Conquering That Great Demon Lord [Xian Ni Fan Fiction] - Chapter 53: War Against Heaven

Chapter 53: War Against Heaven

Li Muwan lay on the low couch, counting her remaining days. Each day she lived with utmost contentment, clinging to his side all day long, speaking endless words, though her hours of lucidity grew fewer with each passing day.

Over the three years since returning to Cloud Heaven Sect, Wang Lin had laid down hundreds of restrictions around the mountain gate. These restrictions were meant to hinder the descent of the Heavenly Tribulation. Forcibly altering fate and interfering with reincarnation would inevitably provoke the heavens’ wrath.

If she were to reincarnate, she would no longer be the Li Muwan of before. In Zhao Kingdom, he had seen Da Niu’s reincarnation – identical in appearance, yet no longer the friend from past lives.

To meet an old friend yet remain strangers – this was an ending he refused to accept. He wanted Li Muwan in her entirety.

The fairy who first helped him out of trouble in the bamboo forest, generously praising him; the woman who protected him with her life during his Core Formation in the Sea of Demonic Cultivation; the Wan’er who repeatedly waited for his return, calling him Senior Brother; the wife who promised she would always wait for him.

Defy heaven and change fate! He had changed his own, and he would change Li Muwan’s too.

The peach blossoms they planted together bloomed throughout the courtyard. Half a month later, the day arrived for taking the Essence Returning Pill as agreed.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Senior Brother, I remember there were some balloon flowers growing particularly well behind Cloud Heaven Sect’s back mountain. They should be blooming now. Could you pick some for me?”

Wang Lin knew she was stalling for time, yet he still humored her. With his cultivation level, a mere thought could bring them back in moments.

As his figure departed from the Southern Garden, Li Muwan pressed her slender finger to her brow and summoned the Soul Pearl.

[Soul Pearl: Your time is nearly up. Why did you send the Fiend away?]

[Li Muwan: Actually, even if the strategy succeeds, I have no path to survival. Am I right?]

[Soul Pearl: …]

[Li Muwan: Those whose Souls of Life have been extracted by the Soul Pearl have never survived to reclaim them. Am I right?]

[Soul Pearl: You…]

[Li Muwan: There’s no need to hide it. I already deciphered the mysteries of the Soul of Life from that Mountain Sea Sect disciple’s Jade Slip. As long as I remain alive, the Fiend’s favorability will never cross one hundred. Am I right?]

[Li Muwan: Only when my lifespan is exhausted, when I perish and die before the Fiend’s eyes, only when his emotions reach their peak upon losing his beloved, can the final barrier be broken. The favorability will reach one hundred, and you will absorb the Fiend’s emotions, achieving perfect attributes.]

[Li Muwan: That Jade Slip recorded that “the Soul of Life contains vitality.” If someone can retrieve the Soul of Life and use mystical power to reconstruct the physical body, rebirth is possible. But a body formed from the Soul of Life is merely an empty vessel, incomplete in soul. One must still gather the three souls and seven spirits to truly be called living.]

[Soul Pearl: In thousands of years, you are the first to comprehend the life and death aspects of the Soul of Life.]

[Li Muwan: Therefore, this time, I have no possibility of successful Nascent Soul Formation. Even if I succeed, this weak body will immediately dissipate. Even if someone could retrieve my Soul of Life for me, what kind of mystical power would be needed to reconstruct a body? And even with a reconstructed body, what hardships and dangers must one undergo to gather the three souls and seven spirits?]

[Li Muwan: Don’t try to deceive me anymore. I’ve already seen through it all. For those who have lost their Soul of Life, death is the only outcome. I accept it.]

Death is the ending. Life requires defying heaven and changing fate, walking the path against heaven’s will, which the great dao cannot tolerate. Li Muwan gazed out the window with a bitter smile, yet that smile was filled with contentment.

I originally thought I was the one scheming to approach the fiend, only to realize I had been wholeheartedly loving him all along. It turned out I wasn’t the only one playing games – the fiend had been quietly winning her over, and he had already succeeded long ago, unaffected by the Soul of Life.

