Xie Huai’s skill at rescuing people from prison wasn’t great. After wandering around for two days, he finally dared to seize a moonless, windy night opportunity and, exploiting a gap deliberately left by the Beiyue Sword Sect, pulled Mu Chengjin out of his locked room.

Two people fled north all the way.

The person responsible for guarding quickly passed the message along.

After receiving the news, Xie Liufeng stood up and first instructed Chu Xinghui: “I will go set the net, you stay here and wait for me to come back.”

The fish caught this time was very likely the black-robed person. Chu Xinghui still had spells on his body and could not take the risk.

Chu Xinghui understood the gravity of the situation, nodded, and warned: “You must be careful.”

He still remembered the last time the black-robed person laid a trap targeting Xie Liufeng’s soul.

It seemed that after this matter ended, he had to quickly put the matter of the two of them cultivating together on the agenda.

Xie Liufeng did not know what serious and strange thoughts Chu Xinghui was having, reached out and roughly rubbed his head, and then left quickly.

Mu Chengjin had not escaped long before the guards discovered them.

The two were injured quite badly but finally shook off the pursuers behind them and hid in a forest.

Mu Chengjin treated his wounds and glanced at Xie Huai beside him, urgently wanting to know the current situation: “How is it over at Lingxiang Sect? Did Lingxuan say anything she shouldn’t?”

Xie Huai was confused and patiently replied: “What are you talking about, Sect Leader? Miss Lingxuan passed away long ago. You don’t need to go back to the sect to deal with this matter anymore. Hurry and come with me, the master wants to see you.”

He was a bit impatient.

This old fellow caused trouble for himself, and after he fell into others’ hands, he had to be saved by him, and once rescued, he still spoke to him in this commanding tone—it was really ridiculous.

If this person were useless, who would care if he lived or died?

Remembering the black-robed person’s instructions, Xie Huai switched from his usual gentle tone to a warm voice and persuaded: “Sect Leader, there are still pursuers outside. Staying here is not safe enough, we should set off quickly.”

As he said this, he reached to grab Mu Cheng’s arm.

Mu Chengjin shook off his hand and looked at him coldly: “Oh? The master wants to see me? But the deal has been completed. Can this sect leader get what he needs now?”

The black-robed person had not told Xie Huai her purpose, but it did not stop Xie Huai from readily agreeing: “Naturally.”

Anyway, what he needed now was to bring the person over as soon as possible.

Mu Chengjin stared at the person’s expression.

Xie Huai was still too young, Mu Chengjin immediately saw that his expression was unnatural.

He knew the black-robed person’s methods.

Now, Xie Huai did not tell him the truth but kept trying to lure him to meet the black-robed person. It was hard to say if there was some trick hidden within.

He had always cherished his life and naturally did not want to take risks: “There are still matters to deal with inside Lingxiang Sect. I must first return to the sect. You go tell the master for me that the deal will be postponed.”

The atmosphere between the two grew silent and tense.

Finally, Xie Huai spoke first: “Sect Leader, this is the master’s order. I advise you not to go against her will.”

Mu Chengjin scolded: “Xie Huai, you are a disciple of Lingxiang Sect, and I am the sect leader!”

Xie Huai sneered: “Sect leader? I usually respect the sect leader, only as a senior, hoping to keep our relationship civil, but that does not mean I really belong under Lingxiang Sect’s jurisdiction. You should know better than me why I joined Lingxiang Sect in the first place, right?”

Just as he finished speaking, he suddenly groaned and frowned painfully.

The spiritual pressure of a high-level cultivator pressed down on him directly.

Xie Huai was suppressed by the spiritual force, half-kneeling on the ground, a trace of fresh blood leaking from the corner of his mouth.

Mu Chengjin looked down on him: “Youngster, you’d better speak to me with respect. Even if you truly have a powerful backer, at least right now, I can kill you easily.”

Cold sweat broke out on Xie Huai’s forehead, and he nodded with difficulty.

Mu Chengjin asked: “Why does the master want to see me?”

Xie Huai did not know of course.

The black-robed person never told someone like him the truth.

