Chapter 13: The Final Burn

"What does this have to do with you?"

"Haven't you done enough for her?"

"Right now, you even have trouble walking. How do you plan to save anyone?"

"Give up. Just end the simulation here. There's no need to risk your life to this extent for a simulated character who doesn't exist in reality."

…

In a split second, many thoughts flooded Xu Xi's mind, and every single one of them was logical, allowing him to ignore this massive war between the Righteous and Demonic Paths with a clear conscience.

His body was twitching in pain.

His spirit was exhausted.

The side effects of burning his Spiritual Root, cultivation, and lifespan back then…

…had caused Xu Xi to endure three full years of torture.

On this final day of his life, his body had deteriorated to the point where even Xu Xi himself could barely recognize it: a pale complexion, withered arms, and a lower body that had lost all sensation.

There was also an itch deep within his marrow, as if countless insects were crawling inside him.

From time to time, a sensation of muscle tearing would strike, as if he were being sliced back and forth by an extremely sharp knife.

"This physical condition is indeed terrible…"

Xu Xi endured the pain.

He tried his best to mobilize his body, squeezing out the last drop of strength from his exhausted frame, but even so, he couldn't even complete the motion of sitting up.

It really hurt.

He really wanted to give up.

The constant ringing in his ears was like a series of urgent warnings, reminding him that his body had reached its limit.

Gradually, the world before Xu Xi's eyes was filled with the color of blood.

His body, on the brink of collapse, finally gave out. Blood flowed from his ears, eyes, nose, and mouth, blurring his vision and staining his teeth red. As he opened his mouth slightly, even more blood flowed out uncontrollably.

It stained the bed beneath him into a cold, eerie flower of blood.

"Ugh—"

Bubbles rose in his throat.

Xu Xi truly couldn't hold on anymore. This kind of pain had surpassed the limits of human endurance. He was in too much agony; he didn't want to persist for even another second.

He wanted to let the pain drown his reason.

To completely end this simulation.

But in a daze, within his increasingly blurred vision, a familiar figure dimly appeared, growing from an infant into a young girl, and from healthy to frail.

"Mo Li is going to earn lots and lots of money for Big Brother!"

"Mo Li likes Big Brother the most!"

"Big Brother, will Mo Li die…"

Past memories suddenly manifested, clearing the cloudiness from Xu Xi's eyes.

"Mo Li is still waiting for me to save her. I can't… I can't die here," Xu Xi struggled to sit up from the bed, his pale face contorted with pain, as fine beads of sweat seeped from his forehead.

Xu Xi tried to get out of bed and stand, but his body lost its balance, and he tumbled directly off the bed.

—His vision suddenly jolted.

He had fallen.

He had also knocked over many items by the bedside, which scattered all over the floor.

Could a body that had difficulty even standing really intervene in a battle between Cultivators? And did Xu Moli definitely need his help?

Xu Xi didn't know.

He only knew that as her elder brother, he had once personally promised that he would do whatever it took to save his sister.

It didn't matter if he could achieve it.

It didn't matter if the simulated world was fake.

What mattered was that this was a promise he had made with his own lips.

"Hahaha, hahahaha, ahahaha—" Using laughter to replace his wails of pain, Xu Xi laughed while coughing up blood. He fumbled blindly on the floor where he had fallen until his hand finally gripped the Wooden Sword hilt.

As soon as it was in his hand, he felt the surging Nascent Soul magic power within.

Following Xu Xi's will, this magic power forced its way into his broken body that had lost its Spiritual Root, squeezing into every shattered meridian to provide Xu Xi with a brief moment of strength.

He stood up.

He stumbled out of the house.

Because of the forced infusion of magic power, his body began to undergo an abnormal collapse and disintegration, exploding into clouds of crimson blood mist.

If this continued, it was highly likely that Xu Xi wouldn't even leave behind an intact corpse.

But what did that matter?

"Big Brother is coming to save you…" A staggering surge of magic power shot into the sky, startling the Cultivators of both the Righteous and Demonic Paths present. By the time they regained their senses, a streak of sword light had already flown far away, racing toward the Heavenly Sword Sect.

…

[You are dying. Long-term illness has already consumed every bit of your mental energy, and your body has reached the end of its life, yet you have achieved a miracle that should have been impossible.]

[Your will has surpassed the limits of a human, forcing your body to move.]

[Even though the pain you experience in this process is a thousand times worse than in the past, you have no regrets.]

[After a long time, you once again pilot a sword light, rushing toward the location of the Heavenly Sword Sect in your memory. When you return to the Sect, you find that it has already been breached by the Demonic Path, and the Sect-Protecting Grand Array has completely lost its effect.]

[Blood, severed limbs, damaged Magic Treasures.]

[The war is still ongoing, but the scene of blood flowing like a river has already formed. The entire Heavenly Sword Sect has become a living hell. Amidst your shock, you feel worried for your sister and Master.]

[You forcibly drive the Wooden Sword to kill enemies. Some people recognize you, reacting with either joy or terror.]

[You have gone into a killing frenzy.]

…

As a Nascent Soul Sect, the Heavenly Sword Sect's strength was not weak.

Although it wasn't among the very top tier of the Cultivation World, it was still ranked as a first-class, major righteous Sect with a Legacy. Past and present Disciples all took pride in the Heavenly Sword Sect.

However.

In the torrent of the confrontation between the Righteous and Demonic Paths.

Facing a vast number of Demonic Path Cultivators, even a power as strong as the Heavenly Sword Sect had to accept the reality of defeat.

Sword peaks collapsed.

The main hall was sliced in half.

A large number of Disciples were killed outright, each peak was surrounded, and even several Nascent Soul Stage Great Cultivators had died. It was despairing, driving people to see red with grief and indignation.

Before the official assault.

The Demonic Path side had made meticulous plans; some people had to be killed.

For example, Xu Moli.

This second True Disciple of Senjian Peak was truly too extraordinary. She completed Foundation Establishment in one year and planned to condense a Golden Core in another. Countless Demonic Path Old Ancestors exclaimed that she was terrifyingly talented.

It could be said that the reason the Heavenly Sword Sect was targeted for a concentrated attack by the Demonic Path…

…was largely because Xu Moli was too Heaven-Defying.

It made the titans of the Demonic Path side unable to resist the urge to recruit and control her; if they couldn't, they would kill her on the spot to eliminate future troubles.

"Surrender, Fairy Mo Li!"

"If you are willing to join my Heavenly Demon Cult, the position of Saintess is within your reach!"

"You are already like a bird in a cage; there is absolutely no possibility of escape!"

Two Golden Core Late Stage, five Golden Core Middle Stage, and nine Golden Core Early Stage.

This was the number of Demonic Path Cultivators surrounding Xu Moli.

While loudly urging her to surrender, they looked at the cold figure in white opposite them, holding a long sword, with wary eyes.

Xu Moli truly lived up to her reputation as a Prodigy with the air of an Immortal.

Her strength was fierce and overbearing.

With only a Foundation Establishment cultivation, she had consecutively slain several Golden Core experts.

Fortunately, she was only at Foundation Establishment after all. Her magic power was limited; no matter how Heaven-Defying she was, it was impossible for her to escape the encirclement of over a dozen Golden Core Cultivators.