AUOF - 137

Maintaining an illusion the size of a village required immense mental effort and also created countless loopholes. To avoid such a situation, Ji Hengyu reduced the size of the secret realm, limiting Sang Sang’s activities to the courtyard and house. The next day, he would erase her memory, making her believe it was a new day.

However, this was merely a temporary solution.

Repeating the same day endlessly would eventually leave traces in her mind. The more traces there were, the harder it would be to conceal. Gradually, his soul blood seemed no longer able to suppress the rampant evil soul within her.

At this point, Ji Hengyu chose to feed her a drop of his heart’s blood.

He was frantic, numb, no longer considering the consequences, wanting only Sang Sang to live. Just her living was enough.

When Sang Sang was conscious, she would curse him, looking at him with eyes full of hatred.

It seemed there was no longer any affection between them; they had become a couple filled with resentment.

More often than not, Sang Sang would stare out the window, her eyes distant, hollow, and a little bewildered. She couldn’t understand why Ji Hengyu insisted on doing this.

Ji Hengyu knew she didn’t stop loving him; she was just disappointed.

What frightened Ji Hengyu even more was that the more people he killed, the more he would attract the attention of the Heavenly Realm. Perhaps it wouldn’t be long before someone came looking for them.

He needed to find another place...

A safer place.

Ji Hengyu thought of the wilderness where he and Sang Sang had lived for a year.

That was Buzhou Wasteland, far from the Nine Provinces. Though demons ran rampant there, it was distant from the Divine Realm and thus more stable than their current location.

Having made up his mind, Ji Hengyu decided to take her away immediately.

Now, Sang Sang was chained to the bed with immortal-binding chains, a lock tightly clasped around her ankle, as if he feared she might run away.

When Ji Hengyu entered the room, Sang Sang instinctively shrank back. As she moved, the chains jingled crisply a few times.

The man approaching her was unusually thin.

He had become an entire size smaller, his face pale, his eyes often covered by a haze. Sang Sang could barely connect this dark man before her with the once immortal-like, clear-spirited, and handsome husband she knew.

Ji Hengyu approached the bedside silently, step by step.

Sang Sang kept retreating, avoiding his approach, her body curled up, her vigilance evident.

This made Ji Hengyu’s fingers pause. He slowly lifted his long eyelashes.

He had grown thin, his eyes sunken deeper, his ink-dark pupils appearing exceptionally profound in the dim candlelight. “Sang Sang, you’re afraid of me.”

Sang Sang’s nose stung, and she couldn’t help but shake her head.

“Sang Sang, don’t be afraid of me. We’ll go somewhere else, we’ll live somewhere else...” Ji Hengyu said, unchaining her. “No one will find you. I won’t let anyone find you.”

He seemed to have lost his composure, or perhaps he had fallen into some kind of uncontrollable madness.

Sang Sang couldn’t see any sobriety in Ji Hengyu’s eyes.

She cautiously studied his profile, sensing that he was nervous, even harboring unease.

Sang Sang suddenly realized something and gripped his wrist with her hand.

His skin was cold, without any fleshiness to the touch. In such a short time, he had fallen to such a state of despair. This realization startled Sang Sang and brought a momentary pang of sorrow. She still didn’t move her hand, “Are you doing this to protect me?”

Ji Hengyu’s spine stiffened. He looked over.

Sang Sang knew she had guessed correctly.

“Are you afraid the Divine Realm... will harm me?”

She asked softly, testing him. Ji Hengyu lowered his eyelashes, his expression hidden in the shadows, vague and unclear.

“But what’s the point of this?”

“There is.” He spoke hoarsely, “To spend every day with you is the point.”

Sang Sang was speechless.

She knew his character well; if he weren’t driven to desperation, he would never act this way. Was the Divine Realm trying to kill her? Or could Heaven’s Dao no longer tolerate her? Whatever the possibility, it couldn’t be Ji Hengyu’s excuse for imprisoning her.

The constant entanglement with him had long since exhausted Sang Sang. She simply gave up struggling and resisting, leaning against the wall and closing her eyes.

Ji Hengyu still wanted to say something to her, but a sudden noise from outside the illusion made his expression immediately tighten.

