The Mirror of Startling Beauty: Her courtiers are everywhere

Blood was seeping from the corner of her lips.

Jiu Fangzhi raised his hand to wipe it away, the back of his finger brushing against his lips, leaving a bright red mark.

"Senior sister, don't push your luck."

He raised his head, his gaze fixed on the Pavilion Master of Fengxiao Pavilion.

Those eyes held the weight of fallen stars and the stillness of an abyss, yet there was no trace of warmth left for those who had passed away.

It was as if he was facing not his former fellow disciple, his second senior sister, but the Heavenly Dao itself, which stood above all living beings.

"Oh."

The Pavilion Master of Fengxiao let out a soft laugh, like ice falling onto a jade plate, chilling to the bone.

"Junior brother, a wise man submits to circumstances. Didn't you understand this principle best before?"

With every gesture she made, the power of the Heavenly Dao followed her like a shadow.

Where the sleeves flutter, wind and thunder are hidden; where fingertips rise and fall, all things bow their heads.

She wasn't fighting against anyone; she was acting on behalf of Heaven.

She is the voice of Heaven in this world, the embodiment of rules in this mortal realm.

"How did I end up making a mistake?"

She tilted her head slightly, her peach blossom eyes showing neither sorrow nor joy, only an indifference that looked down upon all living beings.

"Are you going against the will of Heaven?"

Her voice was calm and measured, like a chess player who had already calculated every possible turn of events, leaving no room for error.

"Junior brother, don't forget your place."

"identity?"

Jiu Fangzhi's voice resonated deep within the souls of everyone present.

"To me, all the identities in this world are but fleeting clouds and morning dew."

"Senior sister."

He paused, the bloodstains at the corner of his lips gleaming dark red in the morning light.

"Please make your move. Junior brother, take this."

He never took the initiative to act.

He stayed there from beginning to end.

But what if we can't hold on?

He has a scale in his heart.

The weight represents the bottom line, while the scale pan represents goodwill.

When the bond is broken, that's the bottom line.

Fengxiao Pavilion Master was his former second senior sister, someone he considered like family.

He didn't want to hurt her.

But if defense is futile, and retreat only invites further encroachment, then there is no need to defend anymore.

"Master," he said without turning around, his voice as sharp as a blade tempered in a cold spring, cold to the point of being cruel, "Are you still alive?"

"He's still breathing."

The old Taoist priest responded in a hoarse voice behind him.

His voice was as weak as a spider's thread about to break, as if it would dissipate with a gust of wind.

"Young man," he grinned, "how many more sword strikes can your mechanical shield withstand?"

Jiu Fangzhi raised his hand, his blood-stained fingertips pressing back onto the spirit runes on the mechanism box.

The shattered fragments of the shield floated in mid-air, and he used his spiritual power to pull them back inch by inch.

It shatters but doesn't disintegrate; it is destroyed but not annihilated.

"In short," his voice was low and resolute, "I won't let her cross this road."

He acts methodically and his calculations are as clear as a chess game.

The trump card is still up.

He won't light it unless absolutely necessary.

But what if we have no other choice but to come?

"And you?" he asked. "How many talismans do you have left?"

The old Taoist priest held the three talismans up to his eyes and examined them closely.

The edges of the talisman paper were curled and blackened, and the cinnabar patterns flickered in the wind.

Like three oil lamps that are about to burn out, the flames are so weak that they are almost invisible, but they are still burning.

The flame core is dark red, like the eyes of a dying person that refuse to close.

"All three are still here. The old Taoist priest kept them, intending to use them as burial offerings."

"And now?"

"Now?"

The old Taoist priest was taken aback, then burst into laughter.

The laughter was hoarse like a broken gong, dry like withered wood, yet it sounded exceptionally pleasant amidst the swirling silver dust and the ruins scattered everywhere.

It's as if he's laughing out all the loneliness of guarding the tree for half his life and the heavy burden of this thousand-year-old tradition.

"Now, all I want to see is if I can save her by risking my life!"

"You are stubborn and inflexible; you are like ants trying to shake a tree."

The voice of the Pavilion Master Fengxiao was flat.

Her peach blossom eyes held only an extreme indifference and coldness.

She looked at the two people blocking her way with their broken bodies as if they were two ants desperately carrying grains of sand before a flood.

Tragic, yet utterly meaningless.

"Then I," she slowly raised her sword, "will send you all on your way."

