In the skies of the great Azure Cloud City, there was a clash of calamity-level powers, each fiercely vying for dominance. Bai Xun's condition was rapidly deteriorating, yet he could not afford to fail his citizens especially his daughter.
After his failed ascension, he had only fifty years of lifespan remaining. But if he did not win this battle today, that time would be utterly meaningless. The thought barely mattered now.
He carefully gauged his opponents, maintaining a tightly controlled fight. Yet Liu Jun was growing alarmingly fast—his spiritual energy surging, his abilities evolving with every passing moment. Bai Xun knew his window was closing.
Images of his daughter flashed in his mind, along with the countless mortals and cultivators below, all facing imminent death. His resolve hardened. Without hesitation, he began to channel his energy, fully prepared to sacrifice himself to eliminate the threat before him.
But just as he committed to that final decision, a chilling, frigid force erupted outward from the hall. An overwhelming wave of pressure descended instantly upon everyone.
"This divine sense… it couldn't be…"
"It's a Nascent Soul cultivator."
All four Core Formation experts froze in their tracks as the immense, crushing divine sense slammed heavily onto them.
The Liu, Wang, and Fang elders immediately showed clear signs of worry. Had the city already been breached? The entire purpose of their betrayal had been to remove a weak leader and establish a stronger, more reliable defensive array. But if a Nascent Soul cultivator had already appeared, then all their efforts were utterly meaningless.
A grim expression slowly settled over the three of them.
Yet Bai Xun could not help but break into a faint, relieved grin. The divine sense that had descended upon them felt unmistakably familiar.
"Grand Aunt… is that you?" Bai Xun asked, turning sharply toward the hall below.
Meanwhile, as the four cultivators clashed fiercely above, many below were falling, dying to the relentlessness of the Heavenly Shura Array.
Liu Yu and Bai Xing fought fiercely, their qi surging as each tried to kill the other. In the midst of their clash, a sudden, sickening sight caught Bai Xing's eye. Bai Yue had plunged a sword into her own chest. Blood gushing out in a crimson steady stream, her life rapidly draining away.
Bai Xing froze for a split second, then forcefully broke away from the fight with a powerful burst of spiritual energy and rushed toward her.
Kneeling beside her, he caressed her body as his face turned deathly pale. Desperate, he tried to heal her, channeling his spiritual energy into her wound. But he lacked any knowledge of any healing arts or true life-saving techniques. Panic quickly set in.
He grew increasingly anxious, searching frantically for any way to save the dying Bai Yue in his arms. Yet her life slipped away faster and faster. Her face became paler by the second, while thick streams of blood continued to pour from the wound.
Then, suddenly, her body went limp.
Desperate, Bai Xing poured all his remaining energy into Bai Yue, frantically channeling his qi in a futile attempt to restore her fading life. In that vulnerable moment, Liu Yu struck without hesitation. With his guard completely open, Bai Xing had no way to defend himself. The sword landed cleanly, drawing blood.
Yet almost instantly, Bai Xing's qi surged violently. Driven by instinct, he seized control of his sword with his divine sense. His once refined technique devolved into something wild and chaotic, the blade lashing out in erratic, unpredictable arcs as it struck in every rough direction.
But as his uncontrolled assault raged on, a sudden, overwhelming burst of energy erupted from Bai Yue's motionless body.
A massive wave of pressure rolled outward, crashing into every cultivator within the hall. The temperature dropped sharply, an unnatural cold spreading through the air. Bai Yue's body slowly lifted from the ground, suspended as a dense, swirling vortex of energy gathered around her.
One by one, all cultivators whether Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, or Core Formation felt it clearly.
A terrifying, majestic presence had descended.
This was the aura of a Nascent Soul cultivator.
Bai Xing could only stare in disbelief, completely unable to comprehend what was unfolding before him.
How could one of the weakest cultivators in the city suddenly become the strongest? No one could make sense of what had just happened.
Bai Yue slowly opened her eyes, her gaze sweeping across the hall.
The chaos that was raging just moments ago had vanished as if it never existed.
