Upon hearing that inexplicable tone, Su Yunyu felt his heart skip a beat, struck by a chilling sense of impending crisis. He slowly turned his head to look.
At the array core, the pristine, flawless pillar of spiritual energy was stained with the grey gloom of demonic Qi, resembling a flaw fracturing a piece of precious jade. Yet, that was not even the most urgent crisis.
Rumble.
A thunderbolt cleaved downward. Within the relentless stream of spiritual energy continuously channeled at the array core, demonic Qi was unmistakably intermingled!
The spiritual energy channeled by this grand array coursed through the entire mystic realm. Now that it was channeling demonic Qi along with the spiritual energy, it wouldn’t be long before the entire mystic realm was polluted by demonic Qi and forced to shut down!
What on earth is this fellow trying to accomplish? Going to such painstaking lengths to infiltrate the ranks of the disciples—could it simply have been to knock out Xiao Shuying and shut down the mystic realm?
“Master,” Xiao Shuying muttered, unable to decipher the intruder’s true intent. His eyes narrowed slightly as he recalled that name, turning it over in his mind:
“Do you happen to know who that person is?”
That prompted Su Yunyu to recall that he had entrusted the system with investigating the fellow’s identity.
“System, have you figured out that name yet?”
111 replied: [We found it. The Demon Realm possesses Twelve Pavilions and Five Cities; this Twelve Pavilions refers to the Assassination Twelve Pavilions, and Feng Mingye is the Master of the Assassination Pavilion. His cultivation realm stands just beneath yours.]
!!!
Su Yunyu began rummaging through his memories of the original novel concerning this demonic figure.
He realized this was a major antagonist second only to himself.
The Demon Realm had no Demon Lord; the Master ruling over the Twelve Pavilions was already at the absolute peak, and in the original novel, Feng Mingye harbored a persistent, varied penchant for targeting the Tianxuan Sect.
Not only that, the author seemingly planted certain foreshadowing clues to hint at this person’s ultimate objective.
Yet, Su Yunyu’s mouth twitched, because before the author could even reach those foreshadowing clues, he had engaged in three hundred rounds of bitter combat with readers over resurrecting Su Yunyu.
That was precisely the root cause that dragged him into transmigrating into the novel.
Damnable thing! Once he returned, he would definitely make that wretched author fill in every single plot hole!
However, this was no time to dwell on such frustrations. Wearing a grave expression, Su Yunyu answered Xiao Shuying:
“He is the Master of the Assassination Twelve Pavilions.”
Xiao Shuying blinked, finally recalling the man’s actions and crimes from his first life.
Back then, he had been so deeply trapped within the hell forged by Su Yunyu that he had barely registered Feng Mingye’s hostility toward the Tianxuan Sect.
No wonder that name had sounded vaguely familiar yet unrecognized when he first heard it.
Well, he supposed he had the primary antagonist, Su Yunyu, to thank for that little bit of background.
“What should we do about this demonic Qi?”
Watching the high-speed, ceaselessly churning spiritual array before them, Xiao Shuying’s thoughts abruptly shifted. A dark glint flashed deep within his eyes as he asked:
“That pill cauldron, did Master manage to secure it?”
The moment those words dropped, Su Yunyu nearly lost his mind.
Ahhh, he had completely forgotten about the cauldron! Amidst all his strategizing over countermeasures against the demonic Qi, Xiao Shuying’s question reminded him that there was still a far more critical task left undone.
“When I sensed an abnormality in the sound-transmission token and received no response to my calls, I turned back halfway.”
Hearing this, Xiao Shuying’s eyes froze. Lowering his gaze, he spoke in a slow, measured cadence:
“So that was it, It was all my fault.”
Not at all. Why on earth was Su Yunyu acting like this? He clearly wished for him to die, so why rush back to investigate an anomaly in the sound-transmission token and risk his life for his sake?
Could it be that he remained entirely oblivious to the supreme value of the ninth-grade pill cauldron, or had he deliberately turned back merely to put on a show of having done his absolute best?