The sword has not yet been drawn, but its momentum has already been formed.

The hand holding the sword was slightly raised.

The surrounding space began to distort, and the air became thin.

Even the fragments of the mechanical shields hovering around Jiu Fangzhi trembled in that instant.

Destruction is imminent.

Unstoppable.

Jiu Fangzhi's expression became solemn and serious at this moment.

He did not back down.

Behind him was the old Taoist priest, and behind the old Taoist priest was his junior sister, one of the few people in this world he was willing to risk his life to protect.

Therefore, he will not back down.

Meanwhile, in another part of Yaoguang City...

Vines hang down, and ancient trees reach for the sky.

Two ancient vines, each a thousand years old, intertwined like a coiled dragon, completely obscuring an inconspicuous corner.

If it weren't for Bingyou's sharp eyes, the temple hidden deep within the vines would have been completely submerged by the lush spiritual plants.

The temple gate was low, the stone steps were covered with moss, and dark blue moss covered every crevice.

An ancient, unnamed tree in front of the door was covered in white blossoms, the petals falling silently like snow, carpeting the ground.

It's as if someone prepared this flower burial a thousand years ago, waiting for a visitor who never arrives.

Si Xingxuan paused in front of the temple gate, his gaze passing through the half-open, decaying wooden door and looking into the depths of the main hall.

"Whose statue is this? I've never seen it before."

He stepped into the temple.

The footsteps were very light.

The main hall was not large, and the incense table was covered with a thick layer of dust. The offerings had long since decayed and were unrecognizable.

Only the white jade statue remained as white as jade, as if the dust of a thousand years dared not fall upon it.

The sculpture depicts a woman.

She wore a plain gauze dress from ancient times, the folds of which resembled water, flowing and creating ripples.

Her hair was styled in a high bun, with an unknown fairy flower tucked into her temple. The petals were as thin as cicada wings, as if they would tremble gently in the wind.

Her face was dignified and gentle, with a very faint smile on her lips.

It is not the compassion of gods and Buddhas looking down upon all living beings, nor the majesty of emperors looking down upon the world, but a gentleness like a spring breeze and nourishing rain.

She held a half-open jade slip in her hands, covered with intricate medicinal inscriptions. The characters, after a thousand years of silence, still shone faintly, like the embers of stars that had not yet been extinguished.

Beneath my feet is a medicine cauldron, its body adorned with ancient patterns, and a faint medicinal fragrance lingers at its mouth, almost imperceptible, like a whispered lament.

It was as if the last batch of elixirs had just been refined a thousand years ago, the fire had just died down, and the residual heat still lingered.

"Zheyue, look," Bingyou's small dragon body flew around the statue, becoming more and more amazed as she looked, "This is a female medicine god."

He looked up and carefully examined the statue, his voice filled with the joy of discovering a buried treasure.

Then it sank again, turning into a kind of indescribable regret.

"It seems that very few women are listed in the register of medicine goddesses throughout history. It's not that there were no female medicine goddesses, but that they were forgotten."

Si Xingxuan stood in front of the statue, his gaze lingering on its face for a long time.

Within the secret realm of Liulitian, numerous temples stand, enshrining the legacy of the Medicine Gods of past generations.

The rules for the Medicine God's trials are simple: physicians seek opportunities and fortune in secret realms, and if they obtain the inheritance of a Medicine God, their journey will not have been in vain.

However, there are different levels among the Medicine Gods, and the strength of the Medicine God they inherit determines the ranking of the inheritor on the Heavenly Ranking.

The strong rise to the top, the weak fall to the bottom—it's clear, cruel, and fair.

This statue was forgotten in this remote ancient temple.

The doorway was covered with withered leaves, the stone steps were covered with moss, the incense burner was cold, and the offering table was covered with dust.

It has clearly been a very, very long time since anyone visited.

Her name, like this temple, may be sealed away by time and forgotten by the world.

But her face remained gentle.

She is so gentle that it breaks your heart.

"Zhizhi," Si Xingxuan said, as if speaking to a girl trekking through a sea of ​​clouds in the distance, "you will also be a new Medicine God in the future."

His words were spoken with great emphasis.

That was not a wish, not an expectation, but a promise that had to be kept.

"But I will not let her be forgotten by the world."

"I will make her name appear in the highest place in every part of the Nine Provinces."

"So that people a thousand years from now will remember that there was once a woman named Tang Xixue who illuminated this world."