The state of the Mystic Immortal was truly unstable.
The entire world was real, but Xu Jinghong in the tavern was false.
Before Xiuzhi appeared, he was merely a mortal stripped of all his magic—useless Old Xu, the owner of Hongxiu Tavern, anything but Xu Jinghong.
Yet after Xiuzhi appeared, this world became the illusion, and Xu Jinghong in the tavern became real!
Slowly, he ceased to be a mortal, no longer the useless Old Xu. Bit by bit, he regained himself. The tides of heaven and earth turned in his favor—the world was him, or perhaps he was the world. Everything was improving, and his strength gradually returned.
But now, Xiuzhi was fading away, vanishing forever... His newly restored heart shattered in an instant, and the entire world plunged into chaos!
If Xiuzhi truly died before his eyes a second time, he wouldn’t survive the blow. At best, he’d explode on the spot; at worst, he’d lose control, sinking into a mindless, ominous state as the world collapsed into an abyss, madly devouring the true universe beyond!
In other words, he would become a Half-Cosmic Aberration—unlike ordinary demonic fiends, he’d be devoid of reason, drowning in agony, tormenting himself endlessly, driven purely by instinct!
"Yi... Yi'an, don’t... don’t waste resources anymore. It’s useless... Just seeing you again, Xiuzhi is already content..."
In the tavern’s backyard, Xiuzhi—her body half-transparent—mustered the last of her strength to reach out, gently caressing Xu Jinghong’s cheek as she murmured, "Yi... Yi'an, can you promise me one thing?"
Xu Jinghong said nothing. Tears blurred his vision as he frantically poured precious soul-nurturing immortal energy over Xiuzhi, desperate to slow her dissipation.
But it was futile.
Once a lingering will faded, the scattering of a remnant soul was irreversible!
"Yi... Yi'an, do you hear it? The wind chimes..." Xiuzhi’s consciousness was already scattering, her voice barely a whisper.
Xu Jinghong despaired, his heart cleaved in two. Watching his beloved grow ever more translucent, his tears burst forth like a flood, his voice choked with sobs. "Xiuzhi, I... I hear it. I’ll promise you anything, just don’t leave me. I truly... I truly can’t live without you..."
"Silly..." Xiuzhi forced a faint, beautiful smile. "Yi'an must promise me... after I’m gone, you’ll be alright. I... I broke my vow. If there’s a next life, you..."
Before she could finish, her hand slipped limply away, her body dissolving into motes of starlight, slipping through Xu Jinghong’s embrace...
"NO!!!"
"AAAAAH!!!"
Xu Jinghong’s heart-rending roar shook the heavens, the entire world trembling in response!
Yet at that very moment—
A calm figure strode into the backyard and, without hesitation, slapped Xu Jinghong across the face.
SMACK!
"Why are you shouting so loudly?!"
Xu Jinghong’s crimson eyes snapped toward the sudden intruder, a terrifying sword intent erupting from him. Above, a colossal sword shadow—Xu Jinghong’s legendary blade—materialized in the sky!
Without Xiuzhi, nothing could restrain the peerless slaughter of the Jinghong Sword!
It harmed others—and itself!
Everything in sight: Kill! Kill!! KILL!!!
"I can save her."
Quick as lightning—
Xu Jinghong’s crimson eyes cleared instantly.
Like a drowning man clutching at straws, he wouldn’t relinquish even the faintest hope!
"Please, save Xiuzhi. Whoever you are, whatever the cost, I’ll pay it. Even my life—a life for a life. I beg you..."
The once-proud Sword Immortal of Jinghong now knelt humbly on the ground, forsaking all dignity for the slimmest chance to revive his beloved.
"A man’s knees bear the weight of gold! Kneeling is beneath you!" Chen Yi scowled, his voice sharp. "A Sword Immortal groveling—do you think she’d be happy seeing this?"
Xu Jinghong remained silent, still kneeling.
"Tch, you’re hopeless..."
Chen Yi sighed, waving a hand to gather Xiuzhi’s scattered remnants, condensing them into a divine statuette before speaking slowly:
"The dead can reconstitute their true spirit through faith. But your Xiuzhi is only a remnant soul—reforming her will take time. Are you willing to wait?"
Seeing that Chen Yi could truly stabilize Xiuzhi’s fading soul, Xu Jinghong answered without hesitation: "However long it takes—even if the seas dry and the suns burn out—if she can return, I’ll wait. I’ll wait forever!"
The greatest fear is hopelessness. With even a sliver of hope, one finds the strength to press forward.
Gazing at the delicate statuette of Xiuzhi in Chen Yi’s hand, Xu Jinghong felt vitality surging through his decayed body, as if boundless strength welled within him!
"You’re quite the character." Chen Yi smirked. "I’ll tell you this—your Xiuzhi will become a local earth deity in the Purple Star Continent’s immortal realm. Only you, who knows her best, can call her back. Come to Purple Star. You’ll know what to do when the time comes."
Currently, the Purple Star’s Heavenly Dao couldn’t formally bind this wandering Mystic Immortal. After all, Mystic Immortals were formidable—especially someone like Xu Jinghong, whose "Invincible Sword Domain" manifested as a miniature cosmos. Unleashed recklessly, the current Purple Star Continent wouldn’t survive!
So for now, he’d be relegated to menial tasks until the Heavenly Dao ascended enough to grant him a proper title.
As for whether he’d flee... Unless he abandoned Xiuzhi—and could defeat Chen Yi—he wouldn’t escape!
Xu Jinghong agreed instantly: "Deal!"
If it meant saving Xiuzhi, he’d do anything!
Chen Yi grinned. "Good. Welcome aboard. But first—you must reclaim your true self."