“Sang Sang, wait for me, I’ll be back soon.” Ji Hengyu touched her face, then took out a small porcelain bottle from his sleeve. “When your chest hurts, drink this.”

He reluctantly gave her a look, then turned and walked out.

Outside, it was already a mess.

Aside from the house he had specifically reinforced with a barrier, the four sides of the illusion had already developed cracks. Wave after wave of attacks surged through, and faint familiar voices could be heard.

Ji Hengyu’s face grew increasingly somber. Through the window frame, his gaze was deep and distant.

Finally, Ji Hengyu lifted the restriction on Sang Sang and soared out of the illusion.

This was Tian Mountain Prison, where Sang Sang had been imprisoned for nearly a year.

Waves surged on the sea, and amidst dense clouds, lightning flashed and thunder roared. Twelve immortals, accompanied by immortal soldiers, rode on clouds. Si Tu was among them.

“...Senior Brother.”

Facing the long-absent Ji Hengyu, Si Tu’s gaze was astonished and sorrowful.

He didn’t look at her, silently drawing his sword.

The Evil-Repelling Chi Li Sword would change according to its master’s spiritual realm.

If the master’s spiritual platform was clear and focused on good, the Evil-Repelling Chi Li Sword would become a benevolent sword that slayed all demons. If the master’s spiritual platform was eroded and the blade stained with blood, the Evil-Repelling Chi Li Sword would eventually become an evil sword.

At this moment, his sword had shed its chilling, snowy radiance. The blade was red, wrapped in a dense, persistent malevolent aura.

—Devoured by inner demons, he was nearly demonized!

A great shock made Si Tu gasp, unable to accept this sudden change. She tightly covered her mouth to prevent a cry of alarm.

“High Immortal Gaomin, that demon is imprisoned here by him.”

Imprisoned here?

Did that mean for the past year, Ji Hengyu had been deceiving and imprisoning Sang Sang with an illusion?!

“Ji Hengyu, you know she’s Yen Jiuying reborn, why would you feed her with your own soul blood? Do you know what consequences that will have?!”

Gaomin’s questioning made Si Tu’s pupils flicker.

He remained unmoved, his face filled with indifference.

“As long as I live, I won’t let any of you get a step closer to her.” Ji Hengyu slowly raised his long sword and unleashed a sword light towards the sky.

This was undoubtedly a declaration of war. The twelve immortals immediately showed no mercy, attacking him in unison.

A cold glint flickered in Ji Hengyu’s eyes. The Evil-Repelling Chi Li Sword sensed the murderous intent in its master’s heart, its sword aura turning savage. In an instant, the heavens and earth collapsed, and evil winds raged.

His robes flapped fiercely as his figure, entangled with the immortals, exuded a killing intent.

Si Tu had never seen Ji Hengyu like this. He was supposed to be as clear as a gentle breeze under a bright moon, compassionate to all beings, but now... Si Tu couldn’t find any words to describe the Ji Hengyu before her.

She couldn’t find any trace of his former self in him.

He seemed to be blinded by inner demons, obscuring all his past radiance, leaving only cruelty, maliciousness, and madness.

More and more immortals fell, and Ji Hengyu’s wounds increased.

Blood soaked his pure white robes. The crimson in his eyes remained, colder than the icy sea itself.

As she watched, Si Tu began to weep.

If this continued, Ji Hengyu would only fight to his death, and then there would truly be no chance left!

She swung her long whip into the battlefield. The whip lashed out, wrapping around Ji Hengyu’s waist from behind.

Seizing this opportunity, the immortals swarmed forward, setting up an Immortal-Suppressing Formation to capture him.

Ji Hengyu was forced to his knees, but he still didn’t give up struggling.

His limbs twisted excessively, opening his wounds, and blood gushed out continuously.

The ferocity in his eyes distorted his face, and his malevolent aura was so oppressive that others dared not approach.

“Ji Hengyu, look at yourself now! Why did you turn yourself into this?!” Si Tu cried out, questioning him.

Ji Hengyu remained silent, his gaze fixed on the interior of the illusion.

