Chapter 22

Perhaps out of habit, Su Zhen chose silence without hesitation when faced with questioning. Once someone returned to normal, she calmly resumed explaining the spell she had left unfinished.

Xiao Yu listened attentively, occasionally asking a few minor questions. Soon the explanation concluded, and Su Zhen clapped her hands together. “Alright, if you have no further questions, Senior, I’m off to argue with my master.”

“...You still have to meet him?” Xiao Yu asked.

Su Zhen shook her head. “Senior taught me, so I must finish teaching him in return. That’s why I was ignoring him earlier. But now that’s done, tsk, I’m not afraid of him. We’ve argued countless times before.”

Though all that was in a past life.

Xiao Yu slowly nodded. Judging by his expression, he probably didn’t approve of her behavior, but he said nothing. If he were to speak to dissuade her, for whatever reason, Su Zhen might find it tiresome. Yet precisely because he remained silent, her mood inexplicably lifted.

She curved her lips slightly. “...Just joking. I’m about to embark on a long journey and should inform him.”

With that, she took off straight toward the mountain peak, arriving outside a familiar courtyard, pushing open the door and stepping inside.

The night was thick, the midsummer breeze warm and dry, shadows of trees dancing in the courtyard. On a stone bench by the trees, a girl in a red dress was weeping, face buried in her hands.

Liu Yunyao was not a quiet or reserved soul. Her crying was anything but silent—sobbing loudly, tears flowing freely. The silk handkerchief in her hand was soaked through, practically dripping water.

Standing nearby was a tall, slender figure.

The Jade Dust Immortal Venerable, still clad in white robes, stood beneath the tree’s shadow. Above, a tangle of leaves and blossoms scattered mottled light across his refined, handsome features. He turned his head, brows furrowed deeply, an expression of displeasure etched between his delicate brows.

Su Zhen was well accustomed to this look. This fellow was surely about to lecture her.

She spoke first: “I’m leaving the sect, and I don’t know when I’ll return. Could be days, months, or even years. According to the sect’s rules, I must report to the chief before leaving, so they don’t mistakenly brand me a traitor and put a bounty on my head.”

Mainly, she was uncertain about the timeframe, so it was better to say something to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Once she returned, she’d likely be fully qualified and able to finally rid herself of these troublesome matters.

Unwilling to say more, Su Zhen turned to leave.

“…Zhen’er,” came a voice from behind, barely suppressing anger.

Her footsteps did not falter.

She already anticipated what he might say next—perhaps a scolding for casting that memory spell on her junior disciple, or how reckless she was, disregarding the junior’s frail health.

That had been the case in her previous life. This time, she knew Liu Yunyao’s bloodline; the curse was real, but the so-called frailty was nonsense.

Of course, he likely feared she might “harm” the junior, causing her demonic form to be exposed.

“…Who were you just with?” he asked.

Su Zhen paused at the door, then turned.

The youth in white stepped out into the moonlight, brows tightly knit, eyes dark and gleaming with coldness beneath the pale light.

“...Is that any of your business?” she replied.

Originally intending to retort, Su Zhen’s mood shifted when she saw Liu Yunyao, and her words died on her lips.

“If Master has time, instead of asking about my private affairs, perhaps you should ask your good disciple what she told me earlier. I was nearly killed, yet in the end, I was the one accused of lacking camaraderie.”

Su Zhen said with a hint of irritation, “Seems little junior sister believes I should have just let Zhou Ziheng kill me—that would be ‘loyal and true’.”

“Enough,” Jade Dust Immortal Venerable interrupted, weary. “Yunyao knows she spoke wrongly, which is why she was so upset.”

With a slight motion of his fingers, a soundproof barrier materialized beside Liu Yunyao.

“Your junior sister has just barely reached the Qi Refining stage; her soul is fragile. You used that memory spell on her—”

“Can Master not see if her soul was harmed?” Su Zhen interjected.

“That’s correct,” Jade Dust Immortal Venerable said gravely. “You did not injure her. Your spell is perfectly exquisite. But have you considered—”

Su Zhen cut him off: “No.”

What could he say? Had she considered whether junior sister might be harmed?

If Liu Yunyao were an ordinary human cultivator, perhaps there was such a risk, but a half-demon’s soul was quite another matter.

Su Zhen felt a wave of disgust. “Why should I consider her?”

Jade Dust frowned. “When did I say that?”

She sneered coldly. “Oh? Then what did Master want to say?”

He fixed her with a deep gaze. “It’s fine that you’ve learned that technique, but don’t use it recklessly in the future, or calamity will follow.”

Su Zhen understood. Although orthodox Daoist spells had similar effects, the technique she used contained elements of demonic arts—something she had adapted from another demon cultivator.

