Watching Su Miaomiao slowly approach, Xu Changshou braced himself as if facing a mortal enemy.

"Fellow Daoist Su, are you truly so confident you can take my life?"

As Xu Changshou spoke, he covertly gripped several talismans and instantly activated an Earth Stalwart Talisman.

Drawn upon the pelt of a spirit weasel, this Earth Stalwart Talisman could withstand the full-force strike of a twelfth-layer Qi Condensation cultivator.

Following that, Xu Changshou held an Illusion-Breaking Talisman in his left hand and a Sharp Gold Talisman in his right, ready to unleash them at a moment's notice.

Su Miaomiao cast a contemptuous glance at the spiritual talismans but continued her slow, unhurried advance.

"Fellow Daoist Su, if you take one more step, do not blame this Daoist for being ruthless." Xu Changshou instinctively retreated a pace.

"Hehehe!"

Su Miaomiao let out a silver-bell laugh, her gaze turning utterly bewitching. "Fellow Daoist Wang, this little sister merely wishes to share a moment of bliss. There is no need for such alarm."

Go to hell.

Sharp Gold Talisman, manifest!

Seeing Su Miaomiao within arm's reach, Xu Changshou ruthlessly struck, activating the Sharp Gold Talisman to unleash a brilliant arc of Sword Qi.

A flicker of surprise flashed through Su Miaomiao's eyes, yet she showed no fear.

Her cloud-white sleeve suddenly billowed, and her delicate hand tossed out a palm-sized wooden shield.

The small shield expanded rapidly against the wind, instantly swelling to the size of a water barrel to intercept the strike.

Thud!

The golden Sword Qi slammed heavily into the wooden shield, emitting a dull thud like striking ancient timber.

The ferocious Sword Qi immediately shattered into motes of light, leaving the wooden shield completely unmarred.

Xu Changshou's face paled slightly. The Sharp Gold Talisman was his most lethal offensive talisman; he never expected Su Miaomiao to possess a treasure capable of neutralizing it so effortlessly.

"Oh my, Fellow Daoist Wang, whatever are you doing?"

Su Miaomiao chided coquettishly, her figure turning incredibly alluring as a peculiar, intoxicating fragrance suddenly washed over him.

In Xu Changshou's eyes, Su Miaomiao transformed, radiating an aura that was both sacred and inviolable, yet dripping with carnal temptation.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, Big Brother Wang, look at me."

Su Miaomiao parted her snow-white robes, her jade-like skin faintly visible beneath the silk.

Xu Changshou felt his rationality crumbling as flames ignited in his eyes; a primal urge roared within him to pull her into a crushing embrace.

Not good!

Xu Changshou ruthlessly bit down on the tip of his tongue and instantly activated the Illusion-Breaking Talisman.

At that exact moment, Su Miaomiao's delicate body lunged forward.

The two collided in a tight embrace.

A violent backlash erupted from the shattered charm art.

Su Miaomiao's body convulsed violently, her beautiful face contorting in shock.

Boom!

Xu Changshou's mind went entirely blank, plunging him directly into her shattered mental landscape.

He found himself in a tranquil paradise.

There was a secluded cavern, a pristine spiritual pool, and a cascading waterfall.

A family of three resided within the cavern beneath the falls. The husband and wife were both breathtakingly elegant, traversing the path of Cultivation together.

They had a four-year-old daughter, clever and endlessly adorable.

Until one fateful day.

The arrival of a grotesque, one-eyed cultivator completely shattered the tranquility of their utopia.

"Junior Sister, why did you betray me?"

The ugly cultivator stared at the woman, his lone eye dripping with venom.

"Senior Brother, I beg you, stop pestering me. My heart already belongs to another."

"Slut! For daring to betray me, I will make you beg for death!"

"Husband, what should we do?"

"We fight him to the death!"

...

A desperate battle erupted between the couple and the one-eyed intruder.

It was a slaughter. The one-eyed cultivator struck down the husband and ruthlessly subdued the wife.

Right before the little girl's eyes, he violated her mother.

In the aftermath, the broken mother took her daughter and fled into the shadows, hiding until the girl turned ten and Awakened her spiritual roots.

The mother entrusted the girl to the Joyous Union Sect, then immediately severed her own meridians to follow her husband into the afterlife.

