Luo Luo witnessed the Sage making a solemn vow.
Cultivators must not swear oaths lightly—the higher one's cultivation, the heavier the karmic consequences.
Even a minor Golden Core cultivator, once bound by the Heart's Vow as Dao companions, would suffer karmic backlash if they ever betrayed their oath.
Let alone a Sage.
At such a level of cultivation, a vow was law—unalterable, binding for eternity.
Luo Luo stared blankly at the figure before her.
He was a true Sage, one who carried the world in his heart, not some hypocrite hiding behind the title.
"The old man lied," Luo Luo muttered angrily. "Sages vow to protect the mortal realm, not ascend to immortality."
That saying about deathbed confessions revealing one's true nature? Qing Xu, that wretched old man, proved the opposite—even in death, he played dirty tricks, making her doubt the Sage.
Li Zhaoye narrowed his eyes at the Sage for a moment before waving his hand.
Two fragmented memories connected seamlessly.
After making his vow, the Sage walked slowly toward a pitch-black hall, where Taiyi, Tian Yin, and Hong Meng had laid their trap, waiting for him to step inside.
Li Zhaoye tilted his head. "Follow."
Luo Luo frowned. "Didn’t we already see what happens next?"
Li Zhaoye shrugged. "We’re already here."
Luo Luo: "..."
Fair enough.
She caught up to him and peered into the hall.
The white-robed Sage faced the Three Ancient Sovereigns.
What followed was no different from what Luo Luo had seen before—
The Sage was still ensnared, poisoned, subdued, and possessed.
"Nothing’s changed—" Luo Luo’s eyes suddenly widened. "Wait, it did!"
This time, Hong Meng was truly Hong Meng, not Qing Xu disguised as him. Their auras were so similar that Luo Luo hadn’t noticed at first.
Until Hong Meng struck.
A master of soul arts, he didn’t go down without a fight. As Taiyi and Tian Yin turned on him during the possession, he retaliated with the Great Nightmare Curse.
Terrifying Daoist arts and spiritual power collided violently within the cramped hall!
Soul force and spiritual energy tangled in a deadly dance, howling winds tearing through space, shattering and reforming it.
In the final scene, the three were nearly annihilated—dazed, swaying, like puppets with cut strings.
Then, darkness swallowed Luo Luo’s vision.
Suddenly, everything vanished. No sound, no wind, not even the faintest trace of spiritual sense—just endless, suffocating void, as if cast adrift in the cosmos.
"Snap."
A strong, warm hand closed around her wrist.
Li Zhaoye.
His grip was firm, his palm scorching against her skin.
"His memories blacked out," he explained bluntly. "Like when you drank too much of Old Peak’s wine and forgot all the stupid things you did."
Luo Luo froze.
...Did...she...do...something...stupid?
She quickly averted her gaze, steering the conversation away. "Then why are we still here?"
"Dunno." Li Zhaoye sounded indifferent. "Doesn’t matter. I’m here—nothing’ll go wrong."
Luo Luo nodded.
Remembering he couldn’t see her in the dark, she added, "Mm."
They lingered in silence for a long while.
Occasionally, Li Zhaoye’s fingers flexed slightly, as if confirming she was still there.
Luo Luo curled her own fingers.
She wanted to hold his hand but hesitated—would interlacing their fingers be too forward? Too clingy?
Outside the bedchamber, they’d never really been physically affectionate...
While she agonized, his grip suddenly loosened.
She was left alone in the icy darkness.
"Li Zhaoye?"
The void shattered. Blinding white light flooded in, forcing her eyes shut.
Her heart lurched as she reached for him. "Li Zhaoye!"
Her hand met empty air, but her feet found solid ground.
They’d left the void!
Squinting against the glare, Luo Luo recognized the place instantly—a vast, obsidian hall, more like an ornate cavern than a palace.
Black jade pillars, walls and ceiling scarred with claw marks and palm prints.
This was the very chamber where the Divine Lord had been "imprisoned."
After traversing the abyss, they’d ended up here.
"...Huh?"
Before she could ponder further, the light dimmed—a figure dropped from the rafters, blocking it.
