Floating life reflects two lotuses

Night shrouded the land of offerings, a chilling, damp atmosphere permeating the air. At the center of the dilapidated altar, black runes slowly emerged, slithering like venomous snakes, faintly emitting a red glow. A low, murmuring sound seemed to echo in the air, like a spell or the mournful cry of the underworld.

Consort Yan sat cross-legged in the center of the altar, her body weak and her breath barely perceptible. Her pale face was etched with pain and madness, her cracked lips parted slightly, and a few indistinct murmurs escaped her throat.

“Soul offering… fragments… power, resurrection…” Her voice was broken like sand, hoarse and trembling.

—Let's go back to the moment of her defeat.

Back at the Land of Sacrifice, the backlash from the rune's power nearly crushed her into dust, and everyone believed Yan Fei was dead. However, on the verge of death, she used her last remaining spiritual energy to cast the forbidden technique "Soul Return Array." This spell was bizarre and cruel, using shattered rune fragments to temporarily seal the soul, waiting for an opportunity to reunite it with the body, but the price was extremely high—the soul would be corrupted by the power of the curse, and the mind would be twisted as a result.

In the depths of darkness and despair, Yan Fei's remnant soul drifted in the void, her thoughts fragmented. Yet, the rune fragment remained with her, keeping her consciousness in the world.

"Why...why am I the one who failed!" Her remnant soul roared in the darkness, echoing in the endless void, as if she were insane.

Just as she was about to be completely devoured, the fragments suddenly emitted a faint light, like a candle flame flickering in the wind, gradually pulling her remaining soul back to reality. Her consciousness gradually solidified, and she felt a cursed power coursing through her body.

"I'm back... I'm back." Her hands trembled slightly as she clenched them, feeling her flesh and blood reconnect. Although her body was weak, the strength filled her with ecstasy.

However, that power also brought the side effects of a curse, eroding her sanity and gradually chilling her emotions. Scenes from the past flashed through her mind, and a trace of tenderness flickered in her eyes—images of her and Chu Wanlian's mother.

twenty years ago

"Yan'er, isn't this lotus flower beautiful?" a young noblewoman asked softly with a radiant smile.

She wore an elegant gauze dress, held a blooming white lotus in her hands, and had a smile on her face as pure as the moon.

Consort Yan gently accepted the lotus flower, smiling warmly with a hint of doting in her expression: "You always like these little trinkets. But this lotus flower does suit your name."

Chu Wanlian's mother was a member of the Lingjian organization, and along with Yan Fei, she was one of the very few women in the organization who held high positions. The two grew up together and were as close as sisters. At that time, Lingjian had not yet fully revealed its ambition to control souls and runes, but its internal rules were strict, and the constraints on its members were almost cruel.

Consort Xian was gentle and kind by nature. Unlike Consort Yan, she never condoned the organization's use of forbidden techniques and rune power. She yearned for freedom and longed to escape the world of intrigue and bloodshed.

Years later, Consort Xian entered the palace and, after becoming Consort Xian, thought she had finally escaped Lingjian's control. She tried to conceal her past, live a peaceful life, and maintain a superficial sisterly relationship with Consort Yan. However, Lingjian did not let her go and even regarded her as a "traitor."

The leader of Lingjian issued a death order to Consort Yan: "If Consort Xian does not return to the organization, she must be dealt with. Otherwise, you will bear the consequences."

The moment Consort Yan received the order, her heart was torn apart. She had always regarded Consort Xian as her only family, but the organization's demands were pushing her to the brink of despair. If she disobeyed the order, not only would Consort Xian perish, but she herself would become the organization's next victim.

"Sister Yan, if one day you have to hurt me... I hope you can remember the white lotus we picked together, it will always be pure." These were the words Consort Xian said during a casual conversation, gentle yet foreshadowing an unspeakable fate.

Ultimately, under the triple pressure of power struggles, organizational constraints, and emotional entanglements, Consort Yan was forced to participate in Consort Xian's "accidental death." She didn't do it herself, but she knew that by condoning the organization's arrangements, she had personally destroyed their former friendship.

