Heavenly Wheel Ascension

Shen Ruolan furrowed her brow, pulling her hand away from her cup and sitting on the silk cushion opposite Zhi Xuan. She rested her chin on one hand, staring at him with an intensity that seemed capable of peeling back every secret hidden behind his flat expression.

"Senior, you always use the words 'Ancient Clan' to create a boundary," Shen Ruolan said. "You truly make Ruolan quite annoyed, you know."

She pouted her lips, an act that looked childish yet appeared elegant for a Holy Fairy. "But perhaps you are right. In this generation, among practitioners who are not from the Ancient Clans, perhaps only you are the most interesting. Too interesting to be left alone without planting karma."

"You are so cold to Ruolan," she continued, her fingers playing with a strand of her hair. "Even to simply tell the story of what you actually saw in there."

She leaned forward, a faint, fragrant aroma beginning to fill the narrow space between them. "Besides, do you not feel lonely? Carrying all of this while the entire Nine Plains stares at you as a devil or a fugitive?"

"Some things must indeed be faced in solitude, Holy Fairy," Zhi Xuan replied, setting down his tea cup. "A devil or whatever else has been attached to me since I began cultivating. Every practitioner has secrets and their own sky woven by blood or golden ink."

Zhi Xuan closed his eyes, his head spinning from the dizzying memory of the four colors that continued to assault him. Shen Ruolan reached out her hand, touching his firm jawline.

"Do not press yourself too hard, Senior," Shen Ruolan whispered, her finger stroking in small circles on his cheekbone. "Your hands are trembling, your face looks pale, and your Dao Heart is unstable. What did you actually see in there, Senior?"

Zhi Xuan opened his eyes for a moment, freezing as he gazed at Shen Ruolan’s face just inches away. However, it was not the same sight he usually saw; his sapphire pupils glowed with a different light for an instant.

In Zhi Xuan’s vision, Shen Ruolan appeared distant; her eyes were sorrowful yet cold, graceful yet fragile, full of desire yet unable to do anything to fulfill it. He could see that her form was not just hers; it was as if a figure were merging her with another.

In his sea of consciousness, an image appeared of a woman standing on a path, both hands gripping a railing, her gaze fixed upward. A flower pin was tucked into her hair; her face was a blend of shifting emotions, yet her eyes remained fixed in one direction.

A man hovered in the sky, his robes of state so grand that the woman was no more than a small flower before an ocean of stars. The man appeared cold; no words were spoken between the woman and the man, yet any observer would know this was something beyond the will to understand.

Zhi Xuan jolted, his breath hitching in his throat. The touch of Shen Ruolan’s warm fingers on his skin felt like a strike of heavenly lightning triggering a forbidden resonance. That vision, the figure of the man floating in the sky with robes of indescribable majesty felt so familiar, yet was shrouded by a thick, cold mist.

"Release me," Zhi Xuan hissed, his voice hoarse, containing a vibration of authority that had briefly cracked.

He gripped Shen Ruolan’s wrist, not with the gentleness of a man toward a woman, but with the firmness of a practitioner repelling a mental attack. Shen Ruolan was stunned, her amethyst eyes widening as she saw the sapphire glow in Zhi Xuan’s eyes fade, replaced by a black hole that seemed intent on swallowing her soul.

"Senior... you..." Shen Ruolan whispered, the pain in her wrist incomparable to the dread she felt gazing into his eyes.

Zhi Xuan released his grip roughly. He formed a mudra with his hands, his lips moving in a mantra, manifesting characters from the Heavenly Heart Silk Leaf. These characters immediately surged into his own frame, enveloping his wavering Dao Heart.

Shen Ruolan allowed the redness on her wrist to fade back to white, her eyes observing Zhi Xuan with a look of confusion and growing curiosity. She sensed that his gaze just now was one of regret; a gaze from someone distant who carried a profound sorrow, yet she did not know what he had seen.

"That look just now," Shen Ruolan thought. "It was as if it wasn't him looking at me, but a distant, majestic figure who seemed to regret not being able to draw near. What does that gaze mean? What lies behind this man's soul?"

"Before, he was never like this, acting so cold," she continued internally. "But since he emerged from the Ancestral Hall, who knows what he brought out that requires him to use a technique to prevent his own Dao Heart from cracking. This man before me feels like he could drag me into destruction beneath his feet, yet also feels like a pillar that will remain standing if that destruction arrives."

Zhi Xuan regulated his racing breath, letting the energy of the Heavenly Heart Silk Leaf flow like clear river water, washing away the remnants of madness within his meridians. Silence reigned again in the Sixth Peak Pavilion. Zhi Xuan slowly lowered his hands, his fingers still slightly stiff. He looked at his own palm, then at Shen Ruolan who was still frozen before him.

"Forgive my rudeness, Holy Fairy," Zhi Xuan said, his voice flat once more, though a trace of exhaustion could not be hidden. "Let what I saw inside the Emperor’s Monument be like a passing wind. I will not allow my path to waver or shatter halfway because of this."

