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

"Impossible! How could a magic weapon from the Jade Void Realm be afraid of your evil arts!" Nakasin roared and pounced forward like a madwoman, the Xuanbing Curse condensed at her fingertips turning into an ice spike that shot towards Shi Feiyang's heart.

But then Shi Feiyang made a hand seal with his left hand, and the Heavenly Silkworm Silver Threads poured down like a waterfall, binding the Five Elemental Pearls. In the instant, his right hand caught the Jade Bottle, and his inner force reversed its flow—the souls that had been sucked away actually poured out from the bottle's mouth, turning into specks of light and dissipating in the snow.

"This is not an evil technique, but the 'Return to the Void Technique' of the Yihua Palace." Shi Feiyang's voice was as cold as a thousand-year-old ice, and he sternly rebuked, "You only learned the superficial Xuanbing Incantation by stealing. Today, I will let you taste what the true Kunlun Orthodox Method is."

The icy mist in his palm suddenly transformed into a gigantic ice dragon, its gaping maw aimed directly at Nakasin. The Five Elemental Pearls, strained under the dragon's breath, emitted a series of cracking sounds, their five beams of light shattering inch by inch. Just then, a deafening shout erupted from outside the hall.

Qu Feiyan, her Sacred Flame Token blazing with crimson flames, charged at the forefront, followed by Beggar Clan Elder Li Xing wielding his Dog-Beating Staff Technique. Hundreds of Beggar Clan disciples, brandishing carrying poles, surrounded the Western Regions evil sect. "Husband, we're too late!"

Qu Feiyan said sadly, her red dress standing out conspicuously in the snow. Wherever the Sacred Flame Token swept, the Corpse Whip turned to ashes. Seeing the situation was bad, Nakasin grabbed the broken Five Elemental Pearls and tried to escape, but was struck in the back by Shi Feiyang's ice dragon tail.

She spat out a mouthful of black blood, and the ancestral witch totem on the saintess's robe instantly faded, but she still roared like a madwoman: "Shi Feiyang, you wait! When the ancestral witch descends, it will be the day your whole family is wiped out!" After saying that, she turned into a streak of green light and disappeared into the wind and snow.

Shi Feiyang staggered and fell to his knees, vomiting a mouthful of blood that stained the snow in front of him. He trembled as he placed his hand on the Empress Dowager Ling Shuangyue's brow, where the last of his true energy remained.

The shards of ice silkworm jade clung to her fingertips, chilling her to the bone. "Husband." Börte approached, carrying the unconscious little emperor, the broken string of her Burning Heart Qin hanging in the snow, tears streaming down her face as she said, "Sister Di, she..." She choked up, unable to continue, but then she saw Shi Feiyang using the Profound Ice Curse to freeze the Empress Dowager's body, his movements as gentle as if he were protecting a fragile treasure.

In the distance, the iron hooves of the Western Xia trampled through the snow-covered Zhuque Street, the wolf banners of the Liao Kingdom waved atop the city walls, and envoys from the Song Kingdom were rushing to the imperial palace with secret messages. The dragon banners of the Tang Dynasty lay fallen amidst piles of corpses, crushed to pieces by horses' hooves.

Shi Feiyang picked up Ling Shuangyue's body, his Xuan Shuang Blade leaving a long icy trail in the snow. The trail was winding and resembled the character "protect" that the Empress Dowager had written in his palm before her death.

“Let’s go.” His voice was hoarse, but firm and unwavering. “To Blackwood Cliff.” Börte led Shi Hongyun by the hand, Qu Feiyan held Shi Chengyu in her arms, and Yelü Shihan clutched the fragment of the Sacred Flame Token left behind by Dilirena.

The surviving soldiers followed silently behind, the bloodstains on their black armor leaving streaks of red plum blossoms in the snow. The snow continued to fall, landing on Shi Feiyang's white hair, on the broken strings of the Burning Heart Zither, and on the fragments of the Sacred Flame Token.

Börte gazed at his retreating figure, suddenly recalling an ancient Uyghur legend: when the Fire Lotus Messenger was banished to the icy plains by the gods, as long as a trace of warmth remained in his heart, the ice and snow would eventually melt. She looked down at the jade lotus pendant in her palm, where the warmth of Dilirena still lingered.

Bianliang City of the Song Dynasty.

Inside the heated pavilion of the Taiji Hall in Bianliang City, the underfloor heating was blazing, filling Emperor Zhenzong Zhao Heng's dragon robe with a faint sandalwood fragrance. On the dragon throne in the Taiji Hall, Zhao Heng gripped a blood-stained jade tablet, his eyes gleaming with madness. He snarled, "Shi Feiyang, your father murdered my father, the Emperor! Today, I will exact revenge on your entire clan!" He suddenly raised a secret edict in his hand and roared, "This edict, 'Bloodbath of Luoyang,' is already stamped with the Imperial Seal!"

Then, he burst into triumphant laughter.

