The colors of the mountains and rivers changed, and all living beings howled in sorrow.

Wu Nan’s eyes were wide open as he stared at Shen Han, his mouth moving as if he wanted to say something, but he had no strength left, and no sound came out. The veins on his neck were bulging, and it seemed that he was trying to call out "Junior Sister" from the shape of his lips, but unfortunately, Shen Han could no longer see him.

The flow of spiritual power and energy had drained too quickly, surpassing her limits.

Wu Nan tried to move his fingers, wanting to interrupt the formation, but it was already too late. Both of them were trapped in the formation, unable to break free, with no chance of turning back.

The formation spun faster and faster, requiring more and more spiritual power and energy, like a cart rushing downhill that couldn’t be stopped.

Bai Ke stood outside the trap, his eyes bloodshot. Just like Wu Nan in the formation, he could only watch helplessly as Shen Han’s once vibrant face, as beautiful as peach blossoms, gradually faded, as if all her soul was being drained, withering rapidly.

That little girl, who had been doted on by her master, teacher, and two senior brothers, the one who would cry her heart out just because her senior brother teased her by calling her a little monkey, the one who could wail for miles if she scraped her skin, was now enduring all of this in silence, not even a single sound escaping her.

Bai Ke suddenly closed his eyes.

His long black eyelashes trembled, still holding some of the snow from earlier, now melting into damp water, spreading in a wet patch.

He no longer wanted to watch what happened next…

But even with his eyes closed, the images in his mind continued to replay the final moments—cruelly and relentlessly, as if it were happening just yesterday.

Shen Han’s frail, bent body finally couldn’t support itself any longer and collapsed to the ground. Her eyes, still wide open, were pale and lifeless, like in her youth, but her entire face had dried-up, covered in wrinkles. Tears fell from her eyes, tracing the lines of her face before dropping onto the ground.

In that instant, Wu Nan in the formation finally couldn’t hold on any longer. His focus broke, and he lost control of the formation. The massive flow of spiritual power and energy that was meant for Shen Han surged into his body instead.

His veins bulged, his eyes turned blood-red, and after several agonized screams, he completely lost his sanity. Unable to contain the chaotic energy surging through him, he struggled like a mad lion, using all his strength to break free from the weakening formation. A flash of blood-red light appeared between his brows, and with a sudden shift, he vanished without a trace.

Everything was so vivid in Bai Ke’s mind, automatically playing over and over again.

He couldn’t recall why he, who had been unconscious in the Yunfu Palace at that time, was seeing these images. Perhaps his soul had momentarily detached, following his two disciples to the stone platform and witnessing everything, which then turned into an endless, haunting nightmare.

The disciples he had raised for a century from a tiny fragment of a soul—ended up in this fate. One dead, one gone mad, and the other…

Bai Ke slowly opened his eyes, his gaze faintly tinged with red.

This distorted illusion seemed intent on forcing him to relive the most painful memories of his long life, not stopping until it drove him insane.

He hardly needed to open his eyes to know what he was about to see—

It was probably the last experience of his previous life…

At that time, the "Ice Soul" that he had sealed with half of his life had remained dormant for less than a century before being unearthed by a newly formed, nameless sect, causing a great calamity.

The "Ice Soul," upon reawakening, was even more powerful than before, and no great power could suppress it.

This cursed, evil entity, after awakening, began to feed hungrily on spiritual energy and life force, devouring anyone it could find—great powers, ordinary people—anyone touched by it would be drained to nothing but a hollow husk, eventually turning into a pool of blood.

The entire world was plunged into misery, as countless lives were destroyed.

Even if one wanted to stay out of the chaos and protect themselves, it was futile. The black aura emanating from the evil entity was all-pervasive, impossible to avoid.

Moreover, while others could choose self-preservation, Bai Lingchen could not.

Because the founder of the newly-emerged nameless sect responsible for unearthing the entity was none other than Wu Nan, a former disciple who had once walked out of Yusheng Sect—a madman.

While other sects could cower and retreat, Yusheng Sect had no choice but to stand at the forefront.

Under such circumstances, those who stood at the front suffered heavy casualties, but even those who hid behind fared little better.

He couldn’t simply sit idly by while the malevolent entity continued its rampant destruction.

So, he did what his young disciple had once done: he turned to the forbidden technic.

Yu Xian often said, "Birds of a feather flock together." Bai Lingchen’s disciples, though vastly different in personality, shared his same crazy energy deep down—an unrestrained fervor that couldn’t be reined in.

In the sudden howl of rising winds, Bai Ke opened his eyes, and as he had expected, the scene before him was a sea of blood—filled with screams, cries, and the faint moans of the dying. It was chaos on a scale that, even in his long life, he had rarely seen.

He floated in mid-air, and below him lay the massive Ice Soul. Inscribed on its surface were runes he had just carved. The forbidden formation’s patterns quickly interlocked, forming a colossal eight-trigram array.