Pale skin, ink-black eyes, twin crimson streaks dripping from each pupil like bloody tears etched onto his ghostly face.
Left short, right long—a sinister mark.
...The Divine Lord!
His head tilted, lips stretching ear to ear in a grotesque grin.
Luo Luo barely had time to react before he struck—a brutal swipe aimed to disembowel her!
Her pupils contracted as she barely dodged.
"BOOM!"
The attack gouged deep into the stone floor where she’d stood.
Shards of black rock sprayed as the beast lunged again, a blur of lethal intent.
Adrenaline spiking, Luo Luo summoned Autumn Water, the blade screeching as it blocked another claw.
"Vzzzt—"
The impact numbed her arms. Razor-sharp nails scraped the sword’s edge, setting her teeth on edge.
She backflipped, scanning the hall mid-retreat.
No exits. No allies.
Just her and the monster.
Gripping her sword tighter, Luo Luo’s pulse raced.
Where the hell was Li Zhaoye?
The Divine Lord pounced again.
She twisted away, landing lightly as he crouched, watching her with feral curiosity.
No intelligence in those eyes—just primal hunger.
No point fighting.
Kicking off a pillar, Luo Luo flipped backward, slashing at the window with a surge of fire qi.
"CRACK!"
The metal frame melted, edges glowing red.
‘Damn, I’m good.’
Smirking, she spun the blade behind her—just in time to parry another strike.
The force launched her backward, straight through the shattered window.
Like a skipping stone, she bounded across the courtyard, putting distance between them.
With a final flip, she landed a hundred paces away, sword raised.
Across the empty training grounds, her gaze locked with the monster’s from the steps.
He bared his teeth in a grin and leapt into the air.
In the blink of an eye, he crashed before her like a shooting star.
Luo Luo’s fighting spirit blazed to life instantly.
"Come on, let’s fight!"
The tip of her sword traced a fiery arc through the wind. With a deafening roar, the Autumn Water Sword transformed into a river of flames, leaving trails of fire in its wake.
"Whoosh—hum—"
The sound of flames was melodious yet overwhelming.
Luo Luo raised her sword and soared, slashing downward with a thunderous "Boom!"
In the depths of the Divine Lord’s pitch-black pupils, twin waves of raging fire reflected back. He grinned, sidestepped the fiery onslaught, and lunged, his claws aimed straight for her throat.
If that strike landed, it would leave five gaping holes.
Luo Luo arched backward, spinning mid-air as her blade sliced toward his right wrist. Clang!
At this level of cultivation, every movement subtly resonated with the fluctuations of the world’s energy.
The scene before her rippled like disturbed water. As she swept her sword horizontally, her grip trembled—it didn’t feel like cutting through air but rather like wielding the blade through thick water, every inch met with resistance.
A spark of insight flashed in Luo Luo’s mind.
The "awkward" way the air resisted her blade felt clumsy at first, but upon closer focus, there was an indescribable, intuitive energy at play.
Lost in thought, she narrowed her eyes, lowered her wrist, and pressed the sword down with force.
This motion felt like pushing a plank flat into water—the resistance surged against her hand.
"Ah!"
Luo Luo’s eyes gleamed with realization.
The last time she sparred with Xu Junzhu, she had nearly broken through to the Divine Transformation realm—thankfully, Li Zhaoye intervened just in time.
If she had advanced then, she would’ve missed this profound, subtle revelation!
"Clang—hum—"
Her sword, wreathed in flames, cut forward with deliberate slowness.
Her body trembled with excitement.
Though the strike appeared sluggish, it forced the Divine Lord back.
He retreated dozens of feet in an instant, shoulders hunched, arms hanging low—a stance like a beast ready to pounce.
Luo Luo smirked, drawing a fiery arc with her sword while raising her left hand to beckon him mockingly.
She’d seen Li Zhaoye use this gesture before—it was both arrogant and infuriating.
"Swish—!"
Her vision blurred as the Divine Lord blurred into motion, appearing before her in an instant.