He quickly thought for a moment and suddenly remembered the strange question Mu Chengjin had asked earlier.

Could it be… before being captured, Mu Chengjin hadn’t had time to know that Mu Lingxuan had already died?

Xie Huai composed himself, changed into a respectful demeanor, and explained based on the information Mu Chengjin knew: “Sect Leader, you guessed right. The sacrifice did have problems. Miss Lingxuan escaped and even returned to the sect. The master invited you this time to deal with this matter.”

Mu Chengjin somewhat believed his explanation: “Then why didn’t you say so straight away?”

Xie Huai lowered his head and continued to fabricate respectfully: “Because… besides you, Sect Leader, another guest also contacted the master, Elder Zhu Yun. You two have never had a good relationship. I was afraid that if you knew Elder Zhu Yun was also involved, you wouldn’t come and I wouldn’t be able to complete the master’s task.”

Mu Cheng’s thoughts raced, and he pondered for a long time.

These words… coincidentally matched his previous suspicions.

Finally, he nodded and chose to temporarily believe Xie Huai: “Let’s go.”

After arguing, the two finally decided on their next move—to go together to find the black-robed person.

The black-robed person returned to her initial black robe disguise and hid deep in the forest, waiting for the new ingredients for her spell.

Actually, the next target should have been Mu Zeqing. Mu Cheng’s status was high, from both risk and usefulness perspectives, he should have been left until last. She shouldn’t have moved on Mu Chengjin so quickly.

But she had just been forcibly driven out of her body by Yue Yao’s blade, not only injuring her vital energy but also prematurely alerting others to her identity. She had to speed up her actions.

Hearing footsteps, the black-robed person turned her head, looked over the two who came, and before saying anything about today’s business, suddenly sensed something and her mood changed drastically: “Are you two… idiots?”

The two were scolded head-on and both looked somewhat confused.

Xie Huai couldn’t help but furrow his brow and said: “Master, you…”

The black-robed person impatiently interrupted his attempted defense: “You’ve been followed for so long and haven’t noticed at all—if you’re not idiots, then who are?”

Mu Chengjin and Xie Huai broke out in cold sweat and immediately looked back.

There was no one around—only the rustling sound of fallen leaves stirred by the night wind.

The black-robed person directly knocked out the two useless people and shouted into the void: “Since the Sword Sovereign has come, why not show yourself?”

Xie Liufeng did not appear immediately.

Suddenly, the black-robed person felt something wrong under her feet.

She looked down and saw a formation had appeared beneath her without her noticing.

The black-robed person sneered: “The Sword Sovereign thinks this kind of thing can trap me?”

Xie Liufeng’s voice came from midair: “One can’t make the same mistake twice. What do you think, fellow Cultivator?”

He had been tracking the black-robed person for some time and had naturally made some targeted preparations in advance.

The formation beneath the black-robed person gradually emitted golden light, silky strands of golden light weaving around the entire body wrapped in black robes.

She finally grew serious.

She could no longer move, and could not even escape by leaving the skeletal body she inhabited.

Xie Liufeng held his sword, and his figure finally fully emerged from the night: “Or rather, should I call you—Cultivator Baiyun?”

If before the black-robed person being Cultivator Baiyun was only a 50% possibility, ever since Yue Yao deliberately brought Cultivator Baiyun’s name back into the public eye in Shuixun CIty a few days ago, the possibility had risen to 80%.

An 80% chance was enough to test.

*

When Xie Liufeng found the black-robed person, Chu Xinghui and Fang Yan were still waiting for news at the original place.

Suddenly, Fang Yan received a message.

After finishing the transmission, Fang Yan stayed silent for too long, and Chu Xinghui couldn’t help but ask: “Senior Brother Sect Leader?”

Fang Yan briefly explained: “Someone from Lingxiang Sect sent a post, saying they found a suspected trail of the murderer of Mu Lingxuan on our side and hoped we could assist their investigation.”

Chu Xinghui’s expression gradually grew serious: “Who discovered it?”

Fang Yan twitched his mouth and, as expected, said a familiar name again: “Yue Yao. She used the tracking technique from Bihai Taohua Island to find it.”

