In an unknown place beneath a massive cliff, water roared as it plummeted downward, crashing violently against the rocks below. A colossal waterfall, wide as a great wall and towering over ten thousand kilometers high, thundered endlessly, its peak barely concealed by the clouds above.
Beneath the waterfall, a beautiful woman sat cross-legged on a massive rock, a sword resting at her hip. Her eyes remained closed in deep meditation. The water falling from ten thousand kilometers above crashed directly onto her delicate body, yet it did no harm to her whatsoever.
Jun Xilei sat in deep meditation. Her breath was steady, her thoughts silent, completely immersed in the feeling of the sword. But then, that hateful young man appeared in her mind again. She saw him raise his hand, golden sword intent bursting forth before he slashed down and defeated her with ease. He looked at her with that smirk and said mockingly, 'Bark, dog. Bark.'
"Forget it, forget him! Keep a peace of mind, peace, peace of mind, calm down..." Jun Xilei breathed more and more rapidly.
Her breathing became heavier, and her chest moved rapidly as a result, and was becoming faster.
In her heart, shame, humiliation, and hatred mixed together, turning into a volcano.
"How dare he?! He dared to do that to me! Ahhh!" Jun Xilei could not bear it anymore, and suddenly opened her eyes and stood up abruptly, raising her head and screaming.
The volcano in her heart erupted, filling her chest with anger, almost melting her entire body!
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Sword lights burst from all around her, tearing through the surroundings in every direction. Her eyes snapped open, burning with fury. "I'll kill you! I'll rip you to shreds! Ahhh! I'll grind your bones and burn your flesh!!!"
"Ahhhhhhh!"
"This scoundrel!!!"
"I want to rend your flesh, limb by limb! I want to step on your bones and crush them into pieces! I'll make you suffer for seven days and seven nights!"
"I swear, I'll make you suffer endless pain, I want you to die, and regret everything you have done to me. Then, I'll turn you into ashes and scatter you into the wind!"
Jun Xilei bellowed without stopping, the anger in her chest making her lose all rationality.
A few hundred miles away, Jun Wuming let out a long, helpless sigh and shook his head. He hadn't expected that this single defeat would plant a heart demon in his disciple.
If she couldn't overcome this heart demon, she would never be able to suppress Yun Wuji in the future. But that wasn't what troubled Jun Wuming, he had never expected her to surpass him in her lifetime.
What truly concerned him was the risk of her losing control and falling into cultivation deviation.
"But this isn't entirely a bad thing," Jun Wuming stroked his beard and muttered. Although the heart demon would keep her from surpassing Yun Wuji, it might also drive her to push harder. With enough insight and determination, she might even surpass Jun Wuming himself one day.
...
Shen Xi's eyes fluttered open. She gently pushed a leg off her body and rose to her feet.
This originally incomparably pure small bamboo hut, which had always belonged to her and her alone, was now a complete mess as nasty fluids had splashed all over the place. Even the air itself was filled with a completely lascivious aroma… it was simply far too dense, even the fresh fragrance of the plants and flowers in this place could not get rid of it in a short amount of time.
Shen Xi stood up, white light flashing across her body. After that, all the things that soiled her body were immediately removed, and she once again wore a plain white robe that was simple and elegant to the extreme.
Her beautiful eyes were like limpid blue lakes, and not a single ripple could be seen within them. Amidst the peace and quiet, she raised her hand and looked at the pure white light that flashed from her palm. She quietly stared at it for a long period of time before she finally whispered, "As expected…"
"As such, I have also finally…"
"Finally what?" Yun Wuji cut her off, gently pushing aside Mu Xuanyin and Hei Xiaolian, who were both clinging to him, then stood up.
Last night, Mu Xuanyin couldn't hold back her frustration and suddenly burst in to join them. Hei Xiaolian, bored from masturbating, quickly followed, and before long, the four of them were caught up in the fun together.
"You're awake?" Shen Xi glanced at him, her eyes briefly flickering down to his little dragon before looking back up.
Yun Wuji got dressed and stepped closer. "Aren't you going to explain anything?" he asked.
"You don't need to act so mysterious. I'm sure your father already told you I can see the future, that I know you're the spirit of the Heaven Punishing Sword."
Yun Wuji smiled and stretched out a hand. With a soft smile, he said, "Come on, want to go for a walk?"
"Alright," Shen Xi sighed softly, then took his hand and smiled. Her smile was pure, like celestial light cleansing the soul, so different from the sultry look she'd worn just yesterday.
After they left the bamboo house, a pair of eyes slowly opened, fixed on the door. The gaze shifted between each other, then both eyes closed again.
Mu Xuanyin and Hei Xiaolian weren't fully asleep, after all, which Divine Master truly sleeps in this world? They just didn't want to get up.
"Back then, when the war started, the Heaven Punishing God Race entrusted the Heaven Punishing Ancestral Sword to us so that they may fight without worry, unfortunately, the devil race discovered that we were hiding the Heaven Punishing Ancestral Sword. Countless devils emerged to battle our realms… devilish poisons devoured countless lives, the sky turned black with devilish energy, and the stench of death was as thick as the abyss.
