Alive, Yet Not Quite

Swish, swish, swish!

As the woman in purple raised both hands high, the various heavenly treasures and earthly rarities arranged around the formation burst forth with streams of spiritual light.

Stardust Sand, Soul-Returning Grass, the tail feather of a Phoenix, the scale of a True Dragon, the Water of Eternal Youth... each and every one of these items was enough to send the major powers fighting tooth and nail over them.

And the most precious and radiant among them all was a pill, suspended above the man's head at the heart of the formation, faintly glowing with a purple light.

It was an eighth-rank pill—the Eightfold Soul-Returning Pill.

This pill was said to be able to "revive the dead and restore flesh to bones." As long as the physical body remained intact, it could reshape the spirit and soul, bringing the deceased back to life.

Leaving aside the pill's heaven-defying effects, the very fact that it was an eighth-rank pill was enough to shake one's soul. In this world, pills of sufficient grade could already develop their own intelligence, cultivate like humans, and even ascend to immortality.

And the eighth rank was the highest grade in this realm.

Ninth-rank pills were each celestial pills, refined only by immortals. Ordinary people could not even dream of consuming such a pill—it would be a mercy if they weren't swatted to death by one.

Still, even an eighth-rank pill was formidable enough.

Even the lowest grade eighth-rank pill was at least equivalent to a human cultivator in the third stage of Tribulation Transcendence.

Looking at the Eightfold Soul-Returning Pill, a hint of relief flashed in the eyes of the woman in purple.

She had been present back when Ye Shu attempted to ascend to immortality.

But back then, the six great families were too powerful, and it was not the right time for her to reveal herself openly.

Still, she firmly believed that this man could achieve it.

And indeed, he had. Ye Shu had taken one step toward immortality, swept across everyone present, and even managed to revive the dead of the Azure Cloud Sect. It could be said that if the Eastern Wasteland had not been so scarce in spiritual energy, and if there had been more time, this world would now have gained a true immortal.

"As expected—he's the man I chose."

A brilliant light sparkled in her eyes as she gazed at the man, her expression brimming with pride.

After Ye Shu's failed attempt at ascending, she had struck without hesitation.

Taking advantage of the chaos as everyone was still in shock, she stole away every last fragment he had left behind—not even a strand of hair was left.

After that came the long, arduous journey of resurrection.

Just how difficult was it to revive a half-immortal? The woman in purple was the most qualified person to answer that.

The entire treasury of the Demon Sect wasn't enough!

And she didn't have the authority to take too much from the sect's vault, either—otherwise, it would have invited challenges from others. In fact, over the past few years, while she had done nothing else, there had been plenty of voices within the sect, openly or covertly mocking her for being idle in her position while others strove to advance.

But the woman in purple didn't care.

As long as this man could be revived, all problems would be solved!

Strangely enough, it defied all logic.

Based on ordinary reasoning, gathering the materials needed to revive a half-immortal should have been unthinkable for the woman in purple. She had already braced herself for a long, drawn-out effort.

But whether it was a blessing from the Heavenly Dao or sheer luck—

She had found these materials with almost absurd ease. For instance, this Eightfold Soul-Returning Pill—she had stumbled upon it after tripping over a bump on the road. Picking it up, she discovered it was an eighth-rank pill that happened to be a dead pill, its intelligence already erased.

Though a dead pill didn't work as potently, it was at least safe.

After that, her days seemed to be on easy mode. Things that others wouldn't even dare to dream of—she simply picked them up by the roadside. And so, in just six or seven short years, she had gathered all the necessary materials to revive Ye Shu.

"Now, whether it succeeds or not, it all depends on the will of heaven."

The woman in purple stared fixedly at the stage.

Streams of spiritual light converged into the shattered body of the man, filling the hollow cavities within, but what mattered most was the eight-revival soul pill above his head.

A wisp of purple essence drifted down from the soul pill...

Crack... crack... crack...

The eight-revival soul pill instantly lost all its spiritual charm, turned white, then gray, and finally crumbled into a pile of powder.

And that wisp of purple essence floated and drifted, settling onto the center of the man's brow.

The next moment, light burst forth—blinding, impossible to look at directly!

The woman in purple instinctively closed her eyes. When she opened them again, it seemed the man on the bed was already breathing.

Crack... crack...

His fingers twitched, then suddenly, his eyes snapped open.

Before him was everything completely unfamiliar.

A dim room, thick and hard stone walls, a cold stone platform.

"What is this? Reborn?"

Ye Shu gazed blankly at the strange ceiling, sensing the entirely alien feeling within his body. He muttered in disbelief, his voice barely audible.

Meanwhile, the woman in purple beside him was brimming with excitement.

Success!

She had actually succeeded!

Reviving a demigod—a peerless, unprecedented, and unparalleled prodigy!

"It's you?"

The awakened Ye Shu turned his head and saw the veiled woman in purple. Even though her face was obscured, he could see the overwhelming excitement in her eyes.

"It's me. Surprised?"

The woman in purple forced herself to suppress her excitement, feigning calm as she looked at him.

Hearing this, Ye Shu fell into a rare silence for a moment.

After a while, he nodded.

"Very surprised, actually."

He never would have expected that the one to revive him would be this Holy Maiden of the Demon Sect. Logically, shouldn't it have been that childhood sweetheart from the Zhao family?

This revival—how had it landed him right in the demon sect's stronghold?

"How long was I dead?"

Rather than dwell on the matter, Ye Shu asked directly.

"About seven years or so."

The woman in purple didn't hide anything and answered plainly.

"Seven years?"

Ye Shu murmured the number to himself.

Seven years—a very long time in a human lifespan. To think it had only been a full year since he first stepped into the world. By now, his two daughters should be old enough to call him "Daddy."

But since he was revived...

Recalling the scene of the six great families blocking his path, Ye Shu's gaze turned fierce. Back then, to revive the people of the Qingxuan Sect, he had no time to hunt them down and only dealt heavy blows. Now, he was back—and he wouldn't let them off easy!

"This life, I will reclaim everything that's mine!"

With a swift movement, he leapt down from the stone platform—and then... CRACK!

The moment his feet hit the ground, his left foot tripped over his right.

The whole fragile as porcelain, Ye Shu crashed to the floor in pieces, scattering everywhere.

"Wait, man?"

Ye Shu stared at his broken body scattered across the floor, with only his head still intact. He was completely stunned.

So, he had brittle bones now?

"I forgot to remind you."

The woman in purple walked up to him, gently cradled his head in her arms, and began picking up the fragments from the floor, fitting them together like puzzle pieces.

"Right now, you're still a dead man."