"Come here senior Jiuye, catch me!"

  "Naughty boy, don't run around like that. Let's practice swordsmanship first."

  Several years ago when Guang was small, he loved to bother his senior Jiuye. He stole his things and hid them under his bed. Guang was a very naughty child who refused to obey his senior. At that time, Jiuye was eighteen years old and had failed to become an immortal. He relied only on physical strength and his sword. The Vajra sword, passed down from Jiuye's ancestors, ultimately had no heir because Jiuye's body could not accept its power.

  One day by the river of golden glimmers decorated with lotuses, the place where Jiuye usually trained Guang...

  "Guang, come here. There is something I want to tell you."

  Little Guang, who was only eight years old, finally obeyed and ran toward his senior.

  "What is it, senior Jiuye?" little Guang asked.

  "Guang, I am a young man with big dreams. For generations, the Vajra sword family has served the emperor and protected the Golden Lotus. Do you know how much I hate my own weakness?" Jiuye's voice grew hoarse and tears fell as he leaned against a tree, staring at the peaceful and calm river of golden glimmers.

  "Senior... senior, don't cry." Little Guang wiped the tears from Jiuye's cheeks.

  "Guang, promise to be strong. Do not become trash like me. Promise; promise to be strong!"

  Jiuye held Guang's shoulders tightly with tearful eyes. Guang and Jiuye cried in the middle of the river of golden glimmers, hugging like brothers who promised to protect and achieve their dreams together. Unfortunately, they fulfilled the promise they made. Now, the two brothers were killing each other to prove who could keep the promise and become strong, and continue to grow even stronger.

  "Senior Jiuye! I have kept my promise!"

  Guang shot forward with the speed of blue lightning. The ground and rocks around him seemed to turn into waves of stone and gravel due to the ferocity of the terrifying blue lightning from the Vajra sword. Blue lightning struck from all directions, tearing through all the rot and bad karma in the Soul Abyss. Plants and animals floated into the air because of the insane speed and pressure from the blue lightning of Guang's Vajra sword. Guang slashed from all directions, and his hands formed the symbol of nine with incredible speed.

  "Nine Lightning Waves!"

  Instantly, the Vajra sword released a powerful wave of lightning with thousands of stings within it. The lightning that formed the wave submerged and shrouded the entire Soul Abyss, nearly burning everything inside.

  "Senior Jiuye! Surrender!"

  The bear-form Jiuye ran toward Guang with weeping eyes; his soul was still rebelling.

  "Don't kill him! Do not kill my junior brother!"

  Jiuye struggled and tried to control his bear body, but the bear continued to run and dash with red-black energy and a very sharp killing instinct. The bear jumped and was ready to pounce.

  "I will free you from all this suffering!"

  Guang shouted as he jumped with his Vajra sword, followed by nine waves of blue lightning. These two great forces fought in the air. The bear clawed as fast as lightning while Guang moved with abstract yet terrifying motions. Guang continued to scream and swing his Vajra sword, slashing with nine strikes. Lightning struck the ground and scorched it like an eternal fire that incinerates suffering. It spread to the trees and grass which turned to char, torturing the lost souls there and killing all the scary animals below.

  "You have become strong, Guang."

  Guang's Vajra sword lightning finally broke through the defense. Guang slashed the bear without mercy and finally plunged the Vajra sword right into Jiuye's heart in mid-air. Jiuye looked at the Vajra sword for a moment as it pierced his heart, the sword passed down by his ancestors to serve the emperor. Then he looked at Guang, his junior brother who used to be just a low-level soldier but had become a great officer of the Golden Lotus kingdom.

  "Guang... that robe suits you."

  He smiled at his junior with pride. Jiuye returned to his human body. There was no more killing instinct. Jiuye fell to the ground and lay there.

  "I am not their Great Officer. You are the last officer of that kingdom. I am just a

  wanderer, senior Jiuye."

  Guang answered while bowing and landing on the ground, with the remains of the Vajra sword aura around him.

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  "I am still proud of you."

  Senior Jiuye finally closed his eyes and breathed his last. Silence fell. There was the smell of the scorched Soul Abyss forest burning along with a bit of blue lightning aura still lingering.

  "This world is full of jokes!"

  Guang laughed loudly while tears streamed down his face, looking up at the blue sky that still looked very pure with its white clouds. He saw his hands covered in blood and tightened his grip on his fingers. Seeing the blood dripping as a result of sacrifice, he solidified his resolve.

  "Anyone who stops me from meeting Feng Haoran will surely die."

  Meanwhile in the sacred palace of the Golden Lotus, Feng Haoran was being welcomed by his people, who were blinded by the illusion of Feng Haoran himself.

  "Listen, my dearly beloved people."

  Feng Haoran stood on the main lotus altar with a face that painted joy and a very sweet smile.

  "I have just been given the artifact of soul salvation by the great master Tianze. It would be a waste if I kept these thousands of artifacts for myself. For your safety and prosperity, I will give these artifacts of soul salvation to you."

  Feng Haoran released thousands of stones colored like purple diamonds. The artifacts of soul salvation floated in the air with eternal light surrounding Feng Haoran.

