Chapter 169

If there existed in this world a person who could casually set up a formation or let a single sentence slip from her lips, wielding the power of life and death over others as if it were nothing—

Then the shadow of her own suffering—losing her mother at a young age, becoming an orphan, bullied by peers, abused by elders during training, barely surviving the Demon Realm only to have the first warmth she ever received snatched away like a fleeting firework—

Every bit of her pain bore the fingerprints of that woman, more or less.

And the culprit remained aloof and indifferent, as if merely brushing away a speck of dust.

The candle flame hung almost still in the air; Taishang Wangqing had already left long ago.

After that, it was Qing Zhouxue who continued the conversation, and Yun Shuchen no longer listened.

The sky had darkened by now, and the surroundings were swallowed by the gloom of dusk.

A faint flicker of firelight illuminated her face.

She closed the window and sat alone in silence, thinking for a long time. In the side profile cast by the candlelight, only the slow rise and fall of her breath and the occasional trembling of her lashes could be seen.

In the end, Yun Shuchen felt a deep weariness settle over her.

She should have hated Taishang Wangqing.

But upon learning this suddenly, what surfaced first was not hatred, but a profound exhaustion.

She had spent so many years watching Qing'er's expressions grow more varied each day, her spirit gradually coming alive. In melting that ice, she too had let down her guard and made peace with the past, even reluctant to use Starfire for fear that she might not see her again.

But on reflection, Qing Zhouxue's meeting her was perhaps also part of Taishang Wangqing's schemes.

And yet she had hopelessly fallen in love with her.

"Master."

The door creaked, and light footsteps approached. A white-clad figure slipped through the gap, walking slowly, holding a bowl of congee.

Qing Zhouxue frowned as soon as she entered, feeling that the dim lamp was worse than none at all. Yun Shuchen sat quietly on the bed, hugging her knees, not making a sound.

"You haven't eaten dinner."

"No appetite."

"Just eat a little." Qing Zhouxue set the bowl down and sat beside her. "I've already refused her. I won't learn that dao."

No answer came.

Not knowing how to comfort her, Qing Zhouxue hesitated and finally whispered, "Rest assured."

Yun Shuchen sighed. "Leave me for now."

Qing Zhouxue lowered her gaze, touching her own face. "A face is only a means to recognize a person; it doesn't hold much meaning. Though I resemble her, I am fundamentally different."

With so many people in the world, why must she resemble her? Why must she have countless ties with that woman? At Qing Zhouxue's words, it was as if she had stepped on a cat's tail, and overwhelming grievance and despair drowned her.

But she knew full well that Qing Zhouxue was innocent.

Yun Shuchen tried to steady her breath, holding it for a moment as she gripped her reason tightly.

What was hard to swallow was not just the food; she tossed and turned, unable to smooth over this inexplicable feeling.

Struggling to avoid saying anything rash, she repeated, "Leave me for now. I need to be alone for a while."

But if left alone, she would inevitably spiral into wild thoughts.

Qing Zhouxue turned and closed the door properly, then extinguished the candle flame. She did not leave but said, "If worries are too many, perhaps it's better to sleep first."

She shed her outer robe, pulled her down to lie, and tucked in the edges of the quilt.

Qing Zhouxue did not approach her as she usually did. She watched her shadow turn to the side, sleeping on her side, clearly not wanting to be disturbed.

A sense of helplessness also rose in her heart. Her hand lay between them, originally wanting to reach out to her.

But in the end, she let it fall.

That night, Qing Zhouxue slept uneasily and had another dream.

In past dreams, she would always forget the scenes upon waking. But this time, as with the last, she was terrifyingly lucid within the dream.

Qing Zhouxue sensed a subtle ripple of magical fluctuation and suspected it was some method of entering dreams.

She walked for a long time in the dream, trying to wake up, but to no avail. Beneath her feet was a vast expanse of white clouds and mist, making it hard to distinguish sky from earth. Within the clouds grew clusters of lush peach blossoms, their pink haze stretching to the sky's edge.

"Sword Soul."

Qing Zhouxue halted her steps. She did not need to turn to know who it was.

She slowly turned around.

Taishang Wangqing stood beneath the largest peach tree, a few delicate pink petals caught in her hair. She casually plucked one and let it drift away with the breeze between her fingers.

"Still here for the previous matter? Why are you so insistent that I cultivate that dao?"

Qing Zhouxue stared at her. "If the Emotionless Dao is like you—wielding life and death, doing as you please—then I don't see any meaning in it."

"Besides, I already have someone I love. I cannot abandon her to cultivate that path."

More peach blossoms scattered in the wind.

Taishang Wangqing walked slowly toward her, one step, two steps, until she stood right before her.

Qing Zhouxue watched her closely, not moving an inch.

The two resembled each other in features and were of similar height, standing face to face as if separated by an invisible mirror of water.

Like yin and yang, one black, one white, but faintly merging.

"Life and death at will?" Taishang Wangqing smiled slightly. "You are right."

"Indeed, I do evil, and I am fully aware of the consequences of every word and action—the karma, the slaughter, the blood that flows. The Qingshuang Sword in your hand—"

Taishang Wangqing said, "It was originally my personal sword. Later, because the karmic sins on my hands were too heavy, and I did not want to waste such a fine blade, I gave it to Shenshan Shu. After he failed his tribulation, it fell back into my hands for a few years, but by then the Qingshuang Sword no longer recognized me as its master."

"So I had it sold off together; if there is a destined one, they will obtain it."

Qing Zhouxue was slightly stunned. The Qingshuang Sword was a blade for slaying evil, upholding justice, and it had its own temper.