The civil and military officials below all wore obsequious expressions. Wang Qinruo, the Minister of Revenue, stepped forward first, the gold fish-shaped pouch on his purple robe jingling as he flattered, "Your Majesty is wise! Shi Feiyang murdered his father and betrayed the emperor, and now he has been punished by Heaven. It is truly the will of Heaven to destroy the Tang Dynasty!"

"Hahaha!" Zhao Heng slammed his jade tablet on the armrest of the dragon throne. The imperial edict bearing the seal of the State, which read "Bloodbath in Luoyang," fluttered on the table. He still said triumphantly, "Back then, I watched Shi Feiyang kill thirty of our envoys in Chanzhou. Today, his wife, children, and elderly parents have perished in the fire. This is the cycle of karma!"

He suddenly pointed outside the hall and laughed wildly: "Look, the envoys of Western Xia are already waiting for my decree at the Meridian Gate, willing to offer the land of Hexi to me; the wolf-skin map sent by Empress Xiao of Liao, except for the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun, is willing to mark the territory of the Tang Dynasty that has been seized as the territory of my Great Song!"

Ouyang Xiu, the Vice Minister of War, smiled so much that wrinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes. He praised, "Your Majesty is blessed with boundless good fortune! Shi Feiyang is probably mourning at Blackwood Cliff right now. How dare he invade our Great Song?" He suddenly lowered his voice and said, "According to reports from spies, Nakasin's Five Spirit Pearls have destroyed half of the Tang Dynasty's elite forces. Now, Blackwood Cliff is nothing more than a den of trapped beasts."

Zhao Heng grabbed a grape from the table, juice dripping through his fingers, and said loudly, "Issue my decree: order the Northwest Army to garrison Chang'an. If the Liao and Western Xia dare to embezzle Tang territory, let them taste the power of our Divine Arm Bow!"

A chorus of shouts of "Long live the Emperor!" erupted from below the steps, and the incense in the warm pavilion seemed to carry the smell of gunpowder from the Tang Dynasty.

……

The snow on Blackwood Cliff was colder than in Bianliang. Shi Feiyang knelt before Ling Shuangyue's new grave, the Xuan Shuang Blade stuck in the grave mound, a strand of white hair wrapped in the ice silk on the scabbard—it was taken from the Empress Dowager's pillow.

Led by Li Xing and Li Hao, the Beggars' Sect disciples raised their bamboo staffs and shouted, "Revenge! Revenge!" The sound crashed against the cliff face, startling a flock of crows that circled in the leaden sky.

Qu Feiyan stood not far away, supporting her swollen belly, the red light of the Sacred Flame Token illuminating her pale face. She gazed at Shi Feiyang's stiff back, recalling how his fingertips trembled so much last night when he was preparing Ling Shuangyue's body for her funeral that he couldn't even put on his hairpins properly.

She gently advised, "Husband, the imperial physician said your blood and qi are churning. If you cry and hurt yourself, who will go to Kunlun to find Nakasin?" Shi Feiyang slowly turned his head, his glassy eyes bloodshot. He took out the Jade Void Map from his bosom, a sheepskin scroll he had stolen from Nakasin's mount, marked with the location of the Five Elemental Pearls in Kunlun script.

Then, putting aside his sorrow, he assigned tasks, saying, "Li Xing, you lead the Beggars' Sect disciples to guard the eastern foot of Blackwood Cliff. If you encounter the Western Xia cavalry, use the 'Dog-Beating Formation' to delay them. Li Hao, protect Master Qu and His Majesty. Once I retrieve the Spirit Pearl, we will plan to restore the kingdom."

Börte's Burning Heart Zither lay across her lap, and suddenly, ice beads that had formed on the strings dripped down, and she said with a clear, resounding voice, "My husband, I will go with you."

The bloodstains from the Xuanwu Gate still clung to her Uyghur battle cloak, but the jade lotus pendant was pressed tightly against her heart as she pleaded, "The secret text of the Jade Void Diagram needs to be deciphered using the Uyghur 'Fire Lotus Curse.' Without me, you cannot unravel the Kunlun Formation."

Looking into her determined eyes, Shi Feiyang suddenly remembered that when they were breaking through the formation in the underground palace, she had also held the Burning Heart Zither in front of him.

He reached out to brush the snow off her shoulders and said sadly, "The Kunlun Jade Void Realm has ancient restrictions; if you are not careful, your soul will be scattered."

"So what?" Börte grasped his hand, the warmth of her palm passing through the ice silk, and said with unwavering devotion, "In the legends of the Uyghurs, the fire lotus and the ice soul are destined to live and die together."

She took out half of the Ice Silkworm Jade from her bosom, which was the other half of Ling Shuangyue's broken jade, and said affectionately, "The Empress Dowager entrusted this to me before she passed away, saying that it could protect you." Shi Feiyang nodded, took Börte in his arms, and used his peerless lightness skill "Leaving No Trace for a Thousand Miles" to fly to the Western Regions.

