In an instant—
Half of Li Zhexian's body was consumed by the decaying qi.
Patches of corpse-like purple-black mottling bloomed across his pale skin like demonic flowers.
Pain.
A pain beyond flesh-melting, beyond bone-piercing—
as if half his body were being crushed into pulp, his life draining away like sand—
a torment so sharp it threatened to drive him insane!
"Hhaa—ah…!"
Veins bulged across his forehead.
His head snapped downward.
His ten fingers dug fiercely into the ground, joints turning ghost-white.
The right side of his body grew increasingly rotten;
his hair became mottled and gray;
his right eye clouded with filth and blood;
and his labored breaths rasped like a broken bellows.
Black qi seeped from between his lips.
Spreading like fog.
Carrying the stench of death and decay.
Qian Renxue reached forward in panic, but her hand froze mid-air.
Watching the youth's trembling form, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth—
Her tears fell like rain.
The light of her holy Spirit Power flickered in her palm before slowly dissipating.
She understood…
The sword dao was a road Li Zhexian had vowed never to turn back from.
She remembered Zhu Zhuqing mentioning that Li Zhexian once said:
"If I hear the Dao in the morning, I could die by evening."
Every time she recalled it, her heart trembled.
She could not stop Li Zhexian.
Just like back in the Wind Sword Sect—
she could only accompany him silently.
Li Zhexian sat cross-legged, mind forged like a sword.
The decaying qi continued to spread, creeping toward the other half of his body.
Then—
Rumble—
Rumble—
A sound like rivers surging erupted within him!
Four-colored spiritual light flickered beneath his withered flesh!
His boiling blood rampaged like a wild beast, forcing itself through decayed meridians!
Like spring rain falling on dried earth, his darkened skin and corpse patches cracked into scabs, his dulled hair regained its sheen, and even his clouded eye cleared.
But the decay of the Rakshasa God—
How could it be expelled so easily?
Fresh flesh was born—
Only to be devoured again!
Li Zhexian clung to clarity of mind, searching within the cycle of decay and rebirth…
for a single wisp of elusive sword intent.
"Decay and rebirth…"
"Like the entire life of a blade of grass…"
"In each instant, one withers and flourishes!"
"This is the power of rebirth…"
He suddenly frowned.
"No… no!"
"The reason I thought of restoration is because my Thunder Sword Intent—'Thunder Ash Rebirth'—already contains destruction and rebirth!"
"My Myriad Forms Sword Dao must comprehend different sword intents!"
"Then besides 'rebirth'…"
"What power remains?!"
"What else can it be?!"
Ultimately—
The surging blood of his Quadform Spirit Meridian Body overwhelmed the decay.
Crackle—
Crackle—
The scabbed shell of corpse patches split open—
Falling like dust.
Revealing half of Li Zhexian's body as clear and smooth as jade.
"To comprehend the sword is harder than reaching the heavens!"
"A mere one or two cycles of decay invading my body—
how could that be enough?!"
Li Zhexian's eyes snapped open.
Ignoring his near-collapsed spirit,
he once again roused the remaining decaying qi within the Qinglian Sword.
"Again!"
The left side of his body began its own cycle of decay and rebirth…
The pain was not reduced in the slightest.
This level of pain did not allow for "getting used to it."
Amid the struggle between life and death—
Li Zhexian continued searching desperately
for even a glimmer of sword intent.
But until the scabs fell from his left side—
He still gained nothing.
"My first attempt at comprehending the sword…"
Li Zhexian's voice was hoarse.
Inside his body,
the decay and the Quadform Spirit Meridian Body had clashed countless times.
His spirit was at its absolute limit—
he could barely keep his eyes open a sliver.
His upright posture finally collapsed;
he fell to the side.
"…I failed."
"Li Zhexian!"
Qian Renxue hurriedly caught him in her arms.
His body was drenched in cold sweat.
She gently laid him across her lap, leaning against the mud-brick wall.
Her fingertips released soft holy light, draping over him like silk.
She could not help him comprehend the sword.
She could only give him all the tenderness left to offer.
As the furrow in his brow slowly eased, her beautiful face softened into a faint smile.
She carefully brushed his damp hair aside and lowered her head to place a soft kiss upon his forehead.
"No matter what…"
"You have me."
...
Two hours later—
The waning moon once again hung over the dark purple sky.
The three scythe-bearing shadows returned to the city gates, becoming cold stone statues once more.
Li Zhexian's eyes snapped open.
He sat upright immediately—
And rushed out of the house.
Once again charging toward the shadow-filled dwellings.
Time waited for no one!
He had to find the Blood of a God!
He had to gather more decaying qi—
to grasp that elusive strand of sword intent!
…
Outside the secret realm—
Everyone watched Li Zhexian act like a madman,
rushing into the haunted houses again and again,
emerging again and again.
Each time he came out—
The gloom in his expression deepened.
"What is Li Zhexian doing?!"
"What's inside those houses that's worth risking his life like this!?"
"This madness… reminds me of the battle where Li Zhexian killed Tang Lie!"
"He isn't just strong—his heart to grow stronger is unmatched!"
…
Chen Xin, Feng Bailong, Dugu Bo and the others all looked worried.
"Zhexian's state isn't right."
Ning Fengzhi straightened his back and frowned:
"Judging from how he changes each time he enters and exits the houses—"
"Eliminating those lingering dead must be intensifying the erosion of the decaying qi."
Hearing this—
Chen Xin and Feng Bailong's faces shifted slightly.
They knew better than anyone
how terrifying that decaying qi was.
Yu Yuanzhen clenched his fists, faint thunder rumbling above his head.
"Zhexian is searching for the Blood of a god,
and using the decaying qi to comprehend his sword,
which is why he keeps going into those houses filled with lingering dead."
"But at this level of insanity… will something go wrong?"
Everyone turned toward Chen Xin and Feng Bailong.
Here stood two masters of the sword.
Surely they could understand Li Zhexian's current state.
But both remained silent.
They only gazed at the image of the youth growing more obsessive and more crazed—
worry and admiration mingled in their eyes.
In Li Zhexian—
They saw an obsession fiercer than either had possessed in their youth.
"A sword… and a person…"
Chen Xin lowered his head.
He looked at the tassel drifting from his sword hilt.
In his usually tranquil eyes—
A flicker of springlike warmth appeared.
"He understands the reason for drawing a sword…"
"Better than I ever did."
...
Upon the throne—
"So much decaying qi… he should have been completely consumed by now."
"Yet he remains unscathed…"
"Is he using the decaying qi to comprehend the sword?"
Bibi Dong's purple eyes were deep as an abyss.
"As expected of one with astonishing talent…"
...
Four days passed.
Even Li Zhexian had lost count of how many undead he had slain.
He only knew that the decaying qi coiling around the Qinglian Sword
was growing thicker and thicker.
And yet—the sword intent remained nowhere in sight.
The waning moon sank behind the clouds,
and the sky grew darker still.
In the ruined city—
The harsh scraping sound of scythes dragging across stone echoed endlessly.
Li Zhexian, hunched and weary, forced himself into another shadowy house.
His white robes flared wildly,
black decaying qi swirling around him without pause.
At this moment—
He looked even more like a revenant from hell
than the scythe-bearing shadows outside.
But Li Zhexian ignored everything.
His teeth clenched tightly,
his whispering voice deranged and fevered:
"Today… I slew a Titled undead!"
"This time… it must work…"
"Today…"
"I must comprehend the sword!!!"
...
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