Wuxia: Become the 100-Victory Sword King at the Beginning

Shi Feiyang rode alone through the Hexi Corridor, his dark-colored outfit fluttering in the wind and sand. His fair skin gleamed warmly under the blazing sun, like a piece of walking, warm jade. In the deerskin pouch at his waist, half a wolf-head jade pendant and fragments of the scepter left behind by Shi Jingtian occasionally collided, producing a soft, clattering sound, like the urgent beat of a death knell.

"Whoa—" Suddenly, the black horse reared up, its front hooves pawing the sand as it neighed uneasily. Shi Feiyang reined in the horse, his glassy eyes scanning the surroundings. He saw banners fluttering faintly behind the sand dunes; it was none other than the elite "Black Cloud Capital" of Wu Yuanji, the military governor of Huaixi. The leading general, clad in chainmail and wielding a bronze mace, was none other than Liu Pi, Wu Yuanji's most formidable warrior.

"Your Highness, how have you been?" Liu Pi's voice came through the sandstorm, his bronze staff slamming heavily on the ground, sending sand grains tumbling down. He said with a forced smile, "My lord, remembering our past friendship, has prepared a small feast to send you off. Please leave the Imperial Seal as a memento."

Shi Feiyang dismounted, patted the neck of his black horse to make it back off, and a wild smile curled at the corner of his mouth. He said coldly, "Do you think I don't know that Wu Yuanji colluded with the Heavenly Wolf Guard to try and seize the Eye of the Abyss?"

He activated his Bright Jade Skill, his palm already forming a silver silk net of Heavenly Silkworm Skill, instantly thickening the air like glue. Liu Pi's expression changed, his copper staff swirling with ferocious power, a murderous intent lurking beneath the surface as he said, "Your Highness is joking! I, Liu, have come today only for the Imperial Seal!"

Before he finished speaking, hundreds of assassins in black suddenly emerged from behind the sand dunes. The leader, wearing a silver wolf head mask, was none other than Mahoraga, the deputy of Shi Jingtian, the newly appointed high priest of the Heavenly Wolf Guard.

“Li Xiao,” Mahoraga’s voice came through the mask, metallic in texture, and said sinisterly, “Do you think killing Shi Jingtian can stop the Eye of the Abyss? The Five Sacred Relics are all indispensable, and the Imperial Seal is just one of them.”

Shi Feiyang's pupils contracted sharply, and the silver threads of the Heavenly Silkworm Technique that he had been spitting out from his palm tightened abruptly. He asked in return, "Do you know the whereabouts of the Five Sacred Artifacts?"

He recalled Shi Jingtian's dying words, and suddenly his palms moved, deflecting dozens of Tianlang Guard assassins and causing them to collide with each other.

"Crack!" Caught off guard, the dozen or so Sky Wolf Guards collided with each other, some suffering broken noses, others bruised foreheads, some twisted shoulders, and others fractured sternums. Mahoraga was secretly surprised, but still tossed out a jet-black token and coldly said, "Back then, the Shi family ancestor betrayed the Sky Wolf Guard, secretly hiding the 'Kunlun Mirror' to suppress the Eye of the Abyss. Why do you think Shi Jingtian was expelled from the family?"

The token spun in the air, its front engraved with a broken wolf's head, while the back bore the "Blood Jade" mark passed down through the Shi family. The truth, like a thunderbolt, cleaved through the fog, and Shi Feiyang finally understood the root of the so-called "Second Uncle Shi Jingtian's" betrayal.

As soon as Mahoraga finished speaking, a group of Heavenly Wolf Guards quietly surrounded him and suddenly attacked, slashing wildly at Shi Feiyang.

Shi Feiyang roared, "You?!" The "Emperor's Heavenly Thunder" divine skill was suddenly activated. Purple-gold lightning patterns appeared on his glassy skin, and the ice in his palm instantly transformed into violent lightning, striking directly at Mahoraga.

Mahoraga was horrified. He spat out a mouthful of blood from under his wolf-head mask and exclaimed in horror, "You actually... ugh!"

Shi Feiyang's Heavenly Silkworm Technique had pierced through his shoulder armor, forcibly cutting off Mahoraga's internal energy and forcing his internal organs back, causing him to vomit blood and his body to quickly wither into a dead body.

Liu Pi hurriedly swung his copper staff at Shi Feiyang’s back, but Shi Feiyang’s palms deflected the staff with his “Shifting Flowers and Receiving Jade” divine skill, causing Liu Pi to actually hit one of his own Black Cloud soldiers with the staff.

