Why should the path be straightforward?

At this moment, Yu Ci's ears seemed to ring with a deeply remembered phrase: "Cultivating both 'nature' and life, until one leaps through the dragon gate, attaining the Aura of the celestial dragon, every step taken is on the grand path, hence the surname 'Tao'; not kin to one's own kind, instead, stealing vitality and slaughtering Primordial Qi... draining the essence and life force of all things for one's own nourishment... thus is named 'Worm.' Put together, these form the words 'Tao Worm'!"

Of course, Yu Ci would also not forget the discourse on the choices made for the Tao.

He had long understood that Yu Zhou's words were about He Qing's "Tao." Now, he was becoming ever clearer that this female cultivator before him would take anything that benefited her, while discarding anything that hindered her, executing all actions with decisive efficiency, embodying her Way of the Fish-Dragon to the utmost.

Yu Ci even felt a measure of admiration: "Did you plan from the start to sever the Yang Spirit's vitality?"

"And the vow not to harm you," He Qing reminded him considerately, even as she admitted it.

That meant Yu Zhou had been deceived from the very beginning!

Yu Ci's lips twisted into a wry smile. He should have felt righteous indignation, but such emotions flickered only briefly before vanishing without a trace.

The reason was simple: his strength was insufficient to bear any pressure other than that of He Qing, so he discarded all unnecessary emotions, including indignation, pride, regret, fear, and everything else he had once felt, focusing all his attention on the formidable enemy before him.

This, too, conformed to the theory of "keeping what is necessary and discarding what is not."

With a self-deprecating laugh, Yu Ci concentrated on the situation at hand.

Perhaps it was a situation from which death was certain, but he never harbored a heart resigned to death. On the contrary, the more dire the circumstance, the more agile his thoughts and the cooler his head—this was his optimal state!

Before his eyes, the fifty-foot-long body of Shan Gu withered and disintegrated, turning to dust. Yu Ci did not know what the now sentient creature was thinking, nor did he wish to know. At this moment, He Qing's face took on a jade-like luster, still weak compared to her heyday but much more stable. Clearly, extracting the Qi of Shan Gu's Heavenly Dragon True Form had somewhat benefited her.

"The next one will be me."

There was no doubt about that, but when exactly, there was still room for discussion.

He Qing's actions were indeed ruthless, but from the beginning, Yu Ci felt that she lacked decisiveness. If she had truly intended to, in the moment after severing the Yang Spirit's vitality, Yu Ci would have already met his demise. Yet now, her demeanor was oddly gentle, as if conversing with a friend, revealing everything she knew, speaking almost exhaustively.

Without a doubt, this was an abnormal state. He Qing was a typical representative of the Empirical Department style, not one to engage in meaningless actions, and boasting was even more alien to her.

But then again, an abnormal He Qing could not be judged by ordinary standards.

At this thought, Yu Ci suddenly started, the words of someone from not long ago echoing in his ears. Acting on pure intuition, he knew it was a crucial piece of information, but he had received too much information in recent days, and in his urgency, it was all a blur.

At that moment, He Qing turned her gaze towards him, and Yu Ci instinctively adopted a defensive posture. However, the anticipated attack did not come. Instead, a beam of azure light shone down upon him, enveloping him in its glow. The light appeared without warning, yet it carried a peculiar power that seeped into him, soothing the wounds of Yu Ci's Yin Spirit.

The Divine Bronze Mirror? Amidst the chaos, he glanced back to see the bright moon hanging overhead, illuminating the space above him.

Having just been blasted out of the Sect's Mountain Gate, Yu Ci hadn't had the chance to retrieve the Treasure Mirror, and he had thought it would be lost in the Sea of Spirit. Yet, unexpectedly, it reappeared above him. Could it have flown here by itself?

Indeed, it had.

A wondrous aura of recognition sparked within him, a communication from the spirit of the Divine Bronze Mirror.

The capabilities of the Void Mirror Plate were far greater than Yu Ci had imagined. Crafted by demonic sect experts with the Divine Bronze Mirror as a reference, its structure and divine powers were modeled after the original. Although Yu Ci might not be able to harness its full potential, the complete and self-contained system of the Void Mirror Plate provided an intuitive reference for his severely damaged Divine Bronze Mirror.

From the original came the replica, and from the replica, the original was inferred.

The fusion of the two moons could explain all the changes. The internal structure of the Treasure Mirror, once thrown into disarray by the impact of the God Slaying Sting, had now been meticulously realigned, drawing ever closer to its true form.

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Now, within the light of the bright lunar orb, the Void Mirror Plate had fulfilled its purpose and completely disintegrated. The exact condition of the Divine Bronze Mirror remained uncertain, but a single "thread of reasoning" had made the communication between the Treasure Mirror and its wielder much smoother. In simple terms, it had become more "spirited."

Yu Ci had never anticipated such a transformation when he first employed the Void Mirror Plate.

"My old friend!" he greeted the Treasure Mirror, with which he had shared over a decade of companionship. In response, the Treasure Mirror emitted a clear aura.

Including the period after the Divine Map had appeared, the interaction between Yu Ci and the Divine Bronze Mirror had never been as sensitive and genuine as it was at this moment—it was as if they could truly converse. As the aura flowed between man and mirror, the azure light shone like colored glaze, releasing the power contained within to swirl around Yu Ci.

This power was still insufficient to help Yu Ci bridge the vast chasm of two realms and stand against He Qing, and he had never harbored such expectations. Yet, the definitive response of the Treasure Mirror conveyed a more tangible message, stirring his heart and mind.

Just then, He Qing, from a distance, pointed a finger and launched an attack.

