I stared at the demoness. “All these years, Xiao Yi Han has been in contact with you, and you’ve been plotting this together?”
“Yes,” she admitted. “His brother’s skull was taken by those in the demon realm. Xiao Yi Han has spent years searching for weaknesses in the seal so he can retrieve it. But your rigid Xian Ling Sect would never let him take such a risk, so he left the mountain—spared you, his little disciple, from being implicated by his actions.”
Her explanation revealed pain and silent endurance on Xiao Yi Han’s part. It made my heart ache to hear it—how he had borne all his burdens alone. Yet, to me, his greatest crime remained unforgivable:
He never asked if I wanted him to bear it alone.
By the time the demoness finished speaking, we had arrived back at the black void beneath the Yu Quan Spring. Staring at the swirling abyss, I asked, “Then why seek my help now?”
“No one can match the Xiao family’s mastery of sealing techniques. You’re his disciple—you already helped seal the rift before,” the demoness explained, then hesitated. “Or… do you not want to save your master?”
I said nothing.
The demoness looked troubled. “Immortal Lady, your master has never held anyone else in his heart—only you. Yesterday, when you stabbed him in the chest, I asked him what he’d do if you truly killed him. He said, ‘Then let the world fall to ruin. If it brings her a moment of relief, so be it.’”
My fists clenched. I shut my eyes, forcing myself to stay calm. “What’s the situation now?”
The demoness grabbed my hand and leaped into the spring. We swam through the black void, and as we emerged on the other side, a surge of demonic energy crushed down on me. I felt a moment of dizziness, followed by the sensation of weightlessness.
I steadied myself in midair, summoning my sword. Surveying the surroundings, I saw blood-red skies and cracked, barren earth. This was the demon realm.
Ahead, a colossal black mountain loomed, billowing with demonic energy. The ground was littered with the corpses of demons—clearly the aftermath of a massacre.
“Xiao Yi Han did all this?” I asked, incredulous.
The demoness tugged me toward the mountain. As we drew closer, I realized it wasn’t a mountain at all—it was a massive shadow formed from condensed demonic energy. At its peak, a pale skull sat enthroned, emanating an oppressive aura.
Ten paces from the skull stood a figure clad in blue, barely holding up a protective barrier. The light of his frost-like sword illuminated his weary frame.
I didn’t need an explanation to understand: Xiao Yi Han was locked in a standoff with his brother’s skull. Here in the demon realm, where demonic energy was endless, the stalemate could only end with his exhaustion and death.
He needed someone to destroy the skull for him.
As we approached, I saw the deep, ragged wounds on his back, his blood staining the ground. His condition was worse than I’d feared.
Sensing my arrival, Xiao Yi Han turned his head, his expression a mix of disbelief and fury. He barked at the demoness, “Who told you to bring her here?”
Ignoring them, I focused on the skull. The demonic energy around it grew frenzied at my presence, forcing Xiao Yi Han to turn back and reinforce his barrier. The strain made him cough up blood.
I couldn’t afford to hesitate. Taking a step forward, I sent a wave of purifying light surging toward the skull. The energy pierced the demonic miasma but failed to harm the skull itself—it was far tougher than I’d imagined.
The demoness exclaimed in awe beside me, “You’re so strong!”
Of course I was. I’d studied Xiao Yi Han’s notes until I knew them by heart. For eighty years, cultivation had been my sole focus, my only purpose.
Still, my power alone wasn’t enough.
Positioning myself between Xiao Yi Han and the skull, I turned to face him. His face, pale and streaked with blood, lacked its usual carefree smile. Instead, his brows furrowed deeply as he scolded me: “This isn’t your fight. Leave. Go back to Xian Ling Mountain and bring reinforcements.”
I ignored him, steadying my breath. Stroking the blade of my sword, I said softly, “Xiao Yi Han.”
He flinched as if he already knew what I intended. He reached out to stop me, but I activated a protective barrier that flung him backward, just as his own barriers had once pushed me away.
So utterly helpless.
“No!” His hoarse voice echoed, filled with anguish.
I knew he couldn’t follow. For the first time, I understood the pain he must have felt eighty years ago when he left me behind.
It hurt. My chest ached as though gripped by an iron vice, but I forced myself to push those feelings away.
With a single-minded focus, I charged toward the skull. The surrounding demonic energy transformed into blades, slicing my flesh. Blood soaked my robes, but I pressed on. The jade pendant Xiao Yi Han had given me long ago slipped from my waist, but I had no time to retrieve it.
With a final, resounding crack, the skull shattered.
The last thing I heard before my world fell silent was Xiao Yi Han’s desperate, heart-wrenching cry:
“Come back to me!”
But I couldn’t.
The person I resented most in my life was my master.
And yet, the person I loved most in my life…
Was him, too.
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