Chapter 159

"If not for the Sword Soul, for the sake of this very moment, who would have taken her in?"

Her master looked down upon the assembled immortals, her expression as gentle and proud as ever, a faint smile playing at her lips.

She turned her gaze to herself. "After all, since you were little, you've only ever caused trouble for your master, whether knowingly or not, time and again dragging others into danger. Isn't that so?"

"After the Sword Tomb is opened and the Starfire is taken," Qing Zhouxue heard herself say in a low voice, "I'll be of no use anymore, will I?"

The woman chuckled softly and asked in return, "What other use is there?"

The sudden sensation of weightlessness struck, and Qing Zhouxue kicked her foot once more, tumbling out of the dream.

She opened her eyes, drenched in cold sweat again. Reaching to her side, she found it empty, devoid of the familiar fragrance of Nine Harmonies. A pang of sorrow struck her heart, and she was suddenly plunged into a state of panic.

—Master?

A hand pressed down on her shoulder, and another woman's faint voice sounded: "Think less, dwell less."

Qing Zhouxue's vision blurred for a moment, then the world slowly came back into focus from the overlapping haze. She made out the face—it was Liu Xunqin.

And another quite beautiful one—Yue Changge.

She suddenly understood the situation. Supported to sit up, her heart was filled with melancholy.

Several days had passed since Yun Shuchen had taken the Starfire.

During these days, she had remained on Lingsu Peak. As soon as she fell asleep, she would sink into shallow and deep bloody memories, like mud at the water's edge, clinging to her steps, not easily shaken off.

Yue Changge's voice sounded by her ear: "Little Qing'er, just focus on your cultivation and don't worry about Yun Shuchen. She laid the path in the Demon Realm long ago, so she must have anticipated this day."

Qing Zhouxue's eyelashes trembled slightly, but she said nothing.

"I... want to go to Xiaoxibei Youtian."

She swung her legs off the bed, but Liu Xunqin pressed a finger against her: "Until your Dao heart is stable, you cannot go anywhere."

Qing Zhouxue ignored her, moving aside Liu Xunqin's hand, grabbing her clothes, and hurriedly getting out of bed.

She had only taken one step when she froze in place, her whole body as still as a statue.

Under the healer's restraint, her fingers slowly lifted and then loosened their grip on the garment bit by bit. She watched helplessly as the clothes slipped to the floor, while her body moved back against her will, like a marionette, limbs stiff, and lay back down on the bed.

Even as she channeled all her spiritual power to resist, this place was not the Sword Tomb, and Qing Zhouxue could not overcome Liu Xunqin.

Every muscle and bone, in the violent struggle, sparked excruciating pain that reached deep into her soul.

She held out stubbornly for a while, but eventually relaxed, pressing her lips together and staring at her.

Liu Xunqin also lowered her hand and said earnestly: "Since you returned from the Sword Tomb, in these past days when you've been unconscious, your spiritual power has been in turmoil, already showing signs of going mad. Add to that excessive brooding, and in severe cases, your very Dao foundation could be destroyed."

Qing Zhouxue looked at the flickering candle flame on the table nearby. "How many days must I rest?"

"It would be best if there were no disturbances for the whole year." Liu Xunqin said expressionlessly, and Qing Zhouxue fell completely silent.

Watching Qing Zhouxue's uneven breathing, Liu Xunqin glanced at Yue Changge and sent a mental message: I'm not good at comforting people. Go talk to her.

Yue Changge was taken aback and replied:

What should I say? No matter how much I say, it won't compare to even a strand of Yun Shuchen's hair.

Liu Xunqin frowned: What use are you then?

Yue Changge nearly exploded. She glared at Liu Xunqin, but Liu Xunqin turned and walked away, leaving her only a cold back.

Qing Zhouxue's gaze did not move, fixed on the small flame. Only when a dark blur was scorched into her eyes did she look away, and things were no longer clear.

"Shishu."

Yue Changge snapped back to attention, lowered her head, and quickly took her hand. "Hm?"

Qing Zhouxue calmed down: "Shishu, let me go."

