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Yan Furui was stunned by the sudden change before him and turned around abruptly, only to see a familiar figure he never dreamed of...

His master was Qiu Shan!
The old man stood silently in the shadows of the porch, his figure thin and bony, yet like an ancient sword sheathed in its sheath, radiating a chilling aura of power.

His gaze was like lightning, locking onto the laughing Bai Ying, while he merely glanced indifferently at the critically injured and dying Si Teng and the Su Ning whose aura had drastically changed beside him.

"You monster, you've been clinging to life for so long, it's time to put an end to this." Qiu Shan's voice was hoarse but carried an undeniable authority.

Although Bai Ying was startled, she remained calm and let out a sharp cry. The remaining demonic power around her burst forth, transforming into several sharp vine whips that lashed towards Qiu Shan!
However, she had just suffered a severe injury, losing only one-tenth of her strength. Although Qiu Shan was old and frail, her refined and skillful Suspended Gate cultivation had become increasingly sophisticated.

He stepped into the Big Dipper formation, easily deflecting the attack with a flick of his sleeves. With a gesture of his fingers, a sudden roar of wind and thunder filled the hall!
"The Nine Heavens respond to the Origin, thunder resounds universally, by imperial decree!"

A dazzling white light instantly filled the entire space, and a blazing bolt of lightning as thick as a child's arm was drawn down from the void, carrying the majestic power to annihilate all evil spirits, and struck Bai Yingtian's head!

If this attack hits, Bai Ying will be annihilated, both in body and soul!

At this critical moment——

A figure, faster than lightning, suddenly darted out from the side and resolutely stood between Bai Ying and Tian Lei!
It's Suning!
He had awakened from his deep meditation at some point, his aura surging and powerful, completely different from before.

The moment he withstood the heavenly lightning, a faint halo appeared on his body, which actually withstood the violent lightning force. Although his clothes were torn and blood was spilling from the corner of his mouth, his figure remained unmoved!

He is no longer entirely human; he is a low-level cultivator who has entered the fifth level of Qi Refining. The strength of his physical body and spiritual power far exceeds the imagination of ordinary people!

"Master Qiu, you should be lenient when you can!" Su Ning wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes sharp, no longer gentle as before.

A genuine look of surprise finally flashed in Qiu Shan's murky eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a deeper chill: "Hmph, associating with the Ju clan is a sign of your own depravity! Today, I will cleanse the house of you along with them!"

Before he finished speaking, Qiu Shan changed his hand seals again, and an even more powerful wave of magical energy swept out.

Undeterred, Su Ning took a deep breath, and the spell chapters of the "Heaven and Earth Harmony Technique" rapidly flowed through his mind.

He awkwardly but swiftly raised his hand to form a hand seal...

"Fire, rise!" A blazing fireball appeared out of thin air and hurtled towards the hill.

Qiu Shan flicked his sleeve and dispersed the fireball, but then Su Ning changed his hand gestures again!

"Earth veins, solidify!" Several sharp earth spikes suddenly pierced out from the foot of the hill!
Qiu Shan dodged and weaved, looking slightly disheveled, but Su Ning's attacks came one after another like a tidal wave!

"Freeze!" A chilling aura spread, attempting to slow Qiu Shan's movements.

Fireball, Earth Spike, Ice Block...

Although the various low-level spells appeared immature in Su Ning's hands, they were incredibly powerful due to the profoundness of the "Qiankun Harmony Technique" and the abundant spiritual power within him. Moreover, they were endless and completely unpredictable.

Qiu Shan became increasingly alarmed as the fight progressed. His refined Suspended Gate Techniques were meticulous in terms of rules and routines, but he had never seen such a chaotic yet simple and brutal barrage of spells.

For a time, they were forced to make a desperate stand and were in a sorry state by this completely unconventional way of playing.

He never expected that this seemingly ordinary nobody, whom he had never taken seriously, would unknowingly possess such a strange and powerful force!

"Hmph! This junior is courting death."

"Pah! You old dog, you really are stubborn as a mule."