Shi Feiyang turned around and struck again with his palm. The "Slaying the Mortal World" technique of the Hundred Victories Blade Technique, carrying the Heavenly Silkworm Silver Thread, strangled Liu Pi and his armor to pieces.

He bent down and picked up the token that Mahoraga had dropped. On the back was engraved a line of Western Region script: "The three-tiered platform of Kunlun Ruins, the blood jade guides the Kunlun Mirror."

Just then, the sound of rapid hoofbeats came from afar.

Shi Feiyang looked up and saw Zhuang Menglian riding a fast horse towards him, holding a yellowed ancient book high in her hand. She excitedly exclaimed from afar, "Husband! This is the 'Heavenly Wolf Sacrifice Map' found in Wu Yuanji's secret chamber. It marks the locations of the five sacred objects!"

Shi Feiyang said excitedly, "Madam, you've worked hard!" He reached out and took the "Tianlang Sacrifice Diagram." Suddenly, a sandstorm that blotted out the sky rose from the horizon. It turned out to be a "black sandstorm" brought by the Tianlang Guard.

"Come with me quickly!" Zhuang Menglian grabbed Shi Feiyang's hand, pointed to the rock wall not far away, and said urgently, "The map says there is a secret passage leading to Kunlun Ruins in the sandstorm!" The two rushed into the sandstorm hand in hand. Shi Feiyang used his Mingyu Gong to form an ice armor shield, and his glassy skin shone like a lighthouse in the black sand.

The secret passage was chillingly cold, and ancient wolf totems were carved on the rock walls on both sides.

Zhuang Menglian unfolded the ancient book, reading it by the faint light from Shi Feiyang's palm, and recited: "The Five Sacred Objects are: the Imperial Seal of the State guarding the East, the Kunlun Mirror guarding the West, the Shennong Cauldron stabilizing the South, the Fuxi Qin securing the North, and the Kongtong Seal solidifying the Center... Only the Blood Jade Divine Skill can activate them..."

As Shi Feiyang stroked the totems on the rock wall, he suddenly noticed that on one of the reliefs, the Shi family ancestor was sealing the Eye of the Abyss with the leader of the Sky Wolf Guard, and the figure of "Second Uncle Shi Jingtian" appeared in the position of the traitor.

He suddenly realized, "So the Shi family didn't betray us, but rather they were co-governing the Eye of the Abyss with the Heavenly Wolf Guard until Shi Jingtian tried to monopolize the power..." At the end of the secret passage was a huge stone chamber, with a faint light flickering on the central stone platform.

Zhuang Menglian exclaimed, "It's the Kunlun Mirror!" An ancient bronze mirror floated in the air, its surface reflecting Shi Feiyang's image, yet distorted into the totem of the Heavenly Wolf Guard. Shi Feiyang reached out and touched the Kunlun Mirror, suddenly shuddering as countless images flooded his mind: the truth about how Shi Jingtian had framed their ancestor, the oath the Shi family had upheld for generations, the terrifying figure vaguely visible within the Eye of the Abyss…

He suddenly took a step back, and the blood-jade lightning patterns on his glassy skin flashed violently.

"Husband, what's wrong?" Zhuang Menglian supported his trembling body and asked in surprise.

Looking at his reflection in the mirror, where his smooth skin was intertwined with the wolf head totem, Shi Feiyang suddenly realized and said, "Madam, the Shi family and the Heavenly Wolf Guard are of the same origin. Back then, they jointly sealed the Eye of the Abyss. Now that the five sacred artifacts are scattered, I... may be the key to unlocking everything."

The Kunlun Mirror suddenly burst forth with intense light, and five blurry figures appeared in the mirror, representing the martial arts sects that possessed the other four sacred artifacts.

Shi Feiyang clenched his fist, a determined light flashing in his glassy eyes, and said firmly, "No matter how many dangers lie ahead, I will definitely gather the five sacred artifacts and seal the Eye of the Abyss again!" The sandstorm gradually subsided, and the two walked out of the secret passage, only to see the black horse pawing restlessly.

Shi Feiyang mounted his horse, with Zhuang Menglian following closely behind, and they galloped towards the depths of Kunlun Ruins.

The glaciers, which have remained frozen for thousands of years, are like giant silver pythons coiled among the mountains.

