Transforming into a stunningly beautiful fox spirit, leaving a scar on the heart of a prodigy.

Red rain fell on Luofeng Slope.

That was Su Qing's dissipated essence, and also the last trace she left in this world.

Rain fell on Gu Xiang's face, sliding down his brow bone and bridge of his nose, flowing into his mouth, carrying a rusty, sweet taste.

Gu Xiang knelt in the mud, cupping the emptiness in front of him with both hands.

He wanted to catch something.

But the gaps between the fingers are too wide, and the raindrops are too fine.

Nothing can be kept.

His seven-aperture exquisite heart was still beating, thump thump thump, each sound like a heavy hammer hitting a broken drum.

The borrowed aura of righteousness had not yet dissipated and was still surging wildly around him.

The space was torn apart by this violent aura, leaving behind thin black lines, like shattered porcelain.

Gu Xiang felt no pain.

His soul seemed to have gone with that red rain.

Only an empty shell remained, kneeling on the devastated ruins.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

A burst of shrill laughter shattered the deathly silence.

Not far away, in a pile of rubble, the head that belonged to the phoenix rolled twice and came to rest next to a charred rock.

The monk's face was mostly rotten, revealing the stark white bones, and ghostly flames flickered in his eye sockets.

"Gu Xiang, oh Gu Xiang."

Huang's voice was hoarse, filled with mockery and pleasure.

"Look at the state you're in now."

"Doesn't it look like a stray dog?"

"I knew it; you're a cursed lone star."

"Anyone who gets involved with you is doomed."

"That little fox could have lived; you killed her."

Gu Xiang didn't move.

He didn't even lift his eyelids.

He can't hear.

Or rather, he didn't want to listen.

His world consisted only of this red rain, and the shadow of that woman in a tattered wedding dress, laughing as she vanished.

Seeing that he ignored her, Huang cursed even more fiercely.

"What? Are you mute?"

"Weren't you quite capable just now?"

"Aren't we supposed to have a wedding ceremony?"

"Now that the bride is gone, who are you going to worship to?"

"Should we worship this pile of mud?"

"Ha ha ha ha!"

The laughter echoed across the empty Luofeng Slope, sounding particularly mournful.

Just then.

A ripple appeared in the void.

A red figure slowly emerged.

It was a woman, dressed in an ancient red robe, holding a folding fan in her hand.

Her body was ethereal, like smoke that could be blown away by the wind at any moment.

That's the Phoenix Emperor.

The last vestige of true spirit.

She glanced down at Huang, who was still laughing wildly, and frowned.

"Noisy."

She gently waved her sleeve.

Phoenix's laughter stopped abruptly.

The head seemed to be gripped by an invisible hand, its mouth wide open, yet no sound could be uttered.

It can only produce a breathy "hoho" sound.

Phoenix Emperor turned his head and looked at Gu Xiang, who was kneeling on the ground.

Her eyes were complicated.

There was regret, envy, and a sense of relief.

"Foolish child."

The Phoenix Emperor sighed softly.

The sound wasn't loud, but it pierced through the rain and reached Gu Xiang's ears directly.

Gu Xiang's body trembled slightly.

He slowly raised his head.

Those eyes were bloodshot and frighteningly empty.

He looked at the Phoenix Emperor, his lips moved, but no sound came out.

The Phoenix Emperor shook his head, put away his folding fan, and pointed to Gu Xiang's chest.

"Foolish scholar."

"Do you really think that little fox is afraid of death?"

Gu Xiang's pupils suddenly contracted.

He stared intently at the Phoenix Emperor, letting out a low growl.

"What...does that mean?"

Phoenix Emperor remained silent.

She raised her hand and pointed at the void.

Suddenly, a curtain of light illuminated the previously dim sky.

The light screen shows the interior of the sacred parasol tree.

Red leaves fluttered down from the sky.

Su Qing stood under the tree, her face as pale as paper.

The Phoenix Emperor's voice rang out from outside the light screen, tinged with self-mockery.

"She chose 'life' from the tree."

"It's because in this dead end, only the person who chooses 'life' will die."

Gu Xiang was stunned.

He looked at Su Qing on the light screen.

In the picture.

Su Qing was smiling at the Phoenix Emperor's true spirit.

That smile held a hint of slyness, a touch of smugness, and an undisguised longing.

"senior."

Su Qing's voice came from the light screen, clear and crisp, yet trembling.

"Can you do me a favor?"

"What if that scholar asks about it later?"

"Just tell him."

"I really want to live."

"I am a despicable person."

"I am a fox spirit who is afraid of death."

"I abandoned him."

The scene changes.

The Phoenix Emperor's finger touched Su Qing's brow.

A tremendous power surged into Su Qing's body.

Su Qing's body trembled violently.

Her skin began to crack, and blood seeped out, staining her tattered wedding dress red.

She was in pain.

He bit his lip until it bled, and blood trickled down the corner of his mouth.

But she didn't say a word.

She just stared intently ahead, her gaze seemingly piercing through the void, as if looking at someone.

Su Qing in the picture takes a deep breath.

She raised her hand and wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth.

His carefree smile returned to his face.

That was the last mask she left for Gu Xiang.

"fool."

"It's time for the wedding ceremony."

The light curtain shattered.

It turned into starlight and disappeared.

Gu Xiang knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her face.

He opened his mouth wide, trying to breathe, but felt as if a heavy stone was pressing down on his chest, making it hard to catch his breath.