Only when he sensed Sang Sang’s aura move away did his tense muscles gradually relax. Ji Hengyu closed his eyes, hearing his heart pound rapidly and his breath become erratic in the darkness.

“Immortal Venerable, that demon has escaped. How should we deal with Heavenly Lord Heng?”

Hearing his subordinate’s report, Gaomin frowned: “Take him back to the Divine Realm first, and await the Heavenly Venerable’s command.”

“Yes.”

Ji Hengyu was forcibly pulled to his feet.

He didn’t resist, obediently keeping his head down the entire time. Si Tu, who was still crying beside him, suddenly realized something, instantly forgetting her tears, and looked at Ji Hengyu in astonishment.

He said nothing, his expression withered and quiet, as if dead.

**

Sang Sang exhausted all her strength to escape the illusion. She didn’t dare to look back at the turmoil behind her, so she naturally didn’t see Ji Hengyu, bloodied, parting ways with her.

The Spirit-Locking Candles confined in her Four Continents prevented her from using spiritual power. It took her almost three days to escape Tian Mountain Prison, and by the time she returned to Tianze River, it was already seven days later. Once safe, Sang Sang finally collapsed by the river, exhausted.

She buried her face in the water, gurgling as she drank, then cupped a handful of icy spring water to splash on her cheeks.

The water shimmered, reflecting a somewhat dishevelled face.

Sang Sang had no strength left to continue walking.

She shuffled over to a stone behind her, leaned against it, and closed her eyes to sleep.

Her sleep was not deep; her mind remained clear.

Half an hour later, as dusk fell, a familiar pain spread from her chest, instantly startling her awake from her half-sleep.

Sang Sang clutched her chest, her body slightly hunched. In her struggle, a small white porcelain bottle rolled out from her embrace.

It lay alone at her feet. Sang Sang was stunned for a moment, then remembered Ji Hengyu’s words, stretched out her arm, and picked it up.

The pain seemed to intensify.

Sang Sang could only slow her breathing, her fingers trembling as she opened the stopper. Instantly, the scent of blood filled her nostrils.

Upon realizing what it was, Sang Sang’s pupils constricted violently.

This wasn’t medicine at all.

It was Ji Hengyu’s heart’s blood!!

The shock made her tremble all over. All this time, for so long... Ji Hengyu had been using his own soul blood to heal her?

He was crazy?!

Sang Sang was astonished and enraged. She threw the bottle into the river, letting it sink.

—She had to go home.

Back to Luoyu Palace, back to her brother.

Yes, home.

She still had a home to return to.

Sang Sang suddenly found something to lean on. She endured the pain and climbed up from the ground, ignoring the backlash of the Spirit-Locking Candles, forcefully summoned a tiny bit of spiritual power, and leaped up, flying towards Luoyu Palace.

The familiar palace stood amidst thick fog.

Sang Sang gritted her teeth and persevered, but that meager spiritual power was no longer enough to support her body. The scorching pain from the burning candles caused her to lose all strength, and her body, like a bird with broken wings, plummeted from high in the sky.

“Who dares trespass on the Demon Palace?!”

The stationed demon soldiers rushed over at the news, several long spears pointed at her.

Sang Sang felt dizzy. She moved her fingertips, somewhat laboriously climbed up from the ground, and looked up, saying, “Me.”

Upon recognizing her face, everyone was greatly startled. In their panic, they put away their weapons and bowed respectfully to Sang Sang: “We did not expect it to be Your Demon Venerable. Your subordinates have been greatly presumptuous.”

Sang Sang shook her head, too tired for pleasantries: “Help me up.”

The leading demon soldier quickly reached out to support her.

Once her body had a support point, she regained some strength. Sang Sang limped into the hall.

Perhaps because she hadn’t returned in a long time, the aura of Luoyu Palace was different from before. A heavy atmosphere, which Sang Sang couldn’t quite understand, hung on everyone’s faces. Occasionally, someone would boldly look up at her, their gaze complex, quickly lowering their head after a swift glance.

Sang Sang went to the main hall first.

The vast palace was empty, with a faint smell of blood lingering. Sang Sang, eager to see her brother, didn’t think much of it and went to the study and the training grounds, but still found no sign of Sang Ning. This made her panic.

