Chapter 192 192: Bittersweet



The woman was believed to have died, but inexplicably, a part of her consciousness remained intact, albeit as a mere fragment.

Not only did her consciousness exist, but it was strong enough to even draw Xu Shan inside.

Within the depths of the woman's consciousness, a void engulfed everything. Darkness prevailed, yet amidst this abyss, Xu Shan could see the woman.

Her gaze met his, fixated upon his presence.

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice barely audible, echoing through the dark void.

"Even if I tell you my identity, Senior won't be able to recognise me, since I'm not from the Divine Realm," Xu Shan answered. In the Divine Realm, his identity as the third prince of an Ancient Dynasty didn't matter.

"Senior should just know that I am not a bad person. I came to the Royal Family's Prison to free some people. And that's where I saw Senior, who had passed away."

He didn't tell her everything as there was no need to. It wasn't because he was scared of her. No matter how strong she was in the past, now she only had a fragment of her consciousness left. There was nothing she could do to him.

Furthermore, while his body continued to devour her essence, her remaining consciousness grew increasingly fragile. He could sense the very fabric of the environment beginning to fracture.

"You're not a bad person?" The woman asked, tilting her head to the side. Since her consciousness was already fragmented, she didn't remember many things about her past.

A lot of her memories were lost, and more were getting lost as time passed. It was only a matter of time before she was to stop existing.

All she could remember was a man, who defeated her and sealed her in this prison. She didn't even know why she fought that man, or who that man was.

"Why do I find it hard to believe your words?" The woman pondered, stepping closer to Xu Shan. She didn't care about the fact that cracks were developing in her surroundings.

She stopped merely half a foot away from Xu Shan, looking deep in his eyes. "I don't know who you are, but I do know that I'm about to disappear forever. You, meeting me here might be fate as well."

"I can't grant you any gifts, but there's one thing I can give...."

She reached out her hand, placing her fingers on Xu Shan's cheeks. In her consciousness, her skills or her memories weren't left. She also didn't have any physical possessions that she could give the last person she was to see before completely disappearing.

But there was still one thing she had left. It was her innate ability and also the reason her consciousness was so strong that it survived up to this point. She had the skills of divination.

She could see a person's future through touch. As a gift to Xu Shan, he decided to predict his future.

Once she placed her hand on his cheeks, she closed her eyes. Xu Shan didn't push her away. What was before her was consciousness and not a spirit. She couldn't possess his body. And even if she could, his Celestial Spirit was going to kill her. So he didn't worry about that.

At most, he thought that she was giving him some skill.

The woman remained motionless, keeping her eyes sealed shut. But after a brief passage of time, tears began to flow down her cheeks.

After some time, she opened her eyes. Her tears didn't stop as she looked at Xu Shan.

"Why...?"

"My fate?" Xu Shan frowned in response, unclear what she was talking about.

The woman didn't speak. She simply hugged him. Xu Shan could feel her pain and sorrow as he reluctantly put his arms around her without even realizing.

He couldn't quite explain why, but a peculiar sensation washed over him as he embraced her. It felt both distant and strangely familiar at the same time.

The woman brought her lips closer to Xu Shan's ears. Her tears still kept streaming down as she spoke only one small sentence to him.

"Don't do it."

Xu Shan wanted to ask what she was telling him not to do, but before he could ask, he felt the body of the woman turn into specks of light, disappearing.

Her consciousness was finally broken. Xu Shan was pushed out of the consciousness which completely shattered.

He found himself back in his body. The devouring process was completed by the time.

Xu Shan's eyes opened as he gazed upon the motionless figure of the woman lying in front of him. The powerful aura around her had completely dissipated.

For some reason, Xu Shan felt a strange sense of sadness as he watched the woman's body. She had died. Her consciousness was also destroyed and even her aura and Celestial Spirit was gone.

He reached out his hand to touch the face of the woman, but he stopped as he heard the knock on the door.

Xu Shan came to his senses. He sighed, wondering what this heavy sensation in his chest was. He stood up and kept the woman's body in her storage ring, before walking back.

He opened the door and stepped out. The Previous Emperor was standing outside.

As Xu Shan looked around, he couldn't find anyone other than the Emperor in the hall.

"Everyone already ran away. By that time, the Palace must be in chaos," the Emperor informed Xu Shan, telling him to hurry as well.

Other than those two, only one person was in that place. And it was the Master of the Shadow Hall, who still didn't leave his Cell.

"Shouldn't you run away as well? You realize you'll get killed if the Empress sees you? Why are you still here?" Xu Shan asked, as he walked toward the exit of the cellar.

On the way, he walked past the cell of the Shadow Hall Master, which was left open by him. But the man still hadn't moved.

"This old man is already close to death. What will running away achieve?" The Emperor's response came with a bittersweet chuckle.