Who am I?
I am Yun Paopao! I am the little princess of the Cloud Whale clan, a spirit that soars freely among the clouds.
We command the sea of clouds, we control lightning, and we are the freest spirits in the world, second only to the wind itself.
We were meant to be free, meant to soar without restraint…
Until… that day…
The body of one of our kin plunged from the sea of clouds. This was no natural death; had it been, we would have sung the whale song for them, prayed for their passing.
Their body would have then settled upon the vast earth, nourishing all life in the Spirit Realm, their essence returning to the mountains, rivers, and seas. Such was our destiny.
Yet, the fate of that kin was tragically different!
On that day, I saw people dressed in strange black garments. They bound our kin’s wings with ropes, slit their throat with sharp blades, blinded their eyes with longswords, and sawed off our singular horn.
Our kin was then struck down from the sky by this group. Their body did not become sustenance for the vast earth; instead, it became an accomplice in their crimes…
Soon, we witnessed weapons forged from Cloud Whale horns. Lightning, once our defense, now became a death knell for us.
****
Boom! Amidst a roar of thunder, a Cloud Whale was struck by lightning in the sky, stumbling and crashing into a nearby cliff.
These spirits, who once wielded lightning, were now mercilessly attacked by it.
This became a recurring tragedy. In just a single month, the skeletons of over ten Cloud Whales were discovered across various locations.
The Cloud Whales eventually identified the culprits: a group calling themselves Shadow Apostles.
Lightning, charged with the Cloud Whales’ fury, brought down a divinely bestowed power upon them.
On that day, the lightning illuminated the world as if it were broad daylight.
When the light receded, only scorched earth remained.
They had believed everything would proceed smoothly, yet these Shadow Apostles continued to emerge, growing ever stronger.
Even the Cloud Whale clan’s leader, a Sunwheel-tier peak powerhouse, found themselves at a disadvantage when besieged by countless Shadow Apostles.
A pervasive sorrow blanketed the entire Cloud Whale tribe, until Yun Paopao found her!
Her divine sister—Higanbana!
****
At this moment, shielded by the Blood God Bell, Bai Zhiqiu maintained the stability of her memories. The chaotic fragments were reprocessed and organized, finally coalescing into a complete puzzle, revealing the pattern of truth.
Higanbana! The divine lady who saved Yun Paopao was Higanbana! The one who thwarted An’s conspiracy was also Higanbana!
Only then did Bai Zhiqiu understand why, despite having no prior connection with An, An’s eyes held such an expression upon seeing her. With this realization, everything became clear.
It turned out that a previous Higanbana had repeatedly foiled An’s schemes, causing her countless bitter defeats. This explained An’s astonishment upon their meeting.
Moreover, from An’s demeanor, it didn’t seem as though she wished to kill her outright. Instead, she seemed intent on conquering her, as if that would bring her a greater sense of accomplishment.
Bai Zhiqiu suddenly recalled a statement An had made during that battle: if she were willing to obediently become An’s little pet, An might consider sparing her life.
That proposal, however, had been unequivocally rejected.
Higanbana must have left a significant psychological scar on An. Otherwise, faced with a potential successor to her former adversary, An’s first thought would surely be to crush her immediately, rather than resorting to ‘substitute literature’ or similar tactics to bully a descendant and fulfill a fantasy about her past rival.
“To call them a deity, yet they’re no different from mortals!”
Bai Zhiqiu muttered softly.
“That’s why I called her a false god!”
Yin’s voice suddenly echoed in Bai Zhiqiu’s mind.
“Yin? How are you here?”
“How am I here? You fool! I’m here for you, aren’t I? If it weren’t for me forcefully activating the Blood God Bell to help you avoid being overwhelmed by that immense burden while resonating with Yun Paopao’s memories, your memories would have been crushed to dust by now! Hurry up and thank me!”
“Then I truly must thank you this time!”
“Any reward for me?”
“What do you want? How about a grand meal?”
“I paid such a huge price; how could a mere grand meal suffice? What I desire is… you’ll find out when the time comes…”
“Alright!”
Bai Zhiqiu smiled and agreed with Yin, thinking that Yin wouldn’t make any overly extravagant demands, right?
“Yin! Help me pinpoint the moment the Cloud Whale clan was destroyed! Perhaps only when Higanbana reappears will those deep scars in her heart finally heal…”
****
“Divine sister?”
“Where are you?”
“Why aren’t you answering me?”
“Did we do something wrong?”
“All our kin are dead, and only I remain…”
“I’m so scared!”
“Sister! When will you come?”
****
Bai Zhiqiu hadn’t forgotten the girl’s endlessly looping cries from Yun Paopao’s memories, especially since the role she was now playing was that of Yun Paopao’s divine sister.
“What will it be? Choose to surrender obediently! I won’t kill you!”
An stood before Yun Paopao, her staff still stained with a crimson hue. That blood-red belonged to a Cloud Whale, or more precisely, to the Cloud Whale clan’s leader, who had fallen after less than ten exchanges with An.
“Paopao! Don’t agree to her terms! Run!”
Yun Nishang lay weakly in the distance, her exquisite clothes soaked with fresh red blood.
“Paopao! Hurry and go! I’ll cover you!”
A young girl with the same azure hair as Yun Paopao, Yun Shoushou, shielded Yun Paopao, her blade crackling with faint lightning.
“Noisy!”
A Shadow Apostle spoke, and with a single slap, sent Yun Shoushou flying towards the edge of the cliff, from which she then plummeted.
“Shoushou!”
