Xiao Fan returned to the bedroom and lay on the bed, inhaling the lingering scent of Shangguan Lanruo that remained on the bedding. It was a scent he would never forget—so familiar and hard to part with.
Overcome with emotion, he began to cry like a child. They had relied on each other for more than a decade, and now those warm years were gone forever. Though he had always been strong, he couldn't stop the tears from falling.
After a long while, Xiao Fan finally stopped crying, wiped his eyes, and began searching the room. He knew that Shangguan Lanruo would have left something behind. She would never leave without a trace. How could she just go without a word?
At last, he noticed a piece of animal skin on the table. He picked it up and saw Shangguan Lanruo's beautiful handwriting on it:
"Xiao Fan, please forgive me for leaving without saying goodbye. I didn't dare to see you awake—I feared that I wouldn't be able to leave if I saw you."
"You must have cried when you woke up and couldn't find me. Don't cry, all right? Be strong. You're a man now. Even though I can't be with you anymore, I'll always be in your heart, just as you've always been in mine."
"There's something I've never told you. You were born with an evil spirit inside you, and catastrophe would come when you reached fifteen. Due to unforeseen events, the evil spirit is awakening sooner, and my family is searching for me, so I must go. In the back mountain of Zusheng Village, there's a legend that might hold a chance for you. Go there as soon as possible. When the evil spirit fully awakens, maybe a miracle will happen."
"Promise me, Xiao Fan—you must survive. I'll wait for you at Yunxian Peak, even if it's until the end of my days.
With love,
Your aunt sister."
"Drip, drip, drip!"
Tears fell onto the animal skin, blurring the writing, and Xiao Fan's hands trembled.
"Aunt, I will go to Yunxian Peak to find you, I promise! I will!"
Xiao Fan carefully tucked away the scroll, clenched his fists, and his eyes glinted with determination. For Shangguan Lanruo, he would endure any hardship.
Though he didn't know where Yunxian Peak was, he knew it wouldn't be a place accessible to ordinary people. To see Shangguan Lanruo again, he would need to become stronger—stronger than ever before.
He opened the door and stepped outside. Villagers were already up, busy with their daily tasks. Under a large tree, a group of young men trained with Master Hong Dahai.
"Xiao Fan, aren't you going to practice today?" Master Hong called out, surprised to see Xiao Fan walking toward the back mountain. Xiao Fan had always trained with him each morning without fail.
"Master Hong, I have something to take care of, so I won't be practicing today."
Although he kept his tone steady, Master Hong sensed something off. Xiao Fan's eyes looked empty. Assuming it was due to recent events, Master Hong didn't think too deeply about it.
"Go on then, but be careful. The back mountain is dangerous, with ferocious beasts. Don't go too far."
"Thank you for your concern, Master Hong. I'll be careful."
Xiao Fan nodded and quickly left the village. Behind him, Hu Fei and a few others watched him go, resentment in their eyes. Some of them were still bedridden from the injuries Xiao Fan had given them, and Hu Fei's face was bruised with a fresh cut on his forehead.
Once in the back mountain, Xiao Fan made his way through the dense forest. He sensed something stirring within him—his blood surged wildly, and his right wrist felt cold. A strange energy radiated from that spot, traveling up his arm and spreading throughout his body.
Surprised, he raised his arm and noticed a thumb-sized, emerald-green water mark on his wrist. It glowed faintly, pulsing with a life force of its own.
"Aunt sister!"
Xiao Fan's heart trembled. He knew this water mark had to be Shangguan Lanruo's final gift to him.
"Huff…"
A strong wind suddenly blew, whistling through the air. Flowers, grasses, and trees swayed wildly, leaves rustling even louder. Clouds gathered in the sky, blocking the sunlight and casting a dark veil over the land.
Xiao Fan felt something within him awaken, an intense force stirring in his mind, leaving him unsettled.
"What's happening to me? Could this be the evil spirit my aunt-sister warned me about?" he muttered, his expression tense. Although he didn't fully understand what this evil spirit was, he knew it must be formidable if even his powerful aunt-sister couldn't contain it. Without hesitation, he dashed deeper into the back mountain.