Xie Liufeng had already sent them a message earlier, saying he found the black-robed person.

Now Yue Yao just happened to bring a group here at this time to look for her master’s whereabouts… quite a coincidence.

Xie Liufeng’s side wasn’t done yet. Fang Yan hesitated about whether to suppress this group of people with unclear motives first, in case it affected Xie Liufeng.

Chu Xinghui thought for a moment and directly sent a message to Yue Yao.

The two had interacted quite a lot recently, and although they were not on the same side, they still had means to contact each other directly.

Yue Yao’s voice came quickly: “Oh, what a surprise! Cultivator Chu actually took the initiative to contact me?”

Her voice sounded joyful, quite unlike the faintly tearful state mentioned in previous news.

Chu Xinghui directly asked: “…I heard Cultivator Yue came to Beiyue?”

Yue Yao responded with a “hmph”: “Cultivator Chu is well-informed.”

Chu Xinghui continued: “Is this trip to look for Cultivator Baiyun?”

“Yes. My master disappeared many years ago and now appears involved in a murder case. If I can’t find her, my heart really won’t be at ease,” Yue Yao answered, then proactively asked: “Cultivator Chu, do you have any clues about my master’s whereabouts?”

Chu Xinghui’s voice was calm: “I don’t know, but recently someone in the Beiyue Sword Sect discovered traces of the black-robed person. I remember Cultivator Yue has some grudges with this person. Since you also came to Beiyue now, I wanted to remind you.”

Yue Yao chuckled lightly and opened the topic directly: “Cultivator Chu, are you testing my master’s identity? Or the relationship between my master and me?”

What she said sounded almost like an admission.

Since Yue Yao admitted it, Chu Xinghui also spoke more clearly: “So you mean to admit the black-robed person’s identity?”

Yue Yao laughed: “Deception relies on asymmetric information. Some things we already know well, hiding them back and forth isn’t very meaningful. Besides, after this, everyone will probably know the true situation of my ‘traveling’ good master sooner or later—what difference does it make if it’s earlier or later?”

She stopped beating around the bush and said directly: “Alright, Cultivator Chu, give me the address. Please help me ask the Sword Venerable to hold off longer. I’ll search for my master nearby with people from Lingxiang Sect. When I arrive, I’ll definitely give you a real surprise.”

With this, she smoothly placed Chu Xinghui and Xie Liufeng as her collaborators.

But in reality, whether the black-robed person or Yue Yao, neither seemed very trustworthy.

So Chu Xinghui trusted the mutual benefit between people more when dealing with Yue Yao: “Though I don’t know the grudges between Cultivator Yue and your master, since you want to cooperate, shouldn’t you show some sincerity?”

Yue Yao thought for a moment and said: “Cultivator Chu carries a curse left by my master. Don’t you want to lift the curse? I’ve been specially asking fellow disciples to help search through many island classics for this matter.”

Mentioning this, Chu Xinghui couldn’t help but say: “…Last time, Cultivator Yue said this was caused by incompatibility between me and those around me.”

Yue Yao was very confident: “Only a few people in the world understand curses. Who could have guessed in advance that you hadn’t separated and could find one? That’s not the fault of this little girl.”

Chu Xinghui: “…”

Yue Yao smiled and said: “Let’s not talk about these unpleasant things for now. We’re in the same boat right now. Bringing up old matters will only harm our relationship. How about we just forget it today?”

Chu Xinghui: “…”

She really made it sound easy to let go.

Chu Xinghui didn’t want to argue with her anymore and said directly: “I need to ask Xie Liufeng about this matter.”

Upon hearing this, Yue Yao recalled something unpleasant, her smile faltered, and she couldn’t help but sarcastically say: “Cultivator Chu, you are such a good disciple, always needing to ask your elders. You can never make a decision on your own.”

Chu Xinghui replied honestly: “It’s not that I can’t make a decision, but when it involves two people, both should know about it. Hiding things from each other—how is that any different from what you do, Cultivator Yue?”

Yue Yao: “…”

It sounded like he was scolding her.

