Ruoying Feather

"The place that the Little Medicine Fanatic chose is such a dump, insisting on staying in some cave in Jiuling Mountain, with not a single tree around. To buy a drink, I have to go all the way to The Flatland." Jia Guqing grumbled early the next morning as he walked towards The Flatland.

Not far from his destination, he saw thick smoke rising from the northeast corner of The Flatland, with flames blazing.

"A fire this big in broad daylight, barbecuing?" Jia Guqing didn't pay much attention and continued heading towards The Flatland.

As he got closer, he noticed more and more people running in the opposite direction. Seeing people fleeing in all directions, Jia Guqing quickly grabbed one and asked, "Hey, where are you rushing off to in such a panic, demon lady?"

"Where else? Fleeing for our lives! Lord Nan Zhe is in a rage for some reason, killing all the ghost servants and guards in his mansion. Now he's on the streets, catching people to gouge out their inner cores and devour their marrow. If we don't run, we'll be dead meat." The demon lady replied.

Hearing this, Jia Guqing slapped his forehead and said, "I almost forgot I had something to do." He then turned and walked quickly towards The Flatland.

The Flatland was littered with corpses, and the streets ran red with blood. The entire city had almost become scorched earth. Nan Zhe had just caught a fleeing demon, his eyes glowing crimson. With a flick of his fingers, he extracted the inner core from the demon's body.

"Such a low cultivation level?" Looking at the inner core in his hand, Nan Zhe disdainfully said and tossed the corpse aside.

Jia Guqing walked slowly from not far away, the streets on either side littered with corpses, blood covering the original color of the ground. Although The Flatland was a mix of good and evil, it was still the only place in the Three Realms where sinners could be accommodated. But with Nan Zhe's rampage, it had turned into a visible hell on earth.

"Such a temper so early in the morning." Jia Guqing commented teasingly as he walked slowly.

"Him?"

"This Flatland, mixed as it is, is not a place you alone can control. Acting like this, isn't it a bit inappropriate?" Jia Guqing asked, picking at a withered grass in his hand.

"Mind your own business." Nan Zhe didn't waste words, flying towards Jia Guqing to attack.

Seeing Nan Zhe pounce on him, Jia Guqing seemed unconcerned, dodging effortlessly with a few feints. His foot lightly tapped the ground as he landed on the eaves.

"Hey, young and hot-tempered, you'll age quickly." Jia Guqing said, lightly brushing his hair.

Nan Zhe pushed off the ground, chasing after Jia Guqing again.

"Oh, coming after me~" Jia Guqing turned and ran.

The two flew through the city of The Flatland, seemingly Nan Zhe in hot pursuit, but it appeared Jia Guqing was deliberately leading Nan Zhe to his mansion.

"This should be it." Jia Guqing stopped not far from Quan Xia Pavilion, calculated with his fingers, and with a wave of his hand, lifted the roof of Quan Xia Pavilion.

Through the sunlight streaming down, Hua Ruoying, lying in the thousand-year ice coffin, seemed to still be asleep.

Sunlight reflected off the coffin, sparkling with a crystalline luster. The red wedding dress had no wrinkles, like a crimson otherworldly flower sleeping at the bottom of the sea.

"Indeed, a beauty." Jia Guqing sighed, looking at Hua Ruoying in the coffin from the roof.

Nan Zhe finally arrived, seeing the roof of Quan Xia Pavilion lifted, anger surged in his eyes.

Watching Jia Guqing on the roof lift Hua Ruoying and the ice coffin out of the house, Nan Zhe felt his heart leap into his throat along with the coffin.

Hua Ruoying was his reverse scale, untouchable by anyone.

"Put her down!" Nan Zhe whipped out a golden long whip with his left hand, swinging it with all his might at Jia Guqing.

"Huh? Oh!" Jia Guqing feigned confusion and suddenly let go, flipping his hand towards Nan Zhe, sending a gust of wind that pushed Nan Zhe several meters back.

"Oh? You have some magic power." Jia Guqing said nonchalantly, performing a backflip and lightly landing in the yard.

Hua Ruoying, along with the coffin, was dragged into the yard by Jia Guqing's magic.

"Little beauty, I'll deal with this guy first, then send you on your way." Jia Guqing glanced at Hua Ruoying and then flew towards Nan Zhe.

"Who are you?" That last strike caught Nan Zhe off guard, his internal energy faltering. With his cultivation level, he was no match for this person before him, but why was he so interested in Hua Ruoying?

"Still fighting? You know you can't beat me, so why waste your energy?" Jia Guqing stood lazily, hands crossed in front of him, looking indifferent to Nan Zhe.

