Do You Want to Hear My Story?

He was depressed, but not excessively so.

The difficulty was immense, but it was within reason.

It was not outside his expectations; the fourth floor of the Sword Tower had already forced him to take risks and had nearly emptied most of the rare items in Fanzhou, so how could the fifth floor be simple?

The second floor required a hundred thousand bones, and the East Desolation suffered.

The third floor required a million stones, and the Demon Abyss suffered.

The fourth floor required ten thousand items, and the saints suffered.

The fifth floor?

It was simply the turn of the immortals to suffer.

He composed his emotions and tidied his appearance. Xu Xian summoned the mecha made of Shadow Soul Stone, climbed inside, and submerged into the water, soaring upward.

It was time to leave seclusion.

After half a month of closed-door cultivation, he did not know if anything unusual had happened in the Demon Abyss or if any new anomalies had arisen in the world.

Stepping out of the Nether Pool,

The sky was dark.

Dense clouds gathered, and a light drizzle fell...

The youth lifted his gaze to the curtain of rain and murmured, "Is it raining?"

"That's good."

Xu Xian went straight back to the Nether Hall.

Huang Xiao and Chi Ji were waiting in the hall as usual.

Seeing the Young Lord return, they ended their meditation and rose to greet him.

"Greetings, Young Lord!"

"Salutations, Young Lord!"

Xu Xian waved his sleeve, the wind lifting them up. He paced toward the high platform and asked casually, "Has anything happened in the Demon Abyss recently?"

The two spoke in unison.

"No, everything is as usual."

"And outside?"

Chi Ji shook her head.

Huang Xiao thought for a moment and said, "I haven't heard much, but the Nether Guards returning from the rotation mentioned that the tomb gate in the Black Sand Sea has collapsed."

Xu Xian froze. "Collapsed?"

Huang Xiao confirmed, "Yes, it collapsed."

"When did this happen?"

"Just a few days ago."

Xu Xian calculated silently in his heart. A few days ago... wouldn't that be right when he pulled out The Living Flora?

Was it such a coincidence?

"Strange, why would it just collapse for no reason..."

For some reason, Xu Xian had an ominous premonition. There had to be a hidden reason behind the collapse of the tomb gate.

In the Twilight Burial Realm, the remnant soul of the Twilight Emperor had already been erased by him.

The tomb gate stood there, and no one should have been able to take it back. Now that it had collapsed, it couldn't have just happened on its own.

The people of Fanzhou had no reason to destroy it either.

Either someone was causing trouble, or the Twilight Emperor had done it.

Xu Xian leaned toward the latter.

However,

He only dared to make a definitive judgment after clarifying the situation with the other tomb gates.

"Go about your business. I'm going to rest for a while..."

Xu Xian drank a cup of water and entered the inner room.

Huang Xiao and Chi Ji exchanged a glance and tactfully left the large pavilion that belonged exclusively to the Young Lord.

Standing on the terrace, the two couldn't help but look back, their eyes filled with deep, lingering thoughts...

In the same palace, atop a certain cloud, the High and Low Priests personally witnessed Bai Mang's return. Their expressions were equally complex.

They hadn't seen him for half a month,

And he had gone from the seventh stage to the eighth?

Jin Yu whispered, "I remember it was the same last time, wasn't it? He left for over half a month, and when he came back, he had entered the seventh stage. This time..."

She trailed off, her current mood difficult to describe.

Her gaze drifted toward the Nether Pool beyond the sea of clouds.

Jin Yu wondered if some incredible opportunity was hidden beneath the Nether Pool. Every time Bai Mang went there, he advanced a stage.

Would he become a demon god next time?

If she went there, could she become a demon immortal?

Jin Qing remained silent the entire time. She was certain her guess was correct...

But she couldn't tell anyone about such a thing.

The implications were too vast.

Noticing Jin Qing's strange behavior, Jin Yu couldn't help but ask, "Sister, why aren't you saying anything? Are you shocked?"

Jin Qing glanced at Jin Yu indifferently. "Shocked? He was already a freak to begin with. Besides, this isn't the first time..."