Li Muwan put away the Soul Pearl as a white-robed figure leaped into the pavilion. The elegant young man stood bathed in warm sunlight, holding flowers as he approached the person on the low couch, placing the bellflowers by the bedside.

She admired the flowers – the same fiend who once took her to kill people would now watch sunrise and sunset with her, appreciating romantic scenes together.

All the Grand Ancestors protecting the ceremony had gathered in the Southern Garden.

The weak figure on the low couch managed a smile, her silver hair and pale face almost blending into the same color. She was already fair-skinned, but now she resembled an ice-sculpted beauty.

As if she would melt at the slightest touch.

“When snow falls and flowers bloom next year, I’ll enjoy the snow and flowers with Wan’er,” Wang Lin said, holding the Sixth-Grade Returning Origin Pill between two fingers.

Li Muwan nodded: “Good. I want to return to the Wang family courtyard in Zhao Kingdom and build snowmen with Senior Brother again.”

“This time, Senior Brother must build it more solidly, so the snowman’s head won’t fall off again.”

But she knew in her heart there would be no next year.

Wang Lin chuckled softly, placing the elixir in her mouth where it slid down her throat. Instantly, he formed dozens of hand seals, concentrating all the Spiritual Power contained in the Returning Origin Pill within her body. As her body absorbed the Spiritual Power, the entire Cloud Heaven Sect trembled, with shockwaves rolling from Chu Kingdom into the Southern Garden.

Li Muwan couldn’t withstand it, vomiting blood from her mouth. The glaringly bright blood felt like needles piercing his heart. Wang Lin’s spirit shook, his gaze intensifying as he performed spells again through his anguish.

Meanwhile, beyond the sky, several red Heavenly Tribulation lightning bolts descended. Thick clouds rolled in, heading straight for the Southern Garden pavilion, breaking through layer after layer of Restrictions Wang Lin had set.

Sweat beaded on Wang Lin’s forehead as he simultaneously consolidated her Nascent Soul while using his Clone to reinforce the Barrier, buying time.

In Li Muwan’s dantian, a Golden Core slowly formed into a miniature version of herself, surrounded by a golden halo.

The entire Southern Garden’s pond water surged backward into the Herb Field as Spiritual Power wildly rushed in, submerging the Spirit herbs. All Southern Garden structures teetered on the brink of collapse. The Grand Ancestors formed arrays to control the turbulent Spiritual Power, barely preserving Cloud Heaven Sect, but when the Heavenly Tribulation struck again, everyone was severely injured, unable to withstand it.

Wang Lin watched the nearly formed infant embryo, feeling a glimmer of hope. Purple energy swirled around Li Muwan – the embryonic form of Nascent Soul Formation.

Though he had already reached the God Transformation Stage, forcibly forming a Nascent Soul while absorbing all the backlash energy into his own body to prevent the already weak Li Muwan from suffering any backlash…

This was damaging to his own Nascent Soul, but he couldn’t care less.

Li Muwan’s body slowly rose into mid-air amid this power, countless light waves converging into a lotus-shaped light screen that enveloped her. The Returning Origin Pill stabilized her Nascent Soul as their silver hair floated wildly.

Finally, the Nascent Soul took form, and Wang Lin gradually withdrew his spells and Spiritual Power.

“It actually worked!” His exhausted, tense face showed some relief at last.

He flew up to catch Li Muwan, but the moment his hands touched her, the death energy that had vanished covered her Nascent Soul again, her physical body rapidly dissipating along with it.

The hope Wang Lin had just gathered crumbled like collapsing earth, striking him like thunder. Exhausted both physically and mentally, he had no time to care for himself.

“Wan’er, how could this be?” Immediately he took out the Years Wood Carving and swiftly cast a Restriction. Within the confined space of the Restriction, the dissipation of her physical body slowed.

Wang Lin still retained a sliver of rationality at this moment. “Wan’er, you won’t die.”

Yet his words sounded so feeble and powerless. Li Muwan lay in his embrace as the Formation within the Restriction operated, while the Years Wood Carving continued draining his Spiritual Power.

“Wang Lin, this is our karma.” Li Muwan cupped his face in her hands. “Wan’er also wished to grow old with you, but fate plays cruel tricks, and heaven’s will makes fools of us.”

