She is Jianxiu

Chapter 1440, Section 72: Only in my hometown is this sound absent.

The immortal mountains of the North, the True Yang Grotto Heaven.

Seeing that the radiance here remains unchanged and the clouds surge, one can know that the changes in the outside world have not penetrated into the cave at all.

The master of this place, Hai Qing, is now sitting cross-legged below the main hall, her eyes closed, her expression serene. In the boundless silence, she slightly furrows her brows, and a mysterious and obscure aura rises from the top of her head, drifting and swaying before her, condensing into a figure with slender limbs and an indistinct shape.

But as soon as the figure appeared, a crimson light shot out from between Hai Qing's eyebrows, cutting him in two. This cycle repeated itself, and in just ten breaths, five or six phantoms of different shapes appeared!

Hai Qing showed no mercy and acted swiftly, cutting down most of the illusory figures before they could solidify into real form.

If someone knowledgeable were to come forward and observe, they would surely praise her for her unwavering resolve. They would understand that for a cultivator at the Void Realm to attain the Dao Fruit, the first step is to sever the Three Corpses, eliminating all desires, attachments, and delusions, so that the root and fruit of the Great Dao can manifest in a clear mind. Hai Qing's actions now clearly represent the final stage of delusions, the final step in severing the Three Corpses. Once this barrier is overcome, one can reach the state of inner clarity.

It was at this crucial moment that Haiqing suddenly opened his eyes and awoke from his meditation.

She lowered her eyes, clearly still inside the cave, yet a wondrous scene flashed before her eyes like a fleeting glimpse.

What is the location of the Ruins of Return, what is the transcendence of the present world, none of them can compare to the earth-shattering statement "Hai Qing is the reincarnation of my primordial spirit," which for a moment makes it impossible to distinguish whether this is a real thing or a delusion in one's mind.

"Since Zhan Tian's death, which led to my inner demons, I have been stuck at the Void Realm. This is not because I lack the strength, but because I cannot get rid of my obsession. Fortunately, Chun'er later entered the sect and made up for this obsession. So today, what is hindering me is this last delusion."

"What is delusion? It is seeing things unrealistically, knowing things unclearly, and seeking things that cannot be fulfilled..."

Hai Qing raised his head, his phoenix eyes faintly glowing with crimson, and a raging fire seemed to burn in his skin, muscles, bones, and dantian meridians: "Now my identity is false, my past is unclear, and I have not achieved the Great Dao. This is where all my delusions lie!"

As these resounding words fell, a dark, shadowy figure finally appeared before Hai Qing!

This creature was covered in black feathers and had three legs growing from its belly. However, its head bore a face that resembled Hai Qing's own. Its eyes were slightly narrowed, and it spoke seductively, "Chao Hui, now that you know your past and your true self, why not turn back from your misguided path and reclaim your true self? You should know that the future of the Xuanmen Daoist is uncertain, and the true enlightenment in this world lies only in the Golden Crow. She is you, and you are her. Just return to your origin, and everything will be resolved."

The implication of these words is that the Three-Legged Golden Crow, as a great demon, was able to transform into the sun and rule the universe in ancient times. Now, having devoured a great deal of world source, its power is even greater than before. If it weren't for its two primordial spirits being scattered outside and only being able to rely on a wisp of its separated remnant soul, the Daoist cultivators of the three thousand worlds would probably be no match for it alone!
Currently, one of the two primordial spirits has become the Zhao Chun Magic Sword and is clearly unable to return to its original form. Fortunately, the other primordial spirit is uniquely blessed and will achieve enlightenment after being reincarnated as a human. If it can be returned to its true form, it will be able to recover to its full glory in less than a thousand years.

To attain the Dao fruit requires risking one's life, but to return to one's true self is only a matter of a single thought.

Who knows better than Hai Qing which is more difficult and which is easier?

But she raised her chin, her eyes displaying a haughty air, and said, "What a joke! The Golden Crow is not me, how can it determine my future? Over the years, I have been fortunate to be favored by the sect, allowing me to enter Master Cui's tutelage. Among my fellow disciples, my senior sister is kind and benevolent, and my senior brother is prudent. These are all things that Chaohui has gained, and have never been related to the Golden Crow. After attaining enlightenment, I accepted two disciples, and my affection for them came from the bottom of my heart. If you speak of returning to one's origin, where is the origin, where is the source? Today you want to think that the past has misled me, but I do not acknowledge it!"

As soon as these harsh words fell, the shadowy figure in front of him trembled violently and almost disappeared in the blink of an eye, but it still refused to give up and insisted: "If you really love your child so much, how could you sit idly by and watch your disciple be in danger? Fang Jietian is unknown, and it is also an old place of cultivation in Huanyuan. It is no exaggeration to say that it is a dragon's den and a tiger's lair. To send Zhao Chun there alone is to send her to her death!"

"As your teacher, you naturally have the responsibility to protect your disciple. If he can return to his original form and regain his true self, he might even be able to try refining the source of the realm and take control of the realm. Your disciple will then not need to take any risks."

Hai Qing fell silent, closed his eyes, and solemnly said, "This is Zhao Chun's decision. Even if everyone in the world tries to stop her, I, as her teacher, must trust her!"