The female cultivator did not exert much force; her finger strength hesitated slightly before the luminous azure light of the Colored Glaze, but then she pushed harder, and the barrier of blue light was thunderously penetrated.

Yu Ci watched as the finger strength bore down upon him, realizing, just as the Shadow Ghost had said, with the disparity between the Taoism Immortal and the Golden Elixir, even if He Qing was currently in a weakened state, to slay him ten or eight times over would be no challenge at all. The finger strength had not yet truly arrived, but the oppressive force that preceded it was already causing his mind to thunder and ring, his Protective True Evil instantly collapsing.

This was a power from another level entirely.

Back in the Sword Garden, Yu Qingxuan, also at the Golden Elixir Cultivation Level, regarded over a dozen Golden Elixir cultivators of the Eastern Orthodox Sect as nothing more than chickens and dogs, a technical advantage born from a superior realm. At this moment, He Qing had not displayed any particular technique, but rather simply used her realm to overpower her opponent. With just a minimal effort on her part, she garnered a twelvefold response from the natural world, truly soul-shaking and as if the heavens themselves were collapsing!

Frankly speaking, Yu Ci had no means to resist.

In battle, Yu Ci often overcame the differences in level, seizing the opportunity between life and death. This was based on the certainty that the opponent could not withstand the sharp edge of Sword Energy; even with a disparity in Cultivation Level, if you could kill me, I could take your life, establishing a relative balance on the line between life and death, then vying for that fatal chance.

But facing He Qing, whether in terms of True Form and Physical Body or Indestructible Yang Spirit, the gap in their realms had already nullified all possibilities of inflicting harm upon her. Even if Yu Ci's swordsmanship far surpassed He Qing's, striking at her vital point during combat would still result in his effortless eradication. What pure Sword aura he had was, in the face of such a disparity between two levels, nothing but a joke.

This was the dilemma he faced, enough to drive anyone to despair, yet Yu Ci continued to persevere.

He Qing had already shattered all his defenses, but the power that could have ultimately led him to his death transformed into a gentle breeze, passing by his ear with her words: "If you willingly hand over the True Essence of the Heavenly Dragon, I can spare your life."

What a joke!

Yu Ci's first reaction was that it was absurd. Even a fool would know that there was no way out of this deadly impasse for either of them. No matter He Qing's demeanor, Yu Ci would not trust her; likewise, even if He Qing truly let Yu Ci off lightly, it would not end in a truce but would only invite further trouble... Huh?

A thought suddenly surged in Yu Ci's mind. He stared at the female cultivator's face, his lips twitching slightly: "I don't know how to hand it over."

This was a somewhat ambiguous response; it could be seen as defiant, but also as seeking a way out with some dignity. The moment the words left his mouth, he sensed a reaction; the air around him seemed to tremble uneasily, as if his answer had touched a nerve in his opponent.

He Qing made no move, her smile merely becoming a bit more subdued: "As long as you're willing."

Yu Ci's mind raced to make a judgement, softening his tone slightly, "Of course, I wish to live..."

His words were cut halfway when, with his full attention already summoned, he could sense the gathering of a murderous intent! Thus, the latter half of his sentence sharply rose, "But it's not for you to decide!"

He Qing's eyes were deep, yet she made no move. Yu Ci quickly judged: when he was composed or assertive, He Qing was quite 'gentle'. Yet, when he lowered his stance, the killing intent became biting cold. This wasn't a rational reaction, but if it stemmed from an emotional factor, it was easy to explain.

Was He Qing now acting on emotion? Even if Yu Ci didn't know the details, it was a welcome surprise, as it often meant that her mental state was not impregnable.

When an enemy is unassailable from the outside, one must look to exploit their internal flaws. Yu Ci had no other choice at this moment, and almost instantly, he determined his next move:

"Old pal, if this works out, I'll offer you three sticks of incense every day!"

The so-called offering of incense was a method he had learned from Xing Tian during a casual chat not long ago, used to nurture the spiritual nature of a Magical Instrument and to cultivate a spirit within it. Yu Ci now placed his hopes on the information newly acquired from the Treasure Mirror. Well, it was also the only method he had at the moment.

Following the momentum of resisting He Qing's previous attack, Yu Ci brandished the Seven Dipper Star Sword, adopting a stance that preferred jade shards over intact tiles. He Qing glanced at him, stretched out a hand in a feigned touch, and a tremendous force pressed down on the unlaunched sword energy, rendering it immovable.

The newly forged Seven Dipper Star Sword demonstrated its worth. Facing the mountainous pressure of a True Immortal, it merely vibrated intensely, showcasing its resilience. The "Seven Stars" formed by the Morninglight Stone Fragments on it had already lost three, indicating Yu Ci had reached his current limit.

He Qing was about to exert more force when suddenly, the sound of the sword's cry rang out, like a dragon chanting over a great marsh, robust and lofty.

Yu Ci was channeling the True Essence of the Heavenly Dragon into the sword, and now four of the seven stars had been extinguished!

Such a strike, unexpected and swift, could even daunt the Heart-Mind of a Cultivator at the Middle Stage of Golden Elixir, a single slash capable of killing. However, He Qing merely smiled faintly, her figure swiftly advancing, closing the distance with Yu Ci in an instant. Her five fingers curled inward, clamping onto the sword's blade with an irresistible suction force, as if a Heavenly Dragon with bared fangs and claws, entwining the True divine energy of the sword, and forcefully wresting it away!

The Seven Dipper Star Sword remained immobile, yet the True Essence of the Heavenly Dragon within Yu Ci's body trembled violently, nearly being wrenched out from his flesh and Divine Soul by He Qing in an instant!

A mouthful of fresh blood spurted from Yu Ci, but his voice was crystal clear, "What exactly do you want?"