Shi Feiyang and Zhuang Menglian walked across the suspended ice bridge. Their fair skin gleamed coldly in the aurora. The Imperial Seal at their waists suddenly became hot, casting a blurry reflection on the ice. "Husband, look at the engravings in the ice crevices!" Zhuang Menglian pointed to the tadpole-like characters on the cliff face. The Pangu Sword lightly scratched the ice, and a dark red liquid seeped out.

Shi Feiyang leaned closer for a closer look. The liquid condensed into ice crystals when it encountered the wind, revealing it to be the "Blood Sacrifice Totem" of the Heavenly Wolf Guard. Suddenly, the ice surface shattered, and twelve white-clad figures leaped out from the cracks, their longswords shrouded in azure icy mist.

The old man at the head of the group had a withered face and pure white eyes. He said fiercely, "Those who trespass on Kunlun Ruins shall die!" After saying that, twelve ice swords formed a mysterious sword formation, and the cold air instantly froze Shi Feiyang's sideburns.

Shi Feiyang unleashed his "Transferring Flowers and Jade" divine skill! With a swirling motion of his palms, he guided each of the incoming ice swords toward the cliff face. But with a "crack" sound, the ice swords carved even denser blood sacrifice totems into the rock face.

Zhuang Menglian's Dream Butterfly Sword Technique was like a swirling white mist, but the sword flowers were shattered by the ice sword, and frost flowers had formed on her sleeves.

"These people are the guardians of the Kunlun Ruins!" Zhuang Menglian exclaimed in sudden realization. As she retreated, she caught a glimpse of the bronze mirror pendant on the old man's waist and suddenly remembered the ancient records of the Pangu Sword Sect. She reminded him, "They use human blood sacrifices to protect the sacred object. Husband, destroy the totem quickly!"

Shi Feiyang roared and unleashed the "Emperor's Heavenly Thunder" divine skill. His glassy skin erupted with purple-gold lightning, and at the same time, he unleashed the "Shocking Calamity" divine skill! His icy blue gaze swept over them, and the three guardians instantly shattered into ice shards.

But then they saw their blood seep into the totem, causing a huge, mirror-like reflection to appear on the cliff face. Shi Feiyang cried out in alarm, "Oh no! The blood sacrifice has been activated!"

The old man let out a strange laugh, and the twelve ice swords suddenly merged into one, transforming into an ice dragon that pounced.

Shi Feiyang shielded Zhuang Menglian behind him, his Heavenly Silkworm Technique weaving a net of silver threads, but it was shattered by the ice dragon.

In the critical moment, he took out the Imperial Seal from a mysterious deerskin bag at his waist. The seal resonated with the mirror image and shot out a golden light that pierced through the ice dragon.

Where the ice dragon shattered, an ancient bronze mirror, suspended in the ice cave, slowly rotated. The mirror reflected Shi Feiyang's figure, but suddenly cracked open with countless fissures, revealing an illusion of a city engulfed in flames—the streets of Chang'an's Zhuque Avenue were littered with corpses, banners of regional military governors filled the palace walls, and Tibetan cavalry trampled the steps of the Daming Palace. "Is that… a prophecy of the Tang Dynasty's demise?" Zhuang Menglian covered her mouth, the illusion in the mirror even showing the laughing figure of the High Priest of the Heavenly Wolf Guard.

Shi Feiyang reached out and touched the mirror, but felt a chilling power spread along his arm; it was the aura of the Eye of the Abyss.

"Hahahaha! Li Xiao, you brat, the Eye of the Abyss has broken its seal!" A familiar laugh came from the depths of the ice cave. Shi Jingtian had actually been resurrected, and he was leading the remaining Heavenly Wolf Guards as they poured in through the dark channel, followed by cavalrymen wearing Tibetan armor.

Shi Jingtian said strangely, "The Tibetan king promised to help me unseal the Eye of the Abyss and share the Tang Dynasty's territory!" Before he finished speaking, the top of the ice cave collapsed with a crash, and the Uyghur wolf-head banner broke through the snow and arrows flew towards Shi Feiyang like locusts.

Zhuang Menglian brandished her sword to protect her master, but then she saw the totem of the Heavenly Wolf Guard engraved on the Uyghur arrows—the Western Regions kingdoms had long been in league with the Wolf Guard, waiting only for the Eye of the Abyss to be completely unsealed before marching eastward. "Husband, look in the mirror!" Zhuang Menglian suddenly exclaimed.

