gentle it was as if he were touching a fragile flower petal, he placed his palm over Xishui’s fingers. The cold from Zhi Xuan’s body met the heat of Xishui’s emotions, creating a soothing ripple of energy.

  "Let go, Xishui," Zhi Xuan whispered, his sapphire eyes now radiating an unfathomable depth. "If you continue to hold onto this robe, you will never be able to hold onto your own destiny. Your Pavilion is a falling leaf, yet why must you be the stubborn branch?"

  Ye Xishui felt a strange warmth flow from Zhi Xuan’s palm into her meridians, gradually calming the chaotic Yin energy within her. She slowly loosened her grip, but her eyes remained fixed on him with stubborn defiance.

  "So what if I am?" Xishui said, pulling her hand back while still standing close. "This stubborn branch could knock you unconscious. Now, tell me! How do you know of Elder Qing He?"

  Zhi Xuan withdrew his hand, hiding it within the folds of his wide sleeves. He turned his face toward the moon, which was beginning to tilt westward. "Elder Qing He is a figure hard to forget," Zhi Xuan replied with a tone carrying a bitter echo of nostalgia. "Our meeting was but a fleeting moment when I was just a distant wanderer, yet I once exchanged a few words with her."

  Zhi Xuan deliberately withheld the details of his meeting with Elder Qing He—especially the fact that he was the envoy of Xing Luo during the Three Plains Competition who struck the Heavenly Bell sixteen times, setting a historical record that surpassed any Yao Gu genius.

  Ye Xishui was taken aback. She hadn't expected this man, whom she considered stiff and cold, to have a connection with one of the great ancestors of her pavilion. The sharpness of her anger slowly dissolved, replaced by a deep curiosity. "If you know Elder Qing He, and even spoke with her..."

  She trailed off, her mournful eyes narrowing slightly as she studied Zhi Xuan’s face, but she found only a cold, expressionless mask that seemed almost bored. "Hmph!"

  Ye Xishui looked away, snorting softly as she tidied her green hair, which had been tousled by the river wind. Although her lips remained tightly pressed together, the overflowing anger had faded into a warm, small ember.

  "You are always like this, full of riddles as deep as an abyss," Ye Xishui looked back at Zhi Xuan, this time with a calmer glint, regaining her composure as a Holy Fairy. "But, Gu Fengyan—or whoever your true name may be—Xishui feels at peace after meeting Senior."

  Zhi Xuan did not immediately reply. He let the night's silence absorb her confession, while in the distance, nocturnal birds began to fly low over the glistening river. Within him, he felt the weight of karma shift slightly; this meeting was no coincidence, but a knot he had to untie before stepping further into the darkness of the Ancient Demon Lands.

  "Peace is the beginning of clarity, Holy Fairy," Zhi Xuan finally replied, his voice flat once more but no longer as cold. He turned his gaze from the moon to the city gates, barely visible through the night mist. "You should return to your Pavilion before your dignity as a Holy Fairy is tarnished by me."

  Ye Xishui offered a thin smile behind her veil, one containing the bitterness of longing but also the resolve of a cultivator who had attained inner enlightenment. She did not leave immediately; instead, she took a step back, allowing the night air to flow between them once more.

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  "The dignity of a Holy Fairy is not something that can be tarnished just by standing beside a man, Senior," Ye Xishui said calmly, radiating the elegance characteristic of the Sky-Leaf Holy Pavilion. "However, you are right. Tonight has provided enough answers for my two-century wait. But do not think Xishui will let you simply vanish into the mist."

  "Gu Fengyan," she whispered the name to herself, etching it into the threads of karma. "Xishui will always remember this night. I hope that in the future, I may meet Senior again."

  Zhi Xuan gave no promise, nor did he offer a rejection. He simply stood like an ancient stone monument as Ye Xishui turned away. With a sweep of her green sleeves that left the scent of peach blossoms in the night air, she soared toward her white crane carriage waiting in the heights.

