Chapter 175

A heaven-shaking, earth-shattering explosion rang out! The violent energy shockwave expanded in a ring, lifting and shattering the remaining obsidian tiles on the square layer by layer! Those Netherworld Sect cultivators and demons nearby were instantly blown to dust.

Gu Yusheng and Mei Ruoxue were also pushed back repeatedly by this tremendous force, their qi and blood surging, barely stabilizing their stances as they nervously gazed toward the blast center.

Only Shi Ran was seen flying backward, sliding dozens of zhang in midair before barely stopping, a trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth, her breath slightly disordered, her Nirvana fire armor flickering. Meanwhile the Holy Demon Avatar merely swayed, its demon claws showing some scorched and rotting marks, but quickly being repaired by demonic energy.

The outcome was decided instantly!

Even at the early Void God Stage, with external force boosting it, its power level far surpasses Nascent Soul!

"Shi Ran!" Gu Yusheng and Mei Ruoxue felt their hearts leap to their throats.

"I'm fine!" Shi Ran wiped the blood from her lips, her eyes shining brighter. Though she had just been overpowered in the exchange, she truly sensed the power of the Void God level and the accelerated fusion of the Threefold Power under extreme pressure—the Extinction Dao Principle eroding the demon claw, the Nirvana Flame purifying demonic energy, and the Demon Intent amplifying her strength—all giving her new insight.

The Holy Demon Avatar seemed enraged, never expecting that an ant at the Nascent Soul level (it sensed Shi Ran's energy still within Nascent Soul range) could wound it. It let out a more ferocious roar, spread its wings, and demonic flames rained down like meteors, while it exhaled a concentrated black breath that corroded everything it touched, leaving black scars even in space.

"Join forces!" Gu Yusheng shouted, knowing he could no longer let Shi Ran bear the brunt alone. He and Mei Ruoxue exchanged a glance, seeing the same resolve in each other's eyes.

"Moonlight Sword Art: Myriad Swords Return to the Ancestral!"

Gu Yusheng merged with his sword, his whole body becoming a huge azure light blade, drawing the surrounding spiritual energy (though thin), myriad sword shadows appearing and converging into a brilliant sword river that surged upward to meet the demonic flames filling the sky.

"Soul of Snow Divine Art: Ice-Congeal Soul Lock!"

Mei Ruoxue planted her Secluded Song Sword before her, formed seals with both hands, and released her extreme cold power without reservation; the temperature around her plummeted, the air froze, even drifting dust halted. A visible icy-blue ripple spread from her center, slowing the demonic flames' fall, coating them in thick ice and greatly reducing their power. She then focused most of her strength into a blade of uttermost icy sword qi, slashing at the black breath.

Seeing this, Shi Ran felt a warm surge in her heart, her fighting spirit rising further. She drew a deep breath, suppressed her surging qi and blood, and formed a strange hand seal before her chest.

Extinction, Nirvana, and Demon Intent—these three forces were no longer merely cooperating; they began attempting true fusion!

Ashen stillness, white gold, and dark gold—three-colored light gathered, compressed, and collided in her palm, releasing a terrifying fluctuation capable of destroying heaven and earth yet harboring a thread of life; even the Holy Demon Avatar felt an instinctive unease, its assault faltering.

"Threefold… Return to the Abyss!"

Shi Ran thrust forward the merged three-colored light sphere. Initially fist-sized, once it left her palm it caught the wind and instantly became a three-colored vortex over a zhang in diameter, its center utter darkness and void, as if linked to the world's end.

The three-colored vortex first met the demonic flames and black breath weakened by Gu Yusheng's sword river and Mei Ruoxue's ice aura.

No explosion, only annihilation. The demonic flames and black breath, like rivers returning to the sea, were sucked into the vortex's dark center, unable to raise even a ripple.

Immediately afterward, the vortex retained its momentum and slammed straight into the Holy Demon Avatar!

The Holy Demon Avatar let out a startled, furious roar, sensing a deadly threat; it gathered all its demonic energy into its twin claws, crossing them before its body, demonic flames and protective demonic light weaving into its strongest defense.

"Voom——!"

The three-colored vortex collided with the demon claws with a boom! This time there was no deafening blast, only a grating sound as if space itself were being eroded.

The vortex spun wildly, Extinction power dissolving the demonic energy shield, Nirvana Flame purifying the demon's essence, and Demon Intent, like the most cunning serpent, seeking gaps in the defense to incessantly corrode!

