Outside the Canglang Northern Domain.

The instant the Golden King Lotus exploded, the disciples of the Hundred Immortal Sects were caught off guard. An invisible pressure, like a sea bursting forth for a thousand li, blasted everyone a hundred zhang away.

The swords and magical artifacts of those closest shattered to pieces, rendered useless on the spot.

“Cough, cough… Sect Leader.” A young disciple struggled out of the snow. He clutched his chest, trying to use his sword to prop himself up, only to find nothing but a hilt in his hand.

“Sect Leader, my sword…”

For some disciples of the Immortal Sects, their swords were more important than their lives. This was especially true for the great sword-cultivating sect, the Feng Clan.

This young disciple was a follower of the Feng Clan.

“Throw it away. Go back and reforge it.” Feng Juyan, however, didn't look at him. Her gaze remained fixed a hundred zhang away, her elegant brows knitted tightly.

As the Sect Leader, she naturally wouldn't be sent rolling pathetically to the ground like the young disciple. Instead, she had stood with her longsword held before her, blocking the majority of the pressure.

She stood ramrod straight, but blood seeped from between her fingers, soaking into the patterns on her sword.

The young disciple’s heart jumped in shock when he saw the blood.

He was a new disciple and knew very little. This was the first time he had ever seen the Sect Leader bleed. “Sect Leader, what exactly is that golden shadow? How can it be so powerful?”

“It should be the Natal King Lotus,” Feng Juyan said softly.

“The Natal King Lotus?!”

The young disciples’ faces were filled with shock and doubt.

Legend had it that the Natal King Lotus was unique to High Immortal Tianxiu. Because he presided over punishment and pardon, with one hand holding death and the other life, he had two ultimate techniques—

One was All Souls Perish, the other was All Things Live.

The Natal King Lotus was the former.

“We’ve only heard of it, but we’ve never witnessed it.”

“Who has witnessed it with their own eyes? All who have are dead,” Feng Juyan said.

Besides, it was an ultimate technique.

The original meaning of an ultimate technique was to trade one's life for a move, one that would burn out the Spirit Essence. Even for High Immortal Tianxiu, the cost was immense, and he would never use it lightly.

The last time it appeared was twenty-five years ago.

On that day, Mount Taiyin collapsed, the Immortal Capital was completely destroyed, and the three thousand peaks of Lingtai came crashing down, most of them sinking into the bottom of the Endless Sea.

Some said that on the peak of Mount Taiyin that day, at the place closest to the Immortal Capital, the golden shadow of a King Lotus had shone down.

After that, the Demon Lord Wu Xingxue was nailed into the Canglang Northern Domain.

From then on, there was no longer an Immortal Capital.

With the fall of the Immortal Capital, the Mortal Realm naturally fell into chaos, and calamities ran rampant.

Only in places where sects gathered and immortal temples and divine statues stood in great numbers could a semblance of peace be maintained.

From that day on, the Hundred Immortal Sects changed their name to “Tianshu”.

***

“Sect Leader?” the young disciple asked hesitantly. “Then why has this Natal King Lotus appeared again? Hasn’t High Immortal Tianxiu already… passed away?”

“The Canglang Northern Domain is, after all, a place he controlled. There must be some residual Spirit Essence. As for why the Natal King Lotus suddenly appeared…” Feng Juyan’s voice abruptly stopped. “Could it be—”

Could it be that the Demon Lord is really still alive?

Not only alive, but even trying to leave this place, thus triggering the residual technique?

“It’s been twenty-five years, imprisoned under the Heavenly Lock for a full twenty-five years. I thought that even if that Demon Lord was alive, he would only have one last breath left, barely clinging to life.”

Who didn’t think so?

The Hundred Immortal Sects almost all shared this thought.

They didn’t expect a fierce battle, so they mostly brought young disciples, while the rest remained to guard their home sects, ever-watchful of that group of evil creatures from Zhaoye City.

It seemed they had been reckless.

“In my opinion, we should summon more people,” someone suggested.

“This… isn’t this being overly cautious?”

