Just Getting Old

Bai Xuanling stood in the air, clad in white robes, a long sword in hand.

Merely her presence alone was an absolute deterrent.

Bai Bo's severed right hand surged with dark currents, swiftly regenerating, while the massive wound on his chest—cleaved open by Chu Xingchen's blade—also slowly mended. Along with his recovery, his form began to shift dramatically. His originally gaunt frame violently expanded, rapidly transforming into a hulking, bear-like figure. The dark currents flowed back into him, covering his body in eerie inscriptions that solidified into heavy black armor.

Now in his complete form, Bai Bo shed all concealment, revealing his true appearance.

Only his pale green eyes remained visible amidst his now faceless, demonic visage.

"Bai Xuanling, your inner demons remain unresolved… and yet you still meddle here?"

Bai Bo's voice was thick and heavy. He raised his hand slightly, crimson light flickering around it.

"Your rage… remains as pure as ever."

"Tell me, do you feel your emotions churning… the urge to slaughter everything in sight?"

"Others may fear you, but I do not. Your fury, your emotions—they are my nourishment."

Bai Xuanling did not turn to look at Chu Xingchen, but the smile on her face now bore an unsettling resemblance to Li Xingtian’s.

As for Bai Bo’s words—

Her response was simple.

A single strike of her sword.

Chu Xingchen stood behind Bai Xuanling, watching as that sword descended.

The heavens and earth turned pale, a vast expanse of white.

Sword intent surged like a tempest, killing intent roiled like an ocean.

The sound of the strike only reached them moments later, echoing from afar.

It was nothing more than a beam of annihilating white light, bearing down on Bai Bo.

Bai Xuanling moved with blinding speed—her sword intent had already reached Bai Bo before the hilt of her blade even seemed to lift.

Faced with this peerless strike from a supreme sword cultivator, Bai Bo’s pale green eyes showed no panic. He clenched his left hand, and a spear of blood-red mist, woven like shifting clouds, hurled toward the incoming slash.

The moment they clashed, it was not merely a contest of spiritual power—but of intent, a battle bordering on the laws of the universe itself.

BOOM!

A trace of smugness flickered in Bai Bo’s eyes.

If there was one being in this world unafraid of Bai Xuanling, it was him. Despite her cultivation at the Tribulation Transcendence stage, her unrestrained killing intent and bloodlust were impossible to suppress—and he could effortlessly manipulate them.

At the level of Tribulation Transcendence, raw spiritual power no longer held decisive advantage.

What truly mattered was comprehension of the Dao and the laws of existence.

Bai Bo was a master of emotions and intent, weaving them into his attacks. Against a Tribulation-stage cultivator shackled by inner demons, he was confident in his absolute superiority.

Even if that opponent was Bai Xuanling.

Yet, in the next instant, his smugness twisted into doubt.

Dense crimson mist suddenly coiled around Bai Bo—but this killing intent was not of his own making.

It was merely the natural overflow of Bai Xuanling’s aura, the faint traces he had instinctively seized.

This could only mean one thing…

Bai Xuanling was willingly embracing the very bloodlust and inner demons she had resisted for centuries.

Bai Bo stared at her unrestrained, frenzied expression—and those pupils that now resembled those of a Demon Sovereign.

"DIE!"

Bai Xuanling roared that single word, no longer executing some profound sword technique.

She simply pressed forward, her blade descending with devastating simplicity.

Her movements were effortless, her sword gleaming with pure white light. A seemingly ordinary swing carried the power to sunder mountains and part seas.

A peak Tribulation Transcendence cultivator, unleashing her full might without restraint.

Bai Bo gripped the ever-expanding crimson mist, wielding it like a weapon as he clashed with Bai Xuanling.

Perhaps the most formidable cultivators preferred the most primal methods of combat.

Blades collided, ringing with crystalline clarity as Dao resonance scattered like spilled ink.

Those below the Unity Realm fled for miles, while even Daoist Yuyang relied on his sturdy treasures to barely withstand the shockwaves from a distance, observing this battle between Tribulation-stage titans.

The fight devolved into pure, unrelenting exchange.

Yet, after mere moments, Bai Bo realized with horror—

Bai Xuanling’s mastery over killing intent was equally peerless.

Every strike she unleashed was infused with that monstrous bloodlust—an intensity that should have driven any being into mindless savagery.

But Bai Xuanling was not lost.

Though the sheer ferocity of her intent left even Bai Bo awestruck, she did not drown in it. Instead, she rode it like a tempest, wielding it as effortlessly as wind and clouds beneath her feet.

Only in fleeting close-quarters exchanges could Bai Bo glimpse the madness lurking in her eyes—proof that the bloodlust did affect her.

But when his greatest strength—emotional manipulation—was not only matched but wielded against him with equal mastery—

BOOM!

A flash of white light tore through.

Bai Bo didn’t understand what had gone wrong, but Bai Xuanling’s frenzied grin and overwhelming sword intent had just annihilated half his body.

In less than a hundred exchanges, he was already on the verge of defeat.

Why?

That was the only thought in his mind as his remaining arm clutched the Spear of Rage, poised to strike—

Until Xu Linglong’s furious shout snapped him back to reason.

"Bai Xuanling has lost her mind! What’s the point of trading your life for hers? Let them deal with their own mess! Use the Primordial Force and get us out of here!"

Bai Bo’s rage instantly cooled. The Spear of Rage shifted its trajectory—no longer aimed at Bai Xuanling’s head, but at the incoming slash of white light.

Another collision!

Bai Xuanling’s sword obliterated his last remaining arm, but the force also sent her reeling back.

Seizing the brief respite, Bai Bo exhaled sharply as demonic energy erupted from his body.

Xu Linglong’s own demonic power surged forth, intertwining with his.

Among all the Heavenly Demons, Bai Bo’s spatial translocation arts were unmatched.

Otherwise, he would not have been the first to arrive—nor so undetected.

This battle had cost them dearly. Bai Bo had lost over half of his Origin, while Xu Linglong had sacrificed a tenth of hers.

A steep price—but perhaps worth it, if Bai Xuanling fell as well.

Yet, compared to these losses, a far more terrifying question loomed in Xu Linglong’s mind—

Had one of their own truly betrayed her?

Demonic energy churned. Escape was moments away.

Both Xu Linglong and Bai Bo locked eyes with Bai Xuanling—knowing that in an instant, they would be gone.

"Termination—"

Bai Xuanling’s voice was hoarse, but her intent pierced the heavens.

Horror flashed across the demons’ faces, yet their hands moved without hesitation, joining forces to block Bai Xuanling’s overwhelming will.

BOOM!

The surrounding hundred miles were reduced to a crater.

Even Chu Xingchen was forced back dozens of miles to evade the aftermath.

A single slash fell—and the sword intent continued to churn, grinding everything in its path to dust.

Chu Xingchen’s Flowing Water Sword Intent shielded him as he raced toward Bai Xuanling’s position.

The two demons had vanished—whether slain or escaped, none could tell.

Bai Xuanling remained standing, clad in white, sword in hand.

Her back was turned to Chu Xingchen.

She did not look back.

Her voice, no longer the carefree tone from before, was now rough and heavy, spoken slowly—

"It’s bold of you to come see me right away."

"Aren’t you afraid I might truly succumb to demonic rage and cut you down with a single stroke?"

Chu Xingchen stood still, his tone calm:

"Sister Bai drew her sword for me. If I were afraid, her sacrifice would be in vain."

"Heh… I’ve always liked the way you talk."

"You’re unharmed…"

"I’m fine…" Bai Xuanling replied quietly,

"Just old…"

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