Bitter Realm: My Feet Step Through the Flames of War

"Ha, half a month. I hope your disappearance this time won't last more than a thousand years."

Xi Xueyi ignored Gongzi Xiaona and walked out of the main hall alone, arriving at Xixian Hall.

Several months ago, Xi Xueyi had a chance encounter with Wu Jun Luo Hou at Youxiantai. At that time, Luo Hou had sent him a telepathic message, telling him to be careful of Qing Sui Fozi. Xi Xueyi has always kept this in mind.

However, with the release of the dragon head, the Western Buddhist Realm once again closed its gates, and the defenses were even stricter than before. Xi Xueyi was unable to see anyone from the Western Buddhist Realm as she had hoped.

Then came the Eight-Headed Demon Rebellion. The Defeng Ancient Road was burned down by the Cloud Whale and the Heavenly Evil Kings. Jun Fengtian died, and Feichang Jun perished. Ting San Tie took Xi Yan'er back.

A series of unexpected events made Xi Xueyi feel uneasy before the storm. When he returned from his trip to the Central Plains and Wenfeng Valley on behalf of the Western Confucian scholars to handle the aftermath of the Confucian sect's affairs, he found that Wanxiao Huangyan had disappeared.

Wanxiao Huangyan is hidden in Youxiantai, and only he knows about it. If there is a suspect, he can only be Zuo Qiumo, the chief advisor of the Spring and Autumn Annals.

Xi Xueyi returned to her Xixian Hall and, as usual, went to the pavilion to practice calligraphy.

He spread out the Xuan paper, then opened the Xuancheng Dream Clerk given to him by Zuo Qiumo, looked at it for a long time, and finally put it back in the pen box. He then picked up an ordinary brush and slowly began to write.

"Senior Bihe is acting strangely tonight. Why did he choose to practice calligraphy at this time?"

Zuo Qiuming walked over.

"My mind is in turmoil, but I practice calligraphy and grind ink to calm it down."

"Even under the scorching sun, you can remain calm and composed while practicing your writing. How come you are so flustered right now?"

“Junior Brother Zuoqiu, I still remember you joined Yibi Chunqiu three years after me. Do you still remember the scene when we first met?”

Zuo Qiumo was puzzled as to why Xi Xueyi brought up the past. After a slight pause, he replied from memory, "Back then, I was very excited when I heard that I was going to meet the sect's shining star, Senior Bihe. I even brought some pastries to share with him. But the first thing he said to me was to ask me to write something."

"Yes, you remember it very clearly."

"I still remember your evaluation of my birth chart very clearly."

"Spring earthworms and autumn evil spirits, dragons flying and phoenixes dancing."

Zuo Qiumo smiled sheepishly and said, "It was these eight characters that made you require me to practice calligraphy every day from then on."

"How are you practicing now? Here, I have prepared the ink. Write a character."

"What should I write then, junior?"

"Simple, just write 'eight'."

Zuo Qiumo took the pen from Xi Xueyi and carefully wrote two strokes on the snow-white Xuan paper.

Xi Xueyi commented, "The writing is vigorous and powerful, penetrating the paper. Junior Zuoqiu is indeed a completely different person now."

"Thank you for the praise, senior. Zuoqiu will continue to improve."

Immediately, Xi Xueyi picked up the pen case containing the Xuancheng Dream Scholar and said, "I have never used this Xuancheng Dream Scholar that you gave me. Do you know the story behind how the Bald Brush Master made this pen?"

"Please forgive my ignorance, junior."

"Back then, the pen-making genius Bald Pen Master and the ink-making master craftsman Mo Duan were not only teacher and friend, but also like brothers. They studied and improved together, creating countless masterpieces."

"and after?"

"Later, the old man with the bald brush unexpectedly learned that the reason Mo Duan was close to him was to seize all his works, and even his unique brush-making technique. Instantly, his heart turned as cold as ice."

Zuoqiu's expression suddenly changed.

"In the end, the two quarreled and broke two of the old man's fingers with an inkstone, and left in a huff, ending their friendship. But the old man still worked hard to create this Xuancheng Dream Clerk. At that time, he said that this pen was filled with blood and tears, and that it was filled with silent old dreams."