Otherwise, with her current cultivation, she wouldn’t wield it so effortlessly.

Squinting, she asked, “What? Has Master seen it somewhere before?”

It wasn’t a genuine demonic spell, nor had he personally experienced it, but he could tell from Liu Yunyao’s condition.

There could only be one answer: he was familiar with the original version of the spell she had borrowed!

So the unspoken warning was whether she had considered the risk of exposing her knowledge of demonic secrets.

Once spoken, silence fell between them.

Su Zhen was somewhat surprised; she had thought this fellow was uninterested in such things.

She raised an eyebrow. “You don’t happen to bear a Demon God’s Contract Mark yourself, do you?”

Jade Dust Immortal Venerable turned his head. “Do I?”

Su Zhen was indifferent. She herself did not have one now.

“No such thing,” he said wearily. “Enough. I cannot control you. Just observe the spells, but refrain from other matters, or there will be no turning back.”

She lowered her gaze. “Thank you for the warning, Master.”

She was well aware—and had never regretted it in a past life.

Jade Dust glanced at Liu Yunyao, who had stopped crying. The soundproof barrier prevented her from hearing the conversation.

He withdrew the barrier and told the junior disciple to apologize.

Liu Yunyao stood. “Sorry, senior sister. I shouldn’t have spoken so. It was me babbling nonsense before the senior brother, which caused him to trouble you.”

Su Zhen said nothing.

“…Forget the fifth senior brother. About the senior brother’s matter, you’re not at fault either,” Liu Yunyao murmured. “I was too hypocritical. Because I’m close to him, I asked you for help without considering your feelings. If you weren’t capable, he might have hurt you.”

“He doesn’t have that ability,” Su Zhen said impatiently. “Done talking?”

“Fine, then I’m leaving.”

She turned and moved to the door but found she couldn’t open it—the courtyard’s barrier had sealed, preventing anyone inside from leaving.

Su Zhen sighed.

In her past life, she had argued with her master many times, often storming off, and Jade Dust rarely stopped her.

But situations like this had occurred before.

“If Master wants to bring up old matters again, I promise what I say next will be harsher and might even make junior sister faint on the spot.”

She left without looking back.

As her words fell, Su Zhen suddenly sensed a spiritual pressure vanish behind her.

She turned in surprise to find Liu Yunyao gone—her master had sent her away.

Only the two of them remained in the spacious courtyard.

The white-robed youth stood under the tree, eyes unreadable. “Were you just with Immortal Venerable Zhaohua?”

It was not surprising he guessed correctly. Xiao Yu’s move had revealed his cultivation level. If he hadn’t been above the Chief of Weiyun Peak, he couldn’t have blocked the master’s transmission.

Who else in the Tianyuan Sect had a cultivation higher than Jade Dust Immortal Venerable?

Su Zhen replied, “What if I said it wasn’t him?”

Jade Dust said, “Is that so? Then was it the sect leader?”

Chong Yun Immortal Venerable was in seclusion. Even if he emerged, he wouldn’t be wandering Weiyun Peak at this hour.

Su Zhen sneered. “Does it have to be a cultivator? What if I said I was with a certain Demon God? What would you do?”

Jade Dust was silent for a moment. “Which one?”

Su Zhen was speechless. “You really asked.”

“Zhen’er, you’re still young. Some things haven’t been told to you because I didn’t want to slander others behind their backs. But since you insist on associating with him, I must warn you.”

He paused. “Xiao Yu is temperamental, moody, and cold. When he first joined the sect, he fought openly with others and often severely injured opponents in contests. Some never fully recovered, even dying at the hands of demons. Several elders of Lingxiao Peak who had mere verbal disputes with him were slaughtered by demon cultivators while he watched…”

Su Zhen smiled wryly. “Let me guess—Master thinks what happened between me and Zhou Ziheng was just a minor quarrel?”

Jade Dust frowned but did not immediately contradict her.

Su Zhen spread her hands. “See?”

She lowered her gaze, pondering how much Xiao Yu had influenced her, even causing her to make this gesture.

“Master doesn’t truly know what happened between them. After all, you’re not from Lingxiao Peak. There were rumors before that I despised junior sister and wanted her expelled. Ha. Thanks for the kind warning.”

Though she said it lightly, her expression was utterly calm.

Even if every example Jade Dust cited was true, she didn’t care. In her past life, she had known many demon cultivators. Those close to her, while not mass murderers, refrained only from harming mortals. They had slaughtered countless cultivators for all sorts of reasons, which boiled down to simply—because they pleased.

Any one of them was probably more terrifying than Xiao Yu.

Of course, this was cruelty and coldness, not strength.

Jade Dust looked at her, troubled. “Zhen’er, don’t take this as a joke.”