……

Seeing that the villain Qiu Shan was so stubborn and unyielding, Su Ning was completely enraged.

The hall was filled with surging magical energy as Su Ning and Qiu Shan locked in a fierce standoff...

Seeing his master's resolute killing intent, Yan Furui was torn between his own mind and his master's. Finally, he gritted his teeth, rushed between the two, and spread his arms to block them with all his might!

"Master! Brother Su! Stop fighting!" His voice was choked with sobs as he tried to calm the sudden deadly battle.

The three were locked in a stalemate, their spiritual energy and killing intent clashing violently in the air.

No one expected that Bai Ying, who was originally seriously injured and weak and ignored by everyone, would suddenly have a ruthless and cunning look flash across her eyes!

Taking advantage of this opportunity, she suddenly sprang up, using the last of her demonic power to grab the dying Si Teng from the ground, and transformed into a dim stream of light, rushing towards the open window!

"Oh no!" "Stop!"

Su Ning and Yan Furui realized this almost simultaneously and instinctively acted at the same time. Instead of chasing Bai Ying, they suddenly joined forces to stop Qiu Shan, who was about to launch a sudden attack!
In that split second, Bai Ying and Si Teng's figures had completely disappeared into the thick darkness outside the window.

"You bastard!" Qiu Shan roared in fury. With a flick of his sleeve, a tremendous force sent Yan Furui, who was blocking his way, flying and crashing heavily into the wall.

Just then, Cang Hong staggered out with Wang Qiankun's help.

The old chairman, his face deathly pale, forced himself to stand before Qiu Shan, his voice mournful yet resolute: "Senior Qiu Shan! I beg you to show mercy! Although Miss Si Teng is from the Kai clan, she has never indiscriminately killed innocents, and has even performed acts of kindness on numerous occasions! The righteous path of the Xuanmen cannot be indiscriminate in its extermination of all without distinguishing between good and evil!"

To show his determination, he tremblingly took out the token representing his identity as the association president and resolutely threw it on the ground: "If you are willing to let her go, I, Cang Hong... am willing to immediately resign from my positions as the head of the Suspended Sword Cave and the president of the association, and acknowledge you as the true successor of the Suspended Sect, following your lead without question!"

However, Qiu Shan merely glanced indifferently at the token on the ground, his eyes filled with mockery and disdain, as if he were looking at a piece of trash.

"The true lineage of the Xuanmen? Guild Master?" He sneered, his gaunt body radiating an aura of extreme arrogance. "To this day, you worthless mortals have long since tarnished the name of the Xuanmen! Under the heavens, only I, Qiu Shan, walk the righteous path! Only my power is worthy of being called the true lineage of the Xuanmen! You... dare to negotiate with me?"

Before he finished speaking, he moved like a ghost, passing Cang Hong and Wang Qiankun without stopping. He chased after Bai Ying and Si Teng in the direction they had disappeared, leaving behind a room full of mess and a group of people looking at each other in dismay, their hearts filled with despair.

……

Consciousness slowly rose from the deep darkness and excruciating pain.

Si Teng opened her eyes with difficulty, and what came into view was the intertwined branches of the tree canopy, and the cold, thin moonlight that filtered through the leaves.

She found herself leaning weakly against the gnarled roots of an ancient tree, with Bai Ying beside her, equally weak and pale.

The poison of the Yao Shui was still raging in her body, preventing the wounds from healing and eroding her remaining strength.

The night wind swept through the woods, bringing a biting chill.

Si Teng turned her head to look at the "herself" beside her, who looked similar to her but had taken a completely different path in life, and a faint but clear smile appeared on her lips.

"Looking back now, I was ridiculously naive." Her voice was hoarse, but carried an unprecedented calm. "I only wanted to break free from constraints and gain freedom. I didn't want to talk about love, I didn't want to understand love, I thought it was the most useless and troublesome thing in the world."

Her gaze seemed to pierce through layers of time, landing on Shao Yankuan, who had taught her to read, given her brief warmth, and then brought her bone-chilling cold. In the end, however, it settled on another figure.