Zuoqiu Qiang laughed and said, "So there's a story of blood and tears behind it all."

"I cannot bear to use this pen because the blood and tears of its creator have been shed, and I cannot bear to shatter the remaining old dream."

"Senior is too affectionate, even Zuo Qiuming is not as good as him."

Xi Xueyi recounted the story calmly for a while, then suddenly changed her tone: "Zuoqiu is not sentimental, so are you heartless?"

"Ok?"

Xi Xueyi picked up the words written by Zuo Qiugang and said, "I thought that when you entered the Spring and Autumn Annals, we would have a precious intersection. But I didn't know that from the very beginning, you and I were like these eight characters, with no intersection and going our separate ways."

With words of regret, the pen in Xi Xueyi's hand turned into fragments, scattering in the cold wind.

At this point, Zochromus remained calm.

"It seems you have already seen through my identity."

"You joined Yibi Chunqiu because you came to Wanxiao Desolate Cliff."

“That’s right. I’ve been lying low for so long just to find Wan Xuanhuangyan. I orchestrated the Wen Shumei incident to make you leave the Confucian school so I could take over and search inside Yibi Chunqiu. I never imagined that Wan Xuanhuangyan was brought out of Xiru by you.”

"The desolate Wanxiao Rock has finally fallen into your hands."

Xi Xueyi inquired about a key figure in this matter, namely Lang Huan, the close friend of her sworn sister Wen Shumei.

Back then, Langhuan reported that Wen Shumei had committed suicide after being sexually assaulted by Zhang Chou Wuqi, a master of the Sword Clan, while drunk. Not long after, Langhuan also died of depression.

Not long ago, Xi Xueyi saw Lang Huan alive at Youxiantai. He wanted to force her to reveal the truth, but Lang Huan committed suicide.

What is your relationship with Langhuan?

“She is my younger sister. We were innocent victims of the Sword Clan’s conquest of the Ghost Clan when we were young, and we were displaced. It was the Ghost Clan who raised us. We must repay this kindness and help open the Yama Ghost Prison.”

Chapter 429 Pen Crane, Ghost Young Master

Xixian Hall, Zijin Pavilion.

Xi Xueyi faced off against her junior, Zuo Qiumo, and was forced to break off their relationship, leading to a life-or-death struggle.

"Tie Xueyi, pay for your sister's life! Fenglong is destroyed!"

Zuo Qiumo's bamboo simplification transformed into a surge of raging energy, causing Xi Xueyi to sense a dramatic change in her opponent's internal energy, as if guided by a demon.

Upon receiving the attack, Xi Xueyi was taken aback and retreated.

"Can you feel it? This is the power of the Resurrection Gu, this is the determination to avenge my little sister, piercing through the chest and shattering into pieces!"

The bamboo slips unfurled with a whoosh, and an even more bizarre magical power surged forth from the sacred Confucian texts.

Seeing Zuo Qiumo's ghostly power blazing, he coldly took out the famous weapon behind his snow-white robe. Suddenly, he heard the cry of a crane and saw a white crane transform into a cold blade.

"Strong and vigorous like the pine and willow!"

Suddenly, powerful characters appeared in the sky, their strokes bold and vigorous, their rules strict and orderly, each stroke radiating unparalleled sword energy, their brilliance as white as snow.

"Uh!"

This time, it was Zuo Qiuming who vomited crimson.

He laughed wildly: "Not bad, I'll take your life with one more move, Spirit Mountain Nine Destruction, Ten Thousand Ghosts!"

"Stubborn to the end, Heaven will not spare a trace of the Lanting Pavilion!"

A colossal ghostly aura and a majestic brushstroke collided with a deafening roar, causing upheaval all around and shocking the entire era of "One Stroke Spring and Autumn".

Just then, the clear cry of a crane was heard, and Xi Xueyi swung her sword again, instantly slicing through Zuo Qiumo's throat.

The splattered blood, accompanied by astonished looks, slowly turned into resigned defeat.

"Zuoqiu!"

