The Heaven-Blessed Nation met its dawn, two souls amidst the wind and snow, one gathering firewood, the other, simply you and I.

I possessed a top-tier academy’s knowledge, the wisdom of the world’s great scholars, a belly full of talent, and a countenance fair. You, naught but a tattered sword.

Alas, alas!

Across the realm, many scholars carried proud names. Who among them truly entered my gaze?

At times, words prove insufficient, yet they are all I have to record. How I yearned for you to simply visit the demon realm, merely for a sojourn.

Rather than for me to traverse the demon realm, to mourn… my old friend!

The words etched upon the bricks of Wu’an City’s wall – to say they were carved by Xu Xiangqian’s heart and hand, a personal inscription of an ending, is to speak only half-truth. Rather, they were a vague hope, a possibility he always awaited. But when Jin Xiu Shen finally showed a reaction, when that extravagant hope gained the faintest chance of realization…

That moment… was so damn painful!

His body, covered in scales, was on the brink of death. It happened in an instant, a mere breath separating him from oblivion.

He lay on his back in the vast white expanse of snow, hearing the footsteps of death draw near.

With the Jin Xiu Shen Tong upon his body, he could, of course, cease at any moment.

Unrealized wishes, perhaps best left that way.

But within this sealed realm, where all gods and dao techniques were suppressed, within the Heavenly Tablet Snow Spirit, his body suffered thus. What then, of his old friend in the demon realm? What trials did he face?

Stop! Stop! Stop!

My old Xu’s poetry and prose are renowned throughout the world, each word worth a thousand gold. Since the words are carved, there can be no regret. Then, with my heart’s deepest yearning, I shall weave this body’s Jin Yi for you. Little one surnamed Jiang, realize it properly! Do not disgrace the dual pride of Mount Gan Ma! Only pity, only pity…

His gaze, piercing the vast wind and snow, sought a landing point in the gradually fading sky, yet found none. The divine light within his eyes began to scatter.

Yet, that scattering divine light condensed in an instant.

Within the surging waves of the Undying Spring water, immortal, fiery red-gold eyes snapped open.

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle, gurgle.

That spring eye still emitted its false, solitary sound. Beneath the grand red and purple embroidered dragon and woven tiger of the Grand Garment, Jiang Wang briefly regained sobriety.

How could a sense of security arise here, countless *li* from the Leaving Country, countless days from the human world, in this divine monitor world where every moment hung on the blade’s edge of life? After a moment’s trance, he immediately understood what had happened. With a grasp of his collar, he tore off the Grand Garment!

Such arrogant splendor! A mere outer layer, what fine embroidery does it weave? I endure a single strike, and you must die several times over!

Body within body, outside body, flesh and divine soul, united for this one instant!

Better to die than to drag an old friend into the mire.

His uncovered divine soul, radiating an almost physical sense of nakedness, was once again exposed within the Undying Spring water. “Wu!”

The excruciating pain of body and soul dissolving forced even his tightly clenched teeth to emit a muffled groan!

Propelled by this muffled groan, a powerful, absolute sword qi surged towards the heavens. This single sword strike cleaved through the five colors and ten hues.

The True Self Dao Sword, “Neither I praise I, all are not I!”

This sword lifted, lifting the sword qi and sword light attacking his body, as well as the power of divine decay. It lifted the vast, surging spring water, almost the entirety of the Undying Spring, directing it squarely at Lu Qilang, who covered the spring—

The world praises it; can it not be moved?

One moment, he had sent his opponent sinking to the bottom with a single sword. The next moment, he welcomed such a decisive counterattack. Even a strong individual like Lu Qilang could not temporarily avoid it. He could only continuously add to his already waning previous sword. His body inverted in mid-air, seemingly merging with the sword’s form.

At this moment, his sharp edge was fully revealed, its brilliance almost severing one’s gaze.

The True Self Sword Qi and the Cave World Sword Light confronted each other for the first time.

Dao paths collided in the most direct manner!

And simultaneously, Jiang Wang’s completely exposed divine soul roared in agony within the Cloud Deep Hall. His spiritual domain, extending a thousand *zhang*, spread directly outwards, displaying his Jiang Wang’s will, Jiang Wang’s pain, Jiang Wang’s resolve, and expanding to a nearly infinite extent!

