Seeing it was that little good-for-nothing, Jiang Xidai rolled her eyes at her, leaned back against the roof beast, took a sip of the remaining strong wine she had snatched, and said no more.
Seeing she had no intention of causing trouble, Xie Minting sheathed the sword she had drawn. Jiang Xidai ignored her, tilted her chin up, and gazed at the full moon in the sky, her eyes barely moving.
She pressed the wine pot to her lips and murmured softly, “…This wine is not bad.”
Xie Minting didn’t expect to get the wine back from her, so she took out a new pot. “Consider it my treat.”
“Jiang Xidai, you look very upset.”
“You can tell?” Jiang Xidai said coldly. “If you look again, I’ll dig out your eyes.”
Xie Minting no longer held any expectations for this demoness’s manners. She wasn’t angry either. She took out a wine cup and poured herself a pot of wine.
The two were far apart. Though they were enemies, on this night, they were inexplicably at peace. Perhaps it was because each had their own troubles.
“Did you kill Zhan Ke?” Jiang Xidai released the empty wine pot, and it rolled down the eaves with a thud.
“Mmm.”
“Wasn’t she your ally?”
Jiang Xidai curled her lips. “I never thought you’d be the one to betray her in the end—I’m afraid she never expected it, even in death.”
“She was before, but not anymore. This isn’t betrayal,” Xie Minting lowered her head. “It’s a choice.”
“Your heart is only filled with your sect. It’s a pity that soon, it will also be swallowed up by the Shasheng Sect.” She mocked Xie Minting, trying to see some other interesting expression on her face.
“Yes.” But the woman’s expression didn’t change. “In recent years, you’ve been annexing all the major and minor sects in the world, which you never did before. Why are you doing all this?”
“This Seat is pleased to do so.”
“Because of Yan Huirou?”
The two sentences collided. A flicker of emotion crossed Jiang Xidai’s face. She looked away. “…I can’t find her, so I can only try to force her to come back.”
Xie Minting looked at her with an indescribable expression. “She has already passed away. The dead cannot be resurrected.”
“She’s still alive.” She closed her eyes, making an embracing gesture, as if to gather all the stars in the sky. “She’s right there. I won’t let her go.”
Xie Minting sighed. “Jiang Xidai.”
Through the night wind, the woman’s expression was intoxicated, but her eyes were exceptionally clear, revealing a stubbornness that would not stop until its goal was achieved.
Jiang Xidai still curled her lips. “You don’t understand, and there’s no need for you to interfere with what I’m doing.”
“What can I interfere with?” Xie Minting was silent for a moment. “How about letting go of the Haoran Sect? There are still many innocent young people. I don’t care, I can go back with you to the Shasheng Sect, regardless of life or death.”
Jiang Xidai’s expression didn’t change. She raised an eyebrow. “No. You all, I won’t leave a single one.”
“If Yan Huirou knows in heaven, she surely wouldn’t want to see you slaughter the innocent like this.”
Jiang Xidai: “If she can see, I will do it even more. What?”
Xie Minting frowned. “In that case, I have no choice but to use the divine artifact and perish with you—”
“Don’t worry.” Jiang Xidai snatched her storage ring and drank all the wine inside.
Hearing this, Xie Minting’s mind settled, and a breath of frustration slowly released, as if seeing a turning point. With Jiang Xidai’s cultivation, her lifespan was endless. Who in the world could harm her?
But at that moment, she never would have thought—Jiang Xidai didn’t want to live anymore either.
Within five years, the Immortal Sects were annihilated. The entire cultivation world was swallowed and controlled by the Shasheng Sect. But according to Jiang Xidai, the people were still alive—as long as they didn’t resist.
After sweeping the world clean, would her days be like an emperor’s, filled with luxury, extravagance, and supreme dominance?
What the Shasheng Sect disciples found strange was that Jiang Xidai was not such a person. On the contrary, she locked herself away all day.
Only today was a little different. She planned to host a banquet for all the cultivators in the world.
“The Sect Master must be bored, insisting on holding a banquet to meet guests from all over.”
“—Ah, the entire cultivation world?”
“Yes, everyone.”
“Hahaha, then Senior Disciple Wen must be exhausted.” Bi Luo turned her head and looked at Wen Xianyin with some pity. She saw Wen Xianyin meditating with her eyes closed, with faint dark circles under them.
Wen Xianyin: “Everything is already arranged… The banquet stretches from the Shasheng Sect to Wugou Mountain. It is my duty to share the Sect Master’s worries.” She opened her eyes, looked at the dark sky above, and the banquet was about to begin in a few hours. But for some reason, Wen Xianyin had a bad feeling.
What… is the Sect Master planning to do?
It’s getting harder and harder to see through her.
Jiang Xidai stood on the highest tower of the Shasheng Sect, leaning on the railing and looking into the distance. Below was a dense crowd of people, stretching endlessly to the farthest point of her vision. Perhaps this was all that was left of the cultivation world.
