Moonlight fell like water through the sparse gaps in the trees. The branches and leaves rubbed against each other with a rustling sound, occasionally interrupted by the cries of roosting birds.
After a moment of silence, the Wuchen Daoist gazed at Li Ruoshui and smiled helplessly. She said, “Shangshan Junior Sister.”
Li Ruoshui: “…” Her most absurd fantasy had come true, stirring a complex mix of emotions in her heart. She didn’t know how to react for a moment. She had only been probing, but Lian Rusu turned out to be exceptionally frank. She could have just made up an excuse to keep hiding. Li Ruoshui felt like she had to sigh away all the air she’d ever breathe in her lifetime.
She stared again and again at Lian Rusu’s face, which she could never quite commit to memory. It couldn’t possibly be her true body here in the Origin Sea. If it were, the Cave Heaven True Persons would have been alerted long ago. Even so, an incarnation was shocking enough. Not to toot her own horn, but there was nothing on this broken island worth searching for. Ruling out sheer coincidence, the only conclusion was that Lian Rusu had come for her—maybe not entirely, but at least in part.
Why? Li Ruoshui didn’t dare delve too deeply. After staring fixedly at Lian Rusu for a moment, she feigned composure and asked, “How did the Sect Master come here?” What she really wanted to know was how Lian Rusu had found her. She had only mentioned being near the Merfolk Kingdom in the Origin Sea on the Tianyan Mirror, not pinpointed to this small island’s dense forest.
The polite and distant address of “Sect Master” made Lian Rusu’s brows furrow. She said, “I was worried about unusual changes in the Origin Sea.”
Li Ruoshui let out an “oh” and didn’t respond. If there were changes in the Origin Sea, even if it wasn’t Dragon Lord Ji Yanyu they were after, it should have been the merfolk ruler Yue Rushuang.
After her identity was revealed, things proved trickier than Lian Rusu had imagined. She could already sense some evasion from their exchanges on the Tianyan Mirror—what more now that they faced each other? Lian Rusu pressed her lips together, a flicker of displeasure and disappointment rising in her heart, though her face showed none of it. She continued in a gentle voice, “You said what you saw in the Tianyan Mirror might be fabricated, so let’s pierce through that illusion. I want… to know you.”
Li Ruoshui couldn’t hold back and glanced up at Lian Rusu several times. Was this something her former close friend would say? But wouldn’t it be awkward if they got together? Had she said something on the Tianyan Mirror that planted the idea of sending an incarnation? “You might be disappointed,” Li Ruoshui said softly, conveying the same meaning as on the Tianyan Mirror.
“Why would I be disappointed? Does Shangshan Junior Sister think I can’t accept someone different from me?” Lian Rusu gazed earnestly at Li Ruoshui. “You’ve mentioned your life experiences before. If I were in your situation, I wouldn’t have done any better.”
Li Ruoshui’s expression grew even more subtle.
Her words had been a mix of truth and lies, but Lian Rusu believed them, which tormented Li Ruoshui’s conscience.
“I—” Li Ruoshui opened her mouth, but “It was all lies” wouldn’t come out. She turned her face away, a trace of irritation bubbling up from deep inside. Her feigned respect for the Taiyi Sect Master vanished completely. “Anyway, I’m not like what you imagined.”
Lian Rusu: “That’s why I came to see you.”
Li Ruoshui: “…” Her earlobes flushed red, the blush intensifying under Lian Rusu’s warm tone. She couldn’t tell if it was embarrassment or something else—her heartbeat quickened like drumbeats. Li Ruoshui quickly halted the conversation before her emotions spiraled further. She asked again, “How did you find me?”
After entering the Thunder Spine Sharks’ territory, she had used the Dragon God Transformation to disguise herself as the Silver Armor Daoist, who looked like a tin can. Had Lian Rusu planted some kind of locator on her? But Lian Rusu didn’t seem like that kind of pervert. She was probably overthinking it.
Lian Rusu said, “Carefree Wander.”
Li Ruoshui was speechless.