Yue Changge raised an eyebrow. "Liu Liu says one year means one year. If you have something to say, think it over first. Wouldn't a little more time be better?"

She stood up. "Besides, some old ancestor has finally been forced out of seclusion, and the Liuyun Sect and the Demon Realm are at war. The outside world is in turmoil right now. Your master is probably up to her neck in work, she might not—"

The door suddenly opened a crack, and Liu Xunqin turned her head slightly, saying coldly: "Why are you telling her all this? Shut up."

Yue Changge was startled, swallowing the rest of her words. Meeting Qing Zhouxue's stunned gaze, she realized she had misspoken and shook her head. "Right. First take care of yourself."

The shishu's figures came and went, but Qing Zhouxue's attention was elsewhere.

War?

Taishang Wangqing had come out of seclusion?

She was dazed for a long while, then slowly closed her eyes.

If she guessed correctly, her master and Elder Zhong and the others had staged a play.

They had piled all the blame onto her master, as much as possible clearing her own name.

Yes, she was the Sword Soul.

Among the cultivators of the world, the sword lineage was relatively common.

But the Sword Soul, to them and to the countless millions of cultivators in the world, was supreme—always the embodiment of slaying evil, punishing wickedness, and upholding justice.

No matter how clumsy the lie, as long as someone fabricated it, the immortal sects would unconditionally incline toward her.

But clearly... clearly there had been another way—that place in the Sword Tomb was so secluded that if no one could find their way out, then no one would ever know what had happened there.

...As long as no one could get out.

These words, like a haunting melody, poured into Qing Zhouxue's mind.

What was there to care about in reputation?

Even if they were all hunted together by the various immortal sects, then... then there would always be a way.

She shouldn't have killed... She had harmed her master.

No, it wasn't her fault either. It was the Liuyun Sect... they had made the first move.

If they were all gone, then it would be completely clean.

A clean, pure white void.

Liu Xunqin came by from time to time to check on her. Once, she found Qing Zhouxue covered in a layer of cold sweat on her face. She had fallen into deep meditation, eyes squeezed tightly shut, veins bulging on her forehead.

She quickly slapped her awake. Qing Zhouxue's eyes flew open, the coldness within them like shards of ice.

"Qing Zhouxue!"

She shuddered violently, her gaze fixed on Liu Xunqin, then slowly softened and finally closed gently and completely.

The tension in her hands receded like a tide, and Qing Zhouxue lay limply on the bed.

Liu Xunqin's gaze paused. She stood up and paced back and forth slowly, as if weighing something.

After a moment of deliberation, she said: "What dissatisfaction troubles your heart now?"

Just as Qing Zhouxue was about to speak, Liu Xunqin leaned in a little closer. "In the world of cultivation, when life is unsatisfactory, the root cause can ultimately be traced to only one thing. Do you know what it is?"

Qing Zhouxue looked at her quietly.

"Not being strong enough."

Liu Xunqin said: "You are indeed a genius, but unfortunately too young. Those old practitioners are not necessarily better than you, but when there is a gap of several hundred years between you, that is an insurmountable chasm."

"It's not just you who isn't strong enough."

When Liu Xunqin launched into a long discourse, she had a habit of lighting her pipe. Stroking the golden patterns on it, she said calmly:

"They aren't either, and neither are we. That's why in this world there are those who band together, and there are sects, and thus the division between immortal and demon paths. Year after year, they tear at each other like wolves and dogs, all for a few scraps of meat."

"If you had sufficient strength, standing above the rest, all of this..."

Liu Xunqin pondered for a moment. "At least for now, everything would be resolved."

Qing Zhouxue's hands unconsciously curled.

In the past, Yun Shuchen had always emphasized that holding a treasure invited crime, and urged her to cultivate diligently. Qing Zhouxue had never defied her wishes, but... but she had never truly felt the gravity of it.

She had been too well protected by the sect before. Only after leaving did she realize that there was no Peach Blossom Spring beyond Wuling, and no second Taichu Sect in this world.

