...
Changbai Mountain, Heavenly Lake.
Yan Shouyi, clad in a simple robe but covered in blood and wielding the Zhenguo Sword, retrieved a dilapidated coffin from the Heavenly Lake.
Behind him lay a mountain of corpses, followers of the new Xuan Mountain Sect, many of whom were in their Mu Kui Fa Shen forms. The sheer scale of the battle was evident.
Taking a deep breath and suppressing his pain, Yan Shouyi kicked open the coffin lid. Inside lay the body of Li Genmiao.
Nearly two months had passed since the battle at Changbai Mountain, yet Li Genmiao’s corpse had not decayed. It remained exactly as it was in life, as if merely asleep.
"Still pretending?"
Yan Shouyi sneered at Li Genmiao in the coffin. "When I was connected to the divine peach tree's consciousness, I learned that the Six Paths of Earth Store Seal wasn't truly your body. After much thought, the only connection I could find was this corpse of Li Genmiao, slumbering in the Heavenly Lake of Changbai Mountain. Your plan, a scheme within a scheme, almost fooled everyone."
Suddenly, Li Genmiao's eyes shot open within the coffin, fixing Yan Shouyi with a venomous glare.
Yan Shouyi showed no fear and continued speaking to himself. "Tian Sha Corpse Puppets fear phoenix wood; that is inevitable. But when I faced your so-called true body before, it was unaffected by phoenix wood. Now I finally understand: it wasn't you who removed the weakness of the Tian Sha Corpse Puppet, but that true body wasn't a Tian Sha Corpse Puppet at all!"
"The real you executed a golden cicada shedding its shell maneuver, hiding in the Heavenly Lake of Changbai Mountain with the heart of the divine peach tree, controlling everything from afar."
"If I hadn't come to seek your true body today, even if all my Xuanmen disciples perished, you, a millennium-old demon, could not have been killed!"
Li Genmiao's true body was in the coffin, and he had learned of all that had transpired in Rongcheng.
His scheme exposed, Li Genmiao's face was ashen.
"A pity, a pity," Li Genmiao sighed. "All your friends in Rongcheng are dead. My grand ambition was only one step away from completion."
Hearing that his friends had all sacrificed themselves, Yan Shouyi felt a suffocating wave of despair.
They were all… dead?
Li Genmiao had used the golden cicada shedding its shell tactic, and Yan Shouyi had employed a similar stratagem.
Half a month ago, when he went to the Maha Pagoda at Hanshan Temple, he had struck a deal with the malevolent thought. The malevolent thought would impersonate him back in Rongcheng, delaying Jiang Wuya and creating time for the real Yan Shouyi.
On the day of the decisive battle, the malevolent thought led the Xuanmen disciples in a fierce resistance. Meanwhile, Yan Shouyi alone ascended Changbai Mountain, preventing Li Genmiao's clone from returning to intercept him.
Yan Shouyi had anticipated casualties, but never imagined everyone would perish. If only he had been a little faster, perhaps fewer lives could have been saved…
The self-reproach gnawed at him, filling Yan Shouyi with hatred for the Li Genmiao before him.
He raised the Zhenguo Sword and plunged it through Li Genmiao's chest!
*Splat!*
Li Genmiao's true body was incredibly fragile. As the sword pierced him, his expression contorted in pain, and blood began to trickle from the corner of his mouth.
"Jiang Wuya, so powerful, yet his true body is so frail. Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous," Yan Shouyi sneered as he withdrew the Zhenguo Sword, showing no mercy.
Li Genmiao, utterly defenseless, could only glare at Yan Shouyi.
*Damn this man!*
*So close! My grand empire was only one step away from realization!*
*Yet, in the end… I was defeated by this brat…*
"I am not resigned… I am not resigned!!!" Li Genmiao roared hysterically, just as Lin Ziqian had screamed hysterically in faraway Rongcheng.
Yan Shouyi gazed at Li Genmiao with cold indifference.
This man had brought so much suffering to this world.
Now that the tide had turned, it was time to bring a fitting end to their millennium-long entanglement.
Yan Shouyi raised the Zhenguo Sword and softly chanted, "One strike, questioning heaven."
The Zhenguo Sword fell, and Li Genmiao's head rolled to the ground.
Jiang Wuya… was dead!!
The moment Li Genmiao died, the Zhenguo Sword also turned to ash. Its mission complete, the sword of sin had no reason to remain in the mortal world.
Jiang Wuya, who had roamed for a thousand years, finally met his end in the desolate, frozen lands of Changbai Mountain, his only companions the chilling lake waters.
Yan Shouyi reached into the coffin and retrieved the heart of the divine peach tree, crushing it without hesitation.
Simultaneously, the divine peach tree withered. The faceless demon died instantly, and the aura of death that had shrouded Xichuan vanished.
All was over.
Having accomplished this, Yan Shouyi felt an immense sense of relief. His body, heavily wounded in the recent battles, now swayed precariously. He leaned against the coffin and sat down, feeling a sense of contentment akin to a soldier laying down his arms after a long war and returning home.
Changbai Mountain was silent, as was Yan Shouyi's heart.
