After rebirth, the eldest sister voluntarily abdicated and gave way to the wise.

Chapter 657 Bloodstained Mountains and Rivers

Those trapped on the city wall by the sword energy were terrified, but when they saw Jiang Liqian run away, they couldn't help but feel overjoyed that they had survived.

However, before his smile could fully open, sword energy suddenly surged around him, instantly turning him into a pincushion.

-

Jiang Liqian walked back dejectedly, almost losing her spirit. Just as she saw Ji Huaiche rushing to find her, dark clouds gathered in the sky, and it started to rain.

The rain was icy cold, soaking through my clothes and chilling me to the bone.

Ji Huaiche frowned deeply, strode over, and casually cast a freezing spell, raising an ice umbrella above her head.

"You're even taking down your protective spirit! What's wrong with you?" Rainwater mixed with tears streamed down her face. Slowly, slowly, Jiang Liqian stretched out her hands, covered her face, and knelt down in the dirty mud, bursting into tears.

"I have no face..."

Her voice was broken and intermittent, mixed with sobs.

"...see them..."

"I have no face to see them..."

"...What have I been doing all this time...?"

Each cry was more sorrowful than the last, each cry more exhausted than the last.

It felt like I was crying out my heart, lungs, and even my soul.

Jiang Liqian rarely cried, but after being reborn, her tears seemed endless, burning and soaking her again and again.

She then realized the full spectrum of life's flavors, and how bitter they could be.

Ji Huaiche, who was initially annoyed, was stunned and remained silent for a long time while listening to her crying.

She said she had no face to see them. Was she referring to Junior Sister Lian'er and Junior Brother Bei Yao?

how come.

how could be.

"Junior sister, the duty to all living beings does not rest on your shoulders alone, but on each and every one of us."

"Don't cry. After we win this battle, I'll treat you to the fine wine I've been secretly saving for ten years."

-

Jiang Liqian asked Ji Huaiche to take her to the front lines. She wanted to fight the demons to the death. She couldn't bear to stay in the back and eke out a living any longer.

Ji Huaiche neither agreed nor refused her.

Having known each other for decades, he could guess some of her inner turmoil. Instead of going to the resting place of Shui Lian'er and Qin Beiyao, they went hundreds of miles away and set up camp for several miles along the desolate marshland.

They were greeted by Zhao Zhang from Qifeng and Senior Brother Zhong from Jianfeng.

The two had clearly just come from the battlefield, covered in mud, their tattered robes stained with blood. Their eyes lit up when they saw Jiang Liqian, but before they could speak, a group of seriously wounded disciples hurried past them and were rushed to a nearby tent.

Someone whispered something in Zhao Zhang's ear, and he instantly turned pale. Forgetting all about being impolite, he hurriedly ran to a tent.

Jiang Liqian's heart skipped a beat, and she subconsciously followed.

Upon opening the tent, the stench of blood assaulted the senses.

On the makeshift bed, a girl lay pale-faced, her forehead covered in sweat-drenched hair, her pure white disciple robes stained crimson with blood, and near her heart, a huge bloody hole, like a terrifying abyss, horrified everyone's eyes.

A gentle and refined gentleman, always impeccably polite, Zhao Zhang completely lost his composure this time, staggering and kneeling down beside the bed, his trembling hand grasping her broken right hand.

His lips moved, but he could barely speak: "Junior Sister..."

Gu An'an tried to move her eyes and turned her head to see Zhao Zhang, whose eyes were already red. She smiled and, with all her might, held his hand back.

"An... An'an, it hasn't... buried... Tianqian, the great reputation of the Tianqian Sect..."

Zhao Zhang suddenly burst into tears, his lips trembling so much he couldn't speak.

Gu An'an gasped for breath. The shattering of her primordial spirit caused her immense pain, but even so, her eyes lit up when she caught sight of Jiang Liqian out of the corner of her eye.

She reached out her hand, blood gushing from her mouth: "Senior Sister Jiang... their blood is... so dirty... help me..."

His hand suddenly fell to the ground.

Jiang Liqian rushed forward, but couldn't grab anything in time.

"...Junior Sister Gu!"

Everyone in the tent turned their heads away, unable to bear to look any longer; the low sobs sounded like war drums being beaten hoarse in the cold wind.

Jiang Liqian swallowed the bitterness in her throat, and through her teary eyes, she raised her hands. The light of the Cleansing Spell flickered at her fingertips, then transformed into crystal-clear snowflakes that fell on the sleeping girl, slowly melting away the bloodstains and shocking wounds on her body.

Ji Huaiche then took Jiang Liqian to another frontline border post.

Jiang Liqian saw many old acquaintances from the past.

In Huacheng, she met Sun Li of Taotie Peak and Xin Sui of Le Peak; in Hanshan City, she met Li Chuanlu of Bibo Sect and Sister Wan Ning; in Baiqiugang, she met Mo'er of Xuan Gang Sect and her senior brother Zhao Guiqing; in Baifeng River, she met Kong Jue of Jinshan Temple and Chun Xiao of Hehuan Sect; in Xingmao City, she met Ye An'an of Yushou Peak and Qing Mu of Shengxiao Tower; in Nanlu City, she met her senior brother and Jiang Huaizhou; in Beiyao City, she met Xuan Ling and Senior Brother Song of Dan Peak…

Sun Li's once tender baby fat was gone; her sculpted bones were as sharp as an iron net erected by Hua Cheng, stubbornly blocking all corpses and invasions. Xin Sui's hands, once used for playing the flute, were now covered with dense sword marks and blades. The ethereal musician, untouched by worldly affairs, was now soaked in filthy blood.

Seeing that she was about to leave, Xin Sui still chased after her out of the city.

He gazed at the increasingly ethereal and otherworldly flower mark on Jiang Liqian's forehead, his eyes filled with sorrow, and he looked away.

"Is she... already...?"

Jiang Liqian immediately understood who he was asking. Her heart ached so much that she could hardly breathe. She bit her lip tightly and couldn't say a word.

Xin Sui did not receive an answer.

He already knew the outcome.

He closed his eyes, turned around with a bitter smile, and said, "No matter what I said, she still resolutely chose you... What a tragedy..."

Li Chuanlu and Sister Wan Ning have become Daoist partners. Together with various minor sects, they are defending the city to the death, preventing the demons from advancing any further. Their child has just turned one hundred days old, and Jiang Liqian was there just in time to drink the hundred-day celebration wine.

At the banquet, many empty tables were filled with jade bowls filled with wine. Sister Wan Ning said, "Let's pretend that our relatives and friends who died in battle are still here."

Inside Baiqiugang, the little girl who was once a child is now capable of standing on her own. White flowers fluttered in the mourning hall, and Mo'er personally closed the coffin for her senior brother without shedding a single tear.

"Sister Liqian, if I die but my body is still here, please take me and my senior brother back to the Xuan Gang Sect so that our souls can return to our homeland."

Kongjue and Chunxiao were still like a pair of bickering lovers. Even though one was blind and the other had lost both feet, they still bickered and made quite a scene. Just then, Jiang Liqian arrived, and they asked her to be their witness. Today, Kongjue, a monk from Jinshan Temple, would break the rules and precepts to marry Chunxiao, a girl from the Hehuan Sect, promising to never betray her heart for all eternity.

Under the mimosa tree, they slept in each other's arms, their fiery red wedding dresses tinged with the rosy glow of the sunset.