One day, after a long period of peace, the Immortal Realm was once again thrown into turmoil.
The thief who had stolen Heavenly Medicines and Sacred Herbs from various sects was finally exposed, and the major sects launched a joint pursuit.
The whole Immortal Realm buzzed with gossip about how this person had managed to provoke such hatred from so many different, even rival, factions that they would actually unite to hunt him down.
But at this very moment, only Su Ling, frantically fleeing from the siege, knew the truth—and in fact, the truth was quite the opposite…
Su Ling was a genius, an undisputed genius. As a rogue cultivator, he preferred a carefree life and detested constraints.
By the age of two hundred, he had already reached the peak of the Divine Palace Realm, but it was also on that day that his heart turned cold.
Although Su Ling possessed an unparalleled talent, he was burdened with a Heavenly Defect, limiting his lifespan to only three hundred years.
No matter how much his cultivation improved, he could not extend his life.
This flaw, rooted in fate and the soul, could not be remedied—not even by abandoning his mortal body.
The Nascent Soul Realm marked a boundary—a point frequently said in the Immortal Realm to be the true divide between the mortal and the immortal.
Genuine cultivation into immortality began at this stage.
Breaking through the Divine Palace Realm brought a profound elevation of life and a natural multiplication of lifespan.
However… when Su Ling broke through to the Nascent Soul Realm, he sensed no change in his lifespan.
That very day, Su Ling fell into despair. He had already sought out all the famed doctors and reclusive experts he could think of, but none had a solution.
Breaking through the Divine Palace Realm had been his greatest hope.
Afterward, Su Ling lingered in depression for a long time, pondering countless things.
In the end, he decided to take a desperate gamble and seize that faint glimmer of hope!
It was said that the top sects each possessed Heavenly Medicines capable of reshaping fate.
If he combined these with the incomplete Secret Method he had obtained from his own Inheritance, there might just be a sliver of hope.
Thus, Su Ling, who hated constraints, was forced to infiltrate the various sects, searching for opportunities to steal fortunes while perfecting his Secret Method.
By the time he turned 298, he had amassed enough medicine, and the method to break his predicament was ready. All that remained was to use the Secret Method to sever all Karmic Threads of his current life, shed his old body, and his plan would be complete…
Now, feeling the pursuers closing in behind him, Su Ling could only flee in utter disarray.
Fighting back was out of the question—he wouldn’t win, and even if he could, he couldn’t afford to.
After sneaking into all those factions, Su Ling had forged deep ties with many people, entwining himself with countless strands of karma.
When he tried to perform the Fate Severing Ritual, those on the other ends of the Karmic Threads—especially those with high cultivation—could instantly sense it.
And those currently chasing him were precisely those who had sensed the severing of karma and refused to let go.
In truth, Su Ling had been hiding from them for a long time, but now, thanks to the trembling of the Karmic Threads, his location was completely exposed—triggering this siege.
A streak of Sword Aura slashed past Su Ling, barely missing him.
Where it swept, the clouds split open with a gash stretching to the ends of sight!
Heaven-Cleaving Slash! There was no need to guess whose sword technique and aura this was.
A cool, clear voice rang out in Su Ling’s mind—it was Lin Muxue, his master during his time undercover in the Sword Sect, sending a Transmission Stone message: “Yun’er, even mischief must have its limits. Disobedient disciples need to be confined and reflect. Come back with me.”
“Sorry, Master. I can’t turn back—I’m well aware you shielded me from the sect’s wrath after I stole the Heavenly Medicine, and I’m truly grateful. But from beginning to end, I was just using you. I’m not worth your kindness.”
“Whether you are or not, that’s for me to decide. Come back with me!”
Su Ling didn’t reply further to Lin Muxue, as attacks from others came in quick succession, and other transmissions echoed in his mind.
“My strategist, my imperial guard, my dearest friend—I command you to return with me! Whether you are a loyal minister, a treacherous official, or a thief who has stolen from my treasury, I will pardon all your crimes. You are still the Prime Minister, second only to me. As long as you return to my side!”
Su Ling shook off the Golden Dragon formed by the Faith Power of the people. It wasn’t difficult for him, since there was a share of that faith that belonged to him.
Still, to have this much control meant Luo Wuhen hadn’t erased his influence within the empire…
“I’m sorry, my Emperor. From the moment I first saw you, I saw you only as a means to obtain the Heavenly Medicine from your treasury. There’s no need to miss me. Your own cunning and talent are what brought you success.”
“But my harem is still empty, lacking just one more! Power, status, wealth—anything you desire, I can give you!”
“I’m sorry. What I want is something you can never give…”
Su Ling continued fleeing toward his predetermined location. He couldn’t let himself be caught, nor could he fully shake them off—he had to let them witness his destruction with their own eyes.
Suddenly, his vision shifted as scenes of alluring chaos danced before his eyes.
Figures of beautiful women appeared, each with unique charm, drawing close, attempting to keep him ensnared within this Soft Enchantment…
But Su Ling simply smacked himself on the head, surging his spiritual energy, and broke free from the illusion.
As he emerged, a soft, seductive voice teased in his ear: “Hehe, I knew that wouldn’t work on you, darling ❤️. Why are you so eager to run from me~? Did I do something wrong ❤️? Wouldn’t it be lovely to indulge together in the pleasures of the Demonic Capital ❤️~”
“Don’t flatter yourself. I’ve never loved you. You were just a means to my end. Who could love a decadent demoness?”
