"Purity is born from filth, and light emerges from darkness…"
Bibi Dong spoke softly—
Yet the words struck Li Zhexian like a resounding bell crashing through his mind.
In that instant—
The obsessions clouding his eyes shattered inch by inch.
As though a dust-covered sword blade had suddenly been washed clean by a long-awaited rain.
A brand-new path—
unfolded before him.
"Purity is born from filth, and light emerges from darkness…"
Li Zhexian murmured the phrase again.
His once-murky eyes abruptly cleared, bright as stars in a night sky.
"So that's it…"
"Between decay and rebirth, there is not only the power of restoration—there is also the hidden intent of 'Purity'!"
"Eighty-one cycles of decayed bones reborn—not to cling to life, but to glimpse, within death and life's rotation, a strand of 'Purity' capable of cleansing heaven and earth!"
Bibi Dong smiled and nodded, a faint warmth softening her beautiful features.
This boy truly had peerless talent.
With just the slightest hint…
he could illuminate the entire mystery on his own.
Li Zhexian no longer hesitated.
He actively drew every trace of decay qi from the Qinglian Sword
and poured it all into his body.
BOOM—!
The decay qi erupted.
Like a black dragon tearing free from the abyss,
it swept across the courtyard.
In a blink—
His flesh dried and cracked,
his skin greyed like dead bark,
and the decay qi surged outward—
Splitting the pebble path,
aging the red eaves and blue tiles into mottled ruin,
reducing the blooming flowers to drifting ash.
Just as his body was about to collapse completely—
his blood essence surged forth like an erupting spring,
like sweet rain descending upon scorched earth.
Where it flowed:
dead bones grew flesh,
wilted leaves sprouted green anew.
His decayed body revived again—
clear and lustrous like jade,
translucent like colored glass.
As though he were a sacred glazed statue.
In the cycle of death and life—
Li Zhexian's mind became crystalline.
His senses expanded beyond limit.
He cast aside all distractions.
His consciousness sank into a primordial, unopened realm of insight.
No longer limited by eyes or ears—
but perceiving the essence of power
with the most fundamental spiritual intuition.
Once.
Twice.
Ten times…
Through endless cycles of decay and rebirth—
temper the body, comprehend the intent,
and ascend again.
When the decay qi around him began to run thin—
Seeing the youth's reservoir of decay nearly run dry—
Bibi Dong lifted a finger.
From every corner of the ruined city,
decay qi surged as if summoned—
Converging above the courtyard into a massive black cloud.
Then—
it formed a colossal ink-black hourglass, a thousand meters tall,
its torrent pouring directly into Li Zhexian's body.
The sight was terrifying.
Like heavenly punishment descending upon the world.
...
Outside the secret realm.
The once-unchanging screens finally shifted.
Black clouds pressed over the city, converging where Li Zhexian was, and exclamations burst within Spirit City:
"What is that?!"
"Li Zhexian triggered another phenomenon?!"
"They say he pushed himself this hard just to temper his sword—could it be the sword is about to be complete?!"
"He's already absurdly strong—he's still getting stronger?!"
...
"This is…"
Chen Xin, Feng Bailong, Dugu Bo and the others shot to their feet, stunned.
"Such terrifying decay qi?!"
Even Ning Fengzhi lost his usual composure and exclaimed:
"Did he…
did he draw all the decay qi of the ruined city to himself?!"
Yu Yuanzhen clenched his fists, speaking in a low voice:
"With decay of this magnitude…"
"Even a Titled Douluo would be reduced to ash in an instant!"
Chen Xin and Feng Bailong stood with hands clasped behind their backs,
slowly exhaling, eyes filled with relief:
"Zhexian / Young friend Zhexian's sword…"
"Is about to be completed."
...
Yue Guan and Ghost stared at the horrifying scene on the screen, teeth clenched: "What is that brat doing now?!"
Bibi Dong's flawless features darkened—
a shadow passing through her violet eyes.
"So it's you helping him?"
"Knowing you're about to fade, and choosing to spite me before you go?"
"Heh…"
Her lips curled into a cold, mocking smile.
