A gentle breeze caressed the unkempt hair of Xie Qing, who stood atop what was perhaps the highest mountain he had ever seen.


    Have you ever stood on a height so great that even skyscrapers appeared small? Then you must understand the sensation Xie Qing was experiencing.


    "How beautiful," he thought, narrowing his eyes. "Even the vileness of devilish interference cannot diminish the beauty of nature. It is worthy of admiration."


    Thesends had developed over hundreds of millions of years. The heavens, however, had been there almost since the creation of all things.


    Xie Qing blinked. He felt a slight sense that he had understood something, but what it was, he did not know.


    "Let''s not rush," he thought, tying his hair into a ponytail so it wouldn''t bother him. "With slow steps, we will reach the peak."


    ***


    Lian Qingyi stopped at the mouth of the volcano. Although it was called a mountain, it was only because it was too quiet and resembled an ordinary mountain from the outside. Even Liu Yang and Xu Mei had never seen it erupt.


    "Here," said the fox, pointing with her index finger at the mouth of the volcano, or rather, its center.


    Zhang Meinded not far from Lian Qingyi and looked in the indicated direction. Her eyes narrowed coldly as she saw a dirty, ck sphere levitating above the ground.


    "So this is its essence. Quite bold to ce it here. Is this a special invitation?" Yu Longfeng finally spoke after a long time. Her noble attire as the Empress of Swords shimmered, and behind her were two ribbons suspended in the air. "Quite curious. I doubt there are no traps here."


    "There are, just invisible. I checked the Heavenly Secrets and discovered that if I try to enter, I will receive a minor injury, Xu Mei will remain unharmed, Zhang Mei will only damage a few hairs, and the fox might get burned," added Liu Yang, waving her hand to show a pearl bracelet, one of which was cracked. "So we should be careful and not make any unnecessary movem-..."


    BOOM!


    Xu Mei turned her head in confusion and looked at the others.


    "Did you say something?"


    "..."


    "..."


    "..."


    Everyone fell silent. Xie Qing averted his gaze, pretending not to know this person.


    ***


    "Who...?"


    The residual soul of Ma Lu awakened as the formation was damaged. He activated his Divine Gaze.


    "This...!"


    If he had a physical body, his heart would have started beating wildly with nervousness. For right before his essence, about five people had gathered, and all of them were his enemies.


    "How... is this possible? Our barrier..."


    Ba-boom!


    Another crash sounded, and Xu Mei snorted, breaking thest formation that held Ma Lu''s essence. She grinned maliciously as she sensed her enemy''s fear.


    "What, already shitting your pants? Haha, my disciple really messed with you. That''s definitely my signature, hahaha!"


    "Y-you!"


    Ma Lu clenched his teeth in anger. He cast his Divine Gaze on the only weak person and frowned.


    "You... what the hell? Only at the ninth stage of Spiritual Ascension?" Ma Lu''s voice grew dark, and he fell silent for a moment, then roared in anger, "Me... the great Ma Lu, dared to be poisoned... by a mere weakling?!"


    B-Boom!


    His aura burst out. It seemed he was trying to self-destruct, unable to bear the shame—the cause of his suffering was a weakling he could have crushed at any moment.


    And, as if that wasn''t enough, he was now surrounded on all sides. All he could do was reincarnate into a specially prepared body, and then...


    Ma Lu was already imagining his revenge when suddenly... his Divine Sense was cut off. He tried to summon it again, but... it was futile.


    And then, as if that wasn''t enough, suddenly his essence began to tremble and... rapidly started to shrink.


    "N-no! No, no, no! Bitch! Bitch... aaaaaaagh!"


    His cultivation level dropped with each second, but all Ma Lu could do was scream in pain and try to resist, though the resistance was futile.


    And it didn''t even take twenty minutes for his consciousness, along with thest remnants of his soul, to vanish. There was no grand exit for the viin and no subsequent rebirth after several hundred chapters—only a dishonorable death.


    Perhaps this was the best ending for a viin? Perhaps.


