Chapter 57 Part 1

The moon rose above the treetops, and a gentle breeze blew through the woods, bringing waves of pine whispers like the ebb and flow of tides.

Li Ruoshui stared fixedly at Lian Rusu until she lifted her gaze, then hastily averted her eyes, a flush rising to her ears.

She had little interest in satisfying her appetite. Back when she was alone in the Return to Ruins Gap, she preferred spending her time counting Spirit Jade Pills.

Her skewer-roasting skills were mediocre at best—enough not to poison anyone, but far from spirit cuisine. The medicinal properties in those spirit fruits and meats had mostly been ruined by her cooking. Though neither of them needed it, items produced in the Return to Ruins Gap could fetch a good price outside.

Strangely, Li Ruoshui didn’t fuss too much over the Spirit Jade Pills. She just worried that Lian Rusu might find it insufficient.

Lian Rusu remained very quiet, only occasionally uttering single words like “spicy” or “salty.” She said little else.

Li Ruoshui couldn’t tolerate pickiness from others. With anyone else, she would have told them to go cool off wherever it was cooler. But after hearing Lian Rusu’s comments, she felt no irritation at all. Instead, she gradually adjusted the flavors to suit her taste.

“Why doesn’t the gluttonous Sword Spirit come out?” Li Ruoshui asked casually.

“You want to see it?” Lian Rusu looked surprised.

Li Ruoshui nodded and then shook her head. Back when she was a green novice fresh out of the sect, the Sword Spirit with blood streaming from its seven orifices in the mountains had scared her badly.

If it emerged, would there be two Lian Rusus standing before her?

Lian Rusu blinked, and a streak of deep blue light shot from between her brows. The Sword Spirit, clad in a water-blue daoist robe, appeared at her side. It differed slightly from their first meeting—its appearance was similar to Lian Rusu’s but not identical. As a manifestation of the three corpse spirits, it was livelier than her, its brows and eyes vivid and elegant when it smiled.

“Fellow Daoist Ru Bing.” The Undefiled Sword Spirit gave Li Ruoshui a cupped-fist salute, its face eager. “May I have a taste?”

Hearing the alias “Ru Bing” mentioned in front of Lian Rusu made Li Ruoshui somewhat embarrassed. She glanced at Lian Rusu and saw no objection, so she nodded slightly.

The Undefiled Sword Spirit, pent up for so long, was far more talkative than the taciturn Lian Rusu—its words flowed like a river.

“I was searching for someone named Li Ruobing in the outer sect the whole time but never found her. I thought you’d been buried in the Bone Mound. Turns out it was a fake name.”

“Li Ruobing, Li Shangshan, Li Ruoshui—how many more names do you have that others don’t know?”

“Is this the so-called ‘three burrows of the cunning fox’?”

…

Lian Rusu frowned. She knew things would get messy once the Sword Spirit emerged. She endured it for a while before issuing a silencing command.

The Undefiled Sword Spirit’s voice cut off abruptly. It busied itself eating while casting accusatory glances at Lian Rusu.

Li Ruoshui rubbed her forehead, inexplicably amused.

She had previously thought the Sword Spirit was mute. Turns out it wasn’t?

With the Sword Spirit consuming the remaining food, Lian Rusu also stopped eating.

She formed a cleansing incantation, removing the oil and dust from her body.

Li Ruoshui gazed at Lian Rusu. Knowing she was untouched by dust, she still took out a thin piece of Merfolk Gauze handkerchief and handed it to her. Merfolk Gauze was everywhere on Penglai Island—Yue Shenlin had given her a whole roll.

“A gift from the Merfolk?” Lian Rusu asked softly.

“Yes.” Li Ruoshui would rather wipe her hands with random leaves than spend Spirit Jade Pills on Merfolk Gauze as a handkerchief. Of course, a cleansing incantation solved it all—no need for such hassle. Many things were less necessities and more mortal habits.

Li Ruoshui’s gaze followed the Merfolk Gauze as it moved along Lian Rusu’s slender fingertips. Moments later, she coughed to cover herself and said, “What will the Dragon Palace do once they know? If the Dragon Palace doesn’t plan to intervene, will the Immortal Dao Seven Sects step in?”

The sects of the Nine Provinces had long maintained a friendly non-interference policy. For instance, when demonic path matters first caused a stir, no major sects interfered—only later did Taiyi intervene slightly for Cang Lang’s sake. In Empire matters, Taiyi’s strong intervention was because the Empire had priors and didn’t keep its hands clean.

The Origin Sea’s powers were densely packed, unlike the Empire.

It was also home to more Cave Heaven Daoists.

Under such circumstances, the Origin Sea might not welcome Taiyi’s meddling.

Still, things might not turn out as badly as she imagined. Ji Wuxin was a normal person, so the Dragon Lord probably wouldn’t stray too far off.

The odds of a crooked bamboo producing a straight shoot were slim.

Lian Rusu said, “My eldest senior sister has been paying close attention to the Origin Sea. If the Dragon Palace lacks a strategy, Taiyi will intervene.”

Li Ruoshui’s eyelids twitched. “Eldest senior sister?”

She had previously assumed Lian Rusu was a true disciple of Three Saints Academy, with a stern senior sister, a pitiful broken disciple, and her own lonely wandering self.

But those false images were all overturned. Who could restrain the Taiyi Sect Master, Lian Rusu?

Li Ruoshui’s subtle expression caught Lian Rusu’s attention. Since Xiang Yingshou had come up, she continued, “When you return to Taiyi with me, we’ll pay her a visit.”

