The serene moonlight broke through the clouds, scattering like water on the ground.
Wei Yunshu gazed at the bright moon, her thoughts turning to Cloud City and Luo Lingfeng. Those who congratulated her on reaching the Nascent Soul stage, while looking down on her beggar origins and despising her lowliness, believed she was unfit to be Cloud Sovereign. What about Luo Lingfeng? Did she feel the same? Or did she believe Wei Yunshu had used her power to force her into the Cloud Immortal City?
“Daoist Friend Bo, are you troubled?” Xie Zhichao wiped the wine from her lips and squinted at Wei Yunshu, asking.
Wei Yunshu’s heart stirred. Her past was filled with too much darkness and unspeakable sorrow, yet it needed an outlet. She turned to face Xie Zhichao and, after careful consideration, said, “I have a friend who was extremely good to her Dao Companion, almost to the point of absolute obedience. Yet, for some reason, her Dao Companion conspired with others to kill her.”
Xie Zhichao’s eyes lit up, suddenly intrigued. “A familial feud, or a conflict involving politics?”
“No,” Wei Yunshu shook her head. “They were reunited after a long time, but her Dao Companion had no memory of their past. The past was best left unsaid.”
Xie Zhichao uttered a thoughtful “Mm.” She tapped her wine gourd with her finger and asked, “Could it be a case of forceful acquisition?”
A hint of hesitation appeared on Wei Yunshu’s face. Before she could fully process, Xie Zhichao continued, “Is your friend perhaps of a higher status and power?”
“One could say so, but she never used her influence to compel others,” Wei Yunshu replied. She actually knew that Luo Lingfeng was already betrothed, so when they met later, she hadn’t harbored any intentions. However, later, the engagement between the Luoshui Divine Palace and the Dustless Sea was broken, and then the Palace Lord proactively proposed a marriage alliance with Cloud City.
“Daoist Friend Bo, that’s not quite right,” Xie Zhichao shook her head. “My Senior Sister once said that if you wield power, even a single glance will lead those below you to rack their brains to guess your intentions. Their compliance is subtle. Your friend may not have noticed, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.”
“You mean to say—” Wei Yunshu hesitated for a moment, then thought carefully and replied earnestly, “My friend’s Dao Companion was previously betrothed, but the engagement was later broken for some unknown reason. Could it be because of my friend?”
Xie Zhichao shook her head. “It’s hard to say.” She hadn’t experienced this matter and didn’t know the details, so she couldn’t glean an answer from the other’s few words.
Wei Yunshu sighed. “So, was it because of this that she came to hate my friend? Did she blame her for breaking up a loving couple? But she never mentioned her previous fiancé. We were certain she held no affection for that person.”
“Either you and your friend were deceived by her, or…” Xie Zhichao paused for a moment before saying, “The hatred is not directed at your friend, but at the matter itself, and at her own powerlessness, her helplessness at being manipulated.” She hadn’t encountered such a situation, but her Senior Sister had mentioned many. What her Senior Sister said was always true.
Wei Yunshu said with a sense of loss, “Is that so?” If that were the case, then she had been negligent. In fact, later on, she could sense some resistance from Luo Lingfeng. She knew Luo Lingfeng didn’t like her and wanted to let her go, but she herself refused. She desperately hoped Luo Lingfeng would stay in Cloud City, stay by her side. But she never expected that what would keep her there would be such intense, world-destroying hatred. “My friend also considered breaking off the engagement, but she was refused by the other party.”
“Judging solely from your description, Daoist Friend, I only find your friend rather awful,” Xie Zhichao did not conceal her emotions and spoke frankly. “To want to marry and then want to abandon, what do they take the other person for? Your friend’s status and position were lower than hers. If she returned to her clan, what would she face? Although we cultivators all say to let go of obsessions and focus on the Dao, we ultimately come from the mortal world and have been through the mortal realm, thus inevitably absorbing some of the habits of mortal people.”
“However, because of this, to resort to murder against the person sleeping beside you is too cruel and ruthless,” Xie Zhichao let out a sharp intake of breath. The mere thought sent a chill down her spine. She felt that neither party was sufficiently honest, but to engage in a fight for life and death over it seemed hardly worth it.
Wei Yunshu did not reply further. Although the Luoshui Divine Palace was the foremost in the Southern Continent, its internal forces were too complex. The Palace Lord could not fully control the elders under him. What was once a façade of peace had now completely disintegrated. The grand Divine Palace had split into several mutually hostile factions. Fortunately, they had not completely lost their minds, and knew that their great enemy was the Corridor of Sins. It seemed to be the work of Luo Lingfeng. She knew that Luo Lingfeng harbored no warmth towards her family, only hatred remained. Filled with such hatred, how could there be happiness?
Xie Zhichao patted her head and suddenly asked, “Daoist Friend Bo, how is your friend?”
Wei Yunshu’s breath hitched. After a long moment, she softly said, “She is dead.”
Xie Zhichao’s expression changed slightly. She stood up and bowed to Wei Yunshu, saying, “I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright,” Wei Yunshu smiled. “For her, it is a release.” There would be no suffering from unrequited love, nor the worry of loss. One life for one life, it was the will of heaven.
As they were speaking, a loud, unpleasant donkey bray echoed from the gaps in the forest. The wind began to pick up.