Royal Father was gravely wounded, and I suffered injuries that nearly took my life; the devilish poison invaded my soul.
Ignoring the elder's objection, he shattered the Dragon God Seal and released the wisp of Ancestral God divine energy contained within it. But instead of using it to slay the devils, he used it as a medium to seal my dying body into the Heaven Punishing Ancestral Sword and toss it into the Well of Samsara."
"However, to reclaim the Heaven Punishing Ancestral Sword, the crazed devils attacked the Well of Samsara until it was completely destroyed."
Holding his hand, Shen Xi walked slowly among the flowers, her voice calm and emotionless, as if recounting something distant and unrelated to herself. "I remained unconscious for a very, very long time. Then I suddenly woke up here, only to find the war had ended. But the world had changed; it became a godless world. Everyone was dead, devils and gods alike."
"I tried to leave this place, but I found out that because the ancestral sword is still sealed inside the Well of Samsara, I can't go far. If I move too far away from the sword, I'll just disappear."
"I spent nearly a million years meditating, trying to break free, but progress was painfully slow. Who knows when it would end?" She paused, then turned to Yun Wuji, locking her eyes on his with a complicated expression. "That's what I believed, until yesterday."
"I can guess that much, but what's inside me that could help you?" Yun Wuji asked, curiosity clear in his voice.
Shen Xi shook her head. "I don't know exactly. I just sensed you have a very special power inside you, something that can drastically shorten the time I need to break free."
"And after I... did it with you, I confirmed this guess. I only need less than ten years to break free," Shen Xi explained, trying to calm the complex emotions stirring in her heart.
"Is that so? Then, congratulations," Yun Wuji said without any surprise, since it was close to what he expected. He smiled brightly and asked, "So you only need this help once?"
"No!" Shen Xi shook her head, then stopped and turned her head away, hiding a faint blush. She added quietly, "I still need... to dual cultivate with you more, to stabilize the effect and maybe even reduce the time needed further."
"Alright, I have no objections. But in return, I'll need your help with something," Yun Wuji said, not minding the idea of doing it more times. There was something he wanted to ask her.
"My help?" Shen Xi echoed, curious.
"Yes, I'm working on a new pill, and I'm close to making it," Yun Wuji said. "You have deep, extensive knowledge about alchemy and herbs, both those that exist now and those from the past. I want you to teach me and assist me while we work on this together."
Yun Wuji could call himself a skilled alchemist, but the herbs he got his hands on couldn't compare to what Shen Xi had seen. She had survived since the Primordial Era, living for tens of millions of years. Even now, she was the top alchemist, and the products she occasionally gave to the Dragon God Realm were treasures every King Realm dreamed of.
With her help, he could cut the time needed to develop the Level Up Pill from two or three months down to just a few weeks!
"Oh, right, I almost forgot!" Suddenly, he remembered, "I have the second half of the Divine Miracle of Life."
"What?" Shen Xi's celestial eyes snapped toward Yun Wuji, her entire body turning as shock and astonishment flashed across her flawless, beautiful face.
Although the soul crystal her father left contained much information, the Dragon God was too weak, and his soul was on the verge of collapse. The knowledge he passed on was incomplete, including only the most important details he wanted to convey. As for things like the Miracle of Life and others, he didn't mention them, because Shen Xi would discover them easily on her own.
Yun Wuji stretched out his hand, and the characters of the Heavenly Medicine Manual, the first profound art his master taught him, began to float into his mind. Then, they formed a shadowy image that, with a wave of his hand, slowly unfolded before him.
"It's... true..." Shen Xi muttered, eyes fixed on the characters floating before her. She stretched out her hand, and characters began to form in the air there as well.
After that, an incredibly strange and magnificent scene unfolded before her eyes. The two parts of the divine art, one from Shen Xi, the other from Yun Wuji, began to dance together. They swiftly moved closer, merging perfectly. The light and aura radiating from the characters flowed and blended, spreading outward to reveal a complete divine art. At the same moment, a whole new world opened before them.
Shen Xi lifted her head, her gaze vacant as she stared at the space above her.
"The complete… Divine Miracle of Life," she murmured absent-mindedly.
Bright ripples shimmered in her beautiful eyes, lingering there without fading for a long while.
"I finally get it, Master," Yun Wuji said, his eyes fixed on the glowing characters, emotions swirling inside him.
He remembered how his master once regretted not having the complete Heavenly Medicine Manual. Back then, a young Yun Wuji had confidently promised to find the missing half and bring it to him.
But now, though he had finally found it, his master was already gone...
"It actually… actually…" Shen Xi muttered to herself, as her beautiful eyes had unconsciously grown hazy.
She stared quietly at the reunited and complete "Divine Miracle of Life." Compared to Yun Wuji, who only wished to make up for his past regret, the throbbing in her heart was hundreds of times stronger than his.
"He appeared… and he even brought the completion of 'Miracle of Life' with him..."
"It looks like this is truly the will of heaven…"
"Royal father… Lord Li Suo… Xi'er has finally… finally…"
...
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