Shang Ruwan stared blankly at Mo Tiange, not understanding her meaning.
Mo Tiange kept her gaze fixed on Yao Zixiu floating mid-air, speaking slowly, "Present Life Eternal Heaven. The present life is eternity, eternity is but a single day. Here, any wish can be fulfilled except leaving. If you desire a secluded paradise, it gives you a secluded paradise. If he desires to stand tall with pride, it gives him that pride." Her gaze lowered, looking at Shang Ruwan with pity and sorrow. "So, it's all false. Your three years are false, his Core Formation is also false."
Shang Ruwan trembled, unable to regain her composure for a long while.
Mo Tiange continued, "This Illusion Formation manifests what each person desires most in their heart. Sister, what you desire most is an undisturbed life for the two of you. And what he desires most…"
Mo Tiange didn't continue. Shang Ruwan already understood her implication. She was stunned for a long time before slowly asking, "Then… what will be the outcome?"
Seeing her expression, Mo Tiange almost couldn't bear to say it, but she had to. "… Fellow Daoist Yan has already perished. We confirmed she fell victim, blinded by illusions, and died from exhaustion of her blood essence…"
Shang Ruwan was greatly shaken. She stared blankly at her husband enveloped in black mist mid-air, not speaking for a long, long time.
Death… What he desired most…
She remembered ninety years ago, when she first saw the new disciple her father had taken—
"You're Yao Zixiu? Do you know who I am?"
That small youth, though his eyes held an unyielding pride, didn't treat her like a child at play. Instead, he bowed respectfully, "Greetings, Senior Sister."
She, also small, smiled triumphantly, pretending to cough twice and nodding, "Hmm, very polite!"
Their senior brother nearby teased, "Little Junior Brother, you're actually a bit older than Little Junior Sister. You can just call her Junior Sister."
"This…" The youth looked at her and said seriously, "I entered the sect later than Senior Sister, so I should address her as Senior Sister…"
She was overjoyed, shouting at her senior brother, "It's Senior Sister, it's Senior Sister!" Turning to him, she patted her small chest, "Little Junior Brother, from now on, I'll protect you!"
She remembered seventy years ago, when she had just achieved Foundation Establishment—
"What's so good about that boy?! Listen to your father obediently and marry your Brother Ni!"
She knelt before her father, unmoving, but held her head high, refusing to yield.
"Ungrateful daughter!" Her father flew into a rage, striking her with a palm.
Her father, at Foundation Establishment Perfection, held back almost nothing in that strike. She spat blood, her meridians severely damaged, yet she still gritted her teeth, refusing to relent.
Her mother wept beside her, "Wan'er, just listen to your father!"
Listen? No. She struggled to stand, using all her strength to kneel before her father again, saying word by word, "If Father forces me, I will die!"
No one had ever dared defy her father like this, not even herself. But at this moment, she did not regret it.
She remembered sixty years ago, when he finally achieved Foundation Establishment—
"Father, Junior Brother has achieved Foundation Establishment!" She ran joyfully into the main hall.
But her father's face showed no joy, only coldness. "If you hadn't secretly given him the Foundation Establishment Pill you saved, how could he have achieved Foundation Establishment?"
She was stunned, not understanding why her father, who had tacitly approved of this matter, was now so indifferent.
"Father, Little Junior Brother is also your personally accepted disciple, isn't he? Why do you treat him…"
"Hmph! If not for the fact that his family once produced a Core Formation cultivator and must have hidden treasures, why would I accept someone of his aptitude?" Unexpectedly, her father said such words.
"Father!" she cried out in disbelief. "You… you're using Little Junior Brother?!"
"What use or not use!" Her father's expression was cold. "If I hadn't taken him as a disciple, where would he have had these decades of good life? How could he have achieved Foundation Establishment? Wan'er, your Brother Ni still thinks of you. He achieved Foundation Establishment long ago. With his aptitude, advancing to mid-stage in a dozen years won't be a problem. You should settle down!"
"Father, you… didn't you promise me you wouldn't force me to marry Brother Ni?"
"Times are different now! I won't indulge your willfulness!" Her father's expression held three parts coldness, seven parts smugness. "Uncle Ni's betrothal gift is a single Dustless Pill! Your father has sought this pill for many years! With this Dustless Pill, perhaps your father can enter the Core Formation stage in one go! Wan'er, your father's path to Core Formation lies in your hands!"
She remembered that night—
"Junior Brother, let's go, let's leave!" She grabbed his hand, weeping.
The once-small youth was now a gentle and steady young man. He held her hand, startled. "Senior Sister, what's wrong?"
