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

Gu Xiang's grip was frighteningly strong.

The patriarch of the Mountain Moving Sect felt that he wanted to strangle him.

He looked into Gu Xiang's eyes.

There was no sign of life in that place, only deathly ashes, and an intense, suppressed killing intent.

"Do you have a solution?"

Gu Xiang stared at the old ancestor and questioned him.

The old ancestor paused, just about to speak.

Gu Xiang suddenly loosened his grip.

It's not about letting him go.

He was reaching for the sword on the ground.

The gentleman's sword, riddled with nicks, was once again in Gu Xiang's hands.

The sword vibrated, emitting a buzzing sound.

The remaining righteous energy surged out from Gu Xiang's body, instantly locking down the space within a radius of ten feet.

The old ancestor felt a sudden heaviness in his body, as if he were carrying a huge mountain on his back.

You're lying to me.

Gu Xiang, carrying his sword, walked step by step toward the ancestor.

"Her soul has been scattered."

"I saw it with my own eyes."

Even the Phoenix Emperor said she was dead.

"What makes you think you have a solution, you old codger who just crawled out of the ground?"

With each word Gu Xiang spoke, his murderous aura intensified.

He felt that the old man was playing a trick on him.

They're making jokes about Su Qing's death.

This crossed his bottom line.

"You're not dead."

Gu Xiang walked up to the patriarch, pointing the tip of his sword at the patriarch's nose.

"Elder Tie is dead."

"All the disciples of the Mountain Moving Sect have died."

"Su Qing is dead too."

"Why didn't you die?"

Gu Xiang's eyes turned ferocious.

"You are the Great Sage."

"If you had fought desperately in that battle in the North, Su Qing wouldn't have died."

"You're hiding."

"You faked your death."

"You just watched her go to her death!"

Gu Xiang roared out.

The sword in his hand suddenly stabbed down.

He was truly intent on killing.

At that moment, he completely forgot about the demeanor of a prime minister and the principles of a scholar.

He only wanted to kill.

Kill this cowardly old bastard and make him pay with his life for Su Qing.

"Your Excellency! Spare his life!"

He never expected that this usually gentle and refined scholar could be more terrifying than a demon when he went mad.

He shrank back, barely avoiding the sword strike.

"I didn't run away!"

The old ancestor shouted.

"I was dragged down by the roots of that sacred tree!"

"The tree roots are protecting me, sealing me underground; I can't get out!"

Gu Xiang wouldn't listen at all.

He swung his sword again with a backhand motion.

The righteous energy transformed into a cage, sealing off all of the ancestor's escape routes.

"Excuse."

Gu Xiang said coldly.

"Go down and explain to her."

The sword fell.

It went straight for the ancestor's throat.

The ancestor had nowhere to hide.

He watched the sword tip getting closer and closer, knowing that the scholar was determined to kill him.

If we don't speak up now, it will be too late.

"She is not Su Qing!"

The old ancestor closed his eyes and roared at the top of his lungs.

The sword tip stopped.

It stopped right on the ancestor's Adam's apple.

It pierced the skin slightly, and beads of blood flowed down the blade.

Gu Xiang's hands were very steady.

But he was shaking.

"What did you say?"

Gu Xiang's voice was very soft, as if she was afraid of disturbing something.

The old ancestor opened his eyes, looked at the sword tip that was so close to him, and gasped for breath.

"I said."

"The goddess who died wasn't the real one at all!"

"That was just a clone!"

"An avatar used to undergo tribulation!"

The air was deathly still.

Only the mournful sound of the wind blowing through the ruins could be heard.

Gu Xiang remained in that position, motionless.

A while later.

He smiled.

His smile looked worse than his tears.

"A clone?"

Gu Xiang sheathed his sword.

He looked at the old ancestor, his eyes filled with disappointment.

"You'd even make up such a lie just to save your life."

"She has flesh and blood."

"She can cry, she can laugh, she can feel pain."

"She stayed with me for several years."

"She gave me her whole heart."

"You're telling me that's a clone?"

Gu Xiang shook his head.

"There's no such thing as a true clone in this world."

"There's no such thing as a clone willing to die for someone else."

"If you dare lie to me, I'll annihilate your soul!"

Gu Xiang raised his sword again.

This time, he won't stop.

"Your Excellency! You're just overthinking it!"

The old ancestor was so anxious that he kept slapping his thigh.

He stopped dodging and pulled a dark stone disc directly from his pocket.

"You're an educated person, why don't you speak reasonably!"

"What is that lady's status?"

"Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox!"

"A quasi-emperor who was invincible ten thousand years ago!"

"What is that phoenix anyway?"

"It's just a dead bird that's been dead for tens of thousands of years, using a mortal's corpse; it doesn't even have a tenth of its former strength!"

"Do you really think that a crippled bird could force a true quasi-emperor to self-destruct?"

Gu Xiang was stunned.

The sword in his hand fell to the ground.

Yes.

Su Qing is a nine-tailed celestial fox.

It is a legendary great demon.

Although she kept saying that her cultivation had not recovered and that she was weak.

"besides."

Seeing that Gu Xiang had taken it to heart, the old patriarch quickly struck while the iron was hot.

"Our Mountain Moving Sect has guarded this Fallen Phoenix Slope for ten thousand years."

"What are you guarding?"

"Is it that tree?"

"fart!"

"What's so great about guarding a single tree?"