Sang Sang asked the demon soldier supporting her, “Have you seen my brother?”

The demon soldier froze, then pursed his lips and lowered his head.

Sang Sang’s heart tightened. She pulled her hand back and stood upright, her gaze unwavering: “I’m asking you again, have you seen Sang Ning?”

This question made the demon soldier’s heart sink. He immediately knelt to the ground, “Please, Demon Venerable, have mercy!”

“Why are you begging me for mercy?” Sang Sang’s eyes reddened, her emotions quickly unraveling, “I just asked you, where is Sang Ning!”

He dared not look up, stammering, “Lord Ning... Lord Ning was killed by Heavenly Lord Heng and, and Divine Maiden Si Tu. You were also abducted by Heavenly Lord Heng...” His voice grew softer and softer, finally burying his head in his chest, not daring to breathe.

A booming sound echoed in her ears.

White light exploded before her eyes.

Sang Sang staggered back two steps, unable to stand. Just as she was about to fall, she closed her eyes, steadied herself, and spoke in a flat, cold voice, “Say that again. Sang Ning... what happened?”

“This subordinate would never lie!” The demon soldier pleaded earnestly, “Heavenly Lord Heng cast an immortal restriction in the main hall. We couldn’t approach. When the restriction was lifted, we entered and saw no trace of them, and even Your Demon Venerable was nowhere to be found, only... only...”

He dared not say more.

Sang Sang pressed on, “Only what?”

The demon soldier’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He closed his eyes and said, “Only Lord Ning’s corpse remained. He was killed by the Evil-Repelling Chi Li Sword...”

[He was killed by the Evil-Repelling Chi Li Sword.]

Sang Sang’s thoughts were a tangled mess.

She saw the world spinning, her chest felt as if it had been ripped open, and now she could no longer feel pain, only numbness in the end.

Her throat tasted of blood.

Amidst the demon soldiers’ alarmed cries, Sang Sang bent over and coughed up a mouthful of black blood.

Her vision blurred, and the world seemed to turn upside down.

Sang Sang shook her head repeatedly, mumbling hoarsely, “No... Ji Hengyu wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t... wouldn’t kill the one I love. It can’t be Ji Hengyu.”

The demon soldier, fearing Sang Sang’s wrath, repeated bitterly, “Your Highness, I saw it with my own eyes...!”

“Just because you saw it with your own eyes makes it true?!” Sang Sang retorted, questioning him back, “Even if it was Heavenly Lord Heng, how could the two of them break into Luoyu Palace?! If not with Sang Ning’s consent, how could they enter the main hall and set up a restriction?!”

The demon soldier was speechless.

“So Sang Ning isn’t dead... he won’t die...”

Sang Sang held firm to her belief.

Sang Ning must still be alive.

Perhaps this was a scheme they both set up against her.

Ignoring her subordinates’ attempts to stop her, she turned and rushed into the River of Oblivion.

In Tianze River, the dead enter the River of Oblivion. If she went in and looked, she would know whether Sang Ning was truly dead or not.

Sang Sang disliked the River of Oblivion.

Every soul bell lit here represented a beloved person who had appeared in her life: her mother, her father, and many relatives and close friends who had died in power struggles.

She entered the River of Oblivion alone, the air currents causing the soul bells to clang all around.

The soul bells used soul fire as their bells and wandering spirits as their bodies, coming in various colors and forms. Countless bells drifted aimlessly in every corner of the River of Oblivion. Sang Sang searched through each bell, some names strange, some familiar. She searched all around, but found no sign of Sang Ning.

Her tightly strung heart seemed to gradually calm down amidst this ceaseless search.

Suddenly.

She felt a pull from a familiar aura.

Sang Sang paused, her eyes following the sensation.

Above the steps, at the end of the mist, a tiny flicker of firefly light still shone.

Ding-dong.

Ding-dong.

It chimed, its sound clearer and softer than any other soul bell here, like a soft whisper, enticing Sang Sang closer.

Sang Sang’s eyes were fixed on the flickering soul fire, her figure moving closer step by step.

White mist slowly dispersed on both sides. The soul bell floated in mid-air, its bell made of bamboo-green soul fire, and its body adorned with cloud patterns.

