Prince Xiao's Mansion was annihilated.
Not a single soul in the entire Prince Xiao's Mansion was left alive.
Xiao Jing was the last to die.
He watched with his own eyes as the son in whom he had placed such high hopes had his limbs hacked off and his eyes gouged out.
As Xiao Jing watched Jiang Qingyi crush his son's eyes under her foot, she finished him with a final sword strike that severed his head.
He saw it with his own eyes and heard it with his own ears: Jiang Qingyi on a rampage inside the Xiao Mansion, sparing no one, just as he had once done to the Jiang Mansion.
When only Xiao Jing remained, Jiang Qingyi dragged him out of the Xiao Mansion and held him suspended in the air above the Imperial City. There, in front of all its citizens, she sliced every last piece of flesh from his body, one cut at a time!
After Jiang Qingyi left, all that remained of Xiao Jing was a bloody skeleton.
With her revenge complete, the knot in Jiang Qingyi's heart that had tormented her for years unraveled. Her thoughts became clear, and she broke through to the Jade Realm.
After obtaining the Sword Bone, Jiang Qingyi advanced from the Golden Core Realm to the Nascent Soul Realm, and then from the Nascent Soul Realm to the Jade Realm, all within a single day.
Whether any would come after her was unknown.
But this was an absolutely unprecedented miracle.
Returning to the Longquan Sword Sect, Jiang Qingyi continued her slaughter.
She had learned from Ye Sandao that the Longquan Sword Sect and Prince Xiao's Mansion were in collusion, jointly controlling the entire Liang Kingdom.
It was the Sect Leader of the Longquan Sword Sect who had told Xiao Jing that Jiang Qingyi possessed an Innate Sword Bone.
This time, however, Jiang Qingyi did not massacre the entire Longquan Sword Sect.
Jiang Qingyi simply left them with a single sentence: "Those who follow me shall live; those who oppose me shall die."
And indeed, not a single one of the Longquan Sword Sect Cultivators who defied Jiang Qingyi was left alive.
After killing the Longquan Sword Sect's Sect Leader, she set a great fire.
Finally, Jiang Qingyi sat in the courtyard on Lingqian Peak, watching as the entire Longquan Sword Sect was engulfed in a sea of flames.
When the fire died down, the Longquan Sword Sect was no more.
In the end, only five hundred Cultivators from the Longquan Sword Sect chose to follow Jiang Qingyi.
"From this day forward, this place shall be called the Wanjian Sect."
Jiang Qingyi announced slowly to the five hundred disciples.
'Wanjian Sect...'
Xiao Mo recalled Yan Shanao mentioning that an Elder Huang from the Wanjian Sect would be coming to the Liang Kingdom, and that he was supposed to receive them personally.
But it was just a passing thought for Xiao Mo.
'In my view, the two Sects can't possibly be the same one. It must just be a coincidence of name.'
With a great power like Jiang Qingyi in the Jade Realm at its head, the Wanjian Sect developed rapidly, soon becoming the number one Sect in the Liang Kingdom.
Jiang Qingyi's Realm also grew higher and higher.
She was admired by more and more people.
Moreover, in the eyes of the Wanjian Sect disciples, their Sect Leader was not only powerful but also exquisitely beautiful.
Her world-toppling beauty even earned her a place on Tianjin City's List of Beauties.
Although the List of Beauties had no official ranking,
in the hearts of many, their Sect Leader deserved to be first.
Yet this woman, who could captivate the world, had never once been seen to smile.
Lingqian Peak, once an ordinary mountain in the former Longquan Sect, was now the main peak of the Wanjian Sect.
But on Lingqian Peak, there were only two wooden cabins.
A male Elder who admired Jiang Qingyi, hoping to win her favor, proposed tearing down the cabins to build a grand palace.
As a result, that male Elder was slain by Jiang Qingyi with a single sword strike in front of everyone.
From then on, everyone knew that Lingqian Peak was untouchable; not a single blade of grass or twig could be moved.
Lingqian Peak had to remain exactly as it was before.
One year, five years, ten years passed.
As an observer, Xiao Mo watched Qingyi train day after day, and search day after day for a way to resurrect a Divine Soul.
But time and time again, Jiang Qingyi returned in disappointment.
Besides cultivating and searching for Magic that could resurrect a Divine Soul,
the thing she did most was sit in a daze in the courtyard at the summit of Qianling Peak.
She read through book after book, trying method after method, all to resurrect one person.
One day, she came across the Heaven-Continuing Technique.
Finally, she understood everything.
'So Master's injuries were because of me.'
'The only reason I could cultivate was because Master damaged his own Root Bone, shortened his own lifespan, and forcibly "continued" my so-called "heaven" for me.'
