She had once cared deeply about the Kunlun Sword Sect—about every blade of grass, every tree, every flower, every stone here. For a hundred years she had devoted all her efforts, nearly exhausting her heart and soul. So when faced with the betrayal in her dream, she had almost fallen into utter despair.
Yet now, perhaps because she was finally free, she discovered that her heart felt no ripples at all.
No resentment, no emotion stirred.
As if the last trace of feeling she held for Kunlun had vanished completely along with those severed strands of hair.
Lingyun looked at her eagerly. Wuya did not try to justify or excuse his earlier betrayal, only said uneasily, “Master, the road ahead is difficult. Though my cultivation is not as high as yours, I can still help with small things.”
Chao Jinsui looked at Wuya. Once, the betrayal of the disciple she had carefully taught had left her deeply disappointed. But now, she found herself completely calm.
She smiled, her tone as gentle as before. “Wait until the Su family leaves, then go back. Take care on the road.”
The light in both their eyes dimmed.
Chao Jinsui patted Lingyun’s head. “If one day you cannot remain in the Kunlun Sword Sect, leave as soon as possible.”
Chao Taichu would not cherish his disciples. The current Kunlun no longer held anything worth longing for. To remain here would only waste the years.
Saying this was already fulfilling the last trace of sentiment between them.
Wuya hurriedly asked, “Will you come back?”
She turned her head, looking once more at the towering Mount Kunlun, and smiled.
“No. I will never come again.”
Wuya still wanted to chase after her, but Chao Zhaoyue stopped him. He patted his shoulder, then boarded the carriage as well.
Wuya watched helplessly as that figure, like a bright moon, disappeared into the carriage.
The carriage sped down, vanishing into the snow-covered mountains of Kunlun.
Along the way, after learning the full course of events, Chao Zhaoyue said nothing, only looked at his sister’s short hair.
His expression was heavy, his hands clenched tightly into fists. He had always known Chao Taichu would not spare his sister but he had not expected it to truly reach the point of life or death.
Yet he had already made his choice in his heart: he would protect his sister, then let it be life or death.
Soon, he loosened his grip.
“So be it. From this day forward, Chao Zhaoyue and Chao Jinsui have no further ties whatsoever with the Kunlun Sword Sect.”
From now on, mountains high and waters far—they would never look back.
Having not experienced those years as a cripple, nor the explosive surge in cultivation born from despair, Chao Jinsui’s cultivation at this time still remained at the early Nascent Soul stage.
Today, she had been able to suppress Chao Taichu, even injure him—but that did not mean Chao Taichu was truly weak. He had remained at the Nascent Soul stage for over two hundred years, his strength steadily built. If she remembered correctly, Chao Taichu’s strength should soon break through further.
In her previous life, Chao Taichu had only been slain when Su Liuyun reached the Deity Transformation stage, merely one step behind the favored son of destiny. If Su Liuyun had not possessed heaven-blessed fortune, it would have been hard to say who would have won in the end between him and Chao Taichu.
If he broke through to great perfection of the Nascent Soul stage, then even if she surpassed him in the sword path, it would be difficult to suppress him as she had today.
The difference between the Nascent Soul stage and the Golden Core stage lay in the amount of spiritual qi that could be stored and mobilized in the dantian. If the Golden Core stage was a small river, then the Nascent Soul stage was a great river; and great perfection of the Nascent Soul stage had twice the spiritual qi reserves of the early Nascent Soul stage. This was an enormous gap, extremely difficult to cross.
After entering the early Nascent Soul stage, the amount of spiritual qi she could store in her dantian was already considerable. Yet when facing the sect-protecting grand array, she still felt as though her spiritual qi was about to be drained dry.
—Still not enough.
She had to break through faster.
She closed her eyes, trying to forcibly suppress the restlessness and the metallic taste rising in her throat. But as the carriage swayed again and again, the churning of her blood and qi grew more intense.
At first, Chao Jinsui thought it was only because she had forcibly endured the sect-protecting grand array. But gradually she realized something was wrong—the dizziness and swelling pressure in her head grew stronger and stronger.
She asked the system, “What exactly is going on?”
The system checked the host’s body and could not help but turn pale with shock. “Host, it’s your divine soul—your divine soul.”
Her divine soul was unstable.
Her soul had been reborn into this life, making it more fragile than that of ordinary cultivators.
If her divine soul had not been damaged, enduring the shock of the sect-protecting grand array would have been manageable. But now her divine soul was already fragile, and had taken such a heavy blow.
Even worse, as if sensing her weakness, the love gu that had been lying dormant—its three months not yet elapsed—began to stir as well.
The system spun anxiously in circles, but could only say, “Host, I’ll block your pain perception first.”
At last, she felt the surging agony gradually subside, and opened her eyes.
At this moment, the two people in the carriage had both stopped talking and were looking at her.
She had not noticed at all what the two of them had been discussing just now, only vaguely sensing that the atmosphere inside the carriage was very strange.
Though Chao Zhaoyue remained polite, he was somewhat wary of the demon across from him.
Yan Xueyi concealed himself well—white robes, white bamboo hat, even the killing aura around him restrained considerably. Yet even dressed in white, there was still an indescribable bandit-like air and oppressive presence about him.
Chao Zhaoyue could not help glancing again and again toward the top of the demon’s head—
It seemed like there were horns there.
