The Price of Salvation

Jiang Jinyue gazed at the figure on the white jade bed.She watched as he regained his former handsome and distinguished appearance at a visible pace.She observed the Purple Mansion (TL Note: A spiritual cultivation realm) majesty, the aura of one who commanded laws and looked down upon all beneath the heavens, re-coalescing between his brows.

Though this was undeniably her domain, the territory of a Golden Core Dao Monarch, the focal point of the space had imperceptibly shifted to the figure resting on the white jade bed.

This ought to have been a cause for joy.

Her Senior Disciple Brother had returned to his peak; he had even subtly advanced further, possessing an aura that nearly rivaled that of a Golden Core cultivator.She truly should have been happy for him.

Yet, at this very moment, her heart felt as though it had been plunged into ten thousand years of profound ice, chilling her to the very bone.

This was merely a fleeting illusion, bought with the burning away of his final vestiges of fate; it was the last, illusory ripple on the water as a thousand sails passed beside a sinking ship.

Cultivators who embarked on the path of ‘Red Dust Proving Dao’ (TL Note: A cultivation path where one experiences the mortal world to achieve enlightenment), much like the ‘Red Dust Immortals’ (TL Note: Legendary figures who achieved immortality through mortal experiences) of ancient times, were required to seal their divine abilities and immerse themselves in the mortal world.

However, this path, according to all existing records, had never been completed by anyone.No one knew whether its conclusion truly led to the Great Dao or something else entirely.

There were always those who couldn’t endure it, who wished to turn back.

Yet, when they began to reclaim their former power, they became like cicadas emerging from the earth; every shred of regained glory only hastened the burning of their dwindling lifespan.

The surging aura that now permeated Mo Tingbei’s entire being, the sternness and majesty that had re-coalesced between his brows—once capable of making all demons retreat—were not signs of his injuries healing, but merely the final blaze at the end of a terminal illness, the most resplendent and tragic brilliance of a meteor streaking across the sky.

The more incomparably powerful he appeared, the closer he drew to his irreversible end.

The power he had forcefully gathered, seemingly bringing him back to his peak, was, with every passing moment, relentlessly draining his already depleted life essence.

Inside the bamboo pavilion, the air hung heavy as mercury.

Mo Tingbei slowly raised a hand.A faint luminescence swirled at his fingertips, no longer the lifelessness from before, but imbued with a formidable, restrained power that sent shivers down one’s spine.

He calmly met Jiang Jinyue’s gaze.Those eyes, once as gentle as spring water, were now as profound as a sea of stars, reflecting the solitude and resolute determination of countless ages.

“Yue’er,” he spoke.His voice was steady, carrying the long-absent majesty of a Purple Mansion True Lord, yet it was strangely tinged with a weariness that was difficult to pinpoint. “Are you ready?”

Jiang Jinyue’s heart felt as though it had been violently seized by an icy hand, almost ceasing to beat.

Her ice-blue eyes wavered intensely.Her fingers, hanging at her sides, subtly curled.

She parted her lips, intending to speak.

She wanted to vehemently stop him again, to desperately interrupt this insane plan, to question why he always chose the most resolute path, shouldering everything alone.

Yet, all her words, upon meeting his gaze, froze, shattered, and dissolved into silent dust.

In that gaze, there was no room for discussion, no trace of hesitation; only a quiet, serene acceptance, as if all calculations had been made.

Just as he had walked alone into the depths of Nine Nether all those years ago, just as he had, countless times, borne the brunt of their impending doom for them.

She knew that look all too well.

So familiar that each time she saw it, it felt as though a piece of her heart were being carved out.

In the end, she merely nodded, a gesture so subtle it was almost imperceptible, yet one that cost her immense effort.

She had, once again, succumbed to that gaze.

Her throat felt choked with ice, unable to utter a sound.

The surging spiritual energy around her was fiercely suppressed, yet it still caused tiny ice crystals to form on the bamboo pavilion’s walls, emitting a trembling hum that was almost a sob.

Mo Tingbei’s gaze then shifted to Lin Xiaoxiao, who was kneeling on the ground, her body taut and trembling.

“Xiaoxiao.”

Lin Xiaoxiao flinched violently, as if struck by an invisible whip.

She slowly raised her head.Demonic patterns twisted across her face, crisscrossed with tear streaks, yet, in her eyes burned a light of obsession, bordering on madness.

‘Had her seemingly omnipotent Master truly returned?!’

“Ma… Master…” The sound that escaped her lips surprised even herself.

Her voice was utterly hoarse.

“Come here.” Mo Tingbei’s voice was soft, yet it carried an undeniable, irresistible force.

Lin Xiaoxiao struggled.Under Jiang Jinyue’s mountain-like pressure, she moved her body inch by arduous inch, crawling to the foot of the white jade bed.

Mo Tingbei did not signal Jiang Jinyue to disperse her oppressive aura, even though he knew she would undoubtedly comply if he asked.

