The cold wind howled, snow falling endlessly across thousands of miles. This snowstorm in the Kongsang Realm had lasted for a long time.
The heavy snow buried countless corpses. This war, which had persisted for more than ten days, only ended when Yumen Gate was breached. The Kongsang Realm, belonging to the Immortal Realm, fell, forcing the Immortal Realm to retreat to the rear.
Although the Kongsang Realm was desolate, its spiritual veins were abundant, which was the reason the Beast Realm attacked this time.
Shen Ciyu stood tall and slender, gripping his sword with one hand as he gazed at the boundless snowfield.
Having lived a smooth and effortless life since childhood, with hardly any hardships, he now felt utterly lost.
He had slain many demons. His white robes were stained with the black blood of the beast clan, and his gleaming blue longsword was still dripping with blood.
Yet, he still hadn’t found her.
This land stretched for thousands of miles, burying countless corpses. Which one of them was her?
“Sang Dai…”
Shen Ciyu murmured softly.
Another member of the beast clan charged at him, and he slashed them down almost mechanically.
To him, these demon soldiers were merely obstacles in his path. As a Sword Cultivator in the Nascent Soul Stage and an awakened Heaven-grade spiritual root wielder, defeating these demon soldiers was effortless, though it did take some time.
But Shen Ciyu was now highly irritable. He was usually good-tempered, and it was rare for anything to truly anger him.
Swinging his sword, he cut down all the obstructing demon soldiers, turning them into black smoke.
Just as Shen Ciyu was about to move forward, a chill ran down his spine, and every nerve in his body sounded the alarm. Years of sword training had sharpened his instincts, and he reflexively turned and swung his sword.
The clash of two blades rang out as an ink-black sword pressed his gleaming blue longsword back, forcing it to retreat step by step.
Shen Ciyu gritted his teeth, his blood surging as several of his meridians were shattered by the impact.
Su Xuan rarely harbored true killing intent, but now he showed no mercy. His pair of glassy eyes harbored a dark undercurrent, and the demonic energy surrounding him was so dense it couldn’t be concealed.
Shen Ciyu was knocked back dozens of feet. His longsword carved a deep trench into the ground as his back slammed hard against a standing stone monument.
Propping himself up with his sword, Shen Ciyu knelt on one knee and coughed up large mouthfuls of blood.
His ink-black hair was in disarray as he struggled to lift his gaze.
“Su Xuan?” His voice was hoarse, his throat clogged with blood. “You’ve entered the Grand Ascension Stage?”
Su Xuan looked down at him coldly. Compared to the disheveled Shen Ciyu, Su Xuan’s silver hair was not even slightly out of place.
“Immortal Lord Shen, you’re truly bold, daring to come to the Kongsang Realm alone?”
Shen Ciyu staggered to his feet, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. “I came to find her.”
“You dare speak of her?”
Shen Ciyu indeed had a knack for provoking. Just one sentence was enough to ignite Su Xuan’s fury to the extreme.
Su Xuan rarely used a sword. He usually fought barehanded, capable of wiping out masses with a single wave of his hand. The only time he wielded a sword was when sparring with a particular sword cultivator. It seemed that he had learned swordsmanship solely to duel with her.
Shen Ciyu was the second sword cultivator to make him draw his blade.
The sharp light of the sword tore through the void, carrying an overwhelming killing intent as it slashed toward Shen Ciyu.
As the two powerful figures clashed, the oppressive force of their battle leaked out, overwhelming any nearby demon soldiers. No one dared approach the vicinity.
Shen Ciyu raised his sword horizontally, channeling all the spiritual energy in his body to block the attack. But Su Xuan pressed forward relentlessly, showing no intention of letting him live.
Even though both possessed Heaven-grade spiritual roots, the difference between a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator and a Grand Ascension-stage expert was like heaven and earth.
Thunder rumbled, and dark clouds gathered as Su Xuan’s sword pierced through Shen Ciyu’s waist and abdomen.
The white robes of the sword cultivator were completely dyed red with blood.
Shen Ciyu, as if sensing Su Xuan’s fury, suddenly realized something. “Sang Dai isn’t dead, is she?”
As expected, Su Xuan’s killing blow hesitated for a moment, and Shen Ciyu took the opportunity to retreat.
Clutching the gaping wound in his waist, Shen Ciyu’s Heaven-grade spiritual root instinctively protected its host, actively working to heal the injuries in his body.
Su Xuan stood with his sword in one hand, staring at him indifferently. Blood still dripped from the tip of the blade.
Shen Ciyu’s face was pale. Seeing Su Xuan’s reaction, his previously desolate heart suddenly began to beat in panicked confusion.
Su Xuan liked Sang Dai. Shen Ciyu had realized this long ago.
Su Xuan’s cultivation had been stagnant for many years, prompting him to retreat into seclusion to break through. For him to emerge from seclusion so suddenly, it must have been because he heard news of the Beast Realm’s attack on the Immortal Realm. Knowing that Sang Dai, as a main force of the Sword Sect, would undoubtedly participate in the battle, he must have rushed to save her.
If Sang Dai were truly dead, Su Xuan wouldn’t spare the Sword Sect. He would certainly storm the sect and slaughter everyone. This demon had always acted without restraint, fearing nothing. Years ago, he had dared to challenge the Sword Sect alone to seek a duel with Sang Dai.
He had called it a duel, but in reality, he only wanted to see her. Unfortunately, Sang Dai, being dense as wood, failed to notice his intentions. Shen Ciyu, however, was different. A man could easily recognize the intense possessiveness in another man’s eyes. Shen Ciyu had subtly tried to warn Sang Dai many times.
