A quiet sigh slipped out as his fingers glided over her back, gentle as silk. Her body reacted on its own; the muscles along her spine tightening and twitching, giving away that whatever she was feeling, it definitely wasn’t pleasant.

His hand was gripping the back of her head. A warning not to do anything dumb. Yet it couldn’t stop her mind from clearing, her thoughts snapping back into place.

In that brief instant, Tianzhi understood enough to piece together what was happening.

“What illusion is this? Who are you?”

Her voice was still a bit hoarse, but the strength behind it already carried the calm authority of a sect leader.

If you weren’t looking right at them, you might not know who was the captive and who was in control.

Behind her, the man chuckled. “There's no need for you to worry about that for now, Mistress. All you need to know is that I'm feeling rather charitable today. Thought I’d do you a favor, and in return, get something valuable out of you. So, please... cooperate.”

“Charitable?” Tianzhi gave a cold laugh. There was nothing remotely polite about his words. He was clearly threatening her. He was holding her life over her head like a bargaining chip.

Even so, no matter how far she’d fallen, she would never tolerate being treated like dog. For someone of her standing, the idea of being “threatened” was almost laughable.

Her laugh made the man burst out laughing in turn.

“Who would’ve thought,” he said, amusement dripping from every word, “that the mighty Ruler of Nightless City, a so-called righteous mistress, once fooling around with a slut like the Heart-Consuming Concubine? Tsk… everyone says Milang Lake is one of the realm’s finest sights. Turns out it’s just a playground for the powerful to indulge themselves. Ha! How fitting!”

Tianzhi felt his words hit her like a hammer to the head. Her body flinched, and when she finally found her voice, it trembled.

“How do you know about Milang Lake?”

The only answer was a low, taunting laugh that echoed in her ears, unsettling her even more. Doubt and confusion churned through her mind. Could it be that Mind-Binding illusion technique he'd just used on her?

No… she had regained her senses quickly; she hadn’t mentioned Milang Lake, not once. So how could he know its name so precisely?

The more she thought about it, the more chaotic her mind became. Instinctively, she tried to recall what had happened when she’d been caught in that illusion. But after just a few flashes of memory, her heart clenched. Realization struck her like lightning.

“Damn you, you're toying with me!”

Rage burst through her chest so violently it felt like her heart might tear apart. A sharp taste filled her mouth as blood surged up her throat. If the man hadn’t shielded her heart meridians, she might have died on the spot. Not that she’d ever feel the slightest gratitude for it.

“Tch, not falling for it? You’re a tough one.”

His second attempt at the Mind-Binding Technique had failed again, and though there was a hint of admiration in his tone, mockery outweighed it. “No need to lose your temper, Mistress. And no need to be so surprised. I have my own reliable sources. You’d do better to worry about your injuries instead.”

He chuckled again.

“They say you’ve always looked down on others… yet today, I wonder how many are looking down on you. Of course, all of this was for that one desperate strike at the end, wasn’t it? Too bad; by the time you tried, your strength was already spent. You missed your one good chance.”

Tianzhi said nothing.

This man sure loved to talk. Once he started, there was no stopping him.

He said, “At first glance, it might look like you barged into Yemo Heaven recklessly. But in truth, there’s a fair bit of calculation behind it, isn’t there? Of course, everything’s been changing so fast that no one can really predict every detail, but as long as you keep hold of two key points, the situation will stay in your control.

“First, you know perfectly well that Gu Yin won’t easily try to kill you. Whether it’s to avoid making a mortal enemy of the orthodox sects, or for... other reasons, she’ll hold back.

“Second, to Gu Yin, the Ancient Kunpeng Demon poses a much greater threat than you do. So once things fall apart, Kunpeng will be his first target. And that’s where you can step in and profit from the chaos.

“Heh, that old Kunpeng might have some brains, but he’s got nowhere near Gu Yin’s cunning or courage. All he wants is to stir up a little power and carve out a corner for himself; he doesn’t even have the guts to take someone else’s throne. On that point, Gu Yin really misjudged him.”

“Put those two points together,” he went on, “and add the Creation Gold Pill you’re carrying; it’s clear your so-called desperate attack was nothing but a bluff. Maybe you did want to kill Gu Yin, but you never planned to die doing it.

“Really, your whole approach was a layered strategy. Give a little to take more, make false moves to set real traps, one plan feeding into the next. And if we take it a step further... once you’ve recovered from your injuries, everything you did before could turn out to be just another setup: charging through the trials alone, teaming up with Kunpeng, swallowing humiliation, even that final strike… all of it just groundwork.

“All meant to make Gu Yin and her people believe you were finished, that you’d exhausted every trick. Once they relaxed their guard, you could fade into the shadows and strike when their old and new powers overlapped, right at their weakest point. Clever, very clever… except,” he chuckled, “you didn’t count on Skyborne Snow Flute.”

His fingers brushed against Tianzhi’s back, where she’d been wounded.

Since the broken flute had been removed, the gaping wound had already begun to close under the flow of true breath. When he touched it now, it only tickled slightly.

But Tianzhi knew all too well. Surface wounds were one thing, but the damage inside her was beyond repair. Her heart meridian was barely holding together, her primordial spirit injured, her qi circulation shattered. Even with a Creation Gold Pill, she could only delay death for a little while.

