Stop

Over the long years, he watched Yunxiu's twin buns grow longer, and watched her grow from a little kid who couldn't even hold a sword steadily, into a fairy who could skillfully condense a light shield.

On the surface, he was the gentle and reliable Senior Brother Yan Xiu, who would bring her roasted pheasant when she was hungry and help her out when she was wronged; but only he knew that every late night, he would stand for a while outside Yunxiu's bamboo house, with divine power lingering gently on his fingertips.

After confirming that the divine power was still stable and confirming his obsession, he finally had a direction.

Until one ordinary morning.

When Yunxiu was practicing sword by the stream, he somehow triggered something and the entire stream instantly froze into ice.

Yan Xiu walked over and gently touched her head. The divine power at his fingertips resonated clearly with the power in her body.

This was the first time Yan Xiu truly came into contact with the divine power within Yun Xiu's body.

Yan Xiu's awakening came later than he had expected.

When he woke up in his sixth reincarnation, he had forgotten most of his memories and only remembered the two goals of "returning to Yaoxi Mountain" and "finding divine power".

It wasn't until he resonated with the divine power within Yunxiu's body that all his memories came back to him.

He remembered his divine body from ten thousand years ago, remembered his mission of reincarnation, and clearly remembered the 60% of divine power he had injected into Bai Que's body.

At that moment, his will began to waver.

Without the nourishment of incense, his soul remained weak; the black residual soul in his spiritual veins became stronger and stronger, roaring in his consciousness every day, urging him to "collect divine power" and "awaken the complete god."

He knew that only by obtaining 60% of the divine power in Yunxiu's body, or collecting 40% of the divine power scattered between heaven and earth, could he awaken the ancient god and stop himself from suffering the pain of reincarnation and the torture of the black remnant soul.

That night, he quietly came to Yunxiu's bamboo house.

The divine power condensed into a blade of light in the palm of his hand. With just a slight wave, he could cut through Yunxiu's spiritual veins and take out the divine power in his body.

But when he saw Yunxiu sleeping soundly in the bamboo house, he found herself with an unfinished rattan basket beside her.

Yunxiu had recently developed a sudden interest in weaving, and she and Jinger had started learning to make pendants, bracelets, small purses...she wanted to make everything. Rattan baskets, mats... She worked on them quickly and skillfully, like a little bird building a nest.

Everyone in the mountains benefited.

As the person who usually takes her with her in the mountains, Yan Xiu has everything from her hairband to the mountain gate badge and lanyard that Yun Xiu has personally woven.

It was strange that he couldn't do it.

He opened the door and sat beside Yunxiu's bed for a long time.

He used his divine power to probe Yunxiu's spiritual veins. For the first time, he explored them so precisely, quietly, and meticulously.

However, she discovered that 60% of her divine power was sealed deep within her divine essence by an invisible barrier.

Yan Xiu was stunned for a long moment, but then he remembered. It was a protection he'd subconsciously left behind before his fifth life dissipated, fearing his divine power would harm the little bird. At that time, realizing his own death was near, he cast a death curse, using the last of his life as a hedge.

Now, this seal had become an obstacle. As long as Yunxiu lived, the divine power could not be forcibly extracted; but if Yunxiu died, the seal would dissipate along with her divine essence, and 60% of her divine power would be completely dispersed between heaven and earth, impossible to collect again.

"I can only wait." Yan Xiu said to himself, "Wait until her divine power awakens and the seal is automatically released, then I can find a way to take it."

He felt lighter.

But the black remnant soul in his spiritual vein was becoming increasingly impatient. That voice echoed in his consciousness day by day:

"Kill her! Even if the divine power dissipates, we can collect it again!"

"If you hesitate any longer, we will all disappear completely!"

Perhaps he himself did not realize it... Yan Xiu was consumed by obsession.

Day and night, nightmares kept him awake. Countless nights, he wandered Yaoxi Mountain like a ghost. He watched the lights slowly dim, the sounds fade away. He only looked toward Yunxiu.

He began secretly leaving Yaoxi Mountain, hunting down those immortals whose divine power still lingered. Instinctively, he sought to disguise himself. He donned the attire of an ancient god—silver-white hair, moon-white and pale-gold robes—and disguised himself as a "sentenced deity." He slew those immortals who refused to surrender their divine power, draining their divinity and integrating it into his own strength.

Jing Er volunteered to go down the mountain.

For three consecutive months, fellow disciples from Yaoxi Mountain had disappeared after going down the mountain to save people. When the news came back, everyone's breath had been completely cut off, leaving only a very faint trace of cold white divine power, like a silent provocation.

She carried the banyan leaf talisman given by Yingtang in her pocket and a longsword at her waist. She wanted to find her missing fellow disciples and, if there was a murderer, seek justice for them.

When she followed the remaining traces to Qingxi Village, it was already dark.

The door of the dilapidated temple stood ajar, a cold white light emanating from within, reminiscent of the legendary aura of the "Ancient Gods." Jing Er tightened his grip on his sword and gently pushed the door open, only to be confronted by a figure both familiar and unfamiliar—silver-white hair cascading over his shoulders, his moon-white and pale gold robes radiating a cold, divine glow.

But the way that man stood in the moonlight, the way he held his sword...why did it all seem so familiar...

"Did you kill the fellow disciple from Yaoxi Mountain?"

The scar and the divine power of the person in front of him are of the same origin.

