Chapter 57

In the deepest area of Qingxu, Mei Xue's figure gradually faded away, about to disappear from the sight of Xiao Xiang and Xiao Liu.

"Wait!" Ignoring the fact that her body had not yet fully recovered, Xiao Xiang urged the massive nine-headed serpent to chase after her, while Xiao Liu, located at the serpent's tail, tightly covered her mouth, tears streaming down her large eyes.

She clutched the ancient wooden longevity amulet in her hand, but could not believe that the person who had just pierced the blood pearl with a cold, silver crystal sword was the boy she had held hands with in her dreams countless times.

Why?

Why is it you?

Why have you become like this, Mei Xue?

Are you, Mei Xue?

Damn it, you hurt Xiao Liu! Compared to the bewildered Xiao Liu, Xiao Xiang was even more angry and could not believe that she would meet Mei Xue again in such a way.

On that day, after she had to leave the secret realm of Tiantai Mountain and return to Qingxu, she remained immersed in the endless sea of blood for seven days and seven nights.

She thought of nothing, felt nothing, as if she had turned into a pebble deep in the ocean, only in this way could she forget those feelings that should not have existed.

After seven days and seven nights, Xiao Liu woke up.

The first thing the weak Xiao Liu did upon waking was to cry, and she cried large, heavy tears.

Although she had not cried, Xiao Liu had shed all the tears for her.

It was the first time Xiao Xiang had seen Xiao Liu cry so bitterly, because Xiao Liu had lost something very, very important, something she might never see again.

Human life is very short. As the ruler of Qingxu, she could almost live forever as long as the secret realm did not perish, but humans could die suddenly from a single disaster or illness. Even without illness, few humans who were not immortal practitioners could live past 120 years.

Perhaps, because life is so short, humans strive so hard to leave something behind in this world.

Perhaps, because they cherish time, that boy could bravely say "I like you..." in such a short time after they met.

However, the name that followed was not Xiao Xiang, but Xiao Liu, her most cherished sister, the one she was willing to sacrifice her life to protect.

When she told Xiao Liu this news, Xiao Liu was so happy that she hid the ordinary longevity amulet in the core of her life-connected blood pearl.

That was a place even she had never entered, the core of Xiao Liu's life. Placing the amulet there, which had no defensive capabilities, was a sign of something too obvious.

If it had not been her that day, if Xiao Liu had woken up that day, she would surely have said to him:

"I am willing, I also like you, Mei Xue."

Ah, if only it had been like that, if she had not given Mei Xue that fatal blow, allowing Xiao Liu to happily spend ten days with him, how wonderful that would have been.

It was all her fault. Because of her interference, the two who loved each other missed the chance to confess their feelings to each other.

Because of her carelessness, that precious time was lost.

Mei Xue liked Xiao Liu, and Xiao Liu liked Mei Xue. It was such a simple happiness, just a ten-day first love, but it was destroyed by her.

So, she could not hide it. She had no right to accept such a confession. Even if she lied and hid the longevity amulet, Xiao Liu would have no doubts.

Pure, kind, always thinking of others, compared to the radiant Xiao Liu, she was like a blood-colored nightmare in the darkness, with no right to taint her true heart.

So, this is fine. She would tell Xiao Liu everything, Mei Xue's last words, and give her the longevity amulet she had held in her hand for so long.

Because, she was the most important sister in the world to her, someone more important than herself.

This little sadness, this little urge to cry, she would lock away deep in her heart, a place no one could touch.

The smile of that boy in her memory, his warm hands, the sweet candies, she would carefully store them away, only taking one out to lick when she was so sad she could not bear it, recalling those sunny days, the tenderness deep in her heart.

In these few years, she had already eaten two candies. When the pile of candies that formed a small mountain disappeared, perhaps she would no longer be sad.

This was enough. She did not allow herself to desire more. But when she licked the sweet candy, her eyes always hurt a little—surely the wind was too noisy.

Why did you come here?

Why have you become so powerful?

Why do you ignore Xiao Liu, when you clearly saw her!

You liar! Mei Xue!

...

Behind her, it seemed that an angry voice and the sorrowful cries of a girl could be heard.

But Mei Xue could not hear them. His steps were steady and powerful, with no hesitation, and his eyes were as calm and still as the deep sea.

Although the appearance of the Nine Abysses had quietly faded, after the blood pearls taken from the nine-headed serpent burst, Mei Xue quickly activated another form granted by the Classic of Mountains and Seas—the Golden-Haired Jade-Faced Nine-Tailed Fox transformation.

In the mist, a pair of golden fox ears appeared on Mei Xue's head, and a soft golden fox tail behind him. His figure was dreamlike as he walked, disappearing in the blink of an eye at the end of the ninth level of Qingxu.

Xiao Xiang and Xiao Liu, dragging their battered bodies, saw only a slowly dissipating white mist, unable to find the figure of the boy they once knew.