The biggest gap between the Nascent Soul and Divine Transformation realms was teleportation—after reaching Divine Transformation, body and spirit merged, allowing practitioners to manipulate the world’s energy for instantaneous movement.
This attack should’ve been unavoidable.
But Luo Luo sensed the push and pull of energy before it happened.
As he moved, space subtly resisted him—and when it failed, a surge of force rushed toward her like an underwater current.
Luo Luo rode the momentum, drifting backward effortlessly to evade.
"I’m so strong!"
She froze for a second before exclaiming in disbelief.
She danced on the wind, tapping her toes twice before perching atop a nearby black tower like a bird.
The Divine Lord stared up at her, his dark eyes flickering with eerie embers.
"Hey!" Luo Luo called down. "Do you even remember you’re a saint? What happened to your vow to save the world? How can you attack me?!"
"Swish—"
She sensed the surge of energy before it came, flipping off the tower just in time.
"Boom!"
Half the tower disintegrated into dust. He showed no mercy.
Luo Luo: "You used to refuse to even kill mosquitoes, remember?"
His answer was another deafening explosion.
Luo Luo: "..."
Fine. She was worth less than a mosquito—she’d long accepted that.
She retreated swiftly, sending out waves of sword energy to clash with his claws.
"Boom! Clang! Crash! Clang!"
As her slashes carved through palaces and pavilions, Luo Luo suddenly realized how much stronger she’d become since fleeing the Divine Palace.
She swelled with pride: Even if I face Wu Xie head-on now, I can hold my own!
Just as she reveled in her confidence, her vision blurred again—the Divine Lord split into two afterimages.
One attacked from the front, the other from behind. She couldn’t tell which was real.
Luo Luo: "..."
He was simply too fast, far beyond her perception.
A moment’s hesitation—her sword strike at the front met empty air.
"Not good!"
Before she could finish the thought, the wind howled behind her.
Luo Luo barely had time to block with her sword before the impact sent her flying like a broken kite into the ruins of the black tower.
Sunlight streamed through the half-destroyed roof as she squinted—only to see a beast-like shadow charging through the light.
"Tch—"
She rolled out of the tower’s entrance just as the remaining structure collapsed behind her with a deafening crash.
Amid the dust, the shadowy figure emerged, arms dangling, swaying unnaturally.
He didn’t teleport—but his speed was so extreme that his left-right steps mimicked instantaneous movement.
Luo Luo’s pupils contracted. She wiped blood from her lips, channeled her spiritual energy, and ignited her sword with even fiercer flames.
"Boom—hum—"
As the enemy closed in, she clenched her jaw and shut her eyes.
He was too fast—vision would only deceive her.
Her breathing slowed. The pounding of her heart filled her ears—thump! Thump-thump!
Her ears twitched. She raised her sword, sidestepped, and narrowly dodged a claw strike from the left.
Had her eyes been open, she would’ve seen another Divine Lord attacking from the right—an illusory afterimage passing harmlessly through her.
Her heartbeat grew heavier, steadier.
Luo Luo held her breath and lifted her sword.
The blade traced a single, deliberate line—before the motion even finished, spiritual energy erupted, flames pouring forth to encircle her.
"Boom-hum."
Where her sword passed, fire danced brilliantly in the air.
"Here I come!"
Even in battle, she couldn’t resist announcing her attack.
As she surged forward, the space around her rippled like water—just like during that underwater spar with Li Zhaoye in the hot springs.
Insights flashed through her mind. She rode the waves, harnessed the momentum, and channeled the world’s energy to strike at the Divine Lord!
"Boom!"
Where she passed, flames erupted in waves—each surge stronger than the last, fire feeding on wind, growing fiercer.
"Boom—clang!"
Her sword, empowered by the storm, clashed against the Divine Lord’s claws—both were forced back half a step.
Luo Luo’s eyes gleamed. Before the recoil even faded, she pivoted and struck again!
"Boom!"
Another hit landed on his claws.
His body flickered with unstable seals, tendrils of dark, violent energy writhing behind him like countless black tentacles.
Luo Luo: "Tch."
He grinned eerily and pounced like a starving beast.