What on earth, what are you really thinking?
The fingers clenched at Xiao Shuying’s sides slowly tightened into fists, his gaze turning dark and unfathomable.
Su Yunyu simply assumed the boy was emotionally fragile. While internally on the verge of weeping tears of frustration, he forced himself to summon the mental bandwidth to offer comfort:
“It’s not your fault; it’s mine.”
With that, he awkwardly patted the boy’s lowered head, moving with such lightning speed that he feared the system would spot him and deliver a disciplinary electric shock.
Then, he hastily flew toward the array core, desperately attempting to isolate and filter out those sources of demonic Qi.
System 111 chimed in: [I somehow feel like I just witnessed a thoroughly out-of-character moment.]
Feeling the warmth radiating from the top of his head, accompanied once again by the faint, elusive scent of orchid and musk wafting past his nose, Xiao Shuying abruptly relaxed his clenched fists, a wave of bewilderment washing over him.
This man is he actually comforting me?
Or is he merely executing a flawless performance from start to finish?
He lifted his gaze toward the array core, where Su Yunyu was frantically channeling his spiritual energy in a desperate bid to sift out the demonic Qi.
Yet within moments, both of them realized that these efforts were entirely futile.
The innermost core of the array had already been thoroughly corrupted, and the demonic Qi contaminating it was exceptionally pure and dense.
Coupled with the unceasing thunderstorm raging across the realm, time, geography, and human factors all aligned to push the spiritual array’s operating efficiency to its absolute peak.
The pure, untainted spiritual energy binding heaven and earth was steadily polluted; the streams grew turbid, the foliage withered from its vibrant emerald, and an erratic, violent restlessness rippled through the mountains.
Everything was spiraling wildly out of balance.
From outside the mystic realm came the voice of Sect Master Wenren Li:
“All disciples, please shatter your life tokens and evacuate immediately! The mystic realm is collapsing! Evacuate at once!”
It appeared even Wenren Li could find no remedy to salvage the disaster.
Casting one final, lingering glance at the brooding, cloud-choked sky, Su Yunyu gritted his teeth and carried Xiao Shuying out of the mystic realm.
He still had unfinished business to settle; he needed to consult the Sect Master.
The moment they broke out of the mystic realm and scanned their surroundings, a disheveled cluster of groaning, complaining disciples was already sprawled across the sect plaza.
These individuals wore tattered, disordered attire clearly having fled in such frantic haste that maintaining any shred of personal dignity was impossible and several bore wounds tainted with lingering wisps of demonic Qi.
“Where on earth did this demonic Qi come from, ahhh”
“I’ve been injured! What do I do? Am I going to fall into demonic corruption?!”
“This is unbearable! I didn’t manage to find a single thing inside the realm!”
A cacophony of panicked voices overlapped without interruption, plunging the plaza into absolute chaos. Unable to spare a moment’s hesitation, Su Yunyu strode rapidly forward, catching Wenren Li by the sleeve of his robe:
“Senior Brother, how much longer until the mystic realm completely collapses?”
Catching sight of Su Yunyu’s panic-stricken expression half-concealed beneath a disheveled cascade of hair a rare sight indeed Wenren Li glanced at the Sun-Moon Mountain and River Mirror, contemplated for a brief second, and answered:
“Half an hour.”
Half an hour…
To secure the ninth-grade pill cauldron, one had to successfully refine a fifth-grade medicinal pill.
And refining a fifth-grade pill within the span of half an hour was an absolute impossibility.
What should I do? Is there truly no other way out?
Seeing him stare with dazed, unblinking eyes, Wenren Li patted his arm and offered a soothing reassurance:
“Do not feel disheartened; this mystic realm will surely open again in the future.”
There’s no time left, Su Yunyu wept rivers of blood internally.