“Not at all. That’s Wu Xingxue, the one who could bathe the Immortal Capital in blood.”

***

While the Hundred Immortal Sects were discussing this important matter, Wu Xingxue, the one who could bathe the Immortal Capital in blood, was lost.

The person leaning on the giant sword had only appeared for a fleeting moment.

As he disappeared, the enormous Golden King Lotus suddenly enveloped Wu Xingxue and yanked him downward.

At that moment, Wu Xingxue thought to himself: 'This is bad, my cover is about to be blown.'

Falling pathetically into the water under everyone's watchful eyes, this pretense of being an Evil Demon would be over.

Just as he finished mocking himself, he heard the even more pathetic screams of his subordinates.

Wu Xingxue: “...”

Wu Xingxue: “?”

The expected plunge into the water didn't happen.

The cold pool seemed illusory; he didn't touch a single drop of water, yet he continued to fall at great speed.

Icy wind howled past him, and his subordinates’ cries of alarm never ceased.

He vaguely heard someone shout, “What the hell is this place?”

Another, more indistinct voice said, “The Canglang Northern Domain also has thirty-three levels downward, corresponding to the Taiyin White Pagoda above.”

Someone else said, “There’s something hidden in the bottommost level.”

***

When he landed, Wu Xingxue felt a vicious tug on the places where the chains were nailed to his body.

A sharp pain shot through his chest, spine, wrists, and ankles, so intense that he lost all five senses. He couldn't even tell how he had landed, or whether he looked pathetic or not.

Fortunately, however, as his senses gradually returned, he felt that he was standing.

The Golden King Lotus that had enveloped him must be gone, because he could no longer smell the Sword Qi that carried the scent of wind and snow.

While soothing the pain, he thought to himself that it was truly strange.

Which of the princes and nobles in Magpie Capital wasn't raised in luxury? They were extremely precious. If they suffered a small injury, the entire manor would bustle about, coaxing and coddling them, applying medicine and salves.

He was used to that kind of life and believed he couldn't endure pain.

But just now, the pain had been heart-gouging, yet he hadn't made a single sound. He swallowed every reaction, just because those few subordinates were there.

'I must have owed you a great deal in my past life.'

Wu Xingxue thought.

Thus, when his subordinates stumbled to the ground, they saw their City Lord slowly open his eyes, his gaze sweeping over them before he let out a cold laugh.

Everyone: “...”

They were just about to ask, “City Lord, where have we been dragged to?”

Hearing the cold laugh, they gulped and swallowed their words back down.

“City Lord… what are you laughing at?” The fast-talking one couldn’t hold back and asked cautiously.

He had been practicing poisonous forbidden arts since he was fourteen, and his height hadn't increased since. Among his companions, he appeared thin and small.

It was fine from a distance, but now they were only two or three steps apart, which made Wu Xingxue seem very tall. He had to slightly tilt his face up to speak.

He waited expectantly for a moment until Wu Xingxue raised a hand. His long fingers flicked at his wrist, hooking onto something invisible, and he said indifferently, “Me? I’m laughing at how annoying these chains are. Clinking and clanking, it’s too noisy.”

“...”

'I really know how to ask questions.'

The subordinate didn’t dare lower his upturned face, but he wished he could get rid of his own mouth.

Wu Xingxue flicked his fingers, dropping the chain, and threw a command at them: “Lead the way.”

“Go, go, go—let’s go!” another subordinate quickly interjected. He was probably afraid the fast-talker would get himself killed. He gave the man a sharp tug and hissed through his teeth, “Ning Huaishan, if your brain doesn't work, don't drag us down with you!”

Ning Huaishan was dragged along for a few steps before he looked up blankly. “Wait, where are we going?”

The others stopped abruptly: “...”

Right, where were they going?

They were a bit dazed. After a moment's hesitation, they turned their heads and asked, “City Lord, lead the way to what?”

Wu Xingxue followed not too far behind, his pace unwavering. “What do you think?”

“...”

I...

The group was speechless and didn’t dare to ask further. After all, they all knew that Wu Xingxue detested fools the most.

