Chapter 10

Liu Yunyao looked astonished.

"What is it?" Zhou Ziheng cast a sidelong glance at her. "Do you think I can't handle her?"

"I never said that! I am simply worried for you, Senior Brother!" Liu Yunyao’s eyes widened. "My cultivation is shallow, and I don't know the true extent of your powers, but..."

"There is a vast difference. I naturally wouldn't take action myself; I’m not a fool." Zhou Ziheng interrupted, "A cultivator at the Transformation Stage is far stronger than one at the Nascent Soul Stage. If she is truly determined to kill me, holding out for five moves would be my limit."

Five moves? He was truly overestimating himself. Su Zhen felt a sudden urge to laugh.

Liu Yunyao was stunned for a moment. "But you are only one major realm apart, and Senior Brother..."

"If you don't understand, don't talk nonsense." Zhou Ziheng curled his lip. "Unless I encounter a special stroke of fortune, it will likely take decades for me to reach the Transformation Stage."

He was quite self-aware. Su Zhen mused that in her previous life, it had indeed taken Zhou Ziheng about fifty or sixty years to reach that realm. As for this life? He would no longer need to worry about that.

Liu Yunyao pondered, "What did you mean when you said you wouldn't take action yourself, Senior Brother?"

The corners of Zhou Ziheng’s mouth lifted. "It means I will find others to do the work for me."

Liu Yunyao frowned. "Why go to such lengths? If Senior Sister is unwilling to lend it, I will find another way." She was naturally referring to obtaining the sword.

Zhou Ziheng, however, assumed his Junior Sister meant giving up on the 'Cold Fragrance' and seeking another magical artifact with the same properties. He let out a cold snort. "Junior Sister, you are just too kind. Why don't you consider that the sword originally belonged to Master? Even though she won it, she cannot attune to it. It is only natural for Master to take it back. Her forcibly occupying it is a waste of a top-tier celestial artifact!"

"But, Senior Brother, there are precedents in the sect. She is not the only one unable to attune to a celestial sword, and those people..."

"If you haven't attuned to it, you aren't its master!" Zhou Ziheng declared loudly. "Nowadays, whenever people speak of her, they call her a genius—a Transformation Stage cultivator at a hundred years old and the master of a celestial artifact—with a limitless future. Pfft, what kind of celestial artifact master is she?!"

Liu Yunyao turned to look around. "Senior Brother!"

"What are you nervous about?" Zhou Ziheng glanced at her. "I already scanned the area with my divine sense and set up a barrier. There is no one around. Even if there were someone with a higher cultivation than mine, they wouldn't be able to hear me, and I would certainly know if the barrier were disturbed! Stop worrying about things you don't understand!"

Liu Yunyao sighed again. She could see it now: beyond wanting to help her, Zhou Ziheng truly harbored jealousy and hatred toward Su Zhen. If Su Zhen were to die, it would benefit her without any drawbacks, provided it didn't implicate her. Liu Yunyao did not want to invite trouble so early.

Su Zhen came from the most prominent family in Huanhua Prefecture. As one of the fourteen regions of the Human Realm’s five domains, Huanhua Prefecture lacked abundant blessed lands and dense spiritual energy, but it possessed unique spiritual veins and plants. Those precious resources were controlled by the Su family, and they had many influential marriage alliances.

"This matter has too many hidden dangers," Liu Yunyao whispered. "I remember Senior Brother saying that among the Sect Master's direct disciples, the two Immortal Lords Pei are actually Senior Sister Su's cousins."

Only cultivators in the Upper Seven Realms were referred to as Immortal Lords.

Zhou Ziheng’s expression stiffened. "They are not in the sect right now. Naturally, I wouldn't let them know about such things; that is why I said earlier..."

Su Zhen’s mood suddenly sank. Centuries later, her family had fallen, and her cousins had vanished in the Spirit Realm without a trace. Because of that, the sect had no qualms about killing her.

Liu Yunyao’s voice drifted over again, "And if Master senses something..."

