Chapter 125

On the way to the Endless Sea, Ning Xu’s group was fleeing while the Melon-Eating System continuously reported the latest situation to her.

【Host, quite a few Mahayana cultivators have joined the hunt for you.】

【Among them are three at the peak of the Mahayana Stage. To ascend, they are willing to try anything. Opportunities and risks always come hand in hand—Primary Chaos Qi is too precious, enough to make them risk everything.】

【However, Mahayana cultivators have their own pride. They will likely act independently rather than joining forces.】

Hearing this, Ning Xu quipped, “In this lifetime, to be hunted by so many Mahayana cultivators… I guess I’ve really made something of myself.”

The Melon-Eating System responded excitedly, 【Indeed! Host, you are the first in history to experience this!】

Although its excitement was a little out of place, the system’s cheerful tone added a slight sense of levity to their desperate escape.

Ning Xu had thought they could hold out longer, but the pursuit was faster than expected.

The first to catch up to them was a peak Mahayana cultivator.

The moment the Sword Immortal saw him, he immediately took up a defensive stance.

The Mahayana cultivator smiled lazily. “I know you are talented, the foremost sword cultivator in ten thousand years, but you are too young—you are not my match.”

As he spoke, he placed one hand behind his back. In a mere instant, he was standing just three meters away from them.

“Don’t be nervous,” he said. “I have no ill intentions toward you.”

No ill intentions—yet he was the first to chase them all the way to the Endless Sea…

Ning Xu asked, “Senior, do you seek something from us?”

The Mahayana cultivator replied directly, “Yes.”

His gaze drifted into the distance, his tone calm. “I have cultivated for over eight thousand years, seen the rise and fall of countless things, and have long stopped caring about ascension. But there is one thing I cannot let go of.”

The Sword Immortal lowered his sword, sensing that the man truly did not intend to attack them. “What is it?”

“When I was young, I had a fiancée who was my equal in status. A few days before we were to become Dao companions, she suddenly sent me a message saying she had something important to tell me. But before she could, her entire family was wiped out.”

“Even after all these years, I still do not know what she wanted to tell me back then. I also do not know who was responsible for the deaths of her family—one hundred and thirty-seven lives. This matter has become my inner demon.”

After speaking, he looked at Ning Xu and asked, “I wonder if the Post Owner might help me solve this mystery?”

He called Ning Xu “Post Owner.”

Ning Xu: …

She was not surprised to be exposed in front of a powerful figure.

The cultivation world was never short of intelligent people.

The Melon-Eating System had told her long ago that her identity being uncovered was only a matter of time—sooner or later, she would be found out.

Back then, they had already planned to use this time gap to strengthen themselves as quickly as possible.

Three thousand years ago, she hadn’t even put much effort into hiding her identity, so being found out now was no big deal.

Ning Xu said, “Senior, please give me some time.”

The Mahayana cultivator seemed in no hurry. “Alright.”

Ning Xu began digging into old gossip from thousands of years ago with the Melon-Eating System.

【Host, let me take a look.】

【Here it is, Host!】

【The story goes like this: this peak Mahayana cultivator’s fiancée accidentally discovered a small spiritual vein filled with supreme-grade spirit stones.】

【She was the first to discover it.】

【She wanted to share the good news with her fiancé right away. Unfortunately, at the time, their cultivation was still low. She feared attracting unwanted attention or being overheard, so she only told her fiancé that she had something important to say and planned to discuss it in detail when they met.】

【She thought that with this spiritual vein, both she and her fiancé could greatly increase their cultivation.】

【But discovering a supreme-grade spiritual vein was an event of great significance. She was too naive and inadvertently revealed something in front of her cousin.】

【Her cousin used some tricks to coax the information out of her.】

【Then her cousin passed this information to the person she had feelings for, hoping to use it as leverage to marry into a prestigious cultivation family.】

At this point, the Melon-Eating System sighed. 【Whether in the cultivation world or the mortal one, marrying into wealth is never easy. She was… truly foolish!】

【She thought she could secure her place in a powerful family with this information, but she was actually signing her own death warrant!】

Ning Xu remained silent, already able to guess what happened next.

Sure enough, the Melon-Eating System continued, 【Even a prestigious cultivation family would not remain indifferent in the face of a supreme-grade spirit stone vein. After all, it was supreme-grade spirit stone!】

【Her cousin’s beloved just so happened to be the son of that family’s patriarch.】

【At the time, there were multiple contenders for the position of heir, and he was not the most outstanding among them. But with this small spiritual vein, he ultimately secured his place as the successor.】

The system didn’t elaborate on the details, but Ning Xu could already picture what had happened.

Excavating a small spiritual vein of supreme-grade spirit stones would take at least a dozen years.

If the news leaked, it would undoubtedly attract other cultivators looking for a share of the spoils.

Thus, the original discoverers of the spiritual vein had to be eliminated. To ensure absolute secrecy, none of their family could be left alive.

The story was simple yet heavy.

Ning Xu asked a key question, “Which family ultimately claimed the supreme-grade spirit stone vein?”

The Melon-Eating System let out a sneering laugh before quickly answering, 【Host, this family is actually one of our old acquaintances.】

For some reason, a surname immediately surfaced in Ning Xu’s mind.

Without even phrasing it as a question, she stated directly, “It was the Xu family.”