Shi Feiyang looked back at the ancient mirror and saw the illusion on the mirror suddenly change. The black mist of the Eye of the Abyss was devouring the armies of the Western Regions. Those soldiers were turning into white bones in the black mist, just like the Ten Thousand Bones Soul Devouring Array of Dongting Lake back then.

"So the Heavenly Wolf Guard wanted to use the Western Regions' military might to sacrifice blood to the Eye of the Abyss!" Shi Feiyang said angrily, smashing the blood sacrifice totem beside him. But then the ancient mirror suddenly burst out with dazzling golden light, pulling him and Zhuang Menglian into the mirror's surface.

In a daze, Shi Feiyang saw himself hanging from an old locust tree on Coal Hill, wearing a dragon robe, while Zhuang Menglian transformed into a wisp of light soul from the Kunlun Mirror.

"No!" Shi Feiyang roared, unleashing "Emperor's Thunderous Fury" with both palms, shattering the entire ancient mirror. Bronze fragments fell like rain, each reflecting a different prophecy: a century of regional warlordism, eunuch tyranny bringing ruin to the country, and the tragic fate of being carved up by foreign powers.

"My lord, no matter what illusion the mirror shows, we must protect the Tang Dynasty!" Zhuang Menglian said passionately, then bent down and picked up a shard of the mirror, on which was clearly reflected the image of Shi Feiyang single-handedly blocking a million-strong army with his sword.

Looking into his wife's determined eyes, Shi Feiyang's fair skin suddenly flushed with color—it was the "Blood Jade Divine Skill," a combination of the "Bright Jade Skill" and the "Emperor's Heavenly Thunder" divine skills, that was automatically activated under the impact of the prophecy.

At this moment, the allied forces of the Tibetans and Uyghurs had broken through the ice cave, and the blood sacrifice drums of the Heavenly Wolf Guards shook the glacier to the point of cracking.

Shi Feiyang placed the Imperial Seal of the State into Zhuang Menglian's hand and said in a deep voice, "Take the seal back to Chang'an and stop the regional warlords from colluding with the Western Regions! I will go to the Eye of the Abyss, even if I become a spirit in the mirror, I will protect this vast land!"

Zhuang Menglian tried to dissuade him, but Shi Feiyang enveloped her in silver threads using the Heavenly Silkworm Technique, then pushed her away, carrying her away from the ice cave. When she looked back, she saw her husband's figure shining like glass amidst the vast army. The Emperor's Heavenly Thunder and the Blood Jade Divine Art intertwined, actually splitting a blood-red passage in Kunlun Ruins.

"Shi Jingtian!" Shi Feiyang's roar shook the ice peak to the ground, and he said sarcastically, "Look at the prophecy of this Kunlun Mirror—the Heavenly Wolf Guard is nothing but a sacrifice to the Eye of the Abyss!" He threw a shard of the mirror at Shi Jingtian, and the mirror surface just happened to reflect the scene of the Heavenly Wolf Guard being swallowed by black energy.

Shi Jingtian's pupils shrank sharply, and the wolf-headed scepter in his hand suddenly broke, revealing the wriggling black insects inside.

Just then, the black aura of the Eye of the Abyss spread to the ice cave, and the Tibetan Uyghur soldiers instantly turned into bones. Only Shi Feiyang's Blood Jade Divine Skill formed a light shield, barely protecting him.

"Madam! Take the Imperial Seal to Guo Ziyi!" Shi Feiyang's voice came through the light barrier. His fair skin was stained dark red by the black mist. He said domineeringly, "Tell the world that even if Li Xiao is a mad hero, he will still cut through the chaos of this world!"

Zhuang Menglian nodded tearfully, then turned and ran eastward. Behind her, the glaciers of Kunlun Ruins were melting in the black mist, and Shi Feiyang's figure appeared and disappeared in the interplay of light and darkness, like the last undying ray of chivalry in the chaotic mid-Tang Dynasty.

When Zhuang Menglian saw the blood-red rain of light on the city wall of Chang'an, a deafening roar came from the direction of the Eye of the Abyss.

Shi Jingtian's scream pierced through the black mist, while Shi Feiyang's figure disappeared into the depths of the icy abyss.

Six months later, Guo Ziyi led his army to recapture Chang'an, and the Imperial Seal returned to the palace. The fragments of the mirror pieced together beneath the throne to form a complete prophecy: "The mad hero's body is shattered, both calamities are resolved, but the mirror shatters and the heavens collapse, the Tang Dynasty's reign ends..."