……

Deep within the underground labyrinth of the Kunlun Mountains, the torchlight refracted into eerie shapes by the damp air. Shi Feiyang unfurled the Jade Void Map, and the Kunlun script on the parchment scroll emerged in the firelight: "Azure Dragon position, quicksand trap; White Tiger position, poisoned arrows swarm." He suddenly pressed down on Börte's shoulder, and the Frost Blade slashed at the left-hand stone wall—three poisoned crossbow bolts fell to the ground, their arrowheads gleaming eerily blue in the torchlight.

"Husband, be careful!" Börte cried out in alarm. Her Burning Heart Zither suddenly resonated, and the strings automatically straightened, pointing towards her feet.

As Shi Feiyang touched the ground with her toes, lifting her into the air, the once solid ground suddenly collapsed, revealing bottomless quicksand. Several pebbles fell into it and were instantly swallowed up.

The labyrinthine passages crisscrossed like a spiderweb, the Kunlun incantations on the stone walls flickering in and out. Börte's fingertips traced the engravings, and the jade lotus pendant emitted a faint glow, reminding her, "This is the 'Space-Time Illusion Array,' the path changes every incense stick's time." She suddenly pressed down on Shi Feiyang's hand, holding the Burning Heart Qin horizontally in front of her, and warned, "Look at the reflection on the stone wall; the real passage is on the west side."

Shi Feiyang's Mingyu Gong was running at high speed, his skin as transparent as ice. He looked at the distorted figure on the stone wall and suddenly used the mysterious movement technique "Deeply Concealing Body and Name" to rush towards the hidden door on the west side with Börte.

A deafening roar came from behind the door, and a black tiger emerged from the shadows. Its head stood up like a small mountain, and its fur gleamed with a metallic sheen under the torchlight. Saliva dripped from its fangs onto the ground, etching deep pits into the bluestone.

“It’s the Kunlun guardian beast, the Black Tiger of Xuanshui,” Börte explained. Her Burning Heart Zither drew three lines of fire, forming a lotus shape in front of her. Then, she warned, “Its inner core can control water, watch your step!”

Before the words were even finished, Black Tiger suddenly slammed out its giant paw, and a torrent of water, carrying ice shards, surged from the ground towards the two of them. Shi Feiyang hurriedly used his "Shifting Flowers and Receiving Jade" divine skill, diverting the torrent towards the stone walls on both sides, creating a cloud of water mist. He seized the opportunity to use the "Mountain Splitting" technique of the Hundred Victories Blade, his palm wind carrying ice shards aimed at Black Tiger's eyes, but it was blocked by the tiger's front paw. The Frost Blade collided with the tiger's claw, sparks flying into the water mist like scattered stars.

"Husband, attack its flanks!" Börte warned, her spacetime power suddenly activating, causing ripples in the air around the black tiger, and its pounce momentarily froze. Shi Feiyang seized this fleeting opportunity, unleashing his Heavenly Silkworm Technique. A crystalline light flowed through his palm, and the Heavenly Silkworm Silver Threads formed from his internal energy shot out like a torrential rain, directly into the white fur under the black tiger's flanks—where the divine beast's inner core was located.

The black tiger let out a heart-wrenching roar, and as its giant paw swept across, Shi Feiyang, holding Börte, leaped into the air. He looked at the inner core wrapped in silver threads emitting a blue light and suddenly remembered the annotation on the Jade Void Diagram: "The essence of Xuan Water can dispel the malevolent energy of the Five Spirit Pearls."

He immediately activated the Bright Jade Skill, storing the inner core into the Ice Silkworm Pouch, while the Black Tiger's corpse gradually turned into specks of light in the flood, merging into the maze's stone walls.

In the stone chamber at the end of the maze, the first Five Elemental Pearls were embedded in a bronze cauldron. As the green light flowed, it illuminated the entire room with vine-like incantations.

Just as Shi Feiyang was about to reach out and take it, the sound of falling stones suddenly came from the top of the stone chamber. Blood Demon Sect Elder Xue Wuchang's Blood Shadow Blade slashed down with a bloody wind. The blood leeches wrapped around the blade twisted in the green light and made a tooth-grinding hiss.

"Shi Feiyang, hand over the Spirit Pearl, and I'll spare the life of this Uyghur beauty beside you!" Xue Wuchang threatened. His black robe was embroidered with skulls, and he wore blood-stained rings on every finger. He added fiercely, "My Blood Demon Sect's 'Bone-Corroding Blood Technique' is just missing a Holy Maiden as its furnace."

Suddenly, Börte's Burning Heart Zither emitted a dragon's roar. The fire lotus on the strings collided with the green light of the spirit pearl, and the burst of energy shattered the blood leech into ashes.

She cursed angrily, "Shameless old thief!" The power of spacetime wove a barrier under Xue Wuchang's feet, and warned, "Husband, his Blood Shadow Blade has a flaw. He will change his breath when the blade strikes at the third level!"