The Melon-Eating System replied viciously, 【That’s right!】

【And the one who became the patriarch thanks to this discovery was none other than the grandfather of the ancestor she had a crush on.】

Ning Xu: …

【So, Host, you understand now, right? The ancestor Xuhua secretly admires is really, really old. She has a truly unique taste.】

Ning Xu: “…”

After expressing its thoughts, the Melon-Eating System continued grumbling, 【Tsk tsk tsk, the Xü family was rotten from the top down. No wonder someone like Xuhua emerged!】

After getting this gossip from the Melon-Eating System, Ning Xu quickly relayed the information to the Mahayana Perfection cultivator.

As she recounted the story, the Mahayana Perfection cultivator’s expression remained dazed.

He had already heard her heart’s voice and that of that mysterious existence.

So, she had died at the hands of the Xü family.

How ridiculous. The Xü family had never shown the slightest hint of this in front of him.

He also knew the one who had inherited the family business.

Back then, when this person rose to power, he had been puzzled—why had this man emerged as the final victor? Now he understood. It was because he had stepped on the blood of others to ascend!

At this realization, the Mahayana Perfection cultivator’s already rampant inner demon grew even harder to suppress.

The death of his fiancée had always weighed heavily on his heart.

As time passed, his inner demon had not faded but instead grown stronger.

Before, he had made an effort to suppress it. But now, he let it run wild.

He looked at Ning Xu and Si Zang and said, “The Xü family’s descendant—Xuhua—has been jumping around nonstop, trying to divert everyone’s attention onto you two.”

“Since I have a grudge against the Xü family, I have decided to lend you a hand!”

Ning Xu saw the dark, heavy color in his eyes and asked the Melon-Eating System, “He…”

The Melon-Eating System clicked its tongue twice, 【His inner demon is completely out of control.】

【He probably already knew he had no hope of ascending. With such an overwhelming inner demon, even a wisp of Primary Chaos Qi couldn’t suppress it.】

【For someone in his situation, he would need all kinds of heavenly treasures just to stand a chance at facing his ascension tribulation.】

【But it seems like he can’t let go of his fiancée.】

【So from the start, he probably never intended to ascend. The only thing that kept him going until now was the truth.】

【This is the first time I’ve seen someone so deeply devoted. And he’s even a super-powerful cultivator.】

【What a pity. Deep love never lasts long.】

After sighing, it hurriedly added, 【Of course, the ships I support will never have a bad ending!】

Ning Xu: “…”

The Mahayana Perfection cultivator casually tossed a storage space to Ning Xu. “Consider this your reward for telling me the truth.”

With that, he turned and left, disappearing from sight in an instant.

As soon as he was gone, the Melon-Eating System got excited, 【Host, we’ve struck it big!】

【You now have a growth-type storage space!】

【Wait, he even gave you a supreme-grade formation Disk.】

【He…】

Ning Xu asked, “What?”

The Melon-Eating System clicked its tongue, 【He probably has a death wish.】

He had no intention of ascending. On top of that, his inner demon had taken over, making ascension impossible. So before the great battle, he had chosen to leave his most precious possessions to Ning Xu.

The Melon-Eating System quickly pulled itself together, 【Host, with him buying us time, we have more time to prepare.】

【And the supreme-grade formation Disk he gave you is even better than the ninth-grade formation Disk the former Tower Lord left you. It will deal an even heavier blow to Xuhua and her people!】

Ning Xu quickly regained her composure. “Alright!”

She and the Sword Immortal set up some arrangements in the sea area near the Endless Ocean. Not long after they finished, Xuhua and her group arrived in pursuit.

Perhaps because the Mahayana Perfection cultivator had held them back for a while, many of them looked somewhat battered.

The moment they saw Xuhua, the Melon-Eating System reported to Ning Xu, 【The great cultivator we encountered before… has fallen.】

【Before his death, he took down the Xü family’s ancestor, who had the same cultivation as him, as well as many of the Xü family’s disciples. The Xü family has suffered a devastating blow.】

【Unfortunately, fate’s wheel cannot be turned back. He wasn’t able to take Xuhua with him.】

Hearing that the great cultivator had fallen, Ning Xu wasn’t particularly surprised.

He had been alone—how could he have possibly defeated so many people?

Moreover, among those cultivators, many were no weaker than him.

That he had bought them so much time was something she was already deeply grateful for.

Even though they had only met once, she still felt sorrow for his passing.

She asked softly, “What was that great cultivator’s name?”

The Melon-Eating System replied, 【His Dao name was Xiyuan.】

Ning Xu nodded. “I understand.”

She would always remember this name.

She would remember that there was once a great cultivator who generously gifted her half of his wealth.

She would remember that there was once a great cultivator who contributed to the peace of the cultivation world.

Upon seeing Ning Xu and Si Zang, Xuhua wiped the blood from her face and, for the first time, dropped her gentle facade.

She turned to the group of powerful cultivators and said, “You can have the Primary Chaos Qi. Zhiqing and I only want the sword bone from Si Zang’s body!”

A rough-looking cultivator let out a hearty laugh and agreed on behalf of the others, “Alright!”

Ning Xu had never seen Si Zang use a sword before. But today, facing dozens of Mahayana cultivators, he finally drew his blade.

The moment she saw the Obsidian Sword, Ning Xu was struck by a realization—

This wasn’t just a battle to the death.

This was her first and last battle fighting side by side with Si Zang.

It was also the battle of their farewell.