“Master, Sixth Junior Sister has suffered catastrophic injuries. More than half of her meridians are shattered, and her Sea of Consciousness is on the verge of total collapse.”

“The arm severed from her body was treated with a dark, corrosive technique. I have exhausted every method I know, but nothing works. Unless she encounters a heaven-defying Fated Chance, that arm is gone forever.”

In the solemn silence of the Sect’s main hall, Xu Wanqing bowed low, her voice trembling as she reported the diagnosis. As she reached the end of her list, she hesitated, her expression twisted in horror.

“And… and…”

“And what?”

“Speak!”

A furious roar erupted from the throne above. Guan Xuelan, the Azure Mystic Supreme, sat shrouded in blinding radiance, her aura pulsating with lethal intent.

For disciples to maim one another was the ultimate taboo. Guan Xuelan had been forced to break her seclusion early, her own injuries still unhealed, to deal with this disgrace.

Under the Supreme’s withering gaze, Xu Wanqing’s face drained of color. She glanced nervously at Nian Zhaoxi, who stood nearby, staring blankly at the floor like a soul lost in the void.

“The meridian damage, the collapsing Sea of Consciousness, even the severed arm… as terrible as they are, they are not the worst of it,” Xu Wanqing stammered.

“The most critical injury is… is…”

She swallowed hard.

“Sixth Junior Sister’s lifespan… has been drained dry.”

What?

A collective gasp swept through the hall. Every pair of eyes widened in disbelief, turning instantly to lock onto Nian Zhaoxi.

Even the furious Guan Xuelan froze.

In the next heartbeat, the Supreme vanished from her throne and reappeared directly in front of Nian Zhaoxi. Her hand clamped down on Nian Zhaoxi’s shoulder, forcing spiritual energy into her body to investigate.

A moment later, the temperature in the hall plummeted.

“You treacherous wretch,” Guan Xuelan hissed, her voice dripping with ice. “Your lifespan was running out. You were like a lamp without oil. So tell me… why is your vitality suddenly overflowing?”

“Where did you get this life force?”

The implication hung heavy in the air, suffocating the disciples present.

Everyone knew Nian Zhaoxi was dying. Her depleted lifespan had been an open secret in the inner sect; Xu Wanqing had even spent months gathering Spirit Pills in a desperate bid to extend her Senior Sister’s days.

But now? Nian Zhaoxi was brimming with life.

And He Mengyun was lying on her deathbed, her years stolen.

The conclusion was inescapable. It was horrific.

“My life…” Nian Zhaoxi finally spoke. Her voice was thin, a whisper from a dream. “I took it from Sixth Junior Sister.”

Boom!

The confession hit the hall like a thunderclap. Even those who suspected the truth recoiled in horror when she said the words aloud.

Senior Sister Nian Zhaoxi… the esteemed Master of the Heaven-Asking Pavilion… had forcibly harvested the life of her own martial sister!

“Senior Sister! Are… are you insane?”

“How could you do this? Tell us it’s a lie! Tell us this is a mistake!”

“That is Little Six! Even if you never liked her, she is your sister! How could you commit such a heinous, unforgivable sin?”

The disciples erupted into chaos. Some screamed in denial, others wept, and many pointed fingers, their eyes filled with betrayal and disgust.

Guan Xuelan raised her hand, palm glowing with terrifying energy, hovering inches above Nian Zhaoxi’s skull. The pressure was immense; one twitch, and Nian Zhaoxi would be obliterated.

“I demand an explanation!” Guan Xuelan roared.

Nian Zhaoxi offered a miserable, broken smile. She lowered her head. “I am a dying woman. I coveted Sixth Junior Sister’s vitality. I attacked her. I stripped her of her years to save myself… that is all.”

“You… you fool!”

“We were trying to help you! We would have found a way!”

“How could you betray us like this? I am so disappointed in you!”

The condemnations rained down like stones. The bonds of sisterhood, forged over centuries, shattered in an instant.

“You are lying!”

Guan Xuelan’s eyes flashed with a predatory light. “To forcibly strip the lifespan of another… even I, a Supreme, do not possess such a technique. How could you possibly achieve it?”

The crowd paused.

Right. Stealing lifespan sounded plausible in theory, but in practice? It was a defying-heaven act. If it were that easy, the world would be filled with ancient monsters prolonging their lives indefinitely.

But Nian Zhaoxi did not answer. She stood there, silent and still as a stone statue.

“Hmph. Do you think your silence will protect you?” Guan Xuelan sneered. “If you won’t speak, I will take the truth from your mind!”

She changed her palm to a finger and stabbed it toward Nian Zhaoxi’s forehead.

Soul Search!

Guan Xuelan did not hold back. In her rage, she didn’t care if the forceful intrusion left Nian Zhaoxi an idiot or a vegetable.

The other disciples flinched, but no one stepped forward to stop it. The crime was too great.

But a moment later, Guan Xuelan recoiled, her face twisting in shock and fury.

“You wretch!”

“Why are there so many restrictions on your soul? Who placed them there? Even I cannot break through!”

The Soul Search had failed.

Nian Zhaoxi’s Sea of Consciousness was locked behind layers of ancient, terrifying bans. Unless the Ghost Supreme—the only being capable of such soul arts—was resurrected, Guan Xuelan was powerless to pry open her disciple’s mind.

“Speak! Who is behind this?”

“Do you think I won’t kill you right now?”

Guan Xuelan unleashed waves of crushing spiritual pressure.

Crack! Crack!

Nian Zhaoxi’s body buckled. Her bones groaned, and blood sprayed from her pores, staining her white robes crimson. Her meridians began to snap inch by inch under the strain.

Yet, Nian Zhaoxi remained silent. She did not scream. She did not beg. She simply endured.

