The fragile, unexpected moment of connection and rejection with Empress Nie Yuelian at Liuhuo Ya lingered in Wushuang's mind, a subtle discord in their otherwise cold resolve. Yuelian, a false bride prototype herself, had seen a sovereign self in Wushuang, a reflection of her own brokenness. But Wushuang was beyond such alliances. They were the Saintbreaker, the architect of a new world, not a partner in rebuilding the old.
The cultivation world, already reeling from Wushuang's ascension and the relentless advance of the Saint's Maw, continued its descent into chaos. Sects fractured, alliances dissolved, and the very fabric of spiritual law seemed to unravel. Wushuang, their fused form shimmering with an unsettling power, moved through this collapsing order, a silent, terrifying force.
It was during their relentless pursuit of the remaining matriarchs that Wushuang felt a disturbance, a familiar yet unsettling resonance. It was a qi signature that mirrored their own, yet was subtly distorted, like a reflection in troubled water. It was the spirit-echo, the rogue fragment of their earlier female form, the one that had manifested as the imposter in Heifeng Cheng. But this time, it was stronger, more defined, and it was calling itself Xu Niánmei.
This rogue "Niánmei" was no longer a mere puppet. It had grown, absorbed, and now claimed to be the "true" version, the pure vessel, untainted by the malevolent influence of Xu Jianyu. It had begun to gather its own followers, female disciples who felt abandoned or betrayed by the crumbling sects, drawn by the promise of purity and a return to a "true" matriarchal order.
Wushuang tracked its movements to a secluded valley, where the rogue "Niánmei" had established a nascent sect, a chilling parody of Qianci Yuan. The valley shimmered with a false, ethereal beauty, its air thick with the scent of cloying perfume and a subtle, unsettling hum of manipulated qi.
Wushuang observed from a distance, their fused eyes cold with contempt. The rogue "Niánmei" was not just recruiting; it was absorbing female disciples. It would embrace them, engage in dual cultivation, and then, in a horrifying twist, replace them. The absorbed disciples would dissolve, their essence consumed, and in their place, a perfect mirror-flesh puppet, identical in every way, would emerge. These puppets, devoid of independent will, would then join the rogue "Niánmei's" growing army of reflected saints.
It was a terrifying reflection of Wushuang's own power, a perversion of their Absolute Body Control and Mirror Dominion. The rogue form was building its own sect of reflected saints, embodying every falsehood Wushuang had used, every manipulation, every lie. It was a living, breathing embodiment of their past deceptions, now turned against them.
System Alert: Rogue Echo Expansion Detected. Threat Level: High. Containment Protocol Recommended.
Wushuang felt the cold, clinical assessment of their System. This was not just an external threat; it was an internal one, a part of themselves that had broken free and was now growing, mirroring their own destructive path. They had to confront this demon who wore their name, this twisted reflection of their past. The battle would not just be for control of the realm, but for the very definition of their identity.