Shen Ruolan exhaled slowly, but she did not retreat. Instead, she arched her back slightly, both hands gripping Zhi Xuan’s collar, gently ensnaring the fabric of his robes. She took a long breath, letting her chest rise and fall in an irregular rhythm.

Her supple fingers pulled the man slightly closer until the tips of their noses nearly touched. There was no lust there, but rather a graceful desperation; the demand of a woman used to having the world, yet now facing an eternal, unreachable wall.

"Senior, you are always like this," Shen Ruolan whispered, her voice enchanting yet threatening. "Apologize and crawl back behind your shell of ice? Do you think you can enter my ancestral lands, look at me like that, and then just leave as if you were merely passing dust?"

"There is nothing to be done with what is not mine," Zhi Xuan replied lowly. "Everything seen may not be what it truly is. This is a confusion understood by no one, not even me."

Shen Ruolan merely scoffed, her lip curling. "Stiff and rigid. Over and over. Can you not speak more casually? Even when your Dao Heart is on the brink of faltering, you remain so rigid. It makes me wonder if your words back then were true, that you are made of stone."

Shen Ruolan finally released her grip on his collar, yet she did not pull her face away. She stared intently into those sapphire eyes, searching for remnants of the vision that had made her shudder.

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"I am more stable now," Zhi Xuan said, shifting the focus. "I gained no treasure nor diminished the wealth of the Ancient Shen Clan; instead, I gained a burden that weighs upon my shoulders like a mountain. Holy Maiden Shen, is this not even?"

"Fine, fine," Shen Ruolan interrupted, pulling back with a graceful motion. "Goodness, how cruel. Resonating with the Emperor’s Monument, even obtaining secrets that we, as descendants of the Ancient Shen Clan, are not told. Truly a wicked man who ensnares women."

Suddenly, a vibration emerged from the jade tablet in Shen Ruolan’s storage bag. She furrowed her brow, seeing it was a message from her clan disciples.

"Hmm?" Shen Ruolan murmured. "So sudden. Aren't those disciples currently on their mission?"

She moved her hand, pulling out a faded purple jade plaque that was now pulsing with an urgent rhythm. As soon as her finger touched the surface, a gasping and terrified voice traveled out through the spiritual transmission, breaking the silence of the Sixth Peak Pavilion.

"Holy Maiden! Help us! At the border of Red Flame City... we were ambushed! They... they are not ordinary practitioners! There is a thick aura of death... Senior Brother Lin has fallen! Ah!"

The voice cut off with a loud thud that echoed in the air, followed by a haunting silence. Shen Ruolan’s face, which was previously full of a playful glow, instantly turned pale, her amethyst eyes flashing with cold rage.

"Red Flame City? That is the primary resource territory of the Shen Clan at the eastern border," Shen Ruolan hissed. She rose to her feet, her silk robes snapping sharply like a sword drawn from its scabbard. "Who dares to touch my disciples on Chi Di soil?"

Zhi Xuan, still sitting cross-legged, slowly opened his eyes. "A thick aura of death?" he murmured, his voice returning to its flat, low tone. "Holy Fairy, do you not find it strange? The Han Clan shouldn't be attacking ordinary disciples in your territory so openly if their goal is me."

Shen Ruolan did not answer immediately. She walked to the edge of the pavilion, looking toward the east where grey clouds were beginning to gather unnaturally. "This is not the Han Clan’s style. They prefer using traps or diplomatic pressure through the Elders."

Zhi Xuan stood up. "Where is Red Flame City located?" he asked, his voice cold. "Rather than discussing confusing matters, I am more interested in something like this."

Shen Ruolan turned, her eyes flashing between hesitation and a spark of hope she neatly hid. "Nine thousand li from here, at the foot of Sky Furnace Mountain. It is the region where the purest earth fire veins reside. If they are attacking there, they must be Shen Clan rebels from the eastern region."

"Show me the teleportation altar," Zhi Xuan said without hesitation, beginning to walk out.

Zhi Xuan’s steady steps created echoes on the pavilion’s marble floor, each heel strike seemingly reigniting the bloodlust that had briefly dimmed. Shen Ruolan was stunned for a moment looking at the man's back; his soul had nearly been crushed by the weight of the Emperor’s Monument, yet now he stepped toward a battlefield as if death were merely an old friend he wished to greet.

"Senior, you don't have to do this," Ruolan said, though her own feet were already moving quickly to catch up beside him. "This is an internal matter of our clan. If the Elders find out you interfered in a regional cleansing, they will have more reasons to ensnare you in clan law."

"Then I require your assistance to hide it," Zhi Xuan replied. "Consider this a fair exchange; the Ancient Shen Clan need not provide a reward for my cleansing. Because the reward lies within those being cleansed."

Shen Ruolan fell silent for a moment, looking at the side profile of Zhi Xuan’s face, which no longer showed any fragility. Her guileful smile returned, but this time with a hint of pride tucked within it. "The reward lies in those being cleansed? Senior, you truly are a hunter who never misses an opportunity. Very well, if that is your wish, Ruolan shall be the veil that hides your tracks."

