As the Taiyi Sect Master, Lian Rusu had the freedom to enter and exit the sect’s gates at will, but aside from the Return to Ruins Realm, she had hardly gone anywhere else and had always devoted herself to secluded cultivation within the dojo. After her words fell, she hesitated for a long time before truly making up her mind.
Before setting off, she went to see Xiang Yingshou.
Xiang Yingshou frowned tightly. “Is there some abnormality reported from the Path of No Return?” She had only recently reminded Chu Jiangkuo to watch for anomalies, and now the nameplate was still lit, meaning the Taiyi disciples on the Path of No Return had not lost contact.
Lian Rusu had originally wanted to mention how Li Shangshan contacted her every time, but recalling Xiang Yingshou’s previous reaction, she swallowed her words. Lowering her eyelashes, she said softly, “For some reason, I feel uneasy in my heart.”
Xiang Yingshou hummed, then raised her brows with a smile. “Then go ahead.” Her junior sect master sister stayed cooped up in the dojo day after day, not even visiting the various peaks of Taiyi Sect. It was a good thing that she was finally willing to step out. As for safety—Xiang Yingshou wasn’t too worried. Her junior sister might be a bit lacking in social graces, but her strength was formidable, with few peers who could match her.
Once Lian Rusu resolved to set out, Chu Jiangkuo in the Path of No Return naturally received the news as well.
She replied with a single “Good” and prepared to hurry through the miscellaneous tasks at hand.
After dealing with that Cave Heaven Realm ruin spirit, Chu Jiangkuo returned to Taiyi Sect’s outpost. With the ruin spirit gone, the Tianyan Mirror was restored to full functionality.
“Master, those deviant, boundary-crossing ruin spirits have all been slain.”
“Reporting to the Auxiliary Teacher, corpses of Empire daoists were found at Azure Wood Canyon—subordinates of Dong Wang. Dong Wang is unharmed but looks displeased and demands an explanation from us.”
“True Person, Junior Sister Xie has lost contact.”
…
Chu Jiangkuo replied, “The disturbances on the Path of No Return have already been explained to fellow daoists of the various sects via the Tianyan Mirror. Those who come here for training bear the risks of life and death themselves. There’s no need to heed the Empire’s complaints.”
“Dan Li, after finishing with the ruin spirits, go look for Chaosheng.”
Chu Jiangkuo replied to each one. A quarter-hour later, she put away the Tianyan Mirror, raised her hand to rub her brow, and suddenly felt a inexplicable daze wash over her mind. As she lifted her gaze, a steady knocking came from outside. Before she could respond, the half-open door creaked open, pushed by a sword.
The sun blazed brightly outside, its rays pouring like water over the newcomer, enveloping her entirely in brilliant light that blurred the line between past and present.
Chu Jiangkuo’s pupils contracted sharply. She stared blankly at the sword-bearing figure leaning against the doorframe and heard her laugh casually, “Fellow Daoist Chu, care to test your sword?”
Her clear brows and eyes bloomed like lotus flowers, radiant and dazzling. That vague face once hidden deep in her heart became clear with the appearance of this figure.
In her daze, Chu Jiangkuo stood up. She pressed both palms on the desk, watching the person stride into the room, and cried out in shock, “Rong Qing?!”
But as “Rong Qing” drew closer to Chu Jiangkuo, a streak of sword light flashed like lightning, slicing the sword-bearing figure in half at the waist.
Chu Jiangkuo’s eyelids twitched wildly. Her dharma sword leaped out, nearly about to be unleashed in the next instant. Her fingers on the desk curled tightly, knuckles whitening from the force. The figure of her old acquaintance scattered under the azure sword light, and the sword’s hum snapped Chu Jiangkuo out of her near-lost state of mind.
Chu Jiangkuo slumped back into her chair.
She rubbed her temples and, seeing the snow-white figure clearly, sighed, “It’s the Sect Master.”
The azure sword glow transformed into streams of light swirling around her body. Lian Rusu’s expression was stern as she pursed her lips and said, “There’s indeed another one.” The illusory image had dispersed like a dream or mirage, but how could such a phantom appear out of nowhere? If she hadn’t come, what might have happened with her senior sister disturbed by this old acquaintance messing with her mind?
“That year, during the complete sealing of the Nation-Securing Chart in the Empire, Qin Lianxin and I searched many times but never found her body. Do you think… she might still be alive? After all, with her cultivation, escaping alive was entirely possible.”
Chu Jiangkuo was stunned for a moment before covering her face with both hands. She was just talking to herself and didn’t need an answer from anyone. Before Lian Rusu could respond, she added, “If there’s really another one, we should find it.”