"He won't. Master never pays attention to such things. When I go to contact those people, as long as I conceal my aura, he will simply think I wish to keep my movements private. In the past, when Su Zhen went to the Demon or Spirit realms, he let her be. When has he ever interfered?" Zhou Ziheng chuckled. "As for when the deed is actually done, I will choose a suitable time so that Master won't immediately detect it while she is injured..."

"...Senior Brother, I beg you, do not do this." Liu Yunyao genuinely pleaded. "Don't resort to bloodshed so easily when we haven't reached that point. Senior Sister has never harmed us. Let me ask Master again; perhaps I can persuade her?"

Zhou Ziheng gave a light snort. "Enough." He looked at his visibly anxious Junior Sister, thinking she was only timid and overly cautious due to her low cultivation, and that she worried about him getting into trouble. His tone softened. "Forget I said anything."

Though he said this, his eyes darted around, clearly harboring other thoughts he had no intention of sharing. Liu Yunyao felt a headache coming on. Zhou Ziheng had always been arrogant and rarely took advice; it was hard to say what he might do behind her back. Furthermore, his hatred for Su Zhen was deep-seated; even without the issue of the 'Cold Fragrance,' he would have made trouble for her sooner or later.

Liu Yunyao shook her head. "It is a good thing for me that she hasn't attuned to that sword, and she has never made things difficult for me. Those rumors are all nonsense..."

"Ha? She hasn't made things difficult for you? Last time at the martial arts arena, she let those people surround and provoke you while she just watched coldly. What kind of Senior Sister is that? She even caused you to get hurt later!"

***

"Senior Brother! Didn't I tell you already? Those people weren't provoking me! They just wanted to spar, and when I refused, that was that. I tripped on my own later. At the time, she was talking to Elder Lin, and we were more than half a training ground away..."

"Hmph, everyone knows your health is poor. If she had even the slightest concern for you, she wouldn't have let you get hurt." Zhou Ziheng curled his lip. "You speak well of others all day long, but they don't appreciate it. No matter how they treat you, you return malice with kindness. I fear you will suffer a great loss one day."

The two walked away side by side.

Su Zhen: "..."

She was truly thankful that once cultivators reached the state of *bigu*, they no longer had the metabolic needs of mortals, and food consumed was quickly converted into spiritual power; otherwise, she might have already been nauseated to the point of vomiting.

The pressure of their spiritual energy faded into the distance, likely continuing their nighttime stroll. However, Zhou Ziheng's words reminded her of a past event she had overlooked—something not even mentioned in the book.

In her previous life, before her uncle's six-hundredth birthday, Su Zhen had left the sect to return from the Eastern Region to Huanhua Prefecture to offer him a birthday gift. The journey was long and arduous; even for a Transformation Stage cultivator, it took several days, as one had to conserve spiritual power to deal with potential emergencies.

On her way home, Su Zhen encountered two Transformation Stage demon cultivators. She wanted to avoid conflict, but the two attacked immediately. The three fought for several hours; she exhausted all her hidden trump cards and exposed all her secrets before finally killing them. Su Zhen was left on the brink of death, her physical body destroyed and her soul severely damaged. Had the battle dragged on any longer, she might have dissipated into nothingness. For a cultivator to defeat two opponents of the same rank—and all three being sword cultivators—was no small feat. Naturally, she had no chance to interrogate them about their motives.

Moreover, they were members of the Soul-Devouring Sect. As one of the Four Divine Demon Sects, the Soul-Devouring Sect was notorious; its members delighted in slaughter and offered killings as sacrifices. Their identity alone was reason enough for them to kill. Later, the demon cultivator who harbored an obsession with Liu Yunyao and slaughtered a city to frame her was also from the Soul-Devouring Sect.

Su Zhen didn't think much of it then, merely filled with lingering fear. After returning to the sect to recover, she threw herself into closed-door cultivation. Later, she encountered more demon cultivators and endured even more life-or-death experiences, pushing that small incident to the back of her mind.

Now, thinking back, there were too many coincidences. After that incident, when she returned to Weiyun Peak to recover, Immortal Venerable Yuchen had apologized to her, saying he had not been in the Human Realm at the time and thus failed to sense her injuries in time; by the time he arrived, the battle was already over.

"..."