She finally reminded him: “Make sure you show up,” and then ended the transmission on her own.

*

Xie Liufeng trapped the black-robed person in a special formation and took the time to reply to Chu Xinghui’s message, continuing to watch the black-robed person in front of him.

He had already tried to lift the curse the black-robed person had placed on Chu Xinghui, but he had found no way to do so.

If it weren’t for Chu Xinghui’s message, he would have used more violent methods by now.

The black-robed person raised only a skull and a pair of eyes from the formation and mocked: “How is it? Swordmaster, haven’t you found a way to break the curse yet?”

Xie Liufeng thought for a moment about Chu Xinghui’s message, then reassured her: “Don’t worry, they will be here soon.”

The black-robed person didn’t understand: “What’s coming?”

Xie Liufeng didn’t respond.

After a while, a voice filled with five parts sadness, three parts anger, and two parts joy from a long-awaited reunion called out: “Master… is it really you?!”

The black-robed person’s body stiffened.

She had been dragged here by Xie Qinghe for a while and almost forgot about her good disciple.

How did these two get mixed up together?

Yue Yao seemed to realize that her exclamation had revealed Cultivator Biyun identity. She immediately covered her mouth, her eyes filled with tears and disbelief.

It wasn’t over yet. Following Yue Yao, a large group of Lingxiang Sect and Beiyue Sword Sect cultivators arrived, along with two idle cultivators who just came to join the crowd.

At Yue Yao’s cry of “Master,” the crowd couldn’t help but gossip among themselves.

“Is this the master from Bihai Taohua Island?”

“Master Biyun… actually fell to the evil path.”

“Surely the matter with Lingxuan was arranged by this person, right?”

…

The group discussed the black-robed person for quite a while before someone finally noticed the unconscious person beside them: “Ah, isn’t this the sect leader of Lingxiang Sect?”

“The sect leader… actually colluded with the evil cultivators?”

“He’s also beside Xie Huai…”

“The two are still unconscious. What if they also came to hunt evil cultivators?”

…

The crowd quickly entered a new round of gossip.

In the midst of the chaos, several elders of the Lingxiang Sect finally remembered their purpose for coming here and stepped out from the crowd to investigate Biyun situation.

There were so many people that even Xie Liufeng was pushed aside.

Xie Liufeng found a quiet spot with a good view and began watching the commotion, always ready to take action.

Chu Xinghui, along with Fang Yan and some Beiyue Sword Sect members, arrived at the scene on their flying swords. They passed by Xie Liufeng without making a sound.

He walked a little distance, then suddenly realized who he had just passed.

He turned around and ran back, purposely circling in front of Xie Liufeng before finally, satisfied, intending to blend into the crowd.

Xie Liufeng: “…”

He suddenly remembered something and reached out to pull Chu Xinghui back, who had walked quite a distance: “Don’t go ahead, stay by my side.”

Chu Xinghui reasoned: “The black-robed person has already been sealed in the formation.”

Xie Liufeng pressed down on him: “That doesn’t matter.”

Chu Xinghui obediently stayed in place.

*

The scene was still chaotic. Fang Yan led people over and silently occupied a spot next to Cultivator Biyun, on alert for any sudden changes.

Some of the Lingxiang Sect members were diligently investigating Cultivator Biyun’s connection to Mu Lingxuan, while others stood next to the unconscious Mu Cheng, discussing whether the sect leader had colluded with evil cultivators, quickly elevating the conversation to the level of “Lingxiang Sect doesn’t need a sect leader with a stain on their record” and the possibility of replacing him.

Yue Yao appeared completely uninterested in the undercurrents around her, focusing entirely on her dear master, crying with tears like falling flowers.

The person she was crying for stayed quietly in the center of the formation, not reacting to the gossip and handling of others, not showing any signs of what was on her mind.

The others, who had nothing to do with all this, stood by and watched the spectacle, occasionally sending messages to friends and family.

Everyone had their own plans, creating a strange balance.

Xie Liufeng, seeing that there was nothing urgent to attend to, took the opportunity to lecture the child: “Didn’t I tell you to stay put? How did you end up here?”