They raised their eyes and scanned their surroundings.

This was a desolate wilderness covered in a layer of snow, a world of gray and white. In the distance stood a towering, withered tree. It seemed to have been burned, its trunk mottled with scorch marks, so tall that they couldn't see its top even when looking up.

They suspected that the withered branch Wu Xingxue had been standing on earlier was the very top of this giant tree.

“Have you heard? The Canglang Northern Domain has thirty-three levels,” Ning Huaishan secretly nudged his companion.

The Canglang Northern Domain hung above the Endless Sea, perpetually shrouded in clouds and thunder, like a giant black cliff.

Rumor had it that it had thirty-three levels, just like the glass pagoda of Mount Taiyin before its collapse, symbolizing the thirty-three heavens.

If the branch from before was the topmost level, then this wilderness with the giant tree before them was the bottommost level.

“Where did you hear that rumor? So what if you know about the thirty-three levels? What damn good is that? Did the rumor tell you where the City Lord wants us to lead the way to?”

Ning Huaishan: “...No.”

He carefully recalled again, “But the rumor did say that there was a treasure hidden in this bottommost level. Do you think that’s what the City Lord meant just now when he told us to lead the way?”

“Think about whether that makes any sense. How would we know where the treasure is, and how would we lead the way there? If that’s what the City Lord really meant, that would be truly strange.”

“Tsk, stop with the nonsense. Let’s look first. If we find it, at least we won’t have led him the wrong way.”

The giant withered tree was too eye-catching, and there was nowhere else in the entire wilderness that could hide a treasure, so they set off towards the giant tree.

Only when they got closer did they discover that countless swords were thrust into the ground at an angle beneath the giant tree, like a boundless Sword Mound.

Wu Xingxue followed them, weaving through the Sword Mound until his legs were about to break, yet he still hadn't gotten a single step closer to the giant tree.

“...”

'Is it too late to threaten these people with the chains to get them to sit for a while?'

Wu Xingxue stared at their backs and said in his heart.

“City Lord?” Ning Huaishan, perhaps feeling a prickling on his back, turned his head and stammered, “This Sword Mound might be a formation…”

Wu Xingxue showed no surprise. “So?”

“As you've always known, City Lord, none of us are very good at breaking formations.” Ning Huaishan shot a glance at Wu Xingxue and said, “Formations have always been your…”

Wu Xingxue: “...My what? Say it.”

He softened his voice, devoid of any emotion. He had grasped the perfect degree of intimidation. He wondered if he could avoid this predicament—

“Oh, City Lord, please stop teasing us.” Another subordinate said with a woeful expression, “I know we’ve made you unhappy. You can do whatever you want to us later. But we’re really not good with formations.”

“Right, and this is the Canglang Northern Domain. If we act rashly and wander around aimlessly, something bad could happen. Then we'd be in trouble.”

“That’s right, City Lord. A formation like this, you could break it in two or three steps. Why waste your energy following us?”

Wu Xingxue: “...”

—He couldn't avoid this predicament after all.

He looked at his subordinates and thought, 'Forget two or three steps, I wouldn’t be able to get out in two or three years. Are you scared yet?'

He took a light breath and was just about to think of a plan when a flash of white caught the corner of his eye.

It was a different white from the snow, with a gentle, lustrous quality, like jade on the high steps of a grand hall.

He turned his head and, through the gaps between the crisscrossing cold swords, saw a corner of the object. It looked like a white jade platform?

Wu Xingxue ignored his subordinates and walked towards it.

Barefoot, he avoided the sharp edges of the swords, and a moment later, he stood before the white jade platform.

Only then did he realize this was not a jade platform…

But a jade sarcophagus.

It was a massive white jade sarcophagus, lying beneath the towering withered tree, surrounded by thousands of cold swords. Coffin nails were driven into its four sides, and each nail was carved with a character.

That character was one Wu Xingxue had just seen not long ago, imprinted on the side of a person's neck.

This is…

“This is Xiao Fuxuan’s sarcophagus!”