“Not good! He wants to self-detonate his spiritual sense!” Lu Qilang, the first to sense danger, withdrew his sword and retreated, transmitting a warning to Zhu Lanruo.

Zhu Lanruo, who had not approached the Undying Spring again from the beginning, was at this moment far along the mountain path, half-believing, half-doubting in her heart. This Jiang Wang, who had endured so many life-and-death desperate situations without giving up the struggle, was he truly willing to self-detonate his spiritual sense now? Ling Xihua, who had received no warning, was not foolish. Seeing Lu Qilang withdraw his sword, wind immediately generated beneath her feet. Hugging her broken arm wound, she suddenly fled towards the mountain platform.

At this critical juncture, all the sword qi, sword light, and Undying Spring water were lifted high into the sky by a single sword.

Standing at the bottom of the Undying Spring, Jiang Wang’s naked body, covered in scars, vaguely appeared in the firelight. Every wound was a record of battle. Every muscle line was a bold sword style.

Our generation is born naked and ultimately returns to nakedness.

At this moment, his spiritual sense covered the heavens and earth, his majesty shook the divine mountain, meteors streaked across the sky, fireworks filled the spring, and the flame bird chirped, the Bi Fang cried out.

That fire domain had expanded to its limit!

While continuing to support Jin Xiu, Xu Xiangqian was acutely aware of what he had to face. A drowning person is most dangerous because the instinct to survive will cause them to entangle anyone who approaches, pulling them down to die together.

If he gave Jin Xiu infinite support, grabbing onto this life-saving straw, the drowning person would inevitably demand endlessly. Until they thoroughly drained him, until he exhausted all his power and could give no more.

But in the darkness, he seemed to see that young man, wielding a sword and traveling alone for ten thousand *li*, casually tearing off the Grand Garment he had placed upon him, continuing forward through the great wind and snow, leaving behind a single sentence—

“You are too weak.”

This caused him, whose eyes had already slowly closed, to angrily open them again! Old man, divine scholar Xu Xiangqian, was recognized as the foremost talent in the west of Snow Country and the most handsome man in the north of Mu Country. His treasured sword was still hidden in its box, its edge untested, yet you, this unlearned fellow, dare to underestimate him!

He cannot close his eyes in death, cannot close his eyes!

Perhaps due to excessive anger, waves of blackness washed before his eyes. The wind and snow in the sky all blurred. The last image remaining in his vision was a face condensed like ice and snow, beautiful and fragile.

Alas, the appearance is indeed beautiful, a pity it cannot illuminate Wu Yan.

On the verge of consciousness shattering but not yet shattered, he thought in a trance, then suddenly shivered—

“Jiang Wang is not dead!”

He did not know if he had shouted out that sound, but he had already exhausted his remaining strength. His eyelids closed completely, his consciousness settled into darkness. From then on, no waking, no knowing, no sense, no feeling.

And crossing the rules of the Heavenly Tablet Snow Spirit, a woman arrived in the vast wind and snow, taking a single step. She stood there, the wind and snow not staining her body. Slender and fragile, beautiful to the point of extreme sadness, like an ice crystal or glass in a trance.

It was indeed the current second-ranked Yan Dao strong individual of Snow Country, known as the reincarnation of Frost Immortal Monarch Xu Qiuci, still walking the world under the name Xie Ai, the Winter Emperor.

She quietly looked at this high-ranking scholar lying on his back in the snow. There was no emotion in her eyes, but she seemed to feel something, slightly raising an eyebrow, as if deep in thought.

What does a spiritual sense explosion feel like?

Thinking about it, every trace that can be manifested feels like ten thousand needles piercing simultaneously.

Once that kind of pain is experienced, no one wants to try it a second time.

Jiang Wang also did not want to.

But after actively lifting Jin Xiu, his situation was not resolved. One could only say that due to Xu Xiangqian’s Jin Xiu, he had briefly stopped at the edge of life and death. He understood this as another opportunity to strike.

After countering Lu Qilang with the True Self Dao Sword, he had no other effective means. He could only rely on his spiritual sense control ability for a final gamble.

As an important means for Shen Lin cultivators, the spiritual domain can greatly improve one’s fighting strength and suppress the opponent’s fighting strength. But after coming out of the Hong Zhuang Mirror, there was no suitable timing for its use.

