To avoid suspicion, after breaking Diergis' ice shield, Victor Wang immediately retreated far away. He only saw Diergis, in a panic, trying to escape when two blades ended his life. As for why Ye Caizhen wielded only one sword, but Diergis was struck by two, Victor Wang had no idea.
Then, from the blade that pierced Diergis' heart, the sword twisted like a drill, while the other sword at his neck spun around his throat. Both suddenly swelled, as if they were growing out of flesh and blood, not forged of metal.
Strange, indistinguishable sounds gurgled from Diergis' throat. His whole body began to melt like a wax figure, his face collapsing in an instant.
"Master?!"
From his youth in the Gilded Brigade, traveling the world, to his later years settling in Liyue and joining the North Wing, Jun Zheng had seen plenty of bizarre sights. But the 'flesh-colored liquid' before him, mixed with cosmetic lenses, glasses, and clothing, made his stomach churn with nausea and dread.
Ye Caizhen frowned tightly. In her left palm rested the Sevenfold Ice, yet she hesitated—should she seal her father forever in such a form?
Why would someone who moments ago was alive and well turn into… this thing?
Sensing something wrong, Victor Wang had not yet approached when the mass of Diergis completely melted into flowing blood. As it spread toward Ye Caizhen and Jun Zheng's feet, she froze entirely in shock.
"This is… Father? Why is this happening?"
Blood?
Victor Wang finally saw Diergis' true state.
Both cursed with immortality: whether one's body was instantly absorbed into the leylines upon death, or left to lie for a while before absorption, it should never turn into blood!
This defied all logic.
Blood…
"They say its true body is nothing but a pool of blood. Anyone who touches it is assimilated, turned into blood and absorbed within, like a form of feeding… after feeding, it can transform into the likeness of its prey."
"It cannot be truly killed. Every time it dies, it reverts to blood and revives. With each revival, its memories and abilities return, meaning killing it only makes it stronger."
Chongyun's voice rang in his ears—Awakened Precepts!
Victor Wang shouted in alarm, "Don't go near it!"
But it was too late. The blood seemed to blossom into a radiant flower upon the snow, yet in truth it was closing in on its prey. At the very instant Victor Wang cried out, it launched itself from the ground, striking straight at the nearby Ye Caizhen.
Her pupils dilated, light flooding into her eyes, her vision sharpened. The voice at her back still echoed as her body instinctively stepped away. She barely managed to form a thin layer of frost between her ankle and the blood, which was instantly dyed crimson.
This strike was unavoidable. Contact meant certain death.
Only Jun Zheng, equally close, had time to react.
Since its current power could only 'devour' one target at a time, Awakened Precepts chose Ye Caizhen—the Vision bearer, stronger, and holding the deadly Sevenfold Ice—instead of Jun Zheng.
A dangerous choice, but it had no alternative. If sealed by Sevenfold Ice, everything would end.
"Young Miss!"
Jun Zheng indeed lacked a Vision. Though skilled in martial arts, his body was in decline at nearly fifty. Yet he burst forth with the fastest speed of his life, shoving Ye Caizhen aside and blocking the blood with his own body.
A rush of images flashed before his eyes—life flickering like a lantern, strength and warmth ebbing away.
In the desert, when he once fought bandits to the death, it was that seemingly refined merchant who shoved him aside and saved him, losing an arm in the process. Now, at last, he returned that push…
"Uncle Jun Zheng!"
"Young Miss, you've grown up. Even alone, you'll live on well. A pity… I won't see you marry."
Jun Zheng vanished like Diergis, his body dissolving upward, leaving only his clothes and a pool of blood. A chill crawled up Victor Wang's spine.
Diergis had the curse of immortality and yet Awakened Precepts devoured him. What about himself? With a single touch, it could wear his body and wield his powers against his friends—fate worse than death.
"That's Awakened Precepts, a twisted abomination. Do not touch it!"
"Uncle Jun Zheng!" Ye Caizhen bit down hard, eyes filled with grief. Forcing reason, she drew back and asked Victor Wang, "...Is there any way to bring them back?"