“Wait—” When had she agreed to return to Taiyi? And even if she did, why visit Xiang Yingshou? Hadn’t she already withdrawn from Taiyi?

“Hm?” Lian Rusu gazed at Li Ruoshui.

The Undefiled Sword Spirit, having finished the food, joined in the fun. Though silenced, its spirituality remained—it used its sword tip to draw words in midair: “She doesn’t want to go back with you.”

Lian Rusu’s brows furrowed deeply. Ignoring the Sword Spirit’s protests, she flicked her sleeve and stored it away.

Li Ruoshui: “…” That troublesome Sword Spirit—even if she truly thought so, did it have to say it so bluntly?

“Is that what you really think?” Lian Rusu’s voice was soft, as if the wind might scatter it.

“No such thing.” Li Ruoshui denied it vehemently, afraid she’d be too slow.

Lian Rusu smiled faintly, gently saying, “My senior sisters are all very approachable.”

Senior sisters? Li Ruoshui’s skin crawled all over. Right—Taiyi Sect Master Lian Rusu had three senior sisters. In the plot, Chu Jiangkuo was imprisoned in the forbidden area due to the Path of No Return incident, and the other two didn’t fare much better. The unfinished novel shifted to Xie Chaosheng and Cang Lang’s perspectives decades later, vaguely showing the grace of Taiyi’s Cave Heavens. Cang Lang was lucky; thanks to Xie Chaosheng’s pleading, those two hadn’t killed her—but she—

Li Ruoshui sneaked a glance at Lian Rusu, her heart uneasy.

Why did she suddenly feel so deeply guilty and unforgivable?

If Xiang Yingshou learned of her dealings with Chen Buyan, wouldn’t she brand her a damned fraud?

Whatever—who knew when the Origin Sea matter would resolve?

She’d heard Feng Qing and Yao Changliu had gone herb-picking. She hoped they’d take a long time—three to five years, even—so she could use that as an excuse to find them.

The Dragon Palace’s response wasn’t slow.

The day after Li Ruoshui messaged Ji Wuxin, a group of Nascent Soul Daoists from the Dragon Palace appeared.

A thunderous crash like mountains collapsing echoed, waves surging across the sea as if a thousand armies charged, whipping up dozens of zhang-high raging waves.

The grand momentum was shocking. The Thunder Spine Shark Clan wasn’t oblivious. This Return to Ruins Gap was near their territory, so they didn’t need time to rush over. Soon, two Nascent Soul Realm Thunder Spine Shark Daoists appeared atop the waves, cupping their fists toward the Dragon Palace visitors.

Relations between the confronting sides were clearly poor. As the Thunder Spine Sharks emerged, they unleashed their Nascent Soul auras to clash with the Dragon Palace emissaries. Auric energies surged through the sea domain, forming massive swirling vortices and even squeezing out several water pillars shooting skyward.

“Fellow Daoists, what brings you here?” The Silver Armor Daoist wore a false smile.

“By the Dragon Lord’s order, to investigate the Return to Ruins Gap,” the Dragon Palace emissary declared loudly.

The Silver Armor Daoist feigned ignorance. “This Return to Ruins Gap is only Golden Core level. Per Nine Provinces custom, Nascent Soul Daoists aren’t suited for training here.”

The Dragon Palace emissary continued, “Several fellow Daoists have reported Nascent Soul Realm Ruin Spirits in the Return to Ruins Gap. How do you explain that?”

The Silver Armor Daoist remained unfazed. “Perhaps a misunderstanding.”

The Dragon Palace emissary had no patience for talk. With a stern “Make way,” he charged toward the Return to Ruins Gap. The Thunder Spine Shark Daoists refused to yield, urging their spells and summoning a sky-obscuring mass of thick clouds. The Dragon Palace emissary sneered, raised a hand, and unleashed a barrage of thunderbolts from the sky. Dozens of golden lights shot down from the gloomy thunderclouds, shattering the dense clouds to nothing.

Winds howled, and sea tides roared.

These were Nascent Soul Daoists clashing in battle. Even with Lian Rusu nearby, Li Ruoshui didn’t get too close. The sounds of artifacts slicing through the air reached her ears now and then. Her eyes flashed—since the Dragon Palace had come to investigate, she might find a chance to delve into Thunder Crack Valley.

“Shall we meet the Dragon Palace fellow Daoists?” Lian Rusu asked.

Li Ruoshui shook her head. “No.” Then she added, “But we can stay nearby.”

She had her own plans. She didn’t need to worry about the Ruin Spirits in the Return to Ruins Gap—she had to secure something for herself. Since Lian Rusu already knew about the Emperor Sword and Shanyue True Form Chart, she might as well use them in front of her.

Though it was Thunder Spine Shark territory, the two Shark Daoists couldn’t withstand the Dragon Palace emissary.

Demon race cultivation methods, especially Power Dao, were hard to escape bloodline suppression without reaching Cave Heaven. The Thunder Spine Sharks had only gained sentience through fortune—how could they compare to the innate dragon bloodline? The lone Dragon Palace emissary repelled both Nascent Soul Daoists and smoothly plunged into the Return to Ruins Gap.

Li Ruoshui waited patiently until the Dragon Palace emissary vanished before quickly following.

Underwater, Li Ruoshui deliberately practiced Carefree Wander and had no intention of using the Water Repelling Pearl. The Dragon Palace Daoists inspecting the Return to Ruins Gap would surely head to the core. Li Ruoshui trailed far behind. With several Nascent Soul Daoists clearing the path, progress was smoother. The only downside: no Ruin Spirits. They either fled or got slain.