Luo Luo met him head-on, sword flashing as they clashed in a whirlwind of combat.
Back then, in the Illusory Dream of Floating Desires, she and Li Zhaoye had sparred for what felt like an eternity.
She knew every inch of the sacred mountain’s terrain—when to evade, when to strike, fighting from the peak down to the base, then carving her way back up.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
For the most part, Luo Luo dodged and deflected his attacks, seizing only the occasional opening to counter.
Layers of sweat—hot and cold—soaked her body, drying only to drench her again.
It had been so long since she’d fought this fiercely.
Because losing meant death, every nerve in her body was stretched to its limit, her blood roaring as if it might burst from her veins.
Battlelust burned, darkening the world around her.
"Clang clang clang clang—clash clash clash—"
Each flying slash sent tremors up her arms, leaving them numb.
With a deafening crash, she was flung backward, her feet carving deep furrows through the rubble.
Gasping for breath, she raised her head, her entire body trembling with exhilaration.
Her eyes blazed so brightly she could almost see the world washed anew, as if cleansed by fire and water.
The flow of flame-imbued spiritual energy through her meridians grew smoother, fiercer with each cycle.
Her heart pounded wildly, an unstoppable thrill surging through her.
"Take this!"
She leapt, sword raised high—the raging inferno around her swirling like a vortex, converging at her blade’s tip.
"Whoosh—hum—BOOM!"
For an instant, her sword, Qiu Shui, burned like a miniature sun.
The brilliance was blinding. Even the god-king, his dark eyes brimming with malice, instinctively narrowed them.
Luo Luo brought her sword down!
A streak of fire, a blazing arc—piercing straight through the heavens!
"BOOM!"
The flames were too intense, obscuring the battlefield’s heart.
The god-king took the blow head-on.
His body hurtled backward, trailing fire and sword energy, crashing through layer after layer of the divine palace.
The sound of collapsing stone and shattering pillars echoed endlessly.
"Haah…"
Luo Luo gasped for air, her strength spent. Staggering, she braced herself with her sword, peering through the rising dust.
The crumbling palace walls still bore the silhouette where the beast-like god-king had smashed through.
"I win!"
She grinned, shaking her fist triumphantly in the direction he’d vanished.
But her victory was short-lived.
The dust shifted—and there he was, arms limp, swaying as he stepped forward once more.
Luo Luo: "…"
She had nothing left.
Her heart hammered against her ribs, each beat a drum of exhaustion.
Her body trembled, drained yet unable to stop, the fire energy in her meridians surging uncontrollably.
"Wait, no way—"
Luo Luo’s eyes widened.
Was she… breaking through?
The moment the thought formed, it was like tearing through paper—the suppressed breakthrough erupted like bamboo shoots breaking soil, unstoppable.
She sucked in a sharp breath.
A life-or-death battle, and now she had to ascend mid-fight?!
No time to think. She slashed out a last-ditch wave of sword energy to force him back, then spun and fled, diving into the ruins.
Hide and seek.
She had to break through before he found her—or die.
Her heart pounded as she scrambled deeper into the wreckage, past toppled pillars and shattered stone.
The air reeked of mildew and damp.
"CRACK."
Her foot slipped—and she plummeted into an unfamiliar space.
"Drip. Drip."
The hollow sound of water echoed, though no moisture was visible in the dim light.
The ground beneath her was strange—neither fully solid nor soft.
She scanned the area hastily before darting behind a pile of rubble and wood, sitting cross-legged to meditate.
‘Damn you, Saint—if you ruin my breakthrough, I swear I’ll drag you down with me in qi deviation!’
The moment she closed her eyes, the pent-up flames erupted in her mind.
Lightning met wildfire; wildfire devoured the sky.
Time lost meaning in deep meditation.
Luo Luo felt her energy harmonizing, her awareness dissolving into euphoric unity.
"Boom! Boom!"
Explosions rang through her meridians, each one accelerating the flames, waves of spiritual energy cresting higher and higher.
Then—silence.
Only a faint hum lingered in her ears.
"Zing—"
Like a string pulled taut, it snapped—flames surged into her nascent soul, and in a burst of light, it shattered!