"It's over…"
He slowly took out his phone and dialed Lin Ziqian's number.
"Yes, I'm alive."
"Jiang Wuya is dead. It's all in the past."
"I'll be home soon. Wait for me… Don't cry."
After hanging up, Yan Shouyi fell silent for a long time.
He had defeated Jiang Wuya, but lost everyone.
Long Feicheng, Wang Jifang, Agong, Luo Ning, Zhao Yiyao, He Xiping…
Liu Yiren, Yuan Jianxin, Zhao Chengxiang, Han San, Changshan, Ling Xiaoxiao…
They had all sacrificed their lives.
And also…
Father, Grandmother.
Yan Shouyi could no longer control himself, covering his face and weeping. Tears streamed down uncontrollably. Was this victory, to conquer Jiang Wuya but lose everything? An unprecedented loneliness threatened to drown him.
...
Seven days later.
Yan Shouyi and Lin Ziqian returned from Xichuan and arrived at the Tianshi Mansion on Longhu Mountain. They carried the heart of the weakened Tianshi Yu Luming.
Yu Luming, who had been as frail as a cripple, finally showed a hint of color in his face upon regaining his heart. However, he was still deeply troubled by his inability to participate in the final battle and the sacrifices of his fellow Daoists.
Yan Shouyi and Yu Luming sat in silence for a long time, as if collectively mourning those who had fallen.
"Old Yu."
Finally, Yan Shouyi spoke.
"What is it?" Yu Luming asked.
"Our previous agreement, it still stands, right? You will take my son as your disciple."
"Of course. Do you intend to go back on your word?"
"No, the agreement remains. However, the child is still young. It would be best for him and his sister to live with their mother until they are at least three years old. After that, Ziqian will send Nian Tong to the mountain."
Yu Luming paused, sensing something unusual in Yan Shouyi's words. "If what you say is true, do you not intend to raise your children? Where are you going?"
"I am going to hell," Yan Shouyi said grimly.
"What?!" Yu Luming could not control his shock.
Yan Shouyi lowered his head.
"Little Long and the others are all dead. I can't let it go. So, I plan to use the divine peach tree to journey through the underworld. Even if I can't bring them all back, at least… at least I can bid them farewell in person."
The deaths of his comrades were like thorns in Yan Shouyi's heart. Despite Lin Ziqian's comforting words, he could not overcome his grief. He had decided to venture into the underworld as a living man, if only for a proper farewell.
Yu Luming gritted his teeth. "Wait for me for a few days. Once I recover, I'll accompany you!"
"Forget it. The mortal realm needs you," Yan Shouyi smiled. "We can't just abandon everything after winning the land, can we? You are the head of the Dao lineage."
The Xuanmen world no longer concealed itself from ordinary people, meaning Yu Luming could no longer live as a carefree hermit in the mountains. He now bore greater responsibilities.
Yu Luming slumped, disheartened. "I might as well not be Tianshi."
"If you don't want to be, pass it on to my son."
"...So that's your plan."
"I was joking," Yan Shouyi said with a faint smile. "Children have their own destinies. Where Nian Tong and Si Yi end up will depend on their own fortune."
"As their master, I will do my utmost to train Nian Tong. You can rest assured of that."
The battle at West Lake in Rongcheng had severely weakened the entire Xuanmen, leaving hardly any powerful figures surviving. This was another catastrophe for the Xuanmen, risking the loss of many ancient techniques for this generation. However, it also heralded the dawn of a new era. An era that did not belong to Yan Shouyi or Yu Luming, but to the next generation.
The cycle of old and new, of predecessors and successors, was like the deaths of Old Tianshi and his peers, and the rise to fame of Yan Shouyi and his contemporaries. In the end, everyone would leave a trace of their existence in this world. That trace would be called legend.
...
The withered divine peach tree had a hollow trunk. Viewed from above, it seemed to lead into a bottomless abyss. This abyss led to the underworld.
Yan Shouyi looked at the divine peach tree for a long time, then turned back. Lin Ziqian stood behind him, holding their children. Yan Nian Tong and Lin Si Yi, their bright eyes wide, looked curiously at the divine peach tree.
Yan Shouyi walked towards them. The two children recognized their father and reached out, babbling for a hug. He opened his arms, embracing Lin Ziqian along with the children.
"The children miss you dearly. Don't let their childhood be shadowed by your absence. Go and come back quickly, okay?" Lin Ziqian murmured softly, nestled in Yan Shouyi's arms.
Yan Shouyi nodded, holding Lin Ziqian tighter. "I won't be gone long. I promise you."
Lin Ziqian understood the burden on Yan Shouyi's heart, and she felt it too. However, the children needed her companionship now. Otherwise, she would have followed Yan Shouyi into the underworld herself.
Yan Shouyi greedily inhaled the scent of Lin Ziqian's hair, but finally released her.
"I'm leaving," he said, turning away with effort.
"Be safe," she managed, suppressing her reluctance.
He finally leaped into the bottomless pit of the divine peach tree.
The legend was not over. It was merely beginning anew, in another place.
...
...
(The End of the Book.)