Elder Guo stared at the explosion scene in shock, his face ashen as the reality of what had just happened settled in his mind. With trembling arms, he tried to push himself up from his position.
"Junior brother..." he whispered.
"Stop moving, you're still hurt," Elder Huang spoke gently, her hands steadying him as she helped him sit back down. Though she bore injuries herself, her focus remained entirely on caring for her senior brother in this devastating moment.
She studied his face, noting the hollow look in his eyes. This had to be the worst day of his life. Even when his golden core was injured years ago, he hadn't worn such an expression of utter devastation. But how could he not? Guo Shantian, Mei Zhiyuan, and Wei Tianxu had all trained together under the former sect master. They weren't just fellow disciples—they were best friends who had sworn brotherhood to each other.
Now, one sworn brother had betrayed him, and the other had sacrificed himself in a desperate attempt to save what remained of their sect. And as if that weren't enough, Elder Guo had lost all his cultivation, reduced to a mere mortal while the sect still faced imminent danger.
Elder Guo leaned against her shoulder as she gently ran her fingers through his hair.
"Sect Master, I..." he began, his words disjointed, he didn't seem to be in the right state of mind.
"It's okay," she soothed.
"I can't protect the sect anymore,"
Elder Huang surveyed their surroundings with dread. The demon authority that had pinned everyone to the ground had lifted following the explosion, and the demonic cultivators were rising to their feet. Even with their leader apparently eliminated, the enemy forces still outnumbered and outmatched the remaining sect disciples. They had really lost this battle.
Just as this realization settled in her mind, a bright red light suddenly appeared in the sky, drawing everyone's attention upward.
"There is no way..." she thought, her breath catching in her throat as she stared at the impossible sight above them.
Suspended in the air was a small drop of blood that shone with a bright crimson glow. The fighting below ceased as everyone—friend and foe alike—watched in horror. In the next second, the droplet contorted, twisting unnaturally before expanding outward in all directions.
From this single drop of blood, Elder Mei's form materialized completely, fully restored as though the self-destruct explosion had never happened.
Elder Huang's eyes widened in shock, her mind refusing to accept what she was witnessing. How was this possible? Even if Mei was a peak Golden Core cultivator, there was no way he could have survived the point-blank detonation of the Sect Leader's self-destruction.
"Hahaha!" Elder Mei's triumphant laughter echoed across the courtyard. "Did you really think you could take me out that easily? With the power of the Demon God, even if just a drop of blood remains, I can still regenerate."
Around them, the remaining sect disciples dropped their weapons, shoulders slumping in defeat. The sect was truly doomed. How could they possibly defeat an enemy who could regenerate from a single drop of blood?
Elder Guo stared up at the recovered Elder Mei, rage burning in his eyes despite his powerless state. Elder Huang maintained her grip on him, preventing him from moving—not that he could do anything in his current condition.
As his gaze locked onto Elder Mei hovering above the courtyard, Elder Guo's eyes suddenly widened in disbelief.
Am I seeing things? he wondered, blinking rapidly to clear his vision. Why do I see that disciple of mine floating behind Elder Mei?
...
Li Yao clutched the token tightly as the familiar sensation of spatial transfer enveloped her. In an instant, she found herself suspended high above the Azure Cloud Sect.
What greeted her eyes resembled scenes from an apocalypse. The once-pristine courtyard lay in ruins, bodies scattered across the broken stone like discarded dolls. Blood painted dark patterns across the ground and the elegant sect buildings now stood partially collapsed, smoke rising from several structures.
She then spotted her master and martial aunt huddled together amidst the destruction. Even from this height, Li Yao could see the numerous injuries they had sustained. Most alarming of all, she couldn't sense any cultivation from her master.
Following their upward gaze, Li Yao's attention was drawn to a figure hovering next to her.
"Did you really think you could take me out that easily?" the figure's voice boomed across the devastated landscape. "With the power of the Demon God, even if it's just a drop of blood left, I can still regenerate."
Li Yao's eyes narrowed as recognition dawned. This creature emanated the same dark energy as the monster she had faced on the ninety-ninth floor of the Heaven-Testing Pagoda, though the aura surrounding this being was far more intense.
Despite the overwhelming aura, Li Yao felt strangely calm. She had improved significantly since her battle in the pagoda. After advancing two stages in the Core Formation realm, she could more easily handle her elemental form and her affinity with lightning had increased even more.
Her fingers tightened around the hilt of the Azure Cloud Sword. It was time to test this so-called pseudo-divine weapon. The motion drew Mei's attention, his eyes locking onto her.
"And who are you?" he demanded before recognition flashed across his features. "Oh, so it's the so-called sect genius," he mocked, lips curling into a disdainful sneer.