Zhuang Menglian returned to Yangzhou and stood gracefully by the Slender West Lake, holding a shard of mirror in her hand, on which Shi Feiyang's smiling face was clearly reflected.

She looked up and saw a glassy shooting star streaking across the sky. She murmured, "My husband, no matter what the prophecy says, Menglian will uphold your chivalry and protect this land of the Tang Dynasty."

For decades afterward, Zhuang Menglian, in the name of the Pangu Sword Sect, united with righteous men of the martial world and cooperated with the imperial court's "disarmament system" to dismantle the regional military governors. Meanwhile, the Eye of the Abyss was always shrouded in a seven-colored glow, and no more black energy ever escaped.

……

Sealed within the Eye of the Abyss, Shi Feiyang's consciousness floated in the boundless darkness. The silver threads of the Heavenly Silkworm Technique wrapped him layer by layer like a cocoon, while the true qi shield of the Bright Jade Technique flickered in and out of existence in the black mist, like a solitary lamp in the cold night.

Countless years passed, and when he suddenly opened his eyes, his crystal-clear skin burst forth with a seven-colored glow, carving out a small, tranquil space of about ten feet square within the viscous black mist. "What a fine Eye of the Abyss! It has imprisoned me for over a hundred years!" He gazed at the still slightly trembling mirror compass in his hand, then suddenly threw his head back and laughed wildly. His laughter echoed through the chaos, startling the evil spirits at the bottom of the abyss into roars. The compass needle stubbornly pointed towards Chang'an and Kunlun, just as his unwavering concern for his homeland and the world remained.

Before his laughter subsided, he hurled the compass toward the core of the abyss, and at the same time unleashed "Emperor's Heavenly Thunder" with both palms! The icy palms instantly transformed into raging purple lightning, exploding into a blood-red thunder prison in this world.

Wherever the lightning struck, the black energy sizzled like boiling oil meeting water, actually creating a brief breach in the seal.

Just then, a clear, long cry came from the gap.

Shi Feiyang looked up and saw a crimson stream of light breaking through the fog—it was the divine beast Vermilion Bird! With the flapping of its enormous wings, it dispelled all the surrounding black mist, and Shi Feiyang's crystal-clear figure was reflected in its golden pupils, as if a god had descended.

"Vermilion Bird! Good brother!" Shi Feiyang roared and leaped into the air. The Vermilion Bird accurately caught his belt and soared out of the abyss. The black mist behind him pursued him frantically as if it were alive, but it was all burned away by the Southern Bright Fire swept out by the Vermilion Bird's tail feathers.

As he flew past the Flaming Mountains, Shi Feiyang looked down. The crimson mountains resembled a burning behemoth, and at their foot, along the winding ancient camel road, caravans struggled to make their way. As the wind and sand swirled, fine, icy patterns appeared on his fair skin.

"This place... is the Western Regions," he murmured to himself, his voice slightly hoarse. The Vermilion Bird carried him down slowly, the wind and sand filling his clothes, bringing with them a mixture of sandalwood and camel dung. In the distance, the sound of a reed pipe could be heard faintly, its melody desolate yet subtly eerie.

"Who goes there?" Suddenly, several figures emerged from behind the sand dune, all dressed as Beggars' Sect disciples, except their patched clothes had been replaced with coarse linen, a material unique to the Western Regions. The elderly man at the head, leaning on an iron cane, dropped his wine gourd with a clatter when he saw Shi Feiyang. "Sect Leader... is it really you, Sect Leader?" The old man knelt down with a thud, his voice trembling. "Three years before his death, Master Tieguai Li left a will here, saying that the Sect Leader would surely return. For generations, we have carried your portrait, watching over the branch headquarters every day..."

Shi Feiyang looked at the tears in the old man's eyes, and then at the faded portrait on their backs—it was his eternal eighteen-year-old appearance, still with his fair skin and unruly arrogance.

A pang of sorrow gripped his heart, and tears welled up in his eyes. He said sadly, "Elder Tie... so many years have passed..."

"Master," the old man wiped away his tears and said respectfully, "it has been one hundred and forty-three years since you were trapped in the abyss. Now the fate of the Tang Dynasty is sealed, and that traitor Zhu Wen has taken control of the Central Plains, waiting only for the right moment to declare himself emperor..."

"Zhu Wen..." Shi Feiyang gritted his teeth, his fair skin instantly turning as transparent as ice, and said sadly, "Zhuang... Zhuang Menglian, my wife, she..." The old man sighed, lowered his head, and wept, saying, "According to our patriarch, after you disappeared, the old lady guarded the Pangu Sword Sect and passed away peacefully fifty years ago..."