"We're guarding the passageway under the tree!"

The old ancestor pointed to the large crater that had been blown out.

"Below that lies the far north."

"That was the way out that Her Majesty left for herself."

"Her avatar is here to undergo the tribulations of the mortal world and to complete her Dao heart."

"Now that the clones have dispersed, it means our tribulation is over, and it's time to return!"

Gu Xiang listened to these words.

My head was buzzing.

He wanted to believe it.

But he couldn't believe it.

I'm afraid that if I believe it, it will all be for nothing.

He couldn't bear the feeling of falling from the clouds a second time.

"evidence."

Gu Xiang looked at the old ancestor.

"I need evidence."

"I don't believe empty words."

The old ancestor handed over the stone plate in his hand.

"This is the spirit-finding compass."

"It is a treasured heirloom of our Mountain Moving Sect, specifically used to determine life and death."

"As long as there is even a trace of life left, this plate can be pointed out."

Gu Xiang accepted the stone slab.

The plate was heavy and covered with ancient runes.

There is a red pointer in the middle, quietly resting there.

"How do I use it?" Gu Xiang asked.

"Blood."

The old ancestor pointed to Gu Xiang's chest.

"My heart's blood."

"The Empress gave you her heart; her essence is in your very blood."

"As long as she is alive, even if we are separated by thousands of miles, this pointer will move."

Gu Xiang did not hesitate.

He gripped the sword blade with his other hand and slashed it across his chest.

Blood gushed out.

Gu Xiang dipped a drop of his heart's blood in his mouth and smeared it on the stone plate.

Blood beads seeped into the stone slab.

Gu Xiang held her breath.

The ancestor also held his breath.

Take a breath.

Two breaths.

Three breaths.

The stone disc did not react.

The light in Gu Xiang's eyes dimmed little by little.

"fraud."

Gu Xiang said in a low voice.

He was about to raise the sword in his hand again.

It moved!

The old ancestor suddenly shouted.

"Your Excellency, look! It's moving!"

Gu Xiang suddenly lowered his head.

The previously still red pointer suddenly trembled.

Followed by.

It began to rotate slowly.

Take a turn.

Two laps.

At last.

It stopped.

Pointing intently in one direction.

north.

A faint light shone on the stone slab.

The light wasn't strong, but it was very steady.

Unending.

That was a sign that life still existed.

Gu Xiang's hands began to tremble.

It shook so much that it couldn't even hold the stone plate steady.

"this……"

Gu Xiang opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

Tears streamed down my face once again.

That kind of ecstatic joy of escaping death and regaining what was lost.

"I knew it!"

The old ancestor let out a long breath and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"How could someone like the Empress die so easily?"

"This clone was created by her magic."

"It carries a wisp of her soul and emotions."

"Now that the clone has returned to the world, those memories and emotions will naturally return to the original body."

The old ancestor looked at Gu Xiang, his tone becoming serious.

"In other words..."

"The real Su Qing is not only alive now."

"And I possess all my memories of you."

"She remembers you."

"Remember your marriage vows."

"I remember that wedding ceremony."

Gu Xiang stared intently at the stone disc.

Stare at the pointer that points north.

He suddenly laughed.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

The laughter grew louder and louder.

The shockwave made the surrounding rubble tremble.

He was laughing and crying at the same time.

Like a madman.

"He's not dead."

"She's not dead."

"She's still here."

Gu Xiang hugged the stone slab tightly to his chest.

It's like holding the most precious treasure in the world.

He raised his head and looked north.

That is the far north.

It is a forbidden zone for humans.

It is a legendary abyss where demons roam freely and death is certain.

But Gu Xiang didn't care.

As long as she's there.

That is paradise.

"Prime Minister Gu."

The old ancestor, seeing Gu Xiang's expression, gave him a reminder.

"The far north is not a good place to go."

"and……"

The old ancestor paused.

"Since Your Majesty is the original body, her personality might be quite different from that of your clone."

"Even a doppelganger has feelings."

"She might not recognize you in her true form."

Gu Xiang wiped the blood and tears from her face.

He straightened up.

His hunched back straightened up again.

That sense of dejection vanished instantly.

Instead.

It was a terrifying fighting spirit that wanted to rival the heavens.

He sheathed the Gentleman's Sword.

She straightened her tattered wedding dress.

Whether she admits it or not is her business.

Whether I go or not is my business.

Gu Xiang faced north and bowed deeply.

This bow.

They worship Heaven and Earth.

The prayer is for a reunion.

"Since you are alive."

"I don't care if it's a forbidden zone or an abyss."

"I don't care if you're a celestial fox or a quasi-emperor."

"I want to take you home too."

Gu Xiang turned around and looked at the old ancestor.

"lead the way."

The old ancestor was stunned for a moment.

"Where to?"

"Back to Shendu."

Gu Xiang's eyes became incredibly clear.

"I want to resign from my post."

"I want to remove my armor."

"I'm resigning as prime minister."

"I'm going north."

"Looking for my wife."

[Conclusion at the end of the volume - Looking north]

Dry bones are reborn amidst the chaotic rocks, broken swords are reforged to question the heavens.

Where the red rain returns, its soul lingers; gazing into the far north, countless emotions arise.

The prime minister laid down his armor and left the imperial palace, only to plunge into the abyss for the sake of a beautiful woman.

Do not say that a demon's heart is fickle; this love will never waver, even across mountains and passes.