Taking advantage of the fact that the two were still out, Su Zhen went directly to Zhou Ziheng’s residence. Although she had never been invited, she knew exactly where he lived. She flew over the dense forests and stopped near a luxurious, exquisite courtyard. Standing from a high vantage point, she looked down at the rockeries and flowing water, the rare herbs, and the opulent, grand architecture floored with white jade patterned like water.

In the center of the courtyard, on the white stone tiles, golden threads of light were intricately woven to form a complete barrier array. This invisible barrier protected the residence; anyone who intruded would trigger it, and Zhou Ziheng would be alerted. Su Zhen was very familiar with such methods. Though the barrier she preferred to use was different, she understood the structure of this one perfectly.

After observing for only a moment, she formed a hand seal and flicked a golden stream of light from her fingertips, which quietly merged into the barrier. The courtyard remained silent, and the barrier did not manifest, meaning it had not been triggered. Su Zhen patted a cypress tree outside the courtyard and then turned to leave as if nothing had happened.

By late night, Zhou Ziheng returned, noticing nothing unusual, and went straight into his room to cultivate. He remained in seclusion for the next several days. At the end of the month, Zhou Ziheng emerged from his courtyard, having shed his Weiyun Peak disciple robes for the attire of a wealthy young master. He flew straight toward the foot of the mountain.

A short distance outside the courtyard, the mountain wind howled, and the verdant cypress trees swayed. After Zhou Ziheng’s figure swept past, an eye quietly appeared on the trunk of one tall, lush cypress tree. The round eyeball, resembling a human eye but the size of a fist, turned silently, fixing its gaze on Zhou Ziheng’s back.

At the same time, Su Zhen, who had been practicing soul-based arts in her courtyard, snapped her eyes open. She rose swiftly and went out, first visiting Zhou Ziheng’s residence to withdraw the spiritual power she had left in the barrier. This strand of spiritual power had only one purpose: every time the barrier was opened or closed, Su Zhen would sense it. This meant that every time Zhou Ziheng left, she would know. She would then use the 'peeping eye' left on the tree to track his destination. If he were leaving the mountain, he would usually change his clothes, and his direction would be clearly different from other destinations.

...

Two hours later, Zhou Ziheng landed in a town in the northern part of the Eastern Region. It was the height of the morning market; the streets were bustling with carts and crowds, and the cries of vendors echoed through the long thoroughfare. Zhou Ziheng did not want to reveal his identity, so he used talismans to mask his spiritual pressure and cast a spell so that mortals would not easily notice him.

He moved through the bustling streets, dodging pedestrians, terrified that the mortals might touch him. Occasionally, when someone came too close, he would show an expression of disgust at the sight of their coarse, oil-stained, and dusty clothing, unable to resist casting a few more cleansing spells on himself. Even with the magic, though ordinary grime wouldn't stick to his robes, he still felt profoundly uncomfortable.

Suddenly, Zhou Ziheng’s expression changed.

In the bustling crowd ahead, a familiar thin figure appeared: a pale green dress embroidered with silver, skin as white as snow, and hair like a waterfall. The person strolled leisurely with their hands in their sleeves, stopped at a street corner to buy a skewer of candied hawthorn, and turned to reveal a clear, beautiful profile.

Zhou Ziheng’s eyes widened in disbelief. How could Su Zhen be here? Although he felt no spiritual pressure, it was possible she was deliberately concealing it. Zhou Ziheng, confident in the keenness of a Nascent Soul cultivator, believed he could not be mistaken from half a street away.

But—he had come to this small town to discuss business with a Soul-Devouring Sect demon cultivator, specifically regarding the assassination of Su Zhen. This was the agreed-upon meeting spot. So why was Su Zhen here? Could the Su family also have connections to the Soul-Devouring Sect? And were they looking for the same person?

Countless thoughts raced through Zhou Ziheng’s mind. His gaze followed Su Zhen as she chewed on the candied hawthorn and asked for prices at stalls selling dried fruits and snacks. He checked the sky; it was not yet the hour of the Rabbit, and there was still some time before his meeting with the demon cultivator. If that demon had made appointments with both him and Su Zhen—since they only needed a few words, he could easily meet them separately, just spaced a little apart. If Su Zhen had come early to buy snacks, it made sense; the market would be gone if she came later.