She cried, "If we don't leave now, it'll be too late! Father still wants me to marry Brother Ni. The Ni family has already declared that even if I die, they'll carry my body through their door!"
He paled, stunned on the spot.
"Junior Brother, if we don't leave now, it'll be too late! My mother has a soft heart and let me out. We only have tonight. Tomorrow… tomorrow…"
"This…" His face shifted between light and shadow. After a long time, he finally gritted his teeth. "Alright, Senior Sister. Let's go. Let's run far away, where they can never find us!"
She remembered their wedding day—
No guests, no wedding dress, only the cold moonlight and two lonely shadows.
"Heaven and Earth bear witness, the bright moon as our matchmaker. I, Shang Ruwan, take Yao Zixiu as my husband. In this life, in this world, I will never leave nor abandon him."
He also made his vow: "Heaven and Earth bear witness, the bright moon as our matchmaker. I, Yao Zixiu, take Shang Ruwan as my wife. In this life, in this world, we will live and die together."
The cold night wind blew. Not far away, wolves howled at the moon. Yet she felt her entire heart overflowing with happiness.
"Senior Sister…"
"Do you still want to call me Senior Sister now?"
He was stunned for a moment, then smiled. "…You were originally younger than me. From now on, I'll call you Wan-mei. How's that?"
She also smiled, softly calling, "Xiu-ge."
Sixty years. Though they had no fixed home, no progress in cultivation, she had always been content. Her heart was large—no one but him could make her feel happiness. Her heart was also small—as long as she could stay with him, she felt happy.
Tears fell. This was the first time she realized happiness was so far, so far away from her.
"Careful!" Mo Tiange grabbed Shang Ruwan and rapidly retreated.
The black mist floating mid-air suddenly exploded. Yao Zixiu opened his eyes, his aura swelling dramatically.
Core Formation! Regardless of the reason, the Yao Zixiu before them was undoubtedly at the Core Formation stage! In this Illusion Formation, unless the intent shifted, the illusions created would not vanish. Otherwise, the illusions were no different from real people!
Mo Tiange turned to look. Fangzheng, along with Lu Xiangxin and Wang Xiangzhi, were also filled with shock. Coming to his senses, Fangzheng gave a meaningful glance and whispered harshly, "Go!"
The four of them, along with Shang Ruwan whom Mo Tiange dragged, fled into the distance.
But the next moment, a vast aura surged into the sky behind them.
"Ah—" Two screams. Lu and Wang, who were lagging behind, were sent flying. One crashed into a tree trunk, the other fell onto a Five Elements Platform. Both spat blood, their survival unknown.
"Halt!" Yao Zixiu roared.
Mo Tiange's figure spun sharply. Daoist Fangzheng also stopped not far behind her and turned around.
At this moment, Yao Zixiu's eyes were completely red, burning with blazing flames. His robes billowed without wind. The aura of a Core Formation cultivator pressed towards them.
Yao Zixiu's gaze slowly swept over them, filled with arrogance and ruthless, as if looking at a few ants.
Finally, his gaze fell on Shang Ruwan, and that icy aura softened slightly.
He said, "Wan-mei, we can go back now. I can take you back now! Hahahaha…" In the end, he threw his head back and laughed wildly, his voice utterly unrestrained.
Shang Ruwan slowly broke free from Mo Tiange's hand and walked forward step by step.
"Sister Shang!" Mo Tiange couldn't help but call out. She could see that though Yao Zixiu's cultivation wasn't demonic, his mental state had fallen into demonic ways. Right now, he still recognized Shang Ruwan, but who knew if he would retain his sanity the next moment?!
Shang Ruwan paused in her steps, turned back, and smiled at her. For some reason, Mo Tiange felt her smile looked more despairing than crying. She said softly, "Sister Ye, you are so kind. Thank you. This matter has nothing to do with you. Later… just leave."
Mo Tiange was stunned. What did she mean…
Shang Ruwan had already turned and flew towards Yao Zixiu.
Yao Zixiu reached out, embracing her, filled with satisfaction. "Wan-mei, are you happy?"
But Shang Ruwan shook her head, speaking flatly, "No."
Yao Zixiu frowned slightly, then asked urgently, "Why? All these years, haven't you wanted to go back? Now we can return with justified reasons! Your father will never say anything again!"
"Is that so?" Shang Ruwan's gaze held bone-chilling coldness. "Xiu-ge, is your current cultivation real?"