As he ran, gray-black vapor seeped from his body, radiating an ominous, evil aura. Vegetation in his path withered instantly upon contact with the miasma. Xiao Fan was horrified; the sinister energy was beyond anything he'd known.
"Boom!" Thunder echoed in the sky.
"Snap!" Lightning, thick as a dragon, flashed, illuminating the darkened sky and earth in a stark white glow.
"Boom!" The thunder crashed so loudly it shook the ground. Xiao Fan staggered, nearly falling, his ears ringing. The gray-black gas pouring from him grew thicker, shrouding him in a demonic energy that sent animals fleeing in terror.
Meanwhile, eyes from distant places turned toward the scene, and lights sparkled in the sky, each carrying an aura from original souls. This bizarre phenomenon left countless people astounded.
"Aah!" Xiao Fan screamed as if another life force had awakened within him, straining his body to its limits. His meridians, organs, and brain throbbed with agony. Sweat poured down his face, soaking his clothes and hair. The pain drilled into his bones, twisting his face in torment.
The water mark on his wrist glowed stronger, releasing vital energy throughout his body, yet it barely alleviated his suffering. The strange phenomena over these past two days had alarmed countless people. Disciples from the major sects of Eastern Shenzhou had gathered, each racing toward Zusheng Village to investigate the unusual events.
"Boom!" The mountains suddenly trembled. Xiao Fan fell to the ground, his body scraping against sharp rocks, causing blood to spray. At the heart of the mountain behind Zusheng Village, a sacred aura pulsed, the source of the tremor. Above, the dark clouds twisted into a massive vortex as a thick beam of light descended.
An array of symbols lit up across the ground for miles around, casting multi-colored lights, and then, in a blink, the entire area vanished as if it had never existed. Nearby sect disciples were stunned as the strange aura abruptly vanished, yet they pressed on, heading toward where they'd last sensed it.
Within the now-invisible area, Xiao Fan struggled to his feet, wracked with pain, especially in his head, as if pierced by thousands of needles. He felt on the verge of collapse but clung to the thought of Shangguan Lanruo, steadying himself as he forced himself onward.
Soft chanting echoed from the distance, and as Xiao Fan listened, the pain grew worse. The revived life force within him fought violently, filling his vision with blood-red as his body writhed. Bright crimson blood splattered.
"Bang!" Xiao Fan fell again, his strength failing. His consciousness dimmed, but as he lay there, he thought he glimpsed Shangguan Lanruo. She appeared as she always did, dressed in white with that gentle gaze.
"Aunt-sister…" Xiao Fan's blood-streaked face contorted with pain, yet his eyes held a glimmer of warmth. He tried to reach out, but his hand fell weakly to the ground.
"Crash!" Rain poured down, drenching Xiao Fan's trembling body. The water blurred his vision, and he could no longer see the figure before him. Teeth gritted, he clenched and unclenched his fist, fingers digging into the mud as he crawled forward.
"Aunt-sister, Xiao Fan misses you so much." Using every ounce of strength, he struggled toward her, but though she seemed near, a chasm of time and space separated them, the short distance impossibly out of reach.
"Boom!" Thunder cracked as lightning blazed, and rain drenched the earth. Xiao Fan finally lost consciousness, his body cloaked in thick, gray-black gas. The water mark on his wrist pulsed fiercely as blood ran off him, dyeing the rain-soaked ground around him red. His outstretched hand held on in a gesture that was profoundly moving.
Suddenly, a brilliant light flared in the distance, filling the air with a sacred aura. Large cracks radiated from a nearby valley, rumbling as intense sacred light shone through.
"Boom, boom, boom!" A powerful, rhythmic beating shook the earth as if a colossal heart pulsed at the center. A golden heart rose from within the cracks, bathed in flawless holy light and exuding an aura capable of purging all evil.
"Roar!" A fierce cry echoed from Xiao Fan's unconscious form as a faint gray shadow appeared over his head.
"No! How can you still possess a pure, immortal Sacred Heart?" a furious voice resonated within Xiao Fan's mind.
"Buzz!" The Sacred Heart pulsed with power, floating in midair as holy light cascaded down, enveloping Xiao Fan. The dark gas surrounding him turned frenzied, fighting desperately against the purifying light.