Xueling lay motionless in the crater, her consciousness flickering like a dying candle.
Was this really the end?
As her awareness began to fade, fragments of memory began to surface.
Her mother’s gentle smile, the way she used to brush Xueling’s hair before bed, the warmth of her embrace when she felt scared.
Is this what they meant by life flashing before one’s eyes?
She struggled to hold onto a single coherent thought, but they slipped away like water through her fingers. What had she been fighting for all this time? Did she want acknowledgement from the emperor? No, she didn’t care about his approval anymore. The source of thɪs content is novel·fıre·net
What about revenge for her mother? Even if she succeeded, it wouldn’t bring her back. What was the point of all this suffering?
The world around her began to blur, reality mixing with hallucination. She saw her mother standing before her, radiant and beautiful, just as she remembered from childhood. Her mother’s voice was soft, filled with the same love that had once made Xueling feel safe.
"My dear child," her mother whispered, reaching out with translucent hands. "You’ve suffered so much. The pain, the anger, the loneliness - none of it is worth it. Come with me. Rest."
The invitation felt so tempting. No more fighting, no more enemies, no more heartbreak.
Just eternal peace...
Xueling felt herself drifting toward that outstretched hand, ready to let go of everything that had caused her pain. Maybe her mother was right. Maybe it was time to stop.
But just as she was about to surrender completely, a voice cut through the haze.
Although the voice was flat, lacking any emotion or warmth that was in her mother’s voice, it still managed to pull her out of the darkness.
Her eyes snapped open instantly, her consciousness exploding outward, expanding from her head and covering the area around her. The sensation didn’t stop at her previous level two mind limit - it surpassed it entirely, reaching distances she’d never imagined possible.
Through this expanded awareness, she saw Yu Tian about to be killed, a sword mere inches from his heart.
The sect master’s head whipped around in her direction, his own spiritual sense colliding with hers in surprise.
Yu Tian was about to be stabbed when suddenly, he felt the temperature around them drop drastically. He glanced at the woman before him who was just about to drive her blade into his chest. She was frozen - literally. Ice was crystallizing on her body, spreading across her skin.
And not just her. He looked down at himself - ice crystals were beginning to form on his clothes too. He looked around in amazement. The entire surrounding had changed completely. It was like winter had arrived in an instant. Snow was falling, and the ground was covered in a thick layer of ice.
Even the trees were gathering frost on their leaves.
His attention returned to the woman before him. Something had definitely happened, but he was still in the same dangerous situation. He wondered if he had waited too long to call for help. But according to his calculations, it might not have had the same effect if he’d been too far away from death.
The difference was just two percent, but he preferred the higher chances.
His level three mind allowed him to continue having these extended thoughts despite the attack closing in.
"Hmm, I have nothing," he thought, unable to find a way out.
But just as the blade was about to make contact with his chest, Xueling appeared beside him, materializing from one of the falling snowflakes. She stretched out her hand, grabbing the woman’s sword with her bare fingers.
The moment she touched the blade, ice spread from her fingers, freezing the sword completely solid. The woman quickly let go of the weapon before the ice could reach her body.
The sword, now in Xueling’s grip, cracked several times before shattering into thousands of pieces.
She then grabbed Yu Tian’s hand and took to the skies instantly.
"Not so fast!" the sect master shouted, appearing before.
Xueling waved her free hand, creating a massive ice block that hurtled toward the sect master.
He crossed his arms to block the attack, the ice shattering upon impact with tremendous force. But when he lowered his arms and cleared his vision, the two were nowhere to be found.
"Dammit!" he cursed, floating back down to the ground.
He looked around at the transformed landscape. "The Winter Curse Saint Body is really impressive," he thought, observing the area around him. For nearly a mile radius, everything was covered in thick ice and snow.
"Master, should we follow them?" the woman asked, shivering as she tried to brush ice crystals from her clothes.
"No need. I already know where they’re going," he said calmly.
It was obvious where those two were headed. Even though her saint body had managed to awaken fully, she was still injured and drained of energy, that’s why she chose to run instead of fight. The only thing they could do at the moment was hide, and the only place they could hide was in the Twin Secret Tombs.
"As expected of the master..." the woman praised, but suddenly paused. She coughed up blood, her eyes widening in shock as she looked down to see the sect master’s hand driven deep into her.
"Master... why?" she gasped, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.
"You couldn’t even handle a single Qi Gathering brat. I don’t need useless people like you," he said coldly, pulling out his hand along with her glowing core.
He thought to himself that wasn’t really the reason. He had no intention of letting her live in the first place. After all, he needed many cores to form the absolute core - someone like her was just a resource he’d been keeping around until she was no longer useful.
He settled into a meditative posture on the frozen ground. Now that Xueling had awakened her saint body, things had gotten more complicated. Even so, this could turn into an opportunity if used correctly.
First, he would refine the cores he had collected to increase his power. After that clash just now, that yin energy was no joke - if she recovered her energy completely, he might be the one in danger.
Now that they had fled into the secret tombs, they should be trapped there for a while, giving him enough time to refine the cores and strengthen himself. After that... he would wait for them to emerge, extract their cores, and refine them to breakthrough to the Golden Core realm with an absolute core.
A/N: Yes, just like Xiuying.