"Hmph! How could Tian Yun Zhēnzūn possibly betroth his most cherished disciple to you? It only happened because she was tainted, because you made her so. Only then did you get what you wanted."
"All the ugly deeds, I carried them out. I faked my death, buried myself in shadows, all for your grand cause. But you—you've always stood in the light as the noble, untouchable Jian Kun Zhēnjūn!"
In the memory jade, Hua Zhēnrén's voice rose to a shriek, her expression twisted, bordering on madness.
"That was your choice," Jian Kun Zhēnjūn said coldly. "Don't claim you did it for me. You were jealous—of Feng Nianyue's talent, of her status, of the affection I gave her."
Hua Zhēnrén laughed bitterly, a laugh sharp enough to pierce bone.
"What a joke. Since when have you ever truly liked her? You've only ever loved yourself. Don't think I don't know you secretly took Avoidance Grass. You thought she was tainted, unworthy of bearing your child!"
Jian Kun Zhēnjūn's face darkened. His hand moved. A sword strike lashed out at Hua Zhēnrén. She, too, had nothing left to lose. She launched a desperate counterattack.
Feng Nianyue could no longer hear their words. She felt like a lifeless husk as she made her way up her ancestor's peak. From a distance, she kowtowed three times. Then she turned to find Kong Qiankun.
"Qiankun… I'm pregnant."
"That's impossible."
"Why is it impossible? Because you took Avoidance Grass?"
"You—!"
Seeing Jian Kun Zhēnjūn's expression, Feng Nianyue understood everything. What she thought was unwavering love had only ever been manipulation, a carefully laid scheme. What sort of monstrous cruelty had been hiding behind that handsome face all along?
She no longer wanted to know.
Their swords finally clashed.
The battle lasted three days.
Feng Nianyue used a life-saving sword talisman bestowed by her ancestor. It struck Kong Qiankun with full force, shattering his body.
And in that moment, she witnessed something terrifying.
A black insect the size of a fingernail crawled slowly out of Kong Qiankun's skull. It broke through his head and began devouring the essence of his flesh, growing as it fed. Soon it had swollen to the size of a cherry, while Kong Qiankun's body rapidly withered into black dust.
With the last of his strength, Kong Qiankun shouted, his voice hoarse and desperate:
"Run! Don't let it attach to you!"
But it was already too late.
After absorbing half of Kong Qiankun's Nascent Soul, the black insect lunged toward Feng Nianyue's spiritual platform. In that instant, she shattered her spiritual sea, abandoning her physical body and fleeing in Nascent Soul form.
She watched her body crumble into ash.
The insect shrieked and lunged again, this time at her soul.
This time, she didn't run.
Feng Nianyue gritted her teeth and charged directly into it, self-destructing her Nascent Soul in the process.
Far away in Tianjian Sect, Tian Yun Zhēnzūn awoke from deep meditation. Sensing the death of his disciple, he looked down and saw her soul token split in half.
His spiritual energy surged out of control.
Unable to suppress his cultivation any longer, he was locked onto by the Heavenly Dao.
Above Tianjian Sect, dark clouds gathered. Thunder rumbled as bolts of ascension tribulation thunder crashed down, one after another.
Eighty-one strikes.
In the final heart-devil tribulation, Tian Yun Zhēnzūn fell.
Heaven and earth mourned. The golden-type spiritual energy in the sky tore at Feng Nianyue's dreamlike soul.
A familiar sigh echoed in her ear.
"Foolish child."
"No!"
Feng Nianyue jolted awake, drenched in cold sweat. The noise drew the others into the cabin. Seeing her ghost-pale complexion, none of them knew what had happened.
"Senior Sister Feng, are you alright? You look even worse than before."
Feng Nianyue murmured, "I had a dream?"
"Cultivators rarely dream," Jian Dan said firmly.
Feng Nianyue stared blankly at her. "It was… a terrible dream."
This time, Jian Dan's smile faded. Her bright eyes held Feng Nianyue's gaze as she said seriously: "Then don't let it become real."
"…Thank the heavens it wasn't real. Thank goodness…"
As she spoke, tears spilled from her eyes. She covered her face and broke into sobs.
The three male cultivators exchanged helpless glances, still unsure what exactly had happened. Only Jian Dan, who had entered her dream, understood why Feng Nianyue wept.
She wept for a love misplaced.
She mourned the innocence that had welcomed in a wolf.
She grieved that Tian Yun Zhēnzūn had died for her.
But it had all happened within a dream.
Jian Dan gave the confused trio a discreet glance. Then she lit a calming incense in the cabin and quietly stepped out, leaving Feng Nianyue with her grief.
Outside, the sky was already studded with stars.
Jian Dan sat cross-legged on the deck. She didn't cultivate. She simply stared at the stars in silence.
Kong Yu soon came over and sat beside her.
"Senior Sister Shan," he asked humbly, "how did you know Senior Sister Feng would be ambushed that day?"
"It was just a woman's jealousy."
"But why?"
"Because Kong Zhēnrén publicly rejected her in front of another female cultivator."
"Then why didn't Hua Zhēnrén go after Kong Zhēnrén directly? Why hurt Senior Sister Feng?"
"Because she couldn't bear to harm the man she loved."
As they spoke, dawn began to break. Jian Dan glanced at the thoroughly bewildered Kong Yu and asked him:
"In cultivation, we speak of four pillars: master, technique, wealth, and partner. Do you know why the Taoist partner comes last?"
"I don't," Kong Yu admitted honestly.
The others pretended not to listen, but their ears were sharply tuned in.
"I do," Jian Dan said softly.