Shi Feiyang unleashed his Hundred Victories Saber Technique, specifically the "Viewing the Vast Ocean" move, his palm strikes crashing like raging waves, forcing Xue Wuchang to retreat repeatedly.

He could tell that although his opponent's swordsmanship was fast, it required the power of blood. So he deliberately created an opening and let the Blood Shadow Blade approach his heart. Just as the blade was about to strike, he used the "Shifting Flowers and Receiving Jade" technique, and the Blood Shadow Blade changed direction and slashed back at Blood Impermanence's own shoulder.

"Despicable!" Blood Impermanence screamed as he retreated, cursing angrily. Black blood gushed from the hole in his shoulder, corroding the ground and creating a smoking crater. He suddenly pulled out three Blood Fiend Bullets from his robes and shamelessly declared, "Since we can't get the Spirit Pearl, we'll make you all perish together with this stone chamber!"

Börte's spacetime barrier expanded instantly, trapping the Blood Fiend Bullet in mid-air. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Shi Feiyang retrieved the Five Elemental Pearls. As the green light entered his hand, he suddenly felt a warm current coursing through his meridians, and the injuries he sustained during his fierce battle with the Black Tiger began to ache faintly.

"Go!" he shouted, grabbing Börte's hand and adding urgently, "The Blood Demon Sect's reinforcements are probably already lying in ambush outside the maze."

As the two rushed out of the stone chamber, they indeed saw dozens of Blood Demon Sect disciples holding blood banners, blocking the passage completely. Shi Feiyang's Xuan Shuang Blade unleashed the "Slaying the Mortal World" technique from the Hundred Victories Blade Style. Wherever the blade energy swept, the blood banners turned to ashes. He protected Börte and broke through the encirclement, behind them came Xue Wuchang's furious roar: "My Blood Demon Sect will fight you to the death!"

The crimson flames of Burning Heaven Valley surged in the twilight. As Shi Feiyang placed the first spirit pearl into the ice silk pouch, Börte's Burning Heart Zither suddenly emitted a piercing tremor. Volcanic ash condensed into gray butterflies in the wind, and the moment they fluttered towards the two, the fire lines swept out by her zither strings burned them to ashes—the Blood Demon Sect's "Blood Shadow Array" had already been set up at the valley entrance, and the blood banners of thirty-six black-clad disciples cast hideous shadows on the rock walls.

"Shi Feiyang, hand over the Spirit Pearl, and I'll spare your life!" Blood Impermanence, who was leading his men in hot pursuit, had a blood-stained bandage wrapped around his severed shoulder. His Blood Shadow Blade glowed dark red in the volcanic light, and the blood leeches on the blade, saturated with lava, were emitting a sizzling sound.

The Blood Demon disciples behind him simultaneously raised their bone flutes, the sound like the wailing of ghosts. Suddenly, the scattered volcanic pebbles in the valley sprang to life, forming a skull-shaped Blood Fiend Array. Börte's spacetime power activated abruptly, the skulls in the Blood Fiend Array twisting and deforming within the radiant light of the jade lotus in her palm, warning, "Husband, this array is driven by blood; kill the flute player at the array's core!"

Her Burning Heart Zither played "Three Layers of Fire Lotus," three lines of fire piercing through the blood mist, but turning into green smoke when they touched the blood banners—those banners were actually made of tanned human skin, capable of absorbing the true energy of flames.

Shi Feiyang rapidly activated his Mingyu Gong, his icy mist colliding with the crimson flames in the valley, creating a cloud of steam. He saw the weakness of the Blood Fiend Array in the northwest, where a blood banner embroidered with the Blood Demon Sect Master's natal skull was located—it was none other than Xue Wuchang's natal banner.

Then, Shi Feiyang unleashed the "Slaying the Mortal World" technique from the Hundred Victories Blade! The ice blade of the Xuan Shuang Blade pierced through the steam and struck the Northwest Blood Banner. Suddenly, Xue Wuchang pressed his severed shoulder against the banner, and blood flowed along the patterns of the banner. The skull's eye sockets glowed red.

Blood Impermanence roared like a madman, and then unleashed "Bone-Eroding Blood Technique - Blood River Reversal!" The skeleton on the blood banner suddenly came to life, opened its huge mouth and spat out dark red poisonous blood. Wherever it passed, the volcanic rock was eroded with honeycomb-like holes.

Shi Feiyang shielded Börte behind him and used the "Transferring Flowers and Jade" divine skill to guide the poisonous blood to crash into the left rock wall. Suddenly, seven blood demon assassins rushed out from behind the rock wall. Their hearts were exposed, and the blood droplets that sprayed out when they beat formed blood lines in the air, creating a "heart-locking array".

"Husband, beware of their blood threads!" Börte cried out in alarm. Her spacetime barrier instantly expanded, trapping the blood threads in mid-air and solidifying them into beads. She then warned, "These are 'red silk cords' made from women's blood. If you get entangled in them, you'll have your blood sucked away!"