—
“How are we supposed to break through that Demon Snare Heavenly Net?” In Changbai Valley, Feng Qing gripped her sword with lifeless eyes. They had joined forces to repel the demonic cultivator and temporarily found a place to hide. But Changbai Valley was shrouded in the Demon Snare Heavenly Net, swarming with demonic cultivators coming and going. With their ability to track Cang Lang, it was only a matter of time before they dug out their hiding spot.
“Though the Demon Snare Heavenly Net is a fine dharma treasure, the fellow daoists of the immortal sects have treasures too. Why can’t we break the Demon Snare Heavenly Net? Doesn’t that seem a bit off?” Feng Qing slanted a glance at Li Ruoshui and asked again.
“Maybe,” Li Ruoshui replied absentmindedly. She was reviewing the battle with the demonic cultivator, who was a proper demonic sect disciple with a multitude of techniques at his disposal.
She only knew two moves. Without Feng Qing and Yao Changliu tying him down, she would have been hard-pressed to cope. Even so, he had still escaped.
The Universe One Qi Palm hadn’t yet unified the five elements, leaving little room for variation. If she couldn’t cultivate new dao arts, she could only grind away at the Spring Breeze Rain Transformation Art. Either raw power or versatility—or better yet, both.
“Hey?” Feng Qing was dissatisfied with Li Ruoshui’s distraction.
Li Ruoshui shot her a sideways glance and propped her chin. “Perhaps the ruin spirits made the Demon Snare Heavenly Net indestructible.”
Feng Qing jumped in fright. “Has the Demonic Prison Heavenly Palace colluded with ruin spirits? Been infiltrated?” But they frequented the Tianyan Mirror’s Dharma Realm to hurl insults, so their true selves seemed intact.
Li Ruoshui: “…I didn’t say that.” She was too lazy to ponder such issues. If there were high-level ruin spirits, that was for Taiyi Sect to handle. With their Heart Fixing Realm cultivation, what could they do? Glancing at Cang Lang, who showed signs of waking in her coma, Li Ruoshui gave her another kick, knocking her out again. She leisurely took out a Universe Pouch and shook it, producing the clinking sound of Spirit Jade Pills.
Feng Qing asked, “What are you doing?”
Li Ruoshui’s lips curved into a smile as she uttered two rather unorthodox words: “Dividing the spoils.”
This was what she had looted from the demonic cultivator. Feng Qing said he was poorer than her, but that wasn’t necessarily true. At least his Universe Pouch made a sound when shaken—unlike Feng Qing’s, which probably only echoed with the wails of poverty.
Yao Changliu tossed aside the patient and crowded over, curiosity gleaming in her eyes.
…
A quarter-hour later.
Li Ruoshui’s finger rested on a Dharma Transmission Jade Slip. Without hesitation, she declared, “I want this one.”
The jade slip contained a transcribed technique called Taiyi Blazing Fire Profound Light. She didn’t know where the demonic cultivator had gotten it. It was a fire-based art, but Li Ruoshui followed the Vow Dao, with the Supreme Profound Penetration Scripture as her fundamental scripture, allowing her to master all arts without being bound by her core path.
Feng Qing raised a brow. “What if I want it too?”
Li Ruoshui gave her a lingering glance. “What do you think?”
Already possessing a fundamental scripture, Feng Qing couldn’t cultivate it. To her, this manual was no different from Spirit Jade Pills.
Feng Qing choked, then yelped, “What about friendship?”
Li Ruoshui’s expression was perfunctory. “If there is any.”
She pulled out the Tianyan Mirror to check Chen Buyan’s nameplate.
It had been a while since she’d contacted Chen Buyan. Would her close friend suspect she was in trouble?
Even if she knew, as a true disciple of Three Saints Academy, would she travel thousands of miles to the Path of No Return?
Counting on others was hopeless; the opportunity would be long gone.
“We—” She had just uttered two words when the ground shook violently, rocks tumbling down. Feng Qing’s words cut off abruptly. Her expression changed drastically as she cried out in alarm, “Did the demonic cultivator find us?!”
Li Ruoshui said “Go” and hoisted the prone Xie Chaosheng, darting out of the cave.
High in the sky, the Demon Snare Heavenly Net that had blanketed all of Changbai Valley manifested, flowing with clusters of pale green ghostly fires. But a few breaths later, an azure sword light carrying hundreds of piercing rays slashed down onto the green fires. Then darkness fell, followed by a series of cracking sounds. The Demon Snare Heavenly Net, along with the green fires, vanished entirely.
The sky cleared, vast and pristine.
