Having cultivated myself into an immortal, all I want to do is raise female disciples.

That idiot.

Zhang Ruoxue took a deep breath, trying her best to hold back the tears welling up in her eyes. Without saying a word, she turned her head and rushed out of the pharmacy.

"Ruoxue, my girl!" The uncle immediately called out to Zhang Ruoxue, looking at her haggard figure, and said, "Going now won't help... You don't need to..."

"I'll go with you."

Xu Yanliu stood up from the stool, the scabbard in her left hand trembling slightly.

She glanced back at the man and said in a trembling voice, "It's just a trip..."

"..."

Looking into his daughter's complicated eyes, the uncle paused for a moment, as if he had been transported back to that day many years ago...

Xu Yanliu's eyes were the same that day.

This time, he didn't stop him—

Seeing that the uncle had no intention of stopping her, Xu Yanliu nodded heavily, and then rushed out of the pharmacy with Zhang Ruoxue.

Watching the two figures leave, Xu Laoliu silently raised his wine gourd and filled the dish in front of him with wine.

I drank it.

The liquor dripped from his mouth through the gap.

Just like rain.

Splash splash splash—

It was unusual for rain to fall in the netherworld.

A night of rain.

Rain soaked his long hair and face, mingling with his tears and sweat.

Zhang Ruoxue never hoped that there was something wrong with her eyes, or her brain, or...

This is all a dream.

"The methods of the Ash Demon Alliance are truly ruthless..."

"Yes, since the appearance of the Devouring Demon, the sphere of influence of the Ash Demon Alliance has been growing larger and larger."

"Being a demon is really tough..."

"Although I feel that the actions of the Jin Yao Alliance were a bit wrong, they probably didn't kill the wrong person this time. I heard that it was a Heavenly Demon from the ancient era!"

"Wow! A Heavenly Demon?! That's a truly great achievement! That monster has killed countless people!"

"Exactly! It's no wonder that such heretical and evil practices were killed by the Jin Yao Alliance!"

The voices of discussion around me grew louder and louder.

But Zhang Ruoxue couldn't hear anything.

From beginning to end, there was only one thing in front of her.

It was a broken, pale gray bead that hung in front of the gate of the Jin Yao Dao Alliance and was sealed up.

The elixir belonging to the demon race... its function is equivalent to the spiritual root of a human cultivator.

……

That's all there is.

"Ruoxue..."

Xu Yanliu stood next to Zhang Ruoxue, looking at Zhang Ruoxue's pale face, not knowing what to say.

Zhang Ruoxue just stared quietly at the elixir that belonged to Zhang Xiaohan.

After a long pause, she finally spoke, raindrops falling on her lips and sliding into her mouth.

Why would they...do this?

"It was probably done by the Ash Demon Alliance..." Xu Yanliu's mind conjured up the faces of those Ash Demon Alliance cultivators, her tone heavy: "They did it specifically... for us to see..."

click-

The sound of bones being misaligned.

Zhang Ruoxue clenched her fists, her body trembling, and lowered her head to prevent anyone from seeing her expression.

……

No one knew her feelings, and no one knew her thoughts.

Xu Yanliu didn't know; she only saw Zhang Ruoxue turn around and slowly leave.

"Sister Xu..."

Her voice was unexpectedly calm.

But hidden within this calm was something that terrified Xu Yanliu.

"Where did the people from the Ash Demon Alliance go?"

"...They should all have...gone to the Imperial Pavilion...right?"

"it is good."

Xu Yanliu stared at Zhang Ruoxue's retreating figure and asked in astonishment, "Ruoxue! Where are you going?"

The answer to this question is very simple.

It's so simple it's almost naive.

Zhang Ruoxue turned her head, her eyes devoid of any light.

It was as cold and gloomy as the bottom of the deepest trench in the ocean, like an endless abyss, with a chilling killing intent twisting and spinning wildly.

Her pupils no longer seemed to be blue; instead, they had turned into an absolutely deep black.

"Go to the Imperial Pavilion."

In the rain, the girl's voice was utterly heartless.

80. It's just an extreme example.

The Imperial Palace Grand Banquet.

This is an event worthy of being recorded as epoch-making.

The entire Kuntian Domain was shaken—no, or rather, all the major sects of the three major domains knew about this, not just to join in the fun, but also to seize more opportunities.

Almost no one wanted to miss this epoch-making event. After all, the Imperial Pavilion had stood at the top of the world for a long time, but there had been no news of a change of successor for a very long time.

This time, however, no one knows who the successor of the Emperor's Pavilion is. Let alone whether he has made a name for himself somewhere, not even a single word has been revealed.

Is it a man or a woman?

What level of cultivation is that?

What kind of birth did you have?

I don't know.

Zhang Ruoxue didn't know either, but she didn't care.

"Are you really going...?"

Inside the pharmacy.

Zhang Ruoxue sat at the table closest to the shop entrance, expressionlessly wiping the arm armor that had been previously installed on her arm and now appeared somewhat damaged.

She heard Xu Yanliu's voice, but didn't turn around, continuing to wipe the ritual implements.

Her slightly pale lips twitched slightly, and her eyes remained devoid of any light: "Why not go?"

Xu Yanliu's expression shifted slightly. She knew what Zhang Ruoxue was thinking, or rather, she had once had the same thoughts as Zhang Ruoxue.

She took a deep breath, slowly walked to Zhang Ruoxue's side, and sat down.

Her gaze lingered on the badly damaged magical artifact. Xu Yanliu spoke slowly, her tone heavy with heartache: "Ruoxue, even if you go, it won't make a difference... Besides, that's the Emperor's Pavilion..."

"..."

Zhang Ruoxue turned to the side, her lifeless eyes staring at Xu Yanliu, which seemed to draw her soul into a vortex.

After a long pause, she finally said, "Sister Xu, if it were you, would you not go?"

"The other side is the Jin Yao Dao Alliance... and there's even that Saint among them. Going there would be suicide..."

"I have a way."

Zhang Ruoxue's answer surprised Xu Yanliu.

She couldn't believe Zhang Ruoxue's words. She stared into those unfathomable eyes, as if trying to find even the slightest trace of deception.

Unfortunately, she failed.

Zhang Ruoxue seemed to genuinely believe she had a solution.

What method?

Detonate her own soul? Detonate her own physical body? Or some unknown method that she has never revealed until now?

Xu Yanliu didn't know that rather than believing that she had the means to win, she believed that this was just a false statement made by her to convince herself.

She seemed hesitant to look Zhang Ruoxue in the eye, averting her gaze. Her pale face showed a slight movement of her cherry lips: "Ruoxue, I understand how you feel, but at times like this, you need to calm down a bit, don't be too..."

"Xiao Han is dead."

……

Xu Yanliu swallowed back the words she was about to say.

There were no tears in Zhang Ruoxue's eyes. Unexpectedly, she did not shed a tear. At this time, when she should have been crying her heart out, she showed no expression at all.

This is completely different from the silly, tomboyish woman who usually laughs so innocently.

Without sorrow or joy, without anger or resentment, it was as if all emotions had been discarded by her at this moment—

She doesn't seem to need such things now.