"If you had run away, you could have survived," he continued, "But now that you've shown yourself, you'll have to die here today."
Li Yao met his gaze unflinchingly, her voice steady as she replied, "We'll see who dies first."
Her body erupted with energy as she activated her elemental form. Blue-silver electricity crackled across her skin, her hair lifting to float around her head like a halo. The transformation felt more natural now, though she still felt a little strained.
In this state, her combat power was equivalent to a late stage Golden Core cultivator. Combined with the pseudo-divine weapon in her hands, she might even reach peak stage.
[Be careful when using the weapon. You still haven't refined it yet,] the Empress's voice cautioned within her mind.
Li Yao acknowledged the warning silently. Without complete refinement, she couldn't access the sword's full potential, but she didn't need it to deal with this enemy.
Without further hesitation, she vanished from her position, her elemental form increasing her speed even more. She materialized directly behind Elder Mei, who spun around with impressive reflexes—but not quite fast enough.
The Azure Cloud Sword, covered in crackling lightning, sliced through the air with unstoppable momentum. The blade encountered Elder Mei's arm and passed through with virtually no resistance, severing the limb cleanly from his body.
Li Yao examined the sword with appreciation. The sword was impossibly sharp, cutting through the dark element enhanced flesh easily.
From below, Elder Huang watched the exchange with wide-eyed astonishment. "Was your disciple always this strong?" she asked, turning to Elder Guo beside her.
"It's my first time seeing this as well," Elder Guo admitted, his face momentarily brightening with a flicker of hope as he observed the battle unfolding above them.
Li Yao's display of power exceeded anything he had witnessed from her before. Her strength seemed to surpass even the transformed Elder Mei's, suggesting she might be capable of turning the tide of this seemingly hopeless battle. Had she received some divine inheritance within the pagoda? Or had she always been this strong?
Elder Mei's agonized scream tore through the air as he clutched where his arm had been. Blood flowed freely from the wound, but unlike before, the severed limb showed no signs of regenerating. Panic flashed across his features as he realized something was terribly wrong. Was it the lightning element interfering with his regeneration?
No, that couldn't be it—with the blood of the Demon God flowing through his veins, not even lightning should be able to prevent his recovery. Only the light element might possess such properties, and this girl clearly wielded lightning.
His frantic gaze landed on the sword in Li Yao's hand, understanding dawning. "It's that sword," he realized.
Li Yao followed his gaze to the weapon she wielded, a slow smile spreading across her face as comprehension dawned. "Does it prevent regeneration?" she wondered aloud, "No wonder the ancestor could use it to deal with the Demon God."
The smile transformed into a grin as she raised the sword once more, "Well, this makes things a lot easier," she declared, her form blurring once again as she charged toward her opponent...
Elder Mei watched the approaching sword with widening eyes, his body twisting desperately as he barely managed to dodge the attack. How could this have happened? He had thought Li Yao was strong, but never imagined she was this powerful. And where did she get that strange sword from?
His mind raced with panicked thoughts as he found himself continuously pushed back, unable to land a single hit while defending against her relentless assault. If this continued, he might actually die here.
"Wait! Wait! You can't kill me!" he shouted, voice cracking with desperation. "My men have your senior brother. If I die, he will too!"
The words caused Li Yao to pause mid-strike.
Elder Mei struggled to maintain his composure, internally relieved his bluff had worked. In truth, he had no idea what had happened to his men—somehow they had been eliminated. Perhaps there was more to Xiang Yu than met the eye. But Li Yao didn't know that the men had already perished. According to his intelligence, the sect genius was hopelessly in love with her senior brother.
"Now then, what are you going to do?" he thought, a smug smile spreading across his face. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
Then his expression froze as his smile literally split in two. "Huh?" He suddenly realized what had happened—Li Yao had swung her sword regardless, cleaving him cleanly in half.
As his consciousness faded, final thoughts flickered through his mind: How was this possible? Wasn't she supposed to be in love with her senior brother? Why didn't she care about him? Was the information wrong?
After killing Elder Mei, Li Yao floated high into the sky. She raised her hand toward the heavens, and in the next moment, lightning began to gather in her palm. The energy accumulated until it formed a massive sphere of crackling electricity. The ball of lightning then began to move, raining down countless bolts onto the battlefield below.
Many scattered in terror, diving for cover, only to realize that the lightning selectively targeted only the demonic cultivators. The surviving sect members watched in awe as their enemies were struck down one by one. Hope blossomed across their faces—they were going to survive after all.
Li Yao observed her handiwork with satisfaction. In her elemental form, her lightning affinity was dramatically enhanced, allowing her to eliminate all enemies with this single devastating attack. Though she had to admit, the technique was incredibly draining. She turned her attention inward, addressing the Empress.