The Holy Demon Avatar's demon claws visibly turned ashen and decayed, scales peeling off, demonic flames extinguishing. It let out a painful howl, desperately channeling demonic energy to resist, but the three-colored vortex, like a bone-deep ulcer, kept devouring and wearing away its power.

"Crack……"

A clear cracking sound rang out—the Holy Demon Avatar's crossed claws actually showed fissures!

"Now!" Gu Yusheng's eyes flashed; he seized the moment when the Holy Demon Avatar was restrained by the Threefold Return to the Abyss and its defense faltered, turning his body into sword light, merging man and blade, like an immortal from beyond the heavens, thrusting straight into the avatar's brow—there lay the link between the remnant soul of the transformed red-robed elder and the demon's will.

Mei Ruoxue also struck at once; her Secluded Song Sword burst forth with unprecedented brilliance, an ultimate ice thread condensing all her sword intent and the Frozen Ice Dao Principle, arriving first despite being launched later, instantly freezing the space around the Holy Demon Avatar and eliminating its final chance to dodge.

"No——!" the Holy Demon Avatar bellowed in unwillingness.

"Pfft!"

The azure sword light pierced precisely into its brow!

The icy sword thread followed close behind, freezing its head together with the lingering soul and demonic thoughts within!

Shi Ran also fiercely drove her remaining power; the three-colored vortex suddenly contracted, then——

"Return to the Abyss…… Explode!"

Boom!!!

This time, it was a total annihilating energy burst. The three-colored light devoured the Holy Demon Avatar's body; when the light faded, only some ash and the broken white bone scepter remained where it stood.

The mighty Holy Demon Avatar, comparable to an early-stage Void God, vanished into thin air!

With the avatar slain, the towering statue, as if losing its core support, emitted a series of groaning cracks before collapsing in a roar into a pile of rubble; the blood-red formation on the square instantly dimmed, ceasing to operate.

The remaining Netherworld Sect followers, seeing their leader and the Holy Demon Avatar wiped out, lost all fighting spirit, scattered and fled, only to be easily slain or driven off by Gu Yusheng and Mei Ruoxue.

The secret realm's tremors gradually subsided, the suffocating evil will receding like a tide; although not completely eradicated (the statue perhaps merely one of its vessels), it was clearly gravely wounded and temporarily lurked in hiding.

The battle, at last, ended.

Gu Yusheng and Mei Ruoxue landed on the ground, both panting, their spiritual power nearly exhausted, yet their faces bore the joy of victory and the relief of a burden lifted. They looked at Shi Ran, equally pale-faced but bright-eyed, their hearts filled with gratitude and admiration.

Had Shi Ran not arrived in time and, with unfathomable power, directly opposed and ultimately destroyed the Holy Demon Avatar, they would have had no hope of survival today.

"Shi Ran, I owe you this time." Gu Yusheng said sincerely, the former distance gone, replaced only by acknowledgment and admiration.

Mei Ruoxue also gave a slight nod, her past jealousy drifting away with the wind, her cool eyes holding a hint of warmth: "Your power…… is truly inconceivable."

Shi Ran smiled, about to speak, when her expression suddenly shifted; she snapped her head toward the depths of the collapsed statue's rubble. There she sensed a faint presence—not of this era, but a whisper of gardenia fragrance.

How could gardenia scent exist in such a place?!

When she crossed over, gardenias were blooming outside her window in the moonlight; their scent drifted on the night wind into her old-fashioned building, carrying someone's longing into her mind. For a moment her emotions surged—she had intended to read the novel and sleep, but the story's cannon fodder bore her name, committing several foolish acts and dying off after just a few chapters.

Furious, she refused to sleep, wrote a over‑hundred‑word negative review, hit send, felt dizzy, and upon opening her eyes found a Dragon Chant Sword lying across her neck!

She had entered the book!

After barely preserving her life, she was then afflicted—by someone or by heavenly punishment—with a Red Silk Entanglement, and fought her way through thistles and thorns, peril at every turn, thinking she could finally settle in this novel, only to suddenly catch a whiff of home.

Shi Ran's smile froze on her face; that faint yet unmistakable gardenia scent, like an invisible needle, suddenly pierced her deepest memories, stirring all the thoughts about "home" she had forcibly repressed.

The moonlit old‑style building, the gardenias blooming on its windowsill, the humid summer night breeze, the indignation mixed with the solid feeling of everyday life as she sent that negative review—these images flashed through her mind in an instant, forming a ludicrous yet cruel contrast with the demon‑filled, ruin‑strewn strange secret realm where she now stood.

