Legend of Zixia

Chapter 251 You! You're really bad!

“Li Xiaoman!” Ye Fan stood on the high platform, his gaze like lightning, piercing through the crowd. She had changed her appearance, altered her aura, and even disguised herself as an ordinary Taoist nun, but Ye Fan still recognized her at a glance—the faint aloofness between her brows, the arrogance and struggle hidden deep in her eyes, it was clearly her.

Hidden in the shadows, the figures of old friends are indistinct, seemingly scattered yet gathered.

Ye Fan did not make any rash moves. He sat on the high platform, unmoved, like a god observing the world with cold eyes. He was waiting—waiting for Li Xiaoman's next move, waiting for Hua Yunfei to make his move, waiting to see who would make the first move in this turbulent game of chess.

Meanwhile, Zixia had quietly approached a corner of the crowd. She spotted a seemingly ordinary woman—dressed in simple clothes, carrying a bamboo basket, and looking down as she bought tea. But that innate, aloof air, like a lotus emerging from mud, could deceive the world, but not her.

"An Miaoyi." Zixia chuckled softly, leaning closer to whisper in her ear, "My beauty, did you miss me?"

The woman's hand holding the teacup trembled slightly, spilling the tea. She then whirled around, a cold glint in her eyes, and blurted out, "You *****!"

The cultivator standing nearby was quite puzzled. He wondered why the woman had lost her composure, but upon closer listening, he realized she was saying some words of affection.

But in the next instant, Zixia grabbed her wrist, and the two figures vanished into the crowd like smoke, as if they had never existed.

The Golden-Winged Roc King watched from afar, his brows furrowing slightly. He turned to the Purple Mansion Saint beside him and asked, "Have you noticed anything?"

The Holy Son of the Purple Mansion stood with his hands behind his back, purple energy swirling around him, his noble aura boundless, a far cry from his former self. His gaze was deep as he looked in the direction of Ye Fan, and he said calmly, "Ye Fan is indeed powerful; I am no match for him."

He paused, then said in a low voice, "But the stronger he is, the more interesting this game will be."

Upon hearing this, the Golden-Winged Roc King looked around again, but found nothing amiss. He then took a large step forward and declared loudly, "Ye Fan, let's fight again!"

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The next moment, the two appeared outside An Miaoyi's palace. They did not enter. The once bustling palace, with maids coming and going in an endless stream, was now deserted and quiet. Only the hazy moonlight shone down, enveloping the entire palace. Clouds and mist swirled around it, like smoke and illusion, making it seem like a secluded fairy palace, so quiet that even the sound of the wind seemed superfluous.

"Why are you practicing Buddhism all of a sudden?" Zixia said angrily, still holding An Miaoyi's wrist.

An Miaoyi remained silent, only gently lowering her eyes. Dressed in plain clothes, she had washed away all her former glamour, no longer possessing the dazzling beauty that once captivated the world, but instead exuding a serene tranquility that transcended the mundane. She was like a lotus quietly blooming in a secluded valley, radiating a faint halo around her, as if she had merged with heaven and earth, and was about to break free from the shackles of Zixia.

"You once captivated all living beings, yet now you are content with oblivion?" Zixia stared at her, her voice slightly deep. "There are countless methods in this world. If you are willing, I can study the Six Desires Heaven Technique with you, traverse the mortal world, and laugh at the heavens."

An Miaoyi gently shook her head, her voice like the wind passing through a bamboo forest: "Everyone has Buddha-nature, and so do I."

Zixia's eyes turned cold, and she suddenly raised her hand, causing the world to change drastically. She pulled An Miaoyi into a strange world—a world where auspicious clouds swirled, Buddhist chants rang out, golden lotuses bloomed everywhere, and Buddha's light shone brightly, creating a sacred and solemn atmosphere that was exactly the same as the Buddhist energy that An Miaoyi herself cultivated.

An Miaoyi's heart jolted, her mind reeling. She clearly felt no attack, yet it was as if an invisible force was questioning her very soul. She saw herself as a young girl, standing atop the Miaoyu Nunnery, admired by all; she saw the turbulent world, the entanglements of love and hate; she saw herself severing her worldly ties and entering the monastic life…

"Since you have chosen this path, you should have a peaceful mind and be free from desires." Zixia's voice came from the void, solemn like a Buddhist decree. "Then I will test you—is your Buddhist heart still complete?"

As soon as she finished speaking, the Buddhist light around her suddenly intensified, and golden figures appeared, transforming into the people she had abandoned and the emotions she had severed, standing before her one by one, whispering and calling her name.

