The newcomer moved with extraordinary speed. No sooner had he appeared than he caught one of Yun Lie’s arms. Black light flashed, and he was suddenly standing before Xu Ziqing.
He pushed Yun Lie toward him and smiled faintly. “It seems I’ve arrived a little late. Catch your senior brother.”
Then he vanished again, reappearing in midair.
Xu Ziqing caught Yun Lie in a daze, astonished and uncertain.
He recognized the man immediately. It was clearly Nan Zhengya in the form of the black-robed figure who had once taken him to an underground auction. How had Nan Zhengya learned they were in danger, and how had he arrived in time to help?
But Xu Ziqing quickly dismissed the questions. His entire attention was fixed upon the man in his arms.
Never before had Yun Lie been in such a pitiful state. From a distance the full extent of his injuries might not have been apparent, but now Xu Ziqing could see them clearly.
His senior brother’s abdomen had truly been pierced through. The area looked as though a small explosion had occurred within it, leaving a terrible wound.
Less than half a ke had passed, scarcely eight minutes… How had his senior brother come to this?
Xu Ziqing’s fingers trembled. He tried several times before he could grasp Yun Lie’s arm.
He had recovered a little true essence and now slowly sent all of it into his senior brother. Panic overwhelmed him. He scarcely knew what to do.
In the next instant, his heart gave a violent leap, and his whole body began to shake.
His senior brother’s Golden Core… had shattered!
The dantian itself was destroyed as well.
An almost unbearable pain seized Xu Ziqing.
This was his senior brother, the man who had protected him throughout his cultivation and guided him along the path.
The man he respected and the man he loved.
How powerful Yun Lie had been! For years he had steadfastly guarded his Dao heart, his sword intent reaching toward heaven and his foundations extraordinarily deep.
If things had continued as they should, Xu Ziqing was certain that within a few hundred years Yun Lie could have formed his Nascent Soul and become one of the strongest cultivators below Soul Transformation. At that point, neither Ancestor Bliss nor several other Nascent Soul cultivators together could have threatened him.
But now… everything was ruined.
Xu Ziqing had never suffered anguish so profound.
Not in his previous life, when he had been confined to a sickbed and scarcely saw sunlight. Not in this life, through all the dangers that had nearly killed him. Not even when his own dantian had once been shattered. Only now did the pain almost double him over.
It was because of Xu Ziqing that Yun Lie had become an enemy of Ancestor Bliss.
Years earlier, Li Cai had abused his influence and repeatedly tried to kill Xu Ziqing. Xu Ziqing had finally struck ruthlessly to remove that threat.
He had been too confident, believing that with his and Yun Lie’s talents, they would eventually grow strong enough that no ancestor could threaten them.
He had never imagined that Ancestor Bliss would cast aside the dignity of a Nascent Soul elder and ambush them during their journey.
People said hardship taught wisdom. But if the price had to be paid, why had his senior brother paid it instead of him?
Ancestor Bliss’s original grievance had been against Xu Ziqing!
Forcing down another bottle of pills, Xu Ziqing threw all his strength into recovering his cultivation. He awakened the hidden Yi-Wood energy deep within his flesh and blood.
Then he held a palm over Yun Lie’s damaged dantian and poured all that gentle life-giving energy into the wound.
Yi-Wood energy contained abundant vitality. Under its influence, the damaged flesh slowly began to mend.
Yet when Xu Ziqing’s own dantian had been repaired, he had needed an extraordinarily concentrated and pure Essence of Yi-Wood. The small amount of Yi-Wood energy he could summon now was nowhere near as powerful.
Moreover, Yun Lie’s injuries were a hundred times worse than those he had once suffered.
The healing effect was negligible.
Xu Ziqing refused to give up. He no longer cared whether exhausting himself would interfere with forming his own Golden Core. He wanted only to see his senior brother recover.
At the very least, Yun Lie had to wake up.
He swallowed one bottle of pills after another, but with every passing moment his despair deepened.
Meanwhile, after Nan Zhengya struck Ancestor Bliss aside, the ancestor’s lover immediately noticed. He abandoned the Jin brothers and transformed into a streak of light to intercept the falling man.
Ancestor Bliss felt terribly humiliated. He had dominated others for countless years. Apart from the difficulties he endured before reaching Nascent Soul, he had been treated with deference ever since. Never had he suffered such an indignity.