Qing Zhouxue let out a slow breath. She closed her eyes again, unable to fall asleep for a while.

But in the chaos of her thoughts, a clear beam of light broke through.

*

Liu Xunqin walked out of the room again, leaving silence behind. She had only taken a few steps when she ran into Yue Changge.

Yue Changge stood in the shadow of a tree, turning at the sound of footsteps. Her gaze first flicked toward the room, then back to Liu Xunqin.

"With Qing Zhouxue in her current state, you still want to induce her to cultivate?"

"Better than having nothing to do."

Yue Changge sighed. "Only you could do that."

Liu Xunqin frowned. "Given the current situation, only by continuing to climb upward, to the pinnacle of the Nine Provinces, can she protect herself."

The bell on the Main Peak rang once, its ethereal sound spreading through the wind among the clouds, causing the nearby leaves to tremble.

Liu Xunqin and Yue Changge exchanged a glance and flew up together. Whenever this bell rang, it usually meant the Sect Leader had important matters to discuss with the elders.

When the two of them entered the Chunqiu Hall, they were a little late. The Sect Leader and a few other colleagues were already seated solemnly.

"In recent days, the Taichu Sect has received many letters, so many they form a mountain," the Sect Leader paused. "Mostly expressing goodwill and a desire for closer ties."

"Not surprisingly, clearly directed at Qing Shizhi."

Now that the true Sword Soul had fallen to the Taichu Sect, the hearts of many great immortal sects were shaken. Once they had relied on the Liuyun Sect, but now it seemed the Taichu Sect had a more promising future.

"As for Guan Weiqing's past imprisonment of Qing Zhouxue," the Sect Leader sighed, "that act is enough to provoke public outrage, and this matter cannot be easily forgiven. Though the witnesses are all dead, fortunately, with the help of the Penglai Pavilion these days..."

He raised his hand. "Invite the Young Pavilion Master in."

A lavishly dressed young woman entered. Her sleeves rippled with layers of scale patterns woven with gold thread, and around her neck hung coral and gemstones, dazzling and radiant.

The Young Pavilion Master of the Penglai Pavilion—Li Guancang—had met Qing Zhouxue a few times in the past and had even stayed for a period on Heyi Peak.

After returning home with Li Chaoyin back then, not long after, she had gone to the Liuyun Sect to study as a nominal disciple, practicing the Dao.

That day was quite a coincidence. She had been strolling within the sect, wandering into a small path, when she chanced upon a furtive group—tying up an unconscious woman in white, hurrying past.

Li Guancang felt the woman looked somewhat familiar, resembling Qing Zhouxue too closely, but she was too far away to see clearly.

So she casually used a recording treasure to capture the image and secretly kept it. Who would have thought it would turn out to be so useful?

Li Guancang took out the recording orb, activated the technique, and let the elders see clearly.

They had all watched Qing Zhouxue grow up, from a little ball into a graceful young woman. Even a blurred silhouette was immediately recognizable without a doubt.

Yue Changge smiled. "Young Pavilion Master, how clever. With this evidence in hand, it's truly the perfect time and place, a great help."

Li Guancang tried to maintain a composed demeanor, lowering her voice to say: "We've been doing business with the Taichu Sect for so many years. It was a mere gesture."

She said this, put down the orb, and left somewhat hastily.

"It is indeed a great help. It gives us a pretext for retribution." Liu Xunqin said expressionlessly, voicing what everyone was thinking.

For a moment, the hall was utterly silent.

"Now the Liuyun Sect is fighting with the Demon Realm, up to their necks in trouble. If we also kick them while they're down, our stance..." Elder Zhou coughed lightly. "It seems a bit like adding insult to injury. I wonder how the immortal alliance will view it?"

"That's true, but opportunity knocks but once."

The elders' gazes turned in unison to the Sect Leader.

After a moment of silence, the Sect Leader nodded. "The Taichu Sect has no connection to the Demon Realm, nor any collusion."

"It's just that the timing happened to coincide. Let them fight their battles; we will go and settle our own scores."

"These cannot be called the same thing."

He said solemnly.