The little girl slowly grew up within the Joyous Union Sect, stepping onto the path of Cultivation.

She blossomed into a peerless beauty with terrifying talent. Countless Senior Brothers and Junior Brothers fell over themselves to court her.

Yet, when it came time to choose a Dao companion, she selected a grotesque, one-eyed old cultivator.

She became his dual cultivation partner, serving him with utter devotion, and the old monster pampered her in return.

Until the day she broke through to the ninth layer of Qi Condensation. In the midst of their union, she used the very Pseudo-Artifact he had gifted her to cleanly sever his throat.

At the foot of a desolate peak, under a freezing drizzle, she knelt before a lonely grave, soaked to the bone.

"Father, Mother... your daughter has finally avenged you. But why... why is my heart so unwilling?"

A seed of pure demonic resentment had taken root in her Dao heart. She hated the one-eyed monster, she hated all men, she even hated her own parents. She hated this entire unforgiving world.

She began seeking any excuse to slaughter. At first, it was the disciples around her. Eventually, she departed the sect, unleashing her malice upon the wider Cultivation world.

Her charm arts reached the pinnacle of perfection. No man could resist her bewitching allure.

Time and time again, at the absolute peak of their ecstasy, she would send them to the underworld. She almost never failed.

Yet after every kill, she was gripped by agonizing emptiness and bitter unwillingness.

The more bitter she felt, the more she killed. And the more she slaughtered, the deeper her agony grew.

Pfft!

The sickening sound of a blade tearing through flesh abruptly shattered the illusion.

Su Miaomiao's long eyelashes trembled as her eyes fluttered open.

In that split second of her backlash, a five-colored sword had been driven ruthlessly through her Dantian.

Pfft—

Xu Changshou indifferently withdrew the bloodstained blade, and Su Miaomiao used her fading strength to collapse into his embrace.

With her Dantian shattered and her Cultivation ruined, she posed no further threat. Thus, Xu Changshou did not push her away.

In fact, having witnessed her karmic past, he felt a sliver of sympathy for this tragic woman.

Su Miaomiao coughed up a mouthful of black blood. A smile of profound relief finally touched her eyes. "Fellow Daoist Wang, I am so cold. Can you hold me?"

"Mm."

Xu Changshou remained silent, wrapping his arms around her fading body.

Su Miaomiao curled weakly against his chest, a serene smile gracing her pale lips. "Fellow Daoist Wang, thank you. Thank you for killing me. If there is a next life... forget it. The path of Cultivation is too bitter. I do not wish to walk it again."

Holding her rapidly cooling corpse, a myriad of complicated emotions swirled within Xu Changshou’s Dao heart.

Su Miaomiao was undeniably a demonic cultivator dripping in karmic sin, yet her origins were utterly pitiable.

Without that harrowing trauma, without that vile one-eyed monster, she would never have warped into such a ruthless murderer.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, I am so tired. Can you do one last thing for me?"

Su Miaomiao looked up at him with dimming, hopeful eyes. He nodded slightly. "Speak. As long as it is within my power, I will assist you."

"Take my body to the Great Gorge Waterfall. Bury me before my parents' grave."

"Alright, I swear it."

"Also, before you reach the Great Gorge Waterfall, do not open my Storage Bag. Only after I am safely buried can you claim it. Everything inside will be yours."

"Agreed."

"Fellow Daoist Wang, hold me tightly. I am so cold..."

"Fellow Daoist Wang, remember... you must burn incense for my parents on my behalf."

Nestled deep within Xu Changshou's embrace, Su Miaomiao slowly closed her eyes forever.

A single, crystal-clear tear slipped from the corner of her eye, falling into the spiritual grass and shattering like glass.

Xu Changshou wielded his sword to fell a thousand-year ancient tree, carving a simple wooden coffin. He gently placed Su Miaomiao's body inside and transferred it into his Storage Bag.

He then collected her personal Storage Bag, the small wooden shield, and her pale green flying boat.

True to his Dao oath, he did not peek into her Storage Bag.

The Great Gorge Waterfall she spoke of was located three thousand li south of Pingyang Market. Relying on an ordinary Windwalk Talisman, he could reach it within a single day.