“Until… I met Su Ning.” When she mentioned this name, her tone softened almost imperceptibly. “Seeing him, who was clearly terrified, yet still followed me around time and time again; seeing him try everything to make me happy and show me this unfamiliar era… I suddenly understood a little, and only then did I truly… see things clearly.”

She slowly reached out her hand to Bai Ying beside her.

His palms were pale from blood loss, yet they remained steadily suspended in the air.

"What? Are you showing off to me?"

“The water of the divination has seeped into my very marrow, and I can no longer merge with you and return to wholeness.” Si Teng stated the truth frankly, his eyes clear and resolute. “But Qiu Shan will arrive in the blink of an eye. He will not let any of us go. Right now, the only way is to temporarily merge the remaining power between us, and perhaps… there is still a glimmer of hope.”

Bai Ying suddenly looked up, her scarlet eyes filled with shock, complexity, and a barely perceptible emotion.

She looked into Si Teng's eyes, no longer cold, but filled with composure and determination, and then at the outstretched hand that seemed to be inviting her. Silence spread through the cold night wind.

In the end, all the madness and resentment in Bai Ying's eyes gradually subsided, and a cold, almost resigned, warrior-like demeanor emerged.

Silently and slowly, she extended her equally cold hand.

The moment two pale, slender hands, burdened with too many grudges and entanglements, clasped tightly together...

"Buzz!"

Centered on them, an invisible and immense force suddenly rippled outwards!

The air in the surrounding forest seemed to freeze for a moment, then a strong wind blew, making the leaves sway wildly and rustle!
Beneath the ground, countless pitch-black vines, like awakened giant pythons, burst forth from the earth, growing wildly and intertwining around the two of them, forming a huge cocoon that emitted a dark light!

They are burning their last life essence, forcibly fusing two forces that are of the same origin but divergent, in order to unleash a final blow powerful enough to fight their destined enemy.

The wind howled and the vines danced in the forest, as if playing a dirge for this tragic and helpless collaboration.

……

Deep in the fog, Su Ning and Yan Furui anxiously traversed the dense forest, guided only by the faint light of the Seven Star Stone Disc.

However, when they finally arrived, they were horrified to find that Qiu Shan had already arrived first!

Qiu Shan's gaunt figure stood in the center of the forest clearing, his Taoist robe fluttering without wind. He made hand seals, and his body exuded an aura that was far more bizarre and powerful than ever before, which was even faintly mixed with the demonic power unique to the Kai clan!
He had somehow transformed into a monster, half-human and half-monster!

"Qiu Shan! You keep talking about exterminating the Kai tribe, yet you yourself have become this inhuman and demonic form. What a joke!" Bai Ying, though exhausted, refused to back down, sneering, "Could it be that you suffered a heartbreak back then, which twisted your mind and made you unable to bear seeing others being affectionate?"

Qiu Shan's face was withered and he ignored Bai Ying's sarcasm. His turbid eyes were filled with an extreme, obsessive killing intent.

He suddenly looked up at the sky, his hands frantically forming hand seals, not hesitating to burn his already limited lifespan, using his own life as a catalyst, in an attempt to forcibly draw in the third, and most deadly, thunderous heavenly lightning!

The lightning bolt was aimed directly at Si Teng!
"Nine Heavens Mysterious Temple, with my crippled body, I command your divine might... Command!" His hoarse roar was filled with resolute madness.

Although Si Teng and Bai Ying were prepared and simultaneously activated their fused power, with countless vines shooting into the sky in an attempt to block them, they were already at their limit. The fused power seemed so fragile in the face of Qiu Shan's desperate attack.

A blinding flash of lightning tore through the night sky, crashing down with an aura of annihilation, striking Bai Ying squarely!
At the critical moment, Si Teng suddenly pushed Bai Ying away and took the brunt of the thunderbolt with his own back!
"Ugh—!" Si Teng let out a painful groan, his body trembled violently, blood instantly staining his clothes red, and the fused force field fluctuated violently as well.