Her Burning Heart Zither suddenly changed direction, its strings taut like sharp swords, piercing the hearts of seven assassins simultaneously—their hearts were still twitching and beating when they hit the ground, emitting strange sounds like the cries of infants.

Bloodless, seeing his assassins annihilated, suddenly bit his tongue, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the Blood Shadow Blade, and fiercely declared, "Let me show you the Blood Demon Sect's ultimate killing move!" The blood leeches on the blade suddenly swelled to the size of arms, their heads and tails joining to form a blood python. The python's eyes were two scarlet demonic beads, refined from the eyeballs of a hundred infants. The moment the blood python lunged, Shi Feiyang simultaneously activated the Heavenly Silkworm Technique and the Bright Jade Technique. His palm shone brightly with silver light, weaving an ice silkworm net in front of him, its meshes condensing into inch-long pieces of mysterious ice. "Husband, I'll help you lock it down at its seven-inch mark!" Börte bravely rushed forward. Her spacetime power touched Shi Feiyang's ice silkworm net, and the air around the blood python suddenly became viscous like paste, its writhing body momentarily slowed.

Seizing this fleeting opportunity, Shi Feiyang unleashed the Hundred Victories Blade Technique, "Breaking Heaven and Earth," with the Xuan Shuang Blade, carrying ice shards, piercing straight at the Blood Python's seven-inch spot—the very spot where Xue Wuchang's lifeblood was concentrated.

The blood python let out a shrill hiss, the blood shadow blade shattered into pieces, and Xue Wuchang's body suddenly shriveled up like a deflated sack, his skin rapidly wrinkling like old tree bark.

He exclaimed in astonishment, "Impossible... How could my Blood Demon Sect... lose to... cough cough..." He stammered, black blood gushing from his throat. Pointing at the spirit pearl in Shi Feiyang's arms, his eyes were filled with resentment, and he said weakly, "The remaining four spirit pearls... will have something even more powerful... waiting for you..."

Before she could finish speaking, Xue Wuchang's corpse suddenly exploded, turning into a cloud of blood mist. Börte promptly deployed a spacetime barrier, keeping the blood mist three zhang away. However, countless tiny blood leeches floated in from the mist, eagerly eyeing the green light of the Spirit Pearl.

Shi Feiyang's Xuan Shuang Blade spun in his palm, and the ice silkworm silk ropes rolled up the volcanic pebbles on the ground, forming an ice volcano wall that froze all the blood leeches. As the blood leeches struggled in the ice, they gradually turned into black pus.

The wind at the valley entrance swept by, carrying volcanic ash. Shi Feiyang supported Börte, who was staggering from overusing the power of time and space. Fine beads of sweat had seeped from her temples, and the jade lotus pendant was pressed against her chest, burning hot.

He asked with concern, "Madam, you must be exhausted." He quickly used the true energy of the Mingyu Gong to soothe her pulse, his fingertips tracing the red marks on her wrist where the bloodline had scratched her wrist, where a faint black aura had appeared—it was the venomous blood that the blood python had spat out earlier that had splashed there.

Börte shook her head, took his hand and pressed it to her heart, saying affectionately, "Listen, your heartbeat is still steady." She looked at the black ash turned from the corpses of the Blood Demons, and suddenly chuckled, "The Uyghur shamans say that what evil spirits fear most is when two people are of one mind. Look at these Blood Demons, their hearts are not righteous, so naturally they cannot defeat us."

Shi Feiyang gazed at her cheeks, flushed red by the volcanic light, and suddenly recalled how she had mended the scabbard of the Frost Blade for him at Blackwood Cliff. Back then, her fingertips had been pricked by the needle, and drops of blood had dripped onto the ice silk, gleaming warmly in the firelight, just as they did now. He took the first spirit pearl from his pouch, its green light flowing between their palms. The surging blood and qi from their fierce battle with the Blood Demon gradually calmed down.

“Let’s go,” Shi Feiyang said, gripping his wife’s hand tightly. He used his Xuan Shuang Blade to cleave through the volcanic rocks blocking their path. “The Crimson Flame Qilin deep within Burning Heaven Valley has probably already smelled the blood.”

Börte's Burning Heart Zither played softly in the wind, the fire lotus patterns on the strings reflecting the green light of the spirit pearl. On the blood-stained volcanic ground, two sets of footprints, one deep and one shallow, were left, walking into the deeper darkness.

The crimson flames atop the valley still burned, casting long shadows of the two men. The wind and snow were even fiercer than before. Shi Feiyang leaned against the cliff face, panting. The green light of the Five Elemental Pearls flickered in his palm, making his face appear even paler.

Börte took out some dry rations and handed them to him, but found him staring blankly at the spirit pearl. There was hesitation in his glassy eyes, so she asked with concern, "Husband, what's wrong?" Her fingertips brushed over the wrinkles between his brows, where there were still bloodstains from his fierce battle with the black tiger.