The shadows of the trees were stretched long, layer upon layer, like monstrous figures with claws and teeth. Amidst this sea of shadows, a sinister aura emerged. Tendrils of blood-red threads, like a spiderweb, shot out from the earth, lunging at the figures ahead like lightning.
Xie Zhichao reacted with extreme speed. Hearing the rustling wind, her saber was drawn, its silver radiance, like a moon disc, outlining an icy cold light, cutting the blood-red threads into fragments of light.
“Evil cultivator,” Xie Zhichao’s expression turned cold. She gripped her saber, her sleeves fluttering in the wind. These blood-red threads were incredibly strange; as long as a trace of blood essence remained, they could continuously generate more threads. In an instant, the entire area was enveloped in a blood-red light filled with malevolent intent. The blood threads surged forward, desperately trying to burrow into Wei Yunshu and Xie Zhichao’s bodies.
Wei Yunshu flicked her whisk. A snow-white radiance swept forward, and the blood threads, like melting snow under the scorching sun, vanished in an instant. Having died once, and now with only her soul and not a physical body, her cultivation was less than a tenth of its former strength, barely reaching the Golden Core realm. Unless—the thought arose, and Wei Yunshu suppressed it again. She covered her mouth and coughed lightly, saying in a low voice, “They didn’t go to the village. Compared to those mortals, the spiritual essence and vital energy of cultivators are more nourishing.”
Xie Zhichao’s muscles tensed. She was not afraid of these strange and unpredictable blood threads. However, if the enemy remained hidden, they would be helpless. “Daoist Friend Bo, I have an idea,” Xie Zhichao was a bold person, possessing the fearless and risk-taking spirit of a Buzhou disciple. She transmitted her thoughts to Wei Yunshu. The initial saber light had formed a protective barrier of saber intent, but now half of it was withdrawn, allowing the blood threads an opening.
Wei Yunshu said, “Daoist Friend Xie, allow me.” The evil cultivators of the Corridor of Sins practiced heretical arts that used the blood and flesh of living beings as sacrifices to enhance their cultivation. This thing was likely the “Hundred Entanglements Blood Silk” commonly used by heretical disciples. Once this item attached itself, it would be like a leech on the heart, until the host’s flesh and blood were consumed. Buzhou disciples tempered their bodies with sword intent, possessing countless sword intents. However, Xie Zhichao had only recently reached the Golden Core realm and had not yet tempered all her flesh and blood into sword intent. Thus, acting this way still carried considerable hidden dangers. Smiling at Xie Zhichao, Wei Yunshu reached out and slapped at the blood thread that had reached her, scattering most of it, but several strands still managed to penetrate her body.
“Daoist Friend, you—”
Wei Yunshu raised her hand, making a shushing gesture. She lowered her gaze to the bulging blood-red sphere on her left wrist and let out a self-mocking laugh. With a hand seal, she used this very blood thread to deduce the opponent’s location. Although her physical body was gone, her divine sense was vast. In just a breath, she had located the enemy’s hiding place. With a flick of her right whisk, a dazzling bright light illuminated the dark forest, shooting forward!
Xie Zhichao immediately understood and stopped dwelling on Wei Yunshu’s actions. Her saber let out a cry, and the crisscrossing saber light clashed, sounding like a dense, silver net cast forward. She cultivated one of the supreme techniques of Buzhou, the “Heaven Splitting Scroll,” which encompassed five realms: Taiyi, Taichu, Taishi, Taisu, and Taiji. She had currently reached the Taichu realm. The saber light that appeared at that moment was extremely conspicuous, but it quickly transformed into the formless, material state of Primordial Qi. This saber strike was named “Taichu”!
A piercing scream erupted from the forest. Following that, a figure in red robes leaped from the bushes. The person’s face was distorted, their complexion as pale as paper, and their dull gray eyes were filled with rage and hatred. They held a soul banner that had been shattered by saber light. They raised two fingers to their nose, chanting incantations. As the incantations fell, streams of bizarre blood-red human figures crawled out from beneath their feet. These were blood spirits refined through their heretical techniques. Only two more were needed to reach the state of “nine-nine return to one” and develop sentience. They reached forward and pointed, and a sinister black wind instantly blew, converging with the wails of the blood spirits to form a ghastly, piercing symphony of ghosts.
Xie Zhichao sneered at the sight. With a step, she had already entered the blood spirits, saber in hand. Her footwork was agile, her movements unpredictable, and her saber strikes incredibly fast. Only after the blood spirits exploded did the saber marks appear.
The red-robed evil cultivator’s face was extremely grim. His junior sister had said one of them would come, but they hadn’t shown up until now. He hadn’t intended to reveal himself, but he hadn’t expected these two Xuanmen disciples to actually have some skill. He thought no more, circulated his spiritual energy, and let out a loud cry. Immediately, he unleashed a token, but this token was not aimed at Xie Zhichao, but at Wei Yunshu beside her. This item was called the “Blood Spirit Token,” and it could temporarily control cultivators who had been tainted by the Hundred Entanglements Blood Silk but had not yet been fully refined. He only possessed one. Although he was heartbroken, he had no choice!
The Blood Spirit Token, upon reaching within three feet of Wei Yunshu, transformed into a beam of red light, landing on her brow like a fallen plum blossom imprint.
The red-robed evil cultivator rejoiced at this sight. He dodged the fierce saber light and leaped back. Glaring at Wei Yunshu, he shouted, “Go! Kill her!”