Seeing that his first attack had failed to kill him, Qiu Shan's madness intensified. Ignoring the blood flowing from his seven orifices, he forcibly summoned lightning once more!
"Sito!" "Master! Stop!"

Su Ning and Yan Furui rushed forward desperately, only to be violently repelled by an invisible yet incredibly strong barrier!

That was a barrier that Qiu Shan set up with his life, isolating the inside from the outside. No matter how much they pounded and shouted, their voices could not penetrate it even a fraction.

Inside the barrier, the third, even thicker bolt of lightning, containing all of Qiu Shan's life and resentment, finally crashed down. This time, it struck Qiu Shan directly!
"boom--!"

An unimaginable burst of energy erupted instantly, engulfing everything within the barrier.

In that intense light and heat, time seemed to stand still.

Qiu Shan and Bai Ying's figures blurred abruptly amidst the exploding lightning, their consciousness being pulled into an illusion...

Qiu Shan saw the woman from the Kagyu tribe who had filled him with both love and hate in his youth, ultimately leading him to extremes; Bai Ying, on the other hand, saw Shao Yankuan's initially gentle and sincere smile...

In the final moment of his life, the obsession, resentment, unwillingness, and misunderstanding accumulated over a century miraculously vanished.

They seemed to have finally reconciled with their past selves and with the person they were most obsessed with.

Without a loud bang or a scream, the two figures vanished silently in the light of the lightning's purification, like weathered sand sculptures, turning into specks of fluorescent light, and finally disappearing completely, turning to ashes.

As the lightning dissipated, the barrier shattered.

In the end, only the severely injured and barely breathing Si Teng remained in the same spot.

"Si Teng!" The moment the barrier disappeared, Su Ning rushed in like a madman, staggering and lunging to her side.

Hearing his heart-wrenching cries, Si Teng struggled to lift his eyelids and looked at the face before him, filled with fear and grief.

She raised her hand very slowly, using the last of her strength, wanting to touch him.

However, before her fingertips could even touch it, her body began to become transparent, transforming from the hem of her clothes into countless wisteria petals radiating soft white light, like a snowstorm falling against the current.

"Wait..." Su Ning tried in vain to grasp those light petals, but could only watch helplessly as they surrounded him, eventually gently but irresistibly merging into his body.

A warm and immense power instantly filled his limbs and bones, blending seamlessly with the spiritual energy of the "Heaven and Earth Harmony Technique" he cultivated.

At the same time, he felt a slight warmth on the skin of his chest, and a delicate and mysterious vine pattern quietly appeared, like a silent vow, an eternal imprint.

The forest returned to silence, as if nothing had ever happened.

Only the fresh vine pattern on Suning's chest testifies to that thrilling past and the final resting place of a soul.

……

【ding dong】

A clear yet cold system notification sounded in Su Ning's mind without warning, temporarily pulling him out of his immense grief and confusion.

[Main Quest (II): Help Sito uncover the truth of the past and understand his wishes. Completed.]

[Task reward calculation in progress...]

[System repair progress increased by 5%, current total progress: 16.3%.]

[Task reward: 100 million RMB, already deposited into the host's account through compliant channels, along with a detailed tax planning solution.]

[Ability Bonus: Permanently increases interpersonal skills by 10 points. Current Level: 40 (Overcoming social anxiety, initial understanding).]

[Host, would you like to return to the main world immediately?]

A stream of information flooded his mind. The huge monetary reward and the progress of the system repair seemed so pale and powerless in the face of Si Teng's dissipating grief.

He could even feel the new vine tattoo on his chest burning slightly, as if it were the last mark she had left behind.

Su Ning slowly raised her head, her gaze sweeping over the devastated, deserted woodland, before finally taking a deep look at the spot where Si Teng had disappeared.

Yan Furui was still in a state of great shock and grief and did not notice his unusual behavior.

All the noise, love, hate, and entanglement have come to an end.

Here, there are no more worries.

My initial desire to find Qin Fang and An Man for revenge has faded...

He closed his eyes, forcibly suppressing his surging emotions, and silently recited in his heart:
"return."

...(End of chapter)