Chapter 52 Part 1

The embarrassment of gossiping right to the person’s face without realizing it surged over her like a tidal wave. She could muster her thick-skinned divine ability to get through it when facing Feng Qing, Yao Changliu, and the others, but piling on Chen Buyan, Lian Rusu, and even the bonding ceremony matter left Li Ruoshui at a complete loss. She stood stunned in the Plum Grove, hugging her knees as she curled up, looking small and helpless.

How could her close friend be Lian Rusu?!

Heaven knew, she had already been moved by the century-long bonding promise with her close friend. But the moment the three words “Lian Rusu” came out, it completely shattered her fanciful thoughts.

No wonder the matters of the Path of No Return, White Sun Town, and the Shanyue True Form Chart had been resolved so quickly. She had even worried that an ordinary Nascent Soul from the Three Saints Academy might struggle to convince the higher-ups in the Cave Heaven realm—actually, everything had signs pointing to it, hadn’t it? After she confided in her close friend about the Path of No Return, the East Sea, and White Sun Town, the Taiyi Sect Master appeared!

Bonding with her close friend—

Bonding with Lian Rusu—

Even though they were the same person, the latter’s abnormal impression was too deep. Li Ruoshui couldn’t help shivering.

In the plot, Lian Rusu was Xie Chaosheng’s white moonlight, the catalyst for Xie Chaosheng and Cang Lang’s relationship—of course, those two no longer had the chance to develop their mad love now.

But the threat of the Return to Ruins was real. Would Lian Rusu head to the Return to Ruins Realm in some other form after the Lord of Return to Ruins was born, ultimately scattering her soul?

Li Ruoshui’s heart tightened.

Back when she didn’t know Lian Rusu, she had already felt that such an ending was undeserved for her. Now, though the process of equating her with her close friend had been difficult, she was certain she couldn’t just sit by and watch that outcome. It wasn’t mere verbal regret; she wished she could rush straight into the Return to Ruins Realm right then and grind the Lord of Return to Ruins to dust and scatter its ashes!

Li Ruoshui left the Plum Grove with a depressed expression.

She didn’t return to the guest hall, nor did she have the leisure to handle canceling her registry. Under the moonlight, she stepped onto the stone stairs leading down the mountain.

Yes, she wouldn’t sit by and watch Lian Rusu be swallowed by the Return to Ruins. But with her current cultivation, she couldn’t intervene in anything.

She had originally planned to meet her close friend, then have some leisurely days to discuss the Dao or travel together. Now, she would skip that process! She would head to the Origin Sea as planned.

This was something she had decided long ago—she wasn’t fleeing in defeat!

Only after leaving the Taiyi Sect gates did Li Ruoshui unleash her escape light and fly. She flew in one breath out of the town at the foot of Taiyi Mountain before finally looking back at the jade platform palace hidden in the clouds.

Leaning against a snow pine, she took out the Tianyan Mirror and sent a message to Lian Rusu: “Be careful of the Return to Ruins!” She wanted to delete Chen Buyan’s name seal, but scenes from the past flooded her mind like a torrent. A sour emotion welled up, and Li Ruoshui blinked, brushing off the snow dust that had fallen on her shoulder.

Just stay cold about it. Besides, the Taiyi Sect Master probably wouldn’t have the leisure to care where she went anyway.

Deleting it like this would make her a total jerk.

Li Ruoshui secretly cursed herself in her heart. She stared at that name seal again and again, finally letting out a long sigh before putting away the Tianyan Mirror.

On the cultivation roads of the Nine Provinces, gatherings and partings were commonplace.

It was fine. Wasn’t it just losing a netizen? They weren’t the same kind of people to begin with. With Taiyi Sect Master Lian Rusu’s flawless temperament, once she knew Li Ruoshui’s true nature, she would only end up in a difficult spot.

There might be a little regret? They had been so close to bonding.

In the Tianyan Mirror, she probably couldn’t find another Dao friend like Chen Buyan who was so open and without selfish desires.