  The sound of the crane's wings slowly faded, leaving a deeper silence by the riverbank. Zhi Xuan took a deep breath, sensing the spiritual essence left by Xishui’s presence. Within his Sea of Consciousness, the Heavenly Samsara Wheel spun slowly, purifying the ripples of emotion that had briefly disturbed his peace.

  He remained there until the carriage merged completely with the darkness of the horizon. The scent of peach blossoms left by Xishui was gradually eroded by the fishy smell of the river and the night chill, leaving a void filled only by the sound of the rushing current.

  He raised his hand, looking at the sleeve Xishui had clutched. Though his physical body had reached divine perfection, he could still feel the lingering warmth of her fingers—proof that emotions could sometimes penetrate even the strongest spiritual essence.

  "That girl," Zhi Xuan sighed softly. "Her aura has reached the peak of the Soul Transformation realm. Yet, even her emotions are an unstoppable force... those mournful eyes..."

  Zhi Xuan closed his eyes, inhaling deeply in the howling night wind. "She is too pure for someone like me, who will soon be bathed in a sea of blood. Like falling leaves carried by the water, I hope her Dao Heart will soon forget this night."

  Zhi Xuan walked away from the riverbank, leaving his shadow behind the silent bridge pillar. Every step on the stone streets of Dragon Lotus City felt heavier now, not because of physical weight, but because of the thread of fate that had just been retied. He knew that beneath the calm majesty of Yao Gu, a storm was lurking, and Ye Xishui was just one of the petals that might be sucked into the vortex of destruction.

  The night grew deeper. The essence-powered lanterns at the city corners began to dim, giving way to pure darkness. Zhi Xuan did not return to the luxurious inn Li Chen had likely prepared. Instead, he sped toward the top of a small hill, his eyes surveying the sprawling Dragon Lotus City.

  "I need Heavenly Jade," Zhi Xuan murmured. He sharpened his Divine Senses to pierce through every gap, searching for any clue related to it. "Soul Transformation requires Heavenly Jade as its essence. Divine Black Jade is no longer useful to me."

  "I suppose a little looting wouldn't hurt," Zhi Xuan whispered to himself. He rotated his Heavenly Eyes, the golden flash creating ripples of energy that looked like interconnected threads of essence.

  "Hey, wanting something?" A voice came, carrying the aroma of wine and the Soul Transformation ripples Zhi Xuan recognized.

  Zhi Xuan didn't need to turn; Li Chen appeared as calm as the surge of a great blue ocean. "Brother Li, shouldn't you be at the inn?"

  Li Chen landed casually beside him, swinging his half-full wine jug. His usually playful face was exposed to the moonlight, showing a hint of serenity he rarely displayed. He looked in the same direction as Zhi Xuan—at the city lights that seemed like a sea of stars on land.

  "That inn is too noisy with the snoring of cultivators dreaming of becoming rulers of the southern region," Li Chen laughed softly, then took a sip of his wine. "Besides, feeling the energy ripples of an expert contemplating on a hill is far more interesting than sleeping on a silk bed."

  Zhi Xuan continued to stare at the horizon, his hidden Heavenly Eyes gradually dimming back into cold sapphire pupils. "You heard my mumbling, Brother Li?"

  "Only the part about 'looting'," Li Chen nudged Zhi Xuan’s shoulder familiarly, as if he weren't talking to a cultivator capable of crushing mountains. "And about the Heavenly Jade. You’re right. For us who have transcended the mortal realm to reach Soul Transformation, Divine Black Jade is just worthless gravel. We need essence capable of nourishing our Divine Spirit."

  Li Chen paused, his gaze turning serious. "But looting in Dragon Lotus City while Master Taixuan is in charge is an act that invites lightning. However... if what you seek is pure Heavenly Jade, you don't need to loot small shops."

  "Meaning?" Zhi Xuan turned slightly, giving his attention to the man’s words.

  "The Moonlight Lotus," Li Chen whispered, like a secret not meant to be shared. "It is a place for exchanging artifacts for Heavenly Jade. You surrender an artifact to them, and Heavenly Jade becomes yours based on the value of your item."