At the exact moment the formation was completed, a searing pain, as if being burned alive, erupted within him, accompanied by an excruciating sensation of being torn apart.

Then he heard his own voice softly command, and his three souls and six spirits were forcibly separated.

Two souls and two spirits were torn from his body, transforming into glowing points that fell into the two "eyes" of the eight-trigram array.

The remaining four spirits followed, dispersing to the four cardinal directions: east, south, west, and north.

The final soul, serving as the formation’s anchor, descended to the very center of the massive array.

The mountains and rivers shifted. All living things wailed.

A voice, one that had once echoed in his mind, now rang clearly again—

Soul as the anchor, spirits as the eyes.
The seven stars align; the blood pact is forged.
Mountains and rivers serve as witness; heaven and earth serve as the medium.
With my soul, bones, and blood,

I bury this most malevolent and vile entity among a thousand forsaken souls,

Never to rise again.

 

It was his own voice, reciting his last words.

The Seven-Star Immortal Formation could annihilate anything with a soul—whether it be mortal, divine, or celestial. The price? The complete dissolution of the user’s soul and spirit, banishing them forever from the cycle of reincarnation.

Amidst the agony of being burned alive, he saw the evil entity’s shadow, rampant and black, caught in the formation's massive net-like structure. The malevolence was annihilated, and the Ice Soul, glowing brilliantly, finally began to dim. Only then did he clearly see the people beyond the Ice Soul.

He saw the ground littered with blood and countless lifeless bodies, leaving nothing behind.

He saw the remaining members of various sects, reduced to only a handful, collapsing in exhaustion after escaping death’s clutches.

He saw Yu Xian’s stunned, blood-soaked face.

And then... Junxiao.

His last direct disciple rushed toward him like a madman, careless of the remaining aura of the entity that tore through his body, leaving him drenched in blood.

Behind him, Yu Xian reacted, letting out a roar and joining Junxiao. Together, they stormed into the Seven-Star Immortal Formation. Against the howling winds, they forcibly retrieved his two souls and six spirits, breaking open the formation to hurriedly send them into reincarnation.

Only the final soul, the one anchoring the formation, remained trapped within the Ice Soul.

As Bai Ke’s vision darkened with the sinking of that soul, the world plunged into pitch blackness.

Yet just before his complete obliteration, in the endless darkness, he saw Junxiao.

More precisely, it was Junxiao’s soul.

It flickered with a faint light as it approached him, raising a hand and pushing his dying soul out of the Ice Soul.

Before he could even process what was happening, Yu Xian, still working the formation, caught this final piece of his soul and sent it into the cycle of reincarnation.

At the time, Bai Ke hadn’t the chance to reflect on the series of events. But now, reliving them in this dream-like illusion, he finally understood—

It was Junxiao who exchanged one soul for another, releasing the soul trapped in the Ice Soul and sending it out, while sacrificing one of his own. Junxiao’s soul remained bound to the Ice Soul, accompanying the malevolent entity, suppressed together for thousands of years.

Had the Seven-Star Immortal Formation been fully completed at the time, the Ice Soul would have been sealed for eternity, never to see the light of day again.

But in the end, it remained incomplete.

Fortunately, even the half-formed Seven-Star Immortal Formation was effective against the Ice Soul. Combined with Junxiao’s soul anchoring it, the world gained a few thousand years of peace.

Still, the calamity left a lasting toll. Despite Bai Lingchen sacrificing himself to intercept it to the very end, the Yusheng Sect was left with almost no successors—virtually wiped out. Junxiao lost a soul, and Yu Xian, in the haste of activating the forbidden formation, neglected the backlash, leaving him prone to sporadic collapses of internal energy in the years to come.

All of this Bai Ke pieced together only from the occasional fragments of conversation shared by Junxiao and Yu Xian in the past.

As for himself, he had already missed out on the mortal world for thousands of years.

In this fleeting illusion, he had traversed the most painful chapter of his life.

One after another, he watched those he cherished grow old, descend into madness, or lose their very souls.

The unrelenting wave of pain and devastation tore apart Bai Ke’s usually composed demeanor. Blood surged through his veins, boiling with an intensity that seemed to rend his nerves. Chaotic energy rampaged within him, on the brink of pushing him into a state of qi deviation.

Frame by frame, the vivid scenes replayed endlessly before his eyes.

The agony split his head as though it might shatter; his body felt as if countless blades and saws were tearing him apart.

Finally, unable to endure it any longer, he let out a piercing cry and flung his sleeve.

An overwhelming burst of qi, sharp as a blade, swept through the entire illusion like a hurricane, splitting heaven and earth and forcibly tearing him out of the tormenting vision.

But the searing pain within his body did not dissipate.

Instead, a ceaseless, overwhelming surge of spiritual energy flooded into him, threatening to burst his meridians.

Even his temples throbbed in rhythm with his pulsing veins, the sound so loud it reverberated through his eardrums, overwhelming every other noise around him.

 

Translator : DarNan