To prevent him from wallowing in idle distractions and slacking off on his duties, the system kept his cultivation scaling progressively lower. If he failed to execute the heart-conquest plan while still standing at the absolute pinnacle of power, this lifetime’s efforts would go completely down the drain.
Seeing an opening, Xiao Shuying stepped forward. Recalling the conversation he had just overheard, a calculated scheme took shape in his mind, prompting a swift, fleeting curve of his lips before he quickly draped his expression in profound self-reproach. Reaching out to tug gently at Su Yunyu’s sleeve, he murmured:
“That’s right, Master. Senior Uncle is right, the mystic realm will open again. It’s merely a pill cauldron; we can always retrieve it next time. This disciple doesn’t mind at all.”
“Furthermore, if not for this disciple’s uselessness, falling prey to a villain’s scheme, we naturally would have secured the cauldron.”
Lowering his head even further, he raised his sleeve to brush across his eyes, mimicking the motion of wiping away tears. Watching this, Su Yunyu’s heart clenched with profound heartache, thinking to himself that the Dragon-Heaven protagonist truly was an exceptionally good boy, still finding it in his heart to comfort him at a time like this.
Yet he had not only failed to stop Feng Mingye from corrupting the realm, but had also failed to secure the pill cauldron, he felt utterly mortified.
An overwhelming, reckless impulse surged within his chest. Stepping forward, he declared to Wenren Li:
“I am going back inside!”
At that precise moment, Wenren Li was studying Xiao Shuying with a penetrating gaze, harboring a vague, inexplicable sense that something about the boy felt profoundly off.
Hearing Su Yunyu’s righteous, unyielding declaration, he was startled out of his thoughts. His expression darkened instantly, and he barked out a stern reprimand:
“What on earth are you thinking?! The mystic realm is collapsing! Do you have any idea how long you’ll be trapped inside if you fail to make it out in time?!”
“Senior Brother,” Su Yunyu locked his gaze onto Wenren Li. His eyes shimmered with sincere, unfiltered emotion and a glistening sheen of unshed moisture as he spoke with solemn gravity:
“I have a compelling, indispensable reason to enter.”
“If I fail to emerge in time.” His gaze shifted toward Xiao Shuying, his lashes lowering softly:
“I must trouble Senior Brother to look after my disciple. After all… I have only this single disciple.”
Wenren Li fell silent. On one hand, he found his heart thoroughly softened by that parting look from his junior brother; on the other hand, he recognized that unyielding, resolute tone meant any attempt at dissuasion would prove utterly futile.
With a heavy sigh, he nodded, telling him to exercise utmost caution.
Meanwhile, Xiao Shuying silently watched Su Yunyu. Seeing him launch himself straight back into the churning, murky chaos of the collapsing mystic realm the moment the Sect Master gave his consent, leaving behind nothing more than an uncatchable trail of immortal shadow, a profound, heavy stillness settled deep within his chest.
This exact outcome had been calculated and engineered by him as a deliberate tactical retreat, a calculated variable completely outside ordinary expectations.
Yet he genuinely hadn’t expected that Su Yunyu would exhibit such unyielding determination to re-enter the perilous realm.
Master, what on earth is driving you?
Inside his sea of consciousness, the system asked its host in utter disbelief:
[Are you seriously not terrified of failing to secure the pill cauldron and ending up permanently trapped inside the collapsing realm? By then, both of us will be forced to undergo a system reset!]
“It doesn’t matter,” Su Yunyu muttered, adopting a somewhat reckless, damned-if-I-do attitude. He had already survived ninety-eight lifetimes; failing one more time wouldn’t exactly.
Wait, that’s absolute nonsense! I care deeply!
Moreover, this lifetime had consumed more of his mental energy and meticulous planning than any other. To achieve the heart-conquest objective, he had endured grueling dormancy, how could he ever reconcile himself to failure?
Yet, had he failed to retrieve the cauldron, his inability to resolve the bottleneck in the Dragon-Heaven protagonist’s meridians, coupled with his own declining cultivation, would inevitably spell doom for his mission.