“Good! Very good!” Guan Xuelan was hyperventilating with rage. “Since you wish to die with your secrets, I will grant your wish!”

She raised her hand, ready to deliver the killing blow.

“Master! Please wait!”

A voice cut through the tension. Jiang Xun strode into the hall, dropping to his knees.

Behind him, several other sisters hesitated, then followed suit. “Master, please calm your anger!”

“Please show mercy!”

Guan Xuelan glared at them. “You dare plead for this kin-slayer?”

The sisters exchanged unsure glances.

“If Senior Sister is truly a monster who harms her own kind, I would be the first to demand her execution,” Jiang Xun said, his voice ringing with righteous conviction. He looked at the bloody figure of Nian Zhaoxi. “But I do not believe Senior Sister is that kind of person!”

“There must be a reason for this madness. There must be an unspeakable difficulty! I beg Master to investigate thoroughly before passing judgment!”

“Investigate?” Guan Xuelan scoffed.

“Yes,” Jiang Xun pressed. “The urgent matter is to save Sixth Senior Sister. Once she wakes, she can tell us the truth. We can decide Senior Sister’s fate then.”

His words were sincere, his posture noble. Tears welled up in the eyes of the surrounding disciples.

Junior Brother is so kind. Even in the face of such betrayal, he stands up for his Senior Sister against the Master’s wrath.

Nian Zhaoxi, head bowed and covered in blood, slowly lifted her eyes.

She looked at Jiang Xun.

He met her gaze and smiled—a warm, reassuring smile that seemed to say, Trust me, Senior Sister. I am here for you.

Nian Zhaoxi’s expression didn’t flicker. She stared at him for a beat, her eyes dead and cold, then lowered her head again, accepting her fate.

“Nian Zhaoxi, look around you!” Guan Xuelan barked. “Even after you committed such an atrocity, there are still people willing to believe in you! Do you deserve their trust?”

Silence.

“Fine.” Guan Xuelan’s voice turned dangerously calm.

“Nian Zhaoxi, Master of the Heaven-Asking Pavilion, has attacked a fellow disciple with cruel methods and shown no remorse. She is hereby stripped of her status and imprisoned at the Reflection Cliff!”

“Her fate will be decided once He Mengyun’s condition stabilizes.”

“If no valid justification is found… I will execute her myself!”

Her voice boomed like thunder, echoing through every corner of the Azure Mystic Sacred Land.

Shockwaves rippled through the sect. The Master of the Heaven-Asking Pavilion, imprisoned?

But the punishment did not end with confinement.

Guan Xuelan flicked her wrist, and a heavy, dark chain manifested, wrapping around Nian Zhaoxi’s body.

The Spirit-Sealing Lock.

Instantly, Nian Zhaoxi’s cultivation was suffocated, reducing her to the fragility of a mortal.

Then, Guan Xuelan cast a curse of Annihilation upon her.

As Nian Zhaoxi took her first step toward the exit, invisible blades slashed across her body. Flesh tore open, blood spurted.

But before she could collapse, a healing light flashed, knitting the wounds back together.

She took another step.

Slash.

The wounds reopened.

Heal. Slash. Heal. Slash.

It was a cycle of endless agony, a torture worse than death by a thousand cuts. She would have to walk all the way to the Reflection Cliff, enduring the sensation of her body being shredded and reformed with every single step.

Nian Zhaoxi trembled, vomiting a mouthful of blood, but she did not cry out.

She turned and began her long, bloody march.

From the main hall to the Reflection Cliff, the path was long. She walked from high noon until nightfall, and from nightfall until the break of dawn.

Every step left a bloody footprint. Every step was a battle against screaming nerves.

Finally, the destination appeared.

“Senior Sister, the Reflection Cliff is ahead,” Xu Wanqing said, her voice tight. She had been escorting Nian Zhaoxi the entire way.

“Master has ordered that once you enter, the ‘Soul-Grinding Bone-Crushing Array’ will be activated. It is a living hell. You will not be able to live, and you will not be allowed to die.”

Xu Wanqing looked at the broken woman beside her. “You must have a reason. Tell me now. I will go back and beg Master for you.”

Nian Zhaoxi didn’t stop. She kept walking, her gaze fixed on the bleak peak ahead.

Xu Wanqing gritted her teeth. “Senior Sister! I know you! You wouldn’t hurt a fly, let alone Mengyun. Even if she tried to kill you, you wouldn’t fight back!”

“All of this…” Xu Wanqing whispered urgently, “Did Mengyun do this to you?”

Nian Zhaoxi paused.

She didn’t turn around. After a brief silence, she lifted her foot to take another agonizing step.

“Did you discover something?” Xu Wanqing pressed, desperation creeping into her voice.

Silence.

Xu Wanqing’s eyes narrowed. She leaned in closer.

“Gu Xiu isn’t dead, is he?”

Nian Zhaoxi remained motionless.

“I failed last time. I didn’t kill him,” Xu Wanqing hissed, her voice filled with venom. “But I won’t give up. I will finish the job.”

As the words left her lips, a strange sensation washed over Xu Wanqing. Her heart skipped a beat, palpitating wildly. She looked up at the sky, a sudden, inexplicable dread seizing her throat.

This time, Nian Zhaoxi finally stopped completely.

She stood there, back turned to her Junior Sister, seemingly lost in thought. After a long moment, she seemed to come to a realization.

She stepped forward again, moving toward the torture array that awaited her.

Xu Wanqing frowned, frustrated. She had hoped for a confession, a secret, anything. But Nian Zhaoxi remained a vault.

However, just as the gentle mountain breeze swept past them, carrying the scent of pine and old blood, seven words drifted back to Xu Wanqing’s ears.

Seven words that made her scalp tingle with horror.

“Third Junior Sister, you are about to die.”