Ten years ago, the cultivation world was turned upside down when the Nether Sect raided the Four Eternal Sects. In a single night of terror, seventy cities of the righteous sects were burned to ashes. The Young Master of the Nether Sect, Ye Jiuyuan, was said to be a ruthless and sadistic killer. He not only was a powerful cultivator, but also a genius in many skills. His Youling Ghost Spear was an infamous weapon that shook the very foundation of the righteous sects.
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Among the righteous sects, there had only been one person who could rivaled Ye Jiuyuan, and this person was the chief disciple of Tianyun Sect, Ximen Han.
Ximen Han was the definition of peak male beauty. His skin was as white as snow, and his hair was raven black. He mostly wore white robes, therefore, he was called the White-Clad Immortal. Ximen Han was kind and gentle, but he was also a stone-hearted lad. He was gifted in knowledge, music, swordsmanship, and many more skills.
Ximen Han and Ye Jiuyuan—the two were differently alike. Their only similarity was that they were as free as wind and fire. The more the wind blew harder, the bigger the flame gets. Ximen Han and Ye Jiuyuan were each other's nemesis and life-long rivals, but their story ended on the snowy mountains of Beifeng Sect.
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Ye Jiuyuan had cornered the righteous sects all the way to the north. Beifeng Sect's stronghold was the Snow Flower City, which would eventually fell in the hands of Ye Jiuyuan if not for Tianyun Sect arriving on time to aid Beifeng Sect.
While the righteous and demonic sects clashed, Ximen Han had chased Ye Jiuyuan to the snowy mountain as they fought a bloody duel which consumed both their spiritual energies and physical strength. For seventeen days and seventeen nights, they dueled, coating the pure white snow with crimson blood. In the end, Ye Jiuyuan lost the fight as Ximen Han's wind strike hit his chest, the sound causing a massive avalanche. It took the righteous sects five days to find Ximen Han, who was buried in the snow. When they found him, he was barely alive. His injuries were severe, but his cultivation was profound, so his life wasn't threatened.
As for Ye Jiuyuan—whether alive or dead—he had been missing. The search party concluded that he had fallen into the freezing river and had been washed away by the current.
And that was the end of Ye Jiuyuan's and Ximen Han's story.
Ximen Han was a hero for the cultivation world, but he felt his victory was no such heroic deed. In fact, he felt he had never won at all.
Ye Jiuyuan was a monster, but he was neither a madman nor a fool. If he had really put all his strength in the fight, Ximen Han would already be bedridden or in comatose even if he didn't die from his injuries. Ye Jiuyuan had purposefully lost.
The way he grinned before the snow buried them, Ye Jiuyuan had no intention of winning the duel—or perhaps the war—at all. He just wanted an excuse to disappear. And maybe, somewhere in the world out there, he was still alive. Ximen Han vowed to the heavens and earth that he would definitely find him.
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