On the day Consort Xian died, Consort Yan came to the lakeside and looked at the pond full of blooming white lotuses. She could no longer hold back her tears.

The death of Consort Xian became Consort Yan's deepest wound and secret, a sin she could never forgive herself for. From then on, her thirst for power became increasingly frantic, not for authority, but for control of her destiny and to no longer be manipulated by others.

She told herself, "Only by taking control of everything can I avoid losing anyone else."

However, after Consort Xian's death, Chu Wanlian became the only soft spot in her heart. She secretly protected Chu Wanlian and even thwarted several assassination attempts in the palace, but she never revealed her inner struggles.

Now, the resurrected Consort Yan is no longer the same person she once was. The cursed power of the rune fragments has eroded her sanity to almost nothing, and the memories of Consort Xian's death intertwine with the power of the runes, gradually twisting her emotions.

"It was Consort Xian who ruined me, she's the one who brought me to this state! And her daughter—Chu Wanlian… is no exception to this fate!"

Consort Yan stood atop the sacrificial altar, her face contorted with rage as she stared at the eerie light emanating from the rune fragments. Her heart screamed in rage, but for a fleeting moment, Consort Xian's smile flashed through her mind, seemingly silently questioning:

"Sister Yan, what are you doing?"

This last vestige of reason made Yan Fei pause briefly, but then she shook her head, burying all her guilt in her heart, her eyes becoming even more resolute.

"Chu Wanlian... Li Heng... you can't stop me!"

Her laughter echoed in the altar, carrying the ripples of runic curses that spread throughout the entire land of offerings.

When Consort Yan rose from the dead again, Consort Xian's face reappeared in her mind, as if a white lotus were blooming in the endless darkness.

"Chu Wanlian...you are her daughter." Consort Yan murmured to herself, a trace of pain and struggle appearing in her eyes, "I don't want to hurt you, I swore that I would protect you for her sake..."

But her heart was quickly twisted by the power of the runes, and that tender memory was overshadowed by madness and hatred. A cold smile slowly crept onto her lips, and her eyes held no more pity, only a chilling coldness.

"It's all your fault! You ruined everything I had!" Her voice was hoarse and cold. "Since you're unwilling to cooperate with me, then... destroy me completely!"

Consort Yan stood up and, supporting her frail body, walked toward the center of the sacrificial altar.

Her hands pressed against the rune fragments, and a chilling power slithered up her arms like venomous snakes, as black mist once again billowed out.

"The power of the runes... can make me stronger, or it can destroy you all!" Her laughter echoed in the empty land of sacrifice. With the fluctuations of the rune power, the once peaceful ground began to tremble, and cracks continued to spread.

Her magic had been activated, the power of the curse was drawn, and it was as if the entire land of offerings was bowing down to her.

"Xiao Jinlian... do you think you've won? I'll make you watch as everything you've protected is destroyed!" Her eyes were crazed and resolute, as if she wanted to vent all the hatred she had held in the past.

A mountain breeze swept through the trees, carrying a chill that carried an unease. Xiao Jinlian stood atop the mountain, gazing solemnly in the direction of the sacrificial site.

"Princess, can you feel it?" Silan stepped forward, her face showing worry.

"Yes." Xiao Jinlian nodded, her eyes sharp. "The power of the Land of Offering Spirits has begun to fluctuate again. Consort Yan must have returned."

She turned to Silan and Liheng and said, "This time, we must completely end her conspiracy, otherwise the whole world will be plunged into crisis."

Li Heng gripped his longsword tightly, looking at her with unwavering determination: "No matter what, I will stay with you to the end."

Xiao Jinlian took a deep breath, her eyes revealing a resolute determination: "Consort Yan... whether you live or die, I will not let you succeed."

After saying that, the three of them sped off toward the place of offering sacrifices.

A storm is brewing, and a new showdown is imminent. Consort Yan is no longer the compassionate woman she once was, but a dark messenger utterly consumed by power and desire. Xiao Jinlian and Li Heng will face a final, life-or-death confrontation.