She used all her strength, barely managing to brush her fingertips against the golden needle at his waist. But she was powerless to stop the killing blow, and the sword descended, poised to cleave off his head entirely—
Yet that one word seemed like a bolt of invisible lightning, freezing the woman holding the sword in place!
The sword’s tip halted abruptly. Miao Shui’s head whipped around, and she threw Miao Feng aside, suddenly grabbing Xue Zi Ye by the collar, her expression wild with fury as she demanded, “What did you just call him?!”
“Yami,” Xue Zi Ye replied, bewildered. “That’s his real name—didn’t you know?”
Miao Shui froze, completely motionless.
Taking advantage of her moment of shock, Xue Zi Ye’s fingers twitched slightly, quietly pulling the golden needle from Miao Feng’s waist, releasing his sealed acupoints.
“Yami…?” Miao Shui stared down at the man who had been her colleague for so many years, her expression one of disbelief. “Miao Feng—could it be that you are…?”
But she didn’t finish her sentence. From within the tattered fabric of Miao Feng’s robe, a small flute slipped into view—it was a bili, a traditional instrument of the Western Regions, carved from bullhorn and adorned with silver engravings. The once-bright yellow tassel now looked faded and dull.
Miao Shui’s hands trembled as she gripped the Bloodletting Sword.
She bent down and picked up the flute, turning it over in her hands. Tears welled up in her eyes as she gazed at Miao Feng. For a moment, she saw him—not as the man he was now, but as the trembling, small child who had once hidden in her arms, her dearest little brother.
But then, with a sudden motion, she once again pointed the Bloodletting Sword at his chest!
“You’re… you’re lying to me, aren’t you?” Miao Shui’s face twisted with malice as she tried to suppress the storm of emotions within her, her voice cold with disbelief. “You’re not Yami! Yami died when he was five years old! He couldn’t even hold a knife, so how could he have become the Sect Leader’s assassin?!”
Miao Feng looked at her with his usual calm gaze, as if trying to etch the image of his long-lost sister into his memory.
“Yes.” He suddenly smiled faintly. “Yami is indeed long dead. I’ve been lying to you.”
Miao Shui let out a breath of relief, her lips tightening as if she had made a decision. Without a second of hesitation, she swung her sword down. Yes, she only needed an excuse—at this point, no matter who he truly was, she couldn't afford to let him live if she wanted to achieve her goals!
“Yami!” Xue Zi Ye’s face was pale as she cried out in alarm, “Dodge!”
Why isn’t he moving? She had used all her strength to release the gold needle sealing his acupoints. Why wasn’t he dodging?
But Miao Feng simply closed his eyes peacefully, not moving an inch.
—At this point, what was the use of recognition?
They were no longer the close siblings they had once been. Time had cruelly separated them into completely different people: over the past twenty years, he had become the Sect Leader’s guardian, devoid of emotions or thoughts of his own, while she had turned into a vengeful woman, stopping at nothing for revenge and power.
They were now like fire and water.
Even if she wanted to believe him, she wouldn’t be able to let him go now. She had spent so many years carefully building her power—how could she risk losing everything over a moment of hesitation?
So it was better for both of them if she didn’t believe it. This way, it would be easier for them both.
He closed his eyes.
Yet, the sword didn’t strike his neck as expected. Instead, he heard Xue Zi Ye’s sudden cry of alarm.
—What was happening? Had Miao Shui changed her mind and was now attacking Xue Zi Ye?
“Master Xue!” He jolted in shock, pressing his hand to the ground and leaping away without even opening his eyes, grabbing Xue Zi Ye and pulling her to a corner of the grand hall, shielding her with his body. But Xue Zi Ye was staring straight at Miao Shui, her eyes filled with terror as she screamed, “Watch out! Look out!”
Miao Feng spun around, his heart sinking.
The Sect Leader?!
The Sect Leader, who had been pierced through the chest with a sword, had silently risen to his feet. Blood covered his body, even his eyes had turned crimson, and he looked as if he had crawled back from the depths of hell. Without making a sound, he had stood up, gripping a heavy golden staff, ready to strike down the traitor behind her!
Miao Feng recognized it instantly—it was the Heavenly Demon Body-Splitting Technique, a forbidden skill within the sect. Despite being gravely injured, the Sect Leader was trying to take Miao Shui down with him in one final act of vengeance!
But Miao Shui was entirely focused on Miao Feng and had no idea of the danger behind her.
“Watch out!” Miao Feng shouted, rushing forward without hesitation.
Miao Shui barely had time to turn around before the golden staff, with the force of thunder, came crashing down toward her head!
She cried out, lifting the Bloodletting Sword in a desperate attempt to block the devastating blow. But the moment their weapons made contact, she realized the true extent of the Sect Leader’s strength. The overwhelming force sent the sword flying from her hand with a sharp clang. Half of her body went numb from the impact, and as she tried to retreat, the howling force of the strike pinned her in place.
Unarmed, she could only watch in horror as the golden staff descended toward her skull, ready to crush her completely.
“Watch out, Sister!” A low voice called out, and she was yanked forcefully to the side, out of the deadly strike’s path. Miao Feng had arrived in time, pulling her away and turning his body to shield her, taking the full force of the blow on his back!
