Lu Mingyi’s tone stayed gentle, but unseen by Xiao Yuxie, her face was complex.
The Five-Colored Stone disrupted Xiao Yuxie’s mind, exploiting her family loyalty. Lu Mingyi could exploit the chaos too—using Xiao Yuxie’s feelings for Xie Shiji.
She didn’t know Xie Shiji’s looks, but she remembered her own face from before.
Since Xiao Yuxie had been so satisfied with it—spending a century seeking substitutes—Lu Mingyi just used the Disguise Technique to recreate her old face.
In this turmoil, seeing her long-dead beloved cousin—even family loyalty would waver.
Lu Mingyi hadn’t expected Xiao Yuxie to break down so completely, dropping her sword to sob in her arms.
She really likes her that much?
Lu Mingyi sighed softly, keeping her voice light. “Shouldn’t we take this stone out now?”
Xiao Yuxie’s body, which had been trembling from her sobs, suddenly went rigid. The arms wrapped around Lu Mingyi’s slender waist tightened slightly.
She continued, “Are you really going to keep blocking me? Or even… kill me?”
“How could I?!” Xiao Yuxie jerked her head up. The lingering tears in her eyes swayed, spilling from the corners and dripping into the pool beneath them. “I won’t hurt you again. Never…”
As their gazes locked, Xiao Yuxie’s eyes shook violently. Lu Mingyi could see she was wavering and pressed her advantage. “We’ve been together for so many years, always as one. Whatever I do, it will never harm you.”
At the end, she paused, then gently raised her hand. With the pad of her finger, she carefully brushed away the tear at the corner of Xiao Yuxie’s eye, her voice softening to a whisper:
“Besides, has the Xiao Family thrived to this day on some lifeless rock? She can rise from the ashes—truly—because of you. What you should cherish is yourself, not something else.”
Xiao Yuxie’s eyes widened, her pupils trembling fiercely.
Lu Mingyi noticed that the eerie blue glow that had lingered in her eyes earlier had faded away.
Almost simultaneously—perhaps as the Five-Colored Stone withdrew its influence—Xiao Yuxie’s body, which had been tensed to its limit, went completely limp. Lu Mingyi reacted swiftly and courteously, supporting her and easing her down to sit in the pool.
Xiao Yuxie had regained her clarity, but she no longer had the strength to stop Lu Mingyi.
She sat there in the water, her white hair draped messily, covering most of her face and hiding her expression.
In the silence and chill, Xiao Yuxie felt a faint burning at the corner of her eye.
That spot had just been touched by Lu Mingyi’s finger—cool to the touch, yet it left a brand like a searing imprint, making her heart quake.
Lu Mingyi had said so many things to her, so gentle and intimate, affirming her, even telling her to “cherish herself.” It was as if the old days had returned.
Even if it was all a disguise, Xiao Yuxie deceived herself into accepting it fully.
Moreover, even if this Five-Colored Stone held immense power and was vital to the Xiao Family, Lu Mingyi had been harmed by it in her previous life and now sought to destroy it. Xiao Yuxie had vowed never to let Lu Mingyi get hurt again—how could she stand in her way?
For the first time in her life, those ingrained thoughts of putting family interests above all else were utterly shattered.
After that act of deception, Lu Mingyi felt as if most of her energy had been drained. She fully released the Disguise Technique, revealing her true face as it was now.
This face was deeper, more radiant, more intensely captivating than before.
It might resemble someone else Xiao Yuxie held dear in her heart, but it no longer resembled Xie Shiji.
Lu Mingyi clenched the hand she had used to wipe Xiao Yuxie’s tears.
“Little Yi…” Xiao Yuxie’s hoarse voice came faintly.
“How many times do I have to say it? Don’t call me that.”
Lu Mingyi didn’t want to hear more from Xiao Yuxie. After tossing out those words, she used Billowing Waves to lift the pale blue Five-Colored Stone, storing it in her Storage Ring without any physical contact.
This time, it went smoothly.
But acquiring the Five-Colored Stone brought countless follow-up problems.
For instance, how could she destroy it? What exactly did this stone do to bewitch the mind so thoroughly?
And why had Xiao Yuxie reacted so intensely—powerless, struggling to breathe—while she herself felt nothing?
Several questions flashed through Lu Mingyi’s mind, but Xiao Yuxie made no move to stop her. She simply sat in the water, her voice raspy as she said, “You wanted the Five-Colored Stone, and now you have it. But… I still want to talk to you. Are you still holding a grudge about Xiao Ji?”
“Holding a grudge?” Lu Mingyi’s brow arched slightly as she looked down at the fragile woman slumped in the water. Carelessly, she replied, “Patriarch Xiao, didn’t I already say it? We’re strangers on separate paths. Strangers don’t hold grudges.”
“We only crossed paths because of the Demon Sect. Once we’re out, it’s bridges and roads diverging—each to their own.”
Under the Five-Colored Stone’s bewitchment, Xiao Yuxie had a moment of confusion, but the memories from that haze lingered in her mind.
She remembered Lu Mingyi using the Disguise Technique to take on her old face, yet calling her “cousin.”
