Chapter Sixty-Two: The Final Preparations

I let out a roar—this feeling of being reborn was simply exhilarating beyond words.
“Hurry, hurry! Kill him!”
It was Dong Ming at my side who first sensed something amiss. He drew a longsword from his ring.
Now I could see Dong Ming’s cultivation as well—he was at the third rank of the Spirit Leaf.
Without waiting for them to recover from the shock, I raised my blade and charged.
With my cultivation having risen again, my strength had reached a new level. Coupled with the snow-blade in my hand, which cut through iron like mud, their weapons shattered to pieces the moment we clashed.
I cut through them like a hot knife through butter, felling one after another. In less than three minutes, several more had perished by my hand.
Finally, Dong Ming could no longer stand by. He ran toward me, shouting as he came,
“Everyone fall back—let me handle him!”
As he spoke, Dong Ming closed in on me. He realized my cultivation had suddenly soared, so he avoided a direct confrontation and instead sought to wear me down.
I knew that dragging this out would be to my detriment, so I intentionally exposed a weakness.
Feigning an opening at my center, I lured him in. Sure enough, he took the bait, and struck me hard in the chest.
Though his punch was powerful, he paid the price for it.
As he hit me, I reacted swiftly, slicing off his left arm with a single stroke.
He screamed in agony, utterly losing his ability to fight, stumbling backward until he collapsed to the ground.
He remained remarkably calm, fumbling for a bottle of medicine from his ring, pouring it all over his severed arm before promptly passing out from the pain.
I was about to claim his head when a voice called out from the doorway—
“Boy, stop right there!”
A dark figure shot inside at blinding speed.
I instinctively raised my blade, but as he drew near, I realized it was my Second Uncle, Cai Ming!
“What’s gotten into you? The heart demon’s invaded!”
Second Uncle strode unhurriedly to my side and gave my back a solid thump.
I staggered forward, then felt a tickle in my throat and coughed up a mouthful of pitch-black blood.
Baffled, I stared at the blood on the floor, then looked at Second Uncle.
“You… your murderous intent is too heavy. Come back with me at once!”
His tone was severe. He pointed at Nangong Xi’s body, gesturing for me to take it back with us.
Hoisting Nangong Xi onto my back, I followed Second Uncle out the main doors.
The group behind us all stared in astonishment, but perhaps realizing the old man before them was leagues beyond them, none dared give chase.
The route Second Uncle took differed from the one I’d groped my way along earlier. We wound our way around until we reached the mountain path.
“Second Uncle, you came just in time, haha.”
Carrying Nangong Xi on my back, I gave a foolish grin.

“Hmph. Had I been any later, you’d have slaughtered everyone.”
I nodded lightly. Second Uncle was absolutely right—someone like me, always bent on revenge, would have left no survivors had he not arrived.
He sighed, then turned to me,
“Remember this, boy: no matter the circumstances, you must never lose your true self. You’re gifted—some might call you a genius.
How many notorious villains in this world became so because their intelligence bred arrogance, leading to a heart demon’s invasion and their fall to evil?
So I’ll say it again: hold fast to your true heart, and you’ll walk the righteous path.”
His words were a stern lesson, but they left me deeply enlightened.

Within an hour, I’d returned to the city with Second Uncle.
But for my own safety, he insisted I remain indoors for the next few days.
The moment I got home, I collapsed into bed, exhausted—perhaps from fatigue, perhaps from the sheer drain on my strength.
Before I drifted off, Second Uncle reminded Nangong Xi to keep watch over her body, telling her to prepare herself, and that he’d return tomorrow.
That sleep was so deep it seemed as though day and night had swapped. Though I’d returned around eleven in the morning, I slept straight through to eight the next day.
Groggy, I sat up and habitually reached for a cigarette.
“You’re… awake.”
Nangong Xi, hearing the click of my lighter from outside the door, called out to me.
I replied briefly and gazed out at the blue sky in a daze.
It seemed she had more to say, for she soon entered my room.
“Um… you must be tired from helping me recover my body yesterday…”
“It’s fine, a good sleep did wonders.”
“Thank you… I really don’t know how to repay you.”
I turned my head to look at her, as if I could glimpse stars and seas in her eyes.
“It’s nothing, really—a minor thing, haha.”
I laughed awkwardly, unconcerned, and Nangong Xi, understanding my temperament, nodded and left the room.
After finishing my smoke, I showered, and just as Nangong Xi brought out breakfast, Second Uncle arrived.
“Well, boy, how’s the recovery?”
He came straight over and sat beside me as I sipped millet porridge.
“Much better, much better,” I replied.
He nodded, then turned to Nangong Xi,
“Prepare yourself today. At midnight, I’ll arrange for your reincarnation.”

Hearing this, I was taken aback and quietly asked Second Uncle,
“Can she not be reincarnated? Is there any way to…”
To my surprise, Second Uncle interrupted me,
“You mean, have her return to life?”
I nodded. Though I wasn’t entirely sure what that entailed, it sounded like what I had in mind.
He glanced at Nangong Xi, who was tidying up, then said,
“It’s possible, but it carries risks. With someone who’s been dead as long as she has, the chances of success are slim.”
Disappointed, I nodded, tears falling inexplicably.
“But… if we have one particular item to assist, it should succeed.”
Hope flared in me again. Grabbing his hand, I asked, “What is it?”
Second Uncle hesitated, but finally replied,
“A Soul-Return Pill.”
“What’s that?” I asked, puzzled.
“It’s a medicinal pill used by cultivators—what we call a dan. There are many types of dan, and more are being created all the time. You’ll learn about them in due course.
The Soul-Return Pill, as the name suggests, greatly increases the chance of one’s soul returning to the body.”
Though Second Uncle’s explanation was brief, I understood the gist.
So I asked,
“Where can we get this Soul-Return Pill?”
Second Uncle chuckled, looking at me as though I were a child.
“Such pills are unlike ordinary goods—money alone can’t buy them.
For ordinary people, this pill could literally bring the dead back to life.
The only place I know where one might be found is in Qulong Town, but that’s far from here and not easily reached.”
I nearly choked on my porridge. After all that, this was just empty talk…
“So, Uncle, where can we actually get one?”
He sighed, “I’ll see what I can do. You stay home and wait for me today—don’t go running off!”
With a sudden scolding, he left.
“What’s wrong? Uncle seems to be in a bad mood today…”