"Pfft—" Shi Feiyang suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, which condensed into ice crystals in mid-air. He roared to the sky, his cry filled with boundless sorrow, soaring into the heavens and startling the sand foxes in the distance into a frenzy. After a long while, he wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, a resolute light rekindling in them, and declared firmly, "Though the Tang Dynasty has fallen, the spirit of chivalry will never die! Everyone, follow me!"

A few days later, Shi Feiyang led the Beggars' Sect disciples on their westward journey. He appointed the local Awang as the Beggars' Sect elder and the leader of the Western Regions branch, and the group set off in a grand procession toward the territory of Khotan.

"Chief, we're at Khotan ahead." Awang pointed to the totem poles on the distant sand dunes and reported, "According to a secret report from the branch headquarters, the remnants of the Heavenly Wolf Guard last appeared at Mount Khotan." Shi Feiyang looked up and saw a dilapidated Buddhist temple faintly visible on the cloud-shrouded mountain. Strangely, the eaves of the temple were not carved with the usual flying apsaras, but with ferocious wolf heads, which looked particularly eerie in the wind.

So he led the Beggars' Sect disciples to continue onward to investigate the situation. "Khotan was once a Buddhist kingdom. When did it come to have such an evil totem?" Shi Feiyang landed with a puzzled look on his face and walked to a totem pole.

He stretched out his fingertip and gently touched the cold stone surface, but withdrew it as if touching a venomous snake—the stone surface exuded a bone-chilling cold, exactly like the "Heart-Eating Gu" poison frost of the Heavenly Wolf Guard back then.

"Watch out, leader!" Awang exclaimed, swinging his staff at the same time to strike the totem pole.

With a "crack" sound, black liquid seeped from the stone pillar, emitting a nauseating stench.

Just then, a sinister laugh echoed from within the Buddhist temple. Dozens of dark figures flew out of the temple, the leader wearing a bronze wolf-head mask and wielding a wolf-head scepter—the remnants of the Heavenly Wolf Guard!

The masked man said in a hoarse voice, "Shi Feiyang, you really are alive! Our family and descendants have been waiting for you for over a hundred years. Hehe, today, let us kill you with our own hands! How satisfying! How satisfying!"

"The remnants of the Heavenly Wolf Guard deserve to be killed by everyone!" Shi Feiyang sneered, his eyes flashing with cold light, and the "Shocking Calamity" divine skill was instantly activated! His icy gaze shot out like sharp blades, instantly freezing the thirteen assassins at the forefront into ice sculptures, which then shattered into ice shards scattered on the ground. "You're courting death!" the masked man roared, waving his scepter, and countless black insects crawled out from the ground, densely packed—the Heavenly Wolf Guard's "Soul-Devouring Insects!"

Shi Feiyang unleashed his "Flower Transference and Jade Grafting" divine skill! With a flick of his palms, the black insects shot back towards the masked man.

Caught off guard, the masked man was devoured by the swarm of insects and collapsed to the ground screaming in agony.

Shi Feiyang scoffed, "A mere trick, not worth mentioning!" He pressed forward relentlessly, silver threads from his Heavenly Silkworm Technique flying from his palms, coiling towards the masked man like serpents. The masked man hurriedly swung his scepter to defend, but with a "crack," the scepter was snapped in two by the silver threads!

"How is this possible?" The masked man stared in horror at the broken staff in his hand, his voice trembling. "More than a hundred years have passed. You must be at least one hundred and seventy years old. How could you still have such formidable power?" Shi Feiyang sneered, "You dog! I've lived for over a thousand years! Humph! You're spouting such nonsense, even accusing me of shortening my lifespan. I'll kill you!"

Mingyu Gong circulated rapidly, and her glassy skin became almost transparent, like white ice shrouded in cold mist.

Before he finished speaking, he struck out with both palms, transforming ice into lightning, which struck his enemy and exploded like thunder. The masked man instantly turned to ashes.

The remaining Sky Wolf Guards, seeing their leader dead, all knelt down and begged for mercy.

Shi Feiyang's eyes were icy as he scanned the remaining Sky Wolf Guards, and he said sternly, "Speak, what are your schemes here?" One of them trembled and said, "We...we are ordered by the High Priest to search for fragments of the Kunlun Mirror here, attempting...attempting to unseal the Eye of the Abyss once more..."