She suddenly recalled the past event—Lian Rusu had made her circulate Carefree Wander, sending a strand of spiritual power to her side via the Tianyan Mirror. She should have been suspicious then! Which Nascent Soul Daoist could do that? The Tianyan Mirror could only transmit physical items like Spirit Jade Pills. That level of resonance with the Tianyan was beyond Nascent Soul.
How had her sharpness and vigilance vanished?
Was she a close-friend-brained idiot?
“Does that mean no matter where I go under heaven and earth, my whereabouts are in your grasp?” Li Ruoshui muttered, her gaze turning strange.
Wasn’t that no different from a tracker?
“Once you cultivate to a realm close to mine.” Lian Rusu saw through Li Ruoshui’s thoughts; her eyes darkened as she lowered her head and said softly, “Sorry.”
Across the Tianyan Mirror, she could only imagine Lian Rusu’s guilt and melancholy, but face-to-face, the impact hit much harder than any illusion. Li Ruoshui couldn’t bear seeing Lian Rusu downcast. She hurriedly said, “I’m not blaming you.” In truth, all major sects had ways to track their disciples—not for prying into privacy, but for safety. Li Ruoshui accepted that well.
Lian Rusu lowered her eyes and stood quietly.
Perhaps from imagining Chen Buyan as a pitiful, unfree little thing too many times, Li Ruoshui now saw Lian Rusu’s figure as frail and lonely. She exhaled a breath of stale air and asked, “Want something to eat?”
Lian Rusu nodded and softly said, “Sure.” Unconcerned with the dry leaves and dust on the ground, she sat cross-legged like Li Ruoshui.
Li Ruoshui’s eyelids twitched. With lightning speed, she pulled a large cushion from her Universe Pouch and slipped it under Lian Rusu.
The edible silverfish had already turned to charcoal in the fire, but being at the edge of the sea domain, grilled fish was never in short supply.
Li Ruoshui deftly scaled and gutted the silverfish, suddenly recalling that scene from the Taiyi Mountains.
Was that really their first meeting?
Her suspicious gaze patrolled the poised and seated Lian Rusu before returning to the fish. Lian Rusu furrowed her brows, a blush flying across her face. She said, “What you saw in the mountains back then wasn’t me.”
Li Ruoshui nodded; she agreed it wasn’t.
Chen Buyan could barely equate to Lian Rusu, but the one poisoned by her grilled fish, bleeding from all seven orifices—definitely not her close friend.
Chattering endlessly on the Tianyan Mirror, yet so taciturn now.
Unsure if Li Ruoshui believed her, Lian Rusu explained, “It was my sword spirit’s transformation.”
Li Ruoshui raised a brow in surprise. “Sword spirit?” Magical artifacts could develop spirituality after long nurturing, or those forged from heavenly materials might have it innately, but evolving into a true spirit was extraordinarily difficult—let alone taking human form. For instance, the Shanyue True Form Chart she obtained had a true spirit that was just a Command Sword.
Considering how the Undefiled Sword had been eager to find Li Ruoshui, Lian Rusu hadn’t summoned it. She said, “The sword spirit comes from one of the three corpses I severed. It’s different from other artifacts with true spirits.”
Li Ruoshui nodded. Dao cultivators had upper, middle, and lower dantian, each housing a corporeal god representing ostentation, desire, and lust. To cultivate pure inaction, they took the path of Severing Three Corpses. A corpse god becoming a sword spirit was like one of Lian Rusu’s incarnations, though with independent consciousness.
After pondering, Li Ruoshui asked, “What layer of Cave Heaven is the Sect Master at now?”
Lian Rusu pressed her lips and softly said, “Second Layer.”
Li Ruoshui had only reached Golden Core; she knew little even about Nascent Soul Daoists, let alone Cave Heaven. But she knew Cave Heaven led straight to plucking the Dao Fruit and ascension. Lian Rusu was just one step from enlightenment. With her cultivation, entering the Return to Ruins Realm spelled doom. And what power did the Lord of Return to Ruins have? Approaching Dao Fruit level?