Its consumption was enormous, and it was not suitable for such intense mobile warfare. Because it required building a connection with this strange Divine Monitor World on one hand, and rapid transfer on the other… A spiritual domain of a thousand *zhang* radius, within these movements of often several thousand *zhang*, needed to constantly disintegrate and reconstruct. It consumed strength and spirit, both too terrifying.

This time was different.

The not-so-wide Undying Spring became his cage. And Lu Qilang, Zhu Lanruo, Ling Xihua, all within the domain! This limitlessly expanded spiritual domain almost covered the entire mountainside.

Lu Qilang withdrew his sword and retreated far away, Ling Xihua fled like a stray dog.

Only Zhu Lanruo stood quietly on the mountain path, sunlight calmly watching. Her eyes seemed to have already seen through Jiang Wang’s thoughts, as if asking—

Will you explode, or not explode?

Within his sea of consciousness, a colossal sound, shattering everything, erupted. This sound was like a righteous man tearing his seat, a fallen warrior drawing his sword, possessing a never-look-back determination. Jiang Wang, without any hesitation, directly detonated his spiritual domain!

The first to be heavily injured was his own divine soul. His already heavily injured body received a fatal blow, adding frost to snow in its dying state, rendering it utterly powerless to resist.

Then, the spiritual domain thoroughly exploded, stirring up a flood of spiritual sense. It swept across the entire mountainside, of course instantly engulfing Zhu Lanruo, tearing her spiritual sense, and severing her divine soul!

In the midst of the extreme pain felt by her divine soul, Zhu Lanruo crushed a stone in her hand, a stone that seemed to be gold and jade, constantly changing and unpredictable. This stone, named Yin Yuan Stone, was painstakingly obtained by the ancestor Zhu Yi, extremely precious, and not activated until a critical moment. This was precisely that time! Her dried-up causal power rapidly gained supplement. Her beautiful eyes flowed with a colorful radiance, like a flowing stream carrying horses and dragons.

Wipe away the Xu Country, then begin Lan Yin!

Jiang Wang’s spiritual domain, which had already thoroughly exploded and swept into a flood, instantly returned to that moment of expansion to its limit, on the verge of exploding but not yet exploding. What was wiped away was causality, not time, so both sides knew what had happened before. This time, Zhu Lanruo did not hesitate, pulling her body away from the mountain path, closely following after Lu Qilang.

This An Wang is truly fearless of death!

And she had no such necessity.

Just as Zhu Lanruo also pulled her body away, Jiang Wang’s divine soul, having returned to the state before the explosion, sat on the divine seat within the Cloud Deep Hall.

At the corner of each of his eyes were three blue veins, extending to his temples! This was a sign that his spiritual sense had been used to its limit, on the verge of losing control. The spiritual domain, which had expanded to its limit, suddenly shrunk back, shrinking into a piece of spiritual clothing on Jiang Wang’s body! With just this one transformation, the mountain path was already empty, and he gained an opportunity to escape!

Jiang Wang had, of course, considered whether Zhu Lanruo’s Lan Yin Xu Guo could still be activated after using so many divine powers. But a strong individual skilled at grasping causality, already accustomed to a certain outcome, would absolutely not rashly gamble before fully understanding both sides’ cards.

Her unwavering stance on the mountain path indicated her reliance!

It was not that Jiang someone was arrogant. Besides Lan Yin Xu Guo, what else could allow Zhu Lanruo to stand in front of him, Jiang Wang, without fear?

The battle had reached this point. His, Jiang Wang’s, sharp edge had already been seen by the great pride of the demon race; he had already wounded the heavenly pride of the demon race.

Anything other than Lan Yin Xu Guo was not qualified to be the reliance of Zhu Lanruo.

Therefore, he firmly believed that there must be at least one more instance of Lan Yin Xu Guo. Of course, this was also a gamble.

If he gambled wrong, if Zhu Lanruo had other reliance, or even if she was unwilling to wipe away the Xu Country even unto death, then he could only accept the final ending. Regardless of how the demon race handled him, he would have no power to resist.

It was not that he was naturally inclined to gamble; he truly had no other choice, and could only take the risk of a fight!