"In the end… it's nothing more than cowardly kindness."
"So what if Li Zhexian comprehends his sword?"
"As I gradually grasp the god's power, I am the one who wins in the end!"
...
Outside the house.
Qian Renxue tilted her head back to the sky.
Seeing that thousand-meter-tall hourglass of black qi roaring into the house—
A trace of shock flickered in her golden eyes.
"This…"
"Such terrifying decay qi…"
Even with the Angel Martial Soul, her chest felt tight and suffocated.
"Is Zhexian drawing it on purpose?"
"Or has something happened inside!?"
Her silver teeth clenched.
Though she had heard Li Zhexian's earlier assurance that he was "fine"—
her heart was still in chaos, impossible to calm.
Unable to endure it any longer—
radiant light burst from the Angel God Sword in her grip,
and she slashed fiercely toward the courtyard gates.
...
Under the control of Bibi Dong's good will—
Every wave of decay qi drove Li Zhexian to his absolute limits—
Yet at the final moment, his surging blood essence pulled him back.
Over and over.
He endured another eighty-one cycles of body tempering.
Each cycle was an extreme refinement of the flesh—washing away all false and impure, stripping away agitation and excess.
In the narrow seam between decay and rebirth, Li Zhexian's body grew increasingly transparent.
Not becoming ethereal—
But clear. Pure.
Piercing through all phenomena, pointing straight to essence—
This was "Purity."
The black qi roared like a enraged dragon, battering his body wildly—
Yet it could no longer penetrate this glass-like flesh.
Like filthy water splashing on polished jade, sliding off without leaving a trace.
This was the body without stain or leak—an unfathomable realm of the flesh.
Li Zhexian extended a finger.
A half-decayed petal drifted into his palm.
The yellowed portion crumbled inch by inch into dust.
But from the dying crimson core,
a single bead of dew formed—
suspended at his fingertip, clear as a mirror.
Within that droplet was reflected his radiant eyes,
as though countless sword shadows of decay and rebirth
cycled endlessly within them.
A breath of indescribable clarity
flowed from him naturally.
Beside him, the Qinglian Sword suddenly let out a long cry—like a dragon's chant, clear and pure, sweeping away all defilement.
On its blade, the twelve lotus blooms once smothered in decay—
Now broke through the mire, shining with faint light, jade-like and flawless.
Unstained by dust, untouched by corruption.
"Marvelous! Utterly marvelous!"
"The Qinglian Sword and the realm of 'Purity' complement each other perfectly!"
"All filth that touches it is extinguished—not because it rejects decay, but because its very nature does not permit impurity!"
Li Zhexian's thoughts opened wide; he laughed aloud.
He joined his fingers into a sword.
Decay qi twined around his wrist like a black dragon—
yet the instant it touched that droplet of dew,
it collapsed, condensing into a strand of colorless sword-qi.
This sword qi had no edge, no sharpness—
but it forced the black qi on his arm
to disintegrate inch by inch.
The sword qi slipped silently into the rotting earth beneath him.
In an instant—
the blackened soil turned crystalline like glass.
Dead roots and insect husks dissolved into motes of light.
Where they drifted, dead grass greened anew, turbid water grew clear.
The entire courtyard burst into life once more—
though the dark clouds above kept it dim.
Li Zhexian raised his hand and released a stroke.
A beam of glazed sword-light soared skyward,
stretching thousands of meters,
a clear and translucent rainbow piercing the heavens.
The black clouds shattered with a thunderous roar,
splitting apart to reveal a murky purple sky.
And that sword-mark—
was like a clear scar of light,
cutting through the entire sky of the Rakshasa Secret Realm.
"To cut is not to destroy, but to return all things to pure origin."
"Rotten leaves turn to dust; within dust condenses dew; dew reflects the heavens—this is 'Purity.'"
Light shone within Li Zhexian's eyes. A flicker of glass-like pure fire crossed their depths—clear and penetrating, illuminating all existence.
"The eighth form of the Qinglian Sword Song—"
"Purifying Glaze."
"Is complete."