Chapter 129: The Cycle of Heaven and Earth, Roses Trembling in the Wind

Nanluo pondered in silence. Suddenly, his brow lifted, and the Azure Flame Sword at his waist sprang from its sheath. A streak of white light flashed through the void. A muffled groan followed, and a human head dropped out of empty space. For an instant, a gray figure appeared faintly, like a reflection in disturbed water, then sank back into the void and vanished.

Nanluo watched coldly. Though he had seen the figure only in passing, he had already recognized the man as the Thousand-Headed Crown Prince—the same man whose head he had once severed. Later, Peacock Radiance had imprisoned him beneath the Palace of Immortality. Nanluo had never expected him to emerge alive.

The purple-robed woman watched it all and broke into a delighted giggle, her eyes curving like crescents. The ashen pallor brought on by her injuries had not diminished the brilliance of her smile in the least.

The Falling Spirit Grotto-Heaven still poured forth white mist, but the moment it entered the void, it vanished without a trace.

Nanluo’s physical body sat upright upon the jade bed, his face tranquil, devoid of either joy or sorrow. Anyone of lesser cultivation would have assumed that he was merely meditating. Yet it would not have been wrong to say that he was cultivating, for his body had already begun to absorb the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth on its own, replenishing itself.

The moment the purple-robed woman saw Nanluo’s body, she exclaimed in surprise, “Your soul has left your shell? I knew something felt wrong. I thought you had cultivated some divine ability that made it inconvenient for you to leave in person. So you’re trapped here.”

With only one glance at his body, she had already understood Nanluo’s predicament. Without waiting for his answer, she continued, “What happened? You were tricked again, weren’t you? You really are foolish.”

The purple-robed woman seemed entirely unconcerned about her own injuries. Laughing carelessly, she teased Nanluo. Years ago, she had called him foolish in exactly the same way. After all this time, her voice, appearance, and temperament had not changed in the slightest.

Nanluo sighed. “Yes. I was tricked again. From now on, I’m afraid no one will ever be able to trick me again.”

“Oh? Have you become stronger? You sound rather confident,” the purple-robed woman said with a mischievous laugh.

“Heh. No. It’s because I can never leave this place again. In my current state, what is there left to scheme about?” Nanluo replied with a self-mocking smile.

“Hee-hee, that may not be true. Even as you are, you still have your uses. Otherwise, why would so many people have come to besiege you?” The light in the purple-robed woman’s eyes was just as it had been all those years ago—cunning and perceptive. In that brief span of time, she seemed to have seen through countless things.

Nanluo was silent for a while before saying, “What use could I possibly have? Those people merely bear grudges against me, and happened to learn that I was here. That is why they came. Your injuries, however, seem rather troublesome. Is there anything I can do to help?”

In this world, ordinary injuries were hardly worth mentioning. They could be healed in the space of a few breaths. But when an injury could not be restored, it meant that one’s life was already in danger.

Hearing Nanluo’s words, the purple-robed woman giggled and said indifferently, “That foul mosquito’s black stinger wounded me. It carries a sinister and deadly poison. There is no cure.”

“No cure? I…” Nanluo said in astonishment.

Seeing how unconcerned she sounded and how brightly she smiled, he had assumed that she simply had not had time to heal herself because the Mosquito Daoist had pursued her so relentlessly. But now that she had said there was no cure, he was deeply shocked. What he had wanted to say was, “I have a master who is an expert in alchemy. He should be able to heal you.” Yet the words had barely left his lips when he remembered that his master had long since withdrawn from the world and no longer involved himself in worldly affairs.

No cure meant that she would either perish or be tormented by the injury for the rest of her life.

“What do you mean, ‘I’? You can’t even take care of yourself, so don’t trouble yourself over me. This injury may be incurable, but it won’t kill me. At worst, I’ll return to that place. It’s only that I may never be free again,” the purple-robed woman said calmly.

“Return where? To the Mountain of a Thousand Turns, Ten Thousand Revolutions, and Freedom from Calamity?” Nanluo asked.

“Yes. I had only just come out when someone recognized me. Then I fell into an ambush and was hunted for so long. What terrible luck. I had wanted to wander around and enjoy the world for a while, but now I have to go back again…” The purple-robed woman sounded deeply regretful that she had not been able to travel through the primordial wilderness. Then she asked, “Do you want to come out?”

“What?”

“I asked whether you want to come out.” The purple-robed woman repeated herself loudly, sounding somewhat exasperated.