She couldn’t help but reach out, and the soul bell floated into her palm.

Two words were inscribed upon it—

Sang Ning.

A wisp of green mist drifted from the bell, instantly coiling around her entire body. Then, a gentle voice reached her ears—

“Sang Sang, take care of yourself.”

She froze, her eyes widening suddenly. But when she looked back, she saw only swaying tree shadows.

Her palm also felt empty. The soul bell detached from her fingertips, drifting away to some unknown place.

Only then did Sang Sang realize what had just happened.

She chased after it in a panic, “Brother, are you abandoning me?”

“Brother, I’ll listen to you. I won’t be with Ji Hengyu anymore. Don’t leave me.”

“Brother, I’ll stay in Tianze River, and I’ll become a competent king of Tianze River, just as you taught me.”

She ran so fast, her gasps interspersed with urgent sobs.

“Sang Ning, don’t go.”

The soul bell flew away faster. Sang Sang found it increasingly difficult to keep up, the muddy ground heavy beneath her feet. One foot sank in, dragging her entire body down into the mud.

Erratic auras caused the bells to clang wildly.

Amidst these waves of clanging bells, only that familiar, clear, and warm voice was absent.

Sang Sang looked up in a daze.

She didn’t know what she had done wrong, nor where all these sudden changes had come from.

She only remembered when she was very, very young, she would cling to Sang Ning’s back. He would take off his outer robe and tightly cover her face, carrying her across mountains and rivers, through days and nights, supporting her forward with his thin back.

Sang Ning always liked to say one thing to her—

“Sang Sang, don’t be afraid. I’ll always be here.”

She had never imagined that the two of them would be separated.

They were twins, existing and born at the same time. During those difficult days of escape, Sang Sang had thought they might die together, just as they were born together, they would die together. But she had never imagined that Sang Ning would leave first.

Just because he was born before her, he had to leave before her now too?

But why?

It hurt too much.

She lay on her back on the ground, clutching the front of her clothes tightly.

The mud of the River of Oblivion dragged her body down.

Sang Sang looked at the misty world, her eyes slowly becoming hollow, finally replaced by an endless coldness.

Sang Sang struggled out of the mud and sat down to meditate.

She closed her eyes tightly, circulating her spiritual power throughout her body, ignoring her almost collapsed spiritual platform in the Four Continents. She gathered her spiritual power, forcefully breaking through the restraints of the Spirit-Locking Candles.

In the endless darkness, seventeen Spirit-Locking Candles trapped her.

The first to be extinguished was the Candle of the Spiritual Platform.

She saw Ji Hengyu standing before her, his gaze like a torch, tearing up the divorce papers right in front of her...

Next was the Candle of the Sea of Consciousness.

Memories surged: the twelve immortals besieging Qingyang Mountain, Ji Hengyu standing before her, telling the immortals—she was his wife.

Sang Sang found it difficult to open her eyes, her tears streaming down from the chaotic memories.

Then came the Candle of the Four Continents.

She saw herself lying on the bed, Sang Ning speaking to her at length in the dim candlelight. With every word he spoke, her heart ached a little more.

Finally, the sea of memory.

As the candles extinguished, darkness enveloped the world. She saw the four seas fall, heaven and earth unclear; she saw the suffering of all beings, corpses strewn everywhere. She saw that one sword slaughter nine demon heads, leaving only one heart wandering the world, that heart deeply rooted in a corner of Tianze River; but its fragment accidentally flew into the Sea of Reincarnation, finally entering a woman’s body and merging with one of the fetuses, transforming into its heart.

Sang Sang watched all of this, her face stained with tears.

Finally, she saw the young girl lose control, slaughtering the village, until one day, she unconsciously tried to kill her own brother...

Scene after scene flashed before her eyes. She was deeply trapped in a nightmare, unable to wake up.

When all seventeen Spirit-Locking Candles were completely extinguished, Sang Sang collapsed to the ground, exhausted, her tears from the corners of her eyes and blood from her lips mixing together into her mouth.

She had the best brother and the best husband in the world.

It was just a pity that she was not the best Sang Sang.