"What's wrong?" Gu Yusheng keenly sensed her anomaly; the fatigue and laxity from their recent life‑death battle vanished instantly, his Chasing Moon Sword still sheathed but his body already humming with a faint sword qi. Mei Ruoxue also gripped her Secluded Song Sword, her cool gaze following Shi Ran's toward the pile of shattered statue rubble, vigilantly sensing the surroundings.

"There……." Shi Ran's voice sounded dry; she pointed to the depths of the rubble, "There's a different aura there. Very faint, but…… special." She paused, ultimately not uttering the gardenia scent that made her heart tremble—too private, too ill‑timed.

The three exchanged a glance, no need for words, tacitly forming a pin shape, carefully approaching the ruins. The rubble underfoot creaked, especially harsh in the dead silent square. The closer they got, the more evident Shi Ran's palpitation became; that wisp of floral scent seemed to have a hook, tugging at her soul.

Finally, behind the overturned head of a huge statue, they discovered a cave entrance half-covered by rubble. The entrance was deep and dark, extending downward, with a faint light seeping out, accompanied by that elusive gardenia fragrance, and also a hint…… of spiritual energy fluctuation that clashed with the demonic qi of this place.

"A secret realm within a secret realm?" Gu Yusheng frowned, his divine sense probing inward, but like a mud cow entering the sea, it was blocked and repelled by a gentle yet tenacious force.

"Let's go in and see." Mei Ruoxue spoke concisely; she condensed a wisp of ice crystal at her fingertip, flicked it into the cave entrance. The ice crystal glittered, triggering no restriction or attack, instead seeming to be swallowed by the light inside.

Shi Ran took a deep breath, suppressed her tumultuous emotions, stepped forward first, pushed aside the rubble, bent low and slipped inside. Gu Yusheng and Mei Ruoxue followed closely behind.

Below the cave mouth was a narrow stone stairway descending, wide enough for only one person. The stone walls were smooth, not naturally formed, bearing ancient runes now blurred, utterly different from the evil, bizarre totems on the plaza, exuding a solemn, desolate aura. After about a hundred steps, the view ahead opened up.

This was a modest stone chamber, about ten zhang across. In its center stood a small white jade pool; the water was clear to the bottom, emitting a hazy white glow that lit the chamber. The pure spiritual qi and faint gardenia fragrance emanated from this pool.

Beside the pool grew a plant. It was not real, but a condensation of pure spiritual light, taking the exact form of the gardenia from Shi Ran's memory—lush green leaves, immaculate white blossoms, quietly blooming, exhaling a tranquil, serene aura.

Beneath the spirit-light gardenia, at the pool's edge, a skeleton sat cross-legged. Its bones were crystal‑like jade, having endured untold ages yet still holding a perfect meditation posture. It wore a faded robe whose original moon‑white hue could still be discerned, its long hair scattered like dry grass; between its finger bones it clutched a palm‑sized token, neither metal nor jade, pale yellow in color.

What made Shi Ran's pupils contract was the sight of the skeleton's other hand, its finger bones lightly tapping the ground; there, a few characters had been deeply gouged with fingernails, their strokes crooked and twisted. The script… was simplified Chinese!

"Those who come later, if you see the gardenia, you may know the way home."

Boom!

Like a thunderclap exploding in her mind, Shi Ran's whole body shuddered; she staggered forward a few steps, almost lunging at the skeleton. She stared fixedly at the line of characters, each stroke so familiar yet so alien, as if an echo from a distant shore.

Gu Yusheng and Mei Ruoxue also saw the characters; they did not recognize the script, but they could feel Shi Ran's sudden emotional turmoil and a hint in the writing that resonated with some of her traits yet felt discordant.

"Shi Ran, do you know this writing?" Gu Yusheng asked in a low voice, his gaze solemn.

Shi Ran did not answer immediately; she trembled as she reached out to touch the characters, then withdrew at the last moment. Her gaze shifted from the writing to the spirit‑light gardenia, then to the crystal skeleton, and finally settled on the pale‑yellow token.

The way home? Home?

Those two words spun like a spell in her mind. Having crossed over, she had endured life‑and‑death trials, finally found a foothold in this cruel cultivation world, gained power, made companions, even faintly touched the edge of the Dao. She thought she had accepted reality, burying the memories of that world deep. Yet a whiff of gardenia fragrance and this line from her "homeland" instantly shattered all her pretenses.

She longed for home. For that ordinary yet safe world, for the window that let in light, for the evening breeze carrying floral scent.