Yao Zixiu was stunned, then furious. "Wan-mei! What do you mean? My cultivation is of course real! Look—" He pulled Shang Ruwan's hand, eager to prove himself. "This is the technique I just obtained. It turns out there really is an opportunity here. The master of this place was a great magical power cultivator. After his death, he sealed his techniques here, and I happened to obtain them…"
Shang Ruwan watched his triumphant expression with indifference, feeling only profound sorrow in her heart. One hundred years. It took one hundred years for her to truly see this person, the person she loved most. It turned out that in his heart, cultivation had always been most important. It turned out what he had always wanted was this outcome.
She took the jade slip from Yao Zixiu's hand, infused it with her spiritual sense, then sneered and threw it back to him. "Xiu-ge, see for yourself what this really is!"
Yao Zixiu, puzzled, took back the jade slip, then his face changed dramatically.
Mo Tiange didn't know what happened but could roughly guess. This so-called opportunity was all Yao Zixiu's fantasy. Of course, there was no technique in the jade slip—it was either empty or utter nonsense. Once Yao Zixiu looked, he naturally realized something was wrong.
"It can't be. This is real! This is real!" First murmuring to himself, Yao Zixiu finally showed a ruthless expression. He turned his head, glaring angrily at Mo Tiange and Fangzheng. "Did you steal it? Did you?!"
"Xiu-ge!" Shang Ruwan called out, grabbing his sleeve. "It has nothing to do with others. This is an Illusion Formation, so you're hallucinating!"
"Illusion Formation? Hallucination? No, you're lying to me! You're lying to me!" His aura erupted. Yao Zixiu shook his arm, and Shang Ruwan screamed as she fell from mid-air.
Under Yao Zixiu's gaze, Mo Tiange dared not move, watching helplessly as Shang Ruwan fell.
No matter how weak Yao Zixiu was before, in this Illusion Formation, he was a genuine Core Formation cultivator. No matter how arrogant Mo Tiange was, she wouldn't think she could fight a Core Formation cultivator. Fight? She couldn't win. Escape? The valley was only this big; there was nowhere to escape. Enter the Void Heaven Realm? To enter the Void Heaven Realm, she needed to recite the incantation, which took at least three breaths. But right now, Yao Zixiu was watching them closely. If she made the slightest unusual move, he would probably kill her instantly. She didn't even have one breath's time.
"Xiu-ge!" Shang Ruwan was clearly injured but still struggled to stand. "Xiu-ge, don't, don't! You'll fall into demonic ways!"
"Wan-mei, say no more! Do you think I don't know?" Yao Zixiu's eyes were crimson red, appearing increasingly sinister. "Back then, your father took me as a disciple because he coveted my Yao family's accumulated treasures! To make him agree to let you marry me, I offered him my Yao family ancestor's secret technique. But what did your father do? Ten years later, he still wanted you to marry someone else! And this time, I was no longer useful, so he even thought of killing me!"
"What?" Shang Ruwan was greatly shaken. "My father he…"
"You didn't know, did you?" Yao Zixiu grinned, no longer displaying his steady and refined demeanor. His sinister appearance was increasingly alarming. "Back then, back then it wasn't because he loved you, his daughter. It was because I offered him the Yao family's accumulated treasures! But even so, it only made him spare us for ten years! That day when you came to me, I had already received news that he wanted to kill me! I originally planned to leave alone, but you came… I… I couldn't bear to leave you…"
"…" Shang Ruwan trembled, unable to speak. So that's how it was. So that's how it was! No wonder he was so eager to cultivate. No wonder he… He wanted to achieve Core Formation to take revenge, right…
She suddenly began to cry. So this was an unsolvable dilemma, completely unsolvable! She thought she only needed to persuade him, but it turned out there was such a reason. Even if he were willing to leave the Illusion Formation, he would still be fixated on revenge.
"Wan-mei," Yao Zixiu's voice softened again. "Don't worry. For your sake, I won't take his life. I'll just cripple his cultivation, that's enough! Hmph, all these years, I've been inquiring. Your father didn't succeed in Core Formation. Retribution. This is retribution! Hahahaha…"
After laughing, Yao Zixiu turned his gaze towards Mo Tiange and Daoist Fangzheng, speaking leisurely, "I'll start with you two then. Come, let me see your skills!"
Mo Tiange and Daoist Fangzheng both darkened their expressions, tightening their grips on their magical tools or treasures.
Yao Zixiu seemed like a cat toying with mice, not attacking immediately, as if truly waiting to see their abilities.
After a moment of silence, Mo Tiange spoke, "Fellow Daoist Yao, you don't believe this is an Illusion Formation?"