Raising a hand toward the sky, he declared, "Go. Defeat your inner demon, and reclaim who you truly are!"
"Understood!" Xu Jinghong surged to his feet, his sword intent erupting like an unsheathed blade—sharp, unstoppable!
Yet beneath his overwhelming edge lay a trace of tenderness. After one last glance at Xiuzhi’s statuette, he slowly drew the long-buried Jinghong Sword from the earth, his aura skyrocketing as he ascended step by step into the heavens!
"You’ve finally come. I’ve waited long."
Atop the sky, a figure wreathed in majestic sword energy turned—revealing Xu Jinghong’s own face!
Yet Xu Jinghong showed no surprise. He merely raised his sword and uttered coldly:
"Peerless Sword Immortal, Jinghong Sword—I challenge you!"
This was his inner demon, the greatest obstacle to reclaiming his blade. Without defeating it, he could never regain control of this sword-forged world—nor break free from his aberrant, ominous state!
Meanwhile, back in Hongxiu Tavern...
After taking the last sip of immortal wine, Chen Yi slowly set down his cup, his gaze profound and distant:
"Come on, you big dumb dragon. I've taken the bait—now let's see your hook..."
m back to his original world. In the end, he realized he had overthought things. [Hey, why is Shen Manni, the female lead, acting strange? Shouldn't she be fawning over the male lead at this point?] [Zhou Qiaoqiao, are you sick? Weren't you supposed to break off your engagement today?] [Damn it! An Youyi, please do your job as an undercover agent and sell my information to the protagonist, you idiot!] ... At this moment, Xu Mo himself didn't know that these female leads had already heard his inner thoughts. Then they decided not to play by the rules. Xu Mo: Please respect my profession as the big villain!
young master of the Shen family—a figure of immense power and wealth beyond measure—and awakened the "Destined Ultimate Villain System"! His starting scenario? Running into his icy fiancée who shows up with a mountain-descending divine doctor to break off their engagement. The divine doctor arrogantly taunts: "What does your Shen family have besides a bit of stinking money? You're not even worthy of tying Qingxue's shoelaces!" Shen Fei just smiled. He completely defied the usual script: "Fine, I agree to break off the engagement. Also, notify the finance department to withdraw all investments from the Su family." Minutes later, with its capital chain severed, the Su Group teetered on the brink of bankruptcy! The once aloof and proud ice queen CEO was thrown into utter panic. That very night, she went to Shen Fei's villa, casting aside all dignity to beg and plead desperately... From then on, in this world teeming with Sons of Destiny, Shen Fei embarked on a path of extreme dimensional suppression! A mountain-descending divine doctor? Peerless medical skills? Shen Fei: "Reporting you for practicing medicine without a license! I'll gladly take your ancient medicinal cauldron and twin sister assassins." The Crooked-Smiling Dragon King? Commanding a hundred thousand soldiers with a single order? Shen Fei: "Illegal assembly and suspected treason! Let a fleet of attack helicopters sanitize the area and teach you what the state apparatus really means!" A reborn tycoon? Knows all the golden opportunities of the next decade? Shen Fei: "A trillion in capital to reverse and pump the stock market, making you blow your margin and jump on the very first day of your rebirth!" What Chosen Ones? What bearers of Heavenly Fortune? In Shen Fei's eyes, they're all just chives (i.e., suckers/marks) waiting to be harvested! Shen Fei: "Sorry, but as the Destined Ultimate Villain, I don't play by the rules of honor. I only play the game of dimensional suppression."
transmigrates into the world as the sect master of the Heavenly Yan Sect, which is on the verge of being wiped out. He binds a system that grants him cultivation power based on the number of disciples he has: for each disciple, he automatically gains a year's worth of cultivation every single day! Take one disciple: every day he gains 1 year of cultivation power. While others struggle through a year of bitter training, he gets the same just by sleeping through a single night. Take ten disciples: every day he gains 10 years of cultivation power. Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul—he breezes through all bottlenecks without lifting a finger. Take one hundred disciples: every day he gains 100 years of cultivation power. Even a Soul Transformation Venerable before him can’t survive a single blow. Take ten thousand disciples: every day he gains 10,000 years of cultivation power! With a wave of his hand, he topples empires. With a single step, he crushes the sacred grounds of the universe. ... While others fight tooth and nail for secret techniques, Lin Yan casually hands out Nascent Soul-level cultivation manuals as beginner textbooks. While others strain to find talented recruits, Lin Yan opens his doors to anyone—so long as they’re human. In just three short years, the Heavenly Yan Sect went from a backwater sect made up of three crumbling huts to a sacred land that every cultivator under heaven would kill to enter. ... One day, otherworldly demon gods invade, with a million demon soldiers pressing down upon the realm. Lin Yan, yawning, rises from his lounge chair and glances at the system panel: [Current Disciples: 1.28 million] [Daily Cultivation Increase: 1.28 million years] He waves his hand casually, and the countless demon soldiers are reduced to ashes in an instant. “So noisy… interrupting my fishing.”
ose... to cooperate with the protagonist! Shen Yuan: I have a system! Protagonist: What? System: Holy crap, you're just spilling it out like that? Shen Yuan: Let's team up, we'll split the system rewards! Protagonist: Fifty-fifty split? Shen Yuan: No way! Protagonist: What!? I'm the one getting beaten up, and I don't get half? Shen Yuan: Forty-sixty split, I get forty, you get sixty! Protagonist: Deal! Big brother, come on, hit me! As long as it doesn't kill me, beat me like you mean it! Shen Yuan: Don't worry... I will definitely protect all of you! No one but me can lay a finger on you! Guard our Heaven's Chosen Ones! I'm the only one allowed to bully them!