Upon hearing this, the shadowy figure suddenly cried out, its body swaying left and right before disappearing completely.

……

On the East China Sea, Shi Rucheng's pupils trembled slightly as he noticed that Feng Shijing's aura had suddenly weakened. Although he knew something was wrong, he did not expect that the other party had conspired with Jinwu to send Zhao Chun to the outside world.

Knowing that Zhao Chun had taken away the source of the furnace, and that the time wasted had made it almost impossible to get it all back, Shi Rucheng's face turned ashen, his eyes narrowed slightly, and a ruthless thought suddenly arose in his heart. He flicked his finger, and a white light wrapped in a talisman flew away. Judging from its direction, it was the location of the Taiyuan Mountain Gate.

Fortunately, Feng Shi was distracted elsewhere. If he had focused all his attention on dealing with Xi Zhenshi alone, he would have been able to find an opening. This was because Xi Zhenshi was not using his own magic sword, but rather the Taiyi Golden Immortal's legacy sword. Although its power was extremely terrifying, in terms of subtlety, it was naturally not as useful as his natal flying sword.

Moreover, it was a person wielding a sword and holding out for so long. Even someone like Xi Zhenshi, when facing a sect leader, could not always keep an eye on his own strength, let alone defeat and kill him in one fell swoop.

Because the battles between cultivators, once taken seriously, inevitably touch upon the level of rules and principles. Changing the world and reversing life and death can happen in the blink of an eye. Most of the time, the only way is to try to trap them, drag them into one's own laws, and erase their roots in the world, so as to completely kill them.

From Jinwu's perspective, this move is to erase all connections between the opponent and the present world. Not only must the opponent's primordial spirit and aura be left behind, but the opponent's past must also be deduced to trace back to the source and kill the opponent at any point in time. Only in this way can a cultivator at the Origin Realm be completely killed.

Xiao Fu was able to kill the other six clans' Yuanzhi level beings by using their divine bodies to devour them; otherwise, with his magical power, it would have been impossible for him to do so.

Xi Zhenshi knew perfectly well that the reason he could trap Shi Rucheng in place was because the Taiyi Sword could sever all cause and effect and the root of all problems. If something went wrong in this regard, Shi Rucheng could hide in his own laws at any time, and no one else could do anything to him!
But misfortunes never come singly. Just as the immortals were locked in a stalemate, the Heavenly Ruins Pass standing beneath the dome suddenly trembled. The originally ethereal and dim gate was pushed open a crack, and in an instant, endless mysteries poured down like sweet rain. Along with this came a layer of decaying and desolate stale aura, which, once revealed to the world, quickly climbed up the gate and spread to the long steps in the clouds.

Shi Rucheng's eyes flashed, and he saw a mysterious shadow flapping its wings toward the giant gate. He immediately thought to himself that something was wrong and slapped his dantian with his palm!
At the same time, within the Taiyuan Gate, beneath the Crane Hill, a stone statue covered in shackles suddenly trembled. As dust fell, a deathly pale face, devoid of any color, was revealed, bearing an uncanny resemblance to Shi Rucheng's appearance!
This technique, named the Great Evolution Creation Body, is the body he prepared to store the source of the realm after refining the Universe. Once activated, more than half of the earth veins of the Northern Immortal Mountains will be completely drained. Sects like Yue Cang and Lan Chu, which are relatively close to the Taiyuan Sect, will almost certainly have no chance of survival. Even Zhao Yan and Hun De in the west will be greatly affected. Moreover, now that the Golden Crow has set out, the world is in chaos. If the Northern Immortal Mountains suffer this calamity, the heavens and earth may collapse and the entire realm may be destroyed!

Therefore, Shi Rucheng made this the final step, and also informed allies such as Lan Chu, Yue Cang, and Hun De in advance, so that the foundation of the sect could be transferred into the Xuanwu Zizai Hunyuan Jade. Then, using the Heaven and Earth Furnace, all the small worlds of the heavens would be refined into world sources, which would be filled into the Great Thousand Worlds and then merged with the Xuanwu to create a new world!
But now that things have come to this, the mistake is irreversible. He cannot sit idly by and watch Tianxu Pass fall into the hands of Feng Shijing and his group. Only by firmly grasping this item can cultivators find a path to ascension in the new heaven.

At this moment, the world, which had been shrouded in darkness since the Golden Crow set out, was suddenly filled with a deafening roar. The Northern Immortal Mountain collapsed abruptly, with sand and stones flying from every peak and collapsing downwards. Vast amounts of spiritual energy surged towards a certain point in the Taiyuan Gate like a tidal wave, leaving only a desolate and lifeless place where it was drained. It was truly terrifying!

Upon seeing this scene, Xi Zhenshi dared not delay any longer. Completely disregarding the fact that Shi Rucheng was still in front of him, he put away the lost sword and rushed towards the mountain gate.