"Who is my enemy?" Her voice was soft, almost gentle, yet there was an undeniable weight within it. The words resonated through the hall, making every cultivator present tremble at the authority and power behind them.
Everyone froze, rigid with fear, not daring to move. Bai Yue hovered just above the hall, her hair drifting in some invisible breeze, her aura radiating a deep azure blue. Her eyes caught sight of the red banners and wedding decorations, then fell upon her red attire clearly wedding clothes. Something immediately stirred within her.
Her eyes settled on a young man dressed in red.
"You dare covet the body of this esteemed one?"
Liu Yu froze at the words. A deep, suffocating chill crept through him, rooted in a fear he could not shake. His eyes tried to meet the figure before him, but his body betrayed him refusing to move. The only thought that came to him was to run.
But before he could act, a clean, razor-sharp wave of sword qi sliced through the air. In an instant, Liu Yu was shattered, transformed into a cascade of frozen crystals like an ice sculpture reduced to powder in a single, merciless strike.
The whole room grew even more fearful at the sight. With a simple swing of her blade, she had just decimated a tier 10 Qi Refining cultivator. It didn't make sense at all. She was initially only a tier 5 Qi Refining cultivator. Yes, she once was revered as a prodigy, achieving tier 5 after only two months of cultivation but this went beyond genius. How could one leap from Qi Refining to Nascent Soul? It didn't make sense.
Usually, it would take at least three to four hundred years before one could even hope to reach Nascent Soul. Yet here stood a girl who had achieved it in an instant. Speculation quickly arose: perhaps she had been hiding her cultivation, or possessed a powerful treasure. Or maybe Bai Yue was gone, and this was the work of another Nascent Soul, after all, it wasn't unheard of for Nascent Soul cultivators to possess other people's bodies or refine a cultivator's body as a avatar-vessel or puppet. There were too many possible explanations for the sudden emergence of Bai Yue's power. Yet in the end, it didn't matter. The truth was clear: she was now a Nascent Soul powerhouse, and that meant blood would be drawn.
The Shura formation continued to draw life energy and cultivation. But just as it made contact with Bai Yue, she commanded her jade glass blade to fly through the intricate formation, turning it into the conduit itself and effectively rendering the heavenly demon formation useless. Soon, a streak of blue light descended into the center of the formation, and the area grew colder and more frigid, as if winter had descended over the entire room.
The red, ominous aura lingered, but a cold, terrifying blue aura began to rise.
"Now, where were we?... Oh right, who... is... Bai Xing?" Bai Yue said slowly, drawing out the end of her question.
The hall remained silent, save for the crackle of the formation. Yet Bai Yue's divine sense swept through the space, laying bare every figure's mood, every subtle movement, every flicker of reaction. With that alone, she immediately locked onto her target.
"There you are," she said, zooming toward him, her eyes, now a piercing azure fixed unwaveringly on him.
Bai Xing stood motionless as Bai Yue scrutinized him, using both her physical senses and her divine sense.
"Why did you betray him?" Bai Yue finally asked, her eyes growing cold and dark.
Bai Xing gazed at the figure before him but did not answer, even as fear flooded his senses.
"Are you truly Bai Yue?" he asked instead.
Bai Yue was momentarily stunned at his courage, posing a question of his own without answering hers first. She chuckled softly, her gentle, sweet giggle sending shivers through everyone present.
"You are an interesting fellow," she said simply, her cold expression softening into a mischievous smile. "I am who I am."
Hearing her words, Bai Xing felt a deep, gnawing regret. The figure before him was definitely not Bai Yue—or at least, not the Bai Yue he had known.
"Kill me. I deserve to die," Bai Xing said, sorrow filling his heart.
Bai Yue studied him for a long moment before speaking.
"Since we share the same name, I won't kill you but punishment is still deserved. I will take you as my slave."
Immediately, she forged a seal with her divine sense, placing a prohibition on Bai Xing. A string of intricate symbols, glowing in blue, green, and purple light, covered his body as powerful laws imprinted themselves on his soul.