Chu Xinghui explained: “Yue Yao asked me to come to the scene.”

Xie Liufeng couldn’t help but poke his head: “You’re listening to her? Do you know who she is?”

Normally, he was very alert. How could he be so reckless this time?

Chu Xinghui honestly explained his plan: “I just wanted to come nearby and take a look. If things didn’t feel right, I’d leave. But the closer I got to here, the stranger my feelings became.”

Xie Liufeng’s movements paused, and his expression grew serious.

Chu Xinghui “looked” towards Cultivator Biyun in the center of the formation, furrowing his brows: “I think I can feel my vision… I should be able to get it back from her.”

He asked for Xie Liufeng’s opinion: “Can I give it a try?”

Xie Liufeng paused for a moment, reached out and rubbed his head, speaking gently: “If you’ve made up your mind, go ahead. I’ll be right here with you.”

Chu Xinghui closed his eyes, attaching the power of his soul to his consciousness. He bypassed the crowd and extended it into the black mist under the black robe at the center of the formation.

Cultivators’ souls are fragile, and directly using soul power isn’t safe. A small mistake could lead to problems.

But his intuition told him… this was the right approach.

Xie Liufeng’s spiritual energy spread silently across the area, concealing all unusual occurrences for Chu Xinghui.

The crowd continued to talk and argue for their own purposes, unaware of the changes happening right under their noses.

Cultivator Biyun, who had been silent, suddenly raised her head and opened her eyes.

Yue Yao, still crying, subtly approached Cultivator Biyun. She reached out, intending to do something, but then sensed something. A glint of interest appeared in her eyes as she changed her actions and placed her hand on Cultivator Biyun’s shoulder.

Realizing something was wrong, Cultivator Biyun started to struggle.

Yue Yao pressed down on Cultivator Biyun’s shoulder, which was nothing but bones, and whispered to her: “Shh, Master, don’t move. Remember your identity, right now… you’re a prisoner.”

Her fingertip’s spiritual energy seeped bit by bit into the black robe, sealing the black mist inside.

The skeleton trembled and was forced to quiet down again.

Chu Xinghui had already extended his consciousness into the black mist, and Xie Liufeng was just about to add an extra layer of control with his spiritual energy when he realized someone had already sealed Cultivator Biyun.

He glanced towards Yue Yao.

The two exchanged a look from afar, and Xie Liufeng smiled at her, then independently added another seal to the black mist in the formation.

Yue Yao pretended to wipe her tears with a handkerchief, looking down and curling her lips in discontent.

So it’s about not trusting her, huh? Well, she wasn’t someone people could trust anyway.

Chu Xinghui had no idea what the two outside were doing, his consciousness had completely submerged into the black mist.

The sensation of the mist made him feel uneasy. It felt like he couldn’t stay there for too long.

Instinctively, he quickly located a complex mark inside.

This mark… had his own aura.

The mark inside the black-robed person… could only be that curse.

Chu Xinghui immediately focused his consciousness and began to strike at the mark.

After a while, he couldn’t help but furrow his brows.

…His power only shattered part of it, not enough to completely destroy the mark.

Xie Liufeng, who had been observing him, immediately noticed the issue.

He transmitted a message to Chu Xinghui: “Do you trust me?”

Chu Xinghui didn’t speak, but directly took his hand.

What’s the point of asking such a question?

Xie Liufeng said: “Release your sea of consciousness.”

Chu Xinghui obediently released his sea of consciousness.

Xie Liufeng embraced him, pressed his forehead to his, and directly entered his sea of consciousness.

Soon, a portion of both of their souls merged together temporarily.

Chu Xinghui heard Xie Liufeng’s voice, filled with a smile, directly in his mind: “I’ll lend you a part of my soul power for now.”

This sensation was subtle, as if the two had become one.

Chu Xinghui forced himself to ignore the strange feeling and began focusing again on the situation at hand.

Now, he had enough power and, with a single surge, struck at the mark again.

The mark shattered in response.

Almost immediately, Chu Xinghui felt a loosening around him.

The curse was lifted.

He tried to open his eyes but immediately felt something was wrong.

