Yue Qingsu wore a dark indigo robe, his figure tall and imposing, eyes like cold stars. The faint curve of a smile lingered at his lips as he spoke. "Sect Master, are you troubled over Senior Brother Nie? He has always been unruly. Even when Master was still alive, he could not rein him in. You need not concern yourself too much."
Han Huijun let out a sigh. "Speaking of him, I still don't know where Nie Rong has gone. I've sent out several transmission talismans, yet none reached him. Who knows in what forsaken corner he's showing off that fake face of his again!"
Yue Qingsu's smile deepened faintly. "As long as his soul lamp remains lit, there's no need for you to worry."
"Sect Master… Sect Master, something terrible has happened!" A disciple from the Soul Shrine Hall stumbled in, panic written across his face.
Han Huijun's brow twitched. Remembering the last incident, he forced himself to remain calm. "Don't panic. Speak clearly. What is this terrible news?"
Yue Qingsu, watching his composed demeanor, felt a flicker of pride in his gaze. Senior Brother Han had matured. This was the bearing a Sect Master of Wuxiang Sect should have. No matter what happened, one must never lose composure.
The disciple trembled, sneaking a glance at Yue Qingsu's robe. His voice quivered. "Sect Master, Elder… it's Senior Sister Pei. Her soul lamp… it has gone out!"
"Oh, so Xiao Pei's soul lamp has gone ou—what did you just say?!" Han Huijun's eyes flew wide open.
"Say that again. Whose soul lamp has gone out?" Yue Qingsu flashed in front of the disciple, his eyes cold as blades, locking tightly onto the youth's throat as if gripping his very fate.
"Mmph… mmph…" The disciple's feet kicked helplessly, eyes rolling back.
Han Huijun snapped his fingers, forcing Yue Qingsu to let go. "Elder Yue, the most important thing now is to get to the Soul Shrine Hall!"
Thud!
The disciple fell to the ground, gasping for breath.
"You're right!"
A violent gust swept past, the poor disciple caught in the aftershock. He spun several times in place like a top, eyes dazed and swimming with stars.
"In my next life… I will never choose to guard the Soul Shrine Hall again!"
"Xian Qiao, Xian Qiao, wait for your teacher. I will never let you perish!" Yue Qingsu burst into the Soul Shrine Hall, only to freeze before the soul lamps.
"Elder Yue," Han Huijun said solemnly, already guessing what Yue Qingsu intended. "Life and death are decreed by fate. Would you throw away your own path of ascension for a single disciple?"
Even this usually detached elder could not suppress his emotions when it came to his own student.
"Wait… what's this? The soul lamp hasn't gone out!" Han Huijun rubbed his eyes.
Yue Qingsu's expression smoothed into his usual calm. With a faint smile, he said, "Then that disciple must have been mistaken. Though I cannot fully see through Xian Qiao's destiny, she is certainly not one fated to die young."
But Han Huijun's gaze shifted, noticing the dagger that Yue Qingsu quietly withdrew into his sleeve. His tone grew heavy. "The lamp still burns, which is a blessing. But Elder Yue, you should not act so rashly! If I'm not mistaken, you intended to use the Forbidden Art of Burning Blood to Exchange Life to save her, did you not?"
Yue Qingsu fell silent, then deflected lightly. "That forbidden art's backlash is cruel beyond measure. Why would I commit such foolishness?"
Han Huijun nodded slowly. "As long as you understand. Wuxiang Sect cannot afford to lose you."
A disciple may be lost. But a great elder… never.
—
Tang Manor ancestral hall.
Yao Ranran's eyes widened, then sparkled with excitement. "The female lead's mirror wraith actually dodged my strike!"
Her blood surged with heat. In the dense white mist, her eyes gleamed with a predator's thrill, like an eagle sighting prey. She had no idea that to withstand that strike, Pei Xianqiao had thrown out her most treasured talisman.
As the holy white glow faded, Pei Xianqiao barely caught her breath before sensing the manic eyes watching her through the mist, the predator's hunger pressing for a fatal blow.
"Squeak!!"
The Treasure-Seeking Mouse bristled, every hair standing on end. It had followed its master for so long, yet this was the first time it had felt death looming so near.
"Hehehe…" Yao Ranran chuckled low, her Nine-Lotus Ring expanding in her grip. Behind her, a pure white lotus bloomed in radiant silence.
Pei Xianqiao's heart skipped. She turned and ran.
White light scattered around her, petals falling like snow. The Treasure-Seeking Mouse peeked out, only to see Pei Xianqiao's back covered in crimson blossoms before she collapsed with a thud.
"Squeak!" the mouse shrieked.
Yao Ranran slowly lowered her hand. Had it ended already?
Back in Wuxiang Sect, Han Huijun's pupils dilated. "Xiao Pei… her soul lamp has gone out!"
But Yue Qingsu's face remained composed, even smiling faintly. "Sect Master, you don't need to test me. I will not throw away my Dao path on impulse." Han Huijun's expression shifted uncertainly."Are you sure? Look again."
Yue Qingsu turned calmly. But the moment he saw the extinguished lamp before him, his hand lifted and condensed a dagger, ready to slash down on his own arm.
Han Huijun lunged to stop him. "You claim you won't do this!"
Pfft—
The lamp flickered back to life.
Yue Qingsu's eyes softened, the dagger dissolving into nothing. "I truly won't."
Thud!
Han Huijun stumbled to the ground, his face pale as wax. "Then… that is good."
—
Tang Manor ancestral hall.
Yao Ranran gaped as Pei Xianqiao slowly rose to her feet.
Though crimson blossoms still bloomed from her wounded back, her eyes shone with fierce determination.
"Hunling Shuttle!" Pei Xianqiao summoned her flying treasure. In a flash of light, she tore through the white mist and fled.
Yao Ranran froze in shock. "Even the mirror wraith of the female lead is this strong?"
If one day she faced the real female lead, what then?
She, the villainess of this story, was already being hunted by Li Luoqi. Even if she had no wish to cultivate demonic arts, the overwhelming pressure had forced her into them. Fate's wheel kept grinding her forward along the path of a villainess. In the end… would she be forced back to Wuxiang Sect, only to be slain beneath the abyss by the female lead?
Yao Ranran's eyes trembled. If she did not want to die, she had to grow stronger.
"Mirror wraith, give me your life!"
With reckless force, she shattered the mist and chased after.
Meanwhile in Central Continent, at Wuxiang Sect.
The soul lamp flickered—extinguished, rekindled, extinguished again.
Each time, Yue Qingsu raised his dagger. Each time, Han Huijun flung himself forward to stop him. Dagger raised, body blocked. Dagger raised, body blocked. Again and again.
At last, Han Huijun lost his patience entirely. "If you want to ruin your Dao path, then do it! I'm done with you!"
Veins bulged at Yue Qingsu's temple as he stared at the lamp, lips pressed into silence.
The Soul Shrine Hall disciple, who had finally stopped spinning, crept back inside. He watched as his Sect Master and Elder seemed to be "dancing" in the hall, and quietly pulled out a memory stone.
"Brothers, this is the Elder and Sect Master Dance of Wuxiang Sect. I risked my life to record this. If I die, pour a few cups of good wine on my grave for me…"
"Arghhh!" Yue Qingsu suddenly swung down his blade—
Squelch!
Blood sprayed across the disciple's face. Yue Qingsu's severed left arm rolled to the youth's feet. He looked up in horror, meeting the elder's eyes, faintly tinged with scarlet.