With a sickening crack, the sound of bones shattering filled the air. Miao Feng staggered, blood pouring from his mouth in a torrent.
But the Sect Leader’s demonic gleam began to fade from his eyes. After expending the last of his strength in that one strike, he collapsed back into the jade throne, his life force completely drained.
“Yami!” Xue Zi Ye cried out, her heart breaking as she stumbled toward him.
At the same time, Miao Shui also screamed his name.
Miao Feng’s blood had splattered onto her blue robes. The Loulan woman trembled uncontrollably, staring at the man who had shielded her with his own body from the Sect Leader’s killing blow. Her eyes welled with emotions she could no longer contain.
“Yami! Yami!” She dropped to the ground, cradling his head in her arms, calling him by his childhood name.
He smiled faintly, opening his mouth as if to speak, but blood kept pouring from his throat, drowning his words. Miao Feng’s gaze slowly dimmed as he looked at his long-lost sister, his vision gradually fading.
In that moment, Miao Shui’s tears fell like rain. She held his lifeless body tightly, weeping uncontrollably. This was Yami—her only brother! Only a true sibling, her closest family, would act without hesitation at such a moment, sacrificing his own life to save hers.
This was her Yami...
He had grown so much braver than when he was five years old, but she, out of her own selfish desires, had refused to acknowledge him and had even tried to kill him with her own sword!
“Let me see him! Hurry!” Xue Zi Ye crawled over, struggling to lift herself up.
Her hands were trembling so badly that she could barely open the jade bottle. After several attempts, she finally managed to pour out the five remaining pills of the Red Fruit Jade Dew Elixir. She had spent five years creating a batch of twelve of these rare medicinal pills, and now, only half were left. Without hesitation, she fed all of them to Miao Feng, then followed it with the pill to cure cold poison, Flaming Heaven.
She wanted to seal his acupoints with needles, but her hands trembled too violently to even hold the needles properly.
“Ha… ha…” The old man’s bloodied face twisted into a smile as he collapsed back into the jade throne, gasping for breath as he watched the three figures on the ground. “How wonderful, how wonderful! After all the care I gave you, after all I taught you, in the end, every one of you… just wants me dead, don’t you?”
The once-immortal-looking old man, now bloodstained and ghastly, laughed maniacally, his eyes shining with a demonic gleam.
It was a desolate and hopeless laughter. His entire life had been one of blood and triumph, rising from an assassin in the Asura Field to a ruler who challenged the martial world of the Central Plains. He had once been so powerful, so glorious.
But in the end, all he had left was betrayal and isolation.
“Good! Good! Good!” He slammed his hand heavily on the armrest of the jade throne, laughing wildly up at the sky. “Then, have it your way!”
As his hand came down, a sharp crack echoed through the hall, as if a hidden mechanism had been triggered. The entire palace trembled!
“No!” Miao Shui’s face turned pale with horror. “He’s going to destroy the sanctuary!”
Before her words could finish, the massive hall let out a terrifying creak, its beams and pillars shifting visibly, collapsing at an alarming speed. The giant structure began to crumble, crashing down with a thunderous roar!
"Die with me, my children!" the Sect Leader cackled as he placed his hand on the trigger mechanism. His laughter echoed through the collapsing hall, but suddenly, his voice was cut off.
The aged head drooped down, his white hair falling forward, his body frozen in an unnatural pose.
"Run!" Miao Shui bent down, pulling Miao Feng up with one arm while reaching out to Xue Zi Ye with the other.
—This sanctuary was built at the highest peak of Kunlun, where the eternal ice layers lay beneath. From its inception, a mechanism was designed that, once triggered, would shatter the entire foundation in an instant, reducing everything to rubble!
"No need," Xue Zi Ye smiled weakly, gently pushing Miao Shui’s hand away. "I've been poisoned by the Seven-Star Begonia."
Miao Shui was startled and looked at her, her eyes filled with a complicated mix of emotions.
This woman... is she the one Yami is willing to protect at all costs? She had changed the cold, emotionless Miao Feng, slowly awakening the Yami of the past hidden deep inside him.
"Go quickly. Take... take this with you." Xue Zi Ye struggled to retrieve a pouch from her robes and handed it to Miao Shui. "Give him the red medicine inside... and get a doctor immediately. His internal organs… they might all be…"
Miao Shui remained silent, her head bowed as she took the pouch, then turned to lift Miao Feng.
At the peak of the snow-capped mountain, a catastrophe unlike any other was about to unfold. The frozen earth beneath trembled ominously, and the grand hall shook violently, its beams and pillars on the verge of collapse. Down the mountain, disciples cried out in alarm as they watched the sanctuary at the summit sway and crumble.
"Go now!" Xue Zi Ye shouted, using all her strength to push Miao Shui and her brother away.
Miao Shui turned, wordless.
A loud crack echoed through the hall as the main beam finally snapped, plummeting downward, aimed directly at the woman lying on the ground.
In that moment, Miao Shui whirled around, grabbing Xue Zi Ye by the wrist with a swift motion. "You're coming with us!" she commanded.
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