But to reiterate, in this Divine Monitor World, surrounded by demons, when was it not dangerous? Where was it not dangerous?

At this point, the outcome of this game was decided. Jiang Wang, wearing the spiritual domain clothing, was about to leap out of the Undying Spring, from then on letting himself soar freely, escaping within the entire Divine Monitor World.

But Lu Qilang, who had been the first to escape the mountainside, suddenly returned his left hand’s sword finger, pointing remotely at Jiang Wang’s brow!

An excruciating pain, like a long needle piercing the skull, felt as if it went straight from his brow to the back of his head.

Jiang Wang staggered. His spiritual domain, which had been forcibly suppressed, instantly exploded!

If this game had only involved him and Zhu Lanruo, then he could have claimed another victory.

But the game still included Lu Qilang!

Lu Qilang did not possess terrifying divine powers like Zhu Lanruo, nor was there any wondrous strategic layout during their battle.

But every strike was delivered at a crucial moment, often born of divine inspiration. Truly, he was a king of inspiration!

Jiang Wang used the force of his spiritual domain explosion to drive away Zhu Lanruo, and just as he was about to converge his spiritual domain and escape, Lu Qilang provided the firelight for his fireworks!

That figure, wearing the spiritual domain clothing, who had already leaped up, fell back down heavily!

As if chaos had just opened, as if the universe had just begun, everything about him was destroyed in an instant.

Then, the Undying Spring water lifted by the True Self Dao Sword gradually smashed back into the Undying Spring—

Smashing against his body, like a struggling fish on the shore, straightening again and again, then smashing down!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Wave after wave, as if responding to the fireworks of his divine soul.

Heaven and earth inherently possess great sound, close to the dao yet rarely heard.

“Why is this place called Old Mountain?”

“I don’t know. Everyone just calls it that.”

“But then, I don’t know where the ‘old’ comes from.”

“Since the local records began, this place has had this name. Perhaps it’s passed down from ancient times?”

In a state of near-unconsciousness, at the moment of approaching death. The Undying Spring water submerged Jiang Wang, burying this pitiful traveler.

That divine decay power should have perhaps killed him, but just as it was about to annihilate his vitality—

Gurgle, gurgle!

That falsely silent spring eye’s bubbling sound suddenly became real.

Ancient times were stirred. Within the myriad ancient years, the longest-standing legend of this world, eternal youth, swam out!

That clear spring water that had flowed into Jiang Wang’s body, the extremely dead divine decay water, actually exuded a trace of jade liquid.

From extreme death, extreme life was born—

Lu Qilang gripped his sword high above the sky, his expression of shock hard to suppress for a time.

He felt an extremely powerful aura, reviving with terrifying speed, right within the Undying Spring! What was Old Mountain, anyway?

The world possessed the Undying Spring, taken away by a strong demon when they left the present world. Thus, the source of the Undying Spring was lost. After struggling for countless years in the demon realm, it finally ceased flowing. Thus, the Undying Mountain, having lost its Undying Spring, became old from then on. Its name became ‘Old Mountain’!

Who was Jiang Wang?

In the world-attracting battle of Fa Xia, he established great merit, second only to Duke Ying.

He was enfeoffed as the Wu’an Marquis of the Great Qi Empire, with a fief of three thousand households, enfeoffed in Xia land, enfeoffed in Old Mountain!

This is the naming position!

The human race is the master of the present world, suppressing all heavens.

The Qi Country is the world’s hegemon, the overlord of the East Domain.

Qi law is heavenly law, Qi rule is heavenly rule.

Thus, the enfeoffment of lords by the Qi Country is established in both law and reality!

Therefore, Jiang Wang is the true owner of the Undying Spring in essence.

Far more than just Zhu Lanruo, who seized the Undying Spring, even the He family of Xi Shan, who had possessed the Undying Spring for many years, were far less recognized by the Undying Spring.

Heavenly demons like He Huating and Zhu Yi all desired to revive the Undying Spring. How could a world wonder like the Undying Spring not desire to save itself?

At the moment Jiang Wang truly touched upon life and death, and shook the dao rules of heaven and earth—

It suddenly ‘woke up’, dedicating all the vitality that had remained within it for a long time to its owner, its enfeoffed lord!