“Master, do I look like I’m joking?” Su Zhen asked blankly. “I know your intentions. What more do you want? For me to swear I won’t speak to anyone you consider morally imperfect?”

She added sarcastically, “If it were anyone else, hearing their disciple associates with the Sword God, they’d be thrilled and eager for me to ingratiate myself. Everyone would benefit. Master, you really are one of a kind.”

Jade Dust shook his head slightly. “The stories people hear are only the flattering parts. If you heard his past, you might admire him, so…”

“Wait.” Su Zhen interrupted.

“Master, let me be clear.” She took out a jade slip, touched it, and wrote eight large characters:

“Come to me, barrier shattered.”

She infused it with a touch of spiritual power and sent it off.

Before she finished placing the jade slip back into her waist pouch, the entire courtyard trembled violently.

A vast, profound spiritual force surged forth, instantly shattering the layers of barriers.

Those impenetrable walls, capable of resisting all manner of high-level spells, were completely broken.

Countless golden specks of light rained down, soon vanishing into the air.

Jade Dust’s face showed shock.

Su Zhen stood still, expression calm. Looking down, she saw a shadow passing across the ground, followed by a familiar voice.

“What’s going on?”

Xiao Yu approached from behind, dressed in a dark silver embroidered black robe with arrow sleeves, looking sharp and poised as if ready to depart.

Su Zhen was surprised. “You changed clothes already?”

“Not exactly...” Xiao Yu tilted his head. “Cough, later. What’s happening?”

He glanced at the white-robed man nearby with a complex expression.

Su Zhen studied Xiao Yu.

He had removed his headpiece, his thick raven-black hair loosely tied in a voluminous high ponytail, the ends falling past his waist.

He was barely past his prime, and the style made him look even younger—like a spirited youth.

Perhaps she stared too long, as Xiao Yu turned around, somewhat embarrassed. “What’s wrong?”

Su Zhen’s gaze flickered over his handsome, profound profile to the sharp white gem at his ear. “Nothing.”

Misunderstanding her nervousness, Xiao Yu touched his ear. “You like it? I’ll give it to you—”

He actually took off the earring and held it out.

Su Zhen waved him off. “Senior, no. It’s just a novel style, so I glanced twice. Oh, right, back to business.”

She turned her head forward.

Jade Dust stood silently under the tree, his expression remarkable in its own way.

Su Zhen racked her brain but found no words to describe his current look.

Xiao Yu had just put his earring back on when the green-robed girl stepped back and bowed deeply to him.

Xiao Yu was baffled. “?????”

Su Zhen’s face grew solemn and spoke respectfully, “Immortal Venerable, my master said that hearing of your deeds, I must surely admire you—”

Before she finished, Xiao Yu snapped, glaring at the Weiyun Peak chief beside them. “Are you out of your mind?”

He seemed truly angry, laughing bitterly yet without joy in his eyes. His gaze darkened ominously as he looked at the white-robed youth beneath the tree.

“Xu, don’t you see I’ve been the one pestering her? I truly admire her. Say one more word, and I’ll raze Weiyun Peak to the ground.”

An eerie silence fell over the courtyard.

Su Zhen asked curiously, “What about the people on Weiyun Peak?”

“Destroying the mountain without killing the people is easy for me. Restoring the mountain afterward is also easy,” Xiao Yu said lightly. “Of course, except for demons. Those die and don’t come back.”

Jade Dust’s expression changed completely. “Xiao Yu, you—”

Su Zhen nearly laughed aloud.

Xiao Yu crossed his arms. “What do you want to say, Junior Uncle? Demons die? So what?”

Jade Dust couldn’t argue. “Junior Uncle, you jest. Where would demons be on Weiyun Peak?”

Xiao Yu shrugged. “If you say there aren’t, then there aren’t.”

With that, he raised his hand.

His palm was empty; he did not draw his sword, merely made a strange gesture idly, like playing.

“Junior Uncle Xiao, I misspoke!” Jade Dust exclaimed, startled, hardly thinking of why the senior admired his disciple.

Su Zhen was also astonished.

She had argued with him countless times and seen him lose control, but never had she seen such intense fear in his eyes.

Yet—

It was concern for Liu Yunyao.

She found it both amusing and ironic, as every time he lost his temper, it was for this reason.

Xiao Yu lowered his hand. “What did I say wrong?”

Jade Dust was silent a moment. “What I said before was incorrect. My disciple never admired you. It was—”

He paused, speaking deliberately, “You admire her.”

Xiao Yu nodded in satisfaction.

Su Zhen was speechless.

She had often seen people threaten others with force, but this was the first time she’d witnessed someone go to such lengths only to receive this simple sentence.