Upon seeing this, Shi Rucheng immediately snorted coldly, showing no surprise, and said, "Fellow Daoist Xi, I know that your sect has the Nine Palaces Grand Formation, which can seal off the mountain gate when necessary, creating a self-contained place, or even move in all directions to isolate external things, so you are not afraid of my methods. But you also know that each palace of the Nine Palaces Grand Formation requires the full effort of a source cultivator to activate. This might have been possible in the past, but since several of your fellow Daoists have become Loose Immortals, are the remaining people truly enough?"

He was very clear about Zhao Yan's inside story. Even with the sect leader Feng Shijing, they could barely gather enough immortals for the Nine Palaces Formation. But now that Feng Shijing was being held captive, unless Wen Sui and the other rogue immortals risked their lives, the Nine Palaces Formation would always be one person short!
In the north, nestled among mountains, lies the ancestral home of Zhaoyan.

First, the Yin and Yang trigrams are revealed, and the nine palaces of Qian, Kan, Gen, Zhen, Zhong, Xun, Li, Kun, and Dui are established. Then, human figures appear, some standing with their hands behind their backs, others sitting cross-legged, all with extremely solemn expressions.

From left to right, they are Mao Dingshan of Kuimen Cave, Zhang Yun of Xuanhuai Cave, Han Xuzheng of Putuo Cave, Lu Wang of Xiangxuan Cave, Zhu Miaoyun of Danyou Cave, Qin Yishu of Jingyuan Cave, Liang Yanchong of Yuyou Cave, and Xi Zhenshi of Xuanming Cave, who has arrived with a sword and is stationed in the central palace.

These eight cultivators at the Origin Stage are the true source of Zhao Yan's confidence in securing his position as the leader of the Ten Sects. However, in terms of the Nine Palaces Grand Array, there is one Qian Palace that remains empty and unoccupied.

Lu Wang glanced at that direction, his brows furrowing as he asked, "Did the sect leader say when he could return?"

Mao Dingshan remained calm and replied, "I have already informed Immortal Wen that if the sect leader does not return by then, she can hold out for as long as she can."

"Absolutely not!" Zhu Miaoyun's eyes widened, her tone becoming more urgent. "Immortal Wen is originally a rogue immortal. Once she steps into the array palace, she will immediately be subject to a mortal tribulation. At that time, all her magical power will be contained within the array, and she will have no strength left to resist this tribulation!"

As the saying goes, when disaster strikes, how can one lose one's composure? Xi Zhenshi slightly raised his eyes, calmly looked at everyone, and said with a composed demeanor, "Please rest assured, everyone. The sect leader of Qian Palace has already made arrangements."

With your own arrangements?

If he does not return, only a few scattered immortals will be able to hold on. As the head of the Nine Palaces Formation, the Qian Palace must be managed by someone with profound Taoist skills. Who will Feng Shi entrust it to?

Just as Zhu Miaoyun and the others were deep in thought, a magnificent ray of light suddenly shot up from somewhere in the doorway. The light soared into the sky and instantly broke through countless dark clouds. Judging from its direction, it was heading straight for the giant dome gate!

"This magic, could it be—"

Not only did the Eight Immortals of Zhaoyan raise their heads, but even the cultivators from various sects who were originally in the clouds couldn't help but feel their minds wavering, and they had to concentrate their thoughts to maintain their composure.

The rosy light, resembling a crimson ribbon and faintly radiating golden light, was destined to appear in the world. It then crashed into the giant gate with an unstoppable force.

With a loud boom, the giant door opened one-third of the way, and with another boom, half of it opened wide.

Just as the third sound came from the sky, the two doors of Tianxu Pass were completely smashed open by the radiant light, and all the mysterious energy was swept away, leaving not a trace!
Shi Rucheng sensed something was wrong. After a moment's thought, he looked into the distance again and saw a tall figure slowly descending from the Qian Palace. Just by standing there, he exuded an imposing aura that seemed to reach the heavens and the earth and swallow mountains and rivers.

His face darkened; he hadn't expected that the opening of Tianxu Pass would ultimately benefit this person.

Hai Qing stood with her hands at her sides on the Qian Palace. Even though she had only recently broken through to this realm, her magical power was already no less than that of others of the same level. She nodded slightly and said to the Eight Immortals, "My senior brother, the sect leader, entrusted me with the leadership of the Qian Palace formation. I will certainly live up to your expectations!"

Having said that, he raised his hand, and a golden sun rose again from the southern sky sea amidst the turbid heavens and earth. In the already shattered northern lands, several huge landmasses suddenly rose into the air, merged together, and headed towards the sky sea.

From then on, the various sects such as Zhaoyan, Yixuan, and Yunque should have formed a single continent, stationed in the South China Sea, facing the Taiyuan New Heaven in the North from afar. The broken world they were separated from had inevitably fallen into chaos, leaving only two paths: southward or northward.

Zhao Chun could no longer witness this devastating scene of moving mountains and filling seas, rewriting the world.

In the endless universe, Guixu continues to devour all the heavens, and only because she is in the furnace of heaven and earth can she be spared from being swept away by the torrent.

Looking back, the three thousand worlds have gradually become insignificant, and only the sound of the Milky Way flowing in my ears seems to be everywhere.

But it is not everywhere.

But such sounds are no longer heard in my hometown.

End of this volume