Xiao Yanjing noticed his gaze and immediately hissed at Chao Zhaoyue, flicking its tongue, only to be casually stuffed back into a sleeve by the great demon.
Only belatedly did Chao Jinsui realize that, for some reason, ever since Chao Zhaoyue boarded the carriage, this demon had been acting very strangely—almost a little restrained, uneasy all over. The demon who usually radiated lazy indifference now sat upright and proper.
Chao Jinsui rubbed her brow. Knowing that the instability of her divine soul was best not told to her brother, she thought for a moment. “Zhaoyue, didn’t you say you wanted to go pay respects to Mother? Let’s move Mother’s grave.”
Chao Zhaoyue’s gaze returned to his sister. After a moment’s thought, he said, “It is indeed time to move it.”
Chao Taichu had never liked their mother, and naturally had not given her a grand burial. She had remained alone in the mortal world, and that had always been a knot in the siblings’ hearts. Now that heaven was vast and the seas wide, no longer bound by others, the first thing they must do was bring Mother home.
Chao Jinsui said, “Brother, you go ahead first. This time, I promised Brother Yan something. He helped me, so I must also help him complete one matter.”
Chao Zhaoyue pulled her aside and asked softly, “What exactly is his background?”
The great demon had been drinking tea with restrained composure. Chao Zhaoyue had tried to draw him into conversation for quite a while, but the answers he got were only “Mm” or “Mm?”, his attitude polite enough—yet after all that, Chao Zhaoyue had only managed to learn that his surname was Yan.
There was something strange about this person.
In truth, the Demon Lord’s tongue was far too venomous, his temperament extremely sharp. In his entire life, he had never properly spoken kindly; once he opened his mouth, he could poison the demons of the Ten Thousand Demon Abyss to death.
As the Demon Lord, how could he possibly have a good temper?
But this was Chao Zhaoyue—her own elder brother.
So for a time, this demon could only pretend to be a mute who could not speak.
She said softly, “I’ve known him since childhood. No need to worry.”
Chao Zhaoyue glanced at the horns on his head and asked in a low voice, “Is he the one who sends you birthday gifts every year?”
Chao Jinsui was taken aback. “What birthday gifts?”
Chao Zhaoyue did not explain. Instead, he fell into thought. Originally, he had been very wary of this “kindhearted helper,” because from head to toe the man exuded an aura of “not a good person.”
But after confirming he was the one who sent the birthday gifts, he was reassured—after all, persisting in sending them for decades meant they had long been acquainted.
His younger sister had served as Young Sect Master for so many years, capable of standing on her own outside, even more reliable than her own elder brother. Moreover, the other party had just taken such a great risk to receive them. Asking his sister for help was only reasonable—there was truly no reason to refuse.
So he said nothing more.
After leaving the city, Chao Jinsui and the man in white got down from the carriage. Chao Zhaoyue did not stop them, only waved and signaled for Chao Jinsui to remember to contact him with paper cranes.
After Chao Zhaoyue left, the great demon seemed to let out a faint breath of relief and relaxed.
—No need to pretend to be a polite mute anymore.
He watched the carriage go away, lazily stroking his Xiao Yanjing, lowering his head to say to her:
“Come. Go back to the demon realm with me.”
The words were decisive, leaving no room for refusal, yet his tone was light, as if he were already certain she would go with him.
But in truth, the demon had no confidence at all.
His gaze on her was extremely dangerous.
As if, should she refuse, he would tear off the mask at once, hoist her over his shoulder, and leave.
Yet no sound came from behind him for a long time. The demon’s tense jaw tightened further and further, his face turning pale. The agitation in his heart, the boiling emotions, gradually returned to utter stillness.
Just as he was about to open his mouth to speak the most vicious mockery and threats—
The next moment, something sank into his arms.
She had endured for so long in front of Chao Zhaoyue. Now she could no longer suppress the surging blood and qi. Even though the system had blocked her pain, her body had already reached the brink of collapse.
Clutching the sword tightly, she closed her eyes and fell against his shoulder.
He finally understood what that faint sense of strangeness earlier had been.
With her temperament, how could she not go with Chao Zhaoyue to move their mother’s grave? That so-called “help” never existed. She had clearly been sending Chao Zhaoyue away. Yes—she always liked to force herself to endure. Even if the sky collapsed, she would never want others to worry about her.
Yan Xueyi thought she had been injured by the sect-protecting grand array. Instantly, demonic qi burst from his entire being, raging fury churning in his phoenix eyes. The demonic patterns on his face surged wildly, terrifying to behold. Gripping her hand tightly, he turned and was about to head toward the Kunlun Sword Sect.
Sensing the terrifying, surging demonic qi, she forced herself to stay conscious and grasped his large hand, on the verge of losing control:
“Yan Xueyi… if you squeeze any harder, you’ll crush me to death.”
Before her consciousness faded, she held his hand tightly and did not let go.
Don’t lose control.
Yan Xueyi… in this life, you must live well.
The demon on the verge of losing control amid the raging demonic qi heard her voice. His entire body stiffened, and he immediately regained clarity. His tall frame could easily have lifted her, yet now he carefully maintained the position in which she leaned against him, not daring to move at all.
His mind filled with only one thought:“Crush her to death.”
When he finally came to his senses and saw the unconscious sword cultivator in his arms, the beautiful demon immediately panicked. He lifted her up at once, turned into a mass of black mist, and vanished from the spot.