He had no idea what kind of expert had appeared so suddenly and sent him flying with a single blow.
Holding him close, the handsome man asked repeatedly, “Darling, what’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
Ancestor Bliss drew a breath. “That man has terrifying techniques! Be careful!”
Nan Zhengya stood to one side, enveloped head to foot in a black robe that concealed everything beneath it.
Strong currents swirled about him, snapping his sleeves and giving him an extremely dangerous air.
Seeing the two embrace so openly, he adjusted his hood and swept one sleeve forward.
A pale streak of fire appeared in its wake.
The fire expanded immediately, becoming a cluster of fierce flames, each as large as a bowl and radiating dreadful heat.
“Go,” he said.
More than ten flames surged forward, instantly approaching the two men’s faces.
Ancestor Bliss was horrified. “Watch out!”
He pushed his lover aside and summoned a begging bowl.
A waterfall a hundred zhang high poured from it, forming a barrier directly in front of them.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The pale flames exploded against the waterfall.
After just two explosions, the waterfall vanished without a trace.
The bowl itself shuddered several times, lost all its spiritual radiance, and shattered.
Yet the white flames had suffered no harm.
They continued revolving in midair, then advanced again toward the two men.
Ancestor Bliss retreated repeatedly. His handsome companion also sensed the flames’ terror.
They cried out almost together, “Corpse-Bone Demonfire!”
Fear finally entered Ancestor Bliss’s voice. “You’re… you’re—”
Nan Zhengya laughed softly and appeared directly before them.
The handsome man instantly thrust his spear at him. Nan Zhengya caught the spear tip in one hand. Pale fire began climbing along the weapon. Ancestor Bliss immediately struck it with true essence to knock it aside. The moment the handsome man released it, the spear gave a mournful cry and melted away without leaving even ashes.
“Go,” Nan Zhengya said again, smiling. “I’ve come to save someone. Naturally, I should deal with you first.”
The pale flames returned like meteors, their shapes reminiscent of ferocious skulls poised to devour everything before them.
Ancestor Bliss could not evade them in time. One flame caught his arm. Agony seared through him, burning not only his flesh but also his primordial spirit.
His lover avoided the flames only because Ancestor Bliss shoved him aside again.
The handsome man rushed forward to help.
But Ancestor Bliss dodged him and shouted, “Go! Hurry and go!”
The handsome man refused to leave. He opened his mouth and released dozens of blood-red flying blades. Their foul, bloody aura filled the air.
Nan Zhengya raised his head slightly. More balls of crimson fire emerged from beneath his hood and fell like rain, incinerating the blades.
Seeing that his lover would not leave, Ancestor Bliss lunged forward and spread his arms, trying to hold Nan Zhengya in place.
“An-lang, run! Run!”
Nan Zhengya was startled by the desperate charge and could not avoid it entirely.
Ancestor Bliss wrapped both arms around him and held tight. The power within his dantian began trembling violently.
He intended to self-destruct!
Nan Zhengya would not allow it. Pale flames erupted over his entire body until he resembled a figure made of fire.
The flames spread instantly to Ancestor Bliss, making him scream in agony and preventing him from gathering enough power to explode. Whatever strength remained was driven by a single obsession: to delay Nan Zhengya long enough for his lover to escape.
Everything happened in only two or three breaths. The situation had reversed completely.
The two men who had been so arrogant and powerful a moment before were now utterly defeated.
Seeing Ancestor Bliss suffering terribly while still protecting him, the handsome man was overcome with grief.
Yet he knew he could not waste his lover’s sacrifice. He forced himself to look at him one final time, transformed into a black wind, and fled at great speed.
“I’ll avenge you!”
Nan Zhengya sneered. He reached into the flames and crushed Ancestor Bliss’s head, destroying the primordial spirit with it.
Then he sent another pale flame into the ancestor’s abdomen, burning even his Nascent Soul to nothing.
From that moment onward, Ancestor Bliss ceased to exist between heaven and earth. Not even reincarnation remained possible.
After finishing, Nan Zhengya looked toward the Jin brothers.
They had been unable to intervene once he arrived and had watched the entire battle in stunned silence.