"What do you want?" Nan Zhe's voice was filled with anger.

"Tsk tsk tsk, all this for a little fox spirit, really?" Jia Guqing shook his head helplessly, glancing at Hua Ruoying with a mocking smile.

"Shut up!" Angered, Nan Zhe swung his whip imbued with magic power at Jia Guqing again.

Jia Guqing had no intention of catching the blow, stepping back just as the whip almost reached him, letting it strike the ground. He then casually stepped on the end of the whip, preventing Nan Zhe from moving it.

"I just came to buy some wine, really didn't intend to meddle. But since my little Golden Core likes her, as an elder, I have to do something." Jia Guqing said casually and lazily.

"Little Golden Core?" Nan Zhe didn't understand what Jia Guqing meant.

"Ah, even if I told you, you wouldn't understand. Just a flower, what do you know about emotions?" Jia Guqing waved his hand, unwilling to explain, placing his other hand on the thousand-year ice coffin, gently exerting force, causing the sides of the coffin to shatter.

"What are you doing, stop!" Seeing the coffin of Hua Ruoying being shattered by Jia Guqing, Nan Zhe lost control and angrily summoned Zixuan Yingqing, launching an all-out attack at Jia Guqing.

Just as Jia Guqing was about to touch Hua Ruoying's forehead, he sensed the incoming powerful force and quickly retracted his hand to dodge.

"Zixuan Yingqing? Such a fine thing, where did you get it? Can you even play it?" Jia Guqing mocked, looking at the zither in Nan Zhe's hand.

"Die!" Nan Zhe grasped all the strings, injecting all his spiritual power into it. A dazzling purple light gradually condensed in front of his fingers. As he released the strings, a powerful force shot towards Jia Guqing.

Jia Guqing effortlessly performed a backflip, moving over Hua Ruoying's head and landing behind her. He didn't forget to gently tap Hua Ruoying's forehead with his finger as he flipped.

"Not good!" Blinded by rage, Nan Zhe had completely overlooked Jia Guqing's previous position.

This strike missed Jia Guqing and instead hit Hua Ruoying's body directly.

"Done~ Time for a drink." Landing gracefully, Jia Guqing dusted off his hands, looking rather satisfied at Hua Ruoying, who was now emitting a faint purple glow from the strike Nan Zhe had landed on her.

"Oh, she's going to ascend. This is your doing, kid, not mine." Jia Guqing glanced at Nan Zhe in the distance, quickly disclaiming responsibility as he retreated a few steps and then vanished.

"No, no~" Seeing Hua Ruoying's body beginning to ascend, Nan Zhe panicked and dropped Zixuan Yingqing. That last strike not only hit Hua Ruoying's corpse but also struck a deep blow to his heart.

"You can't ascend. You belong to me, and no one can take you away from me." Nan Zhe's low, hoarse voice was filled with a pathological, violent possessiveness. His hands desperately grasped at Hua Ruoying, but in vain, for she was now a pile of ephemeral petals, fading away despite his efforts.

Watching Hua Ruoying slip away, Nan Zhe felt as if a sharp, burning knife was slowly cutting through his heart. His fingers turned white from clenching, his eyes burned, and his throat felt like it was filled with burning thorns, making it impossible to scream despite the pain.

"Ha~ Haha~ Hahaha~" Nan Zhe tore off his mask, revealing O Shinan's face, his neck veins bulging visibly. His shoulders shook as he laughed manically, the hellish fire in his eyes seeming to burn everything in its path. Despite his increasingly hysterical laughter, tears rolled down his cheeks.

"If you won't leave me a way to live, I'll make sure you all perish with me. The Golden Core... it's him again!" Looking at the last remnants of Hua Ruoying dissipating, O Shinan fell to his knees in agony, muttering repeatedly.

Slowly picking up the familiar hibiscus-colored jade bracelet from the ground, he gently tucked it into his chest. Tears from O Shinan's eyes fell heavily on the shards of the thousand-year ice. He closed his eyes, his pupils trembling uncontrollably. Despite his efforts to steady his breathing, when he opened his eyes again, they were filled with unprecedented coldness and sorrow.

Outside the cave in Jiuling Mountain,

Mi Xingzhe sat alone, playing with a gecko on the wall.

Turning his head, he saw thick smoke in the distance.

"That direction is? The Flatland." Recognizing the direction of the smoke, Mi Xingzhe became worried about Elder Jia Guqing. "Elder Jia Guqing said he was going to The Flatland to buy wine this morning and hasn't returned yet. Could something have happened to him?"

"Master, Master." Mi Xingzhe called out to Li Luoning as he got up and ran into the cave.

