After rebirth, the eldest sister voluntarily abdicated and gave way to the wise.

She wanted to bring this world, this universe, to life completely and utterly.

No longer a pawn, no longer a dispensable speck of dust that can be sacrificed at any time.

This was the path she had long been prepared to take.

Even in such a resolute and unwavering moment, a ripple still stirred within her heart, which ultimately led her back to the secluded mansions and courtyards of the mortal realm.

This time, she took the initiative to knock on the door. A well-dressed young servant came out, but he was quite old. When he heard who she was looking for, he paused for a moment, and then suddenly burst into tears.

"Young Master went to the Qingxin Taoist Temple under the Immortal Sect, saying he wanted to pray for someone. He went there forty years ago and never came back."

"The person he's waiting for is you, isn't he? It's the fairy, isn't it? He's been waiting for so many, many years. Everyone says he's suddenly gone hysterical, that he's gone mad. I don't believe it. I've been by the young master's side since I was a child. I know what kind of person he is..."

Under the simple and tranquil eaves, before the silent statues of the Three Pure Ones, the red plum blossoms have just fallen, and the spring flowers are in full bloom. Fluttering white jade butterflies flit about in the warm breeze and blue clouds, and a corner of deep purple robes is faintly visible amidst the lush greenery.

The boy knelt devoutly before the statue of the god, offering three sticks of incense in prayer to heaven and earth, begging the person in his heart for eternal peace and happiness, free from worry and harm.

Through countless reincarnations and millennia, faces may be blurred, but the unforgettable love etched in the faded memories cannot be erased.

Jiang Liqian leaned against the light-colored door, watching the boy's back for a long, long time. Her eyes held sadness, sorrow, and an unyielding longing, which eventually transformed into a sense of relief that she had to force herself to let go.

When the spring breeze lifted the hem of her pink skirt again, she turned and left.

As the golden bell rang, the boy kneeling beneath the palace suddenly opened his eyes, gazing wistfully towards the distant entrance. The spring flowers remained, the lake shimmered, and only on the apricot blossom branch did two radiant spirit orbs tremble gently, their gold and blue hues intertwined, a dream of a past life.

-

As she walked towards the outer realms, Jiang Liqian's mind kept replaying her short life, her countless reincarnations, and the emptiness in her heart, leaving her unable to feel either sadness or joy.

In the end, she lost everything.

Wasted a lifetime.

You try so hard to grasp something, but in the end, you get nothing.

Nothing came, nothing was reborn.

They left with nothing.

Those she loved, those she hated, those who broke her heart, those she respected—one after another, they all vanished from her life like flowing water.

Jiang, Li, Qian.

It floats like glass, light in color and brittle in texture.

A grand dream spanning three lifetimes, yet returning home alone in vain.

Alone and desolate.

Once fate has made its move, it allows no room for struggle.

Outside Qiming, thunder rumbled, and menacing black-purple lightning bolts continuously struck at her feet.

Heaven is angry.

It mocked her, saying that even though she had wiped out all traces of the demon race at the cost of her life, it still had countless ways to bring down countless cataclysmic calamities upon this fragile little world. Her actions were nothing more than the struggle of an ant, a laughable and insignificant provocation against the might of heaven.

Standing before the enormous divine and demonic sealing array, its light and shadow flickering, Jiang Liqian slowly, faintly, smiled.

She laughed through teary eyes, her eyes stinging, her body churning with turmoil yet her heart a tranquil stillness.

She raised the sword in her hand higher and gripped it even tighter.

"This sword of mine is a sword that transcends both gods and demons, named Shitian. Do you know what that means?"

Heaven is disdainful, and lightning flashes and thunder roars.

It's just a broken sword, what can it really do? Everything you have is given to you by me. With your cultivation level, even if you can become an immortal or a god, what can you do to me?

I am the Heavenly Dao! I am the Heavenly Dao!

I am the master of everything, I am the judge of everyone's fate, I control everything, I decide everything!

Jiang Li lowered her eyes, and her smile became sarcastic.

"Dominator? Ha... Heavenly Dao, Heavenly Dao, you are the laughable one, aren't you?"

Have you ever heard the saying in the human world?

"Man can conquer heaven."

Her fingertips traced the blade of the Heavenly Sword inch by inch, and the divine sword sensed her heart, humming softly.

"You treat us as playthings, as puppets you can manipulate and destroy at will, but you don't realize that it is because of us that you exist. You only know that we depend on you for survival, but why were you born here?"

"You've forgotten, haven't you? You're the one who should be our puppet!"

Jiang Liqian pointed her sword to the sky, standing tall and imposing, following the great path in her heart.

Thunderclaps and lightning swirled around her, and all who were humbled and subservient at her feet.

"The Sword of Release is here to slay the heavens! Since you are no longer capable of fulfilling your duty to the Heavenly Dao, I shall take your place."

"Ten divine artifacts, obey my command and my orders, destroy the seal, and annihilate the demons and destroy the heavens!"

"With my life, with my flesh and blood, with my very soul, I will forge a new me!"

The heavens and earth roared, and the sun and moon both fell.

.........................................................

"Step!" "Step!"

Large splashes of water rose up and fell into the twilight, soaking the fluttering hems of clothes with layer upon layer of icy coldness, but the figures hurrying by paid no attention.

He ran and ran desperately, from the other side of fate to this side of time. It was a bitter fruit that was clearly destined to be apart, but he still tried his best, regardless of the consequences, to get closer to that person, that bitter remnant that should not have existed.

Finally, across the vast天地 (heaven and earth), across the crystal-clear shallow Milky Way, he saw in the distance the thin, fragmented shadow of the lonely moon.

He was panting heavily, his lips trembling, trying to get closer to her step by step, but ultimately stopping far, far away from her.

Tears rolled down his cheeks, settling into the dust of the starry river. His eyes reddened, and he tried to force a smile, raising his hands to his lips as he called out to her from afar.

"Senior Sister!"

"Senior Sister!"

The ripples on the water stirred the pink hem of her skirt, the sunlight on the horizon flickered, and the figure suddenly turned to the side, raising her eyes to look at him from afar.

He held back the tears welling up in his eyes and urged her with a smile, "Come on, senior sister, let's pursue your path, let's go!"

"Don't be afraid of being alone, and don't stop for me. Go and pursue the path in your heart, and become your true self!"

"I'm here. I'll be watching you. I know you're here, and you can feel me here too. So, stop lingering and go, go, senior sister!"

The pink image is like finally fulfilling her last wish, or like finally severing the last thread of worldly ties, gracefully disappearing, leaving only the rosy glow of the sunset and the reflection of stars and moon in the blue water.

He collapsed to his knees in the endless, clear waters of the starry river, tears streaming down his face like an endless, bitter rain. His heart clenched with a suffocating pain.

Perhaps he was muttering to himself.

Perhaps it's the collapse of losing something and then regaining it, only to lose it again.

He cried out in despair, "Don't go, senior sister, don't go..."

He chased after countless reincarnations before finally touching his beloved's face.

He is my senior sister, etched in my bones and blood, and engraved in my eyes.

It was unforgettable, and the pain was excruciating.

A gentle breeze rippled across the still water, gently caressing his cheek, and seemed to carry a familiar voice in the wind.

"Junior brother, come find me one more time."