Li Ruoshui asked again, “Are there any Third Layer Cave Heaven predecessors in the Nine Provinces?”
Lian Rusu shook her head. “No.” At Cave Heaven levels, each minor boundary was harder to cross than a major one in lower realms. If Shangshan Junior Sister was right, the apocalyptic calamity from Return to Ruins must be near Dao Fruit tier. At that thought, a trace of worry emerged in Lian Rusu’s heart.
Gazing at Li Ruoshui seriously turning the grilling fish, she continued, “Below Golden Core, Daoists rely on various cinnabar sands for cultivation. By Nascent Soul, the spiritual qi from sands is insufficient; they need divine sands to accumulate mana. At Cave Heaven, even vast amounts of divine sands barely yield a wisp of mana. They must go to the high heavens to gather Extraterrestrial Gang Qi.”
Li Ruoshui sucked in a breath. No wonder gifted Daoists clawed their way into major sects—every cultivator was a money pit. Later stages required resources no loose cultivator could obtain through personal effort.
Seeing Li Ruoshui’s poor complexion, Lian Rusu said gently, “Shangshan Junior Sister, don’t worry. You cultivate the Causal Vow Dao; heaven and earth’s power will aid you.”
Li Ruoshui thought about it—yes, as long as she slew enough ruin spirits to fulfill her vows, heavenly dao would propel her cultivation to perfection. No need to laboriously refine mana like others.
But mana spent in battle had to be replenished personally. Others could secluded cultivate in caves, but she burned through mana far more. Hard to say how much she’d save. Still, using mana ahead of time had benefits.
“I wonder what state I’ll be in when I achieve Cave Heaven,” Li Ruoshui murmured.
She was merely Golden Core now, cultivating Causal Vow Dao—few truly believed in her, none thinking she’d reach Cave Heaven. But Lian Rusu didn’t see it as a pipe dream. After thinking, she said, “I’ve never seen a Vow Dao predecessor’s Cave Heaven Dharma Image, but there was once one who cultivated the Heavenly Dao. When she attained the method, stars responded, earth qi harmonized. Shangshan Junior Sister, if you achieve Cave Heaven, leveraging heaven’s power and earth’s qi, it should be similar.”
Li Ruoshui’s eyelids jumped. Wasn’t that straight-up protagonist treatment for a female lead?
But surviving to that point was uncertain. Li Ruoshui reined in her galloping thoughts from Cave Heaven and handed a grilled fish to Lian Rusu. “Here.”
Forget Cave Heaven Dharma Images—fish first.
Lian Rusu nibbled elegantly and reservedly.
Li Ruoshui propped her cheek with one hand, gazing at Lian Rusu while occasionally turning another silverfish on the fire rack.
The glowing firelight warmed their cheeks. Li Ruoshui idly thought this counted as fulfilling the promise to wander thousand mountains and waters together?
Stars glittered overhead, the world vast around them.
Pity it was only temporary peace, a brief journey.
With a Cave Heaven True Person’s incarnation protecting her and the Shanyue True Form Chart for hiding, Li Ruoshui could probably swagger into Thunder Crack Valley and snag a Thunder Dragon Bone. But she stuck to her plan. At dawn, she continued patrolling the surrounding seas, marking red notes on her map.
Lian Rusu asked nothing, quietly following Li Ruoshui like a gracefully fluttering butterfly.
Half a month later, Li Ruoshui finally stowed her drawn map and handed the Tianyan Mirror she’d obtained to Lian Rusu.
Whether an incarnation could bind the Tianyan Mirror wasn’t her concern, but no rejection proved she wasn’t a ruin spirit and wouldn’t be blocked by Thunder Spine Sharks at the Return to Ruins Gap in Thunder Crack Valley.
Entering the Return to Ruins Gap was simpler than Li Ruoshui imagined.
The guarding Thunder Spine Shark silver-armored guards didn’t question their origins or register name seals. They casually waved them through.
Were the Thunder Spine Sharks really not colluding with ruin spirits?