Shi Feiyang remained silent for a long time, then suddenly grasped her hand and pressed it against the spirit pearl, saying sadly, "This pearl has too much malevolent energy. When I fought with Xue Wuchang just now, I almost lost control of my inner strength."

He recalled Ling Shuangyue's remains and Dilirena's sacrifice. His voice was filled with undisguised exhaustion, and he said listlessly, "Perhaps... perhaps I really can't defeat Nakasin, or the demonic power of the Five Elemental Pearls."

Börte's heart clenched suddenly. She hugged him tightly, pressing the jade lotus pendant against his chest, and advised, "Husband, have you forgotten what you said in the underground palace?" Her voice was choked with sobs, yet she said with unusual firmness, "You said that ice and fire, when coexisting, can ward off all evil spirits in the world. In the epics of my Uyghur tribe, heroes are never tireless, but rather those who can get up again after falling."

She took out half of Ling Shuangyue's Ice Silkworm Jade from her bosom and placed it next to her own Jade Lotus Pendant. The moment the two objects touched, they emitted a warm white light. Then, Börte comforted her, "The Empress Dowager said before she died that this jade could calm the mind. You see, even she believed you could do it, so why can't I?"

Looking into her tearful eyes, Shi Feiyang suddenly recalled the snowy night at Blackwood Cliff, when Qu Feiyan held his hand in the same way and said, "Disciples of Yihua Palace never bow to fate." He gripped the spirit pearl tightly, and the ice silkworm jade and jade lotus pendant in his palm simultaneously heated up. A warm current flowed through his meridians, dispelling all fatigue and hesitation.

The shouts of the Blood Demon Sect gradually faded into the distance, leaving behind trails of blood in the snow.

Shi Feiyang put the first of the Five Spirit Pearls into his Ice Silkworm Pouch and stood side by side with Börte at the Kunlun Pass, gazing at the distant, continuous snow-capped mountains—where the remaining four Spirit Pearls were hidden, where Nakasin's conspiracy lay, and where the hope for the restoration of the Tang Dynasty was also hidden.

Shi Feiyang unfolded the Jade Void Map, his spirits suddenly lifted, and said, "Next, we'll be going to the 'Burning Heaven Valley' in the Jade Void Realm."

The flame mark on it fluttered in the wind. He then introduced, "The second spirit orb belongs to the fire element, and its guardian beast is the Crimson Flame Qilin, which is more powerful than the Black Tiger of the Black Water."

Börte's Burning Heart Zither trembled slightly in the wind, the fire lotus pattern on the strings echoing the markings on the map. She said resolutely, "It doesn't matter. You have the Hundred Victory Sword Technique, and I have the power of time and space. No matter how powerful the divine beast is, it can't stop us from joining forces."

She suddenly tiptoed and planted a light kiss on his cheek, then said affectionately, "Just like the Uyghur proverb says, the fire lotus cannot live without the dew, just as I cannot live without you."

The distant snow-capped mountains echoed with the roar of an avalanche. Shi Feiyang gripped her hand tightly. The Xuan Shuang Blade gleamed coldly in the sunlight. The Jade Void Diagram unfolded in their hands, like a soaring eagle, flying towards the unknown world of martial arts.

Shi Feiyang looked at Börte beside him, at the snow-capped mountains and his own reflection in her eyes, and suddenly felt that all the hardships had become insignificant. Just as the snow on Blackwood Cliff would eventually melt, just as the territory of the Tang Dynasty would eventually be recovered, as long as the two held hands tightly, ice and fire could coexist, and evil spirits would eventually be dispelled.

Snow began to fall again, settling on their hair like scattered diamonds. Shi Feiyang, holding Börte, turned and walked towards the direction of Burning Heaven Valley, their footprints leaving deep marks in the snow, firm and determined.

……

In the abyss of Kunlun Jade Void Realm, darkness was as thick as ink, swallowing even starlight. Shi Feiyang's hand, gripping the Xuan Shuang Blade, was drenched in cold sweat. The four spirit beads in his ice silk pouch trembled uneasily—Nakasin's aura was just three zhang ahead in the black mist. Börte's jade lotus pendant rested on his wrist; its warm touch was the only solace in this boundless darkness.

"Husband, her Xuanbing Curse carries the chill of the Jade Void Realm. Be careful when you circulate your energy." Börte's voice was extremely low. The strings of the Burning Heart Qin were taut, and the fire lotus pattern at the end of the zither glowed faintly in the darkness.

She suddenly stood on tiptoe and smoothed his wind-blown silver hair. "Silly girl," Shi Feiyang grasped her slightly cool hand, slowly channeling his inner energy into it, and said tenderly, "After we kill Nakasin, I will accompany you back to the Uyghur grasslands to see the fire lotus bloom."

His crystal-clear eyes shone brightly in the darkness, reflecting her tearful smile. Suddenly, the black mist surged, and Nakasin's figure appeared like a ghost. The fragment of the spirit orb in her hand emitted an eerie blue light, making her face appear as pale as paper.

