442 - Senior Sister Is on Top

She struggled desperately, unleashing her divine power to the point of halting time, but it was still impossible to escape the shackles of the rope. It wasn't due to her lack of strength. The silver chain contained almost all the authority stolen by the demon, which, when calculated carefully, was essentially the power of the Dao of Heaven itself. Contending with herself would only result in mutual destruction. "No! ... Don't kill her!" Before she could utter the last words, the longsword had already pierced through her body, shattering her heart, spilling blindingly bright blood and pure demonic breath. This demonic breath wasn't someone else's; it belonged to Jiang Yin. The demon's hand, which held the longsword, trembled slightly, standing dazed amidst the billowing ghost mist. How could this be? Just now, she had clearly aimed at the Creek Emperor. Vengeful spirits could block spiritual senses and five senses, so how did this person break through? The demon's guess was correct. Jiang Yin had been swallowed by the vengeful spirits, lost in an immense void, unable to locate her junior sister. But she held a core identical to the demon’s, allowing them to sense each other’s positions. Jiang Yin saved her junior sister, yet her core shattered in the process. She was the embodiment of demonic energy, with her core as her life source; as long as the core remained unbroken, she would not perish for millennia. But now, the everlasting life countless people sought had become a vain illusion. "Cough, cough..." Jiang Yin's vitality rapidly dissipated, her already limited vision quickly dimming. In mere moments, it had gone completely dark, leaving her unable to see anything. She wasn't sure if she had saved Tang Muxi; with her remaining strength, she grasped her, asking, "Junior... Sister?" Before even finishing those two words, she could no longer sense any external feedback. What about her junior sister? Was she still alive? Until the end, Jiang Yin did not know the answer. "Senior Sister..." Scalding blood sprayed from Jiang Yin's heart, splattering onto Tang Muxi's face, the contrast of crimson and icy eyes oddly resembling winter-bloomed plum blossoms, each particularly vivid. Everything happened so quickly that by the time she snapped out of the bone-chilling killing intent, she was already half-covered in blood, looking like a blood-soaked person. It wasn’t her blood, but she wished it were. The soft touch of her fingertips quickly faded, and Tang Muxi instinctively clutched the gradually cooling hands, tightly interlocking their fingers, as if this could transfer warmth once more, just like all the times they'd played and laughed together. But it was only an illusion. "Senior Sister... Jiang Yin!" Only when the blood from their heart-connection lost all contact did Tang Muxi truly awaken, engulfed by an unbearable chill. "Right, the Salvation Lamp... divine blood, there's still hope." Tang Muxi quickly took out the Salvation Lamp, using her spiritual power to cut her chest, dividing the scalding heart blood into two portions: one for the Salvation Lamp, the other to feed Jiang Yin. The lotus lamp was a divine artifact, and her blood a treasured gem of the divine realm; no injury should be irreparable. But Jiang Yin's vitality had vanished; healing her was useless—she needed to be brought back from the dead. Even gods could die, let alone a form of demonic energy. Revival did not exist, no matter how hard Tang Muxi tried, she could not bring her senior sister back. Jiang Yin's consciousness swiftly faded; though her eyes were heavy as iron, her body felt light, like drifting feathers, ready to be brushed away by the wind. As her awareness was about to completely disappear, a strand of purple energy emerged from her waist, unseen by all, drawing her into an underwater palace. At the same time, a thread of divine power formed a rope, forcibly connecting the about-to-disperse spiritual consciousnesses. And the one casting the spell was none other than the serene Mi Nu. She slowly opened her eyes, seeing that the nine-tailed fox, for once, was not lying in bed; the face once full of playful laziness now marred by sorrow. "I'm still alive?" Jiang Yin couldn't believe it. Raising her hand, she found even her arms had turned incorporeal, barely held together by profound divine power. Mi Nu shook her head slightly, conjuring a water mirror before her: "You've lost your physical form and soul; this trace of consciousness will soon dissipate." Jiang Yin stared at her reflection in the mirror, unable to suppress self-derision, yet she couldn't laugh. "My junior sister, where is she?" Mi Nu lightly tapped the water mirror, rapidly shifting images until the outside scene was revealed. Jiang Yin saw her junior sister unharmed but also saw her losing herself, pouring vast amounts of heart blood into her body. "Your vitality has already been extinguished. If unexpected events don’t occur, this is death without resurrection. With Heaven's Way restricted, your junior sister has lost her will to fight, falling into a madness of obsession—a victory for the demon." Jiang Yin vaguely sensed something, asking, "Can my junior sister be protected?" Mi Nu said, with a mix of helplessness and affection, "You are indeed perceptive. True, I've gone against the order, forcibly prolonging your consciousness for this reason." "Conflicts between realms—I, as an outer deity, should not interfere. But both Heaven's Way and your junior sister have shown me great kindness; I cannot watch them fall. Now, only one move can reverse this dire situation." "Please, speak frankly." "Your core and the demon's share the same origin. I have a technique that can link your cores, using your death to bring her downfall. Yet this requires sacrificing your physical form. Once done, you can never be reincarnated." As the embodiment of demonic energy, though her physical form had perished and the soul had scattered, so long as a trace of soul remnant and core demonic energy remained, preserving her physical form’s marrow, there was a slim chance of revival. Sacrificing her physical form would be severing her only path of return. Mi Nu initially thought that Jiang Yin would hesitate for a moment, but before she finished speaking, Jiang Yin agreed, "So be it." Mi Nu glanced at the madness-stricken Tang Muxi in the water mirror, finding it heartbreaking, "Have you truly thought it through? Even if you leave her a hope of your revival, it would give her some solace." Jiang Yin's physical form was Tang Muxi's last pillar. Losing even this, Mi Nu couldn't imagine what fate would befall Tang Muxi—perhaps she'd end her own life. Jiang Yin shook her head, her eyes filled with longing and affection as she stared unblinkingly at the figure in the water mirror, yet her words were cold and detached, "What use is a hope? I even wish she would forget me forever. Pouring her heart’s blood so recklessly, even if the demon doesn’t kill her, she won’t survive long. Do it now. If possible, release the contracts of Tang Bao, Chi Yue, and Hun Er; I hope they live on."