“Of course I do. Do you have a way?”

“Of course. But if you want to come out, you’ll need someone else’s soul to take your place.” As she spoke, the purple-robed woman glanced at Spring Sound and Spring Moon, who stood quietly nearby.

Spring Sound was exceedingly weak. The Black Wind Rope that had bound her had already been removed, but the black wind had damaged her physical body. Her mind, however, remained clear, and Spring Moon supported her at the other side of the jade bed.

“A soul? What soul? My primordial spirit is trapped,” Nanluo asked in confusion. He did not understand the concept of a soul. He knew only that he cultivated the path of the primordial spirit and had never heard of any such thing as a soul.

“The soul is something possessed by every living being from birth. It is the most fundamental and indispensable thing sustaining a living creature’s existence in this world.” At this point, the purple-robed woman suddenly thought of that strange creature without a soul, and a profound doubt stirred within her.

The thought flashed by in an instant, and she continued, “I don’t know what this world is like in the eyes of others. But to me, Heaven and Earth are one great cycle of reincarnation. Everything is caught within it. The birth and death of the countless living beings are merely parts of that cycle…”

“Reincarnation? Is everything merely reincarnation? If one dies, can one live again?” Nanluo’s voice drifted through the void. He seemed to be murmuring to himself, yet also asking the purple-robed woman.

“It was never possible before. Death was death. Though Heaven and Earth formed one great cycle, it could not repeat itself. Nothing could ever happen again. But now, it seems possible. Someone has used supreme power to damage the cycle of reincarnation governing Heaven and Earth.” The purple-robed woman gazed lightly at the ceiling of the Falling Spirit Grotto. Her expression had become grave.

“What happened? Who could possess such power as to disrupt the cycle of reincarnation?” Nanluo was utterly astonished. He was hearing of souls for the first time, and the cycle of reincarnation was even more unfamiliar to him. Although his realm had risen without limit with the aid of the lunar spirit veins running through these mountains and rivers, he was still unable to perceive such a thing as the cosmic cycle of reincarnation.

Hearing the shock in Nanluo’s voice, the purple-robed woman suddenly laughed. “Hee-hee. If I’m not mistaken, you had a hand in damaging that cycle yourself.”

Her face brightened with a smile, and the gravity that had appeared moments earlier vanished without a trace. As she smiled, her crescent-shaped eyes twinkled.

“Me? Could it be this Lunar Stele? The lunar spirit veins? Emperor Jun…?” Nanluo fired off a string of bewildered questions.

“That I cannot say. It is only a feeling. Any living being whose divine abilities, or whose very existence, is subtly connected to Heaven and Earth should be able to sense it.” The purple-robed woman spoke calmly.

Nanluo fell silent, seemingly digesting her words.

The Falling Spirit Grotto grew quiet. After a while, Nanluo let out a sigh, as though all the oppression within him were being released in that single breath.

“Immortal Maiden, did you just say that saving Senior Nanluo requires the soul of another person to take his place?” Spring Sound slowly sat up and asked weakly.

“Aunt…” Spring Moon had not finished speaking when Spring Sound silenced her with a look.

The purple-robed woman nodded. “Yes. To save him, we need a human soul to take his place, and that person must willingly cooperate.”

“Use my soul,” Spring Sound said weakly, but her voice was utterly resolute.

She had listened for a long time. She did not understand most of what had been said, but she clearly understood that Nanluo was trapped within the mountain and could never leave. Her first thought was to use her own soul to save him.

“Aunt…”

Spring Sound cut her off again. “My injuries are already beyond saving. My soul is the only thing I have left that might be of use. If it can save Senior Nanluo, then that would be for the best.”

Spring Sound understood her own condition better than anyone. When she had been brought to the Falling Spirit Grotto, she had seen the regret that flashed through the purple-robed woman’s eyes. Nanluo, meanwhile, had never once spoken of how to heal her, which made it clear that even he was powerless to save her. Besides, Nanluo himself was trapped within the mountain and needed someone else to rescue him.

The purple-robed woman smiled faintly. Though her smile remained infectious, it now carried a trace of consolation. “Actually, if you take his place, you can still survive. You will simply lose your freedom.”

Spring Sound smiled. Her smile was exquisite, like a rose trembling as it bloomed.

Within the Falling Spirit Grotto, all was hushed and dim. Before its entrance, Verdant Spirit stood guard with a plantain-leaf fan in hand, prepared in case any more enemies arrived.