"Shi Feiyang, do you think you can win just by collecting four spirit pearls?" Her voice carried the sharp sound of jade rubbing together, and the chill of the Xuanbing Curse rose from the soles of her feet, instantly freezing the rock walls of the abyss into inch-long ice shards. She then threatened, "I have already used the remnant soul of the Jade Void Realm Ancestral Witch to refine the fragments. Today, I will let you taste the feeling of your soul being scattered!"

The ice spikes from the Xuanbing Curse rained down like a storm. Shi Feiyang shielded Börte behind him and unleashed the "Viewing the Vast Ocean" technique from the Hundred Victories Blade Technique. The ice mist whipped up by his palm formed a barrier, and the ice spikes crashed into it, shattering into countless ice shards.

But Nakasin's figure had already merged into the black mist, and the evil light of the fragments suddenly transformed into a giant hand, grabbing Shi Feiyang's ankle and dragging him downwards—at the bottom of the abyss, churning black magma, exuding a bone-corroding ferocity.

"Husband!" Börte exclaimed. Her spacetime power was activated suddenly, and Shi Feiyang's falling figure froze in mid-air. She took the opportunity to shoot out the strings of the Burning Heart Zither and wrap them around his waist.

But suddenly the evil light in the black mist surged, and the strings of the zither were frozen into ice threads, snapping with a "crack".

The moment Shi Feiyang fell, the Xuan Shuang Blade pierced the rock wall, sparks splashing onto his face. He urgently used the "Shifting Flowers and Receiving Jade" divine skill! He suddenly spun around during his fall, deflecting the incoming ice spikes towards Nakasin in the black mist. But she sneered, and as the fragments of evil light swept past, the ice spikes shot back towards Börte.

Shi Feiyang's heart clenched suddenly. The silver threads of the Heavenly Silkworm Skill shot out like lightning, weaving an ice net in front of Bo'er Tie. The ice spikes hit the net and shattered into dust, while he himself was struck in the chest by the evil hand in the black mist. The ice shield protecting his body with the Bright Jade Skill was actually shattered, and the sprayed blood mist drew a tragic arc in the darkness.

"Husband!" Börte's cries tore through the darkness, her spacetime power erupting without reservation. Nakasin's figure appeared briefly and clearly within the black mist—a fragment of the Five Elemental Pearl was embedded between her brows, greedily absorbing the abyss's malevolent energy. Seizing this fleeting opportunity, Shi Feiyang unleashed the "Severing Reincarnation" technique of the Hundred Victories Blade Technique. The blade's energy, carrying icy flames, pierced through the black mist, striking directly at Nakasin's brow.

Nakasin let out a piercing shriek, and the fragments of evil light burst forth with a blinding blue glow, deflecting the blade's energy back. Shi Feiyang was sent flying backward, the Xuan Shuang Blade slipping from his grasp and embedding itself deeply into the rock wall. He watched as Nakasin's evil hand reached for Börte again, and suddenly activated the Mingyu Gong to "Limitless Asura's Hell on Earth," his icy mist transforming into a gigantic ice dragon that roared as it charged towards the black mist.

"Husband, no!" Börte cried out repeatedly, tears streaming down her face, her heart filled with unbearable sorrow. At this moment, Shi Feiyang's skin was as transparent as glass, his meridians faintly visible in the icy mist. Suddenly, the four spiritual pearls in the ice silk pouch flew out, forming a Four Symbols Array above their heads. Green, red, blue, and gold lights intertwined, actually suppressing Nakasin's evil light.

"Impossible!" Nakasin's figure twisted within the Four Symbols Formation, the fragments flashing with evil light. She cried out repeatedly, "The Five Spirit Pearls were supposed to help me revive the Ancestral Witch, how could they recognize you as their masters?" Her Xuanbing Spell suddenly changed direction, and ice spikes rained down on Börte—she knew that among the couple, Shi Feiyang's weakness lay in the Uyghur woman before her.

Shi Feiyang's Xuan Shuang Blade unleashed the "Breaking Heaven and Earth" technique of the Hundred Victories Blade Method. The moment the blade's energy cleaved through the ice spikes, Börte's zither strings wrapped around Nakasin's ankle, dragging her into the center of the Four Symbols Formation. The light of the four spirit orbs suddenly surged, and Nakasin's screams echoed within the formation. Fragments flew from between her brows, joining the four spirit orbs to form the complete Five Spirit Orbs. Her body gradually turned to ashes in the light, leaving only a resentful curse: "The day the spirit orbs gather will be the day the Demon God descends..."

The abyss's rock walls gleamed warmly in the light of the Five Elemental Pearls. Shi Feiyang, holding the exhausted and unconscious Börte, sat on the cooled black rock. Her wrist was still bleeding, and the backlash from the Blood Pact Technique had turned her lips deathly pale. Even in her unconscious state, her hands gripped his clothes tightly, her knuckles white from the force.

