Chapter Two: The Weeping Immortal

Ao Pan’s two guards, seeing that she could move, raised their swords and struck at her in unison. Bu Jingxian opened his mouth to warn them, but before the words could leave his lips, both blades had already pierced the woman’s body.

“Withdraw…” He could clearly see her physical strength become 1500, her internal energy 1000. Her combat power soared to 5000, and her absolute combat strength shot up to 25,000.

Both swords struck true, right at her heart and lower dantian. Simultaneously, a layer of spiritual energy within her dissipated, and the surge of power instantly healed her wounds.

Bu Jingxian secretly hoped that Ao Pan’s two guards would understand how to trigger the miraculous effects of spirit energy, and he darted forward to help.

But the cruel reality shattered his hopes. Zhou Wushen alone knew the secret of the spirit, having mastered it through years of life-and-death battles, but without understanding its deeper mystery. Ao Pan’s two guards were killed on the spot by the eruption of spirit power from the scarred woman.

When he struck with his fist, he saw that the scarred woman didn’t rely on any skillful footwork or evasive maneuvers. She showed no fear, only a face full of grief and a desperate, frenzied ferocity. She met his fist with her palm head-on.

Bu Jingxian was injured, but his opponent suffered even more, flying back into a tree and breaking it with the impact before falling to the ground. Yet she immediately sprang up again, as if unaware that such reckless attacks stood no chance against Bu Jingxian’s strength, and came at him straight on once more. Bu Jingxian calculated their spirit numbers; he clearly had more, so he wasn’t afraid of her desperation.

Again, they clashed directly.

He saw that she fought like a mad tiger, heedless of the fact that such brute force was futile, and only then did he believe she had truly lost her reason.

When her spiritual power was triggered again, he gritted his teeth and took the blow, sacrificing one spirit. Remembering their brief encounter at the inn, he held a certain fondness for her and did not wish to fight with such ferocity for her life. Yet with Bai Yue and the others behind him, if he retreated, this woman would go berserk, likely killing Sunset Sect’s people.

Weighing his options, he hardened his heart and refused to take a single step back.

But when he tried to unleash his spirit energy, to his surprise, it failed to end her life. The two streams of power collided, sending them both flying backward.

Bu Jingxian was secretly amazed.

Ling Luo had said that although the Elder of Northern Spirit had revealed the secret of spirit energy to Zheng Feixian and taught her its techniques, he had not passed on the skill of delayed energy. The eruption of spirit power was instantaneous, but the Elder of Northern Spirit had mastered a technique to delay that energy, which, though brief and only useful for self-defense, could be invaluable in combat. If one’s spirit number was lower than the opponent’s, to avoid being killed by consecutive eruptions, the delay technique could be used to resist the opponent’s spirit burst.

At such times, both sides would be shocked back by the clash of powers.

He saw that as soon as her backward momentum ceased, she rushed at him again, weeping as she fought with abandon. With no other choice, he continued as before.

One of the older disciples from Feixian Sect, who had been meditating to recover, should have kept silent to avoid being noticed. But seeing her junior sister so lost to reason, terrified she would die on the spot, she couldn’t help but call out desperately.

“Junior sister, don’t clash with that brute! Sister—Sister, July—” Her words were abruptly cut off as Bai Yue darted over and sealed her acupoints, silencing her.

‘July—July—’ Those four words exploded in Bu Jingxian’s mind like thunder. ‘July… she is July! The one with the refined spirit body… I should have suspected, after all… Who else among Feixian Sect’s disciples would treat Gulu fruits as friends?’

Without those first cries of “Junior Sister,” he might not have been certain. In Feixian Sect, when names were unknown or relationships unfamiliar, they would address each other as “Sister” or “Sister of the Moon Hall”—not necessarily “July.” But after two anxious cries of “Junior Sister,” the next words would surely be the true name. They had come to Chu together, and she was close to Qiuyue; no one would fail to know her name.