He bumped into Li Luoning, who was coming out, spilling the herbs in her hands all over the ground.

"What's the rush?" Li Luoning asked angrily, annoyed by the collision.

"Master, there's a lot of smoke coming from that direction. Elder Jia Guqing went down the mountain to buy wine this morning, and he went that way. Could something have happened to him?" Mi Xingzhe anxiously pointed towards the smoke.

Li Luoning followed Mi Xingzhe's pointing finger, realizing it was The Flatland. But then she thought, with Elder Jia Guqing's cultivation, no one in the Three Realms could hurt him. Besides, if something really happened, Elder Jia Guqing would be the first to escape.

"With Elder Jia Guqing's cultivation, not even ten of me could beat him. There's no need to worry. But you, did you memorize the heart technique I gave you this morning? Come and recite it for me." Li Luoning picked up the herbs from the ground and sat on a nearby rock.

"Ah? Oh..." Hearing Li Luoning's words, Mi Xingzhe suddenly wilted.

He had completely forgotten about it while playing with the gecko.

Reluctantly, Mi Xingzhe walked over to Li Luoning, nervously rubbing his fingers behind his back, looking like a wilted eggplant, standing in front of Li Luoning, unable to speak.

Li Luoning continued sorting the herbs, waiting for a long time without hearing Mi Xingzhe speak, and finally looked up at him.

Seeing Mi Xingzhe's guilty expression, she knew what had happened. She slapped the herbs on the stone table in front of her, startling Mi Xingzhe.

"The Way of Heaven..." Li Luoning began the recitation heavily for Mi Xingzhe, her hand unconsciously gripping a twig from the herb basket.

"The Way of Heaven, impurity gives birth to purity, yin and yang counteract each other, the principles of all things, the ever-changing nature, the origin of life and death, the residence of gods. To treat illness, one must seek the root... all things... all things change, thus there is... there is no..." Mi Xingzhe's voice grew quieter.

"And then?" Li Luoning's voice, tinged with anger, made Mi Xingzhe shiver, instinctively stepping back a bit.

Mi Xingzhe lowered his eyes, biting his lower lip, and nervously kneading his hands behind his back.

Li Luoning's gaze gave off a feeling of distance and coldness.

Mi Xingzhe drooped his head, but his eyes were fixed on Li Luoning's hand gripping the twig. Seeing the twig in her hand, his legs went weak, and he took another step back. When their eyes met, he saw the same coldness in Li Luoning's eyes that he had only seen in his nightmares.

"And then?" Mi Xingzhe, still in a daze, blinked at Li Luoning's words and came to his senses.

"Ah?" Mi Xingzhe hesitated before stuttering, "Th-then, then, the rest... I haven't memorized yet."

"Stretch out your hand."

"Master, no." Ever since waking from his nightmare, Mi Xingzhe had felt a lingering fear towards Li Luoning. Seeing her now, expressionless, reminded him of the nightmare, making him shiver.

Hadn't he told Master about everything that happened in his nightmare? And Master had assured him that he just needed to rest and not worry. Why did Master seem angrier than ever today?

"Whoosh! Snap!" Li Luoning suddenly lost patience, slamming the twig onto the stone in front of Mi Xingzhe.

The sudden noise made Mi Xingzhe jump, his eyes reddening as his lips trembled violently. He looked at Li Luoning with teary eyes, "Master, you promised..." Mi Xingzhe felt the Master before him was a stranger, the coldness in her eyes unprecedented. Even when he was punished in Mirror Cloud Residence, she had never looked at him so coldly.

"What are you doing, what are you doing? I could hear you two arguing from down the mountain. I just went to buy some wine, and you two are putting on a show?" As the master and disciple stared at each other, Jia Guqing's voice came from behind Mi Xingzhe.

Hearing Elder Jia Guqing's voice, Mi Xingzhe grabbed onto it like a lifeline, quickly running behind him and clutching his sleeve tightly.

"Hey, you..." Jia Guqing was startled by Mi Xingzhe's sudden action. Seeing Li Luoning's angry face and the twig bent in her hand, he quickly understood.

"Did you cause trouble again?" Jia Guqing asked Mi Xingzhe softly.

Mi Xingzhe nodded, then quickly shook his head.

"Little Medicine Fanatic, since when did you become so impatient? You should teach children slowly..." Jia Guqing started to step forward to mediate, but stopped when he saw Li Luoning angrily throw down her things and storm into the cave.

Jia Guqing's hand froze in mid-air, watching Li Luoning leave without a word.

"Little Golden Core, what's gotten into your Master today?"