  "Moonlight Lotus?" Zhi Xuan muttered, turning fully to face Li Chen. "What is this place like?"

  "The Moonlight Lotus isn't exactly inside Dragon Lotus City," Li Chen replied. "It’s hidden behind a deep rift in the earth. Thus, there is only one way in. However, betrayal is common there. Even after you exchange an artifact for Heavenly Jade, the moment you step out, that jade is no longer yours if you aren't strong enough to keep it."

  Zhi Xuan curled his lips into a thin smile that carried the scent of eternal ice. "Betrayal is the most common spice in the world, Brother Li. If one cannot protect what they have gained, they were never worthy of possessing it in the first place."

  Li Chen laughed shortly, but his gaze remained fixed on the moon's reflection in his wine. "I know you aren't easily shaken. But the Moonlight Lotus is controlled by a very powerful neutral faction, the 'Dragon Shadow Union.' They won't care if you are slaughtered just one step outside their gate. To me, it is a place where moral rules crumble into dust, leaving only the pure law of the jungle."

  "Take me there," Zhi Xuan commanded. He didn't have much time. The two days before the expedition to the Ancient Demon Lands was a narrow window to strengthen his Divine Soul’s foundation.

  Li Chen sighed, snapping his jade fan shut with a sharp click. "Fine. Besides, I need to exchange for some high-level Protective Talismans myself. Follow me. In the Moonlight Lotus, someone too conspicuous will only become bait for the hungry sharks."

  The two of them streaked away like two bolts of light—one sea-blue and one dusky grey—leaving the hilltop and heading toward the northern outskirts of the city, where barren limestone mountains stood like frozen giants.

  After traveling several hundred li, they arrived at a very deep abyss, as if the earth had been split by a giant sword from the sky. From the bottom of the rift, a dim purple light radiated, accompanied by a gust of thick, dark air.

  "This is the gateway to the underworld of the southern region," Li Chen whispered, his voice nearly swallowed by the roar of the wind coming from the crack in the earth. "Welcome to the brink of the Moonlight Lotus abyss, Brother Gu. Down there, your identity as Master Taixuan’s guest won't be worth a penny."

  Zhi Xuan did not answer. He stepped to the edge of the fragile limestone cliff. His Heavenly Eyes throbbed, piercing through the layers of purple mist, which turned out to be a mixture of Yin essence and natural toxic gases. To him, this sight was not foreign; he had long been acquainted with the dark.

  ZZTTT! SSHHH!

  "Hey, look at these two lost youngsters," a man laughed hoarsely from the air. "Just hand over your artifacts, and let this man help you exchange them."

  Zhi Xuan did not look up immediately. He simply stood like a statue at the edge of the abyss, letting his black-and-white robes flutter wildly against the valley wind that carried the scent of sulfur and death. Beside him, Li Chen snorted coldly, his right hand already gripping his jade fan as blue veins began to glow along his arm.

  "Noisy pebbles," Zhi Xuan murmured softly, his voice nearly inaudible yet capable of traveling through air vibrations to the ears of the figure above.

  From behind the purple mist hanging over the abyss, three figures dressed in tattered, corpse-grey robes shot down.

  Their leader, a man with a face full of burn scars and eyes that left only one black pupil, landed on a floating pumice stone a few fathoms from Zhi Xuan’s position. He shouldered a giant axe that still bore the stains of dried, blackened blood.

  "Five Element realm cultivators trying to extort those in the Soul Transformation realm?" Li Chen laughed, a sound filled with contempt. "Brother Gu, it seems our reputation in this underworld is truly worthless. Even stray dogs dare to bark in front of a dragon."

  "Hand over your storage bags, or this abyss will become a grave without a headstone for you both!" the one-eyed man roared. He slammed his axe down, releasing a heavy but filthy earthen aura, full of impure demonic essence. His two companions behind him immediately scattered, forming an encirclement.