"Fragments of the Kunlun Mirror?" Shi Feiyang's heart skipped a beat, and he asked, "Where are they?"

The man pointed deep into the Buddhist temple and said in a trembling voice, "In...in the underground palace of the Buddhist temple..."

Shi Feiyang led his Beggars' Sect disciples into the underground palace of the Buddhist temple, where they indeed found several fragments of the Kunlun Mirror on the central stone platform. However, when he reached out to take them, the fragments suddenly burst forth with blinding light, assembling in mid-air to form a complete mirror. Within the mirror appeared a series of illusions: Zhu Wen proclaiming himself emperor and slaughtering loyal officials; Li Cunxu raising an army, plunging the land into chaos; and for centuries afterward, the Central Plains trembled, invaded by foreign enemies…

Looking at the chaotic world reflected in the mirror, Shi Feiyang's glassy eyes welled up with tears once again.

"So... this is the fate of the Tang Dynasty..." he murmured to himself. "Very well, since the Tang Dynasty's destiny is sealed, I, Shi, will protect this vast land and prevent foreign invasion!" He put away the fragments of the Kunlun Mirror and turned to the Beggars' Sect disciples, saying, "Gentlemen, although the Heavenly Wolf Guard has temporarily retreated, the Western Regions kingdoms are restless. We must establish a stronghold here to protect the Silk Road and safeguard the people!"

"We will obey the leader's command!" the disciples responded in unison, their voices echoing in the empty underground palace.

Shi Feiyang walked out of the Buddhist temple, gazing at the distant snow-capped mountains, his smooth skin shimmering with a resolute light in the sunlight.

The Vermilion Bird circled in the sky, emitting a clear and melodious cry. Shi Feiyang leaped up and landed on the Vermilion Bird's back, flying towards the more distant Western Regions. The wind and sand remained, the sound of the Huqin remained, but in his heart, there was now a greater sense of determination and composure.

“My lady,” he said softly, gazing eastward, “rest assured, I will watch over this world for you, until… until I can no longer see it…”

The Vermilion Bird carried him away, disappearing into the vast sands of the Western Regions.

As he flew over the sacred mountain and Buddhist temple, he saw movement on the ground, so he rode the Vermilion Bird diagonally down.

Shi Feiyang silently leaped down from the back of the Vermilion Bird and quietly approached the Buddhist temple. Moonlight shone through the broken window frames, illuminating the wolf-head-shaped skeletons scattered on the ground. The altar in the center did not enshrine a Buddha statue, but a mummified corpse wrapped in gold leaf, with the totem of the Heavenly Wolf Guard clearly branded on its chest.

Shi Feiyang thought to himself, "This is indeed the altar of the Heavenly Wolf Guard." He activated his Bright Jade Technique, and his glassy skin reflected the murals around the altar—the figures in the paintings were dressed in the clothing of the previous dynasty, filling chests of jewels into a cave in the mountain.

"Treasures of the previous dynasty?" Shi Feiyang was shocked and muttered to himself. Suddenly, he heard the sound of clothes rustling in the wind behind him.

Three assassins dressed in peacock feathers arrived silently, their short blades engraved with intricate Western Region patterns.

"You barbarians from the Central Plains, how dare you trespass into the forbidden area of ​​the Peacock Cult!" The leader's voice was like that of a night owl, and his short blade transformed into a blue light as it stabbed forward. Shi Feiyang wielded his Dog-Beating Stick in a move called "Vicious Dog Blocks the Way," but he felt that the poisonous mist on the short blade could corrode the stick itself, so he quickly used his internal energy to shake it off.

In the midst of the fierce battle, an assassin flung out peacock feathers, unleashing a torrent of poisonous feathers. Shi Feiyang's Mingyu Gong true qi vortex drew the poisonous feathers into a shuttlecock, from which a wolf-head token rolled out.

"The Heavenly Wolf Guard is indeed colluding with the Peacock Cult!" he cursed angrily, unleashing the "Dog-Beating Stick" technique, its shadow spreading like a net and enveloping the thirty assassins.

Seeing that things were going badly, the leader of the assassins bit his tongue and spat out a mist of blood, which actually condensed into a peacock spreading its tail in mid-air.

A cold glint flashed in Shi Feiyang's glassy eyes as he activated the "Shocking Calamity" divine skill. His icy gaze swept across the blood mist, instantly freezing it. The assassins screamed as they turned into ice shards. Shi Feiyang picked up the wolf-head token and discovered an ancient inscription on the back: "Mount Khotan, the Three Saints Return to One."

