"Spread this to the world? I understand. That means I can't let you walk out of here alive!"
If she hadn't said it, it might have been fine. But those words ended up reminding Yao Ranran.
She slowly rose within the flames, palms pressed together in a gesture of compassion. "Amitabha. Good, good. May this strike not erase ten years of hard-earned merit."
After all, she was from her homeland. Even without deep bonds, there was still a shared kinship between those from the same place.
Yao Ranran sighed. "You had to force my hand. And Heaven, of all times, had to let me hear your words. Bai Daoyou, your death is inevitable."
When she lifted her head again, the sorrow in her eyes had already vanished.
Bai Qingwu shrieked in agony as she endured Shen Yuefu's sweeping storm of sword qi head-on.
Terrible. She had just enraged the wrong man—Shen Yuefu!
And now Yao Ranran had also overheard. With both of them against her, how could she possibly escape alive?
Bai Qingwu stared at the phoenix wreathed in flames. Her expression twisted into ferocity and despair.
"A gentleman's revenge can wait ten years. And this is the cultivation world!"
She suddenly hacked off both her arms. Blood sprayed like a torrent. Yao Ranran and Shen Yuefu froze in disbelief.
What kind of tactic was this? Cutting off her own arms—was she trying to make them hesitate?
"Yao Ranran! Shen Yuefu! Divine beast phoenix! You three wait for me. I, Bai Qingwu, will return!"
As she spoke, a chilling blood mist erupted from her severed stumps. Her eyes burned with hatred as she fixed Yao Ranran's face in her memory, as if to carve her into her very bones.
The wind howled. Nine azure lotuses bloomed before her.
Yao Ranran had no interest in listening to some villain's last words. The nine lotus ring blazed with dazzling light. Bai Qingwu, terrified, lost control and wet herself. Desperately, she thrust her leg into the phoenix's fire, then slammed it down with brutal force. The stench of roasted flesh filled the air, drifting into Yao Ranran's nose.
The azure lotuses faded. Bai Qingwu's figure had vanished, leaving only bloodstains, a severed leg, and broken arms behind.
The phoenix's flames could reduce anything to ash.
The Spring Fragrance Seven Desires Formation collapsed without resistance. Behind her, Shen Yuefu had at some point regained his clarity.
His cold, detached gaze fell upon the fading azure lotuses. His right hand, still holding his sword, lifted wearily. The faint fragrance of a lotus petal lingered at his fingertips.
Shen Yuefu lowered his head and inhaled softly.
This aura… it was identical to the one left by the nameless expert in the bamboo grove…
Yao Ranran did not notice his change. Her attention was fixed on the phoenix within the flames—it was undergoing rebirth.
Far away, thousands of miles distant.
"Puh!" Bai Qingwu staggered and collapsed, spewing mouthful after mouthful of blood. She dragged herself toward the mouth of a cave, body twitching and crawling like a dying beast.
Slumping against the stone wall, she stared at the trail of blood behind her. Her eyes gleamed with venom.
"Yao Ranran… I never wanted your life. Yet you chose to oppose me. From this day forward, only one of us will remain in this world."
"Pop~"
A tiny white wildflower blossomed between cracks in the stone.
Bai Qingwu's vision blurred in fright. She fell into frantic prostrations, kowtowing again and again. "I was wrong! I was wrong! I won't dare again! Please, don't kill me, don't kill me!"
After a long while, he finally looked up at the stone wall and saw only the little wildflower.
"Dammit! Just a wildflower? And I wasted all that time kowtowing for nothing!"
The phoenix was reborn in fire. Yao Ranran had once thought this nothing more than an old legend.
Yet witnessing it with her own eyes today, she marveled at the wonder and vibrance of the world.
"A divine beast phoenix?"
A delighted, feminine voice called from the forest.
Yao Ranran turned to look.
The young woman standing among the trees was none other than the female lead, Pei Xianqiao.
At first, her gaze was drawn to the brilliant phoenix. But then she noticed Shen Yuefu kneeling with his head bowed.
She panicked, rushing forward. "Brother Fu, are you hurt?"
Shen Yuefu never raised his head. Even knowing she was running toward him, his voice remained indifferent. "Do not come closer."
Pei Xianqiao froze mid-step.
"Brother Fu… what did you say?"
Shen Yuefu's lips parted slightly, his voice cold. "Step aside. You should not be here."
Pei Xianqiao forced a smile through the sting in her chest. "I know you don't like me calling you Brother Fu in public. Just now I panicked. There's no one else here, so it slipped out by accident…"
Yao Ranran turned silently away. In the eyes of the leading pair, was she nothing more than a backdrop?
Shen Yuefu's brows knitted slightly. At last he raised his head. "I said you are blocking my view. What you call me does not matter. You are my lifesaving benefactor. You may call me however you wish. But right now, I must ask you to move aside."
His words sent a rush of warmth to Pei Xianqiao's face, leaving her flustered and confused. Why did he insist she move aside? Why was he so cold?
Blushing, she stepped back. Turning, she finally noticed Yao Ranran, who was walking away with her back to them.
In that instant, realization struck.
Brother Fu wanted her aside… because she was blocking his sight of Yao Ranran?
Shame and anger flooded her all at once.
And had Yao Ranran seen everything just now?
Shen Yuefu paid her no mind. He steadied himself with his sword, refusing her help. His stance remained upright, as unyielding as a pine tree.
"Yao Ranran. No matter who you are, I will fight you!"
His sword, the gleaming Lushuangyun Immortal Blade, drew a sharp, cold streak of light across the air.
Pei Xianqiao stared, dumbfounded, at Yao Ranran's back, utterly unable to comprehend why Shen Yuefu was doing this.
At the sound of her name, Yao Ranran turned back.
She looked at Shen Yuefu's determined eyes, bewildered. "Elder Shen, I am not your match. I cannot defeat you."
"A lie repeated too often ceases to be believed. Yao Ranran, take up your weapon and fight me!" Shen Yuefu's voice was sharp and unyielding, the frost in his gaze only growing colder.
Yao Ranran hesitated, then spoke plainly. "Very well, I will be honest. Elder Shen, you are not my match. If I strike with full strength, in your current state, you cannot withstand it."
Shen Yuefu's expression did not change, but his grip on the sword tightened. His stubborn body wavered slightly in the chill wind.
"Enough words. Draw your weapon!"
He hesitated for a moment, then swallowed a healing pill, refining its power within.
He knew the woman before him was no ordinary cultivator. Though his pride resisted, out of respect, he still chose to take the medicine first.
Pei Xianqiao stood frozen, her mind replaying the words she had just heard.
Yao Ranran said Elder Shen was not her match???
Was that the biggest joke in the world?
And yet… why hadn't Brother Fu denied it? Why had he instead taken a pill, as though preparing for a serious fight?
Her thoughts tumbled into chaos. She could only think—had Shen Yuefu fallen under the illusion array again and not fully awakened?