The next maiden to fall was the red-robed maiden, who had fallen senseless after forcefully overdrawing qi from of her ‘Inner World’ for an extended period of time. Soon after, the purple-robed maiden next to her followed, after that, the orange-robed maiden fell as well, all within an incense stick's time.

Almost as quickly as they fell, the old woman’s brilliant petals flew towards them, cushioning their fall, and sending in streams of pure qi, slowly refilling their parched ‘Inner World’.

By now, only the blue-robed maiden and the pink-robed maiden remained. Astonishingly, the blue-robed woman by herself was pouring qi into the six other petals that formed the lotus, but how long could she possibly do this for? Despite the lack of emotion in her expression, the blue-robed woman was very close to her limits. Now that five of the maidens had fallen, and less than a thirtieth of the barrier’s original strength remained, what were the two remaining to do?

“Senior sister Lan… I’m sorry, I can no longer continue…” the pink-robed maiden apologized in a voice transmission, as she too plunged powerlessly from the sky.

Now, only the blue-robed woman persisted, her face still, akin to a frozen pond, as she floated towards the top of the lotus, and began pouring the last of her qi into all seven petals. She alone hovered above the withering lotus, sustaining it with every drop of qi she could muster.

“Obstinate fool…” the old woman muttered coldly as a frigid smile crept up her lips, “I was only joking about that…to think she took my words so seriously…”

“Eh, aunty, what were you saying?” the white-robed woman, Shangguan Ying’er, asked, slightly puzzled by the old woman’s chilling demeanor.

“Nothing important…” the old woman replied cryptically.

Seeing that the old woman was unwilling to answer her question, Shangguan Ying’er could only hold her tongue, and look towards the remaining maiden in concern, her expression slightly uneasy.

Even with the entirety of the blue-robed maiden’s qi supporting it, the lotus barrier twisted violently as waves upon waves of the two elder’s qi smashed into it. The barrier was teetering on the edge of collapse, it was not going to be able to hold on for much longer! when she noticed this, a glint of resolution flashed across the maiden's pupils, and she smashed her fist into her own chest. Tearing a bloody hole at the center of her chest, the young woman hurled out a torrent of blood onto the lotus barrier, dyeing it bright red.

Bolstered by the young woman’s blood energy, the illusory lotus turned corporeal. Yet, the tempest of qi within the lotus still raged on mercilessly, and within a few breaths, the lotus barrier was fluctuating wildly once more, threatening to shatter at any moment.

Her face bloodlessly pale, her body shivering uncontrollably, yet the maiden still pushed on…if she could hold on for a bit longer, if only she could bear this storm…no she had to do this, she had to bear this, all because of the old woman’s single promise…

Alas, with her ‘Inner World’ empty, and her blood energy spent, there was not much she could do, within moments, she too was plummeting from above the lotus. Her robes fluttering slightly as she plunged towards the lotus, the blue-robed maiden landed atop the shaking lotus barrier, tumbled over the edge, and fell.

“Big sister Lan!” Shangguan Ying’er cried out, but there was nothing she could do to help, and she could only turn to the old woman, her gaze expectant. “Aunty…”

Meanwhile, the old woman stared at the maiden impassively, and no petal beneath her feet flew to the maiden’s aid.

The young maiden struggled with all her might to drag out what little bit of strength she had remaining in her body. But where was she to get any strength from? She had long drawn out everything from within her ‘Inner World’, and not even a single shred of vitality radiated from her body, yet her eyes refused to shut, she was indignant, she was unwilling, yet there was nothing she could do…

Even as the broken ‘Heaven Ascending Steps’ hurtled towards her, the blue-robed maiden was still gazing upon the waning lotus, even as her sight blurred, her eyes were still fixed upon the formless red glow, praying that it would hold on, even for a single moment longer, as a drop of tear rolled down her cheeks…

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*Pah*

The blue-robed maiden had expected to slam into the hard surface of the ‘Heaven Ascending Steps’, but instead, she felt something soft cushion her fall, and the impact that should’ve shattered every bone in her body was dispersed. A warm current flowed through her body, slowly replenishing her qi. And as her sight gradually returned, the faint outline of a smiling face filled her view.

“A beauty appears through a curtain of pearls, with a deep frown upon her beautiful face, I see the tracks of tears on her flawless countenance, pray tell me fairy, for whom doth thy shed these tears?”

