Utterly disappointed in myself, I turned and walked away. I didn’t even have the strength to summon my sword. Like Xiao Yi Han on the day he left Xian Ling Mountain, I walked step by step, letting my legs carry me forward.
Because I knew, if I tried to fly, I’d falter and fall—and that humiliation, I could not bear.
I wandered within the forests of Yu Quan Mountain for an entire day and night, unable to find my way out.
Xiao Yi Han had flown here from 800 miles away in just a day and a night, but here I was, utterly useless, unable to even move my feet properly.
I started a fire in the woods and sat down by it, staring blankly at the flames as my thoughts spiraled. What should I do next?
If I didn’t kill Xiao Yi Han, I had no other goals in life. Returning to Xian Ling Mountain meant solitude; it held no appeal. Staying in the mortal world? That seemed just as pointless. Worse, I had cultivated an immortal body—I couldn’t even wait to die if I wanted to.
Frustrated, I threw a stick into the fire. Just as I was sinking deeper into my despair, a gust of wind carrying an ominous aura swept through, nearly extinguishing the flames.
I didn’t bother to look up. Let it be a demon, I thought. If they wanted a fight, so be it—at least it would give me something to do.
But then, the “demon” grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet. Startled, I looked up, only to find it was the same demoness I’d seen the day before—the one who had sought out Xiao Yi Han.
Her appearance was entirely different now: her body was covered in blood, and she looked far more disheveled and desperate than before.
“Help me, Immortal Lady!” she cried, clutching at my arm. “Please, save your master—he’s dying!”
At her words, my mind, dulled from a day of silent brooding, suddenly snapped to attention. I studied her face closely. Tears streamed down her cheeks, and she seemed on the verge of collapse.
“If your master dies, calamity will befall the mortal realm again!” she wailed.
“What’s going on?” I demanded.
“Let’s talk on the way!” she urged, tugging at my hand as she began to lead me forward.
As we hurried through the forest, the demoness explained: Xiao Yi Han did indeed have an elder brother—a man so renowned that even I recognized the name. He was the great immortal who, a century ago, had sacrificed his body to seal the rift between the human and demon realms, restoring peace to the mortal world.
I was stunned. “No one ever told me this. Xiao Yi Han himself never mentioned it.”
“Of course he wouldn’t!” she snapped. “That was his older brother, and his brother died in his place. Why would he talk about something that reopens his old wounds?”
“His brother died in his place?”
“Yes,” she sighed. “What most people don’t know is that a century ago, when the leader of the Chang Jiu Demon Clan breached the rift, there were actually two immortals who stood against him: Xiao Yi Han and his brother.”
I froze again. Xiao Yi Han… was already that powerful back then?
“Over a century ago, the Chang Jiu Demon Clan found a weak point in the rift’s seal and tore it open, launching an invasion of the human realm. The Xiao family had been entrusted with the knowledge of sealing demons for generations, but by then, they’d grown complacent due to years of peace. When the demons came, the Xiao family was massacred overnight. Xiao Yi Han and his brother barely escaped and were taken in by the immortals of Xian Ling Mountain.
“Both brothers trained tirelessly in the demon-sealing arts passed down from their family. Xiao Yi Han was naturally gifted and progressed quickly, while his brother struggled to keep up.”
The demoness sighed again. “When they fought the leader of the Chang Jiu Clan and finally sealed the rift, both were gravely injured. The only way to close the rift completely was for one of them to sacrifice their body and blood. Xiao Yi Han was prepared to offer himself, but his brother pushed him aside and made the sacrifice instead.
“Xiao Yi Han tried to save his brother, and perhaps if he’d fought harder, he might have succeeded. But the immortals of Xian Ling Mountain stopped him—they couldn’t afford to lose him as well. Without Xiao Yi Han, there would have been no one left to guard the seal against future breaches.”
I fell silent.
No wonder, after that great battle, Xiao Yi Han drowned himself in alcohol and distanced himself from the elders of Xian Ling Mountain. They must have felt guilt over the role they played, which was why they never spoke of his past.
“Ninety years ago,” the demoness continued, “some remnants of the demon clan approached the demonfolk, claiming they’d found the skull of the immortal who sacrificed himself—the skull of Xiao Yi Han’s brother. They said that while his blood had sealed the rift, it had also created a weak point. With the skull, they could reopen the rift, and in return, they promised to reward the demonfolk handsomely.
“The leaders of the demon clans agreed and began aiding the demons. After ten years of searching, they found a small weak point in the seal and sent the skull into the demon realm.
“I was the one who delivered it. When we finally opened a small tear in the rift, the surge of demonic energy withered the surrounding forest. I was terrified and regretted what I’d done, so I tried to take the skull back. In the end, I only managed to seize the pendant embedded in it before I was injured. I fled to a secluded forest and set up a maze to recover. That’s when I first met your master—ah, and you were there too.”
The memory hit me like a bolt of lightning.
That pendant… the one Xiao Yi Han always kept with him… it had belonged to his brother.
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