For a brief moment, it was as though he saw through Cultivator Biyun’s eyes.

Through those eyes, Chu Xinghui seemed to glimpse something strange.

He felt as though he was standing on the edge of the sea, looking up at the mist in the sky.

Within the mist, a golden structure seemed to appear and disappear in the distance.

He somehow knew what it was.

It was… the Heavenly Ladder that allowed people of this world to ascend to the higher realms.

Countless golden lights moved up and down the ladder, and Chu Xinghui didn’t know how long it had been when the ladder suddenly split in the middle, and the sky darkened.

He saw blood and death, coming from afar, then closer, followed by the sinking of the island beneath his feet… until, in the end, the salty sea water submerged his mouth and nose.

…

This was something beyond what Chu Xinghui could perceive at this stage. He had only glimpsed a few blurry fragments before the intense golden light struck his soul with a shock, causing a slight trickle of blood to escape from the corner of his mouth.

Chu Xinghui knew he couldn’t keep looking and immediately withdrew his consciousness.

Xie Liufeng furrowed his brows, reached out, and steadied him.

Cultivator Biyun sensed something, forcibly breaking through both seals. She lifted her head and locked eyes with Chu Xinghui.

It seemed like she had something to say, but she never had the chance to speak.

The one remaining good eye on her face quickly withered and turned into bone, just like the rest of her body.

Then, the skeleton lowered its head, collapsed, and scattered into a pile of bones.

At the center of the formation, only a writhing black mist remained, looking like a smaller version of the black mist from the Coldwater Cave.

The sudden change made the entire scene go silent before the discussions resumed even more fervently.

Fang Yan couldn’t help but glance at Xie Liufeng and Chu Xinghui’s direction.

When he saw Xie Liufeng shake his head, he relaxed and continued to watch the scene with the Beiyue Sword Sect members.

Chu Xinghui took a while to calm himself and detach from the strange vision he had just experienced.

Xie Liufeng’s soul, which had temporarily taken his own form, remained inside Chu Xinghui’s sea of consciousness. Seeing that Chu Xinghui had come back to his senses, he poked him and said: “Alright, let me out now.”

Chu Xinghui didn’t immediately release him. Instead, he leaned in and gave the tiny version of Xie Liufeng a big kiss on the face before releasing him.

Xie Liufeng: “…”

He barely managed to keep a normal expression, then sent a pulse of spiritual energy into Chu Xinghui’s body: “Don’t move, let me check.”

Xie Liufeng carefully checked Chu Xinghui, confirming that there was no major issue. After feeding him two medicinal pills, he finally let go.

The pills were a bit bitter, and Chu Xinghui’s taste buds were overwhelmed by the bitterness. It took a moment before he fully regained his composure.

He turned to look at Xie Liufeng, blinking: “The clothes you’re wearing today… not very good-looking.”

Xie Liufeng looked down at his outfit, instinctively defending himself: “What’s wrong with it? These are your old clothes.”

Chu Xinghui looked closely and, indeed, it seemed like it was his own. The robes could adjust to different sizes automatically, and given that their figures weren’t exactly the same, it made sense that it hadn’t been obvious until now.

Since it was his own clothes, Chu Xinghui didn’t want to criticize his own taste. Instead, he switched to a new question: “Why are you wearing my clothes?”

Xie Liufeng tried to recall, but he couldn’t remember: “…Good question. How did my clothes end up mixed with yours?”

Spending too much time together, it wasn’t surprising that things got mixed up.

After saying that, Xie Liufeng suddenly realized something. He observed Chu Xinghui’s eyes closely, then waved two fingers in front of his face: “How many fingers am I holding up?”

Chu Xinghui: “…”

He grabbed the fingers waving in front of him and bit down on them.

Xie Liufeng quickly pulled his fingers back, confirming: “Are your eyes okay?”

Chu Xinghui answered truthfully: “They should be fine, though it’s still a bit blurry in front of me.”

It might be because he hadn’t used his eyes in a long time. Maybe a couple of days of rest would help.

“Let’s get someone to check it once we’re back,” Xie Liufeng suggested. After a pause, he asked: “Did you see something earlier?”