Re-entering the mystic realm in this manner at least granted his grand design a fighting chance at survival.
“111, keep a close eye on the countdown for me. Half an hour equates to thirty minutes, remind me when there are fifteen minutes remaining.”
Success or catastrophic failure hinged entirely upon this razor-thin window.
Within the mystic realm, absolute turbid chaos reigned supreme, stripped entirely of its former pristine, picturesque grace.
Su Yunyu fought to maintain his orientation, flying at breakneck speed until he reached the hidden dwelling upon the highest cliff, diving inside without a moment’s hesitation.
The familiar mermaid candles still flickered along the stone walls, lighting a direct, unobstructed path leading straight to the trial chamber at the very end.
The reason he dared to take this gamble was simple: he was betting that the fifth-grade medicinal pill he had been forced to abandon halfway through the refining process might still possess a window for salvation.
A fifth-grade medicinal pill was practically child’s play for his cultivation level; the only constraint had been time. He had barely adjusted the flame temperatures when he had been forced to drop everything to rescue Xiao Shuying.
If fortune favored him, the progress of the pill refinement might not have completely decayed into absolute waste.
Internal prayers humming silently in his heart, Su Yunyu hurried toward the testing chamber at a sprint.
Dearest Heavens, for the sake of all my wretched failures across so many lifetimes, please grant me a stroke of good fortune just this once!
Before long, Su Yunyu arrived at the trial site, holding his breath as he peered forward.
Time trickled away second by second. Outside in the sect plaza, Wenren Li repeatedly glanced up at the sundial, pacing back and forth with mounting anxiety.
He possessed only this single junior brother. Though Su Yunyu’s temperament had historically been aloof and distant, keeping others at arm’s length, Wenren Li had always held him dearly in his heart.
While the collapse of the mystic realm did not threaten Su Yunyu with mortal peril, the prospect of waiting out the multi-year cycle until the realm reopened translated to an excruciating form of torment.
Wenren Li’s restless pacing echoed loudly in Xiao Shuying’s ears. Standing motionlessly at the exact spot where he had previously watched Su Yunyu vanish into the realm, he gazed like a stone statue toward the swirling exit.
A flickering surge of schadenfreude stirred within him—if Su Yunyu failed to emerge before the deadline, he could finally enjoy peace of mind, forever liberated from the suffocating threat of execution hanging over his head.
Yet concurrently, a restless irritation gnawed at his composure. He simply could not fathom Su Yunyu’s true agenda, nor could he decipher the man’s erratic, baffling behavior.
If his past ninety-eight lifetimes of ruthless, unmitigated slaughter proved anything, it was that this man’s malice was absolute. Yet in this lifetime, every single action defied logic, why risk his life to save him from the sound-transmission anomaly? Why brave the collapsing realm purely to secure a pill cauldron?
If it was all an elaborate act, why push the charade to such suicidal extremes?
Why, exactly, why.
As time slipped away second by second, narrowing the remaining window before the permanent closure of the realm, the Sect Master’s pacing grew increasingly frantic.
Just as Xiao Shuying’s impatience reached its boiling point, fuelled by an impulse to break past the barrier and drag Su Yunyu out by force simply to demand answers, a familiar, fleeting figure materialized sharply against the entrance portal!
A sky-water blue robe, ruffled and disordered, yet still cinched gracefully at the waist by a delicate jade belt. Amidst the fluttering fall of ink-black strands, there stood Su Yunyu!
Seeing his junior brother safely return, Wenren Li exhaled a massive sigh of relief, hurrying forward to greet him:
“Thank the heavens you made it back in time.”
Su Yunyu offered a reassuring, breathless smile, then turned his gaze toward Xiao Shuying. Unclenching his palm, spiritual energy surged forth, and resting directly upon the center of his hand was a miniature, resplendent cauldron.
It was precisely the ninth-grade pill cauldron left behind by the Water-Marsh Immortal!