He did indeed feel pity for this disciple, but that did not mean he would exempt her from the punishment she deserved.

Lin Xiaoxiao’s actions in the prison had been somewhat out of line.This level of punishment was perfectly fitting.

Mo Tingbei extended his hand.He did not touch her, merely hovering his palm above her head.

A gentle, yet profoundly mysterious power slowly descended.Like a warm tide, it completely enveloped Lin Xiaoxiao.

Her Nine Nether bloodline within her seemed to sense a colossal threat, instantly boiling and resisting!

The inky black demonic patterns writhed wildly, erupting with dazzling dark purple evil light.A violent, corrupt, and destructive energy surged, attempting to break free!

“Hmph!” Jiang Jinyue let out a cold snort.A chilling gleam flared in her eyes.

A power of law, strikingly similar to the laws of extreme cold, bore down.Like a ten-thousand-zhang ice prison descending, forcibly freezing and suppressing the malevolent force that had attempted to retaliate!

Lin Xiaoxiao let out a pained wail.Her body convulsed violently; even trickles of foul blood seeped from her seven orifices.

Mo Tingbei’s gaze remained unwavering.The palm hovering above her head pressed down slightly.

The Purple Mansion power, like a final surge before death, circulating around him began to operate along an incredibly complex and ancient trajectory.Transforming into countless threads of light, fine as spider silk yet incomparably tough, these threads passed through the channel forcibly opened by Jiang Jinyue, precisely piercing into Lin Xiaoxiao’s limbs and bones, delving deep into the very origin of her bloodline!

The stripping began.

This was a pain beyond words, far exceeding the agony of having flesh scraped from bones or tendons pulled; it was a brutal surgery targeting the very root of life itself.

Lin Xiaoxiao’s pupils dilated to their absolute limit in an instant.Her eyeballs were streaked with blood.From her throat issued guttural, desperate cries that were utterly inhuman.Her body thrashed and writhed frantically like a fish out of water, yet it was held firmly captive by the combined might of the two powerful cultivators.

Dark, viscous, foul blood, seemingly possessing a life of its own, began to be forcibly dragged out of her body, bit by bit, by those threads of light, flowing up Mo Tingbei’s arm and back into his own body!

Mo Tingbei let out a muffled groan.His complexion instantly grew even paler, so translucent that he seemed on the verge of fading away.Yet his back remained ramrod straight; the arm receiving that utterly vile and evil substance was as steady as a rock, not trembling in the slightest.

The moment the foul blood entered his body, it began to fiercely corrode his already riddled meridians, Dantian, and spirit, like maggots clinging to bone!The brilliant radiance around him, indicative of his Purple Mansion power, visibly dimmed, swiftly polluted and covered by an ominous, writhing darkness.

Demonic patterns, even deeper, more ferocious, and terrifying than Lin Xiaoxiao’s, began to emerge on his skin!

Yet, his gaze remained calm, even imbued with a nearly cruel composure, as if it were not he himself being corroded and devoured.

Jiang Jinyue bit down hard on her lower lip.Her lips, like morning roses, turned stark white from the pressure.

She forced herself to maintain her suppressive domain.Her ice-blue eyes fixed unblinkingly on Mo Tingbei, watching him swiftly being consumed by the darkness, watching his briefly reclaimed brilliance visibly hasten towards destruction.

She could feel his life force draining away at an unprecedented, frantic pace.

This was no treatment; this was a sacrifice!A cruel sacrifice, using his dwindling life to forge a path for his disciple!

****

Outside the bamboo pavilion, Ye Jinghuang witnessed this scene through a gap.She felt as though her soul had been ripped from her body, yet she forced herself to keep her eyes open, gazing at the unfolding sight.

Tears streamed silently from her eyes.But she clamped her hand tightly over her mouth, daring not to make a sound, terrified of disturbing Mo Tingbei.

The Tianya Sword lay on the ground, emitting a continuous, low whimper.

When the last trace of dark, foul blood was stripped from Lin Xiaoxiao’s body and infused into Mo Tingbei, Lin Xiaoxiao collapsed completely, like a marionette with severed strings, falling unconscious.

All demonic patterns on her body vanished.Her skin regained its former smoothness, though her face was as pale as paper and her breath faint, as if she were just recovering from a severe illness.

Yet, even in her slumber, an aura of sharpness, like that of a divine sword freshly tempered, began to emanate from her.It was only when Jiang Jinyue cast a calming spell that it finally receded somewhat.

As for Mo Tingbei—

He was now completely enveloped by an impenetrable, thick darkness.Twisted demonic patterns covered every inch of his skin; even the whites of his eyes had turned a pure, heart-stopping black.

Only in the depths of his pupils did a faint, yet stubborn, flame still burn, proving that “Mo Tingbei” yet existed.

Outside the bamboo pavilion, Ye Jinghuang forced herself to keep her eyes wide open, staring at the bamboo wall shrouded in evil, as if her gaze could pierce through the barrier, to engrave that withered yet indomitable figure one last time.

