We Agreed On Experiencing Life, So Why Did You Immortals Become Real?

Chapter 543: A Final Journey for the Young Lady

That snow-white cold light, carrying a bone-piercing chill, surged toward Xiao Mo with overwhelming force yet Xiao Mo did not even glance at it, his expression calm as still water.He held a white stone between his fingers and placed it firmly on the board, his final move!

In an instant, ripple after ripple of clear water spread out beneath Xiao Mo's feet, layer upon layer.

In the blink of an eye, Xiao Mo found himself standing at the very center of a pond.

Looking closely, this pond seemed to be the very same lotus pond where, years ago, Tushan Jingci had faced an assassination attempt as a child and had fallen into the water together with Xiao Mo.

Within the lotus pond, the clear water suddenly surged upward, churning and boiling, then in an instant condensed into four lifelike human forms, identical to Jin An, Song Xiu, Xin Xiao'er, and Chen Jue.

Nothing more than flowers in a mirror, the moon on water but that was enough.

The "Song Xiu" and the other figures formed from the pond water each unleashed techniques identical to their true counterparts, striking mercilessly at their originals.

A tremendous boom.

An earth-shaking crash swept instantly through the entire painted world.

Centered on Xiao Mo and the others, violent, savage ripples of spiritual energy burst outward like raging waves, sweeping across the whole landscape.

Within the scroll, several towering peaks were leveled to flat ground in an instant, mighty rivers burst their banks and surged forward, murky floodwaters spilling over the banks and swallowing vast stretches of land.

Once the violent ripples of spiritual energy had gradually settled, Xiao Mo finally drifted down slowly from midair, landing lightly on the ravaged ground below.

At this moment, his clothes were tattered, his face pale as frost, without a trace of color, his spiritual energy nearly exhausted, only the barest thread of breath keeping him upright but Song Xiu and the others were in no better condition.

They too had suffered severe injuries, their bodies covered in blood, their spiritual energy nearly spent.

Song Xiu could never have imagined that this young cultivator before him, who had entered the Nascent Soul realm only a few days before, could have fought the four of them to a standstill.

"It seems all of you are still lacking, if you wish to kill me."

The corner of Xiao Mo's mouth curved upward slightly, yet without a trace of satisfaction in his expression.

Even Song Xiu found himself momentarily dazed, wondering if his eyes had deceived him, for he thought he had caught, in Xiao Mo's eyes, a flicker of disappointment.

That disappointment seemed to be regret that he had not managed to die at their hands.

Xiao Mo drew out a longsword and walked step by step toward the four of them.

Though this longsword was nothing more than an ordinary sixth-grade spirit sword, the kind one could buy at any street stall, entirely unremarkable in appearance yet in the eyes of the four of them in this moment, this plain, unremarkable sword seemed more terrifying than any legendary immortal weapon.

But just as Xiao Mo raised the longsword high, about to bring it down mercilessly on the four of them, within the hidden realm's great hall, the long-silent divine statue suddenly burst forth with a dazzling light, brilliant as a blazing sun.

Those still locked in bloody combat in the hall also sensed this strange occurrence, and turned to look, their expressions uncertain.

In the next moment, the light from the statue shot straight in one direction.

Wherever that divine light passed, any cultivator it touched perished entirely, body and soul dissolved completely into the void then, a clear and soaring phoenix cry rang out suddenly through the hall, echoing without end.

The skeleton of the feathered clan hovering above the statue seemed suddenly to come alive, trembling violently.

Black flames burst forth from every inch of the feathered skeleton's bones, burning fiercer and fiercer, until at last they rose up and condensed in midair into a vivid, lifelike phoenix, chasing after that golden divine light with tremendous speed.

The divine light shot directly toward the scroll floating in the air.

In a mere instant, the divine light pierced straight through the scroll.

Xiao Mo, sensing something, raised his head sharply, and saw a blinding, dazzling light rushing straight toward him then, Xiao Mo felt a searing heat throughout his body, as though even the air itself were burning.

The phoenix formed from black flames threw itself in front of Xiao Mo at the last critical instant, giving everything it had to shield him but the divine light passed through the black flame's body without any obstruction, and then through Xiao Mo's chest as well.

Already gravely wounded, Xiao Mo's consciousness grew hazy and dim under this final strike.

Waves of dizziness struck him, and he fell to one knee, gasping for breath continuously, cold sweat pouring down his forehead like a string of beads breaking loose.

