During the third year of Shangqing in the cultivation calendar, the barrier of the realm of life and death was broken, and the evil demon Huang Ling was born. The 14th generation Sword of the Heart-Searching Sword, Xie Yunting, died in order to seal the Huang Ling. His first disciple, Xie Changji, took over the Sword of the Heart-Searching Sword and vowed to kill all the evil demons. He entered the realm of life and death alone, swept across the realm with his own strength, and did not come out for two hundred years.

In the same year, the western border defense was broken, 100,000 monsters entered the country and besieged Hehuan Palace. Young Master Hua Xiangwan led his disciples to defend the palace gate for a month, until the golden elixir was shattered, the sword was broken and the flag was cut off, and then reinforcements came. The elite of Hehuan Palace were almost wiped out in this battle, and the strongest sect in the western region for a thousand years never recovered.

******

Two hundred years later——

"Xie Changji." In the illusion, the girl was sitting not far away, looking up at the starry sky. The starlight fell into her eyes, and her gaze was full of vitality that was completely different from her life.

The trickling river water made a gurgling sound under her feet. She turned her head and saw the reflection of him at the age of 19 in her eyes.

"Have you ever seen a dream butterfly?"

she asked.

He stared at her, his expression calm: "No."

"Then I'll give you one."

As the girl spoke, she flipped her wrist and a fluorescent blue butterfly emerged from her palm and fluttered around.

His eyes were fixed on the girl's face, and a butterfly landed on the back of her hand. The girl leaned forward slightly towards him and held her hand out to him: "Come, touch it."

He looked at the butterfly, and the girl said softly: "Touch it, and you will see the person you want to see most."

"I...want to see..."

He murmured blankly, and involuntarily raised his eyes to look at the girl's face. The girl's smile was the same as before, but her skin color was slowly becoming almost transparent.

He seemed to have a premonition of something, and he held his breath and widened his eyes. However, the sky and the earth around him were spinning, the ground was rumbling, and everything seemed to collapse. He knelt on the spot, staring blankly at the girl falling to the bottom of the cliff where thousands of ghosts were howling.

She was swarmed and devoured by countless evil demons, yet she still had a smile on her face.

"Xie Changji," she said softly. At the moment when she was devoured by the evil spirit, he heard her voice that sounded like regret and relief. "Fortunately - you never liked me."

Fortunately, you never liked me.

The girl's voice echoed in his ears. He knelt in the snow in a daze, trembling as he stretched out his bloody hands towards the endless abyss.

He wanted to say something but couldn't make a sound. He seemed like a person born with aphasia. The few times he opened his mouth, he could only utter short, hoarse syllables. He couldn't even utter her name.

"Touch this dream butterfly. Who do you want to see the most?"

The girl's back appeared in the snow, and this time he did not hesitate and chased after her with sword in hand.

“Who do you want to meet the most?”

Countless evil demons came up, and he fought, slashed, and chased after the figure.

The name he didn't say, the demon in his heart all his life, even though he knew it was just an illusion, he couldn't stop the sword in his hand and his steps.

"Long silence."

The calling voice came from far away, but he had no time to pay attention. The figure in front of him became more and more blurred. He was breathing rapidly and chasing like a madman.

"Long silence."

This time, the sound was mixed with the sound of Qingxin Dharma. The surroundings began to collapse. The girl in the distance stopped. He ran wildly on the collapsed ground. The moment he grabbed the girl's sleeve, a final shout was heard.

"Thank you, Changji!"

The girl slowly turned around and smiled brightly. He stared at her blankly, but she was like quicksand, disappearing along with the whole world.

He stared at all this in a daze, and finally said in a hoarse voice: "Wanwan..."

The surroundings turned into darkness. He stood alone with sword in hand, dazed, in the void. After a long time, he slowly opened his eyes.

He sat cross-legged on the snow-covered ground, his eyes covered by white silk, and everything was white before his eyes, but he could still use his spiritual sense to explore his surroundings.

An old man in green standing next to him seemed to have been waiting for him for a long time. When he saw him wake up, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"You finally woke up. You were breathing unsteadily just now. Did you enter the illusion again?"

Bai Ling lowered her eyes slightly and did not respond.

The sound of snowflakes falling could be heard all around, and in front of them was a huge bottomless pit. A lightsaber hung high above the pit, reflecting the faintly lit rune array above the pit.

The realm of life and death of the Heavenly Sword Sect is the place where the alien world and this world meet. For tens of thousands of years, it has been guarded by the Heavenly Sword Sect's Sword of Questioning the Heart. Countless evil demons have tried to cross the border, but they have all been killed by the Sword of Questioning the Heart.

The realm of life and death is covered with ice and snow all year round. One must keep a clear mind and concentrate to prevent the guardian from being disturbed and attacked by evil spirits.

In the past, the deep pit here was full of magma, but now it has become pitch black and bottomless. This is because in the past two hundred years, he has slaughtered the evil demons from other worlds almost to the sky, and none dared to violate his boundaries.

He was silent for a long time. The old man in green saw that he could not get anything out of him. Knowing his temper, he did not say much. He just said, "Forget it, this is all your business. The head of the sect asked me to come here and I want to ask you for a favor."

Xie Changji didn't respond and pushed himself up.

He had been in meditation for an unknown amount of time, with snow all over his body. Every time he moved it was like a landslide, with thick snow falling down, revealing his Taoist robe which had long since become tattered.

"You too," the old man in green was attracted by his attire. He chased after him and complained, "You are the Master of the Honest Sword after all, the face of the Heavenly Sword Sect. It's not like no one has bought you clothes. Why are you dressed so shabby? Your master gave you to me before he died. How can I face him in this state now?"