"Ugh... ugh... ugh... why..." Xiao Liu still could not believe what had just happened.

But she could not have mistaken that figure, or the moment the sword stopped, those sighing eyes, the eyes of the boy in her memory.

Even if the color of his eyes had changed, and even if his entire demeanor had changed, as soon as she saw those eyes, Xiao Liu knew it was him, the person she thought of day and night, the boy who had once held her hand.

For the immortal race of the secret realm, a few years passed in the blink of an eye. Xiao Liu had just designed the outline of a new boundary-breaking pearl and was desperately seeking a new way to the human world.

She never imagined that Mei Xue would find her first, and in such an extraordinary way.

"Mei Xue!" Xiao Xiang, who had already recovered three heads, roared to the sky, shaking the ninth level of Qingxu, then wrapped Xiao Liu and rushed towards the passage.

She wanted an answer from him. She did not care that he had cut off her nine heads, but she could not forgive his ignoring Xiao Liu.

It was you who reached out your hand to Xiao Liu first.

It was you who cared for Xiao Liu, making her heart race and feel happy.

It was you who, even in the face of her death threats, did not give up on meeting Xiao Liu.

It was you who personally handed the longevity amulet, a symbol of love, to her and confessed to Xiao Liu.

So, how can you be so irresponsible? Can't you hear Xiao Liu's voice, can't you see her sad tears?

But the truth was indeed so.

In Mei Xue's world, he could not hear Xiao Xiang's angry voice, nor could he hear Xiao Liu's sobs.

In Mei Xue's eyes, everything was silent, except for the rain that never stopped.

The rain continued to fall.

Mei Xue still walked alone on the path of the Great Dao.

The path of "slaughter" had ended, and Mei Xue, having gained sufficient spoils, was now embarking on a new path that would change his life.

"Drip! Drip!" The light rain echoed in Mei Xue's solitary world, telling him the secrets of the universe bit by bit.

Each step Mei Xue took was accompanied by the rain, which contained the principles of the universe.

There was no path under his feet, but wherever he walked, a path naturally formed.

Each raindrop that fell created a ripple in Mei Xue's calm heart, reflecting a piece of past memory.

It was the most splendid scenery in Tiantai's memory, the peak moments of the great cultivators advancing to Tiantai, the most precious treasures of Tiantai.

These memories, Mei Xue could only glimpse, unable to truly understand their secrets, but everything had already fallen into his heart, waiting for the moment to resurface.

When Mei Xue unlocked all the incomplete Great Dao meridians of Tiantai, which was like a "match-three" game, all of this would become his. Now, it was just a preview.

Even so, Mei Xue was already immersed in an endless world of light and shadow.

At times, he transformed into a one-armed swordsman, waving his hand to unleash countless sword qi, cutting through heaven and earth.

At times, he transformed into a giant three meters tall, a single punch shattering the earth and mountains.

At times, he held a brush, using the universe as his canvas and the power of the seas and mountains as his paint, drawing the Yin-Yang Bagua diagram to suppress the elements of earth, water, fire, and wind.

At times, he wore black immortal robes, and with a wave of his hand, countless ghosts howled, and heaven and earth wept.

Finally, above all this, a solitary white-robed sword figure stood, a single sword strike shattering heaven and earth, collapsing mountains and rivers, inverting Yin and Yang, and causing the stars to fall.

That was the Heavenly Sword, the Supreme Heavenly Sword.

"Rumble!" Behind Mei Xue, the endless sea of blood began to flood everything, and the figure of the nine-headed serpent roared, protecting the crying girl as she chased after Mei Xue's back.

No matter how hard she tried, she could not catch up. She could see the white mist enveloping Mei Xue, but the distance between them seemed as vast as a world apart.

A distance that was usually just a thought or a tail flick away had now become an unbridgeable gap, no matter how much strength she used, she could not get any closer.

Then, Mei Xue stopped, and the gentle rain that had been falling also stopped.

"Goodbye." This was Mei Xue's farewell to Xiao Liu and Xiao Xiang, even though he could not remember their names.

With the next step, Mei Xue's figure disappeared in Qingxu.

"It's him! It's him!" The eldest of the Canghai brothers was the first to spot Mei Xue emerging from the entrance, seeing the misty white mist.

The rain stopped, and the heart calmed, for everything had ended, and the Great Dao comprehension had naturally reached its end.

Mei Xue smiled slightly, and a water mirror appeared in the white mist.

The great power of the Golden-Haired Jade-Faced Nine-Tailed Fox, the Illusory Reflection, was activated.

Before anyone could see through the white mist and recognize the true identity of the boy, Mei Xue's figure drifted away, quietly blending into the mountains and waters.

Thus, the "Qingxu Trial" that would completely change Mei Xue's life came to an end.