Looking down, he saw that his chest had been pierced clean through by the divine light, a wound two fingers wide but in the next instant, the black flames that had not yet fully dissipated gathered toward Xiao Mo's chest, layer by layer filling that wound.

Xiao Mo could clearly feel these black flames straining with everything they had to mend his injury but no matter how hard they tried, it made no difference. The wound simply would not close.

Though Xiao Mo did not know exactly what had happened, he could feel his life's original source draining away continuously, and he understood clearly that he absolutely could not remain here any longer.

With the scroll now pierced through, having lost its original function, Xiao Mo transformed into a streak of light and shot out of the scroll.

Those still in the great hall had no idea what had just happened, and by the time they came to their senses, the man who had burst out of the scroll had already charged straight toward the demon core.

Xiao Mo held the water of the yin river protectively in his palm, attempting to use it to withstand the scorching heat radiating from the demon core.

As the water of the yin river neutralized the black flames on the demon core, rising as wisps of spiritual steam, Xiao Mo pulled the demon core free, wrapped it layer by layer in the yin river's water, and carefully placed it inside his storage pouch.

The instant the demon core was removed, the entire hidden realm began shaking violently and continuously.

The once indestructible palace began shedding fragments of stone, as though the whole hall might collapse at any moment.

"Go!" In an instant, Xiao Mo wrapped an arm around Gui Junmeng's slender waist and flew swiftly out of the palace.

"Human brat, do not think you can leave!"

"Leave the demon core behind, and we will spare your life!"

"After him!"

How could the other cultivators in the hall possibly stand by and watch, resigned, as the greatest opportunity in the entire hidden realm was carried off so easily by another cultivator?

Those who had still been fighting among themselves turned their bodies all at once and gave chase after Xiao Mo together but the statues of the palace maids and attendants within the palace suddenly seemed to come alive.

Drawn by some unknown force, these statues began attacking the other cultivators one after another.

And then the divine statue suddenly burst forth with several beams of dazzling light again.

These beams of light sank into the bodies of various cultivators.

"What... what exactly is happening here?"

"This spiritual energy..."

The cultivators enveloped by the divine light clearly felt an unprecedented power surging into their bodies.

Bolstered by this power, their temperaments grew increasingly wild, their eyes reddening one by one, as they fought the statues back and forth in fierce combat.

Boom after boom after boom.

A series of earth-shaking crashes echoed through the realm again, painful enough to make ears ring.

Above the hidden realm, several twisted doorways of void suddenly appeared, like the deep and hollow eyes of some enormous beast opening.

Xiao Mo knew this was the exit leading to the outside world.

"Xiao Mo," Gui Junmeng turned her head to glance at him and saw that his eyelids were growing heavier and heavier, his whole body swaying unsteadily, as though he might fall from midair at any moment.

Behind Xiao Mo, quite a few pursuers had already caught up, drawing closer and closer.

"Miss Gui, I am afraid... I will not make it out," Xiao Mo said slowly, his weakened voice like a taut string stretched high in the air, ready to snap at any moment.

He removed the storage pouch from his waist and gently held it out to Gui Junmeng, a faint, pale smile rising to his lips. "I will cover your escape. There is a letter inside, along with the demon core I just obtained. If the young lady is willing to help, once you have left, please deliver the demon core and this letter together to Tushan. As for the other items in the pouch, they are all yours to keep."

"Xiao Mo, we can get out together."

Gui Junmeng bit her lip lightly and gave a sharp swing of her horsetail whisk, knocking away an incoming flying sword with great force.

She drove her spiritual energy to its utmost, carrying Xiao Mo closer and closer to that void exit.

Xiao Mo gave a faint smile and shook his head, his tone calm and candid. "Miss Gui, it is no use. Even if I made it out, what difference would it make? My life's original source has already been destroyed. Even if I managed to survive, I would not last much longer."

With that, Xiao Mo drew a talisman from his robe, bit through the tip of his tongue, and using his essence blood as ink, wrote swiftly upon it, his brushstrokes flowing like a dragon in motion, the characters a vivid red.

"I will... give the young lady one final journey."

Xiao Mo held the talisman between his fingers and pointed it gently toward the twisted void exit ahead, and the talisman burst into flames.

The talisman burned away silently between Xiao Mo's fingers, transforming into a gentle breeze that lifted Gui Junmeng steadily upward, straight into the sky.

Gui Junmeng tried to turn back and stand at Xiao Mo's side but she found she could not free herself from this talisman's technique for the moment.

Gui Junmeng could only be carried by that gentle breeze, drawing further and further away from Xiao Mo.

