Volume Five: The River Breathes of Former Lives, Chapter 131

Tonight was bitterly cold. Jin Li unconsciously tightened her grip, her emotions tangled as she watched the young man before her, who gazed obsessively at the corpse within the coffin.

Wasn’t A Ran supposed to have vanished in Dajun City? Why did he still have a physical body now, preserved for so long? Sang Li’s immortal voice whispered into her ear.

“This is the Weak Water Ice Coffin.”

Weak Water Ice Coffin?

Jin Li’s expression turned solemn. The boy’s face had lost all color, becoming deathly pale, almost frostbitten, yet he refused to release his grip. He continuously poured spiritual energy into the person inside the coffin, utterly ignoring his own well-being.

“If he continues like this, his spiritual energy will be drained, and he’ll die.”

Jin Li said to Sang Li, but Sang Li merely watched him calmly, making no move to intervene.

Jin Li understood—it wasn’t that Sang Li didn’t want to save him, but this person simply couldn’t die.

Someone was even tethering his life from behind the scenes.

After only a short while, A Mo knelt beside the coffin, grief and despair etched deeply on his face.

Tears streamed down his cheeks as if reliving unspoken emotions.

Could it be that he harbored feelings for his own older sister?

That was incestuous sin.

The boy silently closed his eyes. It seemed he intended to stay here with her tonight.

Perhaps night after night.

She recalled the boy outside Shanjing City, head bowed, eyes filled with sorrow, whispering hoarsely, “Sister.”

Back then, he was like a beaten hound, impulsively seeking revenge on the culprit, almost losing his life in the process. Now, he was calm—so calm that even his heartbreaking despair was invisible to others.

It felt like the stillness before a storm.

Having lost half of her cultivation, she could no longer withstand the chilling spiritual energy invading her body.

After a few coughs, she spoke briefly to Sang Li before stepping outside.

The night sky held no stars, as if brewing a heavy downpour.

She glanced back at the boy beside the ice coffin, then flicked her fingers. A blue immortal light slipped through the window frame.

She dissolved into smoke and vanished, only hoping the boy would dream peacefully tonight.

The icy chill of the Weak Water surged through her, choking her with relentless coughs, nearly causing her to lose control of her cloud-riding technique.

Finally reaching the Sacred Domain of Heavenly Timing, she hurried to meet the Rain Deity.

The Rain Deity seemed to have just returned from the Supreme One Hall. Upon seeing Jin Li, he was initially surprised, then smiled warmly, “Little Phoenix, what brings you here?”

“Aunt Rain Deity, have you made it rain today?”

“Yes, my attendants are always diligent.”

“In which direction did you send the rain?”

The Rain Deity looked puzzled. This Little Phoenix was usually so carefree, never meddling in Supreme One Hall’s affairs, yet today she appeared urgent, her body still faintly cloaked in coldness—one might think she had just returned from the frigid North Lan.

“Today, the rain was sent to the southwest. The Heavenly Lord decreed it so.”

The Heavenly Lord knew?

Could it be what Sang Li said?

Rain was good, but if it truly rained tonight, the man-faced owl might appear.

A Mo could be in danger.

She bade farewell to the Rain Deity and hastened back to the southwestern wasteland.

Barely three hours had passed, yet despite her rush, when she arrived, the place was bathed in holy light. Had a battle already broken out?

Jin Li’s heart sank as she transformed into smoke and approached the Gu Residence.

Sang Li was nowhere to be found. The Gu family was now suffused with demonic energy. Thunder crackled across the sky, and the man-faced owl had even summoned heavenly lightning.

Turning back, she saw the boy standing beneath the eaves, cradling a figure in his arms.

The Gu family was deserted, deathly silent. Wild winds swept through the trees, leaves swirling like a fierce tornado.

She activated her Phoenix Eye, but what she saw chilled her to the core. The entire town was devoid of any sound or breath.

She clutched her chest as an overwhelming unease spread through her.

Suddenly, a series of souls swept in on the wind, flooding into the Gu Residence and hovering around the boy.

What was he planning?

Was he intending to exchange the lives of the entire town for A Ran’s?

Madness!

A chill ran through her heart. The resurrection technique from the Mortuary Chamber...

The souls of all beings, guided by spiritual energy, combined with the seven souls and six spirits, and the primordial spirit of the immortal... to bring back life—this is called resurrection!

So that was why Tu Shan Yan had vanished without a trace here...

Her eyes reddened as she stared at the boy beneath the eaves, her reason slipping away.

She was about to draw her sword and advance when a sudden fluttering sound interrupted her. A black shadow passed by—half human-faced, half serpent-tailed, its wide wings fluttering before folding slowly.

It was tall, its human face grotesque, its cold red eyes terrifying; one dare not meet its gaze.

Jin Li pointed her sword at it.

“Go away!”

The man-faced owl fixed her with cold eyes, silently watching.

Jin Li knew it understood her words, so she spoke again.

The souls had gathered under the eaves, countless restless spirits surrounding him. Once the heavenly lightning struck, all would be lost!