The sky was about to brighten, with a few wisps of gray clouds drifting in the heavens and a faint light emerging in the east.

Li Ruoshui pursed her lips. Deep in her heart, a trace of displeasure lingered. After leaving the Taiyi Sect gates, she hadn’t felt relieved at all.

All sorts of thoughts surged through her mind, mixed with sharp whistles scolding her for her ingratitude.

If she stayed with Taiyi, wouldn’t the stars be within reach?

Forget it. She could do it on her own just the same!

She would come back.

Li Ruoshui looked back, telling herself it was just one last glance at Taiyi amid the clouds and mist.

But one glance turned into another, until she could no longer see it.

The east brightened.

Feng Qing, who had dashed out from the guest hall, was the first to go looking for Li Ruoshui, eager to pry into the gossip about her and Chen Buyan.

A knock-knock sounded at the door, but there was no response from inside the hall. Feng Qing wondered in her heart: had she gotten along so well with Chen Buyan that she hadn’t returned all night?

Feng Qing took out her Tianyan Mirror and leaned against the doorframe, her expression hesitant.

Sending a message to disturb Li Shangshan at a time like this might earn her a merciless scolding.

Should she wait another half day?

Just as Feng Qing was about to leave, a figure appeared silently before her.

It was an unfamiliar face. Could it be Chen Buyan?

Lian Rusu gazed at Feng Qing and softly asked, “Has Junior Sister Shangshan returned?”

She had received Li Ruoshui’s message in the Tianyan Mirror, but no matter what she replied, there was no response.

Combined with last night’s interactions, an ominous premonition rose in her heart. After hesitating for a moment, she had quietly come to check.

“No one answered the door.” Feng Qing shook her head. She was puzzled too—if she wasn’t with Chen Buyan, then where had she gone? Or was this person not Fellow Daoist Chen Buyan? At that thought, Feng Qing carefully examined Lian Rusu’s attire. It wasn’t the robes of the Three Saints Academy; it looked more like something from Taiyi. Li Ruoshui was from Taiyi, so being called “Junior Sister” by a Taiyi cultivator made sense.

Steadying herself, Feng Qing asked again, “And you are?”

Before Lian Rusu could speak, a voice filled with surprise rang out from behind: “Master?!” It was Xie Chaosheng, who had arrived early and recognized Lian Rusu’s robes. She couldn’t hold back her exclamation.

Feng Qing rubbed her brow.

She knew Xie Chaosheng—the personal disciple of the Taiyi Sect Master.

So the person before her was the rumored Taiyi Sect Master Lian Rusu, who never showed her face?!

Putting two and two together, Feng Qing jumped in fright. Had Li Shangshan stolen from Taiyi’s treasure vault last night? Why else would the Sect Master and her disciple come to block the door?

“Greetings, True Person Lian.” Although no Cave Heaven pressure leaked from Lian Rusu, Feng Qing still dropped her lazy demeanor and gave her a junior’s salute.

Lian Rusu’s expression was calm. She acknowledged with a soft “Mm” before continuing, “Do you know where she went?”

Feng Qing tensed up and shook her head, denying, “I don’t know.”

Lian Rusu lowered her eyelashes and sighed softly. “Taiyi no longer has her aura.”

“Hm?” Feng Qing was greatly surprised by this. “She already went to the Origin Sea?”

Though her mutter was quiet, let alone Lian Rusu—even Xie Chaosheng heard it clearly.

Xie Chaosheng asked curiously, “What is True Person Li going to the Origin Sea for?”

Feng Qing covered her mouth, widened her innocent big eyes, and shook her head vigorously.

She knew nothing!

Lian Rusu pondered for a moment. “Perhaps seeking treasures for cultivation.”

No strong emotions showed on her face. Feng Qing didn’t ask why she had come. With a few blinks, Lian Rusu’s figure vanished from before her eyes, leaving only the baffled Xie Chaosheng staring at her in mutual confusion.

