It's that dream again.

"Scum..."

"You scumbag! Don't think you can escape the consequences of your actions!"

"Evil."

"Despicable."

"Do you really believe everything will go your way? Hah..."

The air was thick with the metallic scent of blood, and the moon hung low in the sky, its pale light illuminating the gruesome scene before them. Bodies lay strewn across the battlefield, their lifeless forms casting long shadows in the moonlight. The once-vibrant landscape was now a graveyard, littered with the remnants of a fierce battle—a stark reminder of the chaos that Lao Xie had wrought.

...

"Why aren't you answering? Did you think the heavens would forgive you after everything that has happened?" Wang Xiuying's voice trembled, a mix of anger and sorrow.

...

"Wang Xiuying. A name as beautiful as the shimmering gems that adorn a royal crown. What difficulties have you ever faced in your life?"

"As your name implies, you've lived a life of light, untainted by the darkness that shrouds this world. You had a dream life that many only envy. Talent to shake the world, skills that far surpassed your peers. Truly a precious gem, a genius of the cultivation realm."

"Alas, what a pity... to have been brainwashed by all those old fools—"

"STOP! Don't you dare finish that sentence! Look around you, Lao Xie! Corpses everywhere! Are you truly satisfied with this carnage? Why did you do this? Why..."

"Why have you fallen to the demonic path, Lao Xie...?"

"I trusted you—"

A soft, mocking laugh escaped Lao Xie, echoing eerily in the silence that followed. "Pffft~... Satisfied? I don't feel such trivial things." It turned into a sudden burst of laughter that seemed to mock the very gravity of the situation. "Ahaha..."

"Pardon me, I couldn't help but laugh." He wore an unsettling smile, his eyes glinting with a cold, predatory light.

Taking a deep, calming breath, he leaned back against the large, jagged rock behind him, the sharp edges digging into his back as if to ground him in this twisted reality. "Wang Xiuying, I have never fallen toward the demonic path."

His words hung heavy in the air, his gaze boring into her. Wang Xiuying's striking blue eyes sparkled like the surface of a still lake under a clear sky, but beneath the surface roiled a tempest of emotions. Her hair, a long cascade of silky white, flowed down her back like a waterfall, contrasting sharply with the darkened landscape around them.

"W-what?" she stammered, her heart pounding in her chest.

"W-what do you mean by that?" Panic seeped into her voice, the realization of the truth dawning upon her like the first light of dawn.

In this surreal confrontation, they were locked in a deadly dance. Lao Xie reclined casually on his perch, while Wang Xiuying knelt, her light golden sword gleaming ominously at her side, a reminder of the power she once wielded.

"What are you saying, Lao Xie? Answer me!" Her voice rose, tinged with desperation.

"Look around you! What kind of sane person would cause this bloodbath?" Her fury ignited like a flame, illuminating her beautiful features, twisted in anguish.

Lao Xie met her gaze, his calm demeanor in stark contrast to her tempestuous emotions. "I have never fallen to the demonic path. To begin with, I have always walked it. Can't you see, Xiuying? Can't you see that I'm just using you?" His cold stare sent a shiver down her spine, a reminder of his indifference.

"U-use me? W-what are you talking about, Lao Xie? Stop lying to me!" she shouted, her voice cracking under the weight of her despair, tears threatening to spill over.

The anguish etched on her face darkened, her expression shifting to one of sorrow and disbelief. "I-I know you're lying—"

"I'm not lying, Wang Xiuying." Lao Xie interrupted, with his cold voice. "You knew it all along."

He stared deeply into her eyes, the weight of their shared history pressing down upon them. "It's been thousands of years since we began this journey together, all for the sake of gaining your trust. Have you ever wondered why your Senior Brother and Senior Sister always ended up in tragedy when we went on missions together?" His expression remained unreadable, a mask of calm over a storm of ambition.

"Everything is part of my plan, all within my calculations." His tone was cold and resolute, the promise of power lurking just beneath the surface.

"Wang Ling." He closed his eyes briefly, tilting his head toward the blood-red sky, where dark clouds churned ominously. "Ring a bell?"