"I believe!" Yao Zixiu declared arrogantly. "However, my advancement to Core Formation is not an illusion. If it were an illusion, I couldn't have such a clear sensation. I truly have become stronger. This feeling…"
He was still savoring it when Mo Tiange laughed, "That's right. It's a feeling. But feelings can be wrong."
"You—" Still being denied, Yao Zixiu glared angrily, raising his hand. A sphere formed from gathered spiritual qi gradually appeared in his palm.
Mo Tiange and Daoist Fangzheng grew even more tense. A Core Formation cultivator could materialize spiritual qi. A single strike from such a spiritual qi sphere was definitely not something Foundation Establishment cultivators like them could withstand!
"Xiu-ge!" It was Shang Ruwan who cried out. "Xiu-ge, let them go. You want revenge, it has nothing to do with them…"
"Silence!" Yao Zixiu shouted. "In the world of cultivation, killing a person or two is nothing. You're just being womanly compassion!"
"I'm afraid you'll fall into demonic ways…"
"Fall into demonic ways? So what if I do?" Yao Zixiu smiled disdainfully. "To obtain such powerful strength, I'm willing to fall into demonic ways! Besides, what's the harm in falling into demonic ways? That Venerable Songfeng is a great late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator. Doesn't he also kill indiscriminately? Has anyone seen his demonic ways affect his cultivation? What inner demons, what loss of virtue, are all fake! Fake!"
Shang Ruwan could no longer persuade him. She stared blankly at Yao Zixiu, whose aura blazed to the heavens, tears rolling down her face as she said mournfully, "Then what about me? What do you plan to do with me? If you fall into demonic ways, what should I do?"
"…" Yao Zixiu fell silent. His expression softened instantly, as if her words had touched a soft spot in his heart.
At this moment, Mo Tiange gave Daoist Fangzheng a meaningful glance. The two understood each other and secretly began their preparations…
"Xiu-ge… do you remember the vow we made that day? I, Shang Ruwan, take Yao Zixiu as my husband. In this life, in this world, I will never leave nor abandon him…"
Shang Ruwan wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, flying up unsteadily, reaching out her hand to him. "Xiu-ge, don't leave me…"
Yao Zixiu couldn't help but reach out as well, taking her hand, his voice also softening. "I, Yao Zixiu, take Shang Ruwan as my wife. In this life, in this world, we will live and die together…"
Shang Ruwan finally showed a smile, leaning towards him.
Just as Yao Zixiu, unable to restrain himself, embraced her—
A magical tool suddenly appeared, stabbing fiercely towards Yao Zixiu's heart.
"Ah—" It was Shang Ruwan's agonized cry.
The dagger-shaped magical tool appeared in Yao Zixiu's chest. Yao Zixiu gripped the hilt, pulling it out with force, bringing forth a string of blood flowers. He staggered but remained standing.
He looked at Shang Ruwan, whom he had sent flying with a wave of his hand and now lay on a Five Elements Platform, his anger soaring as he cried out in pain, "You… you tried to kill me?!"
Shang Ruwan lay on the Five Elements Platform, unable to move, yet her gaze smiled. "Xiu-ge… In this life, in this world, never leave nor abandon… Since it's so… let us… die together then…"
With every word she spoke, blood continuously gushed from her mouth. By the time she finished speaking, she had become a person drenched in blood.
Mo Tiange couldn't bear to watch. She suddenly regretted why she had told Shang Ruwan that the outcome of falling victim was death. Yao Zixiu refused to emerge from the illusion and would eventually die. So she…
Live and die together, live and die together. She never thought the love vows between mortal couples could be realized in the world of cultivation. But now…
"Wan-mei…" Yao Zixiu was stunned. He floated mid-air in a daze, blood continuously flowing from his chest, yet he seemed utterly unaware.
"Core Formation, Core Formation…" He suddenly murmured, "I achieved Core Formation… but Wan-mei…"
As if suddenly realizing what had happened, he rushed over, threw himself onto Shang Ruwan, pulling her up, shouting loudly, "Wan-mei! Wan-mei!"
Shang Ruwan still smiled. She could no longer move. Mo Tiange could see… she was almost certainly going to die.
"Wan-mei, you…"
But Shang Ruwan left him no more words, quietly closing her eyes as her breathing gradually ceased.
"Wan-mei!" Yao Zixiu cried out loudly, blood and tears surging forth together.
They watched as Yao Zixiu gradually lost his color, as if slowly turning to stone bit by bit… slowly… becoming a skeleton still clad in robes.
And the skeleton still tightly embraced Shang Ruwan's corpse.