### Author's Note
I haven't posted chapters for about three days; it's been quite challenging to focus and get back into writing. Right now, we're at the most crucial stage of the novel, and I'm doing everything possible to satisfy my perfectionism and deliver a good arc and a readable finale.
I would appreciate your support—anything from a simple comnt to donations. Of course, it's entirely up to you; I'm not forcing anyone.
Enjoy your reading.
===
The earthquake lasted for several weeks and subsided only when the moon was full.
During this ti, Xie Qing was in a state of stupor—although his eyes were open, he appeared as if he were sleeping with his eyes open. i Feng, who watched him with a sense of slight bewildernt, could not understand what was happening.
The cultivation level of her esteed disciple was at the first stage of Transcendence, but after five hours, it increased again.
"Second level of Transcendence... what kind of sorcery am I witnessing?" i Feng muttered, furrowing her brows. Her gaze was fixed on Xie Qing, who was sitting on the bed with open eyes.
It seed as if he was conscious, but he did not respond to any calls. i Feng couldn't even reach his soul, as it was both dangerous and inaccessible.
Thus, the only thing she could do now was to simply not interfere and wait for Xie Qing to regain consciousness on his own. Other thods were either completely ineffective or too risky to attempt.
"Even with my life experience, I have never seen such a rapid cultivation level. It took two hundred, even five hundred years to advance to a new stage of Transcendence, and this young man, barely thirty years old, is already at such a level..." i Feng thought, clutching a wine glass that filled the room with its aroma.
And at that mont...
Blink.
Xie Qing blinked. His eyes took on a bright golden hue, and his body shuddered as if awakening from a long sleep.
"Hm?"
Of course, the observant i Feng imdiately noticed sothing amiss and, furrowing her brows, set the glass aside. She then approached the bed, standing directly in front of Xie Qing.
And...
"Ah? You're awake?" i Feng asked in surprise, noticing Xie Qing's eyes following her.
"...Yes," Xie Qing replied in a hoarse, heavy voice.
"Mmm?"
i Feng tilted her head and furrowed her brows. She couldn't understand why, but sothing inside her told her that this young man had changed slightly. His aura seed more detached, his expression almost absent, and his eyes piercing.
It felt as if...
"I am standing before soone who has lived for hundreds of thousands of years... how frightening..." i Feng thought, her eyebrows rising as she watched Xie Qing change his position and sit on the edge of the bed. She asked him, "Are you alright? Does your body hurt? And your dantian?"
Xie Qing stood up and cracked his knuckles, then began to stretch. He did not imdiately answer i Feng's question, as if taking a small pause. After a brief stretch, the man turned and calmly looked into her eyes, responding.
"I'm fine," his deep, rough voice sounded. Then he waved his hand and added, "I'm going out for a walk. I'll be back in a few hours."
"Ah?"
Before i Feng could say anything, Xie Qing suddenly disappeared using spatial distortion. She stood there, stunned, for a couple of minutes, as if turned to stone.
Then, she rembered sothing.
"He... was able to look in the eyes calmly? How?" i Feng wondered.
In the world, there are few people who can look her in the eyes, especially if the eye contact lasts more than five seconds.
It's not that i Feng has an oppressive aura, although she is not lacking in that either. It's all about her eyes, or rather, their peculiarity.
If Li Yuilan's eyes could see the threads of fate and small echoes of the future, then i Feng's eyes could see through illusions, detect lies, and most importantly, they contained an astonishing amount of Superior Sword Aura (a more advanced version of Sword Aura).
If i Feng did not restrain herself, eye contact lasting more than five seconds would cause a person to feel intense pain, and then they would die from countless internal cuts.
This was the peculiarity of her eyes, which she considered both a gift and a curse.
"Damn..."
i Feng trembled—she was overwheld with emotions. It was not anger, nor sha. It was...
"How... exhilarating!"
Excitent. On i Feng's face was excitent, with a bright, wide smile and clear signs of joy.
"I haven't felt this way in a long ti... for soone to be able to maintain eye contact with , and for so long? Damn!"
i Feng shuddered and looked in the direction where Xie Qing's aura could be sensed. But, as if it were an illusion, the aura vanished the mont i Feng tried to perceive it.
"Well, well, well? Look at this boy... he can already hide his aura? And from a cultivator of my level?" i Feng whistled admiringly, resigned.
***
Wsh-u-u.
The cold wind blew directly into Xie Qing's face as he stood on the edge of a cliff, gazing at the stone forest stretching for hundreds of miles.
His expression was blank, making it difficult to read any emotions. His facial muscles were relaxed, his breathing steady—he didn't even blink.
What stood out most were his eyes, which reflected a golden hue.
"Hmm..."
Xie Qing humd to himself, as if singing a tune. It wasn't very lodic, more like a lullaby.
"Sleep, my dear, sleep peacefully... Daddy will return, Daddy will rush back..."
The lyrics didn't have a strong rhy; they were more like a random collection of words. But it seed these words held a certain depth—they took one's breath away and carried a deep sadness.
Xie Qing closed his eyes and sighed. His head was throbbing with pain. The reason was simple.
"So... I reincarnated? It's a bit unusual that I managed to escape from eternal imprisonnt..." Xie Qing murmured and smiled, though the smile was so cold it could hardly be called one. "Funny. Very funny."
The man turned his head—slowly and deliberately, as if each movent required a trendous amount of effort. Suddenly, a "ding" sounded in his head, as if soone had rung a bell near his ear.
[Golden Dragon Bloodline: 97%]
"So this is the System... interesting..." Xie Qing wiped away his smile only to smile again—this ti, the smile was cynical. "You've co up with an interesting thing, Heavenly Dao. You're first-class at mind gas."
[...]
"Not answering? Well, you have the intellect of a child, so why am I even talking..."
Ding!
[How did you know?]
"…"
Xie Qing's smile widened, and an inexplicable glow appeared in his eyes. It seed as if a rusty sword was reflected in his irises.
"You won't fool with such weak tricks."
[...]
[...]
[...]
"Are you just going to stay silent?" Xie Qing sighed and wiped the smile from his face, digging in his ear with his little finger. He looked up at the sky and snorted, "What parasites, ruining such a beautiful evening sky with their pitiful tricks."
However, no matter how much Xie Qing talked, no more notifications appeared. The System seed to have paused, ceasing its activity.
But, as it turned out, this was just a brief pause.
[Executioner, do you still seek revenge?]
Xie Qing suddenly froze. All his cynicism vanished from his face, and a dangerous gleam appeared in his eyes. He looked at the system notification, his teeth gritted, and the words that seed to burst from his throat sounded cold and ruthless.
"Are you asking these questions to provoke ?"
[That was not my intention]
"Then what? Why ask questions that don't require an answer?" Xie Qing coldly retorted and turned to the sky with an irritated expression.
The System remained silent for a while, but... very soon, it dropped a bombshell that landed right on the head of the unsuspecting Xie Qing.
[Huang Yao Yao, the Golden Empress, has preserved her soul and can be resurrected]
"...What?"
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