She hasn't changed.

She was always that silly fox who dared to venture into Ghost Cry Valley and even risk her heart for him.

She chose the path to death, but lied to him that it was the path to life.

She gave him the chance to live, but he hated her in return.

"ah--"

Gu Xiang raised her head and let out a heart-wrenching wail.

Two lines of bloody tears flowed down his cheeks.

pain.

It hurts too much.

It's a million times more painful than having your heart ripped out.

He preferred that Su Qing was truly selfish and genuinely afraid of death.

That way, at least she could survive.

But now.

All that remained was endless regret and despair.

Looking at Gu Xiang's appearance, the Phoenix Emperor sighed.

"I've been fighting with Huang my whole life."

"He schemed his whole life."

In the end, they lost to a little fox.

The Phoenix Emperor chuckled self-deprecatingly.

"The word 'love'."

"It truly is the most poisonous medicine in the world."

"It is also the strongest Dao."

She turned her head to look at the phoenix's head beside her.

Phoenix was still struggling, the ghostly fire in her eyes flickering wildly, as if she wanted to say something.

Phoenix Emperor reached out and grabbed.

Phoenix's head flew into her hand.

"Old man."

"We've been fighting for ten thousand years, it's time for us to take a break."

"This world no longer belongs to us."

Phoenix Emperor tightened his grip.

Phoenix's head began to disintegrate, turning into black smoke.

The Phoenix Emperor's figure also began to become transparent.

Her time has come.

Before leaving.

She glanced at Gu Xiang.

Point your finger.

A pure golden-red light flew from her fingertips and entered Gu Xiang's brow.

"This is my final mark."

"This is not considered compensation."

"Just consider it a gift I'm giving as a wedding gift."

"Take her share."

"Live a life worthy of being called a human being."

After saying that...

The Phoenix Emperor's figure completely disintegrated.

They transformed into countless stars and vanished into the world.

That ancient emperor who had been scheming for ten thousand years.

Ultimately, it ended with him acting as a facilitator.

Heaven and earth returned to silence.

The rain stopped.

The wind stopped.

Luofeng Slope was deathly silent.

Only Gu Xiang was kneeling there.

He looked down at his palms.

In the palm of his hand, there was a torn piece of red cloth.

That was the only thing Su Qing desperately managed to grab before he vanished.

That was a corner of the wedding dress.

It still carried Su Qing's body heat.

Gu Xiang stuck the red cloth to his face.

It gently rubbed against it.

It felt like Su Qing's hand was stroking his face.

"Qing'er."

Gu Xiang muttered to himself.

You lied to me.

"You said you would grind ink for me."

"You said you would come back to Shendu with me."

How could you go back on your word?

No one answered him.

Only the distant cawing of crows could be heard.

Gu Xiang slowly stood up.

His movements were stiff, like a rusty puppet.

He picked up the gentleman's sword from the ground.

The sword was riddled with nicks and chips, left from when it had just killed the phoenix.

Gu Xiang looked at the sword's edge.

His eyes were vacant.

Since you've left.

What's the point of my life then?

You told me to live on with your share of the burden.

But you're not here.

I even forgot how to breathe.

Gu Xiang raised his hand.

The sword was pointed at his neck.

The cold touch pressed against my skin.

With just a light swipe.

Then you will be free.

Then I can go see her.

"Qing'er."

"Don't walk too fast."

"Wait for me."

Gu Xiang closed his eyes.

Use your wrist to apply force.

Just as the sword was about to slit his throat.

The ruins beneath their feet suddenly exploded.

boom!

Dirt splashed everywhere.

A dirty hand emerged from the ground and grabbed Gu Xiang's ankle.

Gu Xiang's body swayed, and the sword in his hand deviated a few inches, leaving a bloody mark on his neck.

"Cough cough cough!"

A violent coughing sound came from the ground.

Followed by.

An old man, covered in dust and dressed in rags, crawled out, cursing and swearing.

He patted the dirt off his body and spat out the mud and sand from his mouth.

"Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey!"

"I almost suffocated!"

The old man looked up and saw Gu Xiang slashing his neck with a sword.

He was startled and quickly circulated his spiritual energy to snatch the sword from Gu Xiang's hand.

"Prime Minister Gu?"

"Prime Minister Gu!"

Gu Xiang stared blankly at the old man in front of him.

His face was covered in mud, and grass roots clung to his beard.

It was the Great Sage Ancestor of the Mountain Moving Sect who had disappeared in the Land Forsaken by the Gods.

He didn't die.

Not only did he not die, but he also did not die.

Judging from his energetic appearance, he seems to be living a pretty good life.

The old patriarch tossed the sword aside and patted Gu Xiang on the shoulder.

"Prime Minister Gu."

"Don't threaten suicide so easily."

The old ancestor pointed to the ruins at his feet.

"As long as the person is still alive."

There is no hurdle that cannot be overcome.

Gu Xiang looked at him.

His eyes remained vacant.

"She's dead," Gu Xiang said.

"His soul was scattered and his spirit was destroyed."

"Not even a body was left."

The old ancestor scratched his head.

He looked at Gu Xiang's utterly devastated and heartbroken expression and sighed.

"Who says there's no hope if the soul is scattered?"

Gu Xiang's eyes twitched.

That was the light of a dying ember rekindled.

He grabbed the old man's collar with such force that it seemed he was going to strangle him.

"What did you say?"

"Do you have a solution?"