Shi Feiyang carefully bandaged her wound. When the ice silkworm silk wrapped around her wrist, she suddenly whimpered, her eyelashes trembled, and she weakly said, "Husband... Spirit Pearl..." Shi Feiyang held her hand and pressed it against his face. The warmth of his palm soothed her coldness, and he said excitedly, "Found it, found it all."

She slowly opened her eyes and saw four spirit orbs hanging above her head, forming a five-colored halo with the newly appeared earth-yellow spirit orb. She suddenly chuckled and said, "Doesn't it look like the five-colored flower of the Uyghur grassland?" Her fingertips brushed over the bloodstain on his chest, where he had been injured by Nakashin's evil hand, and the chill of the Xuanbing Curse still lingered there.

She asked with concern, "Does it hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt." Shi Feiyang's lie crumbled under her tearful gaze. He lowered his head and kissed her forehead gently, saying affectionately, "With you here, I can endure any pain." He recalled how she sucked out his poisonous blood in Burning Heaven Valley. The blood she spat out was black, but she smiled and said, "The petals of the Fire Lotus should be red."

Börte's fingertips traced the halo of the Five Spirit Pearls. The jade lotus pendant touched the halo, emitting a clear and melodious sound. She explained, "The Jade Void Diagram says that when the Five Spirit Pearls gather, the 'Heart-to-Heart Mantra' is needed to purify the malevolent energy." She suddenly grasped his hand, dripped their blood onto the spirit pearls, and said firmly, "The Uyghur Heart-to-Heart Mantra is only effective when recited by husband and wife together."

"What are you reciting?" Shi Feiyang's voice rang out from her hair, hoarse from the bloodshed of battle. She rested her head against his chest, listening to his strong heartbeat, and softly recited: "Ice for the soul, fire for the spirit, life after life, never to betray each other..."

The light of the Five Elemental Pearls flowed within the blood droplet, gradually becoming gentle and no longer possessing its previous malevolent quality. Shi Feiyang suddenly lowered his head and placed a light kiss on her lips, like pecking at the morning dew, and said thoughtfully, "I used to think that protecting the Tang Dynasty was my responsibility."

His fingertips traced the bloody mark on her wrist, and he said tenderly, "I only realized after meeting you that protecting you is the most important thing in my life." Börte's tears fell onto his chest, spreading out a small wet patch, much like the snowflake he brushed away for her when the first snow fell on Blackwood Cliff.

The sound of falling rocks came from the top of the abyss; it was the remnants of the White Bone Cult following the aura of the Spirit Pearl.

Shi Feiyang shielded Börte behind him, the Xuan Shuang Blade gleaming coldly in the light of the Five Spirit Pearls, but he heard her chuckle lightly: "Don't rush, let them see what it means to reap what you sow."

Her spatial and temporal power touched the light of the Five Elemental Pearls, and the abyss's rock walls suddenly closed, forever sealing the pursuers' screams in darkness. Shi Feiyang, holding Börte, used his unparalleled "Thousand Miles Without Leaving a Trace" lightness skill to fly towards Blackwood Cliff.

……

The Five Spirit Pearls floated in front of the Sacred Fire Hall on Blackwood Cliff, forming a five-colored halo that illuminated the entire cliff as if it were daytime.

Qu Feiyan stood in front of the hall, holding the newborn Shi Chengyu. The red light and halo of the Sacred Flame Token shone brightly. The young emperor Shi Hongyun held the Ice Silkworm Jade left by the Empress Dowager. The cracks in the jade gradually healed in the light.

Shi Feiyang stood in the center of the halo, holding Börte's hand. The light of the Five Elemental Pearls flowed through their meridians, purifying the remaining malevolent energy.

But at that moment, the halo suddenly flashed violently, and a deafening roar came from the bottom of the cliff. A black mist surged out from under the foundation of the Holy Fire Temple, and countless distorted human faces could be vaguely seen in the black mist, emitting chilling wails—Nakashin's curse had come true, and the remnant soul of the demon god was awakening with the power of the spirit orb.

"It's the Ancestral Witch Demon God!" Qu Feiyan exclaimed. Her Sacred Flame Token suddenly surged, forming a wall of crimson flames to block the black mist. She then reminded him, "Husband, the ancient books of the Jade Void Realm say that this demon god is an ancient evil spirit from Kunlun that feeds on living souls!"

The face in the black mist suddenly transformed into sharp claws, tearing through the wall of fire. Several disciples of the Sun Moon Cult were unable to dodge in time and were instantly sucked into bones.

Shi Feiyang pushed his Mingyu Gong to its limit, merging the icy mist around him with the halo of the Five Elemental Pearls to form a massive ice shield protecting everyone. He then urgently said, "Börte, use the power of time and space to lock its soul core!"

Immediately afterward, he unleashed the "Demon-Slaying Cloud" technique from his Hundred Victories Blade Technique, the blade energy carrying five-colored light as it slashed towards the black mist, only to be blocked by the demon god's claws, the impact causing his blood to surge. (End of Chapter)