The sounds of fierce fighting alerted the people of Yibi Chunqiu, and Ting San Tie and his group rushed over.

"I died an honorable death to sacrifice myself for the Ghost Clan. I have already sent the Myriad Demon Desolate Rock back to the Ghost Clan, and you will never find it again. It's just that I have never lived for myself in my life, otherwise..."

The unfinished words fell into the wind and snow along with the fallen body.

"Junior Brother Zuoqiu!"

Xi Xueyi supported the person who had bravely faced death, her heart filled with a myriad of emotions.

At this moment, the group arrived at Zijing Pavilion.

"Serve as an assistant!"

"How could Senior Bihe kill Zuoqiu Zhifu? What exactly happened?"

Despite the questioning from the crowd, Xi Xueyi remained silent.

Ting San Tie noticed the anomaly and angrily asked, "Is Zuo Qiumo related to Wanxiao Huangyan?"

“Your Excellency, Junior Brother Zuoqiu is also a victim. After Xi Xueyi has fully investigated the matter, he will report back to us one by one. Now, let me bury him first.”

"Sigh, go ahead."

Holding Zuo Qiumo's body, Xi Xueyi walked alone through the many puzzled and disapproving gazes to the bamboo grove outside Xixian Hall.

His thoughts drifted back to a distant past...

Yama's Ghost Prison, located three thousand feet below the Three Realms and Six Paths, was originally a place where many tribes ruled their own territories. However, the tyrant Xiao Wang, the father of the Heavenly Ghost Abyss, rose to power and swept away most of the tribes.

Under the clever scheme of Venerable Buddha Su Henian, the Sword Clan's Sword Sect Master Changri Kunwu challenged Tian Gui to a duel, and the two were seriously injured in the battle.

Afterwards, the power of Yama's Ghost Prison was usurped by the Ghost Queen, the Heavenly Ghost was killed, and the Ghost Queen used the Demon-Slaying Demon's Curse to kill the other two tribes, completing her unification and becoming Empress Houba.

After ascending the throne, the ambitious empress marched into the Bitter Realm, plotting to conquer the vast land.

At this time in the Central Plains, the Nine Heavens Mystic Venerable led eight swordsmen back after slaying the dragon. The Mystic Venerable was unwilling to be attacked from both sides, so after discussing with the Venerable Buddha Su Henian, he invited the Tianshan Sword Clan to help.

At that time, Xi Xueyi was still young. Under the arrangement of her adoptive father, Qing Bufan, she followed the elite of the Sword Clan to fight and participated in the great war between the Sword Clan and the Ghost Clan.

In the great battle between the Sword Clan and the Ghost Clan, the Sword Clan paid with the lives of almost its entire population. Together with the Western Buddhist Realm, they sealed the Ghost Clan in the Devouring Mouth, one of the seals being the Ghost Clan's most precious treasure, the Myriad Demons Desolate Rock.

After the Ghost Clan was defeated, the Ghost Queen once again used the marriage alliance strategy, marrying herself to the Nine Heavens Mystic Venerable in exchange for peace between the two realms.

Unexpectedly, not long after giving birth to Jun Fengtian, the Ghost Queen attempted to ambush the Nine Heavens Mystic Venerable but failed and was instead killed by the Venerable. Her ghost soul returned to the Ghost Prison and regained power.

After many years, Ghost Prison, apart from a few people involved, has become a forgotten legend of a foreign race in the memories of most people. However, the theft of Wanxiao Wilderness Rock and Zuoqiu Mo's deep lurking made Xi Xueyi realize that things were not so simple.

Zuo Qiumo and his younger sister were innocently caught up in the war, leading to the current tragedy. Although it was not caused by Xueyi herself, it still left him feeling bewildered.

The mountains are majestic and covered in snow.

After burying Zuo Qiumo properly with Xi Xueyi, he left Yibi Chunqiu and headed to Youxiantai.

Shortly after he left, Ting San Tie returned to his private residence and found that Xi Yan'er was missing.

"Yan'er, Xi Yan'er!"

"Xi Yan'er, stop playing around with the Court Master, come out here now!"

"Xi Yan'er!"