The Blood-Burning Pill traded away one’s lifespan and potential for a temporary surge in strength.
Once the medicine’s effects wore off, Shen Xueyin would not only lose all her cultivation—she would have almost no life left to live.
But she felt no regret. Her eyes held nothing but unwavering resolve.
“I can’t die here. At least, not yet.”
She circulated the immense spiritual power within her and fought her way toward the imperial city.
“Stop her! Don’t let her escape!”
The cultivators ahead launched attack after attack.
“Get out of my way! No one can stop me!”
Shen Xueyin released the aura of an emperor, blocking most of the attacks as she prepared to force her way through.
The medicine would not last much longer. She had to use this time to place the storage pouch in Lin An’s hands.
Although she blocked the majority of the attacks, some still slipped through. She could only endure them with her body.
“These injuries are nothing.”
She spat out a large mouthful of blood, silently reminding herself:
“Master, I will definitely deliver the storage pouch to you. I absolutely will not break my promise.”
Her gaze remained resolute. Surrounded on all sides by countless cultivators, she abandoned all thought of defense and began fighting as though her life meant nothing.
The cultivators surrounding her only wanted to take advantage of the situation. None of them truly wished to risk their lives against Shen Xueyin, because doing so would only benefit someone else.
Thus, faced with Shen Xueyin’s suicidal fighting style, they gradually opened a path for her.
“I’m through!”
The moment she broke out of the encirclement, Shen Xueyin’s eyes lit up. Then, without hesitation, she flew toward the imperial city.
The medicine’s effects could last ten minutes at most, but that was enough.
If she flew at full speed, ten minutes would be sufficient to reach the imperial city.
But just as she thought this, the cultivators behind her gave chase once more.
They were unwilling to fight Shen Xueyin to the death, but attacks from flying swords and magical treasures continued to rain down.
Shen Xueyin could not concentrate on flying. She could only retreat while fighting.
Ten minutes passed in the blink of an eye.
The outline of the imperial city was already visible in the distance. But at that moment, she felt the surging medicinal power within her dissipate, and her strength began to plummet.
At the same time, her black hair visibly turned white, while wrinkles spread across her face.
In the span of a few seconds, she had changed from a young woman in the prime of her youth into an old woman whose life was nearly over.
“No! I’m almost there. I’m only a little short. I can’t fall here. I absolutely cannot fall here!”
She screamed inwardly, squeezing out the last trace of spiritual power within her as she flew toward the imperial city.
But in the next moment, dozens of flying swords shot toward her from behind and pierced her entire back.
At last, she could no longer hold on and fell from the sky.
Countless images flashed through her mind.
She remembered how, at the age of fourteen, when she had been at her most desperate, Lin An had taken her in and set her on the path of cultivation.
She remembered the four years she had spent at the Lin estate, and how Lin An had cared for her.
She remembered how, after being defeated by a Foundation Establishment cultivator and driven into a desperate situation, Lin An had helped her.
In her heart, Lin An was the lamp that had dispelled the darkness around her—the only thing she could rely on.
That was why she absolutely could not fall here.
An ordinary person would have died long ago after being pierced by dozens of flying swords and then falling from such a height.
Yet, sustained by the conviction in her heart, Shen Xueyin still clung to her final breath and slowly crawled forward.
“Master, wait for me. I’m coming.”
Her consciousness grew hazy, and her eyes had already lost their light. She gripped the storage pouch tightly and crawled onward purely by instinct.
Her body had long since reached its limit. The moment that final shred of conviction disappeared, her life would come to an end.
However, at that moment, the Phoenix Undying Seal suddenly flew out of the storage pouch and merged into Shen Xueyin’s arm. It traveled upward along her arm before finally stopping at the center of her brow, where it stabilized.
“Oh? She’s still alive after all that?”
“Hahaha, the once peerless Empress of Da'an has truly fallen. What a pity. Look at her now—old and hideous.”
“Wouldn’t it have been better to hand over the storage pouch earlier? She really doesn’t know when to yield.”
Dozens of cultivators descended from the sky. Seeing Shen Xueyin continuing to crawl forward on sheer willpower, some could not resist taunting her.
But even more of them were staring at the storage pouch in her hand with greedy eyes.
In the next moment, more than a dozen figures simultaneously charged toward Shen Xueyin.
The cultivator at the front slashed off Shen Xueyin’s arm with a single sword strike, snatched the storage pouch, and flew away without looking back.
How could the dozens of cultivators allow him to escape so easily?
The cultivators who had just been surrounding Shen Xueyin now began a bloody battle for the opportunities hidden inside the storage pouch.
Shen Xueyin had lost the storage pouch, and with it, the last of her conviction vanished.
At last, she stopped crawling forward. In the final moments of her life, all she felt was guilt and unwillingness.
“I’m sorry, Master.”
At the final instant of her life, that was the only thought that flashed through her mind.
Then she breathed her last.
Yet just as Shen Xueyin’s consciousness sank into endless darkness, a ray of light slowly appeared, illuminating her entire spiritual sea.
“With conviction this strong, she truly is worthy of being chosen by the true body.”
A stunning woman dressed in phoenix-feather robes suddenly appeared, a faint smile playing at the corners of her lips.
Shen Xueyin looked around in confusion. Everything around her was pure white, and there was nothing else.
She lowered her head, trying to look at her hands and body, but she could not even make that movement. At this moment, she was merely a point of light—a final remnant of conviction that refused to fade.
Who are you? Where is this place?
She tried to speak, but not a single word came out.
The beautiful woman seemed to know what she was asking and explained with a faint smile, “I am a strand of divine consciousness left behind by the Undying Heavenly Emperor. When the true body ascended ten thousand years ago, she foresaw that an apprentice would appear ten thousand years later. Thus, she left behind the Phoenix Undying Seal as the inheritance of her legacy.”
“Ah, to make me wait ten thousand years over a mere premonition. How irritating.”
“Still, you do possess the qualifications to inherit the true body’s legacy.”
“It’s just a pity that you’re a hopeless romantic.”
“Forget it, forget it. I can’t be bothered to care about that. I’m handing the inheritance over to you. At last, I can be free.”
The beautiful woman muttered to herself for a while before striking the Phoenix Undying Seal into that final remnant of Shen Xueyin’s conviction.
In the next moment, the supreme Dao scripture recorded within the Phoenix Undying Seal merged into Shen Xueyin’s spiritual consciousness.
The Myriad Tribulations Undying Scripture was a supreme Dao scripture created by the Undying Heavenly Emperor. In combination with the Phoenix Undying Seal, it allowed one to reincarnate through countless lifetimes, survive myriad tribulations without dying, and transform one’s cultivation from a previous life into nourishment for the next after each rebirth through the flames, thereby enhancing the cultivator’s innate talent.
Although every rebirth required the cultivator to begin cultivating from scratch, the repeated accumulation of talent meant that as long as the spiritual consciousness remained undying, there would one day come a time when the cultivator could surpass every prodigy and monstrous genius.
...
Imperial City, the Hundred Flowers Pavilion.
At the exact moment Shen Xueyin fell, a system notification suddenly appeared before Lin An’s eyes.
[Investment target Shen Xueyin has died. Calculating investment returns.]
【Introduction: At Shen Xueyin’s most desperate moment, the host gave her a warm home and provided her with all kinds of help. Shen Xueyin regarded you as the only light in her life and was even willing to sacrifice her life for you.】
【Final Settlement: 100% return rate】
【Host’s Rewards: Seventh-level Qi Refining cultivation, Phoenix Undying Seal, Myriad Tribulations Undying Scripture】