"Are you sure about what you said earlier?" she asked.
[Don't worry, with my recovered soul strength, I can easily spread my divine sense throughout the Azure Cloud Sword Sect,] the Empress replied confidently. [Your senior brother is okay. He is the only person in the pavilion.]
After just a few minutes all the remaining demonic cultivators were eliminated. Li Yao descended toward her master and martial aunt.
"Master?" she approached tentatively, concern etched across her features.
"I'm okay, just a scratch," Elder Guo insisted as he attempted to move from Elder Huang's supporting grasp, only to stumble backward into her arms.
"I told you to stop moving," Elder Huang scolded, tightening her hold on him.
"Master, your cultivation..." Li Yao began, but Elder Guo raised his hand to stop her.
"It's okay. It was bound to happen at some point," he said with resignation in his voice.
Elder Huang glanced at Li Yao's worried expression. "I see that you're concerned," she said softly. "Why don't you go check on your senior brother? I'll look after the old man." She offered a reassuring smile, and Li Yao nodded gratefully before flying away.
"Who are you calling old man?" Elder Guo protested weakly.
Elder Huang just laughed, "Now that you've lost your cultivation, you'll grow old faster..." Her voice suddenly trailed off, tears welling up and streaming down her cheeks.
Without his cultivation, he would age like an ordinary mortal. He had already lived far beyond a normal human lifespan. Did this mean he was going to die soon?
Seeing her distress, Elder Guo averted his gaze toward the Celestial Summit Peak—the Sect Master's peak. "There is nothing we can do about it," he said quietly. His eyes moved to the sect members struggling to recover from the battle. "At least the sect survived," he added softly, before finishing with, "for now."
Suddenly, Elder Huang's eyes brightened with realization. "Wait, there is something we can do about it!" Without warning, she pushed him to the ground and ripped open his already tattered shirt.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Elder Guo asked in alarm. Had this woman decided to sleep with him and bear his children now that he was facing mortality? Not that he minded, but... His eyes darted to the side, noticing the large crowd of onlookers witnessing this scene. "Not in front of everyone," he protested, cheeks burning with embarrassment.
"What are you talking about?" Elder Huang looked genuinely confused by his reaction. "Anyway, let me test your spiritual root." She placed her palm against his exposed abdomen and injected a stream of qi, carefully sensing what lay within.
"It's just as I thought—it's still there!" she exclaimed triumphantly.
Elder Guo, thoroughly embarrassed now, pushed her off him. "So what if it's there? The golden core has already exploded, and the qi pathways are destroyed..." He hurriedly donned a new shirt that had been offered to him.
Then understanding dawned on him. "Xiang Yu," he whispered.
"That's right! Just like before, he can help you recover the broken qi pathways," she confirmed excitedly. "But since the core is broken, you'll have to form a new one. Basically, you'll have to start from scratch."
"Quick, let's go talk to him!" She jumped to her feet and, before he could protest, scooped Elder Guo up in a princess carry.
"Wait!" he objected frantically, but she ignored his complaints and flew off with him held in this embarrassing position.
"I should've just died," Elder Guo thought miserably, hiding his face behind his hands. "How can I have any dignity left after this?"
...
Xiang Yu sat immersed in the spirit spring, his body perfectly still in deep meditation. The multicolored waters swirled gently around him, continuing to heal his remaining injuries and replenish his depleted energy. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, alert and focused. Dawn was approaching—just a few minutes away according to his internal clock.
He had stopped cultivating because of a growing uneasiness that he couldn't shake. The silence outside was unnatural and concerning. He couldn't hear the commotion happening below the peak anymore. The complete absence of noise felt more ominous than any battlefield clamor.
Should he go down to check the situation? The question lingered in his mind as he weighed his options carefully. But what if enemies still lurked outside? He had already exhausted most of his resources in the earlier battle. He didn't have any more talismans.
It wasn't that he didn't care—despite having transmigrated into this body, he possessed all the memories and emotions of his predecessor. Genuine concern for his junior sister, his master, and his martial aunt nagged at him persistently. Their faces flashed through his mind, heightening his anxiety.
Yet he also recognized the harsh reality of his situation. Even if he went down there now, what difference could he make? He was still too weak to face Core Formation cultivators directly, especially if they came in numbers.
Just as these troubled thoughts circled through his mind, a familiar voice called out, piercing the silence.
"Senior brother, where are you?"
Li Yao's voice echoed through the pavilion.
Relief washed over him immediately. She was alive and apparently well enough to search for him. If she was freely moving about, the immediate danger must have passed.
He quickly climbed out of the spirit spring, retrieved fresh clothes from his spatial ring and dressed swiftly. After ensuring the spirit vein remained hidden, he emerged from the concealed cave entrance.
...