When he had merged a part of his soul with Chu Xinghui’s, he had sensed something strange.

Chu Xinghui recounted the vision he had seen earlier.

Xie Liufeng furrowed his brow.

Could it be that what Chu Xinghui saw was part of the Heavenly Secrets that Cultivator Biyun had glimpsed?

Meanwhile, the crowd had finally come to a temporary resolution after discussing for a long time.

Since Mu Chengjin and Xie Huai were still unconscious, they couldn’t confirm if the two had any connections with the evil cultivators. For now, they would be temporarily housed by the Beiyue Sword Sect. Once they woke up and were questioned, further decisions would be made.

As for Cultivator Biyun, who had been captured as an evil cultivator on Beiyue Sword Sect’s territory, she would be detained by the sect for now.

Given the special identities of a few of the involved parties, the elders of Lingxiang Sect and Yue Yao would stay at the location until everything was settled.

Afterward, Xie Liufeng went to help deal with Cultivator Biyun, while Chu Xinghui stayed behind to think for a moment. He didn’t join Xie Liufeng right away but instead went to find Yue Yao.

Yue Yao, pretending to be emotionally distraught, had turned down the good-hearted attempts of others to comfort her. She stayed behind: “needing time alone to reflect.”

When everyone left, she took out a handkerchief and wiped the tears from her face. She then tidied her clothes before standing up gracefully from the ground.

Chu Xinghui, cautious, took a step back.

Yue Yao turned around, smiling apologetically: “Chu Xinghui, please forgive me for earlier.”

She no longer resembled the tearful figure from earlier.

Chu Xinghui initiated the conversation and confirmed face-to-face: “That person in the black robe… was that really Cultivator Biyun?”

He still felt something was off.

Yue Yao thought for a moment and sighed softly: “If you’re asking if that was my master herself, she’s long dead.”

Her voice finally revealed a hint of genuine sadness: “That person… was both her and not her.”

Chu Xinghui furrowed his brows: “What do you mean, Cultivator Yue?”

Yue Yao took out a bronze mirror and carefully adjusted the hairpin on her head: “This is a complex matter. To be honest, I haven’t fully figured it out myself. But since we’re already talking about it, I’ll give you a little reminder. Although she relied on negative emotions and other chaotic things to supply energy, she’s not entirely the same as an evil spirit. The form she maintained isn’t ordinary. It’s not so easy for her to completely disappear.”

She finished fixing her hair and suddenly asked Chu Xinghui: “Chu Xinghui, can you guess why I caused such a scene today?”

Chu Xinghui wasn’t very familiar with such convoluted thoughts, so he casually guessed: “…It couldn’t be that you purposely wanted to ruin your master’s reputation, could it?”

Yue Yao burst into a fit of laughter, her body shaking with mirth: “Of course, making my dear master’s reputation fall apart is one of my goals. But overall, that’s just a small bonus to the main event.”

She suddenly shifted topics: “Chu Xinghui, can you guess how the Book of Fate recognizes people?”

Chu Xinghui, unable to see the connection between the two topics, couldn’t help but furrow his brows again.

Luckily, Yue Yao didn’t expect him to answer. She continued: “It’s by their names.”

She explained: “My master cast off her physical body, soul, and life. She abandoned everything from her past and kept only her consciousness, finally escaping the gaze of the Heavenly Dao, so she could no longer be ‘Biyun’ and thus avoided being shackled by the Book of Fate.”

At this point, she couldn’t help but laugh again: “But the unfortunate thing is, from today on, she’s ‘Biyun’ once again.”

Chu Xinghui furrowed his brows even tighter: “Because others recognized her as ‘Biyun’?”

This reason sounded too absurd.

Yue Yao shook her head: “What’s wrong with that? A name itself is a simple spell acknowledged by the Heavenly Dao. The more people chant your name, associating it with you, the more you become that person. Similarly, the more people recognize her as Biyun, the more she becomes Biyun.”