The blue-robed maiden could hear the whispers of a young man next to her ear as she slowly came to, and she could feel his arm around her waist, feel their chest touch, his heart beating against hers.

“Ai-yah~ pretty fairies really do fall from the sky, even though she's wearing a veil, I can definitely tell that she's a 'Jade-faced' beauty…this must be a sign from the heavens, we’re definitely fated to be! But um, I should probably buy her dinner first though…but wait…uh, what should I be saying next…” the young man muttered softly beneath his breath, unaware that the maiden in his arms could hear every single word that came out of his mouth…

The youth’s words jolted the maiden out of her stupor, and she slammed her palm towards his chest, but since she did not possess even a shred of her previous strength, the youth easily gripped her wrist, stopping her hand a few fen from his chest.

“Eh…was this fairy trying to grope me? Is she a bit of a 'freak'? She’s a bit 'handsy'…” the youth whispered, his brows creasing slightly.

If the blue-robed maiden had completely understood the youth's words, her heart would’ve ruptured in her anger, as his expression alone was enough to incite a mouthful of blood to escape her fair lips. She was the one being forcefully held by him! He was the one not letting go! Why in heaven’s name was he making such an indignant face?!

*Bang*

But before she could say anything to defend herself, the lotus, despite being reinforced by her blood energy, began to collapse, and the tempest of qi inside tore a large rift above it.

“Eh…I'm already at the top though, why is the illusion still on? But Woah, this is way too cool!” The youth exclaimed in surprise, “the tiger illusion is so lifelike! I can really feel the qi in the air! This is so exciting! VR is nothing compared to this! Ah, if only I had this kind of technology at home, I wouldn’t have been so…”

*Pah*

The youth let go of the maiden’s hand and struck himself across the face.

“Hehe…it’s all behind me, why does it matter now?” The youth mumbled, a lifeless smile on his lips.

“Run…you idiot…that’s…not…an…illusion…” the maiden groaned feebly.

Heeding the maiden’s words, the youth took another careful look at the scene before him, and noticed that it was a tad bit too real…

“Um…now that you mention it…” The youth muttered, a confused look on his face, before suddenly breaking into a bashful smile as he turned to face the blue-robed maiden, “I…um…already knew that! I was um, just testing you! Sister fairy, you really have quite a discerning eye!”

“Argh…” the blue-robed maiden couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the youth’s thick face, but she quickly realized the gravity once more, and began to scream at the youth, “run you fool! Do you wanna die?! By the heavens, run!”

“Hehe…” The youth laughed lightly as he looked towards the failing lotus, and his flustered smile turned into a cheeky grin. Tapping her nose lightly with his forefinger, he reassured the maiden in his grasp, “the incredibly virtuous, supremely righteous, the bravest and the boldest, the smartest and the wisest, the mysterious and unfathomable young noble Xianyi doesn’t turn his back in the face of adversity!”

Gently placing the maiden down on the ground behind him, the youth, Xianyi, took a few steps closer to the lotus. At the moment, the blood-red lotus was swelling violently, threatening to burst at any moment.

“Hmm…the time is exactly at sunset, perfect!” Xianyi muttered to himself, “Hehe, I’ll finally get to try out my moves without holding back! At last, I’ll get to see, how strong I am!”

Closing his eyes, the youth breathed in deeply and slowly felt the sun’s Yang qi flow into his body. It was now sunset, and there was a slight hint of Yin within the surging Yang, like a firefly's light within a colossal sun…

Guiding this amalgamation of Yin and Yang into his ‘Inner World’, the silent ocean of qi within his body began to stir, and a rumbling sun rose from beneath it. At the same time, the image of a vibrant sun blazed into life behind the youth, a tiny, tiny sliver of Yin gleaming within its depth.

“Sing…a ballad to grieve the day’s end, the sun’s light has come to an end, the last curtain is to be drawn! ‘Mourning of the Descending Sun’!” Xianyi chanted and the fiery sun behind him dimmed, gradually transforming into an imposing black star, hovering behind him like a devilish eye.

“Wai-” realizing what the youth was about to do, the maiden tried to warn him against it as quickly as she could.

But alas, the damned idiot had already swung his fist, and the force of the black star behind him flowed through his body and out his knuckles, slamming into the lotus barrier, shattering it…