Jin Yu thought about it.

"True."

Jin Qing left without a word, walking straight away.

Jin Yu was left behind.

Watching her sister's departing figure, she rubbed her chin and pondered seriously, "One after another, why is everyone being so strange..."

The Young Lord entering the eighth stage should be something her sister was happy about, right? Why did she seem so burdened with worry instead?

She didn't understand.

When night fell over the Nether Hall,

Jin Qing leaned against the terrace, bathed in the wind from the sea of clouds, watching the stars in the sky.

The rainy season in the Demon Abyss lasted for a long time, but the rain could never fall upon the Nether Hall.

Xu Xian walked out leisurely with steady steps. Before he even got close, he said, "They said you were looking for me?"

Jin Qing looked back, her exquisite face marked with melancholy, her deep eyes reflecting a sense of sorrow.

"Mhm."

After a soft affirmation, she turned back and continued to watch the starry sky.

The woman's abnormal behavior left Xu Xian a bit confused. He had a feeling he couldn't quite put into words...

He walked to her side and stood straight, glancing at the sky and then studying the woman. He asked again, "What are you looking at?"

"Starry Divination," Jin Qing uttered softly.

Xu Xian asked with interest, "What did you find?"

Jin Qing pondered for a moment. "Stealing the sky and changing the sun, the King falls in the Northern Borders."

Xu Xian's eyes narrowed slightly. "A bad omen?"

Jin Qing shook her head. "I don't know... I can't tell if it's auspicious or calamitous."

Xu Xian nodded thoughtfully. "Mhm... this King shouldn't be referring to me, right?"

Jin Qing looked at Xu Xian, her gaze silent, before she finally shook her head.

Xu Xian laughed. "Then it's not me. The King falls in the Northern Borders... perhaps it means I'll kill the king of the Northern Borders, or maybe I'll destroy the entire Wendao Sword Sect."

The youth's ten-colored long hair drifted in the wind, his confidence overflowing.

Jin Qing tilted her head slightly and didn't refute him, only saying softly, "Then what about stealing the sky and changing the sun?"

Xu Xian's heart tightened. He wondered if this woman had truly seen something.

His expression remained unchanged as he shrugged. "How should I know? I don't understand the methods of Starry Divination."

Jin Qing's gaze swept over the youth from top to bottom. She remarked with delayed realization, "Mhm, an eighth-rank greater demon king. Your cultivation speed really is miraculous."

Xu Xian remained unfazed, taking it as a matter of course. "It can't be helped. Who told me to be so exceptionally gifted?"

Jin Qing neither agreed nor disagreed.

Xu Xian got straight to the point. "Why did you call me here? I'm quite busy, and I have no interest in looking at stars..."

"The galaxy, the moonlight, a beauty... no interest in those either?" Jin Qing teased with a playful tone.

The woman's mature charm, her blurred gaze, and her alluring voice made it difficult for anyone to remain unmoved.

In such a setting, with such beautiful scenery and a fair lady, there was indeed a certain atmosphere.

But Xu Xian happened to be a man of iron resolve, remaining completely unmoved and ruining the mood.

"No interest."

"Oh?"

Xu Xian looked directly at Jin Qing and said honestly, "You're too old."

Jin Qing was stunned for a moment, then she froze, and finally, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Too old?

She would take it as that then.

"Does the young man already have someone in his heart?"

"No," Xu Xian said with certainty.

"Then is there a girl you fancy?"

Several faces subconsciously flashed through Xu Xian's mind: Lin Qianqian, Wen Qingxue, Nangong Ning, Chi Ji, Ye Xianyu...

They all seemed quite good.

Senior Sister Jiang,

She also possessed a lingering charm.

But he immediately shook his head, his tone firm and his eyes resolute. "I am devoted to the Dao; I have no heart for the red dust."

"Those are two different things."

Xu Xian shook his head. "No, women will only affect the speed at which I draw my sword."

Jin Qing shook her head and smiled, then asked mysteriously, "Do you want to hear my story?"