“Of course, this is just a simple summary of the idea. In fact, to make her name on the fate book light up again, although it requires enough people to acknowledge her as Biyun, relying solely on simple chanting has a low probability of success, so I made quite a few other preparations. These irrelevant details are not important, so I won’t elaborate. The most crucial part is… I called you here.”

Yue Yao looked up at Chu Xinghui: “The fate book is essentially governed by the Heavenly Dao. Your soul has traces of the Heavenly Dao’s favor. When you use this power, the Heavenly Dao will hear your voice. Once the Heavenly Dao hears it… the fate book hears it too.”

Chu Xinghui pondered these complex processes and caught onto one initial question: “So… Cultivator Yue actually didn’t know how to break the curse in the beginning, right?”

Yue Yao became more embarrassed, covering her mouth and chuckling lightly: “Yes, I’m not a child of the Heavenly Dao, so naturally, I didn’t know how to break the curse. I only asked you to come here to gamble whether you could save yourself. Anyway, if any of you fail, it won’t matter to me.”

Chu Xinghui: “…”

This was one of her few truthful statements.

Yue Yao’s eyes twinkled as she didn’t forget her original intention and began to sow discord: “Speaking of names, isn’t Cultivator Chu Xinghui curious? You’re the only one who calls Senior Xie ‘Xie Liufeng’, while most others call him by another name. What’s the reason behind that?”

Chu Xinghui pondered for a moment and gave a very reasonable explanation: “Because he changed his name.”

Yue Yao twitched her lips and had to say more directly: “…What I mean is, aren’t you curious why Senior Xie changed his name?”

Chu Xinghui wasn’t particularly curious: “If I’m curious, I can ask him directly.”

Yue Yao, unwilling to lose on this topic once again, persistently continued: “Do you think he will tell you the truth?”

Chu Xinghui sincerely replied: “The probability of him telling me the truth is greater than the probability of you telling me the truth, Cultivator Yue.”

Besides, it wasn’t a particularly important matter.

No matter how mystical it sounded, a name was just a label for addressing someone. As long as it served its purpose, who cared if Xie Qinghe was cuter than Xie Liufeng?

Yue Yao: “…”

These two were really annoying.

She didn’t want to talk about Xie Liufeng anymore and quickly changed the topic: “Alright, alright, regardless of other things, after today, Cultivator Chu Xinghui should be able to believe that at least on this matter, our positions are aligned, right?”

She slowly walked to Chu Xinghui’s side and spoke softly: “I am her sacrifice, you are her target. The most important thing for us now is to make her disappear completely, isn’t it?”

Before Chu Xinghui could answer, a voice suddenly interrupted: “What are you two talking about? Why don’t you tell me as well?”

Chu Xinghui looked in the direction of the voice and saw Xie Liufeng, who had appeared he didn’t know when.

Xie Liufeng winked at him.

Seeing Xie Liufeng come over, Yue Yao’s eyes flashed with a hint of caution, and she smiled warmly: “I was just clarifying my position with Cultivator Chu Xinghui. The island lord of the Bihai Taohua Island has fallen into the evil path, and I still have a lot of things to handle. I’m afraid I cannot accompany you for now.”

After finishing, Yue Yao didn’t stay any longer and quickly left.

After Yue Yao left, Chu Xinghui immediately walked up to Xie Liufeng and grabbed his sleeve.

Xie Liufeng skillfully reached out and rubbed his head.

Without Xie Liufeng asking, Chu Xinghui immediately told him everything Yue Yao had just said.

After Chu Xinghui finished, he remembered a small detail Yue Yao had mentioned: “Oh, right, she also asked why you changed your name.”

Xie Liufeng thought for a moment and asked him: “Do you want to know?”

Chu Xinghui thought about it and nodded: “Yes.”

Although this wasn’t particularly important, if Xie Liufeng was willing to tell him… it wouldn’t hurt to listen.

Xie Liufeng’s eyes curved into a smile as he began to tease: “Well, think about it. I won’t tell you.”

Chu Xinghui: “…”

He was resigned: “Then I won’t think about it.”

Xie Liufeng became happy: “Alright, I’ll tell you then.”

Chu Xinghui: “…”

This didn’t sound like something a person would do at all.

 

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