He looked up at the mummified corpse on the altar, which was holding a jade pendant in the shape of a three-legged crow, the patterns of which vaguely matched those on the token.

The following day, Shi Feiyang disguised himself as a caravan guard and entered the capital city of Khotan. The people of the city were terrified, and rumors spread that the Holy Maiden was possessed by an evil spirit and was chanting incantations day and night in the forbidden area of ​​the palace.

He seized an opportunity to sneak into the palace, where he found a woman bound by iron chains in an ice crystal palace, her body shrouded in black mist shaped like a wolf's head.

"Are you the Holy Maiden of the Peacock Cult, young lady?" Shi Feiyang broke through the ice and entered, the icy blue light of his glassy skin causing the black aura to dissipate slightly.

The saintess suddenly looked up, a glimmer of clarity flashing in her eyes, and said excitedly, "The Central Plains knight... the three-legged black jade pendant that was about to destroy the altar..." Before she could finish speaking, the black aura suddenly tightened, and she curled up in pain.

At that moment, footsteps were heard outside the hall, and the High Priest of the Peacock Cult led his followers in.

"Take down this scoundrel!" the high priest roared, wielding his peacock scepter, the ruby ​​at its tip gleaming with an eerie light. Shi Feiyang unleashed a move called "Stick to the Mangy Dog" with his dog-beating stick, but the blue light emanating from the scepter pierced through the stick's shadow, heading straight for his face.

In the critical moment, the Holy Maiden suddenly broke free of her chains, her hands forming a mudra that emitted Buddhist light, temporarily suppressing the black energy. She urgently exclaimed, "Quickly! The treasure key is... inside the Three Saints statue on the sacred mountain!" She coughed up black blood, tossed a crescent-shaped jade pendant to Shi Feiyang, and added, "...merge it with the three-legged crow..."

Shi Feiyang caught the jade pendant and used his lightness skill to rush out of the palace.

The high priest roared from behind, "Chase! We must not let the treasure key fall into the hands of the Central Plains people!"

Hundreds of cultists flocked to the scene, among them were even some of the Sky Wolf Guard's assassins. Shi Feiyang rushed to the three sacred statues of the divine mountain and inserted the three-legged black jade pendant and the crescent-shaped jade pendant into the grooves of the statues. In an instant, the mountainside trembled, revealing a hidden cave.

As Shi Feiyang stepped into the cave, he saw countless jewels piled up like mountains. On the central stone platform lay a scroll of parchment, which recorded the treasures buried by the previous emperor for the restoration of his kingdom, as well as the secrets guarded by the Peacock Cult for generations.

The high priest led his pursuers to the scene, and upon seeing the treasure revealed, greed gleamed in his eyes. He activated the Peacock Scepter and joined forces with the Sky Wolf Guard assassins to attack. Shi Feiyang activated the Bright Jade Technique to the "Supreme Forgetfulness: Ice Soul Cold Prison" level, his skin as transparent as ice, and his palms flickered, deflecting all attacks.

"Evil will never prevail over good!" he roared, and with his dog-beating stick, he unleashed a move called "Beating the Dog's Head," striking the high priest squarely in the chest.

The high priest screamed and flew backward, his scepter cracking open to reveal the wolf head core inside—it turned out that the Peacock Cult had long been controlled by the Heavenly Wolf Guard, and the so-called treasure was actually the Heavenly Wolf Guard's capital for restoring their kingdom.

The saintess staggered into the cave, clasping her hands together and chanting Buddhist scriptures. The Buddhist light intertwined with the shimmering brilliance of Shi Feiyang's crystal, completely purifying the evil magic of the Heavenly Wolf Guard. The High Priest turned to ashes, and the Heavenly Wolf Guard's assassins crumbled in defeat.

Shi Feiyang handed the sheepskin scroll to the legitimate royal family of Khotan, so that the treasures of the previous dynasty could be used to relieve disaster victims.

The saintess was deeply grateful and led the Peacock Cult back to the right path.

Before parting, the Holy Maiden gifted Shi Feiyang a peacock feather, whispering, "This feather can ward off all poisons. The journey through the martial world is long; may you have a safe and smooth journey, hero." Shi Feiyang nodded his thanks and rode the Vermilion Bird towards the Central Plains.

In the setting sun, the peacock feathers in his hand shimmered against his fair skin. (End of Chapter)