At her level, though, life and death were no strangers. The closer she came to the edge, the steadier her resolve grew.

While the man behind her kept running his mouth, she took advantage of a brief moment of clarity to piece everything together in her mind.

When he finally paused for breath, she said coldly, “You sure know how to talk. And about everything except the point. I have to hand it to your companion; his patience must be legendary.”

Her senses were fading, her perception of spiritual energy dulled, yet she could still tell the difference. The hand pressing against the back of her neck was warmer, its touch subtly different from the fingers resting on her back.

What stood out even more was this. Though the man’s voice was strong and confident, there was always a hint of careful probing beneath his words. It didn’t match at all with the effortless grace and calm authority he’d shown earlier when purging the poison.

Still, the man’s shamelessness was something to behold. After a brief pause, he chuckled and said, “Off-topic? Hardly. I’m only pointing out the key steps you took along the way.

“The real turning point was when Kunpeng turned on them. Whether Gu Yin and the others were ready or not, with your mastery of the Five-Colored Divine Light, you could’ve struck then. Your chances of success would’ve been far greater than later on. So tell me, what stopped you at that moment?”

Tianzhi’s heart gave a small tremor. She knew the answer better than anyone.

But she drew in a sharp breath of cold air, forcing herself to stay calm.

Both instinct and reason screamed the same warning. This man was trying to shake her, to pry open the defenses of her mind. If she let her emotions slip now, what awaited her would be a fate far worse than death.

She had to hold on. At least until the very end.

To her surprise, after all that long-winded talk, he suddenly fell silent. He simply pressed his palm against the middle of her back, letting the warmth of his skin slowly seep into hers.

After a long pause, he finally said, “Skin like ice, bones like jade... so that’s what they mean.”

The words were flippant, but the sincerity in his voice, and that faint sigh at the end gave them a different weight. It was like looking at a masterpiece that was about to be burned, and feeling helpless pity.

In the darkness, a woman gave a low, amused laugh.

From the darkness came a mocking chuckle of a woman.

He acted as if he hadn’t heard her and went on quietly, “Before the flute pierced through your heart, you had already shifted your vital veins. But that ‘Skyborne Snow’ poison, it attacks both body and soul, more vicious than you ever imagined.

“What’s worse, the heart demons you have cultivated over centuries turned on you when you were wounded... I just don’t get it. Why would a righteous sect leader ever start cultivating this demonic and forbidden art of ours?”

At the word “our,” Tianzhi’s heart jolted, though she managed a cold chuckle. “So, you know the method for Heart Demons Refinement too?”

The man behind her sighed. “No need for pretense, Mistress. If you doubt who I am, just say so. Of course, I won’t bother to explain; I only wish to tell you this: someone like you is a rare treasure in this world. If you were to fall here, covered in dust and forgotten… what a pity that would be.”

His voice got even more mocking. Tianzhi was about to lash out when suddenly a heavy force pressed into her back, pushing through her whole body and leaving her gasping for air.

At the same moment, that foreign energy stirred the chaos already raging within her. Her already-collapsed qi circulation was pulled throughout her body, reversing the flow of her blood and qi. Agony tore through her like every bone and vein were breaking apart. It was the kind of pain you couldn't imagine without living through it.

“Just while we were talking, it’s gotten worse,” the man remarked casually, as if commenting on the weather. He showed no intention of torturing her.

“The wounds to your body are the least of your worries. If you keep delaying, in just a few breaths the heart demon will seep into your primordial spirit. Then, the clear and daoist mind you’ve fought to maintain for hundreds of years... will be gone in an instant.

“If you were to simply die, that’d almost be easier. But if your condition worsens and your consciousness is destroyed, leaving only the beastly instinct behind… you might fall completely into the demonic path. Heh, who knows... maybe you’ll be as lucky as Yin Chonghua, reborn from the ashes and famous all over again?”

Tianzhi could almost hear the creaking of her heart inside her chest, but she wasn’t about to give in so easily. Pressing her face against the ice, she used its chill to fortify her weakening defenses. At the same time, she began preparing the steps to “break free.”

Came another sigh. “Death has always been the hardest road, even more so for us cultivators. Tell me, won’t you even consider a way to save yourself?”

Tianzhi’s heart clenched tight.

That calm, echoing voice spoke again: “Your heart orifice is damaged, your spirit eaten away by your heart demon. Following your sect’s methods, there’s no cure. No way back. But… if we look at this from another angle, there might be hope. Would you hear me out?”

Darkness settled again, heavy and wordless. On the surface, Tianzhi looked calm, but inside her emotions churned like a raging river, impossible to contain.

Sensing her inner turmoil, that familiar sigh came once more.

“You schemed and risked everything, walking straight into danger just to take Guyin down and get his payoff. Damn fate... always out to spite people. Now you’re the one on the brink of death, while that Gu Yin will soon rise again, stirring the world into chaos. Funny, isn’t it? How fate treats people so differently?”

“SHUT UP!”

Tianzhi shouted in spite of herself. The man behind her actually fell silent, though a quiet snort escaped his nose. Weak as it sounded, it hit the most vulnerable spot in her heart like a dart.

Really, why couldn’t she just let that clumsy provocation slide?