Bai Yue turned her divine sense outward, discerning four core formation experts—two of whom she recognized. Using her divine sense, she lifted Bai Xing onto his feet and took flight toward them.
As she moved, she felt a slight strain from using her abilities. It looks like I don't have much time, she thought.
Bai Xun, seeing the brilliant streak of blue, green, and azure light heading toward him, felt an immediate thrill of delight.
"Greetings to Ancestor Bai Xing," he said, bowing reverently before he could even gaze directly at her.
The other core formation experts trembled at the name. Who in the Tiandong Continent did not know of this grand figure? She was one of the three late Nascent Soul experts, possessing immense power and ability, and the youngest among them at just 560 years. She was the one expected to ascend to Deity Kindling. It had been more than three thousand years since the last known ascent to Deity Kindling. Should she ascend, she could disrupt the balance of the entire Heavenly East hierarchy.
Yet the information Liu Jun had received seemed at odds with the present. It was said that Bai Xing, arrogant from her peak Nascent Soul cultivation, had attempted to ascend to Deity Kindling, only to be besieged and perish soon after.
Liu Jun, bowing reverently, tried to get a better look at the figure before them. Perhaps her main body had died, and she had taken over a new vessel. When his eyes landed on the young girl before them, he felt his theory solidify: this girl was none other than Bai Yue.
"No need for that," Bai Yue's voice rang out directly into their minds through thought transmission, compelling them to stand upright even as they hovered in the sky.
Everyone gazed at the young woman before them. She was still dressed in her red gown, the attire of a bride. Conjectures immediately swirled among them, but the one who had initially felt joy now found a seed of apprehension taking hold.
"I see you all have done quite something with the city," the woman said, a mischievous grin tugging at her lips as her gaze swept over the Heavenly Demon banner. "That is quite an artifact... and the formation..."
"We were only worried that we wouldn't be able to protect the city without your grace, Senior," Liu Jun said quickly, bowing slightly.
"I see," Bai Yue replied, exhaling slowly. "Let me see this defense." She summoned her glass blade from below. It floated gracefully into her hand, catching daylight.
"I will give you time to prepare your defenses to their strongest. I want to see just how strong this defense is."
Liu Jun immediately understood the words between the lines. This was a declaration of his death. There was no way he could survive an attack from a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.
"Senior, I merely wished for the safety of the people," he said with a trembling voice.
"I said prepare your defenses. I have no time to waste," she replied, her deceptively sweet voice cold and terrifying.
Immediately, the air turned frigid. Sharp ice crawled along every surface, spreading from the edges of the nearby buildings to the roofs to the bodies of the cultivators before her.
Liu Jun braced himself. He poured his energy into layers of shimmering barriers, each one radiating light, forming a cage around him. His body blurred within the overlapping shields, crackling and humming with energy. He prayed the walls would hold until the Nascent pressure faded. He knew Nascent Souls could only bend a body for so long, he needed to endure until the gulf between the soul's power and the body's feeble cultivation closed.
When Bai Yue saw his preparations were complete, she lifted her blade. A streak of blue cold light arced from her sword, slicing through the air with terrifying might. It cleaved through every layer of his barriers with ease, leaving shards of energy raining down as it drove toward him.
Liu Jun reacted instinctively, summoning a Horsetail Whisk. A gust of wind tore across the battlefield, pushing him aside and shielding his vital points from annihilation. Yet the strike was relentless. His right hand was not so fortunate, severed cleanly, it froze, shattering into fragments that drifted to the ground like snow carried on a bitter wind.
Liu Jun couldn't help but scream in anguish. His wound throbbed as the cold Qi engulfed the area. He used the Heaven Demon Banner, trying to mobilize lifeforce to regrow his limb, yet the cold Qi persisted relentlessly.
"It doesn't look like your defenses are very good," Bai Yue said, a feigned sorrow painting her face.
The other core formation experts watched in awe and terror at the sheer might on display. Any rebellious thoughts they had immediately vanished.
Liu Jun regained his bearing and was about to speak when a streak of blue light appeared inches from him.