"Uncle Master, what's the matter?"

Xie Changji interrupted the chatter of his uncle named Kunxuzi and led him walking in the snow.

Kunxuzi felt a bit of bone-chilling cold in the cold wind, and couldn't help but pull his clothes. Then he remembered the business and put on a serious face: "Some time ago, the head received news that the Demon Lord of the Western Territory seemed to have some problems. Those demon cultivators started fighting for the position of the Demon Lord's successor, and they might start the succession trial ahead of schedule."

"What does it have to do with us?"

Xie Changji's voice was steady as he walked barefoot on the snow, making a "crunch" and "crunch" sound.

"Listen to me in detail," Kunxuzi explained patiently, "The Western Territory is different from our Yunlai where each sect has its own sect. The Western Territory is under the unified command of the Demon Lord. Under the Demon Lord, it is divided into three palaces, nine sects, and eighteen sects, which are governed step by step. When each Demon Lord is alive, he will prepare a group of successors in advance. Before he dies, he will prepare a trial for the successors to participate in and finally select the Demon Lord."

The old man in green shirt said, twirling his beard, and said with emotion: "Originally, these heirs have similar abilities, but now there is a person named Hua Xiangwan. Two hundred years ago, she was a young leader in the Western Region. Everyone said that she must be the next demon lord. But it is said that she was half broken in a battle two hundred years ago, and now she has become a useless person. If she participates in the heir trial, she will definitely die."

"The point."

Xie Changji urged him, and the old man in green choked for a moment before finally saying, "She is the young master of Hehuan Palace, and she practices dual cultivation. Hehuan Palace and our Tianjian Sect share the same mental method, so dual cultivation is the most suitable. In order to advance quickly, she asked for marriage from the Tianjian Sect."

"What do you want me to do?"

Xie Changji asked, and at this time, a small courtyard appeared in front of the two of them.

This courtyard seems to be shrouded in spiritual power and is out of place in the ice and snow. In the courtyard, grass is lush, birds are singing, peach blossoms are in full bloom, and the spirit-calling bells hanging under the eaves tinkle in the wind.

The old man in green took a look at the courtyard and was quite surprised: "Why is it here..."

But before he could finish his words, his eyes fell on a grave not far from the courtyard gate.

The grave seemed to be quite old, with weeds growing around it. On the dilapidated tombstone were words carved with a sword:

The tomb of my beloved wife Wanwan.

Kunxuzi quickly realized what this was. He stopped talking, stopped walking, and stood outside the barrier at a loss for a moment.

Xie Changji calmly entered the enchantment, walked to the grave, squatted down, pulled out the weeds growing beside the grave, and reminded the old man: "What does the master want me to do?"

"Now, the Lingxu Secret Realm is about to open."

Kunxuzi came back to his senses, somewhat afraid to look at Xie Changji: "When the Gu Ling was born, there happened to be a group of cultivators in Yunlai in the Western Territory. After the Gu Ling's accident, they all disappeared without a trace. The head of the sect guessed that the Gu Ling's birth was closely related to the Western Territory. At that time, your master and... and your wife worked together to seal the Gu Ling."

Xie Changji paused, Kunxuzi hesitated for a moment, pretending not to notice, and continued to say what the headmaster meant: "Half of the power of the Gu Ling is missing, and the other half is sealed in the Lingxu Secret Realm. Now Hua Xiangwan is proposing marriage to the Tianjian Sect. The headmaster is worried that Hua Xiangwan is proposing marriage in the name of marriage, but is actually targeting the Gu Ling. He wants to ask you to leave the realm of life and death and watch over the Lingxu Secret Realm. It would be best if there is no unusual movement in the West Territory. If there is an unusual movement in the West Territory..."

Kunxuzi said, looking up at Xie Changji, his eyes full of seriousness: "With you here, Master, don't worry."

Xie Changji lowered his head to weed, as if thinking. After a moment, he spoke: "I can't leave the realm of life and death."

"I know." Seeing that he did not directly refuse, Kunxuzi felt much more relaxed and talked about the plan that had been discussed in the sect: "You don't have to go. I have sent Wushuang to do this. You can attach a strand of consciousness to Wushuang and control him to enter the secret realm."

Having said that, she was afraid that he might worry, so she added, "He is already your disciple, so his status and skills are perfect for him. It won't be a problem for him."

Xie Changji listened to Kunxuzi's words without changing his expression. He cleared the grass at the grave and looked up at the words engraved on the tombstone.

Kunxuzi waited for a while, and seeing that he was still looking at the tombstone, he hesitated for a while, and finally said, "Eternal Silence... There is always a time to let go of everything. It has been two hundred years."

Xie Changji said nothing, only his eyelashes trembled slightly.

Seeing that he did not refute, Kunxuzi plucked up his courage and said one more word of advice: "When Wanwan was alive, you were the one she loved the most. Don't let her feel uneasy after she passes away."

These words froze Xie Changji's movements. In that instant, countless images flashed through his mind, making his entire body tense with pain.

He did not show any expression, but just stared at the words on the tombstone for a long time before he spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Tell the master to send Wushuang back to the realm of life and death before the secret realm is opened."

As he spoke, he raised his hand, and a butterfly with a blue fluorescent glow appeared out of nowhere and landed gracefully on the back of his hand.

He turned his eyes and stared at the butterfly through the white silk, and there was a hint of gentleness in his gaze that no one else could see.

He was eager to drive away the people who stayed beside him, and wanted to hurry up and rush to the next dream where no one was around.

Xie Changji controlled his emotions, looked normal, and spoke calmly—

"I will take care of the matter of the Lingxu Secret Realm myself."