Wait. If Su Zhen was also here to meet that person, what kind of deal was she making?

His mind was in turmoil. Watching Su Zhen’s retreating figure, he couldn't help but follow. The demon cultivators of the Soul-Devouring Sect were bloodthirsty, insane, and fickle. Zhou Ziheng had dared to come alone because he was fully equipped with defensive treasures. As he walked, another thought occurred to him: what if he could simply subdue Su Zhen right here?

If possible, he didn't want to deal with that demon cultivator; he feared those madmen, and the fewer deals he made, the better. If his Junior Sister obtained the celestial sword and repaired her constitution, with Master’s guidance, her cultivation would surely advance by leaps and bounds. By then, if he wished to become her dao partner, no one in his family would oppose it.

Thinking this, Zhou Ziheng hesitated, as he was ultimately one realm lower than Su Zhen. Moreover, since he had come fully prepared to meet the demon, Su Zhen was likely just as well-prepared.

The girl in green was still wandering the market, finishing her candied hawthorn and moving on to persimmon cakes, before turning into a long alleyway. Zhou Ziheng hadn't made up his mind, but he followed stealthily; since she was concealing her spiritual pressure, it would be hard to find her if he lost sight of her. He kept a cautious distance, tucked several talismans into his sleeves, and turned into the alley.

He looked up and froze—the green-clad girl had vanished completely.

Zhou Ziheng was irritated. Su Zhen had likely sensed he was following and had completely hidden herself, or she had left directly. Given the gap in their cultivation, it would be difficult to find her again.

There were few people in the alley: a few stall owners, a young couple walking hand-in-hand while laughing, and an old man pushing a cart piled high with fruits and vegetables, walking with a heavy, stumbling gait. The alley wasn't very wide, and Zhou Ziheng was standing in the middle. The old man pushing the cart tried his best to avoid him, but the cart still brushed against Zhou Ziheng’s hem.

Zhou Ziheng was already irritable; now, feeling even more frustrated at having lost his target, he swung his palm backward without looking. "Don't you have eyes?"

Rolling heat surged from his palm. Even without a sword and still masking his spiritual pressure, as a Nascent Soul cultivator, this seemingly casual strike could easily reduce a mortal body to dust.

However—

The searing gust of wind, laced with spiritual power, did not land on the old man.

In mid-air, countless cracks bloomed, as if a mirror had been shattered, and everything began to fall apart. A brilliant green radiance suddenly exploded before Zhou Ziheng’s eyes.

Swift as lightning and fierce as a gale, the silver-green sword light erupted in a thousand rays, instantly shearing through his protective spiritual power.

A mist of blood sprayed into the sky, falling like rain onto the stone floor, staining it with millions of tiny, bloody dots. Zhou Ziheng stumbled and fell, blood pouring from his seven orifices. His Golden Core had been ruptured; if she went any further, his physical body would be destroyed.

Ripples like water spread through the air, and the cracks silently mended, as if an invisible wall had been erected to isolate this corner from the world. Pedestrians outside continued to walk by, looking normal, and the old man with the cart continued on his way, seemingly oblivious to the blood on the ground and the fallen young man.

The girl in green appeared, holding a dripping silver sword. She lowered her gaze, her features delicate and graceful, her figure lithe and slender. The cold edge of the sword gleamed, reflecting in her eyes, which were as green as spring leaves. Within that vibrant green, a sharp, blade-like killing intent suddenly surged.

"...I originally wanted to let you live for two more years, but now I regret it. I feel like I've suffered a loss just letting you live for another hour."

Zhou Ziheng sat slumped on the ground, looking up in terror.

"I might have acted on a whim if I had even one reason to kill, but today you have given me three." Su Zhen said calmly.

First, he had tried to hire someone to kill her; second, in the future, he had intercepted her at the ruins of Flying Kite City; as for the third, it was equally important.

She looked down at her severely injured Junior Brother, white light flashing in her eyes.

"You possess a treasure capable of resurrection. Take it out and break the binding."