They blurred through the mist of the Sixth Peak, crossing rows of silver pines until they arrived at a hidden platform guarded by a complex constellation seal. In the center, an Ancient Teleportation Altar made of black obsidian glowed with a dim blue light.

"This altar connects directly to a secret defense post on the outskirts of Red Flame City," Ruolan said while throwing several high-grade essence stones into the altar's alcoves. "Only core bloodlines can activate it without triggering alarms in the Elders’ Hall."

Zhi Xuan stepped into the center of the altar, his black-and-white robes beginning to flutter in the rising energy vortex. "Holy Fairy, you stay here. The presence of the Holy Maiden at a border battlefield will only attract spies from the Han Clan or rival factions in your clan. Let the 'Devil Gu' settle this chaos."

"Senior, are you underestimating me?" Ruolan put her hands on her hips, but she did not argue. She threw several bottles of spiritual pills to him. "Fine. And these—give them to the disciples you save later."

Zhi Xuan gave only a faint nod, allowing the jade bottles to fly into his storage bag before the teleportation light swallowed him whole. Instantly, space manipulated around him, thousands of light streaks flashed past his eyes, and in a blink, the fragrant mountain peak scent was replaced by a pungent sulfur smell and a heat that scorched the skin.

BOOM!

Zhi Xuan landed in the middle of a still-smoldering stone building ruin. The sky above Red Flame City was no longer blue but covered in thick black smoke carrying the ash of corpses. In the distance, he could hear the clashing of spiritual energy, followed by the piteous cries of practitioners nearing death.

Dozens of Shen Clan disciples, appearing as Soul Transformation experts and a few Five Elements experts, immediately turned toward the source of the teleportation light. With all their strength, they rushed toward the tall figure standing there.

"Who is that?!" shouted one disciple with cracked armor, his face smeared with soot and blood. "Has reinforcements from Sky City arrived?"

The dozens of disciples stopped behind Zhi Xuan. Each of them, though not knowing who the man in black-and-white robes was, felt an incredibly thick aura. One of them, a female disciple who looked exhausted, approached Zhi Xuan hesitantly.

The female disciple fell to her knees exactly two paces behind Zhi Xuan, her breath ragged and smelling of the metallic tang of blood. "Senior... whoever you are, please help us. They... they have Weaver experts behind them! We were ambushed while unprepared!"

Zhi Xuan did not answer immediately; he ignored her as if a Weaver expert meant nothing in his eyes. He waved his hand, bringing out the jade bottles. Their lids popped open, and recovery pills shot out, landing in the hands of every disciple.

"These came from your own Holy Maiden," Zhi Xuan interrupted as he looked back, cutting through their hesitation. "I had no intention of giving you recovery pills if they were not provided by Holy Maiden Shen herself."

ZRAKKK!

A trident sliced through the air, but it stopped and vibrated in place, an inch away from piercing the back of Zhi Xuan’s head. Zhi Xuan did not flinch; instead, he moved his hands and formed a formation mudra glowing with golden characters, surrounding the Ancient Shen Clan disciples.

"Stay within the formation if you wish to live," Zhi Xuan said, then raised his left hand. "Return."

Instantly, the trident vibrated violently as it was forced to bend after being stopped abruptly. The trident was like an arrow released from a bow, but the weight of Zhi Xuan’s energy made it trigger an even larger explosion, splitting the road in Red Flame City.

BOOM!

The trident exploded in the air, collapsing a large pavilion after being launched with such immense weight. Zhi Xuan lowered his left hand. He continued to watch the disciples who began to sit cross-legged, but those disciples were gaping in disbelief at what they had just seen.

"Hmm, the scent of the Soul-Devouring Demon Sect," Zhi Xuan murmured, closing his eyes as he inhaled the air. "I thought they only existed in Yao Gu, but it seems they are like ants constantly spreading their colony."

The black smoke billowing high into the sky of Red Flame City seemed like a curtain separating life from death. From behind the ruins of the pavilion destroyed by the trident strike, more than twenty figures appeared in tattered robes made of human skin. They did not walk but hovered low with a creeping death aura beneath their feet, like a parade of ghosts emerging from the gates of hell.

"The Soul-Devouring Demon Sect..." one Shen Clan disciple whispered with a trembling voice. "No wonder Senior Brother Lin couldn't hold out. They are cursed soul-suckers!"

From behind the thick smoke, a tall, thin man stepped forward. He wore blood-red robes that had blackened at the edges, and on his forehead was an engraved skull tattoo that pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat. This was the Weaver Transformation expert leading the attack; his sunken eyes radiated a disgusting green light.

"Someone who dares to stop my trident with his bare hands?" the man's voice was hoarse, like the scraping of bone on a tombstone. "Who are you? Do not interfere in the business of the Soul-Devouring Sect with this rotting clan if you still cherish your soul."

Zhi Xuan looked ahead, tilting his head slightly with a glint in his eyes that he did not hide. "So many of you. I already have many bodies like yours. Unfortunately, I am short on Night-Petal Root Fruits."