“You knew all along, didn’t you?” Wang Lin’s face contorted in agony, yet he never ceased channeling his Spiritual Power. His voice turned hoarse as he cried out helplessly, “Why did you hide it from me?”

Li Muwan wore a gentle smile, gazing at him with deep reluctance. “The Soul of Life was never meant to survive. Even if I had told you, nothing could have changed it.”

As his Spiritual Power continued to fade, his voice grew increasingly weak. “Wan’er, a deficient Soul of Life would stagnate one’s Cultivation level and exhaust their lifespan. But your foundation was damaged from the start – it wasn’t originally caused by the Soul of Life. Are you still going to hide the truth from me now?”

“You knew about my deficient Soul of Life.” Li Muwan chuckled softly in resignation. She had long harbored suspicions. After leaving the auction in the Sea of Demonic Cultivation, he had deliberately waited for the Sixth-Grade Returning Origin Pill being auctioned by that Nascent Soul cultivator. Though she had never spoken much about the Soul of Life mentioned by the Nascent Soul cultivator, given his meticulous nature, unless he had detected something amiss… what had he done to that Nascent Soul cultivator during that hour they were apart?

If he hadn’t obtained the answers he sought, he would never have let the matter rest.

“Did you… know since Wan’er left Cloud Heaven Sect?”

Wang Lin’s face showed profound pain.

“It was after meeting that Nascent Soul cultivator that I confirmed it.” Li Muwan felt relieved, having guessed correctly.

All these years living in seclusion with her, he had never mentioned it once. As long as Li Muwan didn’t bring it up, he wouldn’t ask.

He had promised to trust her, so he wouldn’t doubt her – even if he learned through the Soul-Searching Art about the Soul Pearl’s mission, even if he discovered her initial intentional approach, he was willing to accept it all.

“With Wan’er’s Foundation Establishment Stage cultivation, imprinting the dragon patterns and creating the Azure Dragon Jade Tablet with heart’s blood that could withstand attacks from Nascent Soul cultivators or even those at the God Transformation Stage – such devotion could never be merely due to a mission involving the Soul Pearl.”

“You…?”

“Didn’t Wan’er say that between husband and wife, we should be honest with each other? That even dangerous matters shouldn’t be hidden? Why did Wan’er keep this concealed?”

“Why doesn’t that promise hold anymore?”

Wang Lin cried out helplessly, the Spiritual Power protecting Li Muwan still pouring out frantically. “What should I do, Wan’er?”

“Wan’er promised she wouldn’t leave!”

“Wang Lin.” Li Muwan cupped his face, feeling his scalding tears fall into her palm. She smiled contentedly. “Having been able to accompany you all these years, Wan’er is already satisfied. But fate plays cruel tricks, preventing me from staying by your side forever.”

“Wan’er… you won’t die…” His deep eyes were moist and bloodshot.

“I don’t want you to leave.”

Li Muwan still wore her smile, smoothing his furrowed brow as she comforted him. “Wang Lin, don’t cry.”

When he felt her temperature, the moisture gathering in his eyes formed streams again, falling into her palms.

This was the first time Li Muwan had ever seen Wang Lin shed tears.

Life and death weren’t hers to choose, but she wanted him to be safe and well – this was the wish she had made under the bodhi tree.

“Even if Wan’er isn’t here, you must take good care of yourself.”

“Without you, how could I ever be well?”

“There is no end to the realms of cultivation. Wan’er does not wish for you to pursue cultivation level relentlessly while disregarding your own life.”

“My Senior Brother will surely be the most exceptional, the most formidable…” Li Muwan’s lips curved softly, hoping only that after her death, he would live as himself and not drown in the past.

“What use is reaching the pinnacle of cultivation if you are no longer here?”

“What meaning does cultivation hold when the one I wish to protect is gone?”

She guided Wang Lin’s hand to his left chest, pointing to the heart she had gradually warmed with her presence.

“Wan’er has not vanished. She will always reside here, right?”

Wang Lin shook his head frantically, then nodded erratically, unable to bear the departure of his most cherished one.