    ***


    Zhang Mei watched closely as Ma Lu''s essence was absorbed by Lian Qingyi. Liu Yang, Xu Mei, and the Empress Yu Longfeng watched this process intently.


    For them, it was important to verify the woman''s words, but it was equally important to ensure that this fox did not pull any tricks.


    After all, it was difficult to trust Nine-Tailed Foxes. Their reputation was too uncertain, and it was said they could go mad at any moment and do something malicious.


    Of course, all of this was based on legends and a few records, so no one could be sure of its truthfulness, but what if?


    And then, the moment arrived. Zhang Mei was one of the first to notice the fluctuation in the Heavenly Secrets—as if they had closed for that second and could not track the fox''s subsequent actions.


    Along with the Heavenly Secrets, the Heavenly Laws, which governed the order of reincarnation and the preservation of the soul, were also disconnected. Soon, Zhang Mei realized everything.


    "So this is... the special ability of the Nine-Tailed Foxes."


    To hide from the Heavenly Secrets and be able to control the Heavenly Laws. This was something beyond the norm.


    "Perhaps even immortals would find it extremely difficult to replicate what she has done," Zhang Mei concluded and frowned.


    Of course, this was just a feeling, and she could not say for sure if it was true. After all, no one in her circle had ever seen an immortal. Even her talented Master had died of old age trying to find them or even a trace of them.


    Lian Qingyi remained silent for a moment, then waved her hand. Her aura instantly strengthened and even broke through to the fourth stage, but it was only for a moment. Soon, everything calmed down.


    Then, turning to the spectators, she asked, "Do you believe me now?"


    And there was no negative response from anyone. For what they had seen today was good proof that Lian Qingyi''s abilities were beyond doubt. Zhang Mei stepped forward.


    "Let''s begin the contract."


    ***


    Xie Qing did not participate in all these intricacies. Starting with the fact that he did not have enough power to participate, and ending with the fact that he was not curious about it at all.


    Xu Mei shared his opinion, so they sat together on the grass and talked about various topics. The woman told him about the days in the outer world, while Xie Qing shared his adventures and difficulties.


    Xu Mei''s facial expression was very vivid—like an open book, she was anxious when the youth talked about his hardships, angry when he mentioned his injuries, and jealous when he spoke of his poprity in the Sect of Bone Circle.


    This almost childlike behavior amused Xie Qing, who, after a long time, felt as if a huge boulder had been lifted from his shoulders. This was his first experience in such a dangerous ce, and he had been on the brink of death many times.


    Was it worth it? The youth could say that it was. After all, his efforts had helped to eliminate the looming threat once and for all. Even now, as they were finalizing the contract with Lian Qingyi, arge number of righteous cultivators were fighting in fierce battles.


    "And..." Xu Mei smiled weakly, moving closer to her disciple. A me could be seen in her eyes. "We... missed you very much. So, hubby, you will have to work very hard to ease our loneliness. Understand?"


    "Ah, yes..."


    Xie Qing pursed his lips. It seemed his fate was not particrly colorful. However, he did not refuse. To be honest, he liked it too much.


    Gently stroking Xu Mei''s head, he squinted his eyes, watching the endless shes in the distance. Today, with his help, one of the world''s main conflicts had been resolved.


    ***


    It was decided to split up. Each leader of their sect had to control the troops and attack the enemies, destroying them and cleansing thends in the process. At least two powerful cultivators had to guard Hao Shen''s formation.


    As it happened, Zhang Mei and Xu Mei were assigned to this task. While the first had a static expression, the second looked sour, as if she had eaten a lemon.


    "Tsk. And why should I waste my precious time sitting with this bastard? I wanted to cuddle with my disciple so much..." Xu Mei sighed.


    "Control yourself," Zhang Mei replied indifferently, rolling her eyes.


    "I don''t want to! I won''t! I''ve done so much work, and you''re asking me to do more? This is too cruel!" Xu Mei pouted in annoyance. "As if you weren''t enough. Or are you not confident in your formations?"


    "I am confident in my formations, but caution never hurts, understand? So stop whining, you''re an adult woman, be more responsible."


    "Yes, yes..."