“Little Xie Fellow Daoist?” Feng Qing’s taut nerves instantly relaxed. She crossed her arms and raised a brow at Xie Chaosheng. “What are you looking for Li Shangshan for?”

Xie Chaosheng snapped back and suppressed her full belly of doubts. With a serious face, she said, “I want to know why Senior Sister Li is canceling her registry. Fellow Daoist Feng Qing, do you know?”

The senior sister in charge had said that Feng Qing had handled the withdrawal procedures for her, and as Li Ruoshui’s good friend, she might know the details.

Feng Qing made up, “Some people yearn for free and unfettered freedom.”

Xie Chaosheng frowned. “Is that so?”

Feng Qing nodded, not revealing Li Ruoshui’s true intentions.

Xie Chaosheng thought for a moment, then cupped her hands to Feng Qing. “Thank you, Fellow Daoist Feng Qing.” With that, she hurried away.

Once her figure disappeared, Feng Qing’s expression changed again. No longer caring if it would disturb, she jabbed fiercely at Li Ruoshui’s name seal.

“Li Shangshan, where are you?”

Li Ruoshui: “Li Shangshan is in the past. I’m Li Bushan now.”

Feng Qing rolled her eyes. “You didn’t elope with Fellow Daoist Chen Buyan, did you?”

Li Ruoshui, utterly dejected: “Don’t mention it.”

Feng Qing: “Spill.”

Li Ruoshui: “Do you know who Chen Buyan is? She’s not a Nascent Soul True Person from the Three Saints Academy at all!”

Feng Qing asked gloatingly, “You got duped, huh?”

Li Ruoshui thought, pretty much. But the Three Saints Academy identity was something she had imposed, so how could she say Chen Buyan had deceived her? Chen Buyan had only held back a bit, while she—well, she had been full of lies. With a wistful sigh: “She’s a Cave Heaven True Person, the Taiyi Sect Master.”

Lightning couldn’t strike just her alone. Li Ruoshui rather unkindly dragged Feng Qing into sharing the shock.

Feng Qing was indeed stunned for a moment, but she quickly recovered. “No wonder she came looking for you just now.”

Li Ruoshui turned alert like a little deer: “You didn’t say anything, did you?”

Feng Qing: “What was there to say? I just mentioned you might have gone to the Origin Sea.”

Li Ruoshui: “…” What a coincidence—she was on her way to the Origin Sea.

But on second thought, Li Ruoshui let go of her rising worry.

So what if she knew? Her close friend rarely went out; she wouldn’t come all the way to the Origin Sea to find her, right?

Just a netizen—not worth it.

At the Supreme Unity Southern Florescence Dojo of Taiyi, clouds churned and mists surged. The once peaceful aura boiled like rolling water, bubbling vigorously until half a shichen later when it finally calmed.

The dojo’s aura reflected the master’s state of mind. Since Lian Rusu had severed her three corpses, it was the first time Xiang Yingshou had seen such great fluctuations in the Nanhua Dojo’s aura. Gazing at the tall, graceful Lian Rusu, she worried, “Junior Sister, you—”

“It’s nothing.” Lian Rusu shook her head, gradually calming her guilty conscience. How could she not know that Li Ruoshui was deliberately avoiding her? So she still couldn’t accept the disparity in status? Meeting Xiang Yingshou’s concerned gaze, Lian Rusu spoke calmly again. “The Dao discussion has begun.”

Li Ruoshui had left, but the Immortal Dao Conference wasn’t over. The Cave Heaven experts from various sects had gathered rarely; the Dao discussion session would last half a month.

–

Half a month later.

At a Return to Ruins Gap suitable for Golden Core level.

A crimson light flashed, and with a sizzling sound, even the stone walls cracked. Rubble rained down, while the ruin spirit enveloped by the Taiyi Blazing Fire Profound Light had long been reduced to a handful of ashes.