“She’s not dead, is she? Where is she?” Shen Ciyu straightened his body, asking excitedly, “You wouldn’t let her die. Where is she? Let me see her!”
Su Xuan coldly asked, “Why do you want to see her? To abandon her again?”
Shen Ciyu’s face turned ashen. “I… I didn’t. I wasn’t there at the time…”
If he had been there, how could he have abandoned Sang Dai and left her to fend for herself?
Su Xuan retorted, “Then where were you?”
“The two realms were at war. As a fellow Heaven-grade spiritual root wielder of the Immortal Realm, Sang Dai fought on the frontlines as a main force for seventeen days. And you, Shen Ciyu, young master of the Shen family, where were you? Did you fight alongside her?”
“The Sword Sect didn’t allow you to participate in the battle, knowing that this war could cost lives, but they let Sang Dai go. Before the battle, they used a mission as an excuse to send you away, didn’t they?”
“Shen Ciyu, over the years, how many battles has Sang Dai fought, and how many have you? The Sword Sect treats her as a weapon, while you are their precious treasure. Have you ever questioned the Sword Sect about this? Is your life worth more than hers?”
Each question struck Shen Ciyu speechless.
He had no rebuttal.
Was Su Xuan wrong?
Before the war, Sang Wenzhou had deliberately sent him away on another mission, tying him down. Had he never doubted their intentions?
He had. But he trusted Sang Wenzhou’s decisions. He believed that, as always, Sang Dai would return safely, because she was strong and capable of withstanding anything.
But he had forgotten—she was only human.
Even an awakened Heaven-grade spiritual root wielder was still flesh and blood, capable of being injured, of bleeding, and of dying.
Shen Ciyu opened his mouth, but no words came out. His face was deathly pale, devoid of any color. His hand holding the sword trembled. As a sword cultivator, he could no longer even grip his own blade.
“Shen Ciyu, your blind loyalty to the Sword Sect disgusts me. The entire Sword Sect is hypocritical and repulsive, and yet you still dare to come to the Kongsang Territory?”
Su Xuan’s figure blurred, and in an instant, he was in front of Shen Ciyu.
His defined fingers tightened around Shen Ciyu’s neck. Shen Ciyu didn’t struggle; his jade-like face turned crimson, and the veins on his forehead bulged.
He only looked into Su Xuan’s eyes and asked, “Is… is she okay?”
Su Xuan’s voice was cold. “Oh, she’s doing just fine—except her golden core is shattered, and her meridians are broken.”
Anger surged through him, and his grip tightened further, just a step away from snapping Shen Ciyu’s neck.
Shen Ciyu continued speaking, “She… help… help her…”
Su Xuan felt even more disgusted by the hypocrisy of these people from the Immortal Realm. He thought of Sang Dai, covered in blood, as he stayed by her side day and night for an entire month. He couldn’t even count how many Tianchan Flowers and immortal pills he had used just to barely keep her alive.
Ignoring Shen Ciyu’s plea, Su Xuan was about to end him when the sky suddenly filled with thunderclouds. Thick bolts of lightning violently struck down toward him. At the same time, a fierce sword intent slashed toward him from the side.
Su Xuan raised his hand to block the strike, but in an instant, the intruder managed to snatch Shen Ciyu from his grasp.
Sang Wenzhou carried Shen Ciyu away, retreating rapidly. Thunderbolts continued to rain down on Su Xuan, each strike stopping him every time he tried to advance and kill the pair.
Su Xuan’s expression grew colder and more furious. He couldn’t understand where these inexplicable tribulation lightning strikes were coming from. He resolved to endure the lightning and kill both Sang Wenzhou and Shen Ciyu right here.
The dark clouds in the sky grew even denser, rumbling with deafening thunder. The lightning, like swimming dragons, darted through the clouds before crashing down on Su Xuan with overwhelming force.
This was tribulation lightning on par with what he had faced when ascending to the Grand Ascension Stage.
Su Xuan withstood the lightning head-on. The collision of his spiritual energy and the tribulation lightning sent shockwaves rippling through the surroundings. The thick snow melted inch by inch, and the mountains crumbled into dust.
Before the shockwaves reached them, Sang Wenzhou carried Shen Ciyu into the teleportation array.
As they vanished, the dark gray clouds suddenly dissipated, and the tribulation lightning that had been targeting Su Xuan disappeared entirely.
It was as if all of this had happened solely to stop him from killing Sang Wenzhou and Shen Ciyu.
No—more accurately, to stop him from killing Shen Ciyu.
Su Xuan withdrew his longsword, his gaze falling on the now-empty battlefield. His eyes narrowed slightly.
He looked up. The skies above the Kongsang Realm were calm and serene once more.
Su Xuan parted his lips. “The Heavenly Dao.”
The tribulation lightning, as strong as what he had faced when breaking through to the Grand Ascension Stage, had struck every time he attempted to kill Shen Ciyu, precisely stopping him from doing so.
The Heavenly Dao was protecting Shen Ciyu.
At his waist, the silver feather talisman began flashing incessantly. Su Xuan, already in a foul mood, assumed it was Liu Lixue. He grabbed the talisman and spoke coldly, “Speak.”
The person on the other end hesitated, seemingly startled by his icy, murderous tone.
Su Xuan grew impatient. “Liu Lixue, you—”
“It’s me.”
A calm, light voice came through the silver feather.
Su Xuan’s tightly furrowed brows instantly relaxed. For a moment, his gaze wavered, unprepared to hear her voice reaching out to him.