Did Lu Mingyi think she still saw her as Xie Shiji? That she valued Xie Shiji above all?
In truth, this was Xiao Yuxie shooting herself in the foot.
Faced with Lu Mingyi’s cold response, bitterness welled in her heart, but the surging emotions urged her to keep speaking, to try to hold her back.
In that brief moment of silence, a strange figure suddenly appeared at the cave entrance.
The unspoken words caught in Xiao Yuxie’s throat. She and Lu Mingyi both turned warily toward the intruder. But as the shadow slowly approached, they realized it was Tingyu, the snow crane.
The crane was pure white all over, save for a single red mark on its forehead, its posture elegant and tall.
The moment Lu Mingyi saw it, the words escaped her lips: “Tingyu?”
Unfortunately, just as she had seen back at Tianyan Sect, Tingyu’s originally pitch-black eyes were now shrouded in a grayish mist, as if blinded. Even its steps were slower.
Xiao Yuxie’s fine brows furrowed slightly—she clearly recognized Tingyu too.
With the Five-Colored Stone now in Lu Mingyi’s Storage Ring, the inexplicable pressure had lifted. Xiao Yuxie regained some strength, propping herself up with Flying Light as she stood. “Is Master nearby?”
Lu Mingyi knew Tingyu was connected to Jiang Liuzhao, but she’d always assumed the snow crane was her master’s spirit pet.
Yet it was clear Jiang Liuzhao hadn’t brought her pet underground.
Which meant… this bird was Jiang Liuzhao’s Split Soul.
In the final days of her previous life, Jiang Liuzhao had actually kept her Split Soul by her side!
Amid her shock, Lu Mingyi had no time to dwell before Tingyu spread its wings and approached them.
“Looks like Master found the way out and sent Tingyu to find us.”
Xiao Yuxie bit her lower lip, regretting and resenting the interruption of their crucial talk. But this underground lair was no place for conversation—riddled with dangers, cold, and damp.
Hearing there was an exit, Lu Mingyi breathed a sigh of relief. Now that she had this hot potato of a Five-Colored Stone, she needed to deal with it as soon as possible. This wasn’t the time to dwell on old matters with Jiang Liuzhao.
The two mounted Tingyu’s back—Xiao Yuxie in front, Lu Mingyi behind, keeping a considerable distance between them.
Fortunately, Tingyu was large enough. With a flap of its wings, it soared into the air.
The underground caves were incredibly labyrinthine. Tingyu turned at several forks, flying for nearly fifteen breaths before ascending a tunnel.
During this, Lu Mingyi couldn’t help thinking: This place is so convoluted—if it were me alone, it’d take days, maybe a month, to find my way. Yet Jiang Liuzhao pinpointed us so precisely with her Split Soul?
But in her memories, Jiang Liuzhao had always been nigh omnipotent, omniscient.
Though she never shared any of it with her.
Thinking of Jiang Liuzhao and the Five-Colored Stone, Lu Mingyi’s heart sank.
Tingyu flew upward for several quarters of an hour before the exit came into faint view. It was still night outside—they hadn’t been down there long.
Gazing at the exit, Lu Mingyi thought at least there was some good news.
She now knew the Spirit-Devouring Gu was linked to the Five-Colored Stone. If she could uncover that connection and find a way to resolve the gu before destroying the stone, she’d solve two major headaches at once.
However, as they fully emerged from the underground and into the open air, the first sight wasn’t the starry sky.
It was firelight staining the horizon red.
Tingyu had emerged on a small hill very close to Peach Blossom Source, offering a perfect overlook of the entire area.
Jiang Liuzhao, along with the thoroughly soaked Shen Mingzheng and Qi Yinxue, looked like they’d just come up from below as well.
Shen Mingzheng and Qi Yinxue had been staring dazedly at the flames at first. Noticing Tingyu’s descent, Shen Mingzheng jumped up and rushed over.
But Jiang Liuzhao was faster.
Uncharacteristically, she strode forward quickly, scrutinizing the two—or rather, Lu Mingyi—from head to toe.
Her eyes burned bright and intense, a thin sheen of sweat on her forehead. Her usually impeccably groomed long hair was slightly disheveled—a rare sight.
Lu Mingyi’s heart skipped under Jiang Liuzhao’s gaze, but right now, she had no time to ponder the reason.
“Yuxie.”
Confirming Lu Mingyi was unharmed, Jiang Liuzhao’s hand on Xiao Yuxie’s shoulder tightened, as if to hold her in place.
The called-out Xiao Yuxie was trembling violently, her eyes fixed unblinkingly on the scene before her.
She tried to wrench free from Jiang Liuzhao and charge toward Peach Blossom Source, but Jiang Liuzhao held her fast, immovable.
“Let me go… let go… Let me go!!“
Gone was Xiao Yuxie’s usual gentle poise. Her white hair was damp and tangled, her eyes bloodshot, her robes torn and bloodstained. Even her voice was hoarse to the breaking point.
Before them, Peach Blossom Source—which had been elegant and luxurious that very day, blooming with flowers that drew countless admirers— was now engulfed in soaring flames and choking black smoke!
