Chapter 676 554: When the Bad Woman Dies, Forgiveness Begins

"Holy Daughter, the Sacred Land is here to capture you…"

Before Pei Yuhang could finish, Shang Miaoyan had already seized his wrist.

"There's no time! Come with me, quickly! I've found a way to break this!"

Shang Miaoyan's voice was urgent, her breath ragged with a mix of excitement and peril. "Yuan Tianming will find me here soon. The array barrier I've spent the last half-month setting up won't hold him for long! There's no time to explain, Xiaohan, just come with me!"

Without another word, she pulled Pei Yuhang along and rushed toward the underground Cold Spring of the Cold Palace Sword Mansion.

The Cold Spring was in a hidden location. Even someone like Yuan Tianming would need some time to find it!

While passing through a deep, narrow corridor, Shang Miaoyan, just to be safe, suddenly turned back. A blinding light gathered in her palm, and she unhesitatingly unleashed it all around her.

With a deafening BOOM, rubble flew everywhere as the walls and ceiling collapsed, completely sealing the path behind them.

"Holy Daughter, what are you doing?"

Pei Yuhang was stunned by her decisive action.

Amidst the swirling dust, Shang Miaoyan spun around. Her long hair was slightly disheveled, and a few strands, damp with fragrant sweat, clung to her pale cheeks.

"To make sure… no one disturbs us, of course."

Her voice trembled slightly, and a faint, bitter smile touched her lips.

"Xiaohan, this might be the last time we have together like this…"

"How terrible. I don't even have time to fix my appearance. To think I can't even say goodbye to you looking my best."

Hearing the brokenness and sorrow in Shang Miaoyan's tone, Pei Yuhang swallowed unconsciously.

"Holy Daughter, what are you talking about…"

Shang Miaoyan didn't answer. Her slender hand moved with lightning speed. With a SHING, she drew the sword from Pei Yuhang's waist.

She forced the cold hilt into his palm, her soft hands wrapping tightly around his trembling fingers. She then guided the tip of the blade until it rested steadily against her own heart.

The silk fabric indented slightly, as if the slightest bit more pressure would be enough to pierce the warm, tender heart beneath.

"Xiaohan," Shang Miaoyan gazed at him, her eyes filled with tenderness and reluctance, "now… you must kill me with your own hands."

"Remember to make it quick, so I won't feel any pain."

Pei Yuhang's pupils contracted sharply. He violently wrenched his hands free from Shang Miaoyan's grasp.

The cold hilt felt like a branding iron in Pei Yuhang's palm, and he threw it to the ground.

He staggered back a step, his voice laced with anger. "Holy Daughter! You're insane—!"

"Why would I kill you?! How could I possibly…"

"Because I am the shackles you can never break free from in this life! I am your Heart Demon!"

Shang Miaoyan cut him off, her speech rapid yet every word was clear.

"In Yuan Tianming's grand scheme, Shang Miaoyan was always meant to be your final Heart Demon. The moment you completely submitted to me in this life, willing to be lost in your desires for me, would be the moment you were eternally lost in this cycle of reincarnation."

As Shang Miaoyan spoke, she picked up the sword from the ground and dusted it off.

"But for all of Yuan Tianming's careful planning… he probably never calculated that I, the real Shang Miaoyan, would have the courage to self-destruct my own physical body, risk my Nascent Soul leaving its shell, and force my way into your Sea of Divine Consciousness…

…and possess the 'Shang Miaoyan' in this world, the one who was only supposed to exist as an illusory Heart Demon."

"Yuan Tianming planned for everything. He calculated your hatred and fear of me, but the one thing he didn't account for was my love for you."

She held the sword out to Pei Yuhang. When he didn't take it, she shoved it into his hands.

"Xiaohan, there's no more time… If you don't eliminate me, your Heart Demon, and realize your true self, Yuan Tianming will come to erase this variable—me—himself.

At that point, you'll just enter the next cycle of reincarnation, forget everything, and start over… while I… will disappear completely.

All of our struggles and efforts in this lifetime… will have been for nothing."

As if feeling her words had made the atmosphere too heavy, Shang Miaoyan suddenly let out a soft laugh.

She stretched her body languidly, her graceful curves faintly visible beneath her gauze skirt, trying to hide something behind her old mask of playful nonchalance.

"Besides, don't you hate me more than anyone?"

"Haven't I caused you enough pain?"

"Forcing you to betray Lin Qianyan and fail Ye Liyuan. Forcing you, day after day, to perform those… acts of congress you despise most, turning you into the very thing you look down on most: an immoral degenerate lost to his desires."

Shang Miaoyan listed her sins as if confessing before a statue of Buddha on her deathbed.

"In reality, you wished you could draw your sword and cut me down, but you never got the chance. So why is it that now, when I'm letting you do it, you can't bring yourself to strike?

If you don't use your sword now, you'll never have the chance to kill me again…"

Shang Miaoyan said this in a flippant tone, then turned her back to him.

"Strike from behind. If you don't see my face, the psychological burden will surely be a little lighter, right?~ Remember the swordsmanship I taught you. Make it fast… I'm afraid of pain, too."

Pei Yuhang stared blankly at Shang Miaoyan's back. He was silent for a moment before asking in a hoarse voice:

"Saint… Shang Miaoyan, if everything you've said is true, and by killing you I can remember everything and save everyone…

…does the 'everyone' I save include you?"

"Your physical body in reality is already destroyed, something I can't save. After I destroy your Nascent Soul, is there any possibility you can survive?"

Shang Miaoyan didn't answer, merely standing quietly in place.

After a moment, she stamped her foot lightly and said softly:

"Xiaohan, if you really want to save me, then be quick when you deal with Yuan Tianming. Maybe you can preserve a part of my Nascent Soul.

I'll forget a lot of things, but as long as you're willing to stay with me… we can definitely get to know each other all over again… and besides…"