Xiao Mo raised his head, his gaze passing through the slowly closing void gateway, until Gui Junmeng's figure had disappeared completely, and only then did he let out a long breath of relief.

Xiao Mo turned around, and his projection of heaven and earth rose up behind him, its presence overwhelming, as vast as an abyss, as final as the underworld.

The hidden realm was collapsing faster and faster, and more and more cultivators were gradually regaining their senses.

They raised their heads and looked at the world crumbling all around them, realizing that the hidden realm was about to collapse completely, and that if they did not flee immediately, they would surely be buried here.

They gave up any thought of chasing further fortune and rushed with all their might toward the nearest void gateway but some cultivators still could not bring themselves to abandon the demon core and clung stubbornly to the exit Gui Junmeng had gone through.

Because according to the laws governing most hidden realms, different exits led to different locations in the outside world.

If they wanted the demon core, they would have to go through that same gateway but every one of these people was struck down and killed by Xiao Mo without exception.

Only Xin Xiao'er seemed, from beginning to end, to have never cared about the demon core at all.

In her eyes, from start to finish, there had only ever been Xiao Mo's life.

Even though she clearly still had a chance to survive, she chose instead to cut Xiao Mo down with her blade, trying to complete the task Tushan had given her.

Xiao Mo did not quite understand this persistence of Xin Xiao'er's. It seemed she was pushing herself a little too hard.

Xin Xiao'er raised a hand to wipe away the blood at the corner of her mouth, took a single step forward, and vanished instantly from Xiao Mo's sight, as untraceable as a ghost.

When Xiao Mo turned his head, he saw a dagger, cold and gleaming, slicing silently toward his own head but his towering projection of heaven and earth arrived just in time to block the strike, the clash of metal ringing out sharp and shrill.

In the next instant, Xin Xiao'er's figure dissolved into the air once more.

The pressure around her began climbing continuously upward, and an equally massive projection of heaven and earth slowly manifested behind her but very quickly, that projection began shrinking rapidly, finally transforming into what looked like a dazzling golden outer garment, fitting itself perfectly over Xin Xiao'er's body.

Under Xin Xiao'er's fierce and reckless assault, Xiao Mo's towering projection gradually began to falter, fine cracks appearing across its surface but Xiao Mo sharply seized a fleeting opportunity, and the yin and yang rivers suddenly surged, binding Xin Xiao'er tightly in place.

In the next instant, Xiao Mo's projection reached out a massive palm and gripped Xin Xiao'er firmly within it.

A sudden burst of blade energy erupted from Xin Xiao'er, whistling in every direction, forcibly breaking free from the projection's grip.

She then transformed her entire body into a fierce streak of light, pointing without hesitation straight for the space between Xiao Mo's brows on his true body but at that very instant, the sixth-grade flying sword, arriving quietly from who knew where, silently pierced through Xin Xiao'er's heart from behind.

Xin Xiao'er fell from the sky like a bird with a broken wing, plummeting straight down.

Her eyes remained just as hollow and lifeless as ever, yet deep in her mind, scenes from her childhood involuntarily surfaced.

As a child, on the day her own father had dragged her onto the street to be sold, a beautiful woman happened to pass by, her gaze settling on the girl.

The woman stopped, crouched down, and spoke slowly, "Your bones show good quality. Would you be willing to come with me? I can teach you assassination arts. But from this day forward, your life belongs to me."

The little girl had not understood what assassination arts were back then. She had also been afraid of strangers but her father had been overjoyed to have sold his daughter for such a good price.

In all the long years that followed, Xin Xiao'er practiced her assassination arts day after day, killing one person after another for that woman named Tushan Meng.

Men and women, humans and demons, infants barely born and elders in their twilight years, none were spared.

Every day, Xin Xiao'er would think of the innocent people who had died beneath her blade.

Every night, she would fall asleep beneath the silent gaze of those wandering souls.

And when she woke the next day, she never knew how many more had died under her dagger.

"This life... I am returning it to you."

Her voice was very light, very faint.

She closed her eyes slowly, the corner of her mouth curving upward slightly, and that smile held no pain, no regret.

Only a release, as though she had been waiting far too long for it.

It was as though, only in this very moment, had she finally, truly come alive.

Her body crashed straight down onto the ground, shattering a small mountain peak to pieces, fragments of rock flying everywhere.

No longer breathing, she was completely buried beneath the countless falling shards of stone.

That pile of scattered rubble stood like an unmarked grave.