To witness her playmate die before her eyes like this, without even the chance to retrieve her body.
The cliff here was tens of thousands of meters high. Such a fall, let alone for a small Cloud Whale not even Brightmoon-tier, would surely be fatal even for a Brightmoon-tier Cloud Whale.
“What will it be? What will you choose? To cling to life, or to be buried alongside them?”
“Don’t pin your hopes on your divine sister! Higanbana! She wouldn’t dare come! Join me, and perhaps in the near future, you might even see your divine sister again!”
“At that point, I might even arrange for her to accompany you, how about that?”
The thought of Higanbana made An’s teeth itch with fury. Even her pale, slender hand gripping the staff now bulged with veins, appearing utterly menacing.
“Then you can stop dreaming! Because I’m here!”
No sooner had the words left her lips than a blood-red bell surged from the distance. Just as it neared An, the bell suddenly swelled to an immense size, resembling an ancient, colossal gong.
Caught off guard by the sudden assault of the Blood God Bell, An was nearly ambushed successfully.
“It’s you!”
“That’s right, it’s me! The Witch—Higanbana! False god! What are you trying to do to her?”
Bai Zhiqiu descended from the sky, Pangsang clutched in her hand, and the Blood God Bell hovering beside her, ready to shield her from any external harm.
“What am I doing? Haven’t you seen it all? If it weren’t for you, my plan would have succeeded long ago! Why would I be going through all this trouble?”
An’s face became incredibly twisted, her black hair flowing behind her. Her face was etched with jealousy and madness, creating a bizarre beauty.
‘My fault…’
Hearing An’s words, Bai Zhiqiu pondered for a moment. Though she didn’t know what it was, it was undoubtedly a significant secret.
“No! That’s not right! You’re not her!”
An’s initial frenzy subsided, replaced by a measure of clarity.
“You’re not Higanbana! Though you look identical, you are certainly not her! I knew it! How could someone who vanished long ago suddenly appear before my eyes? You’re just an impostor!”
“Tsk! An impostor can still beat you to a pulp! Take this!”
With that, Bai Zhiqiu swung Pangsang, slashing towards An.
****
Half an hour later…
Bai Zhiqiu was violently slammed to the ground. Fortunately, the Blood God Bell’s protection prevented any actual damage, but her magic power had been completely depleted.
“Divine… miss! Are you alright?”
Yun Paopao knelt beside Bai Zhiqiu, struggling to help her up.
“I’m fine! Ugh! It’s just that her true body is too powerful! I couldn’t gain the upper hand!”
Only after truly clashing with An did Bai Zhiqiu grasp the extent of her terror.
An’s spiritual power was like a vast ocean; even with all her might, Bai Zhiqiu could only stir a ripple on its surface.
It was important to remember that Bai Zhiqiu had only managed to gain a slight advantage in their battle at Xuan Guan because An was using less than a tenth, perhaps even a hundredth, of her full power.
Yet, even that fraction of power was enough to overwhelm humans, let alone An’s full strength!
“Then, farewell!”
An’s laughter echoed in the air as she pointed her staff at Bai Zhiqiu, poised to deliver a fatal blow.
‘So I failed after all! Why is her true strength so immense!’
In that moment, Bai Zhiqiu felt nothing but despair.
This was almost an insurmountable opponent!
Despite this, Bai Zhiqiu steadied herself with her scythe, even standing up, Pangsang raised in her hand, ready to face the impending death head-on.
“No!”
Yun Paopao’s pupils contracted sharply, her heart clutched by an invisible hand, leaving her breathless.
Having just witnessed her kin tragically die before her eyes, was she now to witness her divine sister’s death as well?
Although An claimed this wasn’t her, Yun Paopao would never mistake that aura! This was truly her divine sister!
‘I must save her!’
This thought blossomed in Yun Paopao’s heart.
Suddenly, she felt a searing heat on her forehead, and a blood-red flower floated forth.
“This is? Her!”
Upon seeing the flower, An’s pupils constricted sharply. She hadn’t expected that person, even after disappearing for so long, would still leave such a mark on the world!
“Go! I am always with you!” The voice echoed in Yun Paopao’s heart. Instantly, a beam of light seemed to appear within her, helping her tear through the layers of shackles that bound her.
“No! This time, it’s my turn to save her!”
Yun Paopao’s voice suddenly rang out. A black sword abruptly appeared in her hand, and it was this very sword that helped her block the fatal blow!
“Wujian?”
Upon seeing the sword, Bai Zhiqiu’s eyes showed a complex expression. Her beloved sword had now run off with someone else!
“Let all these nightmares dissipate today! An! I remember everything! Every second, you’ve tormented me with the memories of this day! But today, I will personally tear apart this cage you’ve woven! I know everything now!”
“Awaken, all!”
With those words, amidst An’s gasp of alarm, Yun Paopao plunged the sword into her own chest.
This world began to shatter. Even the illusion where Yin and the others were trapped started to break apart!
****
In the real world, upon the altar, An knelt listlessly.
All her strength had now vanished!
Beneath the altar, a Cloud Whale burst through countless obstacles, tearing apart the tentacles.
Even as her body suffered the altar’s backlash, even as her flesh was ripped away by the tentacles.
Yun Paopao still did not give up, ultimately breaking through everything!
Endless lightning tore through the Xuan Guan space, allowing Yun Paopao to surge skyward. Countless peals of thunder erupted over Nanducheng.
“Higanbana! You’ve won again!” An flashed a twisted smile at Higanbana, before being cut down by Bai Zhiqiu’s scythe.
“Thank you for the compliment!”