Before they could understand how quickly it had ended, they found themselves facing Nan Zhengya, and fear rose within them.
Nan Zhengya said softly, “I’m going to speak with an old friend. Why are you two still here?”
The brothers exchanged a glance. They knew better than to challenge such a terrifying expert. Seeing Xu Ziqing’s grief, they sighed, called from a distance, “Until we meet again, if fate allows,” and flew away.
This black-robed man was simply too frightening to disobey.
Xu Ziqing heard their farewell. He lifted his eyes and managed a faint smile, but his hand never left Yun Lie’s damaged dantian.
“I’ll remember your kindness today… Farewell.” Then he looked toward the black-robed figure approaching him, his voice weak. “Brother Nan Zhengya, thank you.”
Nan Zhengya wasted no time. He took Yun Lie’s wrist and examined his condition.
A tiny spark of hope rose in Xu Ziqing’s heart. He watched with desperate expectation.
Nan Zhengya spoke directly. “His Golden Core is destroyed, and his primordial spirit is severely injured. He probably won’t survive.”
The words struck Xu Ziqing like lightning. His expression went numb.
Seeing the look of utter despair on his face, Nan Zhengya scoffed. “What’s with the funeral expression? He’s not likely to survive, but he isn’t dead yet. You’ve given up before it’s even over!”
Xu Ziqing jerked his head up. “Senior Brother can still be saved?”
Nan Zhengya explained without further delay. “That old monster struck brutally. Yun Lie’s life force is almost exhausted. Without his extraordinary foundations, he’d already be dead. But his injuries are so severe that his primordial spirit can no longer sustain his body. If you want your senior brother restored to health, his primordial spirit will have to pass through a mortal life.”
Xu Ziqing took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. “You mean his primordial spirit must be reborn?”
Nan Zhengya nodded. “Yes. If he enters a mother’s womb and takes shape there, the innate energy of that new life can repair the injuries to his primordial spirit. After living through a human lifetime, his spirit can recover fully. He can then absorb his original body, saving much of the time he would otherwise need to regain his cultivation.”
For cultivators, the survival of the primordial spirit meant the person had not been completely destroyed. But a disembodied primordial spirit was fragile. Without an object to cling to, it often could not travel freely in daylight. Whether possessing a new body or undergoing rebirth, the process generally required the protection of a powerful cultivator. Rebirth through a womb was especially troublesome and could only be performed by an expert of Nascent Soul or above. Once someone had already formed a Nascent Soul, half the primordial spirit remained within the Purple Palace and half merged with the Nascent Soul itself; the spirit could then use that Nascent Soul as a vessel, making possession of another body much easier.
Yun Lie was still only at Golden Core. To send his primordial spirit onto the path of rebirth, a Nascent Soul ancestor would have to perform the technique.
That was what Nan Zhengya proposed. Yun Lie would live another mortal lifetime and return later. His original body would still exist, and because both bodies belonged to the same soul, the body from his new life could absorb the former one, allowing him to recover his old cultivation much faster.
Xu Ziqing understood after hearing the explanation. His heart slowly settled.
It was only a rebirth. As long as his senior brother still existed, that was enough.
When Nan Zhengya saw his expression improve, he continued, “Now you need to make a decision.”
Xu Ziqing looked up. “What decision?”
“You can bring Yun Lie back to his sect and ask an elder to perform the technique. Or… I can perform it.”
Xu Ziqing answered without a moment’s hesitation. “Please help us, Brother Nan Zhengya!”
This time Nan Zhengya was the one surprised. “How curious. Why not return to your sect?”
Xu Ziqing lowered his eyes. “Even people within the same sect may not be as trustworthy as Brother Nan Zhengya.”
Nan Zhengya sighed softly. “Very well. We’ll do as you wish.”
Xu Ziqing held Yun Lie’s body more tightly, grief flickering in his eyes.
Ancestor Bliss was dead, but Bliss Peak remained. His lover had escaped and would surely continue watching for an opportunity.
Even if Yun Lie’s position won the sect master’s assistance, rebirth would occupy an entire lifetime. Who could guarantee nothing would go wrong?
Xu Ziqing knew he might be worrying too much, but he would rather personally protect his senior brother than entrust him entirely to someone else.
At last he said quietly, “Brother Nan Zhengya… please. I’m relying on you.”