'It was just that every time Master used the Heaven-Continuing Technique on me, he would use a Technique to conceal his expression.'
'The reason Master only ever went to Chen Yun for treatment was because he didn't want anyone else to know about this.'
'And Chen Yun, to repay Master for saving her life, would never have spoken of it.'
That day, the young woman tore the Heaven-Continuing Technique to shreds. With a single slash of her sword, she cleaved a mountain peak in two.
The disciples of the Wanjian Sect were terrified. They all knew who had done it, but none dared to speak a word.
They all knew that the Sect Leader's temper had soured again...
And at that moment, a woman arrived on Lingqian Peak.
She was the only person permitted to come to the summit.
She was a former Deacon of the Longquan Sword Sect's Medical Hall.
Now, she was an Elder of the Wanjian Sect's Medical Hall.
"What are you here for?"
Jiang Qingyi sat on a stone stool, tilted her head back, and took a swig of wine.
She used to dislike drinking, but now she loved it.
Her favorite was the osmanthus wine made by Aunt Wang in Wanjian Town.
Chen Yun walked into the courtyard. Looking at this woman whose stubbornness bordered on madness, she said calmly, "I've come to get some of his clothes."
Jiang Qingyi looked up, her gaze as sharp as a sword, as if to pierce Chen Yun through. "What do you want his clothes for?"
"To make a cenotaph," Chen Yun said frankly.
The moment Chen Yun's words fell, Jiang Qingyi's longsword, Profound Frost, was already at her throat.
Jiang Qingyi's eyes were bloodshot. "He is not dead!"
Chen Yun was not afraid in the slightest. "He is already dead."
"Shut up! I said he is not dead!" Jiang Qingyi was nearly hysterical. Her longsword pressed forward an inch, and just like last time, fresh blood trickled down its blade.
"It has been fifteen years since you wiped out the Xiao Family. He has also been dead for fifteen years. Let him rest in peace, even if it's just his clothes."
Jiang Qingyi's eyes narrowed. "Do you really think I don't dare to kill you? Do you have any idea how much I despise you?"
"I know." Chen Yun nodded. "To be honest, I despise you too. But you were the one he doted on the most."
Chen Yun said no more. She took a step forward, and Jiang Qingyi's longsword flinched back.
Chen Yun continued walking forward, and Jiang Qingyi's longsword continued to retreat.
Finally, the hand Jiang Qingyi used to grip her longsword fell to her side. Chen Yun brushed past her.
Chen Yun entered Xiao Mo's room and took a few items of clothing.
Before leaving, Chen Yun put down a letter. "A young woman named Xia Chan asked me to give this to you. She said it was written fifteen years ago."
Chen Yun left.
In the empty courtyard, only Jiang Qingyi remained, her head bowed and her sword lowered, her dim eyes lost in thought.
After an unknown amount of time, Jiang Qingyi raised her head and looked at the letter on the table.
Like a walking corpse, Jiang Qingyi went over and opened the envelope.
The moment she saw the letter, Jiang Qingyi's eyes trembled.
'This is... Master's handwriting...'
[My foolish apprentice, by the time you read this letter, your Master will already be gone, and the Sword Bone should have been returned to you.
After I'm gone, I guess you'll definitely do some foolish things.
You might even think about resurrecting me, your Master.
But you silly girl, when someone dies, they're dead. The dead cannot be brought back to life, especially not when their Divine Soul has shattered.
Qingyi, let me tell you something.
That time with the shooting star, the wish your Master made wasn't for you to become a powerful Sword Immortal.
Master wished that no matter what you encounter, you can live on happily.
You said you would make Master's wish come true.
Don't you lie to your Master, alright?]
"Master... Master..."
Jiang Qingyi clutched the envelope and knelt on the ground, crying her heart out, just like the fourteen-year-old girl who had just arrived on the mountain all those years ago.
[Ten seconds remaining. System is finalizing settlement. Host will now exit the Hundred Generations Book. Ten... nine... eight... three...]
As the countdown echoed in Xiao Mo's mind,
Xiao Mo knew he couldn't interfere with anything, but he still walked forward, knelt in front of her, and reached out to stroke her hair, just like he had on the night of the shooting star when she was fourteen.
"Qingyi, Master is leaving."
[0...]
The instant Xiao Mo scattered to the wind,
Master's voice rang in Jiang Qingyi's ears. She snapped her head up.
"Master! Is that you?"
"Master!"
"Answer me!"
"Are you still here?!"
"Xiao Mo!"
"Come out!"
The young woman ran across the mountaintop, shouting, but no one answered...
"Master... come out..."
Until dusk fell, until the stars filled the sky.
Her tears long since run dry, the young woman sank to the ground, hugging herself tightly.
A shooting star streaked across the sky.
"Master...
Qingyi...
misses you so much..."