If one were to force it to kill innocents, the sword might destroy itself.

How much evil had she committed?

Cultivators most feared such things, as too much interference in the fates of others would mar them with karmic sin.

Deepening karma would, firstly, make it easy to fall into demonic deviation, and secondly, significantly increase the strength of the thunder tribulation during ascension.

That was how it was with Yun Shuchen.

In her youth, she annihilated the entire Xu family, and thereafter, every tribulation was fraught with hardship, making her heavily reliant on pills.

Taishang Wangqing knew this, yet she still acted so recklessly—no one knew why.

But at least now Qing Zhouxue understood why she had not ascended.

"But this has nothing to do with me."

Qing Zhouxue was unwilling to linger on the matter.

"The world refuses to open its eyes, so you open yours and look."

Suddenly, the peach blossoms on the tree were blown away by an east wind, turning into a rain of ten thousand petals.

All Qing Zhouxue could see was pale pink, blurring her vision.

When she opened her eyes again, she froze, the scene before her startlingly familiar.

This place was Taichu Sect.

Yet it was not Taichu Sect.

Qing Zhouxue had never seen such a desolate Taichu Sect. The four seasons had all turned dreary. The sky was gray, with lightning dancing across it now and then. But a distant setting sun never sank, as if burning with the last embers.

All the flowers and grass on the mountains were wilted and listless for no apparent reason, each one bent low and mingling with the mud.

Qing Zhouxue walked up the familiar stone steps. The grand mountain gate had already collapsed, leaving only ruins, and under the bleak, dusk-yellow glow of the evening sun, it seemed even more desolate.

A string in her mind snapped. She hurriedly tried to fly on her sword toward Heyi Peak.

But no matter how much she willed it, the Qingshuang Sword remained still.

Only then did Qing Zhouxue notice that there was not a trace of spiritual energy around her, as if all of it had been drained.

Beneath Taichu Sect lay spirit mines; there should be no reason for this.

Helpless, Qing Zhouxue climbed the mountain step by step. Along the way, she saw no living soul.

The outer sect disciples who usually bustled back and forth on the stone steps had disappeared completely.

The higher she climbed, the more uneasy she became.

Finally, as she reached the Main Peak, Qing Zhouxue heard some sound.

On the training field, a formation was glowing softly.

The Sect Leader and several elders were gathered there. Qing Zhouxue spotted her master at a glance and let out a sigh of relief, her steps quickening toward her—yet she passed straight through her as if she were nothing more than air.

Qing Zhouxue halted, realizing they could not see her.

So she stood off to the side and listened to their conversation.

"The Heavenly Dao is weakening."

"It has been plundered by those from the upper realm for too long; now it is the time of depletion."

The Sect Leader stared at the formation, lost in thought. "When the last wisp of spiritual energy is gone, those of us who have lived too long will be the first to die."

Liu Xunqin frowned. "The spirit mine at the foot of the mountain has hurriedly produced a batch of pills. The disciples have hidden in the mine shafts; combining both should buy us some more time."

"It won't last long. After all, there are so many disciples." Yun Shuchen estimated, "At most, three more years."

"Enough."

Elder Zhong said in a deep voice, "If we give our cultivation back to heaven and earth with our dying breaths, we should be able to sustain a century without worry."

"Let's hope we find a solution by then. And let's hope that Junior Sister Qing..."

They seemed to have already come to an agreement, their voices gradually fading.

Qing Zhouxue froze as she watched the Sect Leader walk calmly into the formation. The moment his body disappeared into the great array, he almost instantly crumbled into swirling sand.

Then came the other senior uncles.

A soft white halo wrapped around their bodies, and the faint spiritual light scattered like stars everywhere.

Qing Zhouxue clearly felt the surrounding vegetation reviving, once again bursting with life.

When cultivators died, they returned the spiritual energy of their lifetimes to heaven and earth, which was why the world always remained in balance.

Qing Zhouxue realized what they were doing. When she saw Yun Shuchen take a step toward the formation as well, her heart nearly leaped out of her chest, and she reached out to grab her.

No.

But no matter how hard she struggled, she could not draw even a sliver of her attention, nor could she touch the hem of her garment.

Yun Shuchen gazed into the distance, lost in thought.

Sacrificing herself to save all beings—perhaps she had never possessed such a heart filled with compassion.

But when all was lost, if the multitudes included Qing Zhouxue,

Then it was meaningful.

The woman's form before Qing Zhouxue's eyes gradually blurred, dissipating like flowers in a mirror or the moon's reflection on water, leaving only the caress of the wind in her palm.

Qing Zhouxue's hand remained in the wind and suddenly clenched. She told herself over and over in her heart: It is but a dream.

Just a dream.

Yue Changge had been about to join Yun Shuchen, but at the very edge of the formation, as if struck by a sudden thought, she spun around and strode swiftly to Liu Xunqin.

She almost yanked Liu Xunqin into her embrace, blocking her mouth with precision, and bit down firmly without yielding an inch, ignoring the shock in her eyes.

This kiss was not gentle, only ending when blood was drawn.

Yue Changge slowly released her, a smile spreading across her lips, tears glistening in her phoenix eyes.

Just before she dissolved into ashes, she finally said it aloud.

"I have loved you for many years."

A sheet of white spiritual energy descended like heavy snow, covering Liu Xunqin from head to toe. Yue Changge's form had already vanished.

The shock in Liu Xunqin's eyes gradually faded, replaced by acceptance, and finally by a dead stillness.

She whispered softly, "So have I."