However, An Miaoyi remained unmoved. She slightly opened her eyes, her gaze clear as an ancient well, reflecting the Buddha's light yet unblemished by worldly dust, her spiritual light radiating a serene tranquility beyond the mundane world. Faced with the illusion created by Zixia—the tender scenes of past joy, whispered sweet nothings, and intimate physical contact—her expression remained unchanged, her heart as still as a calm lake.

"This... this severing of emotions, is it really so thorough?" Zixia's heart trembled slightly. She had always thought that no matter how deep one's cultivation, there should always be a trace of obsession, a trace of attachment. But the person before her, even the secret time she spent with him, had passed by like the wind, leaving no trace.

She suddenly became somewhat lost in thought. Those days of whispered conversations under the moon and joint cultivation were stunning and profound memories for her. But for An Miaoyi, they were perhaps just an insignificant worldly encounter on her cultivation path, a fleeting passerby.

Zixia sighed softly, a sense of desolation rising in her heart. She had thought that she had at least left a mark on the other person's heart, even if it was just a thread of affection or a trace of longing. But at this moment, An Miaoyi remained unmoved in the face of the illusion of the "six desires"—appetite, sexual desire, lust, and possessiveness all drifted away like fallen leaves, not entering her heart.

She saw a vision filled with delicacies, their aromas irresistible, yet she didn't even blink.
She saw her former admirer gazing at her with affection and whispering sweet nothings, but she simply smiled indifferently, turned around, and left.

She saw Zixia, who came barefoot on lotus flowers, her eyes sparkling, and she reached out to gently stroke Zixia's face: "Come with me, don't practice Buddhism anymore."

An Miaoyi simply shook her head gently, her voice as soft as the wind: "The beginning and end of fate are all illusions. You and I are nothing but a dream."

"What about your thirst for knowledge? You really don't want to reach the pinnacle at all?" Zixia's voice turned cold, her gaze like a knife, piercing straight into An Miaoyi's heart. "Do you want to become an emperor?"

This question was widely known.

An Miaoyi stood with her eyes closed, her previously steady breathing suddenly becoming slightly disordered, her fingertips trembling slightly, as if an invisible hand had plucked the strings of her heart. Her body was still surrounded by Buddhist light, and her golden lotus swayed, but beneath that tranquil surface, ripples finally began to stir.

Zixia approached step by step, her voice low yet booming like thunder: "I can protect you, accompany you through your weakness, and wait for the day when we meet on the road to the throne, to fight openly and fairly and decide the fate of the world."

These words were like a sword, piercing her deepest obsession—the Emperor Cheng.

She once longed to reach the summit, to defy fate and become an emperor despite being a woman.

But now, she practices Buddhism, seeking tranquility and transcendence, and cutting off attachments and delusions.

Can--

Have they truly been wiped out?

"boom!"

She suddenly opened her eyes, a surge of Buddhist light erupting within them, only to shatter instantly like broken glass. She roared to the heavens, her voice tearing through the sky, filled with years of suppressed resentment and struggle: "You! You will regret this one day!"

This roar, like a thunderclap shattering the heavens, shook the entire illusionary realm violently. The clouds and mist collapsed, the golden lotus petals withered, the Buddhist light disintegrated, and the chanting ceased. The "Heavenly Demon Inquiry Realm" set up by Zixia was actually torn open by this intense shock originating from her own heart, the laws shattered, space distorted, and the world returned to reality.

An Miaoyi stood under the moonlight, her chest heaving violently, her face as pale as paper, and a trace of blood seeping from the corner of her mouth. That shout was not only an emotional outburst, but also the collapse of the Buddhist faith within her.

Zixia's "Heavenly Demon's Questioning of the Heart" was extremely domineering, directly targeting the deepest obsessions of cultivators. Although An Miaoyi had cultivated Buddhism to the point of sainthood and severed all emotions and desires, she ultimately failed to completely sever her desire to "become an emperor." That trace of hidden resentment became her weakness. Zixia seized that moment, attacking her heart with her own, directly shattering the Buddhist fruit she had painstakingly cultivated for many years.

Having already touched the threshold of the Dao-Severing Realm, her aura suddenly plummeted, her Dao foundation crumbled, and her cultivation regressed, returning her to square one. The Buddhist light flowing around her body dimmed, and the golden mark between her brows, symbolizing the perfection of the Buddha's heart, cracked inch by inch, eventually vanishing into nothingness.

You! You're really bad!

(End of this chapter)