Victor Wang shook his head heavily. The answer was obvious. Those replaced had already lost their humanity.
"..."
Silent, Ye Caizhen released a torrent of raging Cryo power that engulfed the mountaintop.
The blood froze repeatedly, only to melt on its own. Each time it melted, the nearby plants grew wildly, as though given fresh life.
When even the grasses grew into towering stalks four or five meters high, 'Jun Zheng' and 'Diergis' merged entirely. The blood churned, swelling beneath Diergis' clothes, rising into human form.
Diergis gazed blankly at the grassy forest, bent to pick up his glasses, wiped the snow-mud off with his sleeve, and perched them on his nose.
Then, with his hollow starry eyes unhidden by lenses, he smiled at Ye Caizhen. "Seems your Sevenfold Ice cannot prevent my resurrection. I admit, I can't beat you—but you can't do anything to me either. Understand?"
Ye Caizhen and Victor Wang stood in a silence so heavy it threatened to crush.
Diergis shrugged with feigned helplessness. "I only wanted to see my home again, to play pretend with my daughter for a while. You don't understand what the Abyss Order truly seeks. Compared to that goal, reviving one person is nothing. This was just a private matter of mine. Coincidentally, those who find the gods earn the right to make such requests."
"Hehe, Jun Zheng didn't come this time? Since cards are on the table, I'll be honest. His life or death means little to me—but if he lives, it'll be livelier when Shuang'er returns."
"And my daughter… for your mother's sake, I won't let you die. You must live well for her too."
"Why don't you speak?"
"Hmph. Then so be it. Until my mission is done, I won't appear again."
Diergis turned to leave, but an ice wall rose to block his path.
"You disgust me…" Ye Caizhen bowed her head. Her face unseen, no sobs heard, yet her shoulders trembled. "Spouting his words… you make me sick."
"They say Awakened Precepts forgets its own memories each time it changes forms. Only through multiple deaths can its full powers and memories return. To deal with it, sealing with Sevenfold Ice is best."
"Sevenfold Ice works only when the target resists no more."
"Then kill it again—before it shifts into that form."
"Alright."
Ye Caizhen whispered softly. She raised her sword, releasing a weeping cryo phoenix. Soaring high, its crystalline feathers fell like tears, pelting Diergis from above.
Each icy tear seemed light as snow, but exploded on contact, forcing Diergis—now transformed into an Abyss Lector—to struggle in vain. Finally, the phoenix dived like a star in descent, striking him and forcing out his shield.
This time, Victor Wang stayed cautious, hurling two blazing Erosion Blasts from afar, then sustaining a great Pyro-infused Palm Vortex until Diergis' shield broke and he crashed to the ground.
"You—"
No chance to finish. One sword to the throat, another through the heart.
The Sevenfold Ice, infused with elemental power, liquefied and formed a shimmering iridescent film around Diergis. Awakened Precepts dissolved violently, thrashing within, but the Sevenfold Ice solidified and expanded, finally sealing it completely.
Clutching the brilliant prism of ice containing her closest kin, Ye Caizhen collapsed weakly onto the ground.
"My condolences…"
"You call it 'Awakened Precepts.' Do you know its origin?"
"I only heard from Liyue exorcists: Awakened Precepts never truly dies. It becomes blood after death, reborn again, feeding by dissolving others into blood. It inherits everything—memories, powers, personality. It can only be sealed. Liyue exorcists once sealed one… whether it was the same, I don't know."
"Awakened Precepts…"
Her clenched hand drove nails deep into her palm, piercing skin, sharp pain grounding her.
"It's over."
Wind blades cut down the monstrous grasses, flames reducing them to ash. Victor Wang erased the excess traces.
If it had been his own kin replaced by Awakened Precepts, how would he feel?
Grief?
Rage?
Even witnessing it firsthand, since it was not his, he could not truly share the pain. All he could offer was comfort… though perhaps even comfort was meaningless.