“You’re lying ❤️. I can feel it. You’re lying, aren’t you! You love me… You love me, you love me, you love me!”
Su Ling sighed, fell silent, and kept running. Thankfully, none of them truly intended to kill him—otherwise, with so many formidable pursuers, he likely wouldn’t have survived.
“The destination is near. My final performance and deception… I wonder what expressions they’ll wear then…”
Fleeing ceaselessly, Su Ling’s ears rang with countless calls and questions, inevitably stirring up memories of the past century.
“Heh, thinking back now, I really am a rotten person. I entangled myself in all those relationships without ever intending to take responsibility, and now I’m about to break their hearts.”
Su Ling let out a helpless sigh, but having come this far, there was no turning back.
Though the pursuers behind hadn’t gone all out to kill him, Su Ling was still gravely injured by the relentless chase. But fortunately, he had arrived…
Su Ling stopped on a wide plain, surrounded in all directions by the strongest from every great faction.
“Such a grand lineup for a hunt—surely even when hunting the Human Demon thousands of years ago, so many top cultivators weren’t mobilized, right?” Su Ling couldn’t help but mock himself.
The crowd encircled Su Ling, warily watching each other, even showing open hostility—after all, in some ways, they were deadly rivals themselves.
Scanning the assembly, Su Ling’s spiritual energy surged as he activated the Supreme Array he had prepared in advance at this location!
A complex formation rose beneath his feet, enveloping him in its dazzling patterns.
As the crowd prepared to break the formation, Su Ling’s voice sounded in their minds via Transmission Stone:
“My dearest friends, I’m sorry I deceived you all. Everything I told you—my name, my identity, even my appearance—was a lie, all for the sake of stealing the Heavenly Medicines from your factions.”
“If you resent or hate me, I will gladly accept it. But your love—I cannot bear it, nor do I deserve it.”
“My true name is Su Ling, a man with a Heavenly Defect, a short-lived wretch doomed to three hundred years. To defy this fate, I chose to steal the Heavenly Medicines of each sect in hopes of winning a single thread of hope. Now I am 298 years old. Please, all of you, bear witness to my final struggle! If I survive, I will accept whatever punishment you wish, without complaint…”
With those words, Su Ling activated the Supreme Array. Intricate incantations appeared around him, and his storage pouch opened—Heavenly Medicines from every major sect materialized within the formation!
Instantly, Resonant Music echoed from the void, tides of spiritual energy surged, the Beast Roar lingered, and the shadow of the Hell Gate cracked open…
Relying on the Supreme Array he had set up in advance, Su Ling began to refine all the Peerless Divine Medicines at once.
But the crowd didn’t attack; instead, they simply watched him sit cross-legged in the array……
Their Supreme Treasures were being refined, yet none of them felt as much pain for their lost treasures as for Su Ling’s suffering.
They clenched their fists, their brows furrowed, and their hearts ached for his agony.
Time slowly passed. As the medicines in the array were gradually refined, immortal mist began to swirl around Su Ling, who was now shrouded in rainbow light, his body pushed to its absolute limit.
Su Ling opened his eyes and gazed at all the familiar faces outside the array, his expression complex.
He silently continued his Secret Method, and cracks began to crawl over his body, radiating golden light. At the same time, his face twisted in pain.
As the anxious crowd was about to forcibly break the array, the cracks on Su Ling’s body suddenly healed, and the array collapsed under a surge of immense pressure!
The moment the array broke, Su Ling was immediately surrounded by all the gathered women. Sensing their familiar auras, Su Ling looked around and offered a bitter farewell:
“Goodbye, my dearest friends. I’m sorry…”
As soon as these words left his lips, and with a wry smile, Su Ling’s body turned into a stream of light and scattered, leaving only a storage pouch hovering where he had stood.
The instant Su Ling vanished, chaotic spiritual energies erupted across the plain. The sky darkened from the oppressive power, the earth shattered, and hurricanes raged!
Some tried to seal off the heavens and earth, searching for any trace of Su Ling’s soul.
Others used Forbidden Techniques to reconstruct his scattered body. Yet, despite all their efforts—nothing remained…
“How can this be? Why is there not a single fragment of soul or trace of his presence?!”
“Why is his body completely disconnected—why?”
The only thing left behind was that storage pouch.
As several strands of divine sense opened it, rays of light shot out and flew of their own accord into the hands of their destined owners.
A bamboo flute appeared in Lin Muxue’s hand. On a certain moonlit night, she would find herself in harmony with a kindred spirit, music intertwining…
In Luo Wuhen’s hand appeared an Imperial Token—a token she herself had bestowed upon her most trusted and beloved minister, a symbol equal to seeing her in person.
A folding fan, a gauze dress, a handkerchief, a treasured sword… One by one, objects that held no value to anyone else materialized in the hands of these peerless figures.
As they looked at these tokens, all of them fell into a daze…
At the very end, a Transmission Stone floated from the pouch, playing Su Ling’s final words:
“If you’ve found this stone, it means I am gone. The tokens have been returned, karma is severed. Do not linger—the journey of life is long…”
Feeling the complete break of their karmic bonds, the crowd—unwilling to accept it—kept trying, but eventually this land fell silent once more, leaving only a scarred and ravaged plain to tell of all that had happened here.
Meanwhile, a soul drifted across space and settled into the womb of a pregnant woman. Ten months later, the cry of a newborn rang out…