"I want to know who lied to you that they were… Do you mind if I take a peek?" Before Liu Jun could answer, Bai Yue's delicate hand pressed against his forehead. She was already using her divine sense, mobilizing her soul search technique and gaining all the information she needed.
During the process, wails of agony escaped Liu Jun. The other clan members trembled in fear as they watched. Who would be next once she had what she wanted?
Once Bai Yue finished probing, she froze Liu Jun's body solid before letting it fall to the ground, shattering into several pieces.
"I see that the Liu, Fang, and Wang clans are very good friends," Bai Yue said, her tone still playful.
"No, your esteemed one. We only wish to protect this city."
"I see. I hope this friendship can be extended to my little Xun, otherwise I would have to let you join that fellow Liu."
"We were already friends in the first place. We were just confused for a moment."
"For your sakes, I hope so," she said, her face turning to stone-cold, sending shivers through everyone around.
Bai Yue called the Moon Sword, sending it into her sea of consciousness, and picked up the pouch left by Liu Jun. She sank her divine sense into it, examining its contents, a small smile tickling her lips. She then summoned the Heaven Demon Banner and stored it in the pouch.
She turned to Bai Xun.
"Little Bai, you have done well in both raising the city and your children. You must not fear for your daughter. Seeing me is seeing her. She and I are now a single entity. I will return."
Soon, a brilliant blue light engulfed Bai Yue and Bai Xing before they streaked away in a blur of motion.
Bai Xun watched, unsure how to feel. His grand-aunt had not abandoned him, yet he did not feel relief. Did she intend to take over his daughter's body?
"On one hand, I have my grand-aunt, someone who has cared for me since my youth… on the other, I have my daughter… what should I do?"
But before he could think any further, a sharp, overwhelming pain engulfed him as all the injuries he had been suppressing came flooding back. He spat out blood before flying down to stabilize the cultivators below.
Bai Yue used instantaneous travel, covering at least 200 li (100 km) in five minutes before crashing down in a forested area.
She then turned to Bai Xing.
"You love this girl, don't you?" she asked coldly.
Bai Xing froze, then nodded bashfully, unable to meet her gaze.
"Good. Take care of this body. Make sure it doesn't die—otherwise, you won't see your Bai Yue anymore." She said as she threw the pouch she had just taken from Liu Jun.
Soon enough, everything went dark.
In the expanse of ice, with a colorful tree as its only ornament, two figures stood facing each other. They looked almost identical, except one seemed slightly more mature while the other appeared younger.
"Who are you? Are you Ancestor Bai Xing?" Bai Yue asked.
Bai Xing only gave a slight nod of approval.
"How… why?" Bai Yue's words were barely audible
"It's a long story," Bai Xing began calmly, "but the short version is: something went wrong during my trial attempt to ascend to Deity Kindling. I had to take shelter in the Moon Blade. Now that I've helped you take revenge, I need your help with something."
"My revenge is still… unsatisfied," Bai Yue said angrily, her fists clenched tightly.
"I know," she replied gently. "But wiping out all three elders would leave a catastrophic power vacuum in your city. Is that what you want?"
"...No."
"And for your little lover… he was tricked, wasn't he? I don't want you to regret it. Besides, he is now tied to you with a soul mark. If you want to take your revenge, you will need to get stronger first. But for now, I need your help with something."
"Help with what?"
Bai Xing said, then looked toward the tree, turning her back to Bai Yue. "I want you to help me regain my physical body."
"Your physical body? From where?"
"It's in Azure Cloud Sect."
"Azure sect? How am I supposed to achieve that?"
"By cultivating," Bai Xing replied simply.
"But I… I can't cultivate past Tier 5."
"I can help you with that. I have already checked your body. It has the Ice Phoenix physique. It is perfectly suited for my techniques."
"Ice Phoenix physique… is that why I have cold attacks during full moons?"
"Indeed. Your body is sealed and requires a special method to unseal it. I will teach you the Ninefold Bloom technique. Not only is it a powerful combat technique, but it will help you align with the laws responsible for the seal on your physique. Once you master this technique, the cold plague will vanish."
"Thank you, Ancestor."
"Okay, let's begin."