  "Incredible! His Majesty is very generous. He gives the artifacts of soul salvation to us just like that!"

  "Long live His Majesty! Long live Emperor Feng!"

  The citizens worshipped their Emperor. Then the Great Officer Mulin, the replacement for Officer Guang, ordered everyone to thank Feng Haoran.

  "Everyone, thank His Majesty Emperor Feng!"

  "Thank you for your kindness. May His Majesty live for hundreds to millions of years!"

  They all thanked Feng Haoran in unison. Tianze smiled from behind a pillar. He touched the surface of the pillar with his fingers. With a little power, the pillar cracked. Feng Haoran looked back toward Tianze with red demonic eyes glowing and a terrifying smile. After distributing the artifacts of soul salvation, Feng Haoran walked back with his hands folded behind him. His suspicion of Tianze arose.

  "Tianze, what are you doing here? Is everything not according to plan? What are you actually trying to plot?"

  Feng Haoran asked while smiling with his glowing red demonic eyes. Then Tianze walked in front of Feng Haoran with a face that seemed full of intrigue and tactics.

  "Your Majesty, you do not need to suspect me. This old servant is merely moved to see the happiness of your people. Thank you for blessing them with my gift. I am sure that their souls have received enlightenment."

  "Oh, is that so? Then why must you hide behind that pillar?"

  "Pardon me, Your Majesty. This old servant does not dare to stand on the main altar without the Emperor's command. That is a hereditary mandate from your ancestors."

  Tianze stared at Feng Haoran sharply and smirked, while Feng Haoran stared at him with his red eyes and an expression as cold as an eternal wind capable of extinguishing heavenly lightning. Then Tianze turned around and walked away while occasionally looking back at Feng Haoran. Feng Haoran's face was still shrouded in caution and suspicion. The scent of sacred incense was unable to resist the cold aura of the two demons.

  In the prison of eternal darkness, RuiXue was groaning in pain. However, her mouth smiled because she was imagining herself running in the Red Lilies Garden with Feng Haoran, the only man she loved. Her legs were bound by chains with an aura of black fire. Her beautiful hanfu was now in tatters. Her skin was slashed and full of bruises and bite marks. Deng Rao emerged from the shadows of the prison.

  "Truly a beautiful woman. What if I disguise myself as Emperor Feng so I can enjoy her body?"

  Deng Rao smiled disgustingly with uncontrollable lust. He immediately formed a symbol in his hands and used an illusion technique. His fingers moved one by one. His two index fingers formed a forbidden illusion symbol.

  "Illusion of Body and Soul!"

  Suddenly, the body of that old man transformed into a handsome and young emperor with a golden robe, a voice that sounded soft, gold jewelry on his robe, and his white, thinning hair turned into long, beautiful black hair. Deng Rao walked toward RuiXue and opened the eternal prison for a temporary moment.

  "Who... who is it?"

  RuiXue asked curiously about who was opening the door of the eternal darkness prison. A familiar voice was heard from a fairly close distance.

  "My wife? Why are you here? You disappeared from the Red Garden Lilies back then. I searched for you everywhere."

  "My husband? Is it you?"

  RuiXue's eyes were tearful but her lips still smiled because those beautiful memories kept repeating and would never stop as long as she was in the prison of eternal darkness.

  "My husband, I knew you would never leave me. You must have been looking for me."

  RuiXue, while crying, tried to feel her way and stand up with difficulty because she could not see anything. However, Deng Rao came and stretched out his hand to RuiXue. Then he hugged RuiXue, and RuiXue hugged him back very tightly, like lovers missing each other. Their soul auras merged without RuiXue realizing it. A white aura with a hint of magenta belonging to RuiXue and a pitch-black aura belonging to Deng Rao danced around them. The spirit energy merged and created a feeling of satisfaction for Deng Rao. The handsome face of Feng Haoran turned into a disgusting smile because of the satisfaction in Deng Rao's heart.

  Meanwhile, Guang finally managed to get out of the Soul Abyss by following a dark cave passage. However, for his Vajra sword, that darkness was nothing. Guang eradicated anything that dared to block him inside the cave. After a long journey through the cave, Guang finally saw a glimmer of sunlight from a distance.

  "Finally... sunlight!"

  Guang immediately dashed while gripping his fingers and both hands tightly on his Vajra sword. The cave seemed ready to collapse. The cave walls struck by the blue lightning cracked and crumbled instantly. Dust and stones flew into the air, then fell again once he had passed them. The wanderer finally reached the end of the cave.

  Guang stood at the edge of the cliff outside the cave. The pure sunlight hit his stiff face. His goal now was only one: to become stronger than Feng Haoran and eradicate all enemies who tried to block him. He did not care about anything anymore. Guang's eyes were fixed on a region famous for being sacred in the northern part.

  "The North Heavenly Ocean Sect region!"

  Guang shot forward and flew to the northern region toward the sect that was famous for being very sacred in that area. The Great Officer's robe fluttered in the air even though it was tattered. Unfortunately, that robe of greatness meant nothing anymore to the wanderer Guang. He no longer cared about the right or wrong path because, according to Guang now, the end was the same: wounds, blood, and sacrifice. As long as he could continue to become stronger, he was capable of beheading even a god.