Chapter 2033 - I am Luo Xuanji, and I’m Just Eighteen Years Old

The woman in red was visibly uncertain.

After a while, she said softly, “All those years of painstaking effort and planning, and you’ve practically ruined it all. I’m more than just bitter; I’d love nothing more than to rip you to shreds and scatter your ashes to the wind!”

Her peerlessly beautiful face was full of irrepressible loathing and murderous intent.

But then, she shook her head. “That said, so long as I leave the City of the Lost alive, none of that matters. So long as I survive, I’ll have an opportunity to retrieve everything that I’ve lost. If I die... it will all have been in vain.”

The woman in red had obviously calmed down, and she no longer showed any sign of resentment.

Su Yi couldn’t help but take another look at her. “Just how strong are you, anyway?”

“The higher my cultivation base is, the more embarrassing my defeat by your hands,” said the woman in red.

“You’re wrong,” said Su Yi. “You’ll understand eventually that losing to me was not unjustified.

The woman in red couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, you! I admire just about everything about you, but you’re far too self-conceited. It makes me want to break down your pride, bit by bit until you’re like a dog on the floor, head lowered and tail wagging as you beg for mercy.”

Su Yi laughed that off. “Answer a question for me, and I’ll let you leave.”

The woman in red was stunned. “Why did you change your mind again?”

She’d already been prepared to lose this soul clone!

Su Yi said calmly, “It’s not like this is your true body. Killing you means nothing. Better to give you an opportunity to tell your true body everything that happened here today.”

“And then?” pressed the woman in red.

“I’ll be ready to welcome your attempts at revenge at any time,” said Su Yi.

The woman raised a beautiful eyebrow at that, then gazed intently at Su Yi. A little while later, she sighed, “No wonder even the gods view you with trepidation. Even I can’t help but sigh in admiration at your abilities and spirit.”

She paused, then said, “What do you want to know? Go ahead and ask.”

Su Yi asked with great interest, “Why do they call you ‘Grandmother?’”

“....” And here she’d thought Su Yi would ask something difficult. She would never, ever, ever have guessed that Su Yi would ask about something so meaningless.

But she quickly realized what Su Yi was thinking. He wasn’t at all interested in her secrets. Otherwise, he would never have come up with such a ridiculous excuse to leave her a path to life.

His attitude only made his pride and self-conceit all the more readily apparent!

The woman in red took a moment to calm herself, then broke into a charming smile. “I’m an old crone who’s traveled this world since the time of the ancient gods. It isn’t at all unreasonable to ask that modern gods address me as ‘Grandmother,’ now is it?”

She was an unparalleled, radiant beauty in a swaying red dress, with charm to startle the ages. It was hard to mentally connect her to the term “crone.”

But then, to cultivators, “old” didn’t really refer to appearances. It had more to do with how long you’d lived.

“It’s that simple?” asked Su Yi.

𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

“The greatest of truths are also the simplest,” said the woman in red. “No matter how complicated something appears, once you’ve seen through it, you’ll realize that it was simple all along.”

“Very well,” said Su Yi. “You can leave.”

The woman fell briefly silent before raising a jade-like finger and gesturing to herself. “Remember this: my name is Luo Xuanji!”

Before her voice had even finished echoing through the air, her delicate figure vanished into a crystalline rain of light.

Luo Xuanji? Xuanji, as in ‘mysterious principles?’ That’s quite a name for a woman. She’s actually rather extraordinary,

thought Su Yi.

......

Outside the City of the Lost, the Chaotic Skies Watershed.

A white bone boat floated on the open ocean. An unparalleled beauty in red sat casually at the head of the boat.

Her slender, jade-like fingers gripped a green bamboo flute, and she gazed at the turbulent waters of the Chaotic Seas Watershed in a daze. Her charming eyes were full of the delight of one who’d received a new lease on life.

I’ve lived through eighteen epochs... I wonder if anyone else in this world has survived since the time of the ancient gods...

Now that I’ve finally broken my ancient fetters and received a new chance at life, I ought to change my age. Let’s just say I’m eighteen.

The woman’s thoughts raced, and her lips parted as she said out loud, “If I consider each epoch a year, it’s been just eighteen years since I was born!”

Her face was nothing but smiles. She was utterly radiant, but utterly proud and contemptuous, too!

Suddenly, a figure shot out of the City of the Lost. It was her soul clone!

The soul clone was still far away when it dissolved into a rain of light and fused into the woman’s true body. The real Luo Xuanji instantly learned every detail of the battle at Purple Moon Mountain.

Her beautiful face shifted erratically, alternating between confusion, surprise, vexation, and bitterness.

After a while, she sighed deeply, then turned to gaze at the City of the Lost.

The black city looked the same as ever. It was still shrouded in those familiar blood-red clouds.

But Luo Xuanji knew that it had changed. She would never rule over the City of the Lost again!

“Su Yi, huh? I’ll remember you.” The woman retracted her gaze.

It wasn’t that she was afraid to die, but that leaving the City of the Lost and escaping the prison of the Curse of the Ancient Gods mattered more than anything else!

It didn’t matter that only her soul remained intact, or that she’d been trapped in the City of the Lost for so long that her vitality was badly damaged and that she was as weak as she could possibly be. So long as she willed it, she could still crush the vast majority of present-day gods with ease!

