"call……"
"We still have to rely on our own strength."
Ruan Qing'an exhaled a breath of stale air, closed his eyes briefly, and when he opened them again, his lead-gray eyes were cold and ruthless.
She voluntarily abandoned the original owner's body, removing the original owner's body's restrictions on her own power. The soul that originally belonged to Ruan Qing'an left her body and gradually formed behind her.
That was a face even more beautiful than the original owner's, and an even more imposing aura, making it difficult for anyone to even look directly at her. This was true aloofness, like a god.
In her divine soul state, Ruan Qing'an used her true power. She gripped the longsword from her memories with one hand, and in the instant the sea of blood surged forth—
Just one cut.
It can sever the vast ocean, shatter the azure sky, cut through yin and yang, and determine life and death.
A seemingly casual slash, without any overly flashy moves, yet truly a return to simplicity, deftly sliced through the sea of blood, across Elder Mei's body, and finally slashed towards the sky.
The entire atmosphere froze, and after a brief silence—the sea of blood vanished without a sound, half of Elder Mei's body was shattered, leaving only a dark slash mark on the boundless sky.
With her last breath, Old Lady Mei dragged her mostly broken body away. She only had this last bit of strength left, just enough to follow her body's instincts back to the Yang family...
But Ruan Qing'an no longer had the strength to catch up. Her soul returned to the original owner's body, and suddenly, the original owner's body began to crack as if it could not withstand the pressure.
037 said anxiously, "Ancestor, I'll arrange for your soul to enter a state of dormancy immediately. Otherwise, your soul is too powerful, and the original owner's body will collapse sooner or later!"
"Okay, I understand..."
Before he could finish speaking, Ruan Qing'an lost his voice, his consciousness vanishing without a trace.
Not far away, Shen Changlin, who was leading a group of Wandao Sect elders, was running at the front of the group. Suddenly, the long sword he was holding began to wail, as if it was grieving for its master.
Shen Changlin seemed to sense something, his voice trembling with sobs, like a cuckoo crying blood, as if one could feel his unbearable grief even from afar.
"Master!!!"
The long sword in his arms seemed to be drawn by something, leading Shen Changlin toward Ruan Qing'an, while behind him were a large number of elders from the Wandao Sect.
The central area of Sanyue City had been blasted into a huge crater by the powerful aftershocks of the battle. The surrounding buildings were in ruins, and the area was scarred and devastated. The lingering effects of the battle had not yet dissipated, and no one dared to approach.
When Shen Changlin arrived, he saw Ruan Qing'an standing in the pit.
The woman's tall and slender figure was now as weak as a bent willow. She held onto a long sword formed from spiritual energy, the tip of which supported her body. Her plain white Taoist robe was covered in blood.
As if sensing something, Ruan Qing'an turned her head slowly, and her leaden eyes softened slightly the moment she saw Shen Changlin.
“Chang, Lin…”
"Master, I've brought the elders here, you—"
Shen Changlin spoke very carefully, as if afraid that if he spoke too loudly, she would shatter.
Ruan Qing'an seemed to feel a little relieved, but the next moment—as if she could no longer hold on—her spiritual power dissipated inch by inch, the long sword she had conjured disappeared, and her body fell straight down.
The instant she collapsed, Shen Changlin rushed forward, tightly embraced Ruan Qing'an, and sat down amidst the ruins and chaos.
The ashen hue, the blood-stained Taoist robe, the grief so intense that even sobs were almost inaudible…
This left the many elders of the Myriad Paths Sect, who had arrived late, speechless for a moment, until—
The boy who had fallen to the ground looked up, his handsome face expressionless. His face was still stained with specks of blood, and he was also injured, but at this moment he looked like a beast from the abyss.
Silence, gloom, and distortion... they speak of a silent madness and a ruthless ferocity that lies dormant, ready to devour anyone at any moment.
Like an actor without an audience, Shen Changlin's once smiling eyes were now cold: "Elders, Master still has a pulse, please treat her."
"Ah, ah... yes, yes, yes."
"Hurry back to the inn, deal with this emergency first, and then notify the sect."
The elders quickly came to their senses and realized that they had been frightened by a junior. They all busied themselves with preparations.
Since Shen Changlin didn't know how to treat her either, he could only temporarily step aside and watch helplessly as the unconscious Ruan Qing'an was taken back to the inn by the elders, where he stayed busy in the guest room all night.
He stood outside the guest room, holding Ruan Qing'an's long sword in his hands, quietly guarding it—like a silent and loyal vicious dog, guarding only its master.
Within the sea of consciousness, the black mist had become increasingly blurry and illusory, as if it had seen through the confusion and illusion, revealing its true nature.
After a long silence, the black mist suddenly said, "I come from the Netherworld, carrying the memories and power of my past life, trying to change my next life. I admit it—I want to live again."
“I tried to possess my own body, but I failed. A long, long time ago, even before Ruan Qing'an came to the mortal world to find you, those born with a Daoist body were not allowed to possess others.”
"So, I died—you took over everything from my past life, both memories and power. But compared to this life, the memories of my past life are enormous, so you fell into a coma."
“I am indeed you, Shen Changlin. I am both you from the past life and another you, carrying everything from the past life that you cannot accept.”
"..."
Shen Changlin closed his eyes and finally remembered everything.
Bandits in the village, endless despair, and a past life that comes to his mind under the heavenly fire, ready to possess his body...
From beginning to end, the person from his previous life had already died under the Heavenly Dao. What remained was his own inability to accept the memories and power, which is why the black mist existed to share his burden.
After a long pause, he said in a hoarse voice, "It doesn't matter anymore."
"Whether it's a past life or this life, those hatreds are just like that, nothing more than the passing of time. I only want to recognize and stick with the people in front of me, nothing more."
In his sea of consciousness, the black mist surged and then dissipated like a tide after a moment, as if it had never existed, or as if it had always been his own power, but had never been recognized by him before.
Shen Changlin did not react to the sudden increase in his cultivation. He simply held his longsword, quietly gazing at the guest room, and softly murmured, "Master..."
【Affection Level: 80】
...
Meanwhile, in Linshui City, the Yang family...
Under the torrential rain, Old Mei, with only half her body remaining, crawled slowly toward the door. Her reason vanished, and even her last breath could only support her as she crawled this far.
A thunderclap rang out, illuminating half of the gloomy night sky. As the rain rolled down the ground, it mingled with blood, making it seem as if a river of blood was flowing.
The entire Yang family compound in Linshui City was deathly silent. In the center of the empty courtyard, a man dressed in black robes casually wiped the bloodstains off his longsword, untouched by the torrential rain.
"Oh? There's one who slipped through the net."
A soft laugh rang out, and Lou Yunqi turned his head, walking step by step towards Elder Mei: "Have you lost your mind due to a qi deviation...?"
He murmured something, then casually touched Old Master Mei's forehead. As if in a final burst of energy, Old Master Mei's cloudy eyes gradually regained their luster, and he suddenly saw the tragic scene of the Yang family being wiped out.
She cried out in anguish, "Lou Yunqi, why? Why did you slaughter my entire Yang family?!"
"You took money to solve problems for people, and you actually—"
"You're talking about this with a demonic cultivator like me?"
Lou Yunqi's smile was unrestrained and wicked. He squatted down and looked down at Elder Mei: "If you don't cut the weeds at the root, they will grow back in the spring breeze. So—go in peace."
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