Even she, utterly devoid of common sense, could plainly see that Mo Tingbei was likely nearing his end.

Icy liquid slid down her jaw; she tasted the salty despair.

Never having witnessed the cruelty of the cultivation world, she now, for the first time, helplessly bore witness to such a desolate and tragic scene.

Regret had never been so intensely suffocating.

She had so many unspoken words, heavy apologies, and deeper, more unplaceable emotions that she hadn’t had the chance to pour out to Master Mo, but they were now forever stuck in her throat, never to be delivered.

She instinctively looked towards the figure in the room, her ‘elder sister,’ who was connected to her by blood yet felt like a stranger, seeking a flicker of shared grief, but was suddenly stunned.

Jiang Jinyue stood still.Her ice-blue hair moved without a breeze.The chilling aura around her, far from dissipating with the tragedy’s conclusion, grew even more solid and biting.But on her face…

What kind of expression was that?

It was a mixture of joy and sorrow, along with many other emotions she couldn’t yet decipher, as if she were welcoming a husband home from the frontier, yet also mourning a lover who had fallen in battle…

She had never seen such a vivid expression on the face of the ‘elder sister’ from her memories.

Why?

Just as Ye Jinghuang’s mind was seized by this abnormal silence—

“Hmph!”

A cold snort suddenly exploded, domineering, contemptuous, carrying a will to crush all, boldly tearing through the desperate stillness of the bamboo pavilion!

Ye Jinghuang had once read descriptions of the ‘sea’ in books.

Far to the east, there was a boundless expanse of water known as the sea.

The books said that on windless days, it was as docile as the fallen sky, shimmering with ripples, embracing cloud shadows and soaring birds.It cradled countless lives with its vast bosom, murmuring ancient and gentle lullabies.

But once clouds gathered and winds rose, the sea would tear away its calm facade, revealing its most primitive and terrifying countenance.

It was no longer the gentle water that bore ships, but ten thousand zhang of raging tempest, reaching the sky, a surging tide that crushed all obstacles in its path!

Though she had never been to the far east, Ye Jinghuang felt as though she had now seen the sea.

The ‘existence’ utterly devoured by thick darkness suddenly opened its eyes!

No longer purely dead and black, dazzling golden light burst forth from its depths, like the first ray of creation splitting chaos in an eternal night!

“Mere Nine Nether residual blood,” the voice resonated again, each word like a decree of law, shaking the entire bamboo pavilion. “And you dare to covet my body?”

Mo Tingbei remained seated.The boiling, writhing black demonic blood around him, as if ice and snow cast into a furnace, let out a desperate, mournful shriek, yet it could not resist being forcibly refined and devoured by the pure, tyrannical will erupting from his deepest core!

His withered white hair danced wildly without a breeze, each strand seemingly entwined with tiny golden electrical arcs.The grotesque demonic patterns beneath his skin struggled frantically, bulging like trapped venomous dragons, yet under the scorching flames of that immense, irresistible Purple Mansion essence, they snapped and melted inch by inch, turning into wisps of black smoke, which were then thoroughly purified and absorbed.

This was not a simple expulsion, but a more domineering, more thorough devouring!Using his own body as a cauldron, and his remaining life and extraordinary will as fuel, he forcibly refined this utterly vile and evil Nine Nether essence into the purest energy, feeding it back into himself!

The agony brought by this process far surpassed flaying and tendon-pulling; it was an extreme torture of the soul, repeatedly torn apart and then reshaped.

Mo Tingbei’s body trembled violently.A trace of dark golden blood even seeped from the corner of his mouth, but his back was straighter than ever, and in his eyes, burning with golden flames, was a composure that was almost cruel, and an undeniable, absolute control.

“Roar—!”

A non-human roar, mixed with endless malice and fear, seemed to emanate from the deepest part of his body; it was the Nine Nether residual blood’s final counterattack.

However, the only response was Mo Tingbei’s even more forceful suppression.

“Perish.”

He slowly uttered a single word.His voice was not loud, yet it was like a heavenly edict.

The palms that had rested on his knees slowly moved together, closing.

Ohm—!

An indescribable power fluctuation, as if capable of returning all things to primordial chaos, spread out from him.

Everything inside the bamboo pavilion—the cold air, the dust, the light, even time itself—seemed to fall into absolute stagnation at this moment.

The last core of defilement within him, stubbornly resisting, let out a final, brief wail under this absolute power that made words reality, then utterly disintegrated, transforming into its most fundamental particles, greedily absorbed by his depleted meridians and Purple Mansion.

All anomalies vanished abruptly.

His wildly dancing white hair fell still.The golden flames in his eyes gradually extinguished, revealing eyes that were unfathomably deep, yet utterly exhausted.

However, the aura around him showed no sign of weakening; instead, it grew even stronger, almost rivaling Jiang Jinyue’s!

Having dealt with all this, Mo Tingbei simply straightened his robes, stood up, and addressed the half-open door. “Stop lurking at the door; come in.”