Yan Xiu's hand, hanging by his side, suddenly tightened, the cold white divine power in his palm glowing unsteadily. He hadn't expected to meet Jing Er.

This senior sister who always liked to teach Yunxiu sword-fighting with her hands on her hips, who would share the most delicious roasted chicken legs with Yunxiu and Wu Yi, and who would tap him on the back when he was distracted during sword-fighting practice, was now pointing a sword at him, her eyes full of vigilance and anger.

The black remnant soul roared madly in his consciousness: "Kill her! Take her immortal power! She can sense your breath, she can't be spared!"

But Yan Xiu felt a lump in his throat when he looked at Jing Er:

"Go away. Just pretend I never saw you."

"You'll let me go?" Jing Er was puzzled for a while, then suddenly laughed.

"What about Senior Brother Lin and Senior Sister Ah Xing who disappeared earlier? Did you let them go?"

She thrust her sword forward, its gleam as sharp as frost. "What should I do? We don't have any connection, do we? You're willing to let me go... but I'm here to kill you!"

Her sword moves were full of desperate determination. She knew the person before her was stronger than herself, but she aimed every strike at his weak spot.

Jing Er had only one thought in his mind: even if he couldn't beat him, he had to delay for a while, even if it was just to scratch him and leave more traces, so that the fellow disciples who came to look for him later would have more clues.

Yan Xiu could only raise his hand to block. He deliberately slowed down the speed of his sword, daring to use only 30% of his cold white divine power, and the tip of his sword always grazed Jing Er's sword spine to avoid it.

But Jing Er fought more and more fiercely, and his sword brushed against Yan Xiu's clothes, knocking off the rope around his waist.

That was the one Yunxiu had just woven last month. The rope was decorated with green paulownia branches and a small silver bell at the end.

It was specially chosen by Yunxiu, who said, "When senior brother is practicing sword, the ringing of the bell will let me know where you are."

The hanging rope fell to the ground, and the silver bell rang "dingling", which was particularly clear in the silent dilapidated temple.

Jing Er's movements suddenly stopped. She stared at the piece of rope, her pupils shrinking, and even the hand holding the sword began to tremble.

She took out an identical silver bell lanyard from her waist.

"It's the style of Yunxiu weaving..."

She suddenly looked up, her eyes fixed on Yan Xiu's masked face.

"The way you draw your sword, the way you use your knuckles to push against it when you grip it..."

She put away her sword and slowly took a step forward.

"Brother Yan Xiu, it's you, right? You..."

"shut up!"

Yan Xiu suddenly flew into a rage. The roar of the black remnant soul instantly overwhelmed all rationality, and fear overwhelmed him like a tide.

What if Jing Er really recognized him? What if she went back to Yaoxi Mountain and told Master, Yingtang, and Wu Yi? What if everyone knew he was the murderer?

"Why are you forcing me! Why are you forcing me!"

The cold white divine power surged wildly in his palm, more brutal than ever before. He no longer held back, thrusting his sword straight into Jing Er's chest, his movements so swift that Jing Er had no time to react.

“Puff—”

The sound of a blade piercing flesh echoed through the ruined temple. Jing Er looked down at the sword that had pierced her chest. Blood flowed down the blade, staining her moon-white robe red.

She looked at Yan Xiu, but could not make any sound.

"I don't want to kill you...why don't you leave..."

But Jing Er did not fall down. Instead, he used up his last bit of strength and reached out to touch the half of the banyan leaf jade pendant in his arms.

Yan Xiu watched her movements and swung his sword fiercely, severing Jing Er's wrist as she reached for his chest. Half of the jade pendant clanged to the ground, stained with dark red blood, and rolled to the corner of the dilapidated temple like a broken tear.

Jing Er's body staggered and fell. The last thing she looked at was the direction of Yaoxi Mountain. Her lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but only a mouthful of blood flowed out, and the light in her eyes dimmed little by little.

Yan Xiu was stunned for a long time before he remembered to collect the remaining energy from her body. But he was too slow, and the immortal power had already been blown away by the wind and dissipated in the night mist before he even raised his hand.

Amidst her dissipated immortal power, a very faint breath drifted towards Yaoxi Mountain along with the wind.

Yan Xiu stood there, looking at the bloodstains and the half jade pendant on the ground, the divine power in his palm still trembling slightly.

The black remnant soul cheered in his mind, but he felt a tightness in his chest, as if something was blocking it. He thought of Jing Er's eyes just now, and it was like a needle, piercing him painfully.

He bent down and picked up the half jade pendant, and instantly wrapped it with the divine power of his fingertips, trying to destroy it completely.

But just as he was about to exert force, he remembered what Yunxiu had said before, "Senior Sister Jing Er likes banyan leaf patterns the most."

Yan Xiu paused for a moment, and finally put the jade pendant into his arms.

Just think of it as... the last thought.

At this moment, next to the spiritual vein of Yaoxi Mountain, Yu Wei suddenly covered his heart.

He could clearly sense a familiar breath coming along the spiritual vein. It was Jing Er's immortal power, but it carried with it a sense of impending death and fragmentation.

His heart sank, and without bothering to tell his master, he grabbed his sword and ran down the mountain.

Yu Wei rushed to Qingxi Village and stumbled over the bloodstains on the ground. He steadied himself by holding onto the doorframe, but still saw the remnants of divine power on the ground.