Yet if these spirits entered the body, the person saved might never find peace day or night.

This method was forbidden! Defying the Way of Heaven would surely bring Heavenly Punishment!

The man-faced owl remained motionless, coldly staring.

Was this a reenactment?

Jin Li shouted angrily at the boy, “A Mo! Stop! You’ll be struck down by Heaven’s wrath!”

The boy seemed deaf to her.

The black clouds thickened, lightning flashing more and more.

The heavenly thunder was about to fall.

Her gaze sharpened on the man-faced owl, then she clasped her hands behind her back, ready to form a seal.

But the owl instantly transformed into a shadow, appearing behind her, whispering, “You can’t help him.”

Jin Li’s heart jolted.

She spun around swiftly. Her shadow slowly rose from the ground, then a layer of darkness dissipated to reveal a figure that chilled her further.

Before her stood a person with red eyes and a sinister smile, radiating demonic energy.

She looked exactly like Jin Li.

In her hand was a long sword.

Even the Xuan Yin Sword was perfectly replicated.

The ‘Jin Li’ toyed with the long hair cascading over her shoulder, twirling it around her fingers before chuckling, “So this is what being a god feels like? It’s been so long since I felt this.”

Her madness deepened Jin Li’s fury.

“Who are you?” Jin Li demanded.

This was no man-faced owl. The last time someone so identical appeared before Jin Li was during the Phantom Dust incident—like the girl from Huan Jiang, who smiled wickedly at her.

The man-faced owl always inhabited spiritual energy, causing droughts, but with a divine mandate, how could the Southwestern Wasteland immortals allow their beloved beast to harm the mortal realm?

The man-faced owl was being controlled, and the Southwestern Wasteland immortals were being deceived!

The ‘Jin Li’ laughed gleefully, “Haven’t we met before? Huan Jiang?”

So it was her.

That witch-like figure.

Jin Li wished to avoid further entanglement. As ‘she’ finished speaking, Jin Li transformed into a shadow and dashed toward the rooftop.

But ‘Jin Li’ would not let her pass so easily. She too became a shadow, blocking her way.

The clash of two Xuan Yin swords rang out, a piercing sound that seemed capable of shattering the thunderous black sky.

Jin Li’s eyes glimmered golden, holy light flowing behind her. She stared coldly at the identical face before her, whose eyes glowed crimson, and behind whom swirled the chill of demonic souls.

‘She’ sneered mockingly, “How did your cultivation fall so drastically?”

Then she leaned close to Jin Li’s ear, “But I possess infinite power.”

Jin Li glanced sideways at the rooftop behind her opponent.

“Get lost!” she spat, kicking at the demonic creature, but ‘she’ dodged.

Jin Li’s speed surged, leaving only the afterimage of her holy light.

The demon muttered a curse, “Damn it!” and gave chase.

Black soul energy tangled with holy light, weaving, struggling, and gradually, Jin Li fell behind.

‘Jin Li’ shoved her into a white wall, which collapsed instantly.

Among the rubble on the ground, the girl struggled to rise, blood staining her clothes.

She coughed once, then spat out a mouthful of black blood.

Looking up coldly, she faced the approaching figure.

The Xuan Yin Sword scraped the ground, blood soaking into the tiles with a clattering sound.

“Who would have thought that the once-glorious goddess would now be stuck in ruins?” Her words dripped with sarcasm and mockery, her expression triumphant.

“Now I am just like you—you are me, and I am you. You cannot kill yourself.”

Then she spoke slowly again, “That merman is truly pitiful, still unaware of the truth.”

What had ‘she’ done? What had happened to Geng Yuan? What had ‘she’ done to him?

“I pushed him into the icy Phantom River, so he would be bound to his people day and night. He still believes it was you. Ridiculous! Foolish merman. Yet even so, he refuses to hate you! Why? Why is that?” Her face twisted into a grimace as she raised her sword toward Jin Li, “Today, you will cease to exist in this world.”

So Geng Yuan had been cast down by her own reflection. No wonder he was the way he was.

Even now, the boy insisted on marrying her!

She would never forget the happiness sparkling in his smiling eyes.

But what had she done?

The boy saved her, yet she was about to push him into the flames.

A thunderclap roared down!

Jin Li’s expression turned grim, a murderous intent igniting within her heart.

People say gods do not easily harbor killing intent, but Jin Li scoffed at such notions.

As long as one is sentient—whether demon or god—one will feel the urge to kill.

That was what set her apart from the other gods of the Supreme One Hall.

They ruled with mercy, moving Cang Ling with compassion, but Jin Li was different; only by eliminating the threat could she ensure peace.

She rose slowly.

“You say you are like me?” Her voice was soft, tinged with a smile. She lifted her eyes to meet the other’s gaze. “That’s not necessarily true.”

Before the words finished, Jin Li slipped past ‘her’ once more.

Amidst a dazzling blaze of blue-purple flames, she raised her sword and pressed it to her own throat.

Her voice was cold as ice, “Die.”