This should be enough.
Jiang Xidai lowered her eyelids, her fingertips tracing a complex gesture in the air. Her spiritual energy covered the entire banquet, like a vast sea, almost seeping into every pore. The young people below, seeing food and drink, were still chattering, unaware of the gradual approach of death.
A fierce wind raged in the sky, making Jiang Xidai’s robes whip about. Spreading her spiritual energy so widely was also an overdraft for her.
Cold sweat slid down the woman’s cheek, her face growing paler, but the curve of her lips became more pronounced, as if she were about to be liberated.
Finally… I don’t have to live here alone anymore.
Perhaps I can see you.
Perhaps, I can bury everything here with me.
Yan Huirou.
Jiang Xidai craned her neck to look at the sky as much as she could, letting the fierce wind, mixed with a roar, slap her face, blurring her vision.
A thought moved her, and she suddenly wanted to say something.
“Yan Yan, these years, I’ve killed many more people, good, bad, innocent…”
“Not one bit less than before I met you.”
“Are you disappointed?”
“I alone fulfilled your promise to me, and perhaps I have some friends.”
“I’ve tried it all.” Jiang Xidai tilted her head, her words deliberate. “But I have personally verified it. You were wrong.”
“Look at this group of people. You left them and the world to me…”
“Little do you know, every time I see them, it reminds me of the fact that you meticulously planned your departure.”
“Everything, it’s all so tiresome.”
Her gaze turned cold for a moment, then slowly softened. She chuckled lightly, her voice as soft as a pampered child’s. “Don’t be afraid. I still love you.”
“As long as you come back.”
“As long as you come back, I will forgive everything.”
Her hand gradually raised, her palm gracefully flattened.
“Counting down from five. This is the five years you owe me.”
“After five counts, I will self-destruct my dantian. With my cultivation, everything under the cover of my spiritual energy will be razed to the ground in an instant—along with me and the people of this world.”
The wind grew more intense, like a mournful cry. Her peach blossom eyes were smiling yet not smiling, as if playing some interesting game. But looking closely, one would find a dullness without any highlights, empty and vast, as if a person had reached this point, leaving only a weary shell.
“Very vicious, isn’t it. They will all die. Countless lives, unable to be reborn.”
Jiang Xidai still looked at the sky, her eyes full of tenderness. “You definitely won’t like me like this, so…”
“This is the last chance. Come and save… redeem… me.”
The curve of her lips widened, and she began to laugh amidst the wailing wind, her laughter growing louder.
“Continue… to come and redeem me…”
Outside the screen, the target’s emotional fluctuations had soared to a terrifying value. The entire device lit up with red lights, flashing, emitting a serious warning sound.
Chen Cha’an was about to die of fright, but the transmission program wasn’t ready yet, and her hands were clattering on the keyboard, not daring to stop for a moment.
She was almost crying inside: Ahhhhh, how did such a cute little girl grow up like this! She’s been so well-behaved these past few days, how could she suddenly!! Your little auntie underestimated your level of crazy!
Don’t do this! If this explodes, what will be left?? The entire project will collapse!
She was wrong, she repented for slacking off and replying to a message just now!
“Help! Your mother isn’t awake yet!!”
Fortunately, the flow of time inside and outside was different, so Chen Cha’an could still struggle a bit. She had been working overtime, with no slack, and there was still some time left before the transmission program was ready, so she had to contact Jiang Xidai immediately.
Setting modification, right, right… check it. Changing the setting is even more serious than changing the base code. One mismatch and it will go out of control.
Chen Cha’an went over all the details she could remember, checking carefully. The two assistants beside her also checked them one by one. Confirmed no errors.
“Hurry up,” a technician on the side said, unable to watch. “Such violent fluctuations, it feels like the equipment is about to burn out. This is very expensive.”
Click.
The last layer of permission was unlocked.
Chen Cha’an felt like a student reviewing in the hallway before an exam, looking here and there, in a desperate hurry, trying to get a few more points before entering the exam room.
Forget it.
There was no time. Hopefully, it would succeed.
Confirm!
Inside the screen, at the same time, Jiang Xidai pursed her lips and softly uttered the word “one.”
Just as she was about to self-destruct her dantian and be buried with this small world. Jiang Xidai felt her body sink, and she was pulled away. After that, there was only a lightless darkness.
In the void, her whole body became light. A cold, mechanical voice sounded in her ear.
You can have your wish, but the price may be great. No one can guarantee the consequences. You might die in a few days.
“I want to see her.”
Trade your entire cultivation for it, are you willing?
“Willing.”
Trade your long lifespan for it, are you willing?
“Willing.”
Good. Consciousness confirmed.
Jiang Xidai found that the voices had disappeared, and the darkness before her was gradually replaced by a pile of white light.
A few large characters were written on it in a simple font.
—Congratulations, you have ascended to the upper realm.