Nonetheless, in the end, she decided against fighting Su Yi. Her reasoning was simple.

Su Yi controlled the power of reincarnation, and in his past life, he was the Swordmaster of Spiritual Desolation, the man who’d astonished the entire God Domain!

The way Luo Xuanji saw it, he was too great a variable to risk it. She wouldn’t risk herself against an unpredictable element like him. Thus, she’d decided that it was best if her true body left before Su Yi found it.

Learning what had happened at Purple Moon Mountain told her that her predictions had been right on the mark. Su Yi really was an unpredictable variable, and he was far, far too dangerous!

“Worldly affairs are like a dream, and everyone must endure the occasional cold autumn. Only those who survive are qualified to debate the Grand Dao. Victory, defeat, losses, and gains are all fleeting and empty in the end. We’ll just... have to determine who’s stronger another day.”

The white bone boat sped off, taking Luo Xuanji with it. It traversed the turbulent Chaotic Skies Watershed and shot into the distance. Before long, they’d vanished completely.

......

The City of the Lost.

Purple Moon Mountain had long since topped; the entire place was bleak and covered in rubble.

Su Yi landed airily on the ground, then sat cross-legged on a boulder.

The battle was over, but when Su Yi thought back to everything he’d overcome since entering the City of the Lost, he didn’t feel much of a sense of accomplishment.

Ultimately, his mastery of reincarnation had played a crucial role. It was what let him contend with the Curse of the Ancient Gods. He wasn’t really strong enough to slaughter Ghost Gods with casual ease without it.

That aside, the Sword of the Nine Hells had contributed enormously.

Looking purely at Su Yi’s cultivation base, he was still only in the Great Realm.

I’ll stay in the City of the Lost for a while. I’ve got to temper my cultivation base to the pinnacle of the Great Profound Stage soon, then begin preparations to prove my Dao and achieve divinity.

And before I do that, I’ve got to fuse with my fifth incarnation’s Dao Imprint.

At his peak, Li Fuyou had been famous throughout the God Domain, and even the Master Gods viewed him with trepidation.

His path to divinity, his experiences breaking through, and his knowledge of the Divine Dao were like an invisible treasury. They would ensure that Su Yi would be able to find the path truly suited to him after he proved his Dao and achieved godhood.

It would be like standing on the shoulders of a giant. Su Yi would naturally be able to see further than other people!

But the way Su Yi saw it, there was something even more important he had to attend to first.

Reuniting with his old friends!

......

A day later.

A party was underway in the rubble of Purple Moon Mountain, but the table had nothing on it but wine.

Moreover, it only had four attendees: Su Yi, Ye Chunqiu, Xu Fushi, and Xiao Ruyi.

“I just knew you’d come to save us!” said Xu Fushi. He threw back his head, drank with relish, and sighed. “It’s truly good to be alive!”

He looked like a handsome young man, beautiful even, but he was once a top powerhouse of the Grand Dao and the founder of the Endless Swords Immortal Sect. Now that he’d regained his awareness and reunited with his old friends, everything he’d experienced in the City of the Lost felt like it had happened a lifetime ago.

“You know, you’re far more handsome in this incarnation,” said Xiao Ruyi. She was seated next to Su Yi, her arm resting on his shoulders. She laughed, “Well? Have you considered warming my bed for me?”

Ye Chunqiu and Xu Fushi burst into uproarious laughter, but Xiao Ruyi didn’t care in the slightest. Her bright eyes were focused on Su Yi’s profile, and her eyes were full of delight.

She was the master of the House of Little Joys, and the yao cultivators of the Immortal Realm revered her as an unparalleled yao immortal. Moreover, her pure, extraordinary beauty was unparalleled beneath the heavens.

She was broad-minded, and her every movement and gesture was brimming with entirely unaffected, natural charm. She was so unrestrained and confident as to put the vast majority of men to shame.

Even Ye Chunqiu once commented on her forthright disposition and amorous charm.

When he and Xu Fushi saw her come onto Su Yi, they laughed wholeheartedly. They felt as if they’d returned to the days prior to the Age of Fallen Immortals. Back then, the four of them frequently gathered to drink, discuss the classics, and debate the Dao. It was as joyful as could be.

“Relax. I’ll take responsibility for you!” Xiao Ruyi smiled, her flashing eyes narrowing into crescent moons, like a fox plotting how to steal a delicious piece of meat.

Su Yi sighed. “We’ve known each other for so long that I almost forgot you were a woman. How could I bear to touch you?”

Xiao Ruyi pinched Su Yi’s shoulder, then burst into sputtering laughter. “Are you saying I don’t seem like a woman? Well,

you

don’t seem like a man!”

Joyful laughter ensued.

When Wu Lingchong saw this in the distance, he finally understood why Su Yi had fought his way into the City of the Lost, heedless of the dangers.

These were true life-or-death friends.

The woman in the conical hat, Li Shuang, was catching up with her father. Their hearts were full of joy.

This was the happiest Su Yi had been since entering the River of Epochs.

He’d reunited with his old friends in the City of the Lost, but now that they were together, they felt right at home.

“Happy” was insufficient to describe it, and to celebrate, they drank to intoxication.