“Senior Brother once said, when the body perishes, death follows; when the heart perishes, oblivion ensues.” Li Muwan’s voice trembled with reluctance and unstable breath. “As long as you remember Wan’er, she is not truly gone.”

“No, it’s not… it’s not like that…”

She knew well Wang Lin’s profound loyalty and affection, unwilling to see him wander thousands of miles for her departed self or bear the hatred of worldly vendettas, trapped in a life of suffering, once again shrouded in killing intent.

“Wan’er does not want you to throw away your life, nor act recklessly…”

“Wan’er wishes for you to follow the flow of time, to find joy in all things.”

“The harsh winter will fade, but the starry river remains eternal.”

“Even if slaughter cannot be avoided, may your heart always cherish the beauty of wind, flowers, snow, and moonlight…”

Through the dark clouds veiled by the heavens, a slender ray of light pierced the thick gloom, alighting upon her white hair.

Her palm rested within that faint light, and Wang Lin followed, clasping her hand tightly.

“The light in this world will never extinguish, Wang Lin. Do not remain trapped in darkness. Step out and embrace your own radiance.”

Wang Lin’s agony choked his breath. His continuously depleting Spiritual Power overdraw his Nascent Soul, compounded by the unbearable pain of losing his beloved. Deep crimson tears streamed from his eyes.

Those bloody tears shone more piercingly than light itself. Li Muwan choked up again, yet still wore a smile. “Wan’er wants you… wants you to be spirited and unbound, free from cages and suffering, to pursue your path of the heart…”

Her vision gradually blurred, seeing only Wang Lin cradling her hand against his cheek, nodding unconsciously and helplessly.

As if he had heard her, yet not truly comprehendingmerely responding instinctively to her, to every word she uttered.

“I shall become the gentle spring breeze and drizzle, accompanying you by your side…”

“In this life, having you, Wan’er has no regrets!” A single bloody tear, carrying her reluctance and centuries of love, fell onto his palm.

The tear merged with the blood from Wang Lin’s wounds. The body in his arms began to dissipate, the weight of her presence fading, their tightly clasped hands growing ethereal.

“No, no…”

“Wan’er!”

“Do not leave me…” Wang Lin’s Life and Death Conception surged wildly, attempting to envelop Li Muwan.

The conception of the Years Wood Carving had become useless. Her form vanished rapidly. Wang Lin instinctively held her tighter, then tighter still, yet she slipped away like a passing breeze, leaving no trace.

“Senior Brother, do not weep…”

In the ravaged Southern Garden, only a faint, lingering whisper remained.

His arms now emptynothing left. The ever-smiling face vanished from sight, leaving only a Nascent Soul resembling Li Muwan, floating before him.

Wang Lin cried out hoarsely, clawing chaotically at the emptiness, grasping only air.

The composed and steadfast man watched his beloved dissipate in his embrace. Love and sorrow peaked, merging with the fury of unbearable parting and rage against the heavens’ injustice, roaring out in a low, guttural cry.

Simultaneously, in the sky, the Heavenly Dao descended, seeking to seize Li Muwan’s Nascent Soul.

The power brought by the Hand of Heaven surpassed the earlier attacks of the Heavenly Tribulation, and the oppressive force of the Heavenly Dao was nearly impossible to withstand.

Wang Lin gathered all his strength, forcibly pushed himself up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and unleashed a torrent of fierce and resolute determination in his gaze. Time and again, he straightened his body under the crushing pressure of the Hand of Heaven.

Witnessing Li Muwan’s Nascent Soul being taken, Wang Lin roared with boundless fury under the heavens. In that instant, his Life and Death Conception erupted fully, the surging power seeming capable of overturning the entire Chu Kingdom.

“If Heaven demands your death, I will still seize you back!”

At that moment, within the completely dissipated fleshly body, aside from the Nascent Soul, there was also a pearl.

It frantically devoured the three emotionslove, hatred, and rageerupting from Wang Lin’s body. The Soul Pearl instantly achieved perfect completion of the seven emotions.

[Soul Pearl: Favorability has broken through one hundred. Fiend conquest successful.]

——-End of Main Text.