She was July!

Once again, July charged at him in a frenzy.

Bu Jingxian’s mind raced, and he instantly devised a plan—risky, but with no other choice. He had already tried to seal her acupoints, but it had no effect. Afraid the people of Sunset Sect would be dissatisfied, he said, “You go ahead, I’ll handle this. I’ll catch up shortly.”

Seeing their hesitation, he pressed more firmly: “Go! Too many people will spoil things. If more enemies come, it’ll be harder to escape.”

Bai Yue, seeing that he had the upper hand, finally led the group away.

Ao Pan, having lost his guards, burned with hatred for the women of Feixian Sect, wishing to kill them all, but for fear of falling behind the Sunset Sect group, he hurriedly fled after them.

Everyone else left, but Ghostbane and Bilian still hid behind the trees. During the fight, Ghostbane had led Bilian away to hide. Now, seeing the others gone, he dared not show himself at once, afraid someone would remember he hadn’t been seen during the battle. He resolved to wait and leave with Bu Jingxian.

They watched as Bu Jingxian and the madwoman from Feixian Sect fought fiercely for a while longer, then he suddenly changed tactics. Instead of attacking, he merely defended, parrying her wild blows and, when struck, attempting to seal her acupoints. But nothing seemed to work, and for a dozen moves or more, he just kept taking hits.

Ghostbane and Bilian exchanged bewildered glances, but dared not interrupt.

Through his spirit-sight, Bu Jingxian clearly perceived July’s condition, now bereft of spirit reserves. He tried various acupoint strikes, gauging the force needed to affect her. He watched as her physical strength gradually dwindled, until one final strike brought her just below the threshold of 10.

That was the limit sustained by her refined spirit body.

A moment before, July had been attacking him with wild abandon; now, as her strength dropped below 10, she instantly lost all power, fainted, and collapsed toward the ground.

Bu Jingxian caught her just in time, fearing she would otherwise fall to her death.

He cradled her and laid her gently on the grass, gazing at her face and form for a long moment. He felt both comforted and helplessly amused. She had clearly thrived in Feixian Sect, now favored by Qiuyue. From her clothes and demeanor, she looked every inch a noble daughter, cared for and pampered since childhood—nothing like the pitiful slave and beggar she had been as a child.

Only the scars on her face… such carelessness. Bu Jingxian recalled the hardships they’d shared, how July would often bump into trees and scratch her face or hands on branches. The memory made his heart ache, yet he also found her clumsiness endearing.

Thinking about it, he felt a pang of inexpressible sorrow. Who would have thought their next meeting would be like this? He had become Zuo An, the killer of Feixian Sect disciples, their sworn enemy. She had chased him recklessly, determined to take his life.

As these thoughts ran through his mind, he picked up one of Ao Pan’s guards’ swords and cut his own arm, saving her as he once had, with blood.

When he pressed his wound to July’s lips, she, still unconscious, began to struggle, shaking her head violently and muttering in alarm.

“Brother Bu, I don’t want to drink your blood…”

It was just like that time on Northern Spirit Mountain.

‘She hasn’t forgotten…’

Bu Jingxian bent close and whispered softly, “July, don’t waste my blood.”

Saying this, his heart was unexpectedly moved, swept by feelings he could not name.

July, as before, ceased resisting and quietly drank his blood from his arm.

He watched as her strength quickly recovered past the critical threshold. Bu Jingxian promptly tapped her sleep acupoint. He gazed at her for another long moment, reluctant to leave, but fearing more pursuers, he had no choice but to go.

Ghostbane had intended to leave with him, but seeing the way he treated the madwoman, he suddenly lost his nerve. Both he and Bilian sensed something strange: why treat an enemy so tenderly? So they waited until Bu Jingxian had gone far before emerging from hiding and following after him.

At that very moment, Qiuyue had just slain Zhou Wushen and was dashing out of North Gate.