Wang Xiuying's eyes widened in shock, realization dawning on her like the crushing weight of despair. "H-how do you know that name?" she gasped, her heart racing.

"Your dear brother," Lao Xie replied with chilling indifference.

Wang Xiuying turned away, her heart racing, her breath hitching. "Stop."

"The one you love the most—"

"STOP!" Wang Xiuying shouted, her voice slicing through the night like a blade.

Lao Xie regarded her with an unsettling calm, his cold eyes revealing nothing of the turmoil within.

Tears began to flow down Wang Xiuying's cheeks, relentless and heartbreaking. "Just kill me."

Lao Xie's expression remained unchanged, a mask of indifference. "Is this what you want?" he asked, his tone unnervingly calm.

"You've gotten everything you wanted, so just kill me." Her voice was barely above a whisper, the weight of her despair evident in her dampened clothing. "You've taken so many lives, adding another to the count should mean nothing to you."

Slowly lifting her gaze to meet his, she added, "Even now, I can't bring my heart to despise you. So please... just kill me. Let me escape this hell of suffering."

"Wang Xiuying. If only we had met sooner, perhaps it could have been different," Lao Xie said, his expression unchanged.

Confused by his words, Wang Xiuying's voice trembled. "What are you talking about? Stop speaking nonsense."

"Invincibility is the true path to loneliness. I've killed countless people, destroyed countless sects, all in pursuit of this goal. My determination is absolute, and that's my objective in this life," Lao Xie replied, his tone laced with a deeper, mysterious meaning.

Wang Xiuying, taken aback, shook her head. "Have you lost your mind? Does absorbing so many people's blood essence drive you mad?" she asked, bewildered.

Suddenly, a smile formed on Lao Xie's face. It wasn't sinister or unsettling, but a genuine, heartfelt smile. Wang Xiuying's eyes widened in shock.

"Did… did you just smile?" she asked, astonished. "I've seen you smile countless times before, but this one… it feels different."

Lao Xie's smile grew, and he took a deep breath. "It's been such a long time since I've felt this way. Perhaps it's possible… but it's a pity we met in this lifetime."

The more he spoke, the more confused Wang Xiuying became, her face a storm of emotions.

"My dear Ying'er, you've awakened something sweet in me—memories, feelings I thought lost for billions of years," Lao Xie continued, his gaze softening. "I never thought I'd feel this again. In my previous life, I had everything one could ask for, but eventually, it all became unbearably dull."

"Being invincible… it's nothing to be proud of," he added, his voice trailing off.

Wang Xiuying stood speechless, unable to grasp the weight of his words.

"You've ignited a small flame within me, Ying'er. I've reigned supreme over everything for countless lifetimes. I've held many titles, each different from one life to the next. But in this one, I was called ##########."

!!

The world shattered with a sharp krack! ripping him out of the dream and back into reality.

The scene shifted abruptly.

"It's that dream again," he murmured, his voice a low, smooth whisper devoid of any real emotion.

The young man sat up slowly, his movements measured, as if the chaos of the dream hadn't affected him at all. His chest rose and fell steadily, no sign of panic, only a cold gleam in his eyes. Sweat slicked his skin, but he wiped it away with a detached flick of his hand, as though it were merely an inconvenience.

His gaze swept across the room, and his eyes landed on the broken glass littering the floor. The shards shimmered in the moonlight, casting jagged reflections across the walls. A rock, palm-sized, sat among the fragments—an ordinary object in an otherwise unnerving scene. But what concerned him wasn't the broken window, nor the sudden silence that followed the crash. No, it was the timing.

He pressed a hand to his forehead, but the dull ache was hardly a nuisance. "These dreams... They're not just dreams, are they?"

A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips, not out of fear, but intrigue. The battlefield, Wang Xiuying's anguished cries, the twisted satisfaction that followed—it felt too real. Not a warning, but a memory, something buried deep.

"I've been having these dreams more often," he continued, voice soft but laced with growing amusement. "And the name… Lao Xie…"

The very same name as his own.

He gazed at the broken shards of glass, his reflection distorted and shattered. "However, his title... I can't remember it, no matter how many times I've tried," he pondered, wearing an unreadable expression.