Her mind cleared.
The fragments didn’t vanish—they merged into her flesh, blood, and bones.
With a thought, the "momentum" of space she’d grasped earlier rippled around her, slow and fluid.
Wave after wave, spreading outward.
She sensed it—him.
Far off, a figure swayed closer.
"BOOM!"
Her fingers, now wreathed in flame, flicked outward.
Space rippled like water—a wall of fire surged forth, crashing into him.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Flames erupted in succession, blocking his path.
Seizing the moment, Luo Luo formed a seal with her hands—and slammed it down!
A soft hum.
For an instant, her body transformed into pure flame—radiant, pristine, incandescent.
Success!
With a final pulse, the fire withdrew into her meridians.
As her consciousness swept over her skin, embers traced her like glowing tattoos.
‘I’ve ascended! I’ve ascended! I’ve ascended!’
Giddy, she leapt up—just as the god-king breached the flames.
"Swish!"
She teleported clumsily, blinking past him.
He whirled, grasping—but Luo Luo’s will conjured a fiery blade midair, slashing at his face!
She backflipped, reaching for her sword—
Then her ankle snagged.
Before she could react, more binding threads coiled around her—wrists, legs, waist.
"Cheap shot?!"
A shadow loomed—a solid, unyielding body pinned her down. Cold teeth grazed her neck.
Her heart stopped.
Too fast. The bite landed—sharp fangs pressing into her skin, the threads tightening just enough to restrain.
Luo Luo’s eyes stung. "…Li Zhaoye!"
He paused, reluctantly pulling back with a scoff. "Tch. How’d you know it was me?"
Luo Luo: "…The god-king doesn’t use threads."
"Ah." Li Zhaoye sighed, bored. "Just got here. So? Wasn’t he exactly the murderous monster I said?"
Luo Luo shuddered. "Yes."
The god-king who’d chased her had been utterly inhuman.
Satisfied, he nodded. "Good. Now stop fantasizing about his ‘Saint’ persona, got it?"
Luo Luo nodded meekly. "Got it."
He yanked her up, dusted her off, and snapped his fingers.
The memory-world shattered like glass.
When their vision cleared, Luo Luo and Li Zhaoye found themselves surrounded.
Sneaking into the royal archives, they tossed the ancient texts into complete disarray, nearly giving the head librarian a heart attack.
The two of them scrambled out the window in a panic, chased by a swarm of shouting guards.
After running a good distance, they suddenly stopped and stared at each other.
"Me, a Divine Sovereign—"
"And me, a Divine Transformation cultivator—"
"Being chased by mere mortals?"
She blinked. He blinked back.
Old habits from their days of mischief in the sect died hard.
A quick teleportation later, they shook off the pursuers.
"Ugh," Luo Luo sighed in disappointment. "We still don’t know what really happened."
Li Zhaoye flashed a confident grin. "From Sage to Divine Sovereign—just one last piece is missing."
"Oh?"
"The answer lies with Hong Meng."
Luo Luo blinked. "Hong Meng?"
Li Zhaoye smirked. "That ‘bad soul’ of Qing Xu’s. Haven’t you noticed how similar they are?"
"Oh…" Luo Luo nodded. "The aura, the demeanor, the nightmare arts."
They walked side by side for a while.
Suddenly, Luo Luo gasped in delight. "You didn’t even notice I’ve reached Divine Transformation! I’ve ascended! I’ve ascended! I’ve ascended!"
Watching her bounce around like an overexcited child, Li Zhaoye couldn’t help but laugh. "Of course I knew. Who do you think trained you?"
Luo Luo froze. "…Wait. You were the one fighting me all along?"
Li Zhaoye: "…"
He scrambled for an excuse. "It’s not me ruining his reputation—that guy’s always been like that. Trust me, that Divine Sovereign’s brain is just ‘kill, kill, kill.’"
Luo Luo narrowed her eyes. "Sure, sure